My Demon Lord Junior Sister Is Pretending to Be Good to Seduce Me - Chapter 27

Unexpected Turns in Qingzhou

Li Shuangxing quickly helped the person up, then looked at Lin Yumo with a frown.

Cultivators were forbidden from interfering in mortal affairs. He had only used the identity of a Brocade Guard to eliminate demons out of necessity. How could they involve themselves in government matters?

Lin Yumo stepped forward, pulling the basket of fruit closer to herself. “Big Brother, don’t worry, we will definitely resolve this matter for you properly.”

She waved her hand. “Here’s what we’ll do: please go back first and wait for our good news.”

“Thank you, thank you, you divine beings!”

Li Shuangxing looked at the fruit basket in Lin Yumo’s hand, feeling a bit sour.

Lin Yumo picked up an apple, wiped it on her sleeve, took a bite, and said, “We’ve already accepted the gift, so we have to handle the matter.”

Standing by, Mu Xuewei was secretly smiling.

Her Senior Sister was indeed soft-hearted.

“What do you plan to do?” Li Shuangxing leaned back, clasped his hands behind his head, and rocked the chair back and forth, looking exhausted.

“We’ll see as we go,” Lin Yumo tossed the apple casually and caught it, taking another bite before strolling leisurely downstairs.

The Tale of the Phoenix and the Mystic Bird

Qingzhou was getting colder, chilly in the mornings and evenings, only warming up slightly by noon.

A dense crowd surrounded the intersection, blocking the road completely.

Lin Yumo paused, eager to join the excitement. She turned to Mu Xuewei, seeking her opinion. “Want to… take a look?”

“Mm.” Mu Xuewei nodded, giving a sweet smile.

Lin Yumo took her hand, shielding her as she maneuvered through the crowd. “Excuse me, sorry, please let us through. Thank you, thank you.”

“Legend has it—in the ancient past—fierce beasts rampaged. It is said that a Phoenix descended upon the path of the Underworld, wielding the Azure Firmament Sword and stepping on Glazed Fire. Her power was formidable; wherever she went, there was slaughter, and rivers of blood flowed—!” (Quote from the author’s completed novel, Subduing the Demon)

The old storyteller shook his folding fan, slamming it down on the table with a ‘Pa!’ He continued, “Upon the divine platform of the God Realm, a Mystic Bird Sovereign Lord was born, and with one Crescent Moon Blade, she swept away evil—”

“She slaughtered the Phoenix Demon God, leaving her utterly powerless to fight back—”

Lin Yumo struggled through the ‘hardships’ to reach the front, only to hear the end of the story. She had thought it was a new storybook, but it turned out to be the same old cliché of demon slaying and the triumph of the righteous path.

She sighed, her excitement to join the fun completely gone, about to turn away disappointed.

“What nonsense are you spouting now!” A woman emerged from behind the screen behind the old storyteller. Dressed in red, her ink-dark hair flowed down to her waist. She casually smoothed it a couple of times, tied it into a bun on top of her head, and secured it with a wooden hairpin.

She walked up to the old storyteller and pulled his arm. “Sir, what you’re telling is just unofficial history. The biggest taboo for a storyteller is making up stories; this is no different from spreading rumors.”

The old storyteller, who was just getting into his stride, was annoyed by her interruption. “You wretched girl, you tell the story then! I’d like to hear what the ‘official history’ is!”

Lin Yumo stopped, hugging her Kunwu sword, intending to hear what the girl had to say.

The woman took a sip of water to clear her throat, picked up the gavel from the table, and announced, “If you ask me, the Nine Heavens Mystic Bird didn’t go to slay the Phoenix at all, but rather to…”

Her eyes darted around. “She went to meet the Phoenix!”

“The Phoenix traveled throughout the Three Realms, and the Mystic Bird developed a deep affection for her…”

“The Phoenix alights on the Wutong, the Mystic Bird descends with divine light. This is a blessing from the Heavens, a perfectly matched—happy union—!”

The gavel struck, ending the story with two women finding happiness together.

Lin Yumo couldn’t help but curve her lips, finding it interesting. So, two women could also be together.

It seemed that even in the ancient past, there had been ‘mirror love’ (a historical term for lesbian love in China).

Her gaze fell upon Mu Xuewei in front of her. The playful look in her eyes instantly turned a little wistful.

What about Mu Xuewei? Would she be willing to love a girl?

Could she also be like the girls in the story, loving another girl?

Lin Yumo thought that even if the girl Mu Xuewei liked wasn’t her… it would still be okay.

The Embroidered Ball and the Bet

Before Lin Yumo could sink into her melancholy, the storyteller woman suddenly stood up and walked toward Lin Yumo. “Miss, let me tell you, our shop has an embroidered ball toss event today. If you catch it, you’ll win a serving of our shop’s crispy candy.”

“Our crispy candy is unique to Qingzhou, and today’s candy is a non-sellable exclusive!”

Catch… catch the embroidered ball?

That wouldn’t be good.

Even if Lin Yumo hadn’t ‘eaten pork, she’d seen pigs run’ (an idiom for having secondhand knowledge). In the local area, wasn’t catching the embroidered ball a sign of an engagement or marriage?

That was a huge deal.

She opened her mouth, about to voice a refusal. Then the woman leaned in, whispering in Lin Yumo’s ear—in a voice that seemed quiet but was clearly audible to everyone around—and said, “The person who tosses the embroidered ball is chosen by the lady herself.”

I…

Lin Yumo’s gaze landed on Mu Xuewei, meeting her bright, light-colored eyes. She instantly dropped her gaze, avoiding the collision of their eyes.

