The Demon Lord Always Tries to Hinder My Promotion - Chapter 2

Before she ascended, Qi An had known that beautiful creatures were flawless.

Take, for example, the peerless young man before her. Even his voice was gentle and melodious when he spoke.

“Is the Fairy the envoy sent from the Heavenly Realm?”

Qi An, deeply drowning in the young man’s beauty, only snapped back to reality after hearing him address her as “Fairy” a second time.

She wiped the corner of her mouth with her sleeve, ensuring she hadn’t drooled or acted ungracefully, then retracted her sleeve and bowed her head, maintaining a posture of elegant poise. “I am Qi An, an immortal official representing the Heavenly Realm to propose marriage. I hope you can provide some convenience and allow me to enter the Yuetong Palace to see the Demon Lord.”

The youth smiled gently. “I am here precisely to welcome you into the palace.”

His smile caused Qi An’s heart to flutter once more.

Taking advantage of her official position, she asked, “May I ask for your name? When I return to the Heavenly Realm to report my progress, I will be sure to properly praise your… kindness.”

The youth gazed at her, his lips curling slightly as he slowly uttered two words:

“Mo Qing.”

Upon first hearing the name, Qi An felt it suited the handsome youth perfectly. But after ruminating on it twice, she felt a strange sense of familiarity, as if she had heard it somewhere before.

It wasn’t until she had followed him, unimpeded, into the main hall of the Yuetong Palace that she realized, a step too late, that the current Demon Lord seemed to bear that very name.

At this thought, she stopped in her tracks.

Mo Qing halted as well, asking kindly, “Why have you stopped?”

Qi An stared at him intensely, utterly unable to reconcile him with the violent, capricious Demon Lord of legend.

After a long while, she stammered, “Mo Qing… could you… be the Demon Lord himself?”

Mo Qing was slightly stunned, then laughed. “Well, I wasn’t aware there was anyone else in the Nixiao Ruins who dared share my name.”

This was the first time Qi An had ever heard someone say something so domineering in such a gentle tone.

Truly worthy of being the Demon Lord.

Qi An reacted swiftly, immediately putting on a smile dedicated to dealing with superiors. She bowed respectfully, “I was blind and failed to recognize the Demon Lord in time. Please forgive my lack of manners.”

Mo Qing stopped her gesture halfway.

“Since I did not summon you in my capacity as the Demon Lord, I did not wish for you to be overly constrained. If possible, rather than the title of ‘Demon Lord,’ I would prefer to hear you call me by my name. It feels more intimate.”

Qi An was moved to tears. What incredible approachability!

She wanted to find those people who called him cold-hearted, cruel, and poisonous, and make them kneel and apologize to him.

However, since their social statuses differed, she had to be polite. “Wouldn’t addressing the Demon Lord directly be an offense?”

Mo Qing laughed. “If you insist on calling me that, I would be displeased. And if I am displeased, I might lose the desire to discuss the matter at hand.”

Qi An assessed the situation and immediately abandoned the formalities. “Then I shall respect your wishes. But in that case, please address me directly as well.”

Remembering she hadn’t introduced herself properly, she added, “By the way, I am called…”

Mo Qing opened his lips slightly, speaking the two words before she could: “Qi An.”

His voice was already lovely, but it sounded even more melodic when he spoke her name.

Qi An didn’t dwell on why the Demon Lord would know her name. She only felt as though her heart had skipped a beat, and she sighed inwardly the destructive power of a beauty was simply too strong!

She shifted her gaze slightly, focusing on the bridge of Mo Qing’s straight nose. After steadying her mind, she turned the topic to official business.

“I trust you know why I am here, Mo Qing. I am here on behalf of the Heavenly Realm’s Third Prince to propose to your sister, Princess Yue Jiao. Our Hehe Immortal Palace has calculated their compatibility; they are a match made in heaven. So, tell me, can we consider this marriage settled?”

Mo Qing agreed quite readily. “Yes.”

Qi An hadn’t expected it to go so smoothly. She was thrilled and, fearing he might change his mind the next moment, quickly took out the Xian Yuan Dan Shu (Marriage Ledger). Pointing to a blank space, she said, “Then I must trouble you to have Princess Yue Jiao sign her name here. When I return to the Heavenly Realm, we will have our Third Prince sign, and the engagement will be settled.”

