After Provoking the Mad Beautiful Deity - Chapter 31

“You have no desire for her.”

The Night King’s air of mystery vanished, replaced by a smirk. “The Demon Lord is truly brilliant. The medicine I have here is the finest; in all of heaven and earth, it stands supreme.”

Hongchen nodded. “Good.”

The Night King sent someone to fetch the medicine and whispered, “How did you and the Demon Queen meet?”

“Why should I tell you?” Hongchen refused to say. If the Night King knew, he would mock her. It was unspeakable.

Finding no interest there, the Night King laughed awkwardly.

The medicine came in two bottles: one white jade and one red. The Night King intended to explain how to take them, but the Demon Lord spoke first. “Is it the white bottle first, then the red? The two complement each other.”

The Night King marveled, “The Demon Lord is truly a divine being.”

“I have taken it before; it was useless,” Hongchen said bluntly, hiding nothing. She took the jade bottle, uncapped it, and sniffed. An enticing, subtle fragrance wafted out.

The Night King was shocked. “Could it be fake medicine?”

He did not know that Hongchen possessed a unique constitution. For an ordinary person, consuming aphrodisiac incense would feel like drifting through the clouds—a blissful state of mind and body. How could it be useless?

Hongchen was equally puzzled. “Can there even be fake medicine?” Would the Empress of Heaven actually sell fakes?

It was preposterous.

As expected, aside from Yanlai, no one from the Immortal Clan was any good.

Having decided the Empress sold fake medicine, and being “once bitten, twice shy,” Hongchen tested the Night King: “You wouldn’t be selling fakes too, would you?”

“My Lord, I wouldn’t dare give you fake medicine even if I had ten thousand lives to lose! Rest assured, it takes effect within fifteen minutes. If it fails, you may come back and strike me. I promise not to strike back,” the Night King said, patting his chest confidently.

“Fine,” Hongchen replied. “I shall trust you this once.”

As she took the bottles, the Night King handed her an ornate gift box. “You’ll need an explanation when you return.”

The Night King’s thoughtfulness pleased Hongchen. She hid the medicine bottles away and carried the gift box openly back to the main hall.

Inside, Yanlai had been waiting for a long time. Hongchen eagerly presented the box to prove her “innocence.”

Inside was a buyao (dangling hairpin), a delicate trinket from the human imperial palace. Yanlai glanced at it briefly before setting it down. She didn’t say she liked it, nor did she mention that she didn’t believe they had gone out just for a hairpin.

It was a classic case of “protesting too much.”

Hongchen sat down and took the opportunity to speak to the Night King. “I have a task for you.”

“Command me, My Lord. I would give my life for you,” the Night King declared.

Hongchen said, “The Immortal Clan has been sending pills to cultivators to boost their cultivation. I suspect there is something wrong with them. Send your people to take some from the cultivators and run tests.”

“A problem?” The Night King didn’t understand. The Emperor of Heaven had been gifting medicine for nearly ten thousand years. Cultivators were eternally grateful; after ascending, they were fiercely loyal to him.

For a moment, the Night King missed her point. Hongchen glared at him. “Go investigate, and you will see what the problem is.”

Though they were rivals who schemed against each other in private, the Night King stood behind Hongchen when dealing with the Immortals. Since it concerned the Immortal Clan, he agreed without hesitation and dispatched subordinates to the human realm immediately.

Hongchen rose to leave. The Night King tried to persuade her to stay, but she waved him off and flew away with Yanlai.

Once the Demon Lord left, the Night King breathed a sigh of relief. He ignored the dead soldiers at his gate, instead sending even more people to the human realm. More investigators meant more accurate results.

On the way back, Yanlai asked, “Why ask the Night King to investigate?”

“If there truly is a problem, the Night King will be too busy to watch me. Think about it—he despises the Immortals. If the medicine is tainted, he’ll make sure the whole world knows. Let them fight; we’ll go to Sanmeng to find some beautiful dreams,” Hongchen replied.

Yanlai was helpless. Who else would ignore serious business just to watch a spectacle?

When they returned to Phoenix Mountain, Siming was nearly in tears. She sobbed the moment she saw the Demon Lord.

“Great Goddess… something happened… Prince Qingfeng… he… he…”

Hongchen’s eyes widened. Did Siming also know that Prince Qingfeng was fooling around with the Merfolk by the sea?

Before Siming could finish, Yanlai pulled her into the study for a private talk, instructing Hongchen: “Go find Sanmeng. The Empress has likely retired for the night.”

A gorgeous dream? Hongchen shuddered. Before the two could leave, she flew toward Sanmeng’s quarters so fast that Yanlai was left speechless.

With Hongchen gone, there was no need for a private talk in the study. The two entered the sleeping quarters and sat by the window. Siming spoke urgently: “Do you know? Prince Qingfeng replaced his spiritual bones. His ‘extraordinary talent’ is a lie. He is a hypocrite, truly hateful!”

The Immortal Clan was buzzing with this news. Siming had been in the lower realm and hadn’t realized that the Heavens were already in an uproar.

Yanlai knew the truth of the matter and felt a surge of resentment on Hongchen’s behalf. She suppressed her anger. “I already know.”

Currently, the Emperor of Heaven ruled the three realms of Men, Immortals, and the Underworld. What could she do? Besides, she was still betrothed to Qingfeng.

“Whose bones did he take? They are all Immortals; has no one sought revenge?” Siming’s hands clenched into fists beneath her sleeves.

“Revenge?” Yanlai laughed bitterly. “He took the bones of his own younger sister. Her father is his father; her foster mother is his biological mother. Tell me, who would seek revenge for her?”

In this world, blood ties were a joke.

Yanlai was right. Hongyan’s birth was a conspiracy—pitiful and tragic. If she didn’t turn to the demonic path, who would pity her?

Siming was speechless. Being of low rank, she was powerless against the Emperor’s actions. Hearing this felt like a physical blow to her heart. If she had been the “medicine doll” whose bones were stolen… she dared not think further.

Yanlai dropped another bombshell: “Hongyan is that medicine doll.”

“What?” Siming felt as if she’d been struck by lightning. Her chest tightened, making it hard to breathe.

It was absurd. She managed to say: “If Hongyan didn’t become a demon, I would grieve for her. The Immortal Clan is unworthy of leading the Three Realms. The Emperor is unworthy of his throne, yet I serve him. Yanlai are you still going to marry him?”

Siming laughed, her worldview crumbling. “Yanlai, I feel such shame. If I could, I would defect from the Immortals. If he treats his own daughter like this, how will he treat us when the Clan is in danger? How could the universe create such a shameless creature?”

Yanlai remained stoic. Siming’s hatred came from her respect for the former Emperor and her loyalty to the Clan. But what about her? For ten thousand years, she had been alone, wondering why her kin were gone. After losing those closest to her, she had grown numb. The Clan and the Emperor meant nothing to her.

Yanlai remained silent. She understood why Hongyan turned to the demonic path, but she knew these weren’t the only reasons. There must have been something even more fatal.

Meanwhile, Sanmeng entered the Empress’s dream again. Hongchen grumbled, “Is the Empress so idle? Sleeping and dreaming every day… how many dreams can one person have?”

This time, the dream revealed an unknown mountain range stretching for thousands of miles, majestic and shrouded in mist.

Hongchen landed among the peaks. Giant ancient trees blotted out the sun, making it impossible to tell the time. On the ground, the grass was lush and the trees vibrant.

A woman appeared—dressed in white, pristine and ethereal, cold as a lonely moon. Her beauty was so profound it felt like a sacrilege to even look at her.

Standing before her, the Empress of Heaven seemed dull by comparison. The woman’s white clothes were like snow, her long hair flowing at her waist.

“A-Rou, have you been well?” The Empress looked pale and forced a smile.

A-Rou looked at her without emotion. “Your Majesty, can you take her out of the Heavenly Palace and return her to me?”

“A-Rou, if it weren’t for her, would you even see me?” The Empress’s smile was lonely; she looked as if she had aged years in an instant. Yet her eyes were fixed on A-Rou, tracing her features like a pen. In her eyes, the world had faded; only A-Rou remained.

A-Rou remained cold. She took two steps back. “Are you threatening me?”

“What if I am? I only want to see you. A-Rou, you are now a Guardian of the Demon Race. It is far too difficult for me to see you,” the Empress lamented, her voice full of entreaty.

A-Rou had “gentleness” in her name, but her demeanor held none. Her stunning face was a mask of indifference.

She turned to leave, but the Empress grabbed her. “I can tell you where she is. But you know that in the Immortal Clan, she cannot survive without my protection.”

A-Rou hesitated. The Empress wept with relief. A-Rou asked coldly, “Where is she?”

“Phoenix Mountain, Qingyan Peak. She is the head disciple under Yanlai.”

“Phoenix Mountain? She has a water-type spiritual root; why is she under her?” A-Rou finally spoke more than a few words.

The Empress’s lips moved, but no sound came out. A-Rou continued: “Don’t worry, I won’t acknowledge her. She won’t have a mother who is a Demon Guardian. I will remember your kindness in caring for her. Whatever you want, I will grant it.”

“A-Rou, this isn’t a transaction between us…” the Empress sobbed, but A-Rou remained unmoved and walked away.

