After Kissing the World-Weary Female Supporting Character [Transmigration] - Chapter 94

The Demon Market, as the demon realm’s triennial grand feast, lasts for an entire year. Although the location and theme vary each time, the core remains the same—it’s built around the Marriage Tree as the nucleus and the Spirit Access Grand Road as the main trunk, constructing a movable and changeable small space.

This year’s Demon Market was set on Kunlun Mountain. Kunlun Mountain is perpetually snow-capped with scarce vegetation. To make the theme less monotonous, Bai Ze chose the bottom of the Heavenly Lake as the location. The water surface acts as both a barrier and a connection point, separating the warm lake from the cold mountain.

Fewer demons live on Kunlun Mountain year-round, so Song Xingzi and her group of friends often went to help Bai Ze. Ji Ruyue also joined the fun. The two were busy running up and down, and before they knew it, the Demon Market was open.

As a gesture of thanks, Bai Ze specially sent them two access cards, which not only allowed free passage but also offered discounts on purchases in the market. Song Xingzi was extremely satisfied: she and Ji Ruyue hadn’t had a proper date yet, and what a perfect opportunity this was! The Demon Market was lively and novel, an interesting place for a human to visit.

Flowing water converged to form a gate. Outside the transparent gate were the sun and flying divine dragons that seemed close enough to touch. Occasionally, huge, brilliant tail feathers swept past, accompanied by clear cries, landing inside the water gate. There were also carriages that flew without being pulled, and coaches drawn by golden horses…

Inside the water gate was another world. All kinds of lively sounds filled the air. Long, wide bluestone streets were lined with various shops. Demons of various appearances walked on the bluestone bricks. Most retained features of their true forms, either wearing a flower on their head, sporting wings, or having green faces and large tusks. Only a few pure-blooded demons could perfectly transform into human form. Thus, Song Xingzi and Ji Ruyue, walking hand-in-hand on the main street, attracted a lot of attention.

Fish of various shapes swam outside the invisible water barrier. Among them, the small, silver, boneless fish native to the Heavenly Lake occasionally bumped the water barrier with their lips, causing transparent ripples. Transparent jellyfish drifted in from who knows where, swimming up toward the sun. The golden light illuminated them entirely, creating a dreamlike beauty.

Song Xingzi didn’t mind the stares of strange demons. She eagerly held Ji Ruyue’s arm, pointing at the fish and demons, telling her, “Ji Ji, Ji Ji, look at that! You haven’t seen it, have you? That’s a silverfish. It only has one spine made of silver, but its flesh is tender and incredibly delicious!”

“Mm,” Ji Ruyue clutched Song Xingzi’s sleeve, keeping a firm grip on her, and responded lightly.

One was extremely excited, the other was unfazed—yet the excited one was the regular visitor, and the calm one was the one who had truly never seen any of this.

“And the Golden Crow Bird. It has three legs, but usually keeps one tucked in when standing, which is so strange. It can also breathe fire. Some say it’s closely related to the Phoenixes of Wutong Mountain, but I don’t think so.”

Song Xingzi pulled Ji Ruyue to look up at the sky. A giant, fire-shrouded raptor plunged into the water barrier from near the sun, landing in front of Song Xingzi. It transformed into a woman with red hair and golden eyes, her gaze sharp. “Hey, isn’t that Little Pine Nut? Why are you discussing me and that old baldy behind our backs? Is Tu Jiuyou here?”

Caught red-handed, Song Xingzi twirled her hair and greeted sheepishly, “Hello, Sister Golden Crow. Sister Jiu and Brother Meng Mo are helping Grandpa Bai inspect things. They’re not here.”

“Fine,” the Golden Crow Bird put her hands in her pockets and looked Ji Ruyue over, shaking her head. Ji Ruyue maintained a calm expression, allowing the scrutiny openly. The Golden Crow’s golden eyes then narrowed, and she turned to Song Xingzi. “Your little wife is quite beautiful. Cherish her well.”

Song Xingzi pulled Ji Ruyue behind her. “Haha, yes, she is.”

“The street performers are about to start. You can take your little wife to watch,” the Golden Crow hooked her index finger and lightly flicked Song Xingzi’s forehead. “Why are you protecting her so strictly? I have no interest in your wife.”

Song Xingzi: “Hehe, Sister Golden Crow, go find Sister Jiu quickly. I’ll take Ji Ji to have fun!”

I don’t believe a word you say!

Ji Ruyue rested her arms on Song Xingzi’s shoulders, completely embracing her, her gaze meeting the Golden Crow’s without deference or arrogance. The Golden Crow seemed momentarily lost in thought but then offered a smile, telling the two youngsters, “You two are quite a match. Have a good life. I’m going to find Tu Jiuyou first.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the Golden Crow, enveloped in flames, shot into the sky, turning into a streak of light and heading towards the office in the east.

“She’s finally gone,” Song Xingzi breathed a sigh of relief, turning her head to speak to Ji Ruyue. Her cheek brushed against Ji Ruyue’s smooth jawline. Song Xingzi touched her face and said, “Ji Ji, let’s go play somewhere lively. The Yongxi opera and the traveling circus are very interesting.”

