The Demon Lord is a Heartbreaker - Chapter 5

When Shen Li said they would discuss matters “tomorrow,” most people naturally assumed she meant tomorrow morning. At least, that was the assumption held by Ye Guixue, Lu Yaoshuang, Shen Changsheng, and Shangguan Wu.

Instead, the sun was high in the sky by the time she finally stepped out of her room.

She walked out yawning and stretching, sleep still clinging to her eyes. Upon reaching the spacious terrace of the Moon-Embracing Pavilion, she scanned the group and remarked casually, “Oh, everyone’s here. How lively.”

Ye Guixue didn’t respond.

Lu Yaoshuang performed a formal greeting reserved for elders before speaking with a hint of dissatisfaction. “Senior Demon Sovereign, it’s nearly noon. Why have you only just arrived?”

Shen Changsheng greeted her quietly, her eyes masking a deep-seated worry.

Shangguan Wu, meanwhile, kept her gaze lowered, her emotions churning. She couldn’t resist stealing a glance at Shen Li’s face.

The features were seventy to eighty percent similar. But with this lazy, casual, and cynical attitude, how was she supposed to believe this wasn’t Shen Li?

“And you are… Pavilion Master Shangguan?” Shen Li looked toward Shangguan Wu.

Shangguan Wu was a woman who lived up to her name socially adept and sharp. She knew exactly what Shen Li was really asking: Why are you here?

She replied, “I have to keep a close eye on both the Demon Sovereign and Guixue. If you two start fighting again and wreck the Moon-Embracing Pavilion, it wouldn’t be very pleasant.”

Shen Li arched an eyebrow and glanced at Ye Guixue. She knew that the fear of the pavilion being damaged was a front; the real fear was that she and Ye Guixue would come to blows again.

More specifically, they were afraid she would land a hit on Ye Guixue or say more things that would cut her to the bone.

Shen Li saw through the act but didn’t call it out. She fanned herself and asked Ye Guixue, “How did the Immortal rest last night?”

Meaning: What’s the Immortal’s mood like today? Surely she wouldn’t try to kill her again the moment they disagreed?

Shen Li’s gaze turned slightly cold. What she had said on the Gold-Silver Terrace might have been over the line, but wasn’t it also excessive for Ye Guixue to come at her with lethal intent from the very first strike?

Ye Guixue didn’t answer. She simply placed the Xuanguang Sword on the table.

Shen Li followed suit, folding her fan and setting it aside.

“Changsheng, I recall you signed a truce with the humans. Where is the document?”

Shen Changsheng froze. She wasn’t used to Shen Li calling her so familiarly, nor did she expect her master’s first order of business to be something other than her relationship with Lu Yaoshuang.

“Changsheng?”

“It’s here.” Snapping back to reality, Shen Changsheng hurriedly pulled a scroll from her storage space.

The scroll was black and white, made of standard material from the Shadow-Sky Pavilion. It bore the seal of the Demon Young Master, Shen Changsheng, placed precisely on the black section. Correspondingly, Lu Yaoshuang’s signature was on the white section.

The black and white were starkly divided, like a natural border.

Shen Li scanned the document quickly. After reading the contents, she let out a short laugh. “Well played. Truly well played.”

“Master?” Shen Changsheng was confused and slightly anxious. “Is there a problem with the agreement?”

She mentally reviewed the contents. It was a truce, plain and simple. The demons and demonic cultivators under the jurisdiction of the Demon Palace were not to harass humans. Likewise, humans were not to use the slaying of demons or the invasion of demonic territory as a trial for disciples or a wager for bored masters. Unaffiliated demons, demonic cultivators, and human rogue cultivators were excluded.

For those disruptive elements, the humans would handle their own rogues, and the Demon Palace would handle the unruly demons.

It was supposed to be a win-win for peace. The humans didn’t have to worry about a massive invasion, and the demons didn’t have to fear a repeat of the palace massacre from a thousand years ago.

“A problem?” Shen Li shook her head. Only after seeing Changsheng visibly relax did she add, “The problems are massive.”

She rolled up the document, twirling it like a fan. “The demons are not like humans. Before this, it was common knowledge that the demons were fractured. Various factions fought over territory in endless internal strife; they rarely had the energy to bother humans.”

