After Provoking the Mad Beautiful Deity - Chapter 30

“Do You Have Medicine for Me?”

Having swallowed two pills in a row, Hongchen licked the corner of her lips when questioned. “They taste quite good, like candy. I suspect the Empress is trying to fool me with sweets.”

 

“Fool you? Why are you licking your lips?” Yan Lai watched her behavior, her heart skipping a beat. She hurriedly grabbed Hongchen’s wrist to check her pulse. Hongchen was perfectly composed, taking the opportunity to squeeze Yan Lai’s wrist back to take some liberties, and Yan Lai simply let her be.

 

The pulse was no different from usual.

 

Yan Lai was suspicious. Not daring to smell the medicine again, she hurriedly capped the bottle and questioned the Demon Physician: “She wanted to eat them, why didn’t you stop her?”

 

The Demon Physician was equally helpless and remained silent.

 

Hongchen smiled and asked Yan Lai back: “Do you want to take one? We should share our fortunes and our hardships alike, and that includes sharing medicine.”

 

“What?” Yan Lai was shocked once again. Since staying with Hongchen, she had been shocked several times a day; the word “surprised” was becoming worn out.

 

Medicine was not candy or a snack that could be shared at will. She couldn’t tell if Hongchen lacked common sense or was doing it on purpose.

 

Yan Lai, ignoring the nonsense as usual, tossed the medicine bottle into the air, intending to incinerate it with fire.

 

However, Hongchen anticipated her intent. As soon as the bottle went into the air, she lunged forward to catch and cradle it.

 

“Hongchen.” Yan Lai was genuinely displeased.

 

Being scolded didn’t bother Hongchen at all. She grinned and tucked the jade bottle into her robes. She had begun to understand Yan Lai’s style: stiff and pedantic.

 

Hongchen, on the other hand, was a rebel through and through; there wasn’t a single part of her that followed the rules. Their temperaments were opposite; forced together, they were bound to endure a fair share of friction.

 

“I’ll keep them and eat them like candy.” Hongchen understood the human way of pampering a wife: never argue back. As she hid the bottle, she kept a wary eye on Yan Lai to prevent a sudden snatch. She giggled, her expression bright and pretty like a naughty younger sister from next door, leaving Yan Lai speechless.

 

A few moments passed during their conversation, and Hongchen’s complexion remained unchanged. Her movements were calm, showing no signs of the medicine taking effect.

 

Yan Lai quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Scanning the hall once, she turned to leave.

 

“Where are you going?” Hongchen immediately blocked her. “You haven’t even sat down yet. What is the rush to return to Phoenix Mountain?”

 

“San Meng,” Yan Lai replied.

 

Hongchen realized and nodded: “I’ll go with you. Wait for me a moment while I summon the Young Lords of the Ten Halls for a word.”

 

Since she was back, the Young Lords surely had matters to report.

 

Yan Lai agreed. She was curious to see how Hongchen handled affairs: would she be playful and mocking, or as ruthless as the rumors suggested?

 

The two went to the Great Hall where the five Young Lords were present. After they paid their respects, Hongchen took her seat on the throne.

 

The decor of the hall leaned toward the dark and somber, showcasing the eerie mystery of the Demon Race. Hongchen’s throne featured black dragons, a seat of great majesty and intimidation. The desk was shaped with a serpent’s head and a tiger’s tail, dark and lusterless, frightening enough to keep people from approaching.

 

Hongchen sat behind the desk, her sleeves fluttering gracefully. “After the Immortal army retreated that day, has there been any news of the Immortal Prince?”

 

Following this question, the silent crowd in the dark hall began to smirk. The atmosphere became even more uncanny.

 

Hongchen summoned Yan Guang to speak. Yan Guang took a few steps closer and leaned toward her master’s ear. “He is at the seaside, acting all lovey-dovey with a mermaid.”

 

Hongchen pursed her lips, her smile fading. She quietly pressed down on her disciple’s wrist, signaling her to keep quiet. Yan Guang took the hint, straightened up, and continued: “After the Immortal army retreated, your disciple did not dare be negligent and ordered a daily watch. Rest assured, nothing will go wrong.”

 

This time, the Immortal Realm had been concerned for Prince Qing Feng’s life, so their retreat had been swift and decisive.

 

Setting the Prince’s matter aside, Yan Heng presented several documents. “Master, the Dark Night King and others heard you were getting married and sent some treasures. Additionally, some have heard you were away from the Palace and are starting to get restless.”

 

“Where are the treasures?” Hongchen only heard the part about “money” and completely ignored the second sentence.

