The Demon Lord Is Carrying My Child - Chapter 30

“Shutao.”

Ji Shutao heard Zhuang Yi calling her in a daze. She opened her eyes to find Zhuang Yi leaning over, looking at her as she lay on the ground. She had no idea how long Zhuang Yi had been there.

“Why are you here?” Ji Shutao felt a bit guilty as she propped herself up.

“I’ve been following behind you the whole time. You were so lost in thought that you didn’t notice me.” Zhuang Yi gathered her robes and sat down beside Ji Shutao. She looked up at the same scenery Ji Shutao had just been watching; the wind whistled through the leaves with a rustling sound. Zhuang Yi closed her eyes contentedly.

“Shutao, listen. It’s the sound of the wind.”

Ji Shutao turned her head away and said in a muffled voice, “The ground is cold. Don’t sit there.”

“I don’t find the ground cold at all.”

Ji Shutao stared blankly at Zhuang Yi. She was truly afraid that Zhuang Yi was about to say her heart had grown cold.

Ji Shutao lowered her head. She felt she must have been a great disappointment to Zhuang Yi lately. Originally, she was the one who had fallen for Zhuang Yi first. Being pestered by a young girl like herself, Zhuang Yi must have been very annoyed in the beginning.

The more she thought, the more distressed she became. She felt she didn’t deserve Zhuang Yi’s love at all, feeling as though she were sinking into the dust.

Zhuang Yi, however, raised her hand and placed it over Ji Shutao’s heart. She said with a sense of loss, “I feel that it is cold here. No matter what I do, I cannot warm it.”

Hearing these words, Ji Shutao was on the verge of tears. She grabbed Zhuang Yi’s hand as it started to retract and pressed it against herself. “How could that be? This place will always be warm because of you.”

“Shutao, when I first became the Demon Venerable, because I was so young, very few people respected me. The Demon Realm was in total chaos. Openly and secretly, there was nothing but mockery directed at me. I suffered countless hidden arrows and overt attacks. But Shutao, I eventually stabilized my position. Later, I met you. Life has many difficult moments, but they all pass. You want me to tell you everything shouldn’t you tell me everything as well?”

Zhuang Yi’s tone was calm. Ji Shutao could hardly imagine the state of mind Zhuang Yi must have been in to speak those words. Perhaps she was indifferent now, and the storms of the past were merely stories to tell, but Ji Shutao still felt a pang of heartache.

She ached for everything Zhuang Yi had endured. Even after all that hardship, Zhuang Yi had still rushed to her side without hesitation to shield her from danger. She had resolved countless times to love her well, yet she ended up being indecisive and hesitant. In the end, it was still Zhuang Yi who had to comfort her.

Ji Shutao hugged Zhuang Yi tightly and wailed, “I’m sorry, Zhuang Yi. I’m so sorry.”

Zhuang Yi stroked her hair. “You haven’t let me down. I am a person of the darkness. If you hadn’t become my light, I would still be walking in the dark even now. Shutao, pull yourself together.”

Ji Shutao froze. She had just heard Zhuang Yi call her “light.” Light? How could she possibly deserve that?

Ji Shutao wiped the tears from her face, her voice choked and incoherent as she spoke: “I… I’ve never been mature enough, and I’m too playful. Sob… I don’t love you nearly as much as you love me. I’m just a big fool. I’m not worth your love. I’m a big idiot.”

Zhuang Yi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Ji Shutao was crying so hard her face was a mess of tears and snot. Zhuang Yi wiped her face for her. “Alright, you big idiot. Once you’ve cried enough, let’s go back. I’m hungry. This little one and I haven’t eaten since we came out to find you.”

Zhuang Yi pointed to her belly, her eyes full of tenderness. This water-like gentleness finally broke through the defenses Ji Shutao had built up over the past few days.

Ji Shutao cried even harder, sobbing into Zhuang Yi’s arms until she was out of breath. While crying, she cursed some imaginary people, finally letting out all the emotions she had suppressed lately.

Zhuang Yi patted Ji Shutao’s back repeatedly, like she was soothing a child. When Ji Shutao finally returned, her eyes were swollen like walnuts.

After breakfast, Ji Shutao finally spoke the truth. A few days ago, she had begun to remember fragmented images. By yesterday, she remembered everything including her past with Zhuang Yi and exactly who had injured her.

Four people and eight eyes were fixed on her. Ji Shutao picked at the edge of the table, turned her head away, and said with determination: “It was Master. The person who hurt me was Master. He was also the one who made me drink the Face-Stone powder.”

Ji Shutao tried her best to suppress the urge to cry. It turned out that simply saying it out loud hurt her deeply.

Zhuang Yi frowned. Although she had suspected this on the day Yu Chu tried to strike Ji Shutao, Qian Feng had told her that Yu Chu had used fifty percent of his power. That fifty percent was nothing to Qian Feng, but for Ji Shutao, if that palm strike had landed, the consequences would have been unthinkable. Still, hearing Ji Shutao say it herself gave Zhuang Yi a shock.

She didn’t know where this shock came from; it was as if a villain had crossed a line that should never have been crossed.

A few months ago, Yu Chu had somehow learned that Ji Shutao and Zhuang Yi were together. He sent a letter to Ji Shutao, ordering her to return to the mountain immediately.

