The Demon Lord is My Dark Moonlight [Transmigration Novel] - Chapter 38

Gu Jinli noticed the Tower spirit had been quite busy lately. Several times she had called out, only to receive no response.

Her cultivation had hit a bottleneck. Demonic cultivation wasn’t easy; it required the energy of negative human emotions. Gu Jinli was an optimist at heart. Though Shen Chigui had put her through the wringer, her internal negativity wasn’t yet concentrated enough to fuel rapid progress.

“Little Tower, what has Shen Chigui been doing lately?”

The shadow brought her food as usual. As a human, Gu Jinli still needed sustenance, clean clothes, and a place to sleep—all of which the Tower provided and updated. This was how the spirit found itself cornered. It had been avoiding contact, bringing supplies while she slept, but this time, Gu Jinli was waiting.

“She is…”

The shadow hesitated, