After Marrying the Disabled Demon Lord as a Substitute, I Ran Away with His Child - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The battle at the gates of the Xuanyun Sect was exceptionally fierce.

The most eye-catching figure in the fray was a man dressed in pristine white robes. This was the original novel’s protagonist, Long Xiaotian.

In this world, the male lead was a genius—a young, high-level Alchemist. Not only was he an expert in pill-refining, but his combat prowess was formidable. Unlike most alchemists whose life-bound weapon was a cauldron, his was a long spear. Although he was currently at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage—unable to match the Mid-Sovereign stage of the Demon Lord’s Left and Right Protectors—his endless supply of pills allowed him to burst with power that rivaled even Yan Jiaojiao.

Zuo Siqiu stood at the mountain gate, watching the man with the spear slaughtering his way up the slope. Her hands gripped the Demon Lord’s wheelchair so hard her knuckles turned white.

The Demon Lord was the ultimate villain; the Male Lead was the halo-wearing, undefeated God of War. When she was just a reader, she found their clashes over the female lead thrilling. Now that she was the eye of the storm, she was simply trembling.

The appearance of the Demon Lord and Zuo Siqiu caught everyone’s attention. Both the Demon Sect and the Bixia Sect disciples stopped their advance in a moment of silent, mutual understanding.

The disciples surrounding Long Xiaotian stared at Zuo Siqiu in shock. “Elder Brother, why is Junior Sister standing next to the Demon Lord? Shouldn’t the one married into the Xuanyun Sect be Third Senior Sister?”

Long Xiaotian was equally stunned. He had just returned from a trial in a secret realm yesterday when he heard that his Third Junior Sister had been wed to the Demon Lord. Ignoring his exhaustion and heavy injuries, he rallied the Bixia Sect to storm the mountain.

On their way up, they had overheard some scandalous rumors:

“I heard that last night, the Demon Lord and his new bride practiced dual cultivation for the entire night. I thought he was a paralyzed waste, but it turns out he’s incredibly vigorous.”

“Yeah, I was planning to sell the scoop about his impotence to some storytellers to humiliate the Demon Sect, but that plan is dead now.”

“Heaven is unfair! A monster like the Demon Lord should be impotent for the world to mock!”

“Perhaps the Bixia Sect leader’s daughter is just so beautiful that the Demon Lord forced himself to stand up just to enjoy her.”

The Bixia Sect disciples, who viewed their Third Senior Sister, Bi Zhian, as an untouchable “Snow Lotus,” were filled with volcanic rage. They thought their goddess had been defiled by a monster.

But now, looking at the gates, the woman beside the Demon Lord wasn’t their beloved Third Senior Sister—it was the timid, soft-spoken Little Junior Sister.

Long Xiaotian’s spear nearly slipped from his hand. “Siqiu? Why is it you?”

“Wait, wasn’t it the Third Senior Sister who was betrothed?” “The bridal sedan left from her courtyard!”

Amidst the confusion, one disciple cried out with joy, “Does this mean the Third Senior Sister is still at the sect? She didn’t marry him!”

But another added nervously, “Could Little Junior Sister be… a dowry concubine?”

The crowd erupted. Long Xiaotian stepped forward, staring at Zuo Siqiu. “Junior Sister, did you accompany your sister here as a secondary bride?”

Zuo Siqiu’s heart hammered against her ribs. She had survived the “impotence” rumors this morning; now came the second hurdle: the exposure of the substitute marriage. Could she survive the Demon Sect’s wrath once they knew they’d been tricked?

She took a step forward, her soft voice trembling. “The Third Senior Sister did not marry into the Demon Sect. When I woke up, I was the only one at the ceremony. In the bridal chamber, there was only me and the Demon Lord.”

Half of Long Xiaotian’s followers felt a wave of relief—their “Goddess” was safe. Although they felt bad for Zuo Siqiu, she didn’t hold a candle to the Third Senior Sister in their hearts. The other half felt pity, wondering how such a timid girl survived the night.

“Junior Sister, why was it you?” they asked.

The original Zuo Siqiu wouldn’t have known. But the transmigrated Zuo Siqiu knew exactly who was behind it: the Second Senior Brother, the novel’s “Second Male Lead” who was obsessed with the female lead. He had orchestrated the switch to save the girl he loved.

Zuo Siqiu took a deep breath. “I only remember seeing the Second Senior Brother before I blacked out.”

She couldn’t say more without sounding suspicious. In the novel, the Second Senior Brother had drugged her. That was enough to make the situation clear.

As she looked at the Bixia Sect disciples, she saw no one moving to save her. She felt a chill. The female lead was the core of this world; she was just cannon fodder. No one would risk their lives for her.

This revelation, however, ignited the Demon Sect’s fury.

Yan Jiaojiao shrieked, “Your Sect Leader proposed the marriage, and your disciples come to snatch the bride! You even secretly substituted the bride! Do you think the Xuanyun Sect is a joke?!”

She led the charge again. The Bixia Sect, now morally in the wrong and physically outmatched, decided to stick to their backup plan: flee. Since they didn’t have to rescue the “Goddess,” escaping was much easier.

Yan Jiaojiao managed to heavily wound several disciples before they fled. She wanted to give chase, but the Demon Lord stopped her. “No need. The Bixia Sect will owe us an explanation.”

Yan Jiaojiao huffed and returned to the Demon Lord’s side, her eyes landing on Zuo Siqiu.

Zuo Siqiu felt her end was near. In her terror, she took a step back, accidentally stepped on her skirt, and tweaked her waist. The injury from being kicked out of bed earlier flared up with a piercing pain. Her face went pale, and she instinctively clutched her waist, hunching over to dull the ache.

She didn’t expect this one movement to save her life—again.

Yan Jiaojiao’s fury vanished. Seeing Zuo Siqiu clutching her waist and grimacing, the protector’s face turned bright red, her eyes sparkled, and her voice became syrupy sweet.

“Oh, Madam! You labored all night, of course your waist and legs are sore. You should be resting! Don’t worry, we disciples will handle everything!”

The surrounding demon cultists caught on immediately.

“Ah, right! The Sect Leader and the Madam practiced dual cultivation for a long time last night. With the Madam’s low cultivation, she must be exhausted.” “And since the Sect Leader can’t move, the Madam must have… worked very hard.”

Some disciples whispered about the “substitute” issue. “But she’s a replacement. She helped the Bixia Sect deceive us. Who knows what her goal is?”

Yan Jiaojiao looked at the Demon Lord for his opinion and sighed, “But the rice is already cooked…” (Meaning: The deed is done).

The crowd went silent. Indeed, the deed was done. Zuo Siqiu looked “properly wrecked,” and their Sect Leader, who hadn’t left his room in years, had actually come all the way to the gate today…

Zuo Siqiu felt a ray of hope. Whether that light stayed on her depended entirely on the man in the chair. Did he want her dead or alive?

A faint, bloodthirsty chuckle escaped the Demon Lord’s pale lips.

“From now on, she is your Madam Sect Leader…”

To Zuo Siqiu, it didn’t sound like he was letting her off the hook. It sounded like he was keeping her alive just so he could toy with her later.