 

The Ink Soldiers carried the treasures into the hall, ten large chests filled with valuables. Hongchen excitedly pulled Yan Lai along to inspect them. Yan Lai was curious: “Who is the Dark Night King? Is the Demon Realm not ruled by you?”

 

“The Dark Night King wanted to be the Demon Lord, but I kicked him out of the Palace. During the Great War, he refused to fight, hiding in the shadows waiting for the Demon Lord to die so he could succeed the throne. When I woke up, he was indeed acting as the Demon Lord. Unfortunately, he couldn’t beat me. As long as I am alive, he can only be the Dark Night King, never seeing the light of day.” Hongchen’s tone grew fierce, a sharp departure from her usual soft manner.

 

Yan Lai understood. While the Demon Lord seemed to enjoy glory, there were hidden dangers everywhere. No position of power in the world was easy to hold.

 

The Dark Night King had slaughtered many to amass these treasures; they were rare items and magical artifacts. Hongchen distributed the artifacts among her disciples. She didn’t care much for using them herself, and after giving them away, she had the remaining treasures moved to the storehouse.

 

At this time, Yan Lai took the documents from Yan Heng’s hand. Reading through them, she saw they were all reports of unrest within the Demon Realm.

 

The Young Lords of the Ten Halls handled most things, presenting only the important or difficult cases to the Demon Lord. Yan Lai’s eyes fell on a particularly difficult report. After scanning it, she asked Yan Heng: “Can you not send troops to suppress this?”

 

“We are waiting for Master’s orders,” Yan Heng replied respectfully.

 

Yan Lai nodded. Hongchen leaned over to look. “No need for troops. I will go myself. If the demon soldiers go, the casualties will be too heavy.”

 

“You truly love your people like your own children,” Yan Lai said, returning the documents. “You are the Demon Lord; you should stay in the Palace and leave these minor matters to your subordinates.”

 

Hongchen disagreed. “Knowing it’s a death trap, why send them? My soldiers are for killing Heavenly Soldiers; their lives shouldn’t be wasted on such trivialities. It’s only after meeting you that I’ve started staying out all night. Before, I specialized in dealing with these bullies.”

 

The phrase “staying out all night” triggered a lot of imagination, and the disciples hid their smiles. Yan Lai felt her face heat up and reminded Hongchen: “The juniors are all here. Watch your words. What do you mean ‘staying out all night’? The two of us are perfectly clean.”

 

“Perfectly clean? You’ve seen me from head to toe, seeing everything ‘cleanly’.” Hongchen continued her scandalous remarks. She glanced at her disciples, teaching them: “In the future, once you’ve seen a girl’s body, you must take responsibility. Don’t wait for them to come knocking at your door; that’s embarrassing.”

 

The targeted Yan Lai: “…”

 

Yan Guang, Yan Heng, and the others bowed. “Your disciples will keep this in mind and never forget.”

 

Hongchen nodded, satisfied. Yan Lai wished she could find a hole to crawl into, blaming herself for not being quicker. Next time, she definitely wouldn’t entertain Hongchen’s wild words.

 

After reviewing the documents, Hongchen handed them to Yan Heng. “I will go personally.”

 

Yan Guang said: “Master, those people have visited the Dark Night King several times and offered many treasures. Without his support, they wouldn’t dare cause trouble.”

 

“No matter. Whether the Dark Night King is involved or not, I will settle them all.” Hongchen spoke casually. Thinking that she was leaving the Palace again, she figured she might as well deal with the Dark Night King while she was at it.

 

After a moment’s thought, she asked Yan Lai: “Shall we go see the Dark Night King before returning to Phoenix Mountain?”

 

“As you wish,” Yan Lai had no objections. The Demon Lord had her own important business to attend to.

 

Hongchen continued to delegate tasks. The matters were complex, so the Young Lords focused on the most urgent points while Yan Lai watched from the side. She suddenly noticed that Hongchen had stopped smiling. Her face was solemn and her posture dignified, vastly different from the side Yan Lai usually saw. She was decisive in her actions and clear in her rewards and punishments.

 

Such a Demon Lord was a blessing to the Demon Realm. Yan Lai suddenly felt that the Demon Realm was well ordered and the Demon Lord was majestic… compared to the Immortal Realm…

 

For some reason, she was leaning toward the Demon Realm again.

 

For a moment, she couldn’t distinguish between Immortal and Demon. If there was no difference between the two, then were Immortals still Immortals, and were Demons still Demons?

 

While Yan Lai was lost in her own confusion, Hongchen finished the urgent business. As they were about to leave, Yan Heng smiled and whispered: “Master, when will you and ‘Mistress’ get married? You just said yourself, since you’ve seen what you’ve seen, pick a day for the wedding so the whole world can come to congratulate you.”

