Queen of Ten Thousand Demons Insists on Marrying Me - Chapter 31

After a long silence…

“Where am I sleeping tonight…”

Dantai Jing’s eyes flickered slightly: “I used to live here alone. There are rooms on both sides, but they probably haven’t been cleaned. Why don’t you squeeze in with me?”

“I don’t think that’s appropriate,” Lu Xiaoxiao suddenly became shy.

“Then I’ll find someone to clean a room for you. Wait a moment.”

“It’s alright, it’s too late to disturb anyone. Let’s make do tonight, and we can talk about it tomorrow,” Lu Xiaoxiao quickly added.

“Mm… alright then.”

Inside the bed-chamber, the candlelight was soft and warm. The mottled moonlight filtered through the exquisite window lattice, spilling onto the floor covered with a thick rug. The indoor furnishings were simple yet luxurious: a carved canopy bed, a jeweled screen… various antique furniture, delicate porcelain, and neatly arranged books, all showcasing the owner’s taste.

Lu Xiaoxiao lay beside Dantai Jing, staring intently at the ceiling of the bed. She felt unprecedentedly self-conscious, even hesitating for a long time before turning over for fear of disturbing the person next to her.

One moment she felt thirsty, the next she felt hot. Then she wanted to turn her head to see if the person beside her was asleep, and if she was feeling as nervous as she was.

Unable to bear it any longer, Lu Xiaoxiao gathered her courage, turned her head, and broke the awkward silence: “Dantai Jing, can you tell me about your childhood?”

Dantai Jing turned onto her side, resting her head on her stacked hands.

“Of course, what do you want to hear?”

Lu Xiaoxiao was about to say anything, when she heard a knock on the door from outside.

“Knock, knock, knock…”

Luo Mu called out from outside the door: “Little Jing’er, are you asleep? I have something I need to talk to you about.”

Dantai Jing gave Lu Xiaoxiao an apologetic look, got up, put on her clothes, and called out: “Not yet, wait for me a moment.”

“It’s so late, can’t it wait until tomorrow?” Lu Xiaoxiao sat up and complained with dissatisfaction.

“We haven’t seen each other for a long time. It might be something important. You sleep first, you don’t need to wait for me to return,” she said, then turned and left the room.

With a creak, the bed-chamber door closed, and the sound of footsteps gradually faded away. Lu Xiaoxiao felt as if her heart had gone out with her.

When the person was here, she felt so restless that she couldn’t sleep at all, yet after she left, she felt utterly empty.

They are childhood sweethearts; their relationship must be very good. They haven’t seen each other in so many years, so they must have a lot to talk about. What’s the point of spending time with me, an outsider she’s only known for a few months?

Lu Xiaoxiao angrily punched the pillow twice, then turned and lay down.

After leaving the room, Dantai Jing was led by Luo Mu into the Seven Kills Hall.

“Little Jing’er, honestly, Yaoxia Palace is too dangerous. You’ve infiltrated it as a demon. If… I mean if you were discovered someday and locked in the Demon Locking Tower, there would be no return.”

Dantai Jing frowned with displeasure: “Stop talking. You know how important Godmother is to me, and even to Gouwu Mountain. If it weren’t for Godmother, there would be no Gouwu Mountain. If this is all you want to say, I’m going back now.” She turned to walk towards the door.

Luo Mu quickly grabbed her sleeve: “Alright, alright, I won’t say it! We haven’t seen each other for so long, can’t we just talk nicely? You’re rushing back after just a couple of sentences. Are you that concerned about that human in your bed-chamber?”

Dantai Jing stopped and replied: “Don’t talk nonsense. A visitor is a guest, so naturally, they must be treated well.”

“I doubt that. Your Ziwei Palace has so many rooms. Why did you specifically let her sleep with you? That’s no way to treat a guest.” She said, taking out a jar of peach blossom wine and placing it on the table, signaling Dantai Jing to sit down.

“That’s because I was worried that the other bed-chambers hadn’t been lived in for a long time, and cleaning the dust would take time,” Dantai Jing replied, sitting down somewhat uncomfortably.

Luo Mu smiled bitterly. She had tasked demons to clean Ziwei Palace thoroughly every few days. There was no way the side rooms would be dusty.

“Fine, fine! Then since we haven’t seen each other in ages, we must have a good chat tonight. We have two hundred years of friendship. You wouldn’t deny me this much, would you?”

Dantai Jing instinctively glanced towards the Ziwei Palace, then turned back and replied: “Of course not. I missed all of you very much after being away from Gouwu Mountain for so long.” She poured wine for both Luo Mu and herself, draining her cup in one gulp…

Meanwhile, Lu Xiaoxiao, alone in the room, was furiously smashing Dantai Jing’s pillow, muttering: “What kind of relationship is this? To chat for so long? Not letting people sleep?”

After a while, she looked blankly at the door, hugging the pillow: “They don’t have something going on, do they… childhood sweethearts? Innocent playmates?” Then she shook her head: “No, no, Dantai Jing never told me she had such a good friend.”

“But then again, she hasn’t told me anything, and even what she has said, I don’t know if it’s true or false.”

Her eyes suddenly lit up, and she murmured: “But she told me about her parents at Wule Temple. Maybe even that Luo Mu doesn’t know about it.”

Thinking this, she suddenly became angry, slamming the pillow she was hugging onto the bed.

“What childhood sweethearts, what innocent playmates? What do they have to do with me! Let them do whatever they want. I’ll just get my own sleep.”

She threw herself onto the pillow, closing her eyes to sleep. After a while, she pulled the quilt over her head and finally drifted off to sleep sometime in the early morning.

