The Demon Lord is My Dark Moonlight [Transmigration Novel] - Chapter 26

“Wh-wh-what?!”

The female lead, Shen Chigui, was actually a local of Pear Blossom Village?! Gu Jinli’s eyes nearly popped out of her head at the revelation.

“That’s right.” Nangong Jinyao’s expression smoothed out, as if she had finally found some leverage. “Xiao Wu, you probably didn’t know, did you? Xiao Qi is different from outsiders like us. She belongs to this village.”

She emphasized the word “belongs” with a sharp edge. “Though I don’t know why she refuses to play with the other local kids, she’s the only one in the entire village who’s still… ‘normal.’”

The accusation was practically written on her forehead. Gu Jinli looked back and forth between the two of them, utterly speechless. So, out of the three of us, my identity is the only simple one?

“Tch.” Shen Chigui couldn’t be bothered with the bickering. She dismissed Jinyao’s accusations with a wave of her hand. “I took a look at the village earlier. They look normal, but the second you mention your name or the sacrifice, they go feral. I’d bet they’ll turn into monsters the moment they lay eyes on you.”

Is that so? That makes things difficult. Gu Jinli frowned, feeling hesitant. If the lead was right, entering the village would be suicide for her. But the solution to the illusion was almost certainly there.

“In that case, Xiao Wu, don’t go back for now,” Nangong Jinyao said, calming down as she realized Shen Chigui was ignoring her. She put on a soft smile and looked at Gu Jinli tenderly. “Stay in the mountains. We’ll investigate first and make a plan.”

“There’s nothing to investigate,” Shen Chigui said coldly. “It just depends on whether this creature wants to go or not.”

If survival was the only goal, staying in the mountains was the best choice. But for anything else, entering the village was a necessity. To catch the tiger’s cub, one must enter the tiger’s den. In a world of illusions, you don’t break free without risking everything.

“…” Gu Jinli closed her eyes and sighed. “I-I-I… I have to go b-b-back.” She remembered her purpose. This was a dream. She had to wake up.

“Are you two hiding something from me?” Nangong Jinyao asked, a look of confusion crossing her face. She finally realized the two of them were operating on a completely different wavelength than her.

“It’s… c-c-complicated.” Gu Jinli scratched her head and glanced at Shen Chigui. Honestly, she was still baffled by how the lead had figured it out, but she felt lighter knowing the burden was shared. Before, she was the only one who knew they were in an array. Now, the lead had guessed the truth, and they were in this together.

“Were you and Xiao Qi always this close?” Nangong Jinyao’s voice sank. The feeling of being the third wheel was starting to erode her polite facade. She stared at Gu Jinli with a look of hurt.

“N-n-no…” Gu Jinli tried to explain, but her tongue wouldn’t cooperate, and she didn’t have the chance before the third person chimed in.

“What does it matter to you?” Shen Chigui snapped. “We don’t need your help with what comes next.” She then turned her venom on Gu Jinli. “And you—you’re a stutterer, yet you still talk so much.”

Gu Jinli: “???” Was her tongue dipped in poison?!

*****

Nightfall was the best time to descend.

Enduring the stinging pain of her burns, Gu Jinli stumbled down the mountain, leaning heavily on Nangong Jinyao. Shen Chigui had vanished into the shadows hours ago after their talk. Only Jinyao had stayed by her side, looking after her with tireless care.

“Are we really going to the altar?” Jinyao asked hesitantly as they moved through the pitch-black woods. “The villagers might be waiting for you.”

“W-w-we have to.” Gu Jinli hissed as the wind hit her wounds. “Sh-sh-she’s likely already th-th-there.”

If she guessed correctly, tonight was the best time to investigate the golden Buddha. In a world full of monsters, every hour they stayed was an hour they were at a disadvantage.

“Alright.” Nangong Jinyao sighed. She didn’t understand why Xiao Wu trusted Xiao Qi so much. They had barely spoken before, yet suddenly they were acting like old allies. What is it that I don’t know?

And Xiao Wu… she had changed. She wasn’t like this before. Wait… what was she like before?

Nangong Jinyao was horrified to realize she couldn’t remember. Xiao Wu seemed to have appeared out of thin air one day. Her past and her story were just a collection of blurry, rough impressions in her mind. She remembered Xiao Wu arriving years ago, waiting under the pear tree… but specific details—her personality, her favorite things, their past conversations—were all a fog. It was as if someone had handed her a painting and told her, “This is Xiao Wu,” and she’d just accepted it.

“W-w-what’s wr-wrong?” Gu Jinli noticed her companion’s pace slowing down.

