After Marrying the Disabled Demon Lord as a Substitute, I Ran Away with His Child - Chapter 33

Chapter 33

For the first time, Bimu realized how terrifying it was to “nurse a tiger only to be bitten.” He never imagined that the Second Disciple he had always looked down upon would one day clutch him by the throat and force him to surrender his most valuable possessions.

The Second Senior Brother of the Bixia Sect, Zhu Jiechou, was once a little beggar Bimu had picked up during his travels. At the time, Bimu saw that the boy’s talent was decent and observed him fiercely snatching food from the mouths of stray dogs. He felt such a person was worth cultivating—at the very least, he liked him better than his upright and rigid Eldest Disciple.

Bimu never expected to be threatened by the very disciple he favored most.

Zhu Jiechou’s smile was sinister. “I don’t believe that after all these years, you haven’t saved up anything good. Nor do I believe you’d put everything in that Mustard Seed Space.”

“If you give me the treasures you’ve hoarded, I might consider persuading the Long family to save you. When you return to your peak, you can go find our Little Junior Sister and snatch back everything she stole from you. Isn’t that a fair trade?”

How could it be fair? Bimu naturally kept his most vital items on his person. Though the things Zuo Siqiu took were worth a fortune, they were merely spirit stones and materials. But facing this crazed disciple, could he really hand over his life’s work?

The suffocation wasn’t what terrified him most; it was the sound of his own cervical vertebrae cracking!

“I’ll give… I’ll give it to you!”

He had no choice; he knew this disciple was truly capable of killing him. He produced a storage ring hidden within his body, his mouth trembling, unable to form words.

Zhu Jiechou snatched the ring instantly. He squinted at it for a moment. “I can’t get in. Break the seal you set.”

With his charred hand, Bimu shakily grasped the ring, using the last of his strength to break the restriction. The ring returned to Zhu Jiechou’s hand. As he probed it with his divine sense, his indifferent eyes flickered. He truly hadn’t expected the old man to hide so many treasures in this one ring. While there weren’t many physical riches, it was packed with secret manuals and pill recipes.

The old man’s blackened fingers gripped his wrist, eyes full of pleading. “Save… save me.”

Zhu Jiechou burst into laughter again. “Hahaha! You actually believed what I said? How could I let you live? So you can recover your cultivation and turn around to kill me?”

Bimu’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. “You… you!”

But he never got the chance to say another word. Zhu Jiechou snapped his neck. He flooded Bimu’s body with spiritual energy, watching with a look of pure enjoyment as he tore the old man’s soul and primordial spirit to shreds.

Done, Zhu Jiechou brushed the black ash from his fingertips and smirked at the storage ring. “I didn’t expect the old man to have so many soul puppets.”

“Wait, what is this pill recipe?”

“So, the reason he insisted on the Third Junior Sister marrying the Demon Sovereign was to turn her into a ‘medicinal primer’… After she and the Sovereign dual-cultivate, she becomes the key ingredient for a pill to ascend to the Immortal Realm.”

“The old beast really wasn’t human; he even plotted against his own daughter.”

“Hmm, Little Junior Sister works too? No wonder she sent Fugui back to the Xuanyun Sect; she wanted Fugui to deliver the poison. It’s a good thing he recorded this in a jade slip, otherwise I wouldn’t have found these goodies.”

“So, Little Junior Sister is already a medicinal primer? Heh, that is simply wonderful.”

…

The news of Bimu’s passing came as a surprise to the Long family.

“When we rescued him, didn’t he still have a breath left? The physician said that with careful nursing, he could recover thirty percent of his strength.”

Zhu Jiechou looked at the Head of the Long family with an unchanging expression. “How many treasures would the Long family have to waste to restore that thirty percent? All of Master’s recipes have been passed down to me. If those heavenly treasures were used on me instead, I believe the benefits to the Long family would far outweigh saving him.”

Zhu Jiechou had no interest in discussing his Master’s life. He wanted power and strength. To get power, he needed the Long family; to get strength, he needed to capture his Little Junior Sister and refine the ultimate Tribulation-Crossing Pill.

He revealed a secret to the Long Family Head. “I know several elders in your family are facing tribulations soon with slim chances of success. If I can refine the pills my Master left me, and your elders succeed, the Long family’s status in the cultivation world will be unrivaled.”

The Long Family Head was moved. These were people willing to give up their own children for better pills. What did a disciple from another sect matter to them?

“So, Master Jiechou means that if we capture the Demon Cult’s Madam and use her as a primer, we can refine the Tribulation Pills?”

Zhu Jiechou said, “That’s why my Master died; he provoked the Demonic Cult and ended up like this. I just wonder if the Long family has the courage and the means?”

The Long Family Head pondered for a moment. “I heard the Xuanyun Sect Leader is searching for rare spiritual materials through the Black Shop.”

Zhu Jiechou smiled mockingly. “Surely you don’t intend to use those materials to ‘trade’ with the Xuanyun Sect for their Madam?”

“Hahaha, haven’t you heard the rumors? The Demon Sovereign pampers his wife limitlessly; he only fought the Bixia Sect to save her sister. If you put word out about those materials, he won’t come to trade; he’ll lead his cult to burn and pillage your home.”

The Long Family Head remained calm. “I know that. My family doesn’t have those treasures, but we know where they are.”

Zhu Jiechou looked at him, realizing this man was deeper than he had thought.

