Queen of Ten Thousand Demons Insists on Marrying Me - Chapter 34

The first day of the ninth lunar month, noon.

Xi Xiaoshuang, clad in a moon-white palace gown, slowly emerged from the Demon Locking Tower.

Xie Hu clasped his hands and bowed deeply: “Xie Hu greets Hall Head Xi.”

Xi Xiaoshuang: “Deputy Hall Head Xie, your recent performance has been outstanding. Not only have you managed the Enforcement Hall affairs in good order, but you also report for duty much earlier than others every day. You are truly a pillar of our hall.”

Xie Hu showed a mouthful of white teeth and smiled: “Xie Hu and all the members of the Enforcement Hall rely entirely on the guidance of Hall Head Xi. We naturally strive to do our best and would not dare to slack off.”

Lu Xiaoxiao, hiding in the corner of a wall far away, nudged Dantai Jing with her elbow and teased: “Look, being the Deputy Head of the Enforcement Hall isn’t easy either. He has to butter up that Xi Xiaoshuang.”

Dantai Jing gently pushed away the breath near her ear and chuckled: “You have a point. If you asked me to butter up that old woman, I’d rather be locked in the Demon Locking Tower.”

She watched Xi Xiaoshuang walk back to her room. After a while, Xi Xiaoshuang changed into casual clothes and left the palace.

Xi Xiaoshuang flew down the mountain without eating. Lu Xiaoxiao and Dantai Jing followed her from a distance, wary of being discovered. They followed Xi Xiaoshuang to Fuxian Town, dozens of li away from Yaoxia Palace.

Although Fuxian Town was adjacent to Yaoxia Palace, it was far less convenient than Jishan Town in terms of distance and ease of purchasing goods. Few disciples in the palace bothered to come to Fuxian Town for shopping or vacation, preferring Jishan Town.

After entering Fuxian Town, Xi Xiaoshuang walked directly toward the south. She kept glancing back and forth along the way, finally entering a sword workshop named Scarlet Moon.

The two trackers found a seat on the second floor of a restaurant diagonally across from the Scarlet Moon Sword Workshop.

Lu Xiaoxiao stared intently at the closed door across the street: “Something fishy is going on, definitely fishy. Why close the door in broad daylight?” She quickly turned to Dantai Jing: “Why don’t we just rush in? Catch her in the act?”

Dantai Jing rested her chin on one hand, tilting her head to watch Lu Xiaoxiao, who was seriously investigating the bad guys.

“No rush. Let’s see who she’s meeting first. It won’t be too late to catch that person later and find out what they discussed today.”

Lu Xiaoxiao muttered “Mm,” acknowledging her point, and continued staring across the street.

Just as the waiter came to serve the food and wine, Dantai Jing thoughtfully set out the chopsticks and bowl for Lu Xiaoxiao, waiting for her to get tired of staring before calling her to eat.

“She’s coming out! She’s coming out!”

“Only Xi Xiaoshuang came out!”

“Wait! She went back in.”

“Why did Aunt Wan come too?”

Hearing that last sentence, Dantai Jing quickly stepped forward and closed the window, leaving only a tiny crack.

Through the crack, they faintly saw Wan Xuan’er split the Scarlet Moon Sword Workshop door with a single strike of her sword and walk inside with five other people.

Lu Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but ask: “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know. Let’s wait and see.”

No more than the time it takes to brew a cup of tea after Wan Xuan’er entered, a deafening boom suddenly erupted. Immediately, dust and debris flew everywhere. In the ensuing chaos, the roof was violently ripped off by an invisible, immense force.

In that flash of lightning, a streak of flaming red cut through the air, accompanied by a sharp, urgent squeaking sound. A giant rat with fiery red fur soared into the air, simultaneously releasing a yellowish gas that rapidly diffused.

“Did that mouse fart? It smells terrible.”

Lu Xiaoxiao suddenly smelled a pungent stench. The red-furred giant rat drew an arc in the air and swiftly darted toward the surrounding rooftops. Its tail lashed like a fierce snake, causing the wooden beams and tiles on the roofs to crack violently.

Dantai Jing stared at the direction the figure was leaving and softly replied: “Idiot, that’s a weasel demon.”

The sudden turn of events caused pedestrians on the street to stop in their tracks, staring blankly at the scene before them. Someone shouted, “There’s a monster!” and only then did the crowd react, scattering in all directions.

