The Demon Lord Always Tries to Hinder My Promotion - Chapter 5

After a hundred years, seeing Shang Ziliu again, Qi An was unexpectedly calm.

She tilted her head, smiled, and spoke the words she had prepared for years: “Long time no see, Shang Ziliu.”

The illusion of Shang Ziliu simply stood there, watching her and smiling.

Qi An’s heart fluttered.

After all this time, this utterly unremarkable face could still make her heart race. It was a pity that he was just a fake.

She smiled self-deprecatingly and stared at him intently for a long time, sketching out the features that had grown blurred in her memory, deepening her impression of him, before finally stepping forward and placing her hand into his palm.

“It used to be me taking you everywhere; today, let me have you lead the way!”

“Shang Ziliu” nodded compliantly and truly began to lead her somewhere.

With every step they took, the illusion faded a little more. By the time they reached the center of the pool, the illusion had almost entirely disappeared.

The Moon-Fire Snow Lotus was right before her eyes. “Shang Ziliu” let go of her hand, his figure becoming increasingly transparent.

Qi An remained clear-headed; she knew full well that the man before her was merely an illusion, so she wasn’t overly heartbroken.

She watched as Shang Ziliu vanished bit by bit. Only when he was completely gone did she mouth the words silently: “I’m sorry.”

On the shore of Jianglian Pool, Mo Qing stared intently at Qi An.

The appearance of Shang Ziliu had brought him a sense of pleasant surprise. A hollow, desolate space within his heart was instantly filled, and his eyebrows arched slightly in delight.

However, when he caught sight of Qi An’s silent apology, his smile froze.

He was stunned for a moment, lost in thought. When he finally collected himself, his joy remained, but a new layer of understanding had been added to his heart.

Focusing his gaze on Qi An again, he saw she had successfully plucked the Moon-Fire Snow Lotus.

She turned, intending to wade back to the shore. Just as she turned and took a step, she felt her body lighten, and she found herself floating in the air.

She assumed Jianglian Pool had created another illusion and instinctively struggled a few times, only to realize her body was drifting uncontrollably toward the shore.

It wasn’t until Mo Qing’s face came into view again that she realized, a step too late, that he had used magic to send her back to the shore and in the process, he had conveniently dried her clothes.

She felt a wave of annoyance. If I had realized sooner, I wouldn’t have floated back so inelegantly and lost my immortal demeanor.

Mo Qing laughed. “Your posture is light and graceful; it looks good no matter how you move.”

Qi An’s eyes widened. Do demons have mind-reading magic?

Mo Qing added, “It’s just that you are too easy to understand.”

Qi An was speechless. It seemed she still needed to practice the art of being unreadable and profound.

She handed the plucked Moon-Fire Snow Lotus to Mo Qing and said expressionlessly, “I have completed the second condition. What is the third?”

Mo Qing took the flower. The Moon-Fire Snow Lotus bloomed brilliantly in his hand, the flames burning even more intensely than they had when Qi An held it.

He smiled, tucked the Snow Lotus into his sleeve, and said, “The place to fulfill the third condition is quite far from here; I fear we won’t make it today. Shall we return to eat, rest up, and head there tomorrow? By the way, today’s meal is infused with sixty-year spiritual elixirs.”

Ten years more than yesterday’s!

Qi An immediately tossed the notion of being “profound and unreadable” to the wind. Unable to hold back her expression, she grinned and said, “I’ll listen to you let’s go eat!”

Leaving Jianglian Pool, she followed Mo Qing back to Yuetong Palace.

Along the way, while she maintained an elegant and composed face, her heart was blooming with joy, and she couldn’t wait to enjoy the delicacies and the spiritual elixirs.

Mo Qing saw her secret delight, and his own lips kept curving upward. That was until they neared Yuetong Palace and he saw a woman standing proudly before the palace gate; his smile faded slightly.

The woman was as picturesque as a painting, dressed in dark martial attire with a long red whip hanging from her waist. As her robes fluttered, her high-tied dark hair danced wildly with the wind. She was not the dainty type like most women; her appearance carried an unconcealable air of heroism.

Qi An saw clearly that when the woman saw Mo Qing, a flash of joy crossed her eyes, but when her gaze fell upon Qi An, it turned into one of scrutiny and disdain.

The woman stepped forward, stopped five paces away, and bowed to Mo Qing. “Your subordinate, Xian Ning’er, greets the Lord.”

Mo Qing asked in a flat tone, “Is there something you need, General Xian?”

Qi An couldn’t help but steal a few more glances at Xian Ning’er. To think this beautiful girl is actually a Demon General—truly impressive.

“I heard the Lord took an immortal to Jianglian Pool, and not only treated her kindly but even stepped in to save someone at her request. So, I came specially to see what kind of woman could make the Lord change his temperament.” Xian Ning’er looked at Mo Qing with sparkling eyes, her tone respectful yet fearless.

Mo Qing squinted at her. “So, you mean you have nothing to do?”

“I just wanted to remind the Lord not to be deceived by an outsider again. A small immortal with such shallow magic how could she be worthy of…”

“General Xian.” Mo Qing maintained his indifferent expression, but his voice deepened. “Is my business something you can comment on?”

Xian Ning’er was stunned, then glared at Qi An, grinding her teeth. “I am only concerned for the Lord. The Lord deserves a better woman.”

