Queen of Ten Thousand Demons Insists on Marrying Me - Chapter 22

The next morning, Lu Xiaoxiao was still sound asleep when Dantai Jing woke her. She sat up and asked sleepily what was wrong, only to be told that it was the hour of Mao (卯時, 5-7 am) and time to get up and cultivate.

“The hour of Mao? Isn’t that just six o’clock?” Saying that, she flopped backward, sinking back into the warm covers.

Before she could fall asleep again, Dantai Jing grabbed her by the ear and dragged her out of the covers.

“Ow, ow, ow! Pain, pain, pain! I’m getting up right now.”

Dantai Jing stood before her with her arms crossed: “We only have thirty days left until we must leave. Since you just formed your core, the abundant spiritual energy here is perfect for solidifying your cultivation.”

Lu Xiaoxiao rubbed her ear and tilted her head, asking, “Didn’t we just get in four days ago?”

Dantai Jing: “You were unconscious for over ten days.”

Lu Xiaoxiao hadn’t realized she had been unconscious for so many days. Did that mean Dantai Jing had taken care of her all that time? Thinking this, she felt a little embarrassed. So, she diligently folded her bedding and went out to make breakfast. This time, the cooking went smoothly; after all, she had a master guiding her, and the resulting food was not unpalatable.

Lu Xiaoxiao carried the finished meal to the table, pinching her ears because the plates were hot, and asked expectantly: “Hurry and try it. How does it taste?”

Lu Xiaoxiao fed a mouthful of the dish to Dantai Jing. Dantai Jing tasted it but remained silent.

Seeing her acting coy and refusing to speak, Lu Xiaoxiao grew anxious and quickly tried a bite herself.

Dantai Jing then let out a soft laugh: “It’s not bad. You are teachable.”

Lu Xiaoxiao felt relieved. Although it couldn’t compare to Dantai Jing’s cooking, at least it wasn’t unpalatable and was edible, thanks to Dantai Jing guiding her step-by-step.

“Didn’t you say yesterday that the more capable person does the work, and you wouldn’t learn how to cook?”

Lu Xiaoxiao held a chopstick with food in one hand and a bowl in the other, feeding Dantai Jing, and said: “I have no choice. I can’t let a patient like you do it. I didn’t expect the Chaoyuan Sword to hurt you so badly. You must never use it again.”

Since she could remember, no one had ever fed her. Two hundred years had passed, yet here was someone treating her like a child again.

Dantai Jing watched as the person naturally fed her. She hadn’t noticed it just a moment ago, but now her face was heating up. She wanted to say that she had already reached Bigu (辟谷, the stage where one can survive without eating) and didn’t need food, but seeing her expectant look, she couldn’t bring herself to say it.

She gently parted her red lips to take a bite of the eggplant, then said, “You should eat more yourself. I’m actually not very hungry.”

Lu Xiaoxiao shook her head and stubbornly insisted: “That won’t do! I already said I’d nourish your body; you’re the one who needs to eat more. You demons must have a bigger appetite than humans. You eat plenty, and I’ll eat after you’ve finished.”

Dantai Jing’s ears instantly flushed three shades redder. However, this time, it wasn’t necessarily due to shyness; it was quite possibly anger.

She silently cursed the girl as an idiot, yet still let her feed her the entire bowl of rice.

The following days passed quickly. Every day, she cooked three meals for the beauty and fed her three meals. During the day, Dantai Jing guided her in practicing her swordplay, and at night, she meditated until the hour of Zi (子時, 11 pm-1 am). Lu Xiaoxiao made rapid progress, earning continuous praise even from Dantai Jing.

Soon, the forty-ninth day since entering arrived. Lu Xiaoxiao tidied the room, and the two walked into the courtyard, waiting to be teleported out of the Demon Locking Tower.

Lu Xiaoxiao looked at Dantai Jing, who was once again wearing the stealth pearl and had restored her black hair, and felt a slight sense of unfamiliarity.

Lu Xiaoxiao: “We’re going back. I actually feel a little reluctant.”

Dantai Jing turned to look at the wooden house. These past days had arguably been her most relaxed and happy time. She didn’t have to worry about how to rescue her godmother, and Lu Xiaoxiao took meticulous care of her every day.

“Yes,” she said. If only we could keep going like this, that would be nice.