“Xiao Wu… do you think we are truly real?” Nangong Jinyao’s voice was hollow. She felt like she was falling into a pit of existential dread. Looking at Xiao Wu, she realized the same applied to every villager. She didn’t truly know any of them.

“Wh-wh-why ask th-th-that?”

Had she realized it too? First the lead, and now her. Gu Jinli didn’t know how to react. Is this illusion really that easy to see through? That’s a bit embarrassing as an author.

“I don’t know,” Jinyao confessed, shaking her head. “Everything just feels… fake.”

“You and Xiao Qi knew, didn’t you?” Jinyao realized what their secret was. Remembering Shen Chigui’s comment about only the three of them being real, she bit her lip and her gaze hardened with determination.

“I will help you!”

After saying that, she quickened her pace, her eyes burning with intensity as she stared down at the village below.

Gu Jinli: “Huh?”

In an ancient setting, people didn’t really have a “nightlife.” Unless there was something important to do, people went to bed early as soon as it got dark. This directly led to the night being the most dangerous time in ancient times; things like murder, robbery, and petty theft were all reserved for the night.

The layout of Pear Blossom Village was, overall, quite simple. At the center was the place where the Golden Buddha was enshrined; once you entered the village, you only had to head for the middle to find it.

By now, Gu Jinli had successfully found the sacrificial courtyard from the previous night. She was currently wondering how to get inside. When she entered before, the Village Chief had used a key to open the lock on the gate. Now that she didn’t have a key, did she have to climb the wall again?

“Don’t worry.”

Nangong Jinyao stepped forward and tugged at the lock on the gate, finding it quite secure. She leaned over to inspect it and whispered, “I have a way to open this.” After saying that, she turned and ran off, seemingly looking for something.

Suddenly, Gu Jinli was the only one left at the gate.

Ancient nights were so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. It just so happened that such a terrifying thing had occurred yesterday, and now, revisiting the same spot, Gu Jinli felt as if that horrifying Golden Buddha was staring at her even through the closed doors. Maybe the Golden Buddha was standing right inside the gate, pacing around behind the thin wood. Or perhaps it was perched on the doorframe, staring at her without blinking.

The human brain is strange like that; the more you don’t want to think about something, the more you do. In just that short while, Gu Jinli had scared herself into a shivering mess, huddled in place like a quail, not daring to move an inch.

“What are you shaking for?”

When Shen Chigui’s voice suddenly rang in her ear, Gu Jinli nearly screamed out loud. The shock made her hair stand on end, and she leaped three feet into the air. By chance, she slammed right into Shen Chigui, who had just walked up beside her.

“Ugh.”

Shen Chigui’s high nose was struck hard by Gu Jinli’s head. The sharp pain made her eyes water instantly. She hurriedly took two steps back, covering her nose to put some distance between them.

“What’s wrong with you?!” Shen Chigui cursed. “Are you trying to attract the whole village?”

“Sh-Sh-Shen Chigui!”

The familiar name escaped her lips without a second thought. Gu Jinli, like a bird startled by a bowstring, was scared to tears. Her gaze toward Shen Chigui was full of panic and relief.

“Y-y-you’re here!”

Without thinking, she lunged forward and grabbed the girl’s sleeve, pouting with a heavy nasal tone. “I-I-I’m s-s-scared,” she said.

“…”

How could one describe the current scene? Even in the dark night without a moon, one could see her pitiful expression; she was as endearing as a puppy. Shen Chigui realized for the first time that this little stutterer was actually quite good-looking.

Shen Chigui closed her eyes, suppressed the strange thoughts in her mind, and dropped two words: “Pathetic.”

“Wooo~ I-I-I’m r-r-really scared!”

Though she didn’t want to admit it, Gu Jinli was indeed having a bit of a stress response. Clutching the lead’s clothes, she explained in a rapid tone: “Y-y-yesterday, I… I almost d-d-died here.”

Of course she was scared!

“Heh.”

Facing those moist eyes, Shen Chigui let out a cold laugh, her tongue showing no mercy: “You’re as timid as a mouse.”

“!”

How can she be like this! Gu Jinli felt a surge of annoyance and instinctively loosened her grip. But the second her fingers let go, Shen Chigui’s hand reached out and grabbed her instead.

“Follow me, quickly!”

A slender hand firmly gripped her fingers. Gu Jinli’s heart skipped a beat, but as she looked over, she only saw the back of the lead’s head.

“So slow,” she heard Shen Chigui mutter impatiently.

Gu Jinli: “…”

Fine. She should have known she was overthinking it.

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