“Playing a role, Senior Sister? Are you afraid or guilty?” Mu Xuewei’s voice was light, yet every word carried weight.

Who? Who is guilty?

It’s just for a bag of crispy candy, isn’t it?

I’ll do it!

Lin Yumo secretly finished finding all her excuses. She said, “I’m doing it for the prize, not to take advantage of you, understand…”

“Don’t… don’t misunderstand.”

She was truly proclaiming her guilt where none was needed.

Mu Xuewei chuckled lightly. “Mm, I won’t misunderstand, Senior Sister.”

She spoke obediently, but the underlying meaning was clear to everyone except Lin Yumo.

The woman in red led Mu Xuewei inside and pointed her toward the changing room for the wedding attire.

She walked in a different direction alone, touching her jawline as she walked, running her hand from her jaw down to behind her ear. With a forceful tug, a human skin mask was torn from Shen Zhuli’s face, revealing her mesmerizing eyes.

Shen Zhuli held the entire mask, sighing, “Mu Xuewei, you must remember to help out your Sister Shen too.”

Confrontation in the Hall

Inside the large hall, Shen Zhuli, dressed in red and carrying a jade-colored sword, sat in the main seat.

Her lips were curved, but her eyes were filled with coldness. She smiled warmly at everyone, yet it made people uneasy, unable to guess her true intentions.

“Three years. Do you all still remember me?” Shen Zhuli’s crossed legs were hidden beneath her red skirt. She picked up a teacup nearby and skimmed the foam from the surface.

The hall was full of people, and one of the five individuals at the head spoke up, “Miss Shen is famous in Qingzhou; who doesn’t know her?”

“To go from a failed salt merchant to one of Qingzhou’s top three magnates shows that Miss Shen’s talent is truly extraordinary.”

Shen Zhuli lightly blew on the tea surface and took a sip. She let out a sneering laugh but didn’t speak.

She understood his meaning. He was subtly criticizing her. Going from a failed salt merchant to a magnate essentially meant she was lucky and became an upstart.

After that person spoke, someone immediately chimed in, “Miss Shen, three years is neither long nor short. Time has passed… and things are not what they used to be, are they?”

Shen Zhuli raised an eyebrow, glanced over, then withdrew her gaze and continued to stare at the tea.

“Miss Shen, three years have passed, and Qingzhou is no longer the Qingzhou of three years ago. Therefore… the person who should be sitting in the main hall today… might not be Miss Shen, perhaps…”

After he finished, the hall fell silent. The people who were sitting all stood up and began to surround Shen Zhuli.

Shen Zhuli tossed the teacup cover down. The tea splashed onto her hand, and she shook it off, looking disgusted.

She stood up, walking step by step down from the high platform, and smiled, “You can decide who should sit, but…”

She pulled out a scroll from her sleeve, tied with a red string. The yellowing paper was slightly wrinkled.

She tore off the red string and slowly unfurled the stack of papers. “Xu Yanzhi of Qingzhou’s Shujian Silk Shop owes two hundred liang of gold.”

“Luo Meng of Qingzhou’s Yaoyue Tower owes thirty million liang of silver.”

“Yu Shenyan of Qingzhou’s Yu Family Tavern owes…”

“Miss Shen!” Yu Shenyan called out, interrupting her from reading further.

He took a puff of his pipe and blew out smoke, putting on a condescending, world-weary air. He then said, “Miss Shen, I, Old Yu, will be straight with you, offering some advice. Right now in Qingzhou, we don’t have the money. If you want our lives… take them!”

He sat cross-legged on the floor, took two more drags on his pipe, looking like he had no money and daring her to do something about it.

Shen Zhuli felt a headache coming on. However, her main intention was never just the debt collection; she had merely wanted to use the ‘rent collection’ as an excuse to meet Magistrate Yin of the government office.

Now, it looked like this debt collection trip might only be resolved by taking it to the civilian yamen, which would be terrible.

Shen Zhuli reined in her urge to laugh and randomly pointed at a person. “Then tell me, what should I do?”

Her red attire exuded a fierce and domineering aura, somewhat reminiscent of Wei Qingyi’s style.

Sunlight fell on her face, highlighting her slightly enchanting features with a cold, stunning beauty.

The Look in Her Eyes

Up on the pavilion in Qingzhou, Mu Xuewei stood wearing a red garment.

Lin Yumo looked up at her, her gaze as gentle as if she were looking at the moon.

Beautiful.

She looked so beautiful in those red clothes, but that ordinary red wedding attire was still too plain. If… if she were to marry her, it would definitely be with an eight-bearer sedan chair, a ten-mile-long procession of red dowry, and she wouldn’t lack a single thing, including the phoenix coronet and robes of rank.

Lin Yumo thought this, but in an instant, she let go of the idea.

She was a woman, and so was Mu Xuewei.

Furthermore, there was a difference between immortals and demons; how could she marry her?

She only hoped that in this second life, Mu Xuewei would not fall to demonhood, and Mount Xuanling would not suffer. That alone would be enough.

Mu Xuewei looked down at the crowd, tightly clutching the embroidered ball in her hand.

Her silver-colored long eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings, momentarily bypassing her obsession.

She lowered her eyes, but saw no one but her Senior Sister; however, her Senior Sister was not looking at her, and her thoughts were not on her.

A gust of wind passed, and she let go of the embroidered ball, letting it fall freely with the wind.

Beneath her eyelashes, a flicker of suppression and obsession crossed her grey pupils.

This expression had not appeared on her face for a long time. The last time it appeared was on Silent Snow Peak, when Lin Yumo was imprisoned.

The red embroidered ball swayed as it fell. Before Lin Yumo could react, the ball was snatched by someone else and held tightly.

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