When she woke up again, she saw Dantai Jing crouching by the bed, resting her chin on one hand and staring at her.

“What are you looking at? What took you so long to come back?” Lu Xiaoxiao yawned and turned her back to Dantai Jing.

An inexplicable annoyance flared up. What decent person talks about business all night? And she reeks of alcohol. Lu Xiaoxiao couldn’t figure out where the anger came from, so she blamed the owner of the bed-chamber.

Dantai Jing climbed onto the bed and grabbed Lu Xiaoxiao’s shoulder, trying to pull her up.

“Get up quickly! It’s almost noon. I made you breakfast. It’s all your favorites.”

Lu Xiaoxiao, still yawning, was pulled up. She was surprised by the spread of food on the table: “The demons of Gouwu Mountain eat this well? This much for breakfast?”

“More or less. Demons are cultivated from animals, so they naturally eat quite a lot.”

“Then why do you eat so little?”

“…Hurry up and eat before it gets cold. Try it, how does it taste?”

Looking at the table full of dishes, Lu Xiaoxiao couldn’t stay angry. She was indeed very hungry. Just as she picked up a piece of pork rib, she heard an annoying voice.

Luo Mu: “Little Jing’er, why did you make such a lavish breakfast and not call me?” Then she said to Lu Xiaoxiao: “Oh! Miss Lu, didn’t you rest well last night? Why are your eyes dark? It’s all my fault for stopping Little Jing’er from coming back.”

Lu Xiaoxiao’s slightly improved mood was instantly ruined by Luo Mu.

Lu Xiaoxiao forced a smile and replied: “Dantai Jing’s bed is big and soft and has a faint, lingering scent, but I was just a little unused to the bed last night and slept late.”

Luo Mu’s expression immediately darkened: “The side room has already been cleaned. Please sleep in the side room tonight, Miss Lu. Otherwise, if Little Jing’er and I chat late, coming back might disturb your rest again.”

Lu Xiaoxiao picked up a piece of yam and placed it in Dantai Jing’s bowl: “It’s just that I’ve just gotten used to Dantai Jing’s bed. If I switch again, I might not sleep well. Dantai Jing, do you mind if I sleep here again tonight? After all, we won’t be staying for many days, right?”

“Miss Lu, your problem with being unused to a bed seems to have been cured too quickly. Was it fixed overnight?”

Just as Lu Xiaoxiao was about to continue, she felt a hand cover her own hand under the table, gently stroking it.

Her body instantly tensed up. Although Dantai Jing hadn’t spoken, Lu Xiaoxiao knew she was telling her not to argue with Luo Mu anymore.

Lu Xiaoxiao replied with a dry voice: “Mm…”

Dantai Jing’s hand was soft and smooth. The constant stroking gave her an indescribable feeling, especially with someone sitting opposite them, unaware of what was happening.

Damn it, why does it feel like a secret affair?

Dantai Jing continued to play with her hand, refusing to let go. Although it was only May, she felt extremely hot and tried to subtly pull her hand back, only to feel it grasped tighter.

She glanced up at Dantai Jing, who was chatting earnestly with Luo Mu, yet under the table, she was stroking her fingers intermittently.

Lu Xiaoxiao felt both shy and annoyed. She silently thought: We just exchanged a few words with your childhood sweetheart. Is that reason enough to stop me?

Not wanting to lose face, she grabbed Dantai Jing’s mischievous hand back, carefully tracing the contours of her knuckles.

Perhaps Dantai Jing hadn’t expected Lu Xiaoxiao to retaliate like this. Her hand froze, startled.

Seeing this, Lu Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but feel a little smug.

“Miss Lu, why is your face red? Are you catching a cold? Gouwu Mountain is high up and much colder than down below. If you can’t get used to it, you should go down the mountain sooner.”

Luo Mu’s sudden address startled her. She hastily let go of Dantai Jing’s hand, covered her face, and coughed: “Ah? I haven’t caught a cold. Maybe my body is good; I don’t feel cold, I actually feel a bit hot. Hahaha…”

Luo Mu looked at the snow on the ground outside, which hadn’t completely melted. Her face was full of confusion. No matter how good her body is, she can’t be more resistant to cold than we demons. Since this person was shamelessly refusing to leave, there was nothing she could do. After all, she was a guest invited back by Little Jing’er. After lunch, having no reason to stay, Luo Mu had no choice but to leave hastily.

“What were you doing just now, Dantai Jing? You kept holding my hand,” Lu Xiaoxiao stammered.

Dantai Jing tidied the dishes without changing her expression: “I wasn’t doing anything. I was just worried that the two of you would argue and that you couldn’t beat her.”

“Hmph! That’s not necessarily true. Besides, if we started fighting, wouldn’t you help me?”

Dantai Jing chuckled: “Luo Mu is a Snow Demon at the Tribulation stage, you know.”

Lu Xiaoxiao pretended to ask casually: “What did the two of you do last night? You came back so late.”

Dantai Jing sat beside her, staring intently: “Are you very curious about what the two of us did?”

Being stared at like that, the feeling of unease returned. Lu Xiaoxiao shifted away: “Not really, I just asked casually.”

A fleeting look of disappointment crossed Dantai Jing’s clear eyes: “Oh, we just chatted about old times.”

After that, both fell into a tacit silence.

Light snow began to fall on Gouwu Mountain. Elder Baili Huang, whom Dantai Jing was looking for, would not return to the mountain until tomorrow.

Sitting opposite each other by the window, the two were deep in thought.

The fire in the stove before them gently flickered, and the tea in the pot gradually emitted wisps of heat, carrying a faint tea fragrance that permeated the entire space, casting a veil of mist over both their hearts.