Queen of Ten Thousand Demons Insists on Marrying Me - Chapter 74

Lu Xiaoxiao felt the vines gradually loosening from the rock crevices. Fine debris showered down, and the vine she was gripping suddenly slipped a section.

“The vine is about to break!” Lu Xiaoxiao cried out in alarm.

No sooner had the words left her mouth than she heard a “crunch”; the vine finally succumbed to her weight and snapped completely.

Lu Xiaoxiao’s heart suddenly stopped. Her whole body, along with the broken vine, instantly hung suspended in the air, plummeting downward.

Just as she thought she was about to fall into the abyss, her waist abruptly tightened. A powerful force pulled her back. Immediately afterward, she landed in a warm embrace, instantly enveloped by a familiar scent of sandalwood.

“That was close! You scared me to death,” Lu Xiaoxiao clung tightly to Tantai Jing, her heart pounding as she looked at the bottomless, fog-shrouded cliff.

“It’s alright now,” Tantai Jing’s gentle voice soothed her.

Lu Xiaoxiao watched a piece of debris falling from above strike the rock face in front of her, then drop into the chasm without a sound for a long time. Her heart filled with lingering fear. She tremulously said, “I don’t think so…”

As soon as her voice faded, the vine they were holding onto also snapped. Both instantly lost their support and were about to fall into the abyss.

In the next second, Lu Xiaoxiao fiercely swung her other hand out. A flash of cold light appeared as her Cháoyuán Sword slashed sharply into the cliff face.

The blade scraped against the rock, producing a grating sound and scattering sparks. Their downward speed abruptly slowed as the blade carved a deep mark into the rock wall. Debris showered down, passing by them like countless tiny arrows.

Finally, the two managed to wedge themselves against the stone wall using the Cháoyuán Sword.

“What do we do now? Hanging here isn’t a solution. Cháoyuán, can you carry both of us down?” Lu Xiaoxiao anxiously asked.

“Cháoyuán Sword?”

Tantai Jing’s eyes shifted, seemingly pondering something. She finally said, “Forget it, I’ll take you down.”

Lu Xiaoxiao was surprised. “The Cháoyuán Sword is failing us at a crucial moment. Do you have a way?”

“We can try. We’ve been climbing for a long time; maybe we’ll reach the bottom of the cliff soon,” Tantai Jing’s voice was low and steady, though her face was slightly flushed, making her appear a bit flustered.

Lu Xiaoxiao blinked, looking at her with some confusion. “Well… what’s your plan?”

Tantai Jing didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she slightly turned her head, avoiding Lu Xiaoxiao’s gaze, and whispered, “Then… close your eyes first.”

“Huh? Why?” Lu Xiaoxiao was stunned. “We’re already suspended in the air. Won’t closing my eyes be even scarier?”

Tantai Jing’s ears turned faintly red, and her tone carried an undeniable firmness. “Just close your eyes. Otherwise, I won’t take you down.”

Seeing her resolute attitude, Lu Xiaoxiao didn’t dare to ask further, despite her confusion.

She pouted and reluctantly said, “Fine, I’ll close my eyes.” After speaking, she obediently closed her eyes, tightly wrapping her arms around Tantai Jing’s neck, clinging to her body, and letting Tantai Jing hold the Cháoyuán Sword.

The moment she closed her eyes, she suddenly felt her entire body lighten, instantly losing all support. Then, her body plunged downward. Tantai Jing, whom she was hugging tightly, also slipped out of her embrace.

“Hey! Help! Tantai Jing, what are you doing???”

Lu Xiaoxiao snapped her eyes open and screamed in terror. Her heart felt as if it would burst from her chest. Her hands wildly flailed in the air, trying to grab onto something. A fierce wind howled past. The moment she opened her mouth, a blast of cold air rushed in, making even breathing difficult.

Her vision was blurred. She could only see the thick mist churning before her, like a massive net mercilessly swallowing her. Her mind went blank, leaving only endless fear and despair.

Just as she thought she was about to fall into the abyss, the back of her neck was suddenly grabbed with great force, and she was flung away. Her body traced an arc in the air, and then she fell into something soft and furry.

She instinctively gripped a tuft of fur, her entire body sprawled on the back of the enormous creature, her heart hammering like a drum.

The creature’s four limbs were tightly gripping the precipice. Its sharp claws scraped against the rock, throwing up a large shower of sparks. Lu Xiaoxiao felt her body abruptly slide down dozens of feet with the creature’s movement. The wind screamed in her ears, as if countless specters were howling.

Her fingers tightly clutched the fur, afraid of being flung off again.

