Pregnant with the Empress’s Alpha Heir - Chapter 17

Waking up for the third time in this dream, Yu Zhitao was much calmer now.

She glanced to the side and saw the demon girl quietly sitting there, sharpening arrowheads with a dagger.

The visor covering most of her face still obscured her features and expression.

Noticing Yu Zhitao was awake, the girl tossed the dagger over.

“Here, take it back.”

Only then did Yu Zhitao realize, this was the very dagger Xiao Wu’s mother had given her to plunge into the demon’s heart.

Instinctively, she said, “This dagger isn’t mine.”

The demon wasn’t surprised at all.

She stood up and began organizing her weapons. “I know.”

Yu Zhitao licked her dry lips, feeling a little embarrassed. After all, her original intention to kill the demon seemed to have been seen through completely.

But now, she was burning with curiosity.

“Did I pass out just now?” She studied the demon girl. “Why… didn’t you take the chance to kill me?”

The demon turned her head.

Though her expression remained hidden, Yu Zhitao could practically feel her bewilderment and exasperation.

“Why would I kill you?”

Yu Zhitao burst out laughing.

The demon’s tone turned annoyed. “What’s so funny?”

Yu Zhitao replied, “I was just thinking, you’re pretty great like this.

“Tell me, when you grow up, will you turn into one of those people who never show emotion, with not a single expression on their face?”

Just like the big sweetheart she was raising at home.

The demon girl stomped her foot. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Sorry, got sidetracked.” Yu Zhitao grinned, admitting her mistake before asking, “So, what are you planning to do now? Wait no, I think I remember. You wanted me to come with you to fix some kind of… protective barrier, right?

“And you said if I succeeded, you’d grant me one request.”

The demon paused, correcting her. “Not grant a request. I said you could kill me.”

Yu Zhitao hastily waved her hands. “No, no, I won’t kill you.”

The demon girl glanced at the dagger still clutched in her hand. “Changed your mind?”

Yu Zhitao quickly hid the dagger behind her back. “Ahem, yeah.”

The demon thought for a moment. “Then what do you want?”

Yu Zhitao ventured carefully, “If I fulfill your request, could you let me see your face?”

Last time, she’d managed to lift the girl’s visor mostly by catching her off guard. Now that they were keeping their distance, Yu Zhitao was certain she’d never get another chance.

Unfortunately, she’d woken up the moment the visor came off, making it impossible to tell whether the face beneath belonged to the girl’s true form or to Ah Jiu, the one who called her awake in reality.

But now, a growing suspicion nagged at her. She had to see the girl’s face to confirm her hunch.

Hearing this request, the demon froze.

After a long silence, she resumed loading arrows into her quiver and muttered coldly, “How boring.”

Yu Zhitao wasn’t offended in the slightest. If anything, her smile deepened.

The girl’s reaction made her seem even more like Ah Jiu.

“So, is that a yes?” Seizing the opportunity, Yu Zhitao stepped closer, reaching out tentatively.

But the next second, the demon girl caught her wrist.

Leaning back to avoid her prying, the demon said, “After we set up the power device, then I’ll show you.”

Yu Zhitao reluctantly withdrew her hand and sighed. “Fine.”

Soon, the demon girl finished packing, and the two set off side by side toward the outskirts of the palace.

The journey was somewhat dull, and the demon girl clearly wasn’t the type to initiate conversation, so the task of keeping the conversation going fell to Yu Zhitao.

Coincidentally, she had questions in mind, so she began chattering away.

“Speaking of which, do you know that mother and daughter in the castle?” She looked at the demon girl’s back. “You all seem quite familiar with each other.”

Familiar enough that the mother and daughter in the castle clearly knew the method to destroy demons.

The demon girl didn’t respond.

Yu Zhitao pressed on: “The protective barrier we’re going to repair now must be an important measure to safeguard the palace. You don’t seem like an enemy of the palace at all, so why do Xiao Wu and her mother hate you so much?”

The demon girl quickened her pace.

Yu Zhitao jogged to keep up: “You couldn’t even bring yourself to harm a stranger like me you’re definitely not a demon. Why don’t you tell me what’s going on? Maybe I can act as a mediator and clear up the misunderstanding between you and the palace’s owner!”

The demon girl stopped in her tracks.

She turned to face Yu Zhitao: “Be quiet.”

Yu Zhitao pouted. “But isn’t it boring if we don’t talk?”

“…” The demon girl fell silent for a moment. “Talking will wake the beasts.”

Yu Zhitao gasped and covered her mouth.

In a whisper only the two of them could hear, she asked, “Really?”

The girl nodded.

Just as Yu Zhitao was doubting her, rustling came from the grass in the distance. The next moment, a lizard-like beast over a meter long crawled toward them, drawn by the sound.

Before Yu Zhitao could even feel fear, the demon girl had already nocked an arrow and effortlessly shot it dead.

Yu Zhitao’s heart settled back into place.

For the rest of the journey, she kept her mouth tightly shut, not daring to speak again.

After what felt like an eternity, the demon finally stopped.

She pointed to a clearing surrounded by trees and said softly, “It’s there.”

