After His Demise, the Demon Lord's Doted Canary Finally Sees the Light - Chapter 6

In just a few short days, Qiu Fuxue had tasted every delicacy he had never eaten before, and under the relentless feeding of Jiufang Cangze, his emaciated body even began to look more rounded.

Jiufang Cangze seemed to have endless interest in feeding him, but Qiu Fuxue always felt that the way the demon lord looked at him eating was like a hungry wolf staring at a lamb.

During the day, the demon lord would be absent, locking him in a gilded cage. At night, he would be let out to share a bed with the demon lord.

In the dead of night, sometimes Qiu Fuxue would wake up uneasily and, in the darkness, examine the sleeping face of the man beside him. Then, he would try to channel his spiritual energy, make his magic surge, and summon his sword to end the demon lord’s life.

But Jiufang Cangze was not foolish; there was a reason he let his enemy sleep so close. The serious damage to Qiu Fuxue’s meridians from the invading demonic energy meant his sword could not be summoned at all.

In terms of height, Qiu Fuxue was a head shorter than Jiufang Cangze. The demon lord’s powerful arms held his wounded body in a brutal, tight embrace, making escape impossible.

On many occasions, the demon lord’s fingers would brush against his lips, his eyes revealing a hint of desire, but in the end, he would withdraw his hand and sigh in disappointment, “Forget it, it’s not the right time yet.”

Qiu Fuxue only knew that a Pure Spiritual Body was a rare cultivation genius, which was why he had reached the peak of the Qiannian Sect in just a few decades. However, while the Pure Spiritual Body benefited him, it also brought many hidden and overt dangers.

The reason he rarely left the Qiannian Sect, apart from his dedication to cultivation, was his master’s warning: if he didn’t have the power to protect himself, he would eventually fall into the hands of demons who would covet his spiritual body for alchemy.

Jiufang Cangze was one of them.

Originally, with his cultivation, Qiu Fuxue had more than enough ability to protect himself. The two words that had caused him to fall into Jiufang Cangze’s hands were simply “responsibility” and “duty.”

One day, Jiufang Cangze infused a great deal of demonic energy into the wilting little canary. Qiu Fuxue bit down on his teeth, fragmented moans escaping his throat, cold sweat pouring down his forehead as he fell into a state of semi-consciousness.

The demon lord, known for his ruthlessness, seemed to have a pang of conscience. With a gentle motion, he wiped the cold sweat from Qiu Fuxue’s forehead. Before leaving the sleeping chamber, he didn’t lock him back in the gilded cage.

“Wait for me here, and if you get bored, you can go for a walk.”

With heavy shackles locked on his wrists and ankles, Qiu Fuxue’s mind was hazy, yet he surprisingly nodded in agreement.

“…Okay.”

The sleeping chamber fell into silence. He was completely unaware of when the man beside him had departed.

His peach blossom eyes, with a hint of red at the corners, fluttered open. The scorching light outside shone through the gauze window and onto the floor. Qiu Fuxue stared blankly for a while, then climbed up, the shackles clanking.

Had that demon lord just said he could go out?

He looked down at the dark shackles, which were even thicker than his wrists. No wonder the demon lord was so confident in letting him move around.

With these things on, even if the exit from the Demon Realm was right in front of him, he wouldn’t be able to escape.

His expression was somewhat dazed as he cautiously got out of bed. He had never walked around Jiufang Cangze’s sleeping chamber before.

The chamber was spacious and empty. Besides the bed and the dining table, there was only the desk where Jiufang Cangze handled his official duties.

The demon lord’s aesthetic taste was naturally not as refined as the Qiannian Sect’s. As long as there was a place to live, he wouldn’t spend too much effort on decoration. It was a pity for a palace with such a good location.

Qiu Fuxue, dragging his heavy shackles, weakly walked to the window and stretched his neck to look outside.

“Don’t even think about escaping.”

A familiar, flippant tone sounded by his ear. He slanted his eyes and glanced at the figure leaning against the window.

He was indeed Jiufang Cangze’s most loyal subordinate. Even opening a window meant he could be seen.

Qiu Fuxue strained to lift his shackled wrist, shaking it as he retorted, “Can I even run?”

Lun Ling didn’t answer, turning his head to look at the sparkling river in the distance.

Qiu Fuxue followed his gaze, and for a moment, he couldn’t look away.

Such a beautiful thing existed in the Demon Realm. It was like a meticulously woven spiderweb, luring bewildered prey.

Qiu Fuxue stared at the river, deep in thought. Then he looked at Lun Ling, hesitating to speak.

“…Can I go out?” As if afraid of being denied, he lifted his wrist again and added, “With the shackles on.”

Lun Ling looked at him, his gaze shifting. He realized that a person’s pride could be crushed into dust under all sorts of collapse and torment.

Now, Qiu Fuxue had lost even this bit of dignity.

“You have to get the Demon Lord’s permission for that.”

“He said I could go for a walk,” Qiu Fuxue said, leaning against the window as if chatting casually. “But you’re standing guard here, so I figured I should ask for your permission.”

Lun Ling raised an eyebrow. “I appreciate the young immortal’s flattery, but I was just passing by. The Demon Lord doesn’t like anyone standing guard in front of his sleeping chamber.”

Qiu Fuxue, dragging his heavy burden, left the chamber. It was true, just as Lun Ling had said, there were no guards outside.

The glimmering river was only a small path away from the back of the chamber. Many busy maids walked along the path, all giving Qiu Fuxue strange looks.

They had heard that the Demon Lord recently abducted a beautiful person from the human world to be his male favorite, locking him in the chamber for nightly pleasures. This must be the one.

