The Demon Lord Is Carrying My Child - Chapter 34

“Cui Tian!” Wenren Ruyi lifted the curtain and saw Cui Tian sitting outside. She called out to her, overwhelmed with joy.

“Princess,” Cui Tian replied, a trace of a smile appearing on her face.

Wenren Ruyi threw herself directly into Cui Tian’s arms, touching Cui Tian’s face in disbelief. “Cui Tian, Cui Tian, thank goodness you came.”

“Princess, I would never break my word to you.” For a fleeting moment, Cui Tian felt the urge to pull away, but then she reached out and patted Wenren Ruyi’s back reassuringly.

Wenren Ruyi’s hand remained on Cui Tian’s face. There was a wound there, stretching from the brow bone to the right cheek a pale mark that looked terrifying.

“Cui Tian, Cui Tian,” she murmured, her eyes reddening as she asked, “Cui Tian, does it hurt?”

Cui Tian continued to smile. “Princess, your subordinate does not feel pain.”

“You silly Cui Tian, I’ve told you so many times: if it hurts, you must say so; if you are sad, you must say so too.” Wenren Ruyi tried her best to suppress her surging emotions, but her voice still carried a sob.

“As long as the Princess is well, this subordinate is content.”

“But if Cui Tian is not well, I cannot be at peace.”

Wenren Ruyi’s words left Cui Tian stunned. Perhaps in Cui Tian’s world, such a concept had never existed. She was the Princess’s guard; protecting the Princess was her duty and her obligation as a subordinate.

But Wenren Ruyi had told her long ago that she was just as important. It was only at this moment that Cui Tian truly understood the meaning of being “equally important.”

Zhuang Yi had slept through the entire night and only saw Cui Tian upon waking. While she and Ji Shutao went to the river to wash their faces, she lamented, “I am truly no different from a useless person.”

“Don’t talk about yourself like that!” After tossing her handkerchief into the river to dampen it, Ji Shutao pulled Zhuang Yi over and wiped her face.

“Look,” Zhuang Yi said, spreading her hands and fixing her gaze on Ji Shutao’s hands.

“What’s wrong with washing my own wife’s face? That doesn’t make you a useless person,” Ji Shutao corrected her. “I would be willing to wash your face a hundred times.”

Zhuang Yi was amused by her “grand ambitions” and laughed. “Alright, alright, I’ll let you wash my face a hundred times.”

“Not just washing your face I can do the laundry too,” Ji Shutao said proudly.

“Mm-hmm.” Zhuang Yi nodded heavily.

“And many other things, like cooking, warming the bed…” Ji Shutao began counting them off one by one.

“Enough, enough, I know. You’re the most amazing, okay?”

Ji Shutao suddenly stopped and stared at Zhuang Yi, noticing the “coaxing a child” sort of smile on her face. She stomped her foot on the spot. “Zhuang Yi!”

“What is it?” Zhuang Yi was still smiling; now she looked like a child.

Ji Shutao shook her head and lightly tapped her forehead, speaking with a mix of doting affection and helplessness, “I truly have no way of dealing with you.”

Zhuang Yi took her hand and said with a beaming smile, “I’ve heard that one only has ‘no way of dealing’ with the person they like. Ah…” she intentionally dragged out her voice, “so you really do like me.”

“I could say that I like you a hundred times, too.”

For some reason, Ji Shutao seemed obsessed with the number “one hundred” today. Zhuang Yi burst into laughter.

When they returned, Wenren Ruyi was bandaging Cui Tian’s wounds, weeping as she worked. She was likely heartbroken. Cui Tian’s injuries were not light, and she smelled strongly of blood, though it was impossible to tell from her black clothing.

Although Zhuang Yi had agreed to save Wenren Ruyi, they could not allow Cui Tian and Wenren Ruyi to travel with them. After all, the place they were heading next was far too dangerous for mortals.

Ji Shutao was pondering how to break the news to Wenren Ruyi when, unexpectedly, Wenren Ruyi approached them first.

“Thank you three for saving our lives. We are fugitives of the world, and it wouldn’t be right for us to stay with you and risk bringing disaster upon you. Now that Cui Tian has reunited with me, we shall take our leave.” Wenren Ruyi performed a formal court salutation.

This etiquette served as a reminder that she was once a noble princess, yet now she could only hide in all directions, never to find peace.

Ji Shutao felt a sense of melancholy. “Take care.”

“Farewell.”

Qian Feng gave them some medicinal ointments for their injuries and finally gave each of them a spiritual talisman, saying they could protect their lives in times of danger.

After expressing her gratitude, Wenren Ruyi supported Cui Tian as they gradually walked out of sight.

“Alright,” Qian Feng clapped her hands. “It’s time for us to set out as well.”

Mount Huai was their ultimate goal.

Mount Shimo (Demon-Devouring Mountain)

“So this is Mount Shimo? It doesn’t look much like it,” Mei Wuhen said, standing with her hands on her hips. Before her lay a picturesque landscape of beautiful mountains and clear waters, looking no different from an ordinary mountain.

“Does it have to be filled with gusting dark winds, shrouded in demonic mist, and surrounded by terrifying screams to be called Mount Shimo?” Cun Ming made an exaggerated gesture of fear before rolling his eyes at Mei Wuhen. “And you are Mei Wuhen, not ‘Hands-on-Hips’ Hen. Where is your sense of poise?”