Mo Qing did not appreciate it. “Rather than focusing your thoughts on me, General Xian, you should pay more attention to your own personal affairs. Throughout the Demon Realm, there are as many men who admire General Xian as there are carp in the river. Just moments ago at Jianglian Pool, there was a man who went into the water to retrieve a Moon-Fire Snow Lotus for you. Perhaps you should consider it?”

Since Xian Ning’er had heard that Mo Qing appeared at Jianglian Pool, she naturally knew that a man had waded into the pool to pluck a lotus for her, only to be bewitched by the illusion.

She hadn’t taken the matter to heart before, but hearing Mo Qing bring it up now, she felt deeply humiliated, her reddened face turning even more so.

Her long eyelashes trembled as she said bitterly, “The Lord clearly knows who I have liked since I was a child.”

Though she hadn’t spelled it out, in this time, this place, and this atmosphere, the answer was already obvious.

Qi An hadn’t expected that on her second day in the Demon Realm, she would stumble upon the love triangle between a Demon General and the Demon Lord. She wondered if she should be listening to this gossip; if she shouldn’t, would they kill her to keep her quiet?

Thinking of the look Xian Ning’er had just given her, she felt the probability was high.

She wanted nothing more than to disappear into the ground and flee, but since she hadn’t learned that technique, she could only try to be as inconspicuous as possible, shifting to the side so it would be easier to escape if a fight broke out.

However, after only one step, Mo Qing looked at her, his tone drastically different from when he spoke to Xian Ning’er: “Are you hungry?”

Xian Ning’er’s murderous gaze swept toward her again. Qi An trembled and hurriedly denied it: “No, not hungry! How could an immortal be hungry!”

As she said this, she gave a fawning look toward Xian Ning’er, using sincere eyes to convey that she had absolutely no intention of interrupting their conversation.

However, the other party clearly failed to receive the message transmitted by her eyes; the air around her grew even colder.

Sure enough, once a third party is involved in matters of the heart, things become much more complicated.

Qi An only felt she was truly wronged; she was just a spectator, why was she the one being hated?

Mo Qing seemed not to notice the storm of emotions between the two women and said to Qi An: “Then are you craving food? I saw you looking forward to it the whole way here.”

Qi An was speechless. Where did the empathetic Demon Lord from yesterday go? Is this the time to discuss such things?

She coughed awkwardly, about to deny it, when Mo Qing added, “Let’s go, we’re going to eat.”

He completely ignored Xian Ning’er.

Xian Ning’er cried out anxiously, “My Lord!”

Mo Qing seemed to just remember another girl was there. He met her infatuated gaze with ruthlessness. “I have no time to care about the thoughts of others. If General Xian wants to discuss personal matters, then return immediately; I have more important things to do.”

Xian Ning’er looked at Mo Qing in disbelief.

Important things? His important thing was accompanying this immortal to eat? In his heart, her hundreds of years of affection weren’t enough to make him finish listening to her words? The thing he cared about most was an immortal who didn’t even need to eat?

Her eyes turned red instantly. Although she had long known she wasn’t worth mentioning in his heart, having it compared so starkly made her feelings seem all the more pathetic.

Ignoring her sorrow entirely, Mo Qing took Qi An’s hand and walked past her, heading straight into the palace.

The moment the palace doors closed, Qi An looked back and saw Xian Ning’er still standing with her back to the Yuetong Palace.

Qi An couldn’t bear to see a beauty in sorrow. She sighed softly and said to Mo Qing: “You could have rejected her in a gentler way.”

Mo Qing replied, “A gentle rejection only gives her hope. Long-term pain is worse than short-term pain; it is better to let her cut off her thoughts early.”

Xian Ning’er had been his childhood friend. Had she not developed feelings, Mo Qing wouldn’t have been so cold to her.

He had rejected her for over a hundred years; today wasn’t even the most direct time, yet Xian Ning’er was like a bull—obstinate and unwilling to give up.

To be honest, he was at his wit’s end with her.

Hearing Mo Qing’s words, Qi An had a sudden realization. “I thought you weren’t such a cold and arrogant person; as expected, this is also a way of being gentle.”

Mo Qing paused, then said: “Qi An, you think too highly of me. In fact, I am not a gentle person.”

Qi An said firmly: “No, you are.”

Although they had spent less than a day together, he had been incredibly kind to her.

She was just an insignificant immortal official from the Heavenly Realm, yet he, a mighty Demon Lord, could put aside his status, treat her as a friend, and even treat her to meals infused with spiritual elixirs. This wasn’t just gentleness it was sainthood!

At this moment, Mo Qing seemed to carry his own holy light in her eyes, and when he smiled, the light brightened a few degrees more.

She wondered which family this top-tier beautiful saint would eventually fall into.

Thinking of this, she had a flash of inspiration: “If you were married, perhaps General Xian would be able to let go.”

Mo Qing was stunned again, staring at her for a long time in silence.

Just as Qi An felt the atmosphere was becoming wrong, he laughed. “Yes, if I were married, it would be fine. However, I don’t know if my lady is ready to marry me yet.”

By the sound of that, he already had someone in his heart.

With the goal of fostering good relations between the immortals and demons, Qi An offered her heartfelt blessings: “I wish the Demon Lord fulfillment of his wishes, and may you bring the Demon Lord’s wife home soon.”

Mo Qing looked at her fixedly.

“I’ll accept your good words.”