After the Villain Was Reborn a Hundred Times - Chapter 7

When Ming Shuang opened her eyes, she saw a dark ceiling above her. Turning her gaze, she saw red curtains swaying gently in the breeze.

Frowning, she pressed a hand to her forehead. It didn’t hurt, but she felt dizzy and disoriented. What had happened?

Oh—she remembered. Last night, when she went to thank the Demon Lord, he insisted she drink. She took a sip and ended up completely drunk.

How embarrassing. Ming Shuang pursed her lips and tried to raise her other hand. When she realized she couldn’t move it, she glanced sideways.

Someone was lying on her arm.

The person’s eyes were closed, their breathing deep and steady. Their fair skin stood out against the dark bedding, making them look like flawless jade.

Demon Lord…

Ming Shuang pursed her lips, afraid to move any further lest she disturb the Demon Lord on her arm.

She lay still, her gaze shifting between the ceiling and the bed curtains, but she dared not look at the Demon Lord’s face.

Ming Shuang thought the Demon Lord shouldn’t be a demon at all, but rather a demoness. That excessively beautiful face, with its reckless charm, made anyone who saw it want to obey her every word.

*****

After about half an hour, Ming Shuang felt the Demon Lord stir on her arm. Then she heard that unique, soft voice: “Oh? You’re awake.”

“Demon Lord…”

“Silence.” Wang Jinxue cut her off first, leaning in with a smile, and tugged at her clothes to reveal a snow-white shoulder.

Ming Shuang glanced at it and quickly averted her gaze, as if burned. If she wasn’t mistaken, there seemed to be a bite mark there? Perhaps it was because she spent all her time in the Demon Realm, but the Demon Lord’s skin was truly snow-white.

This made the bright red bite mark on her shoulder even more noticeable, like a red plum blossom fallen on white snow. Ming Shuang had a bad feeling.

Wang Jinxue smiled coquettishly, pointing at the mark. “Does this drunk cat from last night remember who left this bite?”

Sure enough, her premonition proved true.

Ming Shuang suddenly stumbled backward, too panicked to notice the bed edge behind her. She tumbled off with a loud thud, landing painfully.

Hisss… Ming Shuang winced in pain, clutching her side as she struggled to her feet, leaning against the window frame.

The Demon Lord burst into laughter. “Pfft, look at you! You’re so clumsy you could win a contest!”

Ming Shuang frowned, staring at her, clearly annoyed. She seemed to resent the Demon Lord’s teasing.

In truth, Ming Shuang was only annoyed with herself. She believed everything the Demon Lord said.

Her parents had always told her that even though she couldn’t hold her alcohol, she was surprisingly well-behaved when drunk.

Wang Jinxue had already pulled her clothes back on, and it looked like she was just teasing Ming Shuang.

“Last night, when you were drunk, you kept mumbling about needing to wake up early and your Master waiting for you. Is something wrong?”

Master!

Oh no—

Ming Shuang immediately asked, “May I ask what time it is, Demon Lord? I have urgent matters to attend to and can’t afford to be delayed.”

“You’re already late. It’s noon now. But in the Demon Realm, day and night are equally dark, especially in the Demon Palace, where it’s hard to tell the time.”

Ming Shuang’s frown deepened. She shouldn’t have delayed thanking the Demon Lord. She should have waited until after returning from the Spirit Abyss. Even if the Demon Lord was here, she wouldn’t have lost her. She didn’t understand why she had rushed over in such a panic.

“Alright, if you’re in a hurry, you can go now,” Wang Jinxue said lazily, leaning back against the bed. She watched Ming Shuang’s expression shift, a faint smile playing on her lips.

Ming Shuang cupped her fist in her hand. “This junior takes her leave.” She hurried toward the door.

Suddenly, she stopped at the doorway and turned back. “The rear courtyard of Huishuang Hall is quite spacious. Planting a few red plum trees there would look lovely.” With that, she left and flew away on her sword.

The window by where Ming Shuang had fallen earlier was half-open, revealing the barren rear courtyard of Huishuang Hall. It was completely empty except for the walls.

Red plum trees, huh?

The tooth marks on Wang Jinxue’s shoulder were faintly visible beneath her black silk robe, their outlines blurred by the fabric. Strangely, they resembled red plum blossoms bravely defying the frost.

The rear courtyard was indeed rather empty. Perhaps planting a red plum tree wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

Perhaps on a whim, Wang Jinxue immediately ordered her servants to transplant a red plum tree into her rear courtyard.

It was the height of summer, and the red plum tree wouldn’t bloom. Leaving a barren tree in the courtyard would look unsightly. With a flick of her finger, Wang Jinxue conjured countless red plum blossoms to bloom instantly upon the tree.

In the Demon Realm, the Demon Lord is the embodiment of order.

Just like this red plum tree—Wang Jinxue decreed it should bloom now, and so it must not wait for winter.

She was the Demon Lord, and everything in the Demon Realm belonged to her. All things existed to serve her order.

******

Wang Jinxue twirled a strand of hair, pondering Ming Shuang’s urgent matter, which she suspected involved Elder Chanyue. What could it be?

Suddenly, it clicked. Elder Chanyue, the Spirit Abyss… Everyone spoke of Elder Chanyue’s profound cultivation, her closeness to godhood, and her ability to glimpse heavenly secrets.