The scene shifted abruptly. Hongchen used her magic to steady herself.

The dream moved to a pool where a child was drowning. Hongchen looked closer; the child was crying for help while other children on the shore threw stones at her.

How cruel, Hongchen thought. She tried to save the child, but remembered it was only a dream. She was powerless.

Then, a rope was thrown into the water, pulling the child into the air.

A woman in green landed gracefully. The bullies ran away. The woman picked up the drowning child. She didn’t leave immediately; the rope chased after the fleeing children.

The rope bound the bullies easily. The woman took the rescued child with her, but made sure to bring the troublemakers back as well.

Hongchen frowned. The woman was Yanlai, though she looked younger here, like unripened fruit—not yet as captivating as she was now.

Since this was the Empress’s dream, she must have witnessed this. The Empress had been watching them all along.

Back at Qingyan Peak, Yanlai placed the child on a bed to keep her warm. The bullies were made to kneel on a stone path.

With so many children, it was noisy. They were all making excuses.

“Hongyan fell in herself! We tried to pull her out, but she called us busybodies. Senior Aunt, let us go!”

“Help! She’s just a useless loser! We are the best disciples on the mountain; Master said she should yield to us!”

“Why do you care about a loser? If you gave that spiritual power to me, I’d be an Immortal by now! Master says she can’t even learn basic heart-mantras. Hongyan cursed at us first; she deserves to be punished!”

A gust of wind silenced the three children. They knelt under the scorching sun until they were dizzy.

Eventually, people arrived at Qingyan Peak. They were shocked and tried to help the disciples up, but a seal prevented them from moving.

An elder, Immortal Yan Jing, roared, “Yanlai! Come out!”

“Brother, excuse my lack of greeting. If you wish to save your disciples, simply break my seal,” Yanlai’s voice drifted out.

The three elders tried to break it, but the more they struggled, the more the children suffered.

Hongchen was surprised to see the Empress hiding in a tree. She had added her own seal on top of Yanlai’s. A double seal enough to keep them busy for days.

Half an hour later, the middle-aged man tried to rush into the house but was bounced back.

Yanlai stood by the door. “I shouldn’t interfere with how you teach your disciples, Brother, but since you teach them poorly, I shall do it for you. They pushed Hongyan into the water and threw stones. She is frail; if anything happened to her, how could you repay it?”

“Yanlai! I told you when you took her Phoenix Mountain doesn’t raise useless people. You should have sent the brat back to the Flower Clan. Now you blame us for a few bumps and bruises?” Yan Jing shouted.

Yanlai remained calm. “Is that so? Then I have nothing more to say to you. Please leave.”

“Don’t be arrogant! You don’t run Phoenix Mountain!”

Yanlai ignored him and walked away.

The surroundings went silent. Hongchen wanted to go inside to see the child, but she couldn’t. She could only see what the Empress saw.

The dream distorted and finally faded. Sanmeng reappeared, panting. “That dream was too long… I can’t hold it anymore.”

Hongchen gave her a look that said, ‘You’re useless.’

Sanmeng felt the pressure of Hongchen’s aura and swallowed her grievance. It wasn’t her fault the Empress’s dreams were so long!

Sanmeng collapsed in exhaustion. Hongchen, desperate for the rest of the story, grabbed her arm. “Try again! Aren’t you curious? Yanlai is Hongyan’s master, and the disciples of Phoenix Mountain eventually slaughtered the world. For the sake of all living beings, you should get up! If everyone dies, no one will dream for you anymore!”

Sanmeng didn’t move. She didn’t even have the strength to wiggle a finger.

“Get up, or I’ll hit you!”

“If you don’t get up… I’ll kiss you!”

Sanmeng covered her mouth in terror.

Hongchen saw it worked and leaned in with a grin. “I am cruel; I’ll bite you to death…”

Before she could finish, a gust of wind pushed Hongchen back. Sanmeng scrambled to the other side of the bed and looked at the newcomer: “Control her! She threatens to kiss people at the drop of a hat. Who could stand her?”

The wind wrapped around Hongchen like a binding. Yanlai glanced at her with an intimidating look. “You like kissing her?”

“I don’t,” Hongchen said, shaking her head.

Yanlai frowned. “Then why were you going to kiss her?”

“She’s afraid of me! I want to see the rest of the dream. She isn’t afraid of much, but she’s definitely afraid of me kissing her.” Hongchen spoke sweetly despite being bound. Then she paused, confused. “I’ve been looking at her for so long, why hasn’t my Heart-Cleansing Incantation worked? Yanlai, did you remove the spell?”

Yanlai’s expression softened slightly. “That is because you have no desire for her!”