I Reborn on the Night I Divorced the Sword Deity, My Childhood Friend - Chapter 19

A hundred miles away, at the traveling palace of the Heavenly Eye Demon Lord.

Deep within layered halls, a solemn, middle-aged Demon Lord in white sat upon a high platform. His eyes were partially closed, and the golden vertical eye between his brows was tightly shut, with a faint trace of blood visible at its edge.

Meng Xingyan knelt below the platform, not daring to breathe loudly. He prostrated himself and bowed repeatedly in guilt. “It was my negligence that caused Father’s injury. I deserve death. Please, Father, punish me.”

The sound of Meng Xingyan’s forehead hitting the floor echoed. The Heavenly Eye Demon Lord remained silent for a long while before frowning and opening his eyes. “Put away that act of playing the obedient fool you used as a child,” he said indifferently.

“Come forward and tell me every detail of that person’s competition with you.”

Hearing this, Meng Xingyan realized his father did not intend to pursue punishment. He quickly lifted his robes, rose, and sat on a prayer mat to the lower right of the Demon Lord. “Father, I encountered this person in the marketplace,” he began.

Meng Xingyan recounted the entire incident on the stage to his father without missing a word. After listening, the Demon Lord asked, “He never once moved to solve your astral array disc?”

“Never,” Meng Xingyan nodded.

“Not even at the very beginning?”

“No.”

The Heavenly Eye Demon Lord pondered for a moment. “By not acting, he leaves no traces. Naturally, others cannot see through his foundation. This person is not to be underestimated.”

Meng Xingyan’s expression turned grave. “I see. I was not meticulous enough. In that case, does Father think we should…” He made a throat-slitting gesture.

The Demon Lord gave a slight, cold laugh. “With just you?”

Meng Xingyan instantly wilted. However, he quickly regained his composure. “Does Father mean this person can be recruited?”

A Golden Core cultivator, even if Meng Xingyan could not kill him, would be an easy target for the Demon Lord. Since his father didn’t seem inclined to eliminate Shen Junyu, Meng Xingyan ventured a guess.

The Heavenly Eye Demon Lord seemed lost in thought. After a long silence, he asked a seemingly unrelated question. “You said this person has a cousin. What did that cousin seem like?”

Meng Xingyan was startled but replied, “Average looks, average aptitude. He is far inferior to the other. However—” He leaned in and whispered the green-clad maid’s suspicion to his father.

The Demon Lord raised an eyebrow. “Fond of men?”

Meng Xingyan nodded.

The Demon Lord smiled faintly. “When a person has a hobby, they have desires. They are not indestructible. In that case, I know what to do.”

Meng Xingyan’s heart stirred. “Does Father mean we can strike from this angle?”

“I said nothing,” the Demon Lord replied indifferently.

Meng Xingyan felt snubbed. “I understand.”

Seeing that his son’s impulsive nature had not quite died down, the Demon Lord glanced at him and added, “My one look did not see through that person’s foundation. Do not act rashly.”

Meng Xingyan recovered his senses and couldn’t help but ask out of curiosity, “Is it true that even Father cannot see through him at all?”

The Demon Lord sensed the probe in his son’s words, but since it was his own flesh and blood, he did not hide the truth. “I took a cursory look and only saw that his soul’s age does not match his physical body.”

Meng Xingyan’s heart skipped a beat. “An expert’s possession?”

The Demon Lord slowly shook his head. “One cannot be certain.”

Looking at his father’s calm and solemn profile, Meng Xingyan’s mind was eighty percent clear on the matter. He lowered his eyes, bowed, and said, “Thank you for informing me, Father. I shall take my leave.”

“Go.”

Meng Xingyan walked away with great haste. Watching his son depart, the Demon Lord remained pensive for a long time, looking thoughtful.

At that moment, a woman in a gentle green dress emerged from behind the curtains. She smiled and said, “I can tell Xingyan is off to cook up more ghost ideas again. You didn’t even try to guide him.”

The Demon Lord looked back and offered a rare, tender smile. He then shook his head. “He needs to suffer some losses. The end of numerology is the Great Dao; playing petty tricks ultimately achieves nothing. He must learn this truth for himself.”

Meanwhile, at the Marquis’s Manor.

Since Meng Xingyan had vanished in a streak of light without a word, the scene before the Astral Armillary Sphere had fallen into an awkward silence. After a while, a demon general arrived and led Shen Junyu and Wen Su to a secluded courtyard. He explained that the Young Marquis had business to attend to and asked them to rest there for a moment.

