The Demon Lord Is Carrying My Child - Chapter 29

The month passed in the blink of an eye, and the day for the Election Assembly of the Orthodox Consul finally arrived.

Cangyou Pavilion opened its mountain-spanning main road. An endless stream of people arrived; among them were not only the cream of the crop from various sects but also many unknown figures.

This assembly was exceptionally grand, as everyone wanted to make a dash for that position.

Yu Chu was the last to arrive, with Chen Li and Cun Ming by his side.

“Brother Yu, why have you arrived so late?” Liu Shuo, who had been exchanging pleasantries with others, hurried over to welcome him upon seeing Yu Chu.

“I was delayed on the road. Brother Liu’s Cangyou Pavilion remains as magnificent as ever,” Yu Chu said with a faint smile on his face.

“You flatter me. Brother Yu, please, take a seat inside.”

Yu Chu didn’t say much more and walked straight toward his assigned seat.

Cun Ming stood with his sword cradled in his arms. Since Yu Chu was the Mountain Lord of Beichen Mountain and held a prestigious status, his seat was positioned high up, allowing Cun Ming to take in the entire crowd at a glance.

He nudged Chen Li with his elbow, leaned in, and whispered, “Every kind of person has really shown up.”

It was true; even many sects whose reputations had long been tarnished were present. Evidently, the position of Consul was something everyone hungered for.

“Master, I’m going to take a wander around,” Cun Ming leaned down and said to Yu Chu.

Yu Chu waved his hand: “Go ahead. You can’t sit still anyway.”

Every time they attended such an assembly, Cun Ming was like a monkey, unable to settle down unless he was scurrying about. Yu Chu was used to it.

In the past… in the past, Ji Shutao would have been scurrying along with him. Now…

Yu Chu no longer had that disciple.

A month had passed, and Yu Chu still couldn’t understand why Ji Shutao would choose Zhuang Yi. Could it be that raising her for all those years couldn’t compare to the few months she spent with Zhuang Yi?

Yu Chu pressed his hand against his throbbing temple. Even now, he didn’t know exactly where things had gone wrong.

“Master, does your head ache again?” Chen Li asked softly, his voice tinged with concern.

For some reason, ever since Master returned from Wuming Mountain last time, he frequently suffered from headaches. The disciples had tried to ask indirectly if something had happened, but Yu Chu remained tight-lipped.

Soon after, even their Junior Sister, who had been keeping in constant contact with them, vanished without a trace.

The Seventh Junior Brother couldn’t be found, the Junior Sister couldn’t be found, and Ye Yiran had not yet been rescued.

Chen Li sighed in his heart.

“It’s nothing,” Yu Chu lowered his hand.

This Orthodox Consul Election Assembly would last for a total of ten days, with ten trials in total one trial per day.

Liu Shuo had no interest in the position, so no one from his Cangyou Pavilion participated. Consequently, all the trials were designed by Cangyou Pavilion, and the assembly was hosted on their grounds.

When designing the trials, Cangyou Pavilion had fully integrated the strengths and characteristics of various major sects. To stand out among these ten trials would be extremely difficult.

This difficulty applied not only to the smaller sects but even to someone of Yu Chu’s caliber; it was by no means simple.

This ensured a fair outcome where everyone had an equal opportunity, and it came down entirely to strength. If one’s skills were inferior, there was no one else to blame.

This morning was the opening ceremony. By noon, anyone who had not arrived would be disqualified from the election.

The first trial officially began in the afternoon. This stage was for screening; after all, the election assembly wasn’t for just any “stray cat or dog” to join.

Cangyou Pavilion had released several highly aggressive ferocious beasts into the dense forest behind them. Reaching the forest exit successfully counted as a victory. Only those with true strength could pass the first trial, and it was a matter of life and death.

Of course, Cangyou Pavilion wouldn’t simply watch the weak be killed. Everyone held a bead in their hand; if they threw the bead to the ground to release smoke, it signified their withdrawal, and Cangyou Pavilion’s people would come to escort them out of the forest.

This bead could only be used once and remained valid throughout trials similar to the forest one.

Cun Ming and Chen Li participated in the first trial just for fun. Both reached the forest exit quickly. Many people had arrived before them, but since they were only playing around, they hadn’t put in much effort.

The second trial would begin tomorrow a one-on-one duel. Those who passed the first trial would draw lots to determine their opponents. Winners would proceed to the third trial, while losers were eliminated.

Drawing the same number meant becoming automatic opponents.

“Eldest Senior Brother, Cangyou Pavilion’s rules are quite interesting,” Cun Ming laughed as he went to draw his lot.

He drew Mu Xinghuo, who was known as the “World’s Number One Fast Blade.” Cun Ming dejectedly slapped his own hand.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t win, but it would be exhausting.

Mu Xinghuo was looking around for Cun Ming. When he spotted him, he waved his hand.

Mu Xinghuo wasn’t very old; compared to Cun Ming, he was practically a kid. The kid smiled very sweetly, not looking at all like the “World’s Number One Fast Blade.”

This reminded him of his Seventh Junior Brother. His Seventh Junior Brother also liked to smile with such lack of reservation, but now Cun Ming didn’t even know where he was.

If things were as the Junior Sister had said that those people were from Cangyou Pavilion then… could it be that Cangyou Pavilion had harbored ill intentions from the very beginning?

Or perhaps, the Seventh Junior Brother was inside Cangyou Pavilion, and maybe that girl was there too.

Chen Li was greatly shocked after hearing this: “Is all of this true?”

“You didn’t know?” Cun Ming asked back.

