The Demon Lord Is Carrying My Child - Chapter 11

Zhuang Yi waved her hand to close the door and immediately met the guard’s dark eyes. She raised her left hand, striking directly toward the guard’s eyes, while her right hand controlled the table behind them, swinging it from the side to smash into him. Both attacks failed to land. Instead, in her effort to dodge the guard’s counterattack, Zhuang Yi moved away from the door she had been leaning against. The door was swung open, and as the guard prepared to rush out, his feet were ensnared by countless silk ribbons.

Zhuang Yi exerted every ounce of her strength to keep the guard in check. At that moment, everyone heard the commotion and rushed over, surrounding the courtyard until it was packed tight.

The guard curled his lips into a smirk. “You can’t leave now.”

Zhuang Yi looked at him with cold eyes and released the tension on the ribbons. The guard had been straining forward to break free from the silk; with Zhuang Yi’s sudden release, his forward momentum caused him to slam face-first into the doorframe.

Zhuang Yi said in a chilling voice: “I’m not leaving.”

The guard, who had just smashed his teeth: “…”

He was so furious that the veins on his forehead bulged. However, he knew that although Zhuang Yi was currently at a disadvantage, they would suffer a grim fate if they tried to fight her head-on. He could only order his men to take Zhuang Yi away first and deal with the rest later.

Perhaps because Zhuang Yi’s aura was too imposing, no one actually dared to touch her. The so-called “escort” was merely Zhuang Yi walking in front with several people following behind her.

Zhuang Yi had no intention of fighting her way out; after all, Ji Shutao had already successfully escaped.

Halfway there, Zhuang Yi looked back at the guard and suddenly asked, “A disciple of the Cangyou Pavilion?”

He froze in place, wondering exactly how his background had been leaked. Just as he was about to argue, Zhuang Yi had already obediently allowed herself to be led away.

He had never been so speechless in his life.

He clutched his face as the others approached, saying soothingly, “Senior Brother, are you alright? Don’t bother yourself with such a woman.”

Zhiming took a deep breath. “One escaped. Search the entire town.”

“Yes!”

Ye Tian, who arrived later, discovered that Ye Xiaoge was missing. He grabbed Zhiming by the collar in a fit of rage and demanded, “Where is my daughter?”

Only then did Zhiming remember that Ye Xiaoge had also been taken. This made the situation exceptionally grave. Ye Xiaoge knew the truth; if she leaked the details, they would all be finished.

At the Inn

Ji Shutao handed a cup of water to the trembling Ye Xiaoge, though she herself was nearly tearing the hem of her clothes to shreds.

Her mind was entirely occupied by Zhuang Yi worrying if she was injured, fearing that something else might happen to her.

Lost in these spiraling thoughts, Ji Shutao couldn’t even sit still.

“Zhuang Yi, Zhuang Yi, Zhuang Yi…” she murmured, her voice growing weaker and more helpless. She even began to regret the decision to go to the Ye Mansion this time.

She should have let Zhuang Yi rest for a few more days before setting out at least until Zhuang Yi’s complexion had improved.

She should have gathered more information before heading to the Ye Mansion.

The more Ji Shutao thought about it, the more she regretted it, wishing she could pick up her sword and charge back into the Ye Mansion right now.

But she knew she couldn’t defeat anyone there. For the first time, she felt a bitter resentment toward her own lack of cultivation.

Ye Xiaoge accidentally dropped her cup with trembling hands. She had been terrified the whole way, not knowing who Ji Shutao was, only seeing them fighting the guard when she opened her eyes. She asked cautiously, “Who are you?”

Hearing Ye Xiaoge’s voice, Ji Shutao regained a bit of focus. “I am a friend of Ye Yiran. I went to the Ye Mansion this time to find her.”

“You are Sister Yiran’s friend?” The young girl was clearly delighted, even standing up.

“Yes.”

“Then, are you here to save Sister Yiran?” Ye Xiaoge grabbed Ji Shutao’s hand, looking at her expectantly. It was wonderful to know she wasn’t the only one in the world who cared for Ye Yiran.

“What happened to her? Why does she need saving?” Ji Shutao gripped Ye Xiaoge’s hand in return.

Ye Xiaoge’s expression darkened. She suddenly realized something: how could the two of them possibly save Sister Yiran?

“One must try to know if it’s possible. Besides, a very important friend of mine is also trapped inside.”

Thinking of Zhuang Yi, Ji Shutao felt lost, almost unable to think. She desperately needed to know the full story so she could deduce whether Zhuang Yi’s current situation was dangerous.