Ji Shutao had thought it over. If she wanted to be with Zhuang Yi, she had to pass her Master’s test. So, she decided to return to Beichen Mountain and promised Zhuang Yi that she would definitely come back; when that happened, they would visit Beichen Mountain together.

Seeing how determined Ji Shutao was and understanding how important her Master was to her, Zhuang Yi agreed to let her go.

The Demon Realm was thousands of miles away from Beichen Mountain. Ji Shutao arrived at the foot of the mountain on the third day, only to find that Yu Chu was already waiting for her.

Though she was prepared, she was still very nervous. After all, Zhuang Yi was the Demon Venerable, and her Master had always loathed the demon race.

“Master…” Ji Shutao spoke haltingly.

Her Master had raised her; he wasn’t an unreasonable person. Ji Shutao thought that surely he would listen to reason.

“Follow me.” Yu Chu’s voice betrayed no emotion. He led Ji Shutao to a secluded spot.

Yu Chu’s fists were clenched tight, and his teeth ground together audibly. He was clearly driven mad with rage.

“Master, please don’t be angry.” Ji Shutao tried to support Yu Chu, but he dodged her. She was so nervous she didn’t know what to do with her hands.

Yu Chu struggled to suppress his fury. “Do you know the consequences of being with Zhuang Yi?”

Ji Shutao was stunned and shook her head honestly. She had never heard that being with the person she loved would have “consequences.”

Yu Chu looked at her reaction and almost blamed himself, covering his face in anguish. This young disciple had been protected too well. Although she was always mischievous, even when she went down the mountain, she only wandered around the Beichen Mountain territory. He and her senior brothers turned a blind eye to it. As a result, she knew nothing of the wickedness of the world, nor did she know of the atrocities committed by the demon race.

Because of this, she had fallen right into a demon trap.

“The demon race has always killed without blinking. They have committed countless slaughters over the years. They approached you with ulterior motives,” Yu Chu said persuasively. “You are too young to distinguish good from evil. Come back with Master now and break off all contact with them.”

“Master, Zhuang Yi isn’t that kind of person. Besides, I was the one who approached her first.”

Facing Yu Chu’s shocked gaze, Ji Shutao hid nothing. “I was the one who fell in love first.”

“You…”

Ji Shutao didn’t stop. “Zhuang Yi did nothing wrong, nor did she try to lure me. Not all demons are like that. I may be younger than my senior brothers, but I am not incapable of distinguishing good from evil.”

“Are you… are you determined to be with Zhuang Yi?” Yu Chu flicked his sleeve and turned his back to Ji Shutao.

“Yes. I hope Master will grant his blessing.”

“In that case, you must choose between me and Zhuang Yi.” Yu Chu used his ultimate trump card.

Ji Shutao looked at Yu Chu in disbelief. “Master… I cannot make that choice. I want to be with Zhuang Yi, but I also want to remain a filial disciple to you.”

Yu Chu probably hadn’t expected that he and Zhuang Yi were of equal weight in her heart. Ji Shutao could not let go of Zhuang Yi, nor could she let go of him.

What followed was Yu Chu, in a fit of rage, attacking Ji Shutao ruthlessly. While she was losing consciousness, he forced her to drink the Face-Stone powder.

To cover his tracks, he secretly dumped Ji Shutao at the gates of Beichen Mountain. Ji Shutao thought that perhaps her Master didn’t truly want to kill her; otherwise, why would he leave her at the gates? He could have easily finished her off or left her to fend for herself.

Even when she was heavily injured, Yu Chu’s concern hadn’t seemed fake…

But it was precisely because of this that it felt all the more heartbreaking.

To distract Ji Shutao, Liu Wushuang cleared her throat. “I’ve heard that Face-Stone is nearly extinct. I wonder where your Master managed to get it.”

“I don’t know either,” Ji Shutao shook her head listlessly.

“On our journey west, I saw an entire mountain of Face-Stone. However, that mountain belongs to a Great Elder of my Demon Realm,” Zhuang Yi said.

Face-Stone belonging to a Demon Elder suddenly appearing in the hands of an orthodox sect leader—things were clearly not as simple as they appeared.

“Could there be some other hidden reason?” Ji Shutao suddenly gained a bit of spirit, clinging to that tiny, lingering hope in her heart.

Zhuang Yi nodded, following the direction of her hope. “It’s possible.”

Combined with the fact that the Cangyou Pavilion was secretly using living souls for sacrifices, it seemed someone was plotting something big. They had to find this person, or the whole world would be in danger.

In truth, Zhuang Yi already had a candidate in mind. As she looked at Qian Feng, Qian Feng looked back at her.

With a grim expression, Qian Feng said, “It couldn’t be him, could it?”

“Perhaps you already have the answer in your heart.”

Was it possible for Xi Xiao to steal forbidden books, use Face-Stone, and cooperate with the orthodox sects? Qian Feng asked herself twice, and the answer both times was “yes.”

Xi Xiao had succumbed to inner demons; his actions had long since defied logic. Nothing he did should surprise Qian Feng anymore.

Yet, deep down, Qian Feng still held onto a lingering thought. Perhaps because of their many years of ruling the Demon Realm together, she was still willing to believe there was a way back for Xi Xiao.

No one knew what his ultimate goal truly was.

Was the position of Demon Venerable really all he coveted? Qian Feng’s mind was a tangled mess.

“Don’t overthink it. We will find out eventually,” Zhuang Yi comforted Qian Feng.

“I hope so,” Qian Feng replied, though she held no real hope.

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