After Marrying the Disabled Demon Lord as a Substitute, I Ran Away with His Child - Chapter 21

Chapter 21

The embroidered storage pouch in Zuo Siqiu’s hand bore the exact same pattern, stitching, and array work as the one her elder sister, Zuo Mudong, had given her.

In that instant, Siqiu felt a sharp, stabbing pain in her heart. Memories of her sister flooded back, making her breath hitch and her eyes well up with uncontrollable tears. Even the mere shadow of these recollections brought a warmth to her chest that was almost overwhelming.

She took a deep breath, steadying herself. Now was not the time for sentiment. Having found a lead on her sister’s whereabouts, she needed to find Fu Gui and demand answers.

Turning away from Fu Gui’s cave dwelling, she headed toward the abode of the Right Protector, Blood Demon. With Yan Jiaojiao and the Venerable One absent, he was her only hope to track down Fu Gui.

The more anxious she grew, the more labored her breathing became. Halfway there, she had to stop, clutching her chest. She swallowed a spiritual pill given to her by the Demon Medic, which managed to dampen the feverish heat rising within her.

Blood Demon was blindsided by her sudden appearance. Seeing her flushed cheeks and frantic breathing, the usually unflappable demon panicked. “Madam, what happened to you?”

If Madam died in his cave, how could he ever face the Venerable One?

He lunged forward to support her. Even through her robes, her skin felt scalding. Fumbling in his haste, he nearly bit his own tongue. “Don’t worry, Madam! I’ll take you to the Leader right now!”

In a flash, he scooped her up and vanished, leaving behind nothing but a very confused giant rooster.

…

In the Demon Prison

They arrived at the Demon Prison in an instant. Before entering, Blood Demon cast a small protective barrier around Siqiu. He approached Xuan Mo and Yan Jiaojiao, who were startled by their sudden arrival.

“Venerable One, the Madam seems ill. She was looking for you and Yan Jiaojiao.”

Xuan Mo withdrew the crushing pressure he had been exerting on Fu Gui. He looked at Siqiu’s crimson face and frowned. “Get the Demon Medic here, immediately.”

“Should I take the Madam back?” Blood Demon asked.

“Of course!” Yan Jiaojiao chimed in. “The Madam shouldn’t have to see this!”

“She stays,” Xuan Mo countered. “She knows who Fu Gui is.”

Blood Demon dropped the barrier. As the world came back into focus, Siqiu saw Xuan Mo, Yan Jiaojiao, and the mangled, barely human form of Fu Gui.

Siqiu took a step forward, then paused to look at Xuan Mo. “Venerable One, I have questions for her.”

Xuan Mo moved his wheelchair aside. “Ask.”

…

The Confrontation

Siqiu walked up to Fu Gui, whose eyes were hollow and lifeless. Holding up the pouch she had found, she asked, “Who gave this to you?”

A flicker of life returned to Fu Gui’s eyes. She parted her blood-stained lips but remained silent.

“Was the person who made this also my Master’s furnace?” Siqiu pressed, her voice trembling with grief. “Is she still alive? Are your souls all under his control?”

With every word, her voice grew more heartbroken. “Did you come to the profound Cloud Sect to get close to Xuan Mo, or to me? If I’m right, my Master still wants to marry his daughter to Xuan Mo. He wants me, the Madam, dead to clear the path. That’s why he sent you to kill me, isn’t it? This fever I have did you poison me?”

She gripped the pouch so hard her knuckles turned white. “I don’t understand. Is he truly that invincible? Why, after everything he’s done to you, would you help him hurt others? Don’t you feel any guilt?”

Fu Gui finally spoke, her voice dripping with irony. “You think we stay under his thumb by choice? You think a few words can take him down? How dare you judge my conscience! Do you know what I’ve endured? Do you know what happens if I disobey him?”

“You know nothing,” Fu Gui spat. “You’ve been protected so well. You couldn’t possibly understand our suffering.”

Tears streamed down Siqiu’s face. She did understand. She remembered her childhood, surviving under a man who didn’t even qualify as human. She knew the desperation of living at the mercy of others, the hopelessness of standing on the brink of death.

“It’s hard, yes,” Siqiu murmured. “But is giving up the only answer?”

She closed her eyes, forcing herself to calm down. She needed a plan. Someone like Fu Gui, who had lost the will to live, couldn’t be moved by empty platitudes.

The Hidden Weapon: Public Opinion

Siqiu recalled a crucial detail from the original novel. The Sect Leader of Bixia was a monster who hid his ambition behind a mask of prestige. He used furnaces, offensive pills, and soul-puppets to maintain power. The novel had mentioned: “Among those puppets were daughters of famous sects and noble cultivation families.”

She looked at Fu Gui with newfound resolve. “Besides you, who are the other furnaces? Do you know their identities?”

Fu Gui’s eyes wavered. “What are you planning?”

“I’m only at the Foundation Establishment stage,” Siqiu admitted. “I can’t beat him in a fight, and I don’t have powerful allies. But I have a weapon he doesn’t: Public Opinion.”

“The person who made this pouch is my sister, Zuo Mudong. I am going to save her. I won’t let that dog of a man touch her again! Don’t you want to fight back? Tell me who the others are and what their sects were. Their names? Tell me, and I will save you all.”

A spark ignited in Fu Gui’s eyes. For years, no one had offered to save her. Her own parents had only begged her to save them, guilt-tripping her about her “unfilial” nature even after she became a ghost cultivator.

And yet, here was this woman poisoned and weak—speaking with such fierce conviction.

“I didn’t know she was your sister,” Fu Gui whispered, her voice cracking. “She never told me her name. But I know there are disciples from the Hehuan Sect, a sword cultivator from the Sword Sect, and others from the Golden Rainbow Temple, the Shadowless Sect, the Nine Heavens Palace… even noble families.”

Fu Gui’s hope flickered with doubt. “But even if you know, what can you do? He provides spiritual pills to the entire cultivation world. Who would sacrifice those pills for the sake of a few ‘insignificant’ disciples?”

“I gave you my word,” Siqiu said firmly, handing the pouch back to Fu Gui. “I will get you out. Don’t worry about me. I am stronger than I look.”

…

As the adrenaline faded, Siqiu felt her strength failing. She turned to find Xuan Mo and Yan Jiaojiao watching her. She had a plan, but she would need the support of the profound Cloud Sect to pull it off.

Her knees felt weak as she looked at Xuan Mo. “Venerable One… Could you call the Demon Medic again? I don’t think this is just a fever. I think I’ve been poisoned.”

The Demon Medic stepped into the room just as she said it. He glanced at Xuan Mo, then back at Siqiu.

Madam, you are indeed poisoned, he thought. And your only medicine is standing right in front of you.