A small teleportation formation pattern appeared beneath their feet. In the blink of an eye, the two figures on the formation vanished.

The wooden house was left behind, looking as if no one had ever visited it.

As soon as Lu Xiaoxiao stood firm, she heard Lu Wanbai’s voice.

“Xiaoxiao, you’ve finally come out!” Then, turning to Dantai Jing, she said, “Miss Dantai, I hope you have been well these past days?”

Having not seen Lu Wanbai for so long, Lu Xiaoxiao missed her greatly and stepped forward to give her a big hug.

Dantai Jing, whose eyes held an ambiguous meaning, tugged on Lu Xiaoxiao’s waist sash, separating the two: “Why isn’t Palace Mistress Wan here? Are you alone?”

Lu Xiaoxiao staggered as Dantai Jing pulled her, and then she also asked, “Yes, yes, where is Aunt Wan? And why didn’t that old man from the Mei family come to supervise us?”

Lu Wanbai frowned slightly: “The situation is a bit complicated. Let’s go back and talk about it slowly.”

The two exchanged a look and followed Lu Wanbai back to her courtyard. As they neared the entrance, Lu Xiaoxiao made an excuse to stop outside the door.

Watching the two enter the room, she quickly turned and ran toward Dantai Jing’s room. Once inside, she went straight for the cabinet to look for the antidote.

While they were in the Demon Locking Tower, Dantai Jing had told her that she had left three antidotes that would last three months. Lu Xiaoxiao had come to verify this claim. She had a nagging suspicion that she had been tricked by Dantai Jing into entering the fourth layer to help her kill Yan Sihong.

A quarter of an hour later, Lu Xiaoxiao left the courtyard, crestfallen. Sure enough, she hadn’t found anything.

I was really fooled by Dantai Jing’s self-sacrificing scheme! I really don’t know which words from this demoness are true and which are lies?!

“Lu Xiaoxiao, you…” Unexpectedly, Dantai Jing was standing in front of her. She probably knew Lu Xiaoxiao would come looking and had come to cover up her lies.

“Hmph! Liar!”

Seeing the person walk straight away, Dantai Jing sighed and followed her.

Lu Wanbai looked at the exasperated Lu Xiaoxiao returning and Dantai Jing, who had suddenly left to find her. She then recalled Dantai Jing’s downcast, displeased expression when she returned, and she mused inwardly: The little couple seemed fine when they first left the Demon Locking Tower, but why are they fighting so soon after leaving?

Lu Wanbai glanced back and forth twice, then turned to Lu Xiaoxiao and said, “Xiaoxiao, you are an adult now. You can’t keep throwing petty tantrums.”

Lu Xiaoxiao, who was enraged, was about to argue, but then she heard Dantai Jing say next to her: “It’s not Xiaoxiao’s fault. It’s all because of me.”

Still acting! Still acting! She acts as soon as she’s in front of Lu Wanbai! It was clearly your fault! If you say that, no one will actually think it’s your fault!

Lu Xiaoxiao suppressed her anger and said: “Elder Sister, please hurry up and tell us what the important matter is that required us to come here. If it’s nothing, I’m going back to rest.”

Lu Wanbai saw that the two wouldn’t reconcile anytime soon and sighed: “This matter is very strange. Shortly after you two entered the Demon Locking Tower, Mei Ce was murdered after returning to Hong’an Prefecture. Palace Mistress Wan received the news and rushed to Hong’an Prefecture overnight. It’s been half a month now.”

“That’s too sudden. How did Mei Ce die? Will people not spread rumors that it was the Yaoxia Palace?” Lu Xiaoxiao worried.

“You said it. Palace Mistress Wan went to resolve exactly that. But most importantly, news came from Hong’an Prefecture yesterday saying that someone saw… Master…”

Lu Xiaoxiao was momentarily stunned before remembering who Lu Wanbai meant by “Master.”

Speaking of her Master, Lu Wanbai’s nose twitched, and her eyes glistened with tears. Tearfully, she said, “I personally witnessed how her elderly body passed away. I’ve always been afraid to tell you, fearing you’d impulsively seek revenge. In truth, Master was betrayed by Elder Li Huan of the Xuantian Sword Sect and died under the siege of the demon generals. But now I’m not so sure. I… I want to go to Hong’an Prefecture to see.”

