Queen of Ten Thousand Demons Insists on Marrying Me - Chapter 23

It was May in Yaoxia Palace, and spring was in full bloom, with everything coming back to life. As the morning light first broke, the sky was filled with a soft blue and purple hue. Gradually, a splendid ray of sunlight pierced the thin mist, and sheer, veil-like clouds spiraled around the surroundings, creating a scene like a fairyland. The air was filled with the subtle scent of flowers and the freshness of vegetation, invigorating the soul.

Lu Xiaoxiao pushed open the wooden door, faced the morning sun, and stretched languidly, accompanied by a satisfied yawn. She saw Dantai Jing walking toward her. The two chatted as they headed toward Lu Wanbai’s courtyard.

Upon reaching the entrance, they saw Wan Qingyi and Lu Wanbai walking out together. It turned out that Wan Qingyi, hearing that Lu Wanbai was going to Hong’an Prefecture, was worried and wanted to join her to look for Wan Xuan’er. Lu Wanbai couldn’t refuse and had to agree to bring her along.

Lu Xiaoxiao didn’t believe Wan Qingyi was worried about her mother. How many people in the world could defeat Wan Xuan’er? Wan Qingyi was clearly just bored of staying in Yaoxia Palace and wanted to go out and have some fun.

Lu Xiaoxiao smiled: “Wan Qingyi, do you want to have another match now?”

Wan Qingyi glared at her: “I’m not an idiot. You’re already at the Golden Core stage. How am I supposed to compete with you?”

Lu Xiaoxiao chuckled: “Then why don’t you just surrender and call me Boss?”

Wan Qingyi angrily retorted: “You wish!”

Seeing Lu Xiaoxiao provoking someone so early in the morning, Lu Wanbai quickly intervened to smooth things over, greeting everyone and preparing to depart.

Lu Xiaoxiao: “Dantai Jing, where is your previous sword? It wouldn’t be right for Dantai Jing to fly on her whip; that would be strange.”

Dantai Jing’s gaze drifted: “I think I left it in the Demon Locking Tower.”

Lu Xiaoxiao leaned in and quietly asked: “Can I carry you on the Chaoyuan Sword? Will you get hurt?”

“Not while flying on the sword.”

The four then set off for Hong’an Prefecture before the hour of Yin (寅時, 3-5 am).

While flying, Lu Xiaoxiao grabbed the sleeve of the person behind her, claiming it was to protect her from falling, but in reality, she was worried about falling herself and wanted to pull a Tribulation Stage cultivator along as a lifeline.

Hong’an Prefecture was neither particularly close nor extremely far from Yaoxia Palace. After three consecutive days of sword flight, the group finally arrived at Qingzhou City just before sunset.

Qingzhou City was the location of the Mei family, a Sect family. Unlike the secluded location of Yaoxia Palace, the Mei family was situated in a prosperous area within Qingzhou City.

In Qingzhou City, mortals and cultivators coexisted. There were ordinary shops selling daily necessities like grain, oil, cloth, and silk, as well as cultivation stalls selling spiritual elixirs, magical artifacts, and talismans.

Lu Xiaoxiao’s face was filled with excitement: “This place is great!”

Dantai Jing asked doubtfully: “What’s great about it?”

Lu Xiaoxiao: “It’s lively! It looks like there’s plenty of delicious food and fun things to do.” After saying that, she grabbed Dantai Jing’s arm and rushed into the bustling city. Since Qingzhou City had no curfew, it remained exceptionally lively even at night.

Lu Xiaoxiao stopped at a stall called Wang Family Pan-Fried Buns. She could smell the meaty aroma of the buns from afar, and up close, it was even more impressive. The surface of the buns was lightly toasted and golden, giving the impression that one bite would fill the mouth with savory juice. Luckily, Lu Xiaoxiao still had some spirit stones. She bought four from the vendor, one for each person.

Wan Qingyi, who had never left Yaoxia Palace, was just as interested in Qingzhou City as Lu Xiaoxiao. The two kindred spirits hit it off immediately and decided to visit a teahouse and eat some snacks before heading to the inn. Seeing how excited the two were, Lu Wanbai arranged to meet them at the largest inn in Qingzhou City in one hour.