 

“You’re right.” Hongchen had no objections. She turned and asked Yan Lai: “When shall we get married?”

 

Yan Lai turned away and ignored her.

 

Hongchen felt a bit slighted and waved her disciples away. “No marriage then.”

 

What was the point of marrying? Besides, Yan Lai still had an engagement with that dog of a Prince.

 

The Demon Realm was not entirely peaceful. Much like the Human Realm, there were often troublemakers who occupied territory and declared themselves kings.

 

When the Dark Night King was driven out of the Palace years ago, he refused to leave the Demon Realm. Hongchen was not one to drive someone to total extinction; as long as the Dark Night King stayed in his place and didn’t harm anyone, she turned a blind eye to his activities.

 

The Dark Night King was like a feudal lord, a subordinate of the Demon Lord. As long as nothing major happened in his jurisdiction, Hongchen was too lazy to interfere. This time, however, things had escalated, and over a dozen lives had been lost.

 

Hongchen arrived at the settlement. The demon market was the same as ever, though not as prosperous as the humans’. Hongchen found a certain mansion and kicked the door open. Yan Lai’s eyelid twitched.

 

Several people rushed out of the mansion, attacking Hongchen without a word. Before they could even get close, they were turned to ash.

 

Hongchen walked slowly into the mansion. More people poured out from the backyard, but the gap in strength was too vast. Hongchen didn’t even have to lift a finger; flames surrounded them, burning them alive.

 

Seeing that no one could stand against Hongchen, the master of the mansion rushed out. Upon seeing Hongchen, he knelt immediately, his knees hitting the floor tiles with a heavy thud.

 

Hongchen stopped, shook her sleeves, and smiled slightly. “Your troublemaking is a slap to my face. The Young Lords didn’t move out of consideration for the Dark Night King, but who do I have to fear?”

 

“Demon Lord, Demon Lord! Listen to my explanation! The Young Lords misunderstood. They were the ones who started it, trying to steal my medicine…”

 

Before he could finish, Hongchen raised her hand and struck him in the chest. The force of the palm pierced straight through.

 

The man closed his eyes and breathed his last.

 

Unlike his subordinates, his corpse remained. Hongchen waved her sleeve, and the body vanished. She looked at Yan Lai. “I’ll take you to see the Dark Night King.”

 

Hongchen’s manner was casual, her features as beautiful as a painting. She was clean, without a single drop of blood on her.

 

Even though Yan Lai was used to slaughter, she couldn’t help but take a deep breath. She had underestimated Hongchen.

 

How could the Demon Lord truly be an innocent young girl?

 

Having dealt with the small fry, Hongchen led Yan Lai to a tall, majestic mansion gate. Without a word, Hongchen tossed the corpse out, blood staining the ground.

 

Hongchen arched an eyebrow. When the gatekeepers saw the Demon Lord arriving in person, they were terrified and knelt to kowtow. Yan Lai couldn’t help but look twice; it was clear that the name Hongchen inspired pure terror.

 

Hongchen acted lazy, crouching down to look at a gatekeeper’s face. “Look up. I’m not here to kill; I’m here for a drink. What is there to fear? Tell me, am I more terrifying, or is the corpse on the ground more terrifying?”

 

“You… you aren’t scary… not scary… it’s… it is…”

 

The gatekeeper actually fainted from fear.

 

Hongchen looked at his companion. “Do you want to faint too?”

 

“No… no… I don’t. The corpse is terrifying. The Demon Lord is kind and approachable.”

 

“Kind and approachable? Am I really that old?” Hongchen touched her own cheek. “I’m only ten thousand and one years old. You make me sound like I’ve lived for hundreds of thousands of years. Tsk tsk tsk, you have a poisonous tongue.”

 

“Demon Lord, Demon Lord, have mercy! This lowly one was wrong! I’ll slap my own mouth, slap my own mouth!”

 

As he was about to swing his hand, a force took control of him. Slowly, he pulled out the dagger at his waist and slowly placed it against his own neck.

 

“Demon Lord, Demon Lord, please spare my life! I was wrong. You are beautiful and approachable!”

 

Before he could finish, the blade cut the skin of his neck, drops of blood falling. Hongchen was no longer smiling; her face was as cold as the bright moon, with no trace of her usual grin.

 

At this moment, she was the bloodthirsty, cruel Demon Lord who played with lives.

 

Yan Lai stood to the side, her heart and mind trembling. But Hongchen did not stop; the blade slowly cut into the skin as the gatekeeper struggled desperately to move his neck away.

 

The agony of hovering on the edge of life and death was exceptionally hard to bear.

 

“Demon Lord, Demon Lord, this King is late to welcome you.”