Qiu Fuxue was unaware that he had become the protagonist of a scandalous rumor. He simply treated everyone he met on the road as demons.

Demons were bloodthirsty and brutal, and their best end was to die by a sword. He had nothing to say to them.

His bare feet had been scraped raw, with blood seeping out. He squatted down by the river and reached out to stir the flowing water.

It turned out that the light he saw was not a reflection of the river water; the water was naturally luminous.

Suddenly, a faint blue fish tail flicked in the river. Qiu Fuxue’s heart skipped a beat in excitement.

It was a Jiaoren, a merperson.

Where there was water, the Jiaoren were everywhere.

“Is the last deal… still valid?” It was better to risk a transaction with the Nine Evils than to be chained in this sunless Demon Realm.

Qiu Fuxue nervously tugged at his chain, lowering his voice, afraid of being discovered by passersby.

However, the fish tail seemed to be a hallucination and flashed away. No matter how much he called, the Jiaoren did not reveal itself again.

Qiu Fuxue was so anxious that half his body was leaning into the river. His slender fingers were about to touch the water when he was suddenly pulled back to the shore.

“Trying to drown yourself? This Flowing Light River is much more dangerous than a water prison.”

Vines wrapped around his waist, pulling him away from the bank. Lun Ling stood behind him, looking nonchalant. Qiu Fuxue wasn’t sure if he had heard his conversation with the Jiaoren just now.

Qiu Fuxue half-closed his eyes, hiding the panic within them. “…The river water was glowing. I just wanted to get a closer look.”

Lun Ling tilted his head, unsure if he believed him. The vines suddenly reached into the river, stirring up a wave of splashes as dazzling as falling stars.

“Did you get a good look?”

Despite the beautiful sight, Qiu Fuxue had no heart to appreciate it, for he had just clearly seen the faint blue fish tail pass by the green vines.

He didn’t want the Jiaoren to be caught. After all, it was his only bargaining chip to escape this place.

Seeing that he was still unresponsive, Lun Ling was about to try again, but Qiu Fuxue, dragging his shackles, stopped him.

“It’s boring, I don’t want to see it anymore. Take me back.”

This sudden boldness left Lun Ling stunned for a moment. The hand he was about to raise fell back down, and a look of suspicion appeared on his face. “Has the young immortal learned to be pampered and arrogant? The Demon Lord has only doted on you for a few days, and you’re already bossing me around.”

Having successfully diverted the other’s attention, Qiu Fuxue secretly sighed in relief. “Now I have nothing. My wings have been broken and I’m imprisoned here. I have nothing left to fear.”

Lun Ling smiled, complimented his clear thinking, and then took him back to the sleeping chamber.

As the night fell, Jiufang Cangze pushed the door open, covered in a bloody aura.

He had several deep, bone-revealing gashes on his body, which were gruesome but had already stopped bleeding, hidden beneath his clothes and difficult to notice.

Qiu Fuxue was planning his deal with the Jiaoren. He had to minimize the threats to himself and then find a way to escape.

He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn’t notice someone approaching from behind.

A blood-scented embrace enveloped him. Qiu Fuxue was startled and tried to struggle, but the other person tightly gripped his hand, playing with it in his palm.

“I heard from Lun Ling that you went to the Flowing Light River today.”

“Yes… you said I could go for a walk.”

Qiu Fuxue’s fair feet were scraped and bleeding from walking on the ground. The skin and blood were mixed together.

Jiufang Cangze let go of his hand and placed his palm over the bloody feet. A dark red demonic energy surged, and within a moment, the wounds were completely healed.

“I didn’t mean to blame you,” Jiufang Cangze said, gently rubbing his cheek against Qiu Fuxue’s. In his heart, he laughed at how simple the little guy was.

One day, he would be completely taken advantage of, yet his only thought would still be about cultivation.

He suppressed the desire in his heart and held Qiu Fuxue’s shoulders, lifting him into his arms. “The Flowing Light River is more beautiful at night. I’ll go with you.”

Qiu Fuxue only knew he was a prisoner by Jiufang Cangze’s side. Such an action was too intimate.

But how Jiufang Cangze treated him was his own business. Qiu Fuxue just felt that something was wrong, but he couldn’t pinpoint what.

By the banks of the Flowing Light River, Jiufang Cangze didn’t put him down. Instead, he conjured a chair out of thin air and sat with him to admire the flowing water.

Qiu Fuxue’s head was forced to rest against his chest. After some hesitation, he voiced his confusion, “What exactly do you want to do? Although I don’t know much about alchemy, this method of yours is truly strange.”

To this day, he still didn’t know he was being kept as a male favorite.

Jiufang Cangze sneered, patting Qiu Fuxue’s cheek with a hint of mockery. “This method, like that gilded cage, was created just for you.”

“Fuxue, do you know how many demons and monsters in this world covet your Pure Spiritual Body? It’s a good thing you fell into my hands.”

Qiu Fuxue frowned in displeasure. “What’s the difference between you and them? You’re just taking advantage of the situation.”

Although sealing the Butterfly Feather had exhausted his cultivation, Qiu Fuxue had only lived for a little over twenty years. If he hadn’t been captured and brought to the Demon Realm, he would have had plenty of time to re-cultivate to the peak.

Jiufang Cangze pinched his waist hard as punishment for his defiance. Then he lifted his own shirt, revealing the terrifying gashes.

“Help me heal.”

Qiu Fuxue was startled by the wounds, his mind racing to figure out who had the ability to injure him so badly, leaving him no time to wonder what this so-called “healing” meant.

Before he could react, a pain came from his jaw as a dominating and invasive kiss was pressed upon his lips.

What… was he doing?

The naive young immortal was completely dumbfounded.