Noticing Dantai Jing standing still and silent, Lu Xiaoxiao asked: “Dantai Jing, why don’t you join us? Let Elder Sister go book the rooms.”

Dantai Jing said blandly: “You two?”

Wan Qingyi: “Yes! We’ve been traveling for days. Let’s explore a bit before going back.”

Watching Wan Qingyi hook her arm through Lu Xiaoxiao’s, Dantai Jing felt inexplicably irritated.

Leaving behind only the word “Dislike,” she turned and walked toward the inn.

Seeing this, Lu Wanbai walked between Dantai Jing and Wan Qingyi, gently bumping them apart. She then instructed Lu Xiaoxiao to be sure to return at the agreed-upon time and quickly followed Dantai Jing.

Lu Wanbai: “Xiaoxiao is still young. She just likes to play and be mischievous.”

Dantai Jing’s beautiful eyes showed confusion: “Fellow Daoist Lu, why do you say that?”

Lu Wanbai gave an awkward smile: “No, no. I mean, Xiaoxiao and Wan Qingyi have nothing going on. This is only the third time they’ve met.”

Dantai Jing continued to look at her strangely: “So, Fellow Daoist Lu, what are you trying to say?”

Lu Wanbai awkwardly smiled again and said no more, honestly following Dantai Jing to find the largest inn in Qingzhou City.

Lu Xiaoxiao and Wan Qingyi bought a pile of snacks, then turned and entered a teahouse to rest their feet.

Wan Qingyi let out an “Oh?”: “Drinking tea so late at night? Are we not sleeping?”

The busy waiter nearby, who had sharp eyes, had already noticed these elegantly dressed guests: “Esteemed guests, in addition to tea, our Qingya Parlor also offers Perilla drink, iced cream, sour plum soup, and chilled rice wine.”

Wan Qingyi and Lu Xiaoxiao each ordered a Perilla drink and a rice wine.

“Alright, esteemed guests, please wait a moment. Good tea and good wine will be served shortly. By the way, you two are very lucky. Our Miss Hong Zhu will personally play a piece on the zither soon. Her zither skills are famous far and wide, guaranteed to refresh your minds and make you forget the troubles of the mundane world.”

Wan Qingyi scoffed, noncommittal.

Soon after, a pot of Perilla drink and the rice wine were steadily brought to their table.

Lu Xiaoxiao raised her cup and clinked it against Wan Qingyi’s.

A sip of the chilled rice wine went down, clear and sweet, leaving behind the mellow aroma of the wine lingering long between their lips and teeth.

The two sat for a while. The cups were nearly empty, but they hadn’t heard the sound of Miss Hong Zhu’s zither. Estimating that the time was nearly up, Lu Xiaoxiao was about to say they should head back to the inn.

Just then, they overheard the next table talking.

“Li He, why are you out wandering around so late at night instead of accompanying your wife at home?”

The man named Li He said: “It’s because my inner circle was craving the iced cream from Qingya Parlor. She insisted I come out in the middle of the night to buy it for her.”

Another person laughed loudly: “It’s good to be newly married! But, you should stay home with your wife more often these nights. Qingzhou City recently had a flower thief case. The Mei family has had a major incident and can’t spare people to investigate. A few days ago, a case occurred in the east of the city. The people inside were drugged with an anesthetic. Luckily, the master of the house came home early, knocked over a candle, and scared the thief away before he could succeed.”

The man called Li He was startled. Just then, his iced cream was ready and brought out. He didn’t even remember to reply to the other person and rushed out with the food container.

Lu Xiaoxiao and Wan Qingyi exchanged glances, both seeing the disdain in the other’s eyes. Their interest spoiled, they paid the bill, asked where the largest inn in the area was, and headed over.

As soon as they stepped inside, they saw Lu Wanbai sitting in the lobby waiting for them. Lu Xiaoxiao shared some of her snacks with Lu Wanbai. After listening to Lu Wanbai’s usual nagging, Lu Xiaoxiao went to Dantai Jing’s room and knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

“Why didn’t you even ask who it was before letting me in? You didn’t even lock the door. Aren’t you afraid of bad people coming in?” Before Dantai Jing could answer, Lu Xiaoxiao excitedly rattled off a vivid description of everything that happened in the teahouse.