This was before Shen Li woke up, before there was a true Demon Sovereign or a recognized Young Master. Back then, there was no singular leader. High-blooded factions fought one another for supremacy, refusing to yield to anyone. Because they were busy fighting each other, they rarely invaded human lands.

At most, a losing faction would pick a human sect or a territory to attack, using stolen resources to rebuild its strength. Then, humans would send out forces to purge them. The purged demons would call for backup, and the resulting clash would leave a pile of bodies on both sides.

That was the state of things before the agreement.

Now, under the terms Shen Changsheng had signed, no demon faction could attack a human sect on a whim. The humans were off-limits. And on the demon side, with a Young Master and a Demon Sovereign present, they couldn’t fight each other for territory anymore.

On the surface, it was a state of peaceful, still water. In reality, the Demon Palace had inherited a new job: hunting down unaffiliated demons who acted out against humans.

Before the agreement, that was the human cultivators’ job.

In contrast, the humans no longer had to fear a major invasion or spend resources hunting stray demons. Their workload had been lightened significantly.

“Furthermore, look at the signatories. ‘Shen Changsheng’ is at least the Demon Young Master. Is ‘Lu Yaoshuang’ the Human Young Master?”

Shen Li asked the question despite already knowing the answer. Of course, she wasn’t. Humans had no Sovereign, and thus no Young Master. The Xuanqing Sect held a top position, but they couldn’t force all other sects to acknowledge them as the official leaders of the immortal path. Lu Yaoshuang wasn’t even the Young Sect Leader of Xuanqing.

“There is no official human seal. Not a single high-ranking Sect Leader or Gate Master stepped forward. There was no Heaven-and-Earth oath. There’s no mention of how long the truce lasts, or the consequences for breaking it.”

Shen Li listed the points one by one. Looking at Shen Changsheng, whose face was growing pale, she concluded, “This is nothing more than a stalling tactic by the humans.”

The humans had always wanted to eradicate the demons entirely. Moreover, Immortal Xuan Guang of the Xuanqing Sect loathed demons with a passion.

As for why they needed to stall.

Thwack! Shen Li slammed a scroll onto the table and unrolled it. The Xuanguang Sword rattled from the impact.

“These are the recent movements of various human sect leaders, elders, and young disciples.”

Shen Changsheng was shocked; she hadn’t even seen her master swap the scrolls.

“Just a trick I learned from street performers when I was bored,” Shen Li said with a smirk. “Back to the point.”

She tapped the text on the scroll. The ink was barely dry, meaning she had only just acquired this information.

“Lu Changchun, Leader of Xuanqing; Xu Jian, Master of the Hidden Sword Pavilion; Su Fuchen, the Dust Sovereign of the Sifang Sect; the Vice Hall Master of the Blood Blade Hall. even inner disciples like Qin Xiao, Dongfang Zhi, and Shen Lie.”

She read a long list of names, ranging from sect leaders to promising juniors, followed by the approximate dates they had entered “seclusion.” All of them had “disappeared” within the last five years. Furthermore, the spiritual realms of various sects were opening one after another.

“Master, what does this prove?” Shen Changsheng asked, still lost.

“Stupid.” Shen Li rolled up the scroll and rapped Changsheng on the head. “It proves the humans are likely dealing with a massive problem right now. The high-level cultivators are ‘secluded’ and the juniors are in ‘spiritual realms’ all just excuses to explain their absence while they go deal with this crisis.”

“This ‘problem’ has left them short-staffed. They can’t afford to mobilize large numbers of cultivators to deal with demons like they used to.”

So, they signed a truce to trick the demons into staying quiet. Once they resolve their “massive problem,” they’ll go right back to calling for the demons’ heads.

“You’re so dim, I’m starting to wonder if you falling for that little girl from Xuanqing was just another part of their stalling tactic.”

Without the Demon Young Master’s cooperation, this agreement never would have happened. Even if it had been signed, the demon factions wouldn’t have remained peaceful if Shen Changsheng hadn’t insisted on it.

“Master” Shen Changsheng tried to protest.

Shen Li laughed. “Though, looking at the way little Lu Yaoshuang looks at you, I doubt it. That gaze is full of genuine feeling. One can tell she’s fallen hard.”

“Senior Demon Sovereign!” Lu Yaoshuang stammered, flushed with embarrassment.

Chuckle.

A soft laugh rang out. Ye Guixue, who had been sitting silently the whole time silently, finally spoke.

“So the Demon Sovereign understands feelings after all.”

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