The Demon Lord Is Carrying My Child - Chapter 18

When Ji Shutao and Zhuang Yi finally scaled countless mountains and rivers to reach the summit, Ji Shutao was still agonizing over how Cangyou Pavilion could have gone so astray.

She had met the Sect Master of Cangyou Pavilion before a man of immortal character and sage-like appearance, possessing such a compassionate and benevolent countenance that, had she not known his identity, she would have mistaken him for a living Buddha descended to earth.

How could a sect founded by such a person ever use living souls as sacrifices to the heavens?

“Save the common people, bring forth peace.”

Those sworn words still echoed in Ji Shutao’s ears even now.

When mentioning faith, people’s eyes usually shine with light; that Sect Master had been no different. Ji Shutao did not understand she didn’t understand at all.

Unless one has seen the grandeur of Mount Wu, one cannot say that no other clouds are worth mentioning.

If she hadn’t met that Sect Master, she wouldn’t be standing here at the summit, picking through a myriad of reasons within her fractured perceptions and agonizing so deeply.

“Still thinking about it?” Zhuang Yi had already walked several paces ahead, but looking back, she saw Ji Shutao still standing in place. Zhuang Yi turned back to wait for her. Seeing her expression, Zhuang Yi understood more or less what was happening.

Ji Shutao snapped back to reality and looked at Zhuang Yi: “I just find it hard to believe that Cangyou Pavilion would actually use living souls to sacrifice to the heavens.”

“In this world, nothing is as simple as it appears on the surface. Identity and appearance… they prove nothing.”

There was a deeper meaning in Zhuang Yi’s words. Ji Shutao felt a stir in her heart and took her hand, sighing softly: “You’re right. They prove nothing.”

Some people wear a face of kindness while actually committing robbery and murder, doing every evil imaginable. Others look fierce and sinister, yet they spend their lives building bridges, paving roads, and helping others.

Zhuang Yi was of the Demon Race. Since ancient times, whenever something bad happened, the people of the world would instinctively pin it on the demons, as if being born a demon meant they were destined to accept all the filth of the world, and even their defense was considered a powerless excuse.

The righteous path is as bright as the wind and the moon, housing no villains. The Demon Race is cruel and cold-blooded, killing people like grass.

Ji Shutao saw the world in black and white; she used to harbor an extreme loathing for the Demon Race, wishing she could kill them all to be rid of the evil. But now she had met Zhuang Yi. Though Zhuang Yi was a demon, throughout this journey, everything Ji Shutao had seen was entirely different from the Zhuang Yi people spoke of.

Only now did she realize that black and white are not so distinct. There are bad people in the righteous path, and there are good people among the demons.

Zhuang Yi rubbed Ji Shutao’s hand, somewhat craving the warmth of her palm.

“Let’s keep going. Once we reach the end, we’ll see the result.”

“Alright.”

Although the trees at the summit were sparse, they were extraordinarily large. The trees were linked together, blotting out the sky and the sun. The meager sunlight filtering through the shadows of the trees turned into baring-clawed ghost shadows.

Looking into the woods from the entrance, one saw only shifting ghost shadows moving with the wind and a chilling, eerie light. It made one’s scalp tingle, knowing that this trip would certainly not be easy.

In times of danger, Zhuang Yi was always accustomed to pulling Ji Shutao behind her. This was her instinct, unavoidable.

Ji Shutao looked at Zhuang Yi’s back. She didn’t know that Zhuang Yi was now no different from an ordinary person; she was simply concerned for Zhuang Yi’s body. With a turn of her step, she moved to the front, putting Zhuang Yi behind her.

Zhuang Yi was stunned. Ji Shutao was already holding her hand and slowly walking forward, saying as she went: “You’ve protected me so many times; it’s finally time for me to protect you for once.”

Ever since Ji Shutao had left her, Zhuang Yi had fallen back into a dark abyss an abyss without a single ray of light, filled only with despairing darkness.

When she realized there was a little one in her belly, Zhuang Yi could feel a faint light shining down, but it was flickering and weak, even more ethereal than a drowning person’s straw.

On the day she reunited with Ji Shutao, the sky had brightened brilliantly, only to dim quickly because Ji Shutao did not remember her.

Until this very moment, Zhuang Yi felt as if her entire body was bathed in sunlight, comfortable and warm. She also began to feel certain: she had found her light again.

It wasn’t that she had to depend on someone else, but rather that in this life, one always needs to be cared for by another. She was being cared for by Ji Shutao now, and that sense of longing began to take root. From that single point of concern, the seed would gradually grow into a towering tree, sustaining the bond between them.

Zhuang Yi stopped speaking and followed firmly behind Ji Shutao.

