The Demon Lord Is Carrying My Child - Chapter 6

The next day, as the two of them retraced the path Ji Shutao had taken, Ji Shutao pointed at a preserved fruit shop and said, “I went in there back then and picked out some top-quality plums for you…”

Thinking of the fate of those plums, her radiant face instantly dimmed. “But I ended up throwing them all away while I was running for my life.”

Zhuang Yi also looked toward the preserved fruit shop. Standing beside her, Ji Shutao continued, “I tasted one; it was so sour, you would definitely have liked it… Speaking of which, you’ve finished that bag of plums of yours, haven’t you?”

Ji Shutao looked at Zhuang Yi. Having eaten and slept with her for two nights, she hadn’t seen that bag of plums again; in contrast, her own osmanthus cakes had only run out yesterday.

However, given Zhuang Yi’s habit of devouring half a bag at a time, those plums truly couldn’t have survived until today.

If Ji Shutao hadn’t known for a fact that Zhuang Yi was pregnant, anyone else would certainly have been unable to tell. She remained incredibly powerful; the labyrinth that had nearly driven Ji Shutao to a dead end yesterday had been broken through effortlessly by her.

Even though Ji Shutao knew she couldn’t compare to her, Zhuang Yi didn’t look like a pregnant woman at all she didn’t show a single symptom.

Was there really nothing, or was she deliberately concealing it?

“What are you thinking about?” Zhuang Yi’s voice sounded a bit distant.

Ji Shutao was puzzled wasn’t Zhuang Yi right beside her? She looked up, only to find that Zhuang Yi had already walked to the entrance of the preserved fruit shop.

“Nothing,” Ji Shutao said, taking a few quick steps up the stairs to reach Zhuang Yi’s side. “Are you going to buy something?”

“Yes, my plums are finished.”

So you do know, Ji Shutao grumbled inwardly.

The two of them entered the shop. Zhuang Yi originally intended to pick them out herself, but Ji Shutao volunteered, claiming her skill in selecting preserved fruits was no less than Zhuang Yi’s cultivation level, guaranteeing that not a single one would be bad.

Seeing her so full of confidence, Zhuang Yi didn’t understand what there was to be so proud of regarding such a task, but she enjoyed seeing Ji Shutao this way, so she stepped aside.

Every time Ji Shutao glanced at Zhuang Yi, she found the other woman staring at her fixedly. That gaze was clean and pure, yet upon closer inspection, it was actually brimming with affection and desire.

Ji Shutao felt her face beginning to burn from the intense stare. She whispered surreptitiously, “Could you please stop staring at me like that?”

Zhuang Yi looked up. “It is likely because your charm is too great.”

Was this what they called digging a hole for oneself?

Being stared at so intently, Ji Shutao hurriedly picked out half a bag and went to settle the bill. It turned out she didn’t have a single copper coin on her. She was just about to call for Zhuang Yi, but unexpectedly, Zhuang Yi had already followed her and handed the money to the shopkeeper.

Ji Shutao looked at Zhuang Yi’s profile; no one could focus on a task under such a gaze, she comforted herself.

By the time they finished buying the preserves and stepped outside, the sun was already high in the sky. Ji Shutao raised her palm to shade herself. Zhuang Yi, who had just been standing beside her holding the plums, had vanished without a trace.

Connecting this to her experience from the previous day, Ji Shutao panicked. She called out, but there was no response. However, an umbrella appeared over her head.

“Can you please tell me before you leave next time?” Ji Shutao asked, somewhat exasperated.

“Understood.” Zhuang Yi tilted the umbrella toward her.

“If you don’t make a sound, no one will notice you including your lover.” Ji Shutao looked ahead, but those words drifted lightly into Zhuang Yi’s heart.

Zhuang Yi quietly tightened her grip on the umbrella handle. She remembered that Ji Shutao had said something similar in the past.

Back then, she was always silent about everything. Even when she went out with Ji Shutao and got injured, she wouldn’t tell her. It was only when her face turned pale and she was caught red-handed healing herself that she would hesitantly tell Ji Shutao the truth.

At those times, Ji Shutao would be anxious, scared, and heartbroken; the words she spoke then were no different from what she had just said.

“Zhuang Yi, if you are always silent, no one will know your joys or sorrows, and no one will know how much you are actually bearing including me.”

Thinking of this, Zhuang Yi hooked Ji Shutao’s finger. “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

Ji Shutao hadn’t expected her to apologize. She froze for a moment, then looked at the finger hooking her own. Not knowing how to react, it took a long while before she finally replied with a quiet “Okay.”