If it was dangerous, even if the Ye Mansion was a dragon’s den or a tiger’s cave, she would risk her life to get Zhuang Yi out.

When it comes to the safety of someone important, people cannot remain rational.

Facing the threat to Zhuang Yi, Ji Shutao had no way to be rational.

Looking at Ji Shutao’s determined gaze, Ye Xiaoge reached up to touch the gauze on her neck. One must try to know if it’s possible she had already been brave once, and she didn’t mind being brave a few more times.

“In early April, several strange people came to our house. The leader claimed to be Chen Li, the eldest disciple of Beichen Mountain, and wanted to take my elder brother as a disciple.”

Ye Xiaoge had felt something was wrong even then. Although their town was remote, she had heard of Beichen Mountain. How could such a grand sect recruit disciples so casually? Moreover, her brother only cared about wine and women; he had no talent that the eldest disciple of Beichen Mountain would ever notice.

Yet, her father and mother were blinded by the promise of living a hundred years through cultivation and the thousands of honors it would bring, completely ignoring whether it was true or false.

Ye Xiaoge could only try to investigate on her own. As a young lady kept in the inner chambers, rarely allowed to leave the house, gathering information was as difficult as reaching the heavens. She endured until that day the day Ye Yiran returned.

“Sister Yiran’s mother arrived at our home as a victim of a flood,” Ye Xiaoge paused here. Even though she loved her father, still… the facts were the facts.

“My father saw that she was peerlessly beautiful, so he took her by force. After giving birth to Sister Yiran, she passed away due to her frail health. Father didn’t like her, and neither did my mother. So, they simply abandoned her in the forest. Luckily, a kind family took her in, or else Sister Yiran would have been gone long ago. Later, her adoptive mother died, leaving Sister Yiran all alone.”

“How did you find out all this?”

“The servants have loose lips; I pieced it together slowly. Being born into such a family and being pampered by my parents, I have no way to blame them. I can only work hard and hope I don’t become like them.”

Ye Tian had always disliked Ye Yiran, but after Ye Xiaoge found out she had such a sister, she would often visit her and bring her things.

For someone so young to be so perceptive was truly rare. Ji Shutao thought to herself: Truly, a fine bamboo shoot from a bad stalk.

“Because Father dislikes Sister Yiran even to the point of not wanting to look at her I felt it was very strange when he suddenly brought her back.”

The house was suddenly filled with guards who seemed to know magic. Upon inquiry, Ye Xiaoge learned they were supposedly from Beichen Mountain.

Ji Shutao didn’t recognize a single one of them. Beichen Mountain didn’t have branch sects; they were definitely imposters.

“The most horrifying thing happened next. One day, I passed by Father’s study and heard Chen Li say that to enter Beichen Mountain, they needed a ‘Living Soul’ related by blood to my brother for a heavenly sacrifice. A living soul…” Ye Xiaoge closed her eyes, still shaking with fear. “That means Sister Yiran.”

She couldn’t imagine sacrificing one’s own biological daughter for a phantom promise.

At that moment, her blood turned cold, and a chasm opened between her and her parents that could never be crossed.

“That wasn’t Chen Li. We at Beichen Mountain do not engage in such heinous acts.”

Ji Shutao clenched her fists. The idea of using a living soul for sacrifice an act so depraved it would incite the wrath of both gods and men was being pinned on Beichen Mountain.

Once this leaked out, no matter how Beichen Mountain explained it, their reputation would be ruined.

Her Master was a man of high integrity, and the disciples of Beichen Mountain always saw it as their duty to help the weak and protect the common people. To be framed like this was unbearable.

Ji Shutao wanted nothing more than to take her sword and cut them down right now.

“Are you… a disciple of Beichen Mountain?” Ye Xiaoge asked hesitantly.

“Yes, I am a disciple of Beichen Mountain. Those people are all fakes.” Ji Shutao slammed her fist onto the table. Suddenly remembering something, she asked, “Does Ye Yiran have any specific traits that made her the choice?”

Ye Xiaoge gave a desolate smile. “Probably because she has no one to rely on and is unloved.”

Ji Shutao looked at her pale face and wondered: if those people had chosen the sacrifice, and if the one chosen had been Ye Xiaoge, what would Ye Tian have done then?

This hypothetical was too dark to dwell on; it would be too cruel for the young girl.

Sacrificing a living soul was an act of insanity not seen for hundreds of years. Only those who had completely succumbed to demonic possession would dare to do such a thing.

Ji Shutao became increasingly worried about Zhuang Yi.

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