Dantai Jing finished her meditation, got up to pour herself a cup of tea, and slowly said: “So, the gist is that there’s a flower thief in Qingzhou City who was discovered and failed on his very first attempt.”

Lu Xiaoxiao put the iced cream on the table and pushed it toward her: “Exactly, that’s the meaning. Don’t drink tea; try this iced cream. The other guests said it tastes pretty good.” She also held up a candied haw on a stick next to her, waiting for the other person to finish the iced cream before handing it over.

Dantai Jing’s eyes held a hint of surprise. She picked up the iced cream and took a bite: “It’s alright.” She then took the candied haw and began eating it, sweeping away the initial sourness in her eyes.

Seeing that she liked it, Lu Xiaoxiao felt an indescribable happiness. Not wanting to go back to sleep too early, she scanned Dantai Jing’s room.

“It’s cold in May. Why didn’t you close the window?” Lu Xiaoxiao walked to the bed, about to close the window securely.

Just as she leaned out, she saw a shadow dart into the adjacent room with a “thud.”

Suspicion arose in her heart. She turned to look at Dantai Jing.

Dantai Jing: “Go! Let’s take a look.”

Perhaps because she had just heard about the flower thief, Lu Xiaoxiao had a bad feeling that the shadow might be one.

She nimbly climbed out the window and slowly crept toward the window of the next room. She vaguely heard some sounds, but it was pitch dark inside, and she couldn’t see anything.

Having no choice, she imitated the actions in ancient dramas, wetting her index finger with saliva, poking a hole in the paper window, and pressing her eye against it. She blinked several times but still couldn’t see clearly.

She was about to turn and tell Dantai Jing to take a look when the door inside was kicked open. The light from the outside illuminated the room, and Lu Xiaoxiao saw clearly.

Indeed, the person who kicked the door open was Dantai Jing. Lu Xiaoxiao was hesitating whether to climb in through the window or go back and use the door when a dark figure lunged toward the window.

Lu Xiaoxiao was startled. As the window opened, she swiftly kicked the shadow back with a powerful blow and quickly squeezed through the window herself.

A man’s voice came from inside: “Who’s blocking my way?!”

What greeted him was Lu Xiaoxiao’s second kick: “Speak! What are you doing? Why did you climb in through the window in the middle of the night?”

She had seen a woman lying on the bed when she entered, seemingly unconscious from an anesthetic.

The man was short and ugly, and even one glance at him made Lu Xiaoxiao feel nauseous.

Perhaps because she had drunk rice wine at night, she felt even more disgusted. She immediately walked to the table, sat down, picked up a clean cup, and drank a mouthful of cold tea.

Dantai Jing said urgently: “Don’t…”

Lu Xiaoxiao was preparing to interrogate this depraved flower thief thoroughly. Hearing Dantai Jing speak, she turned her head and asked: “Don’t what?”

The flower thief spoke first, laughing: “Haha, she was telling you not to drink! The aphrodisiac I prepared for that little girl, you got to try first. I see you have no man with you, why don’t you join me and…”

Dantai Jing’s whip lashed out. The flower thief didn’t even have time to finish his sentence before his soul was scattered and he was instantly burned to ashes. It was clear that Dantai Jing had used her full cultivation.

Lu Xiaoxiao was also terrified, not because of the flower thief, but because of that damn aphrodisiac!

She immediately grabbed a wooden bucket, found a corner, and started forcing herself to vomit. She threw up almost everything she had eaten that night until nothing more came out, and she was too exhausted to stand.

Dizzy and eyes glazed over, she was carried back to her room by Dantai Jing to rinse her mouth.

She thought she was fast enough that the medicinal effects wouldn’t take hold, but soon after she sat down, she felt a ball of fire rising in her lower abdomen. Her whole body was burning up, making her want to tear off her clothes.

Remembering the function of that stuff, she desperately clung to her clothes and looked blankly at Dantai Jing: “What should I do? Do you have a Gu worm for this kind of thing, or an antidote?”

Dantai Jing’s expression was strange: “No, I truly don’t have that.”