Ming Shuang had been gravely injured. Even with careful nursing, her recovery would take over a decade. The Lingxu Sect, having nurtured such a prodigy, couldn’t afford to let a decade pass idly by.

With the Spirit Abyss opening imminent, Elder Chanyue, being affiliated with the Lingxu Sect, would inevitably be called upon. Asking Elder Chanyue to take Ming Shuang to the Spirit Abyss was the most prudent decision for the sect.

Less than a month remained until the Spirit Abyss opened. This hurried summons—could something be amiss with the opening?

“Summon Baoxin to me immediately,” Wang Jinxue commanded, her usually smiling face stern.

In an instant, she was transported from Huishuang Hall to the Demon Palace Great Hall.

Wang Jinxue accepted the tea offered by a maid, gently stirring it without taking a sip.

If anything unusual had occurred with the Spirit Abyss, Baoxin would have been the first to know. Yet during the meeting, she hadn’t mentioned a single word about it. Could it be that she was truly harboring sinister intentions? Wang Jinxue’s gaze darkened, her pupils briefly turning crimson. With a sharp crack, the teacup in her hand crumbled into shards, scattering across her skirt.

The maid, unfazed, stepped forward without hesitation, knelt down, and carefully gathered the porcelain fragments. She then replaced the broken cup with a fresh one.

“Your Excellency, Baoxin has been brought,” Gu Hong announced, dragging Baoxin by the collar into the Demon Palace Great Hall and unceremoniously tossing her onto the floor.

The moment Gu Hong looked up, she noticed the Demon Lord’s bleeding palm. Like a gust of wind, she rushed to Wang Jinxue’s side. “Your Excellency, how careless! You’re bleeding.”

A faint blue light shimmered in Gu Hong’s palm as she healed Wang Jinxue’s wound completely before letting go.

Wang Jinxue glanced at Gu Hong, who tactfully retreated to the hall floor. “Baoxin—” she began coolly.

“This subordinate is present,” Baoxin replied, kneeling with a deathly pale face, her body trembling uncontrollably.

Wang Jinxue smiled, her eyes and brows curving seductively. “Have there been any unusual occurrences in the Spirit Abyss recently?”

“N-no, everything is normal in the Spirit Abyss.”

Wang Jinxue nodded and leaned back on her throne. With a flick of her fingers, she lifted Baoxin through the air and flung her into the Fire Pool on the left side of the Demon Palace Great Hall.

“I’ll ask you again: have there been any unusual occurrences in the Spirit Abyss?”

The raging flames in the Fire Pool seared Baoxin with excruciating pain. The air filled with the aroma of roasting flesh.

“N-no!” Baoxin felt the overwhelming spiritual power suppressing her, panic surging through her.

Wang Jinxue smiled again and lifted Baoxin out of the pool. Baoxin thought the torture was over.

The next moment, she screamed, “Aaaaaah! It hurts so much!” The Demon Lord had flung her into the Salt Pool on the right side.

As its name suggests, the Salt Pool was filled with saltwater.

After being burned by the flames, being immersed in the Salt Pool was excruciating—unbearable for anyone.

“There was, there was! I-I’ll tell you, Demon Lord, please show some mercy!”

Baoxin’s body was charred black, her skin cracked and bleeding from the burns.

Wang Jinxue lazily waved her hand, flinging Baoxin onto the floor of the hall. “What was unusual?” she asked sweetly.

“The Spirit Abyss was originally scheduled to open on the fifteenth of July. However, recent signs indicate it will open before that date. Moreover, it was supposed to open in Central Continent City, where it last closed, but now it’s shifted to Plain City.”

Baoxin, ignoring her burning discomfort, pleaded desperately, “Your Excellency, please understand! I withheld this information because I feared it might be inaccurate. I wanted to confirm it before reporting it to you.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes! Please see reason, Your Excellency!” Baoxin was on the verge of tears, her tears falling like raindrops, as if she had suffered a great injustice.

Wang Jinxue nodded. “Then you may return and rest properly.”

After seeing Baoxin out, Gu Hong returned. “Your Excellency, Baoxin isn’t telling the truth.”

“I know. Assign someone to watch her. Report every detail of her actions, from how many bowls of rice she eats to how many trips she makes to the restroom. I want to know everything.”

“As you command, Your Excellency.” Though she spoke these words, she remained rooted in place, unmoving.

Wang Jinxue raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Is there something else?”

“No, nothing else.” Gu Hong lingered awkwardly before reluctantly leaving.

Wang Jinxue flipped her palm, summoning a pale blue Spirit Butterfly. She placed it on her shoulder, allowing it to memorize Ming Shuang’s scent, before releasing the butterfly.

“Go, follow this scent to find her, and report back to me at any time.”

The Spirit Butterfly seemed to understand. It fluttered its wings three times and flew away.

Ming Shuang… heh.

******

Author’s Note:

Unsolved Mystery: Who left the bite mark on the Demon Lord’s shoulder?

Demon Lord: “Was that from that drunken cat? How dare you bite and run away without taking responsibility?”

Ming Shuang: “……” I didn’t do it! I was just drunk! I’m perfectly well-behaved when I’m drunk!

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