Once the general left, the two looked around. Seeing no one, they entered the house together. To prevent eavesdropping, they communicated via sound transmission even inside.

Wen Su picked up an exquisite white jade cup from the table, turning it in his fingers. He couldn’t help but look at Shen Junyu. “What happened just now? Was that a unique secret technique of your Yuheng Sect?”

Shen Junyu paused, then said candidly, “What if I told you I don’t know what happened either?”

Wen Su’s fingers turning the cup stopped. He looked at Shen Junyu. Meeting those clear, honest eyes, Wen Su smiled slightly. “Then we shall not speak of it.”

“Alright,” Shen Junyu smiled faintly.

Wen Su kept his word. He put down the cup and pondered for a moment before adding, “Today’s incident shows that Meng Xingyan and his father are not broad-minded people. I think if we want to seek refuge, we should look for someone else. What do you think?”

Shen Junyu was surprised. After a moment, he said, “I actually have a better candidate in mind, but currently only these two value my minor divination skills. It just so happened we met today. If we approached other great powers, we might be kicked out by demon soldiers before we even entered the gate.”

Wen Su frowned but could only agree. “True.”

Shen Junyu’s gaze swept over Wen Su’s face as he asked about Wen Su’s personal affairs for the first time. “Speaking of which, with such good cultivation techniques, do you have no friends or family in the Demon Realm to turn to?”

Wen Su fell silent for a long while before replying indifferently, “My parents are both deceased. In my youth, an adoptive brother taught me the basics of cultivation. However, he now holds a high position and is busy with affairs; I do not wish to disturb him. Combined with my solitary and lazy nature, and having often met people with ill intentions toward my techniques, I simply stopped making friends.”

After Wen Su finished, Shen Junyu fell into a slight silence. Wen Su caught a glimpse of Shen Junyu’s expression and realized his words might have been misunderstood. He was about to explain.

But in the next second, Shen Junyu gave a faint smile. Wen Su was puzzled. He then saw Shen Junyu raise his hand, prick his pale fingertip, and squeeze out a drop of blood.

“Give me your hand,” Shen Junyu said.

Wen Su’s heart stirred. Without a word, he held out his hand. Shen Junyu took it, turned it over, and began to draw a detailed pattern on Wen Su’s palm, which was marked with sword calluses.

Shen Junyu’s fingertips were delicate and his movements gentle. When Wen Su first felt the touch, his muscles trembled and instinctively tightened. Shen Junyu reached around and gripped his wrist with his slender fingers, whispering, “Don’t move.”

Wen Su stood perfectly still. To distract himself, he tried to focus on the pattern being drawn, but his mind began to wander, and he couldn’t help but look at Shen Junyu’s face. However, Shen Junyu was too calm and serious; nothing could be gleaned from his expression.

Even so, Wen Su’s gaze quietly settled on a stray lock of black hair hanging beside Shen Junyu’s fair face. Just a single strand of hair made dark, obscure light flicker in his eyes.

When Shen Junyu finished the final stroke, an intricate, complex circular array appeared on Wen Su’s palm. It glowed with spiritual light and was quite beautiful.

“It’s not done yet,” Shen Junyu said as Wen Su tried to pull away.

Before Wen Su could react, the hand that had been supporting his wrist slid up naturally, curling around his palm and interlocking their fingers.

Wen Su froze! A warm, slightly burning sensation flowed from the array, and pulses of light radiated outward. But Wen Su’s consciousness was entirely focused on their locked fingers. Shen Junyu’s fingers were long and beautiful, the knuckles slightly firm but the skin incredibly soft. They felt delicate yet possessed an indescribable resilience.

“It’s finished.”

Wen Su snapped out of his daze as Shen Junyu withdrew his hand. His brow twitched, and he nearly reached out to grab it back. Ultimately, he curled his fingers and restrained himself.

Shen Junyu then held his own palm out beside Wen Su’s. Wen Su saw that the array drawn on his palm had somehow been imprinted onto Shen Junyu’s palm as well. The two arrays glowed together.

“With this array, there is no need to exhaust spiritual energy for sound transmission,” Shen Junyu said faintly. “Within a hundred miles, as soon as you have a thought, I will know.”

Suddenly, Shen Junyu stopped speaking. As Wen Su was wondering about the purpose of the array, a voice rang in his mind.

“Wen Su.”

The voice was ethereal and gentle, like a feather brushing against him, causing a slight itch. Wen Su dazed again before instinctively replying in his mind.

“Alright,” Shen Junyu said aloud.