The two of them walked under the umbrella, saying very little to each other.

After walking about ten meters further down the street, Zhuang Yi stopped at the entrance of an alley. The alleyway was very narrow, stretching into the distance until the end was invisible, and even the sunlight barely penetrated it.

Despite the crowds passing by on the street and the bustling noise the cries of vendors and the laughter of children mingling together it was as if an invisible wall stood between the alley entrance and the street. Outside was the world of the living; inside… it was so quiet and devoid of any human presence that it was hardly different from the underworld.

Ji Shutao was startled by her own thought. Could she have entered this alley yesterday? But the street yesterday had been wide and bright, only the sunlight hadn’t reached the people.

“Is there a problem?” Ji Shutao asked, breaking the eerie atmosphere.

She couldn’t quite figure it out; things just felt awkward. Why did Zhuang Yi apologize for no reason, and why did she say those words out of the blue?

Zhuang Yi paused for a moment, then raised her left hand, tracing a few patterns in mid-air. Finally, she used the strength of her entire palm to push forward.

The scene before Ji Shutao’s eyes completely changed.

“How can it be the same street as yesterday?” Ji Shutao was shocked. What lay before her was exactly the same as the street she had accidentally entered the day before.

Zhuang Yi withdrew her hand. “Let’s go in and take a look.”

The moment they stepped into the alley entrance, a chilling aura seeped into them. Ji Shutao rubbed her arms. “You captured that strange face yesterday; this labyrinth shouldn’t be as powerful anymore, right?”

“On the contrary. To deal with this town or you, perhaps only one strange face is needed. But because I easily took you out of the labyrinth and captured that human-faced stone yesterday, this time, the labyrinth will likely be even more powerful.”

Ji Shutao looked ahead and involuntarily swallowed. Her voice became unsteady. “Then… then… can we still get out? To what extent will it be powerful?”

“There may be countless strange faces. If the creator is powerful enough, they will target my weaknesses.”

Countless strange faces? Target Zhuang Yi’s weaknesses?

Ji Shutao’s mind went blank. She stammered again, “It… it shouldn’t be that powerful.”

She wasn’t very confident herself, so she followed closely behind Zhuang Yi as they continued walking.

They walked for about half an hour, but nothing appeared not even the white mist.

Ji Shutao didn’t have the heart to keep walking. She found a random stone pedestal and sat down. “Why don’t we just wait here? That’s how I waited it out yesterday.”

“Very well.” Zhuang Yi went to sit beside her but was pulled up by Ji Shutao.

“What is it?” Zhuang Yi’s gaze sharpened, and she directed a killing intent toward the stone pedestal.

“Nothing, nothing! I just felt the stone was too cold; it’s not suitable for you to sit on.” Ji Shutao continued to hold Zhuang Yi’s hand and even patted her to soothe her.

An ordinary person seeing that look would have certainly run away, but Ji Shutao wasn’t afraid at all; she even felt that Zhuang Yi was like a cat with its fur standing on end.

The strange atmosphere surrounding them finally dissipated.

“Then where should I sit?” Zhuang Yi looked intently at Ji Shutao, seemingly wanting to see where she intended to place her.

Ji Shutao was momentarily speechless at the question. She looked around for a long time but couldn’t find a single warm spot.

She simply stood up. “Let’s not sit, let’s not sit. Let’s keep going.”

Zhuang Yi allowed herself to be led away by her.

Ji Shutao stole a glance back. Zhuang Yi’s expression was normal. She began to wonder if she was making a mountain out of a molehill which was more serious, walking or sitting on a cold stone?

After walking for an unknown amount of time, Ji Shutao’s legs began to ache, yet there was still nothing in the street.

“Do you think they know I’m with you and ran away because they’re afraid of your reputation as the Demon Venerable?” Ji Shutao asked while massaging her legs.

Zhuang Yi raised her right hand. Since there was no warmth in this street and the sun was just a decoration, Zhuang Yi had closed the umbrella the moment they entered.

At this moment, she pressed the umbrella against a wall on their left.

Zhuang Yi took a lunge position, placed her left palm horizontally against the umbrella handle, and gave a forceful shove. The umbrella plunged halfway into the wall.

Ji Shutao noticed the wall begin to distort. By the time she looked again, a strange face exactly like the one from yesterday had swallowed the umbrella and was detaching itself from the wall, coming toward them.

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