The Demon Lord is My Dark Moonlight [Transmigration Novel] - Chapter 35

Truthfully, even Shen Chigui didn’t quite know why she had followed. By the time she realized what she was doing, she was already here. She felt she should just kill this person, yet she found herself hesitating—even though she knew Gu Jinli wouldn’t truly die.

“How did Big Sister get here?” Shen Chigui asked, genuinely curious. “Does the Creator have some sort of special privilege?”

In a way, she was right, but Gu Jinli would never admit it.

“I don’t know,” she lied through her teeth. “I just walked and ended up out here. I had nowhere to go, so I joined a sect.” She paused, her eyes locked on the disciple in the girl’s grip. He was seconds from death. “Can you let him go first? You’re making things very difficult for me.”

If a disciple died at her post under these circumstances, her chance of staying in the sect would be zero. She’d likely be hunted down by the Jiuyi Sect, making her life in the Cultivation World a nightmare.

“Of course. I’ll listen to Big Sister.”

Shen Chigui blinked and tossed the boy aside like a piece of trash. Deprived of oxygen for too long, he had already passed out. But no one was paying attention to him.

“Now that we’ve met again, hasn’t Big Sister noticed any changes in me?”

Changes? What changes? Gu Jinli scanned her from head to toe. Then, it clicked.

“You got your natal sword. Congratulations,” she said perfunctorily.

“Is that all?” Shen Chigui pouted. “Big Sister really doesn’t care about me at all.”

“What else is there?” Gu Jinli genuinely couldn’t see it.

“I’ve grown taller!” Shen Chigui’s smile widened. “I’m almost as tall as Big Sister now~”

Gu Jinli: “…” That’s it?

“Ugh.” She rolled her eyes. “So, why did you come looking for me? I don’t think we have anything left to say.”

“Can’t I find you just for the sake of it?” The smile faded slightly as Shen Chigui caught the impatience in the other’s voice. “Big Sister is so cold. You said ‘we’re done,’ and you really meant it.”

It wasn’t a question, it was a confirmation; she had already perceived Gu Jinli’s intent.

It seemed this person was preparing to give up on her “mission” entirely, not just separate from her. No playing hard to get, no tactical retreat to lure her back.

“Yes,” Gu Jinli nodded without hesitation, her voice cold and blunt. “I’ve already said it. We’re splitting up—in every sense of the word.”

They were never meant to be on the same path. If not for the transmigration, if not for the system missions… if not for the fact that this was a character she herself had created, their lives would never have intersected.

“And the reason?” Shen Chigui didn’t look like she was going to accept this so easily.

“We aren’t suited to be together, are we?” Gu Jinli paused, choosing her words carefully. “I cannot accept your habits or your cruelty, and you are incapable of understanding my feelings.”

“Whether it’s Nangong Jinyao or the man-eating ants, our choices are too fundamentally different. We simply aren’t from the same world.” She had seen the truth clearly and made her retreat. Let it end here.

“Controlling man-eating ants?” Shen Chigui blinked, hearing something unexpected. “Where did you hear that news?”

“Is it wrong?” Gu Jinli curled her lip, staring at her with a frozen expression. “Is that not exactly the kind of thing you would do? If it wasn’t you, then I apologize.”

The appearance of the ants in the Secret Realm had been highly unusual; Shen Chigui was the most likely candidate for the controller. Although Gu Jinli’s inquiries over the past month had basically confirmed it, she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes. If she had truly wronged the girl, she was willing to apologize for her private suspicion.

“Fine, it was me,” Shen Chigui sighed, her eyes instantly losing their warmth. “Big Sister really does know me well, doesn’t she?”

Yes. She did it. She used the ants to scatter and murder those people. So what? She only did what was necessary. In that situation, those people were useless, weren’t they?

“So, Big Sister… are you trying to tell me now…” Shen Chigui tilted her head, her expression strange and subtle. “That my Creator is such a kind-hearted soul?”

The words sounded incredibly jarring.

“I don’t want a friend who treats human life like grass,” Gu Jinli frowned, her voice firm. “You shouldn’t like someone with my personality either. Let’s just stop disturbing each other.”

“Shouldn’t? Disturbing each other?” Shen Chigui repeated the words as if tasting them, then let out a light laugh. “I haven’t seen Big Sister in a while… you’ve become quite hypocritical. Do you think I came here to listen to this?”

She, Shen Chigui, was not someone to be dismissed so casually. This person was the one who provoked her in the beginning; did she really think she could just walk away halfway through? She hated betrayal more than anything.