The demon, however, did not escape two streets before a green beam of light sliced through the air. Almost the instant the demon turned, the sharp sword qi had pierced its chest. Blood instantly splattered onto the rooftop, but the demon seemed unwilling to surrender. As it fell, it threw out a Boundary-Breaching Talisman and instantly vanished from the spot.

The immortal sword, emitting a cold aura and surrounded by fine green streams, was Wan Xuan’er’s Cold Abyss.

“So powerful. I feel like Aunt Wan’s Cold Abyss is even stronger than my Morning Yuan Sword.” Morning Yuan Sword seemed slightly displeased, humming and knocking Lu Xiaoxiao’s arm with its hilt. Lu Xiaoxiao pushed it aside: “Stop messing around, don’t disturb me watching the show.” The Morning Yuan Sword struck its tip against the ground, bouncing up and down for a moment.

At this moment, two Yaoxia Palace disciples escorted Xi Xiaoshuang out of the Scarlet Moon Pavilion.

Xi Xiaoshuang knelt on the ground, begging Wan Xuan’er for mercy: “Palace Mistress, the demon race only coerced me with my family’s lives. I never intended to betray the palace. Please, Palace Mistress, spare my life and give me a chance to redeem myself!”

Wan Xuan’er’s face was as cold as ice and extremely grim. She never expected that the Hall Head of the Enforcement Hall, whom she had personally promoted, would turn out to be a spy for the demon race.

“I have long known about your actions. It’s a pity you’ve been so stubborn. If I gave you a chance now, would the demon race give me one when they attack Yaoxia Palace in the future?”

Dantai Jing murmured: “Since I could find something wrong, how could Wan Xuan’er not be aware of it?”

Xi Xiaoshuang continued to kneel and beg. Her hair bun was already messy and covered in dirt, and even her forehead bore faint bloodstains.

But a person who is the head of a palace would never be indecisive.

Wan Xuan’er found her begging irritating. The Cold Abyss flashed, and Xi Xiaoshuang was instantly beheaded, her head flying several yards away.

Wan Xuan’er: “You people clean this up and go inside to see if there’s anything worth keeping.” She then turned and tossed a token to a male disciple: “Xie Hu, take all the disciples of the Enforcement Hall to Xi Xiaoshuang’s residence in Dongchang City to save her family. Also, prepare two thousand spirit stones and inform them that Xi Xiaoshuang sacrificed herself for Yaoxia Palace.”

Xie Hu: “Yes, Palace Mistress.” After receiving the order, Xie Hu flew toward Yaoxia Palace on his sword.

Lu Xiaoxiao whispered: “This Xie Hu is quite the actor. He was buttering up Xi Xiaoshuang earlier today, and now he’s following Wan Xuan’er to kill her. Didn’t you see? He didn’t even blink when Xi Xiaoshuang died. Maybe he knew about the plan to eliminate Xi Xiaoshuang all along.”

Dantai Jing: “No. He didn’t know.”

“How do you know he didn’t know?”

Dantai Jing was momentarily stunned by her question: “Xie Hu is Xi Xiaoshuang’s subordinate. If I wanted to kill Xi Xiaoshuang, I definitely wouldn’t inform Xie Hu beforehand. It’s possible they might have had some kind of relationship, and even if not, someone loyal to Xi Xiaoshuang would fear being exposed. So, bringing the Enforcement Hall people to surround and kill Xi Xiaoshuang was merely to serve as a warning to others.”

“I see. But why didn’t Aunt Wan ask for any information before killing Xi Xiaoshuang and the other one?”

“Because if it’s Yan Gengshen, he would have already placed a restriction on them. If they dared to say one word more than they should, they would have instantly died from bleeding from all seven orifices.”

Lu Xiaoxiao then asked: “Then what did we come here for today? Isn’t it the same for us?”

Dantai Jing said softly: “Did you forget that I can use Gu? Wan Xuan’er cannot unlock that restriction, but I might be able to. It’s just a pity that we were a step too late today.”

The excitement ended, and the two sat back down. The food on the table was cold. They intended to ask the waiter to reheat it, only to realize the restaurant was completely empty. Apart from the two of them, there was no third living person.

Lu Xiaoxiao dejectedly ate the cold food and said: “So, we came here for nothing today.”

Dantai Jing sniffed: “That’s not necessarily true.”

“What do you mean?”

“I won’t tell you yet. Wait until you finish eating.”