“Mm,” Ji Ruyue released her arms and instead held Song Xingzi’s hand. “I’ll follow you.”

She never devoted much thought to people or matters that weren’t important. If the Golden Crow wasn’t a threat to Song Xingzi, then who she liked was irrelevant to her.

Ji Ruyue looked down, her gaze resting on their hands naturally intertwined, where a fervent greed surged.

“Ji Ji, look at the lanterns on the shops. Those are little demons that emit light. They have weak survival skills and surprisingly short lifespans for demons. So, they partner with the shop owners in exchange for food,” Song Xingzi led Ji Ruyue through the crowd of demons, eager to introduce anything interesting to her.

She subconsciously felt she ought to do this, and she had done so before. Her Ji Ji was uninterested in the mortal world, so she had to pull her along, introducing everything she found appealing, novel, and interesting, hoping to let her Moon experience it as well.

“Ptooey!”

A human face with bulging veins and green fangs emerged from a lantern, spitting at Song Xingzi. A fine branch grew out of nowhere and pulled the corner of its eye, making a funny face on top of the ghost mask.

Song Xingzi shrieked and turned to hug Ji Ruyue. Then, realizing her mistake, she clung to Ji Ruyue and sternly scolded the Lantern Grass, “Why did you come out and scare my Ji Ji! You annoying thing!”

“Hmph hmph hmph!” The Lantern Grass couldn’t speak and huffed in annoyance.

Song Xingzi made a face back at it and teased it further, “The shop owner is coming! They’re going to dock your pay!”

Ji Ruyue held Song Xingzi, quietly listening to her speak. When she first saw the various forms of demons, she was slightly uncomfortable, but far from scared. Later, after staying in Qing Qiu for a long time and hearing stories about Song Xingzi’s childhood antics from the mountain spirits, she was no longer afraid and even found them somewhat cute.

However, she truly hadn’t expected Song Xingzi to be so timid.

So cute.

A faint smile surfaced on Ji Ruyue’s face, only to quickly disappear.

Hurry and remember, Xingxing. If you keep procrastinating, I…

Song Xingzi, completely oblivious, indulged in the satisfaction of her scolding and remained in Ji Ruyue’s arms. She pointed at the brightly colored, strangely patterned masks on a nearby stall and whispered into Ji Ruyue’s ear, “Hehe, Ji Ji, when in Rome. Let’s wear masks too.”

Song Xingzi spotted a pair of chubby doll masks. They were hung a bit far, and it was hard for her to reach them over Ji Ruyue, so she grumbled and got down from Ji Ruyue’s embrace. “Hey, Boss, I want that pair of chubby doll masks. Can you get them for me?”

Ji Ruyue moved with her, staying close. She stood on her toes and retrieved a pair of white, rosy-cheeked doll masks with a red dot on the forehead. She presented the mask of the giggling girl to Song Xingzi. “Mm, this one suits you well.”

Song Xingzi eyed the Golden Boy mask in Ji Ruyue’s hand enviously. “No way, it’s too silly! It doesn’t look like me at all!”

Ji Ruyue curved her arms over Song Xingzi’s head, her slender fingers pinching the thin cord, skillfully threading it through Song Xingzi’s soft black hair and tying a bow knot at the back of her head. “It’s very cute.”

Where their hair intertwined, Ji Ruyue’s warm breath fanned her neck and shoulders, and her magnetic female voice slowly crawled into Song Xingzi’s ear canal, making her heart itch and burn. She rubbed her flushed ear tips. “Hmph hmph, then I’ll reluctantly wear it.”

Ji Ruyue retreated, her clean, rosy fingertip pressing against her lower lip, her gaze dark and hard to decipher, surging with ardent desire.

“Do you want to eat something?” Ji Ruyue put on the Golden Boy mask for herself and held Song Xingzi’s hand, walking under the bamboo canopy of the shops.

“No, the performers are coming! Look quickly!” Song Xingzi pointed at the merfolk wearing red sheer gauze, tightly gripping Ji Ruyue’s other hand, excited. “This year they invited the merfolk from the East Sea to lead the parade! Merfolk are so beautiful! Their voices are better than the immortal music of the Spirit Realm! They’re going to start singing when they reach the center of Vermillion Bird Street. Let’s hurry and follow them.”

“Alright,” Ji Ruyue let Song Xingzi lead her, following the crowded stream of demons.

The surroundings were noisy, but Ji Ruyue only paid attention to Song Xingzi and didn’t find the noise bothersome. Yet, the merfolk’s singing, which Song Xingzi constantly praised as comparable to immortal music, sounded indistinct to Ji Ruyue. She felt it was a fraction of the beauty of the soft, emotional whimpering of the Song Xingzi holding her hand.

…

“Ji Ji, Ji Ji! Was it good? Did you feel super emotional?”

Song Xingzi shook her silly doll mask and pulled Ji Ruyue toward the west.