Yu Zhitao craned her neck and saw what looked like a pedestal in the center of the clearing. There was a depression on it, perfectly sized for the power device in the girl’s hand.

“Then let’s hurry over!” Yu Zhitao said excitedly.

But things clearly weren’t as simple as she thought.

The demon shook her head.

She took out the power device from her pocket and placed it in Yu Zhitao’s hand. Then, under Yu Zhitao’s puzzled gaze, she said, “There are many beasts hidden around here. I’ll go first and lure them away. Once they’re gone, you go and place the power device.”

Yu Zhitao’s mouth fell open.

Now she understood why the demon had sought her help, it seemed this task truly couldn’t be done alone.

Swallowing hard, Yu Zhitao asked the crucial question: “Won’t it be dangerous for you to lure them away…?”

The demon gave her a long look.

“Don’t worry about me. Just do your part.”

Without another word, she dashed off.

Yu Zhitao couldn’t stop her in time and could only sulk where she hid. “That temper really does remind me of Ah Jiu.”

But she soon had no time to dwell on her frustration.

The demon girl had made it sound easy, and Yu Zhitao hadn’t taken it seriously. But when the girl reached the edge of the clearing, the beasts that surged up nearly blotted out the sky. Only then did Yu Zhitao realize just how dangerous this mission was.

Though the girl was agile and armed with arrows capable of killing the beasts, their sheer numbers overwhelmed her. The “beast swarm tactic” proved effective even this demonic maiden found herself at a disadvantage.

In just five seconds of being surrounded, several bloody wounds appeared on her body.

Yu Zhitao’s scalp prickled with fear.

But fortunately, she remembered her duty.

Had this been reality, she couldn’t say for sure whether fear would have made her turn and flee.

But this was her dream. At worst, it would turn from a pleasant dream into a nightmare, Yu Zhitao refused to cower.

Seizing the opportunity, she found an opening while the beasts focused on the demon girl and dashed into the clearing.

The wind seemed to aid her, making her steps light, and she soon reached the platform.

Just as she was about to place the power device on it, a massive bear towering twice her height suddenly lunged from behind the platform.

She hadn’t noticed it earlier, mistaking it for a large boulder.

As the bear’s paw came crashing down toward her head, Yu Zhitao had no time to dodge.

Her final thought flashed through her mind: “It’s over. The good dream really has turned into a nightmare.”

But in the next instant, the demon girl, who had already drawn most of the beasts away reappeared before her.

At the critical moment, she took the blow meant for Yu Zhitao, rolled across the ground, and fired an arrow at the bear.

But the usual one-shot kill rule didn’t apply here.

The arrow only pierced shallowly into the bear’s chest. With a furious roar, its aggression didn’t wane if anything, it grew even more enraged.

The demon girl had drawn its attention. The bear no longer cared about Yu Zhitao and charged at her instead.

Seeing the demon girl in danger, Yu Zhitao acted without hesitation.

She had no special abilities, so she could only throw herself at the bear’s leg, clinging to it and dragging backward with all her might.

The demon girl frowned. “Get out of here!”

Yu Zhitao ignored her tone. “No, you run!”

Gasping for breath, she added, “It’s fine, I won’t get hurt. At worst, I’ll just wake up. You go first!”

The demon girl had no time to argue. She fired several arrows while putting distance between herself and the bear.

The beast’s aggression shifted again. It lowered its head, intent on dealing with Yu Zhitao first, the one restricting its movement.

Seeing this, the demon girl redirected her attacks to its paws. Though the bear felt pain, it ignored it, stubbornly determined to crush Yu Zhitao.

Yu Zhitao squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the inevitable awakening.

But after several seconds… nothing happened.

She blinked open her eyes in confusion only to realize that while the bear’s paw had indeed struck her, she felt no pain at all!

“Right… This is my dream. I can’t get hurt!”

The moment this realization struck, all fear vanished.

She called out to the demon girl, “I’m letting go, get back!”

Then she released the bear’s leg and scrambled to retrieve the power device she had dropped earlier.

Before the bear could react, Yu Zhitao sprinted to the platform and placed the device on it.

Wiping cold sweat from her forehead, she exhaled in relief.

Just as she wondered whether the device had worked, a transparent barrier of light rose from the ground about three meters away.

Then, the monsters that had been howling within the light barrier began meeting their demise one after another, completely melting into thin air.

Everything happened too quickly. By the time Yu Zhitao realized it, only she and the demon girl remained in the surroundings.

She excitedly ran to the girl’s side: “We did it!!!”

The demon girl supported her arm and responded with a faint “Mm.”

Yu Zhitao quickly steadied her: “…You’re hurt. Are you okay?”

The demon girl gritted her teeth, but her words were infuriating.

“Won’t die,” she said.

Yu Zhitao felt a little frustrated.

“When did you even develop this habit?” She didn’t expect an answer, it was just a complaint.

The demon girl stared blankly at her.

The next second, her body went limp, collapsing entirely into Yu Zhitao’s arms.

Yu Zhitao fumbled to catch her.

Only then did she realize the demon had been forcing herself to hold on. Panicked, she stammered, “Y-you, what’s wrong? Don’t scare me like this!”

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