“Isn’t that what’s required for a horror legend?” Mei Wuhen replied with a ‘you’re an idiot’ expression. “My charm techniques are useless against you two anyway, and being poised won’t put food on the table.”

“You think I’m like you? I don’t rely on my face; I rely on strength. I know astronomy, geography, and am omnipotent.”

“This elder sister here relies on both her face and her strength.” Mei Wuhen gave Cun Ming a seductive smile.

Cun Ming felt goosebumps all over his body. He walked forward a few steps, leaned on Chen Li’s shoulder, and whispered, “Big Brother, what kind of reasoning led you to bring this ‘top-tier specimen’ along?”

Chen Li answered seriously, “To repay a debt.”

“Repay what debt?” Cun Ming asked, puzzled.

“Naturally, the information I gave you,” Mei Wuhen said, leaning on Chen Li’s other shoulder.

Chen Li shook both of their hands off simultaneously and said indifferently, “Let’s go.”

As they climbed the mountain, they could still vaguely hear the sounds of Cun Ming and Mei Wuhen bickering. Disturbed by the noise, Chen Li walked significantly faster than the two of them.

The mountain looked ordinary from the outside, but once inside, it was entirely different.

The path ahead was flanked by bizarre plants, each more vibrant than the last, and none of which Chen Li had ever seen before.

The more beautiful a thing is, the more potent its poison. Chen Li stopped Cun Ming and Mei Wuhen from proceeding.

“None of these things are likely to be simple. Be careful.”

This was also their first time at Mount Shimo. Their knowledge was limited to snippets of legends, which never mentioned the mountain being covered in such strange flora. Red trees towered into the sky, multicolored mushrooms were everywhere, and clusters of flowers, green enough to be unsettling, bloomed in patches.

Chen Li walked at the very front, with Cun Ming and Mei Wuhen following behind. After walking about ten meters, Mei Wuhen spotted something familiar.

She reached out and grabbed Chen Li. “Stop walking. There are Illusion Vines ahead.”

Low-level illusionists usually dried and ground Illusion Vines into powder, using the dust to trap others in illusions. However, such a trick was easily seen through, so only low-level practitioners used it. High-level illusionists like them didn’t need to rely on anything; they could cast illusions whenever and however they pleased.

But that didn’t mean the Illusion Vines themselves weren’t formidable. A vine’s constriction alone is enough to cause trouble, let alone one with hallucinogenic properties.

The path ahead was draped with hanging Illusion Vines. If one accidentally wandered in, the consequences would be endless; even Mei Wuhen couldn’t guarantee she could break the combined weight of their collective illusions.

However, the path back was not one they could take just because they wanted to. When they turned around, the way back was gone. Plants had surrounded them at some unknown point, swallowing the path.

The three realized one thing: they had been surrounded by these plants.

“Surrounded?” Cun Ming sneered, lifting his sword. “Let’s see if my blade is harder or if their stems are.”

Cun Ming slashed his way through. Wherever he went, the plants were reduced to broken branches and withered leaves. But very quickly, Cun Ming’s figure was submerged again by the plants that surged forward to fill the gaps.

Just as the others were about to look for him, they saw Illusion Vines closing in from all directions. As expected of Mount Shimo, it wanted to eliminate all three of them right at the start.

By the end of the fight, Mei Wuhen was becoming increasingly irritable. She wasn’t a combat-oriented person and was currently relying entirely on brute strength. She even felt tempted to perish together with the vines.

Chen Li pulled her back from behind and blocked an incoming vine for her. His sword movements were flawless, almost forming a protective umbrella that sliced the advancing vines into shreds.

Seeing the shreds, Mei Wuhen’s mood improved considerably.

“Can you create an illusion to make the plants attack each other?” Chen Li suggested. He wasn’t sure if Mei Wuhen could do it, but if they killed each other, the two of them wouldn’t have to lift a finger.

Mei Wuhen’s eyes lit up. Plants were low-level beings after all; making them fight each other required very little effort from her.

They were soon able to escape. Mei Wuhen clapped her hands and scanned Chen Li from head to toe. “Even though you’re like a block of wood, your mind works quite fast.”

Chen Li had nothing to say to that and focused entirely on finding Cun Ming.

Cun Ming had been on the path right behind them just a moment ago, but now everything seemed to have shifted. All Chen Li could see were ordinary plants; those strange plants that had been tearing at each other in the illusion had completely vanished.

Chen Li didn’t dare lower his guard, fearing the person behind him might disappear too. Thus, he said somewhat awkwardly, “Hold onto my scabbard, so you don’t get lost later.”

He unfastened the scabbard that had been hanging at his waist.

“Hold the scabbard?” Mei Wuhen tilted her head, looking at the scabbard he held out. “Can’t I just hold your hand?”

Having never met such a blunt woman, Chen Li was once again speechless.

“If I hold the scabbard, I can’t speak or move easily, and someone could quietly spirit me away. But if I hold your hand, it’s different.” Mei Wuhen leaned in close to Chen Li. “You should be able to feel the temperature of my palm, right?”

Finally, Chen Li decided to let Mei Wuhen walk… in front!

“You won’t leave my sight,” Chen Li said, holding his sword in one hand and the scabbard in the other.

“Ah, how truly dull.” Mei Wuhen looked up at the sky, wondering if encountering such an impenetrable man was karmic retribution for all the charm spells she had cast in the past.

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