“Very well.” Mo Qing complied, putting away the ledger.

Qi An thought the matter was finished and could hardly wait to dream about her stable and wonderful future as a permanent employee. However, she then heard Mo Qing add, “However, according to the rules of our Demon Realm, the person proposing must fulfill three conditions before the marriage can be finalized.”

Indeed, I rejoiced too soon.

Qi An sighed silently and asked, “What are the conditions?”

“First, one must be able to defeat the father, brother, or master of the person being proposed to, to prove one has the ability to protect their beloved. Rong Mishuang and General Luan Feng were Yue Jiao’s tutors; you have already accomplished this. Now for the second condition: you must retrieve the ‘Moon-Fire Snow Lotus’ from our Demon Realm’s Jianglian Pool as a token of the betrothal.”

That didn’t sound like a difficult task.

“Could you tell me where Jianglian Pool is and what the Moon-Fire Snow Lotus looks like?”

Mo Qing smiled gently and replied with a different topic: “It is already dark, and it is time for dinner. Shall we have a meal first?”

Of the Six Realms, only mortals were required to eat daily to maintain their physical needs.

As an immortal, Qi An did not need to eat. Desperate to complete her mission and shed her temp-worker status, she replied, “I should go and retrieve the Snow Lotus first!”

Mo Qing’s smile faded slightly, and he said regretfully, “Is that so? That’s a shame about the cultivation-enhancing spiritual elixirs in the meal.”

Qi An’s eyes lit up instantly. “You said… cultivation-enhancing spiritual elixirs?”

“Indeed,” Mo Qing said languidly. “Dishes at the Yuetong Palace are infused with spiritual elixirs. Eating is less about satisfying hunger and more about increasing one’s cultivation.”

Qi An immediately changed her tune. “I think you’re right. It’s quite late; we really should eat first.”

And so, like a little tail, she followed close behind Mo Qing to the rear hall.

The table in the hall was already filled with rare delicacies. As she looked over, she discovered that they were all things she loved to eat.

She hadn’t expected the Demon Realm’s tastes to be so similar to her own.

Mo Qing took her by the hand to the table and sat down, his voice soft. “Try it and see if it suits your taste?”

Qi An didn’t bother with false politeness. She picked up her chopsticks, plucked a piece of fish, and popped it into her mouth.

The fish was as smooth and tender as tofu, melting the moment it touched her tongue. The taste was incredibly fresh, and even after swallowing, her mouth was filled with fragrance.

She had never eaten anything this delicious!

Qi An, who had a weakness for fish, couldn’t help but take a few more bites.

Seeing this, Mo Qing raised his chopsticks and picked out several other dishes for her. “These flavors are not bad either. Try more.”

To have the mighty head of the Demon Realm serve her food she really had made something of herself.

She wanted to politely decline Mo Qing’s kindness, but seeing his calm expression, she felt that being too fussy would just seem hypocritical, so she accepted his friendly gesture.

But unexpectedly, her acquiescence seemed to open some sort of switch in Mo Qing. He became addicted to serving her food; every time her bowl was empty, he would add more. An incense stick of time later, she had eaten more than half the table, while he hadn’t touched a bite he was either serving her or watching her eat.

His focus was so intense and his smile so affectionate that Qi An couldn’t help but think of when she worked at the Immortal Beast Park; she probably looked just like this when she was feeding the beasts.

Finally feeling a bit embarrassed, she put down her chopsticks. “Am I eating too much?”

“Not at all. If it’s not enough, I’ll have them make more,” Mo Qing said, pouring her a cup of tea.

Perhaps to reduce Qi An’s psychological burden, once she finished her tea, Mo Qing found a topic to distract her while continuing his “feeding mission.”

“You said earlier that the Hehe Immortal Palace can calculate marriages. Is it accurate?”

“Naturally, it is.” Qi An swallowed a piece of braised pork, standing up for her own palace. “Our Hehe Immortal Palace has a history of tens of thousands of years. Since ancient times, we have never made a mistake. Our reputation in the Six Realms is second to none.”

Mo Qing asked casually, “Since it’s so accurate, have you ever calculated your own marriage?”