“I didn’t know,” Chen Li shook his head.

Cun Ming suddenly felt he had stumbled upon a massive secret.

“Then Eldest Senior Brother, do you believe it?”

“Whether I believe it or not isn’t the point. What matters is whether we have evidence. If Cangyou Pavilion really did such things, it would be an unpardonable crime. We cannot let them continue to cause harm. The most important thing is the evidence.”

Cun Ming patted Chen Li on the shoulder. As expected of the righteous Eldest Senior Brother.

“By the way, Eldest Senior Brother, who is your opponent?”

Chen Li said somewhat speechlessly, “Mei Wuhen.”

Mei Wuhen’s sect specialized in illusions and the art of seduction. Although she was formidable, facing someone as “calm as still water” as his Eldest Senior Brother was simply her bad luck.

However, Chen Li had always detested such things; he didn’t know how his hand had managed to draw her name.

This was Cangyou Pavilion, their home turf. Investigating would certainly be difficult; any slip-up could leak information and alert the enemy. Cun Ming and Chen Li decided to take it one step at a time, moving with caution.

West Mountain.

Ji Shutao used water vapor to poke Zhuang Yi’s belly. She said somewhat gloomily, “Why hasn’t it bulged out yet?”

Zhuang Yi looked at her with amusement: “It will bulge out when you are four months along.”

“Isn’t it almost four months if we round it up?”

Ji Shutao patted the medicinal barrel, humming twice in dissatisfaction.

Qian Feng, who was tending the fire outside, shouted loudly, “You think it’s like you where you can just round things up and make a birthday happen whenever you feel like it?”

Ji Shutao lowered her head guiltily. A few days ago, fearing that her future life would be too turbulent to celebrate a birthday, she had “rounded things up” and invented a birthday for herself.

Originally, her birthday was in July, but she ended up celebrating it in early May.

Zhuang Yi indulged her; it didn’t matter even if she wanted to celebrate a birthday every day. But Qian Feng was different. Although he called her “Mistress Consort,” he never missed a chance to bury her in sarcasm. It had been so long, yet he was still bringing that incident up.

“It’s already been over a month. Shutao, have you remembered anything yet?” Zhuang Yi looked at Ji Shutao with anticipation.

“…No.”

Zhuang Yi comforted her as well as himself: “Perhaps the Renmian Stone Powder is too potent.”

Liu Wushuang had later examined Ji Shutao carefully and confirmed that she had indeed ingested Renmian Stone Powder, and in a significant dosage.

Ji Shutao had to drink medicine in the morning, and by noon, she had to soak in a medicinal barrel. The hot water in the barrel could not be interrupted, so Qian Feng boiled water outside while Zhuang Yi was responsible for adding the hot water to the barrel.

Ji Shutao felt like she was turning into the smell of bitterness.

At night, when she was sleeping with Zhuang Yi, she said shamelessly, “Zhuang Yi, I feel like I’ve become bitter. Take a bite and see if it’s bitter.”

Zhuang Yi stroked her head: “You are always sweet.”

“No, no, I’m really bitter.” Ji Shutao rubbed against Zhuang Yi’s side.

Zhuang Yi woke her up with a light swat: “I said it’s sweet.”

Ji Shutao shut her mouth. The pregnant woman was the boss of the world, though Zhuang Yi’s temper had been getting worse lately.

If Ji Shutao didn’t have all these messy ideas, Zhuang Yi would certainly be happy to give her a smile.

“Zhuang Yi,” Ji Shutao suddenly hugged Zhuang Yi, “If I lied to you, would you be sad?”

“Yes,” Zhuang Yi murmured. She was nearly asleep and leaned closer into Ji Shutao’s embrace. “But how could you lie to me?”

Ji Shutao’s heart felt incredibly soft. She kissed Zhuang Yi’s forehead, but she had indeed lied to Zhuang Yi.

Those memories she had lost… had returned.

The sweet ones, the painful ones they had all come back.

Ji Shutao saw her past with Zhuang Yi; she saw how she had slowly warmed this “cold stone” that was Zhuang Yi; she saw them leaning on each other.

That was the light. But soon, she had plunged into darkness.

Because she saw who it was that had wounded her.

She would never forget that face. That face was full of cold indifference, as if he had succumbed to madness, striking her chest with all his strength in a single palm strike.

She almost wished he had struck her from behind.

That way, she wouldn’t have to face the current agony.

Master… Oh, Master. Master once said she was his most beloved young disciple, yet he had wounded her and forced her to swallow Renmian Stone Powder. A month ago, he even declared that Ji Shutao was no longer his disciple.

Master… why was he different from the one in her memories?

The sounds of the argument still echoed, just like a month ago. She had been “obstinate,” and Master, in a fit of rage, had dealt her a heavy blow.

Early the next morning, Ji Shutao ran to Liu Wushuang’s pharmacy to ask him: “Is it possible for memories to be distorted?”

“It is. But things that never happened cannot be distorted. The only things that can be distorted are the things you remember things that actually happened.” Liu Wushuang organized his medical texts and asked, “Have you remembered?”

Ji Shutao shook her head: “No.”

As she was walking out, Liu Wushuang suddenly said, “Shutao, escaping is not the solution.”

“I know.”

Ji Shutao kept running and running. This peach blossom forest had no boundaries, yet her heart was filled with walls. Before long, she had crashed into them until she was battered and bruised. She collapsed on the ground, devoid of strength.

Ji Shutao held up her hand, watching the sunlight spill through the shadows of the trees onto her palm.

Would facing it be a little better?

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