Ji Ruyue agreed. “It was quite good.”

Ji Ji is so obedient!

Song Xingzi hugged Ji Ruyue’s arm and burst into laughter, overcome with joy. “Ji Ji, why don’t you ask me where I’m taking you?”

Ji Ruyue responded without hesitation. “Anywhere is fine.”

Song Xingzi’s heart felt like it was soaked in honey. She teased, “What if I trick you and sell you? Fresh, tender human little wives are loved by many great demons!”

Ji Ruyue replied with certainty, “You couldn’t bear to!”

“I really can’t bear to!” Song Xingzi whined. Her small face, hidden beneath the silly mask, was flushed like a persimmon after the first frost. She gasped, “Then, then I’m going to take you to see my red silk ribbon.”

Ji Ruyue smiled faintly. “Very well.”

The two laughed and walked towards the Marriage Tree at the westernmost corner of the Demon Market. The Marriage Tree is the core of the small market space, rumored to be the sacred tree from the Matchmaker’s Residence in the Spirit Realm. After the fall of the Spirit Realm, it landed in the demon realm. Meng Xiu merged it with the Spirit Access Grand Road, using it as the market’s core.

Since the Marriage Tree took root in the demon realm, it naturally became a sacred spot for young couples to make wishes and pledge their love. The old tree was covered in the demons’ red silk ribbons, waiting for the destined person to come and claim one.

When Song Xingzi was little, she loved reading folk tales and was immersed in the stories of talented scholars and beautiful ladies, and romantic adventures. She developed an early longing for love, and thus, her red silk ribbon was tied especially early, about two or three hundred years ago.

When I hung it up, I thought I would end up with a great hero or a little scholar, just like in the novels and the stories sung in the demon realm—a loving, devoted couple, preferably giving birth to a bunch of little imps. But I never imagined I would fall for a female human and be so utterly captivated and devoted to her.

Song Xingzi stepped onto a red leaf and flew up to the treetop with the breeze. She immediately spotted her crookedly tied red ribbon. On the dangling end, “Song Xingzi of Qing Qiu” was written in ink. Song Xingzi picked up the end of the ribbon and looked down. Ji Ruyue, having listened to her, was standing on the periphery of the crowd, waiting for her.

Actually, it’s even better for the Star to fall in love with the Moon. We are talented and beautiful women, deeply in love, naturally a match made in heaven. Even the Marriage Tree can’t help but bless the Star and the Moon.

Gentle affection filled Song Xingzi’s eyes, rippling like water. She untied the red ribbon and neatly wrote “Ji Ruyue of Qing Qiu” on the other end. Then, holding the ribbon, she slowly flew down, stepping on the red leaves until she stood on the ground.

Around her, many couples were expressing their feelings, each tying one end of the red ribbon—which functions like the Matchmaker’s red thread—to seal their engagement vow.

Song Xingzi clutched her and Ji Ruyue’s red ribbon, weaving through the bustling crowd of demons, running toward her Moon amidst the bizarre and fantastic scenery.

She remembered. She remembered the wish she had secretly made in the Hengdian night market, the mask she had worn at the Paris ball. In the scattered memories, a fine web was being woven in her mind, outlining how she and her Moon met and came to know each other, how they fell in love, and how they were separated…

Ji Ruyue, wearing the Golden Boy mask, stood alone at the very edge. The surrounding area was crowded with demons, but a small empty space had been cleared around her. She stood quietly, and in the eyes of the rapidly approaching Song Xingzi, she was the most beautiful sight.

“Ji Ji!”

Song Xingzi called out and threw herself into Ji Ruyue’s arms. Ji Ruyue swayed backward but steadied herself, holding her and asking softly, “What is it? Why are you so happy?”

Song Xingzi didn’t answer. She remembered the sight of the haughty yet worried Ji Ruyue giving her a frustrated elbow bump. A gentle, doting smile rose in her eyes. She tied the end with her own name written on it to Ji Ruyue’s wrist, and handed the end with Ji Ruyue’s name to Ji Ruyue, extending her hand.

“This is our demon clan’s red thread. Like the Matchmaker’s red thread, if we tie it, we will never be separated.”

Song Xingzi looked up at Ji Ruyue, trying to gauge her lover’s heart through the two layers of masks.

Ji Ruyue said nothing. She took the red ribbon and carefully tied the same knot on Song Xingzi’s pale, radiant wrist. Like magic, the red ribbon automatically vanished.

“You remembered?” Ji Ruyue asked.

Song Xingzi didn’t answer. She lifted her mask to her forehead, untied Ji Ruyue’s mask, hung it on her index finger, stood on her tiptoes, and fiercely kissed the lips she had longed for.

The clear, warm fragrance of the girl mixed with the woman’s cold pine fragrance, intertwining and deepening. Song Xingzi felt dizzy. She vaguely thought: The beauty of harmony lies in the misanthrope finding passion, and the lazy one being roused to action. Ji Ji and I are indeed a match made in heaven.

“When kissing, you must concentrate.”