The Demon Lord Is Carrying My Child - Chapter 41

By the time Ji Shutao, Chen Li, and the others rushed to the mountain peak, all they saw were vast, continuous stretches of dense forest; there wasn’t a single trace of the sacrificial altar to be seen.

Although this was expected, they couldn’t help but feel a sense of disappointment.

“Split up and search,” Chen Li commanded.

Before he could even make the arrangements, his two junior brothers and junior sister had already tacitly left the spot beside him to Mei Wuhen.

“Second Senior Brother, Seventh Senior Brother, let’s go,” Ji Shutao said, giving a meaningful look to Wuhuo and Cunming.

To give Chen Li and Mei Wuhen plenty of space, they even took Zhiming who had originally been under Chen Li’s control along with them.

Chen Li looked left and right, reaching out a hand, but the three of them were faster than the last. He could only awkwardly retract his hand and rub his nose, pretending nothing had happened as he spoke to Mei Wuhen: “Let’s go as well.”

“Your junior brothers and sister are quite interesting,” Mei Wuhen said with a meaningful smile. She turned to follow Chen Li, walking side by side with him.

“Those few… have always been mischievous.”

“Taking care of them must require a lot of effort, doesn’t it?”

Chen Li had a slight premonition that things were going south, and sure enough, he heard Mei Wuhen say, “How about I help you take care of your junior brothers and sister?”

“They… they’ve all grown up now; they don’t need taking care of anymore,” Chen Li stammered.

“I just said it in passing, why are you so nervous?” Mei Wuhen laughed even harder. Watching Chen Li’s face slowly turn red, she turned her head away so as not to stare at him any longer.

“Great Hero Chen, my bell rang,” Mei Wuhen suddenly added.

Still slow to react, Chen Li instinctively replied, “Huh?”

“Our sect consists entirely of female disciples. My master said that female disciples are particularly prone to being trapped by love, especially those of us who practice charm techniques. Therefore, every disciple receives a bell on the day they join the sect.”

Mei Wuhen rolled up her sleeve, revealing a snowy-white wrist with a bell strung on a red thread. However, it didn’t seem to make a sound.

Mei Wuhen shook her hand in front of Chen Li’s eyes several times, yet the bell remained silent.

“It doesn’t ring?”

“This bell was crafted with great effort by my master. It only rings when the person I like feels a heartbeat for me. Furthermore, only I can hear the sound of its ringing. Great Hero Chen, when you tied my hair for me, it truly did ring.”

Hearing this, Chen Li finally understood. He didn’t even know where to begin defending himself.

“Great Hero Chen, you can’t deny it now, can you?” Mei Wuhen looked at him, looking bright and moving.

After agonizing for a long while, Chen Li finally said, “If the heart has been moved, naturally, it cannot be denied.”

Objects are different from people; they do not lie.

On the other side.

Ji Shutao tried to use her past experience. She led Cunming and Wuhuo to touch every tree they passed.

“Seventh Senior Brother, that time on Wuming Mountain, where exactly did you go?” Ji Shutao asked while she searched.

Wuhuo took a moment to look up. “That’s quite a long story.”

Wuhuo had been separated from Chen Li in the forest. He had merely lowered his head for a moment, and when he looked up again, both Chen Li and Ye Xiaoge had vanished.

At first, Wuhuo tried to find them, but he soon discovered he was just circling in place. Out of options, he had to try to find a way out first.

At this point, Wuhuo scratched his head sheepishly. “I’ve specialized in Qimen Dunjia for so many years, but I was completely helpless against such a pure labyrinth. I walked for a long time and couldn’t get out, until I saw Eldest Senior Brother’s sword light…”

The technique Chen Li used—the Soul-Burning Art—had an immense range of impact. Wuhuo remembered the direction of that sword light and finally managed to walk out of the labyrinth.

Just as he was about to regroup with Chen Li and the others, he spotted a group of people retreating down the mountain.

“I saw they were in a hurry and didn’t look like good people, so I followed them.”