“I have. Before I ascended, I asked a master, and he said I had a ‘solitary phoenix’ destiny that only comes along once in a hundred years. After I ascended, I suspected that master was trying to fool me, so I asked an immortal lord from the Hehe Immortal Palace to calculate it for me—surely enough, my natal chart showed no signs of a ‘Red Phoenix’ (marriage luck) rising.”

Mo Qing’s eyes shifted, and after a moment of silence, he chuckled. “Is it that miserable?”

Qi An had long since come to terms with it, but she still felt a pang of sadness talking about it. “Indeed! One has so few interesting things happen in a long life, and I have one less than everyone else. My luck is just terrible.”

After a small complaint, she chased away the lingering gloom in her heart and beamed at Mo Qing. “But look, I’ve been alone for the past hundred years, which just goes to show that the Hehe Immortal Palace’s calculations are extremely accurate. Why don’t you give me something of yours? When I return to the Heavenly Realm, I’ll have Yue Lao calculate it for you.”

Mo Qing raised an eyebrow. “Many thanks for the kind offer, but I have never believed in fate.”

Qi An was not without regret at Mo Qing’s refusal; she had lost an opportunity to curry favor with the Demon Lord.

But on second thought, with the Demon Lord’s status, strength, and looks, he could have any girl he wanted. His marriage prospects were naturally perfect and to his liking.

Talking and eating in this manner, Qi An finished the entire table of dishes without realizing it.

After she was full, she channeled her energy and felt that the magic power in her meridians had become much thicker. Mo Qing hadn’t lied to her; there were indeed spiritual elixirs in the meal the kind that provided fifty years of cultivation.

She was secretly delighted. She hadn’t expected a single meal to provide half of the cultivation she had gained in her life so far. If there were future missions to the Demon Realm, she would certainly fight for them.

In her joy, she didn’t forget her mission.

Rubbing her already rounded belly, she expressed her gratitude to Mo Qing and said, “Since dinner is finished, I shall go and retrieve the Moon-Fire Snow Lotus.”

Mo Qing looked out the window. “No rush. It is late now, and the Jianglian Pool becomes very dangerous at night. It is safe to go during the day. I will take you when the sun rises tomorrow.”

Instantly, Qi An’s favor for Mo Qing increased by another point.

Who could have guessed that the Demon Lord, rumored by the outside world to be a fierce and evil god, would be such a considerate and caring young gentleman to a Heavenly immortal envoy?

Qi An believed Mo Qing’s words implicitly, and since coming tomorrow meant she had another chance to mooch more spiritual elixirs, she couldn’t help but feel joyful.

She suppressed the corners of her mouth that were involuntarily lifting and said with feigned calm, “Since that is the case, I shall come again tomorrow.”

Mo Qing said, “You didn’t have an easy journey here. Why not stay at the Yuetong Palace tonight? It will save you the trouble of wasting magic power traveling back and forth, and it will be more convenient for our trip to Jianglian Pool tomorrow morning.”

Qi An hesitated for a moment. “But I need to report to the Heavenly Realm. If I don’t go back, I fear my colleagues might worry.”

Qi An’s concerns were not misplaced.

While she was feasting, the immortals of the Hehe Immortal Palace noticed she hadn’t returned, setting the record for the latest return from the Demon Realm. They all assumed she had died at the hands of the Iron-Faced Lady and General Giant-Hammer, and they were mourning for her some officials were even preparing her eulogy.

Faced with Qi An’s worries, Mo Qing said slowly, “Do not worry, I will notify the Heavenly Realm and properly describe the labor and hardships of your trip to the Demon Realm.”

Qi An was moved. There weren’t many bosses like Mo Qing, who knew how to care for his grassroots staff.

With a bright smile, she accepted Mo Qing’s kindness. “Then many thanks, Mo Qing.”

Mo Qing was distracted for a moment, but before Qi An could notice anything strange, he pulled back his straying thoughts and smilingly ordered a maid to lead her to her room to rest.

After Qi An vanished into the hall, he summoned his subordinate, Huai Shou, to go to the Heavenly Realm and deliver the message.

Mo Qing’s tone was gentler than ever, so much so that Huai Shou, who never dared to speak much, took the courage to say, “Your Lordship seems to be in a good mood today.”

Mo Qing glanced at him and then turned his gaze toward the seat where Qi An had just been sitting. It sounded as if he were answering, yet also murmuring to himself, “Something lost for a hundred years has finally returned. Naturally, I am happy.”