 

A burly man walked out from the gates, his black cloak swaying in the wind. He had a dark complexion, a broad face, and sword-like brows. He strode over to Hongchen and kicked the gatekeeper away; as the man fell forward, the blade sliced straight through his veins.

 

Hongchen frowned. She hadn’t intended to kill him.

 

However, the blame was now hers to carry.

 

Yan Lai took a deep breath and stepped forward, wanting to help, but Hongchen grabbed her wrist and said with a smile: “This is my Demon Queen.”

 

Yan Lai had to abandon her original plan and simply nodded to the Dark Night King.

 

The Dark Night King looked amazed, his gaze wandering over her body. Hongchen immediately threw a punch at him. “What are you looking at? Do you want to lose your eyes?”

 

“The Demon Lord is quite stingy. I should naturally have a good look at the Demon Queen, lest I neglect her later out of ignorance.” The Dark Night King’s expression didn’t change as he laughed loudly and warmly invited them into the mansion.

 

The Dark Night King’s mansion was even more magnificent than the Demon Palace, especially with night-luminescent pearls covering the floor, making it shine brilliantly.

 

Hongchen kept her eyes straight ahead, showing no envy for the treasures. Yan Lai followed her into the Great Hall.

 

The interior was particularly grand, with precious lamps on the pillars illuminating the hall in a display of extravagant power.

 

The Dark Night King ushered Hongchen to the seat of honor while he sat below. His gaze quietly fell on Yan Lai as he said with a deliberate laugh: “I find the Demon Queen somewhat familiar.”

 

“Familiar? Which beauty would you not find familiar?” Hongchen mocked.

 

The Dark Night King was not easily fooled. After looking a few more times, he said: “For High God Yan Lai of Phoenix Mountain to visit the Demon Realm in person is a great honor for this King.”

 

“Yan Lai of Phoenix Mountain?” Hongchen feigned confusion. She grabbed Yan Lai’s wrist and asked her: “Are you from the Immortal Realm?”

 

“The Dark Night King has mistaken me for someone else.” Yan Lai lowered her eyes and smiled gently, putting on a look of “pity and loveliness.”

 

She was acting, but Hongchen was mesmerized by her cold profile and her jade-like radiance. Beside them, the Dark Night King saw the Demon Lord’s infatuation and let out a smile. He had thought the Demon Lord had no weaknesses, never expecting her to be blinded by beauty.

 

Yan Lai gave a soft cough and pulled her wrist away. Only then did Hongchen realize she had lost her composure. She said with dissatisfaction: “Stop acting. You aren’t very good at it.”

 

Yan Lai endured it, fearing Hongchen’s next line would be another scandalous remark.

 

Hongchen said: “The whole Demon Realm knows that the Dark Night King supports me. I am grateful to you, and today I’ve brought a generous gift. The gift is at the door. Have your men drag it in; it’s still fresh.”

 

The Dark Night King’s mouth twitched, but he maintained a flattering tone: “You are always welcome; why bother with a gift?”

 

“It’s only right. My subordinates might not know better, but I do. The Young Lords are young; if they offend you, you should let me know. I won’t be lenient. As time goes by and hearts change, I wouldn’t want to be unfair to the Dark Night King.” Hongchen spoke lightly.

 

Her words were full of hidden thorns, and her tone was somewhat similar to the Empress, speaking with double meanings and hidden intentions.

 

Yan Lai listened quietly.

 

The Dark Night King felt his pride wounded; she was essentially calling him ignorant. He suppressed his anger and had the “gift” brought in. He then said: “The Demon Lord is right. Subordinates can be ignorant, and I will certainly discipline them. Your marriage to the Demon Queen is a joyous occasion for the Demon Realm. I also have a fine gift here, and I hope the Demon Lord won’t reject it.”

 

With that, he smiled at Hongchen and then looked at Yan Lai.

 

A fine gift that the Demon Queen shouldn’t know about. Hongchen understood immediately and said softly: “I won’t reject it. I’ll go with you to take a look.”

 

Hongchen rose eagerly. Yan Lai was about to follow, but Hongchen immediately pressed her hand on Yan Lai’s shoulder: “The Demon Queen should wait for me here.”

 

Her eyes were glowing. Yan Lai scoffed inwardly, what a little troublemaker.

 

Yan Lai sat back down, watching as the troublemaker was led away by the Dark Night King.

 

Once out of Yan Lai’s sight, the Dark Night King began to praise: “The Demon Queen is beautiful; you are very fortunate. I see she has quite a proud nature; I fear you might not be enjoying yourself fully.”

 

Hongchen blinked. Having the previous experience in mind, she understood.

 

“Do you have medicine for me?” she asked bluntly.