At that time, Wuhuo didn’t recognize them as people from Cangyou Pavilion. He had always lived in seclusion, and even though Zhiming the eldest disciple of Cangyou Pavilion frequently appeared in public, Wuhuo didn’t recognize him. He simply relied on his own observation to see that Zhiming held a high status among the group.

“One day, I discovered him,” Wuhuo pointed at Zhiming, “leaving the inn where they were staying alone. I felt there must be some secret involved, so I followed him. I lost him at the foot of South Mountain, so I could only wait for him at the base of the mountain to come down.”

The day after he was completely discovered, Wuhuo was captured by Zhiming and his men.

He didn’t know Zhiming, but Zhiming knew him.

“Wuhuo of Beichen Mountain?” Zhiming had asked.

Wuhuo pretended to be mute.

“I heard that the eleven disciples of Beichen Mountain each have their own personalities. The seventh disciple, Wuhuo, is timid and fearful of trouble. I didn’t expect him to actually follow us all this way.”

This was a huge provocation to Wuhuo. He couldn’t take the insult and snapped back, “You’re the one who’s timid and fearful!”

After that, Zhiming kept him tied up and even blindfolded him before they entered Mount Shimo.

Midway through, Wuhuo was taken away privately by Zhiming. Wuhuo had always been timid and his thinking couldn’t keep up with his senior and junior brothers, but at that moment, he realized Zhiming wanted to find a place to kill him.

“I was terrified at the time,” Wuhuo emphasized.

Ji Shutao nodded comfortingly. “I can imagine.”

Fearing that her Seventh Senior Brother wouldn’t feel her empathy, she added, “If it were me, I would have been very scared too.”

After receiving his junior sister’s consolation, Wuhuo continued: “He took me to a mountain fortress, which should be Liuyun Fortress, and then dragged me into a secret room. That room was covered in talismans on all four sides; it was truly terrifying.”

Wuhuo had only just learned those were Evil-Suppressing Talismans. Thinking back now, Zhiming likely intended to kill him just as he had killed the people of Liuyun Fortress before, and then use the talismans to suppress him. That way, the sect wouldn’t be able to find him, and he wouldn’t be able to leave—gone without a trace.

Wuhuo felt a chill in his heart. If things had developed as he imagined, he would be a wandering ghost by now.

However, Zhiming hadn’t expected that Bai Chenghe would gain power from Mount Shimo and mutate into the Skeleton King he was now. Bai Chenghe dragged Zhiming underground, and Wuhuo, who was with him, naturally didn’t escape. Later, Chen Li was locked in, and even later, Ji Shutao and the others arrived.

“Unfortunately, I was blindfolded the whole way. The cloth wasn’t removed until we reached Liuyun Fortress, so I don’t know more of the inside details, nor do I know where those people went.” Wuhuo felt a bit guilty for not being of much use and causing them so much worry.

He heard from Eldest Senior Brother that Master had even personally gone to Wuming Mountain to look for him.

“Seventh Senior Brother, you’ve already been very brave and impressive. Don’t blame yourself.” Ji Shutao patted Wuhuo on the shoulder.

“Then what were you doing during this month you were missing?” Cun ming chimed in.

Ji Shutao instinctively lowered her head again. Forget it, her senior brothers would see right through her if she lied.

“I went to West Mountain with Zhuang Yi and Qian Feng.”

“Did you remember everything?”

“Most of it.”

“What about the person who injured you?”

Ji Shutao looked at the eager faces of Cun ming and Wuhuo and decided to lie with all her might.

She stared straight at them, her face full of disappointment. “He attacked from behind; I didn’t see his face.”

After saying that, she didn’t dare lower her head. She shouldn’t have been found out, right?

“It’s good that your memories are back.” Cun ming didn’t dwell on it, though he was also disappointed.

“Mhm.” Ji Shutao nodded heavily.

Since they were searching the mountain while talking, most of the summit was quickly covered. There were no clues at all.

When they regrouped with Chen Li, one look at their expressions confirmed they had also come up empty-handed.