Lu Xiaoxiao opened her mouth, unsure what to say. Finally, she took out the Chaoyuan Sword and said with firm resolve: “Elder Sister, the Chaoyuan Sword is back. I think you are more suited to guard it than I am.”

Lu Wanbai held the Chaoyuan Sword and gently stroked it, tears streaming down her face. This was the only belonging her Master left behind, and the main pillar of the Xuantian Sword Sect.

She wiped the moisture from her eyes and handed it back to Lu Xiaoxiao: “This was given to you by Master. You are the sole owner of the Chaoyuan Sword, and I will guard it with you.”

Hearing Lu Wanbai’s reply, Lu Xiaoxiao fell silent.

After a long time, Lu Wanbai composed herself and asked, “How did you get the Chaoyuan Sword back?”

Dantai Jing opened her mouth to speak.

Lu Xiaoxiao quickly said: “Dantai Jing helped me find it. It’s just that she thought I didn’t value it at the time, so she wanted to teach me a lesson. She only gave it back to me when we entered the Demon Locking Tower, fearing I might encounter danger.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Wanbai immediately stood up, bowed to Dantai Jing, and offered solemn thanks.

Dantai Jing felt undeserving of the gratitude, so she decisively joined the two, deciding to leave for Hong’an Prefecture early the next morning.

Afterward, Lu Xiaoxiao described in detail all her experiences in the Demon Locking Tower to Lu Wanbai. Lu Wanbai was stunned by the account. When she learned that both of them had broken through to the Golden Core stage inside, she was overjoyed and shared her own good news that she, too, had broken through to the Golden Core stage during this period.

After leaving Lu Wanbai’s courtyard, Lu Xiaoxiao didn’t even want to look at Dantai Jing.

This woman…

…is simply a cunning liar who manipulated me completely.

Dantai Jing felt inexplicably irritated. Did this person even remember that she was under a hex, yet she still dared to give her attitude?

Dantai Jing said urgently: “Lu Xiaoxiao! I saved your life!”

The other person still ignored her, only replying faintly: “I risked my life to save you too.”

Dantai Jing then said: “Don’t forget you’re under my hex!”

Lu Xiaoxiao didn’t stop walking: “Then kill me.”

Dantai Jing clenched her hands: “Lu Xiaoxiao! My hands hurt so much. You haven’t changed my dressing today.”

Lu Xiaoxiao paused, stopped walking, and waited for the person behind her to catch up before heading together to Dantai Jing’s courtyard.

Dantai Jing sat on the bed and extended both hands to Lu Xiaoxiao, who was sitting on the footstool. Lu Xiaoxiao took one hand and carefully peeled back the gauze. No matter how many times she changed the dressing for this person, the wound still looked shocking.

The pain must have been excruciating since the heart is connected to the ten fingers. Fortunately, it had almost healed and would be completely better in a couple of days.

Dantai Jing sat there, watching Lu Xiaoxiao gently apply medicine to her hand, a smile unconsciously forming on her lips.

“If you hadn’t been in the Monster Beast Mountain Range back then, I would have thought you were a demon spy in the Xuantian Sword Sect, too.”

Lu Xiaoxiao picked up the other hand and continued to apply medicine: “What you should be saying right now is, ‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have lied to you.'”

The smile on Dantai Jing’s face deepened: “I’ll give you a gift.”

Hearing this, Lu Xiaoxiao raised an eyebrow, showing some interest, but still asked casually: “What is it? If it’s not valuable, I don’t want it.”

“It should be very valuable. It can drive away demons. After this, ordinary minor demons will be too afraid to move when they see you.”

The person below couldn’t hide the upward curve of her lips but maintained a serious expression: “That magical?”

“Yes, it’s a demon fang that fell off a demon beast with divine lineage.” As she spoke, she inexplicably blushed a little.

Lu Xiaoxiao looked up and asked doubtfully: “Why are you blushing? Are you lying again?”

“I don’t blush when I lie! …Can I give it to you in two days?”

Lu Xiaoxiao looked at Dantai Jing’s bright red earlobes: “Well then, I’ll tentatively forgive you…” Since this person was thin-skinned and stubbornly refused to admit she was wrong, and considering she was injured, it was only generous of her to forgive her for now.