“You really have to—”

It’s impossible to reason with her! Gu Jinli felt her head throbbing. But before she could finish, a rustling sound came from the other side of the forest. Suddenly, a familiar figure emerged.

“Nangong Li! Something’s happened!” It was Su Hua, her bunkmate. She looked panicked, her voice shaking. “Many of the disciples have vanished!”

“What?!” Disciples are missing?!

“Nangong Li?!” Who is that?

They spoke almost in unison. Shen Chigui glanced at Gu Jinli, her expression playful. “Who is Nangong Li?”

“…” Gu Jinli felt a sudden, inexplicable wave of guilt. She steadied herself and said calmly, “That’s me. Is there a problem?” It was just a fake name.

“…”

The light in Shen Chigui’s eyes died instantly. She let out a soft laugh. “What problem could there be? Even my name was given by Big Sister, but…” Her smile deepened, turning cold. “Why ‘Nangong’? Does Big Sister love Nangong that much?”

Why Nangong? Because she thought of it on the fly. What other reason could there be? Gu Jinli twitched. “I just happened to think of it.”

“Oh. Is that so?” Shen Chigui’s gaze grew darker. “Nangong Jinyao’s name was also given by Big Sister. You really did love her, didn’t you? Look at these names… Jinyao, Jinli. Anyone would think you were incredibly intimate.”

Gu Jinli: “…”

There was no way to respond to that. Even someone as dense as her could tell how furious Shen Chigui was. All over a name…

“Are you jealous?” Gu Jinli let out a laugh, finding the situation absurdly ironic. “You can get this angry over a name, but have you ever considered my feelings? Watching someone I lived with be killed before my eyes while I could do nothing… who can understand that feeling of helplessness? No one.”

Shen Chigui was her creation. She thought she knew her; she had held onto hope. But what did she get? Repeated use, repeated betrayal. If it was just her, she might have endured it, but everyone she came into contact with was being retaliated against by Shen Chigui. She couldn’t accept it.

Gu Jinli was furious at her own weakness and increasingly plagued by self-reproach. As Shen Chigui had pointed out, this was her character—a being made of ink and paper that had now grown flesh and stood before her. She couldn’t deny her existence, but she couldn’t stop blaming herself: Why did I create such a person?

“Then let’s just kill her.”

Shen Chigui’s face went calm. She raised her hand, her Ghost Qi surging once more as she skillfully snared the bewildered Su Hua. The poor woman didn’t even know what was happening; she was suddenly hoisted into the air. Her eyes bulged with terror as she looked from Gu Jinli to Shen Chigui. She realized, far too late, that she had interrupted something she shouldn’t have.

“If something makes you unhappy, just destroy it.” Killing a person was too easy. Even while holding someone’s life in her grip, Shen Chigui’s expression didn’t change. She was a natural-born executioner, cruelly enjoying this total dominance. Weakness was a sin; she was not in the wrong. “I permit Big Sister to kill me—if you can.”

Her expression was deadly serious.

“Let her go!” Is the tragedy going to repeat itself?! For the third time, Gu Jinli took a deep breath, suppressing her fury and terror. She stared at Shen Chigui and said coldly, “If your target is me, stop this. The elders of the Jiuyi Sect are nearby. Even if you have your natal sword, it hasn’t been that long—you haven’t fully subdued it yet.”

Gaining a sword’s recognition was one thing; subduing it was another. Every blade had its own temper. If she drew the elders here, Shen Chigui might not win while struggling with an uncooperative sword.

“Is Big Sister… worrying about me?” Shen Chigui looked pleased, and her expression softened slightly. However, she didn’t drop Su Hua. Instead, she took a step closer to Gu Jinli. “I’m so happy~ but aren’t you curious how strong I really am? I’m not nearly as weak as you imagine.”

It wasn’t her first time subduing a natal sword, after all. Though her progress had been reset, she knew her blade. She had ways to handle it.

“…” Gu Jinli’s fists were clenched so tight her nails drew blood. She bit her lip, remaining silent. She had forgotten—the lead was a “Reborn.” Her logic held only if the lead was a newcomer. She couldn’t predict the growth of someone with the memories of a previous life.

“What do you want?” Gu Jinli’s lip began to bleed from the pressure, her face turning pale.

She finally realized how vast the chasm between them truly was. In the face of absolute power, she could do nothing but beg and submit.

She was too weak. And in this world, weakness was a sin. They had never been equals.

Support