Zhiming hadn’t spoken the whole time, but his expressions were shifting rapidly. Right now, he looked gloating.

He was thinking that perhaps Zhiwu had already gone down the mountain. Although Zhiwu had never been very bright, at critical moments he was still… Zhiwu???

Zhiwu, who shouldn’t have appeared here, showed up with a group of people, and Ye Yiran was clearly among them.

In that moment, Zhiming saw despair a deep, bottomless despair.

“Release my senior brother.” Zhiwu spoke with a forceful voice, unaware that Zhiming was already nearly dying of anger.

“After all these years, my luck is still this good. There are always people coming to seek their own death.” Cun ming held his sword across his chest in a casual manner, asking Zhiwu with a beaming smile, “What if I don’t?”

“If you don’t release him, I’ll kill her.” Zhiwu dragged Ye Yiran forward and placed a sword against her neck. Ye Yiran seemed to have suffered some kind of trauma; she was dazed and unresponsive, only trembling instinctively.

“Heh.” Cun ming was dismissive. After exchanging a look with Chen Li, he drew his sword with lightning speed and flicked Zhiwu’s sword away.

Cun ming practiced the “Fast Sword.” Even Yu Chu had once praised that no one could be faster than Cunming’s blade. Threatening someone in front of him was simply seeking death. The two sides quickly fell into a fray.

Zhiming was still in dull pain. Let alone joining the fight, even untying his ropes was a struggle.

“Senior Brother.” Zhiwu struggled to fend off Cunming’s sword while moving toward him, trying to help him untie the ropes.

Seeing the many wounds already on Zhiwu’s body, Zhiming nudged him with his head. “Run!”

“Senior Brother…” Zhiwu sounded a bit aggrieved. “How could I abandon you?”

Zhiming felt a bitter frustration, wishing he could just die on the spot rather than face a fool like Zhiwu.

Yet Zhiwu was wholeheartedly acting for his sake. Zhiming thought that this was truly the greatest retribution for all the evil deeds he had done.

With Chen Li and Cun ming the first and second disciples of Beichen Mountain—plus Wuhuo the seventh disciple and Ji Shutao the eleventh, not to mention a master of charm techniques, Zhiwu and his group were destined to lose.

His schemes and hard work had come to nothing. Zhiming felt a sweetness in his throat and spat out a mouthful of blood; he had actually fainted from sheer rage.

Liuyun Fortress.

Zhuang Yi and Qian Feng brought Bai Chenghe back to Liuyun Fortress. This was the first time in many years that Bai Chenghe had returned. His eyes saw only bright red, and his ears were filled with the cries of the past. Forcing himself to walk to the base of the platform, his legs gave way and he knelt down.

He couldn’t walk any further. He should have died together with them.

Zhuang Yi and Qian Feng continued forward to the secret room. Zhuang Yi still felt unwell. She suppressed her discomfort and touched the wall, which was simultaneously icy and scalding. In an instant, all the shocking and bloody past events surged toward her. Unable to withstand it, Zhuang Yi was forced onto one knee.

“Sovereign.” Qian Feng was worried and tried to help her up, but Zhuang Yi waved her off.

An incantation escaped her lips a chant she hadn’t even known was stored in her mind.

Soon, her head began to throb violently. She clutched her head with one hand and braced herself against the wall with the other, continuing to recite the incantation to the end.

Qian Feng watched the beads of sweat on her face, pacing anxiously but unable to help. Finally, Zhuang Yi collapsed completely. As Qian Feng caught her, a pure and holy light radiated from all around the secret room.

Within those lights, face after face appeared, smiling. The people of Liuyun Fortress bowed in unison toward Zhuang Yi in Qian Feng’s arms, and then they flew away.

Perhaps they had finally achieved the transcendence that was a hundred years overdue. Qian Feng carried Zhuang Yi out of the secret room. The spot where Bai Chenghe had been kneeling was now empty, save for a pile of dust. He got what he deserved; it was only right.

But as Qian Feng looked at Zhuang Yi in her arms, she never imagined that the person who would complete this task would be Zhuang Yi.

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