The Long Family Head continued, “The materials he needs can all be found in a certain secret realm. Only the Long family knows about it, and only we know the conditions for it to open. If we lure Xuan Mo and a portion of his followers into the realm, we can steal Zuo Siqiu away. Once he comes out and finds her gone, what can he do?”

Zhu Jiechou asked, “What if he takes her inside with him?”

The Long Family Head smirked. “Even better. Once the realm closes, Xuan Mo can forget about reinforcements. If we can eliminate him there, the entire cultivation world will look at us with new respect.”

Zhu Jiechou narrowed his eyes. “A pleasure doing business with you.”

…

The news that the Milong Secret Realm was about to open spread like wildfire, reaching the Xuanyun Sect. The Demonic Physician immediately rushed to Xuan Mo. “Venerable One, the medicine you need is in the Milong Secret Realm.”

Zuo Siqiu poked her head out from behind a screen. “What medicine? Is the Venerable One sick?”

Xuan Mo looked at the physician with a dark expression, clearly not wanting her to know. The physician opened his mouth, caught between a rock and a hard place. How did he know Zuo Siqiu was changing clothes behind the screen?

Earlier, the Black Shop had sent over many new ceremonial robes, saying Xuan Mo had ordered them. After confirming multiple times that he wouldn’t charge her, she had excitedly started trying them on only to overhear this vital news.

Once dressed, she stepped out and stood next to Xuan Mo. Noticing she was quite a bit taller than him while he was seated, she immediately squatted down and looked up at him. “What illness do you have?”

Xuan Mo’s gaze landed on his own legs. “Is my ‘illness’ not obvious enough?”

Zuo Siqiu realized instantly, recalling fragments from the original book. Xuan Mo wasn’t crippled forever. In the mid-to-late story, he snatched materials from the Male Lead’s family, and the Female Lead kindly refined pills to heal him. Of course, they eventually became mortal enemies.

According to the plot, those materials were indeed snatched from the Long family, who had sourced them from the Milong Secret Realm. If Xuan Mo hadn’t interfered, those materials would have ended up with Long Xiaotian.

Zuo Siqiu looked at the physician. “Is the Milong Secret Realm opening?”

The physician nodded. “Yes, Madam. It’s the talk of Feixian City. All the major sects are sending people.”

Zuo Siqiu: “Then we’re going too! If we’re lucky, we’ll get the materials ourselves. If not, we can buy or trade for them.”

She looked at Xuan Mo. He frowned slightly. “You want to go too?”

“Why can’t I go? I want to find treasures in a secret realm too!”

In cultivation novels, treasures in secret realms are free for the taking. This was a chance to strike it rich!

Xuan Mo sighed deeply. “But it’s dangerous.”

Zuo Siqiu: “Nothing ventured, nothing gained! You have to take risks for wealth!”

In truth, Xuan Mo had a bad premonition about this realm. He didn’t care about his own life, but Zuo Siqiu… an alchemist of her talent would be treasured by any sect.

Seeing his deep frown, she knew he didn’t want her along. Her cultivation was only mid-stage Golden Core, and she had no combat skills; her only weapons were her weird pills. To him, she was a liability.

She felt dejected and began drawing little circles on the floor with her finger, her voice muffled. “I get it. My cultivation is low, I can’t fight… I’d just be a drag on everyone…”

The physician stared at Xuan Mo: Madam is sulking, Sect Leader, you’d better do something!

Xuan Mo felt a headache coming on. Who had ever complained about her combat power? An alchemist like her, even if she couldn’t fight, would usually be surrounded by elite guards.

Zuo Siqiu’s voice got smaller. “I’ll start practicing martial arts today, okay? When I can fight, then you can take me to other realms. I’ve never been to one. I heard the stuff inside is free…”

A vein popped on Xuan Mo’s forehead. “I’ll take you.”

Zuo Siqiu’s head snapped up, her eyes like stars. “Really?”

Xuan Mo nodded. “Yes.”

Zuo Siqiu was overjoyed! “But I can’t fight. If you get into a battle, will I hold you back?”

“No. They can’t beat me.”

“Wonderful! I’ll refine more pills! Can I go to the Black Shop for more materials? I’m out of money, can I put it on your tab?”

“You can.”

“Really? But I might not be able to pay you back for a while!”

“Yes, I know.”

Overwhelmed with joy, Zuo Siqiu lunged at Xuan Mo for a hug. Midway through, she realized it might be inappropriate. Her best friend in her past life had taught her this, and she loved “pouncing” on friends when happy, but a Demon Sovereign might not appreciate it.

She tried to stop, but the momentum was already there. She ended up falling right onto Xuan Mo’s lap.

It wasn’t the first time she’d been in his lap; they shared a bed every night, after all. But this time felt different. She could feel the hard, powerful muscles of his thighs through his robes; they didn’t feel like the legs of a paralytic at all.

When she looked up, she saw his eyes widened in surprise and his exquisite, beautiful face. Heat flooded her own face. She defined this feeling as “social death.”

She scrambled up instantly, looking everywhere but at him. “I didn’t mean to pounce, I just tripped… I-I-I’m going shopping now!”

She turned and bolted, shouting as she ran: “Yan Jiaojiao! Come shopping with me! It’s on the Venerable One’s tab today!”

The physician watched her skip away, then looked back at Xuan Mo, whose ears and cheeks were slightly flushed. He cleared his throat. “I… I’ll go get ready too.”

He turned and ran. He didn’t want to see any more of this heart-stopping scenery!