Just as she was terrified, a pair of huge wings suddenly sprouted from the creature’s sides. The wings unfolded, generating a powerful rush of air. The creature kicked off the cliff face with its four feet. Using the recoil, its entire body shot out like an arrow leaving a bowstring, soaring into the air.

Lu Xiaoxiao’s eyes widened, looking at everything before her in disbelief.

She lowered her head to look at the massive creature beneath her. Its fur was snowy white. Its body was enormous and agile, with strong, powerful limbs. When its wings spread, they blotted out the sky, like a mythical beast from legends.

“Tantai Jing…?” she murmured to herself, her voice laced with uncertainty and shock.

The colossal creature beneath her slightly turned its head. A pair of crimson eyes looked at her, carrying a familiar coolness and detachment. Although its form had completely changed, those eyes and the flame mark on its forehead made Lu Xiaoxiao instantly recognize her.

“Didn’t I tell you to close your eyes?” Tantai Jing’s voice sounded slightly embarrassed, a stark contrast to her current appearance.

“It really is you…” Lu Xiaoxiao’s voice trembled, a complex emotion surging in her heart. She had never imagined that Tantai Jing could transform into such a powerful being.

Tantai Jing, in her White Tiger form, did not respond. She merely gently flapped her wings, carrying Lu Xiaoxiao in a steady flight through the air. Lu Xiaoxiao held tightly to her fur, feeling the wind whistling past her ears. The fear in her heart was gradually replaced by a strange sense of security.

She looked up ahead. The thick mist slowly dissipated, and the distant mountains and forests gradually became clear. Sunlight streamed through the clouds, seemingly cloaking them in a golden radiance.

Tantai Jing spotted a structure resembling a palace perched on the distant mountain range and flapped her wings, accelerating towards it.

On the cliff face, Yan Gengshen, seeing the wings revealed by Tantai Jing’s transformed yāoshēn (demon/beast body), furrowed his brow. “I never thought she, a half-demon, could take the form of the divine beast White Tiger.”

Yan Sihong, who had not received the inheritance, could not see the situation at the bottom of the foggy cliff and was momentarily confused. “Brother, are you saying Tantai Jing is truly a descendant of Bai Wu?”

“That’s right. This move was a mistake. Originally, Bai Wu’s wisp of divine consciousness was settled in the Wule Temple mountain. Leading the two of them there was meant to use the opportunity to make Mount Gouwu and the human race suffer a mutual loss. I didn’t expect the White Tiger descendant who fell to the demon race to actually be Tantai Jing.”

Yan Sihong was unfazed. “She lost her divinity long ago anyway. It won’t be too late to leave them both here after you’ve taken the Hàoyue Bracelet.”

Yan Gengshen, in his snake form, nodded, then quickly crawled down the rock wall.

Just before they landed, Lu Xiaoxiao felt her spiritual power restored. She executed a somersault and leaped down.

Watching the several-yards-tall figure of Tantai Jing take a step towards her, she felt like a mouse facing a cat and involuntarily took a step back.

“Are you afraid of me?” Tantai Jing’s voice transmitted. Her eyes also became somewhat dim and drooped.

The Divine Beast White Tiger stood majestically between heaven and earth, its body several yards high, radiating a unique elegance. Her fur was snowy white, fine and soft, as if moonlight had spilled onto a glacier, cool yet imbued with a soft sheen. The lines of her body were fluid, her limbs long and powerful. A pair of huge wings, with feathers as white as silver and edges faintly glowing gold, spread across her back.

A striking red flame pattern marked her forehead, like burning fire, and her eyes were like two crimson gems.

And these two gems were now shadowed by her action.

Seeing her sad expression, a sour feeling surged in Lu Xiaoxiao’s heart, as if a fine needle had gently pricked her soul. She quickly took two steps forward and, filled with heartache, embraced one of Tantai Jing’s forelegs. Her cheek pressed against the soft fur, feeling the warm texture.

At this moment, Tantai Jing had reverted to her human form, her eyes downcast, her long lashes casting a shadow beneath them. She allowed Lu Xiaoxiao to hug her arm, her expression tinged with unease and vulnerability.

“How could I be afraid of you?” Lu Xiaoxiao looked up, her gaze genuine and gentle. “I’m just not used to this form of yours, since you’ve never shown it before.”

She paused, and seeing that Tantai Jing remained silent, she smiled and continued, “It’s both beautiful and handsome—exceedingly good-looking. I absolutely love fluffy little animals; they’re so soft and incredibly cute.”

Tantai Jing blinked. The gloom in her eyes lessened slightly, but she still carried a hint of uncertainty. She whispered, “Really?”