The Trials of the Stone Pillars

After walking for about half an hour, just as the two were about to stop and rest, several horizontally placed stone pillars appeared before them.

The stone pillars looked ancient. Being made of stone, they hadn’t suffered much besides the heavy wear on their patterns.

Behind these stone pillars were two very thick and heavy stone doors.

Ji Shutao and Zhuang Yi exchanged a glance. Ji Shutao took a few tentative steps forward, and immediately, hidden arrows came flying at them.

Fortunately, Ji Shutao was only testing the waters and had remained vigilant. This allowed her to retreat and hide behind a tree with Zhuang Yi when the “ten thousand arrows” were fired simultaneously.

“It seems there are many traps waiting for us,” Ji Shutao said, glancing at the arrows on the ground with lingering fear.

Zhuang Yi nodded: “You only crossed the first stone pillar and it triggered a volley of arrows. There are six stone pillars in total; I’m afraid there is a trap behind every single one.”

The grim situation made them afraid to act recklessly. They had walked for so long without meeting her Senior Brothers; Ji Shutao was worried, wondering if they had taken another path.

“It’s possible. There isn’t just one path up this mountain. I don’t know if the path they took has traps like these.”

“I sent a message to them, but I haven’t received a reply.”

The message transmission of the Beichen Mountain sect had always been the most stable method of communication, never failing before. Why was it not working here?

“Don’t worry, your Senior Brothers are all people of superior cultivation; they will be fine.”

Ji Shutao thought so too, but she still couldn’t help worrying about them. Even if they became so powerful that they were peerless in the world, Ji Shutao would still worry about them. Being invincible does not reduce the anxiety of those who care; the same was true for her feelings regarding Zhuang Yi.

Just as they were facing each other in silence, countless bamboo poles flew out from the direction of the stone doors. One end of each pole had been sharpened to an extreme point, looking as though it could take a life in an instant.

Zhuang Yi grabbed Ji Shutao and hid behind the nearest tree. These bamboo poles were heavier than arrows and had greater killing power; several of them nearly pierced through the entire tree.

Ji Shutao looked at the bamboo in front of her, dumbfounded: “How much launching force does this require? I’m afraid only a mechanical crossbow could achieve this.”

“It seems that once this mechanism is triggered, it will keep attacking until we find a way to stop it.”

Both Zhuang Yi and Ji Shutao’s hearts were hanging by a thread. They had speculated there were six mechanisms, but what if there were more? Currently, it was arrows and bamboo; the ones further back would surely be even more formidable.

With their current strength, it would be difficult to ensure they could dodge every attack. There was only one path left for them: to break the mechanism.

Zhuang Yi calculated that the time between the first attack and the second was about fifteen minutes. The time left for them was only fifteen minutes.

Taking advantage of the breathing room, Zhuang Yi walked to the front of the stone pillars and discovered that they seemed to be arranged according to a specific pattern.

1st Pillar: Broken in the middle (which is why Ji Shutao could retreat so quickly).

2nd Pillar: Same length as the first, but solid (unbroken).

3rd Pillar: Same as the second (solid).

4th Pillar: A bit further from the third, broken in the middle. The length of the break appeared identical to the first.

5th Pillar: Solid (unbroken).

6th Pillar: Broken in the middle, identical to the first and fourth.

The spacing between pillars 1, 2, and 3 was equal, as was the spacing between 4, 5, and 6. Only the gap between the 4th and 5th pillars was slightly larger.

Such a regular arrangement could not be a coincidence. Zhuang Yi looked back and forth many times but couldn’t quite see the trick behind it.

Ji Shutao came to her side dejectedly, rambling: “Cangyou Pavilion practices incantations, while we at Beichen Mountain practice swordsmanship. They’ve already become this powerful; I don’t know if Master and my Senior Brothers can suppress them.”

Perhaps discouraged by the trap before them, Ji Shutao spoke such defeatist words. At any other time, she would have claimed that one person from Beichen Mountain could take on ten of them.

The speaker was unintentional, but the listener was attentive. Something flashed in Zhuang Yi’s mind. She asked Ji Shutao: “What does their study of incantations include?”

“Everything, I suppose,” Ji Shutao wasn’t in high spirits, but she still ticked them off on her fingers for Zhuang Yi: “Talismans, arrays, Qimen Dunjia… as long as it has something to do with charms or formations, they study it.”

When Zhuang Yi heard “Qimen Dunjia,” her eyes lit up. However, what she thought of was not Qimen Dunjia, but the Sixty-Four Hexagrams.

The stone pillars in front of them happened to form the Kun (Oppression/Exhaustion) Hexagram.

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