Lu Xiaoxiao complained: “Playing coy.”

Once the Yaoxia Palace members had dispersed, the two stepped out of the restaurant, looking at the debris and broken tiles scattered on the ground.

Lu Xiaoxiao asked: “Where are we going now? Back to Yaoxia Palace?”

Dantai Jing shook her head and led Lu Xiaoxiao toward the eastern part of the town. The east of the town used to be a market. Now, every house was closed. Walking along, they saw nothing but a few stray cats and dogs.

They stopped in front of a courtyard gate that had a large red “囍” (double happiness) character pasted on it. Dantai Jing knocked on the door.

Lu Xiaoxiao: “What? Are you taking me to your friend’s wedding celebration again?”

“You’ll know in a moment.”

When no one opened the door after a long wait, Dantai Jing raised her leg, kicked with accumulated force, and the two large doors instantly flew inward, smashing onto the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.

“The smell of blood is so strong,” Lu Xiaoxiao said, frowning.

Just as she spoke, the window of the main house suddenly burst open, and a figure rushed out, attacking the two of them. Lu Xiaoxiao picked up the Morning Yuan Sword, ready to block, but Dantai Jing pulled her back.

The Returning Dust Whip shot out like lightning. The person’s pupils contracted. Clearly having no expectation of this sudden attack, he couldn’t evade and was wrapped around the neck by the Returning Dust Whip. Then, Dantai Jing swung her arm, slamming the person into the wall. The courtyard wall crumbled with a crash. Without giving the person a moment to breathe, Dantai Jing gave a gentle tug and threw the person to the ground at her feet.

Lu Xiaoxiao saw that the Returning Dust Whip was choking him, making his face instantly flush red. A fresh sword wound on his chest, still unhealed, oozed fresh blood from the violent impact.

“That weasel demon?” Lu Xiaoxiao asked.

“Exactly.”

Lu Xiaoxiao saw the man’s pointed face and rat-like eyes, with fangs protruding from his mouth and bloodstains still around his lips. Taking advantage of Dantai Jing having him restrained, she walked into the house with a nervous heart.

Sure enough, she found two shriveled male and female corpses on the ground. Judging by their clothes, they were a young married couple. They had been killed by the weasel demon who sucked their blood dry.

The thought enraged her. She drew the Morning Yuan Sword, walked out the door, and thrust it toward the demon. She watched the demon’s pupils contract, revealing an expression of horror, and felt a rush of satisfaction.

But just one inch away from piercing the heart—the spot she had failed to pierce with Cold Abyss before—the Morning Yuan Sword was struck away by Dantai Jing’s whip.

Lu Xiaoxiao roared angrily: “What are you doing? Are you trying to protect this demon now?”

“You… how could you think that? I just wanted to clear up a few things first,” Dantai Jing’s phoenix eyes trembled, her voice laced with an imperceptible shake.

Seeing the momentary hurt in Dantai Jing’s eyes, Lu Xiaoxiao’s heart suddenly fluttered with panic. She took two steps closer to Dantai Jing and said: “I’m sorry… I just saw the corpses inside and got angry, speaking without thinking.”

“You actually still believe I’m a demon, that I am inherently brutal and reckless, don’t you?” Dantai Jing retreated two steps, her face cold.

Lu Xiaoxiao opened her mouth but didn’t speak.

She actually wanted to ask if Dantai Jing had known all along that this weasel demon was hiding here. If she had known, why didn’t she come earlier? The woman’s body was still warm. Could one person have been saved if they had arrived just fifteen minutes sooner?

But seeing Dantai Jing’s wounded expression, her heart twinged, and she couldn’t bring herself to say it.

“What the hell are you two doing? If you want to kill me or chop me up, just do it. Don’t be talking about your romance in front of me when I’m about to die.”

A whooshing sound from the whip struck the demon. A new wound instantly appeared on the demon’s face, and blood ran down it. The demon even stuck out its tongue and licked a bit of it.

This demon was an old hand, extremely foul-mouthed. He spoke to Dantai Jing again: “Little girl, you are truly ruthless.”

Dantai Jing didn’t turn her head, saying: “Lu Xiaoxiao, you go outside first. I want to have a good talk with him.”

Lu Xiaoxiao couldn’t remember the last time she heard Dantai Jing’s voice sound so cold.

Her throat was dry: “But…”

“I said, leave. I will kill him after the interrogation.”