“Really, really, truer than real gold!” Lu Xiaoxiao nodded emphatically, her tone firm and fervent. “As long as it’s you, no matter what you look like—old or young, human form or yāoshēn—I will love you.”

She finished, and fearing Tantai Jing wouldn’t believe her, she wrapped her tightly in her arms again, gently kissed her on the side of the face, and said in a voice soft yet resolute: “I will love you, forever unwavering.”

Tantai Jing’s brows finally relaxed. The unease in her eyes was gradually replaced by warmth. She lowered her head and gently leaned on Lu Xiaoxiao’s shoulder, as if shedding all her defenses. Her thoughts, however, drifted back to the past.

When she was a child, wandering the streets with her mother, she was always unable to control her yāoshēn due to her half-demon identity. No matter where they went, people would point and stare, or even drive them away. Those cold stares and harsh curses were like sharp thorns, deeply piercing her heart. To protect her, her mother had to take her fleeing everywhere. They even slept out in the cold winter nights, relying on each other for survival.

Since learning her magic, she rarely displayed her yāoshēn. Although the small demons of Mount Gouwu all said her demon body was beautiful, she could never shake off that shadow. Whenever she accidentally exposed her tiger ears or tail and was discovered, the memory of her mother taking her to flee overnight would surface in her mind. That feeling of helplessness and fear made her begin to hate that she was a half-demon, and why she couldn’t live like an ordinary person.

“Thank you…” Tantai Jing whispered, her voice tinged with a slight choke. Her arms tightened slightly, holding Lu Xiaoxiao even closer, as if wanting to draw more warmth and strength from her.

Lu Xiaoxiao felt her emotional turbulence and gently stroked her back, saying softly, “No need to thank me. You are my Jing’er. No matter what you look like, I will always be by your side.”

Tantai Jing said no more, simply leaning quietly in Lu Xiaoxiao’s embrace, feeling her heartbeat and warmth.

The sunlight shone on the two of them, stretching their shadows long, as if trying to freeze this moment forever.

“What a coincidence, we meet again, Fellow Daoist Tantai!” Yan Gengshen’s voice came from behind them.

Lu Xiaoxiao changed her embrace of Tantai Jing to a hand-hold and rubbed her ears, as if she had heard something unclean.

“Sworn enemies meet on a narrow path.”

Yan Sihong gave a light laugh. “If it weren’t for my brother, how would you have exited the Abyssal Slough Mist Realm and found the palace where a wisp of Lan Cang Yao Ji’s consciousness resides?”

Lu Xiaoxiao held the Cháoyuán Sword, the tip slightly lowered, exuding a sharp presence. She shielded Tantai Jing, her gaze like a torch as she stared at Yan Sihong and her brother. A cold smile curled her lips. “So, should the two of us thank you? Don’t assume we’re unaware of the despicable things you did on that cliff.”

Yan Gengshen still wore a smile, but the warmth hadn’t reached his eyes, which flashed with a cold light. He lightly fanned himself with his folding fan, his tone deliberately understated. “That rat was not controlled by us; we encountered it, too.”

Lu Xiaoxiao raised an eyebrow at his comment, a hint of mockery in her eyes. “Oh really? I never said we encountered a rat.” She deliberately drew out her words, her tone clearly provocative. “The two of you left before us but arrived later. Could it be that your rat relatives invited you to a wedding feast?”

Yan Sihong’s expression darkened slightly. She gave Lu Xiaoxiao a cold look, anger creeping into her voice. “Lu Xiaoxiao, you’d best show some respect when you speak. We’ve been hurrying all the way and don’t have the leisure to play word games with you.”

Lu Xiaoxiao scoffed, returning the glare without backing down. “Respect? When you were carrying out those underhanded deeds behind our backs, why didn’t the word ‘respect’ cross your minds? Now you pretend to be virtuous. How laughable.”

Yan Gengshen’s smile remained fixed on his face, but a vertical slit briefly flashed in his eyes, cold and sinister like a viper watching its prey.

He gently closed his folding fan, his tone still gentle but laced with chilling coldness. “Miss Lu, you mustn’t speak carelessly. We have traveled this path for a common goal. If you are aggressive because of some misunderstanding, you are being quite ungrateful.”

“Whether it’s a misunderstanding or not, you should be much clearer about it than we are,” Tantai Jing stated calmly.

Just as the four stood facing each other, swords drawn and a battle about to erupt, the voice of Lan Cang Yao Ji emerged from within the palace: “Since you have arrived, all of you, come in. The fate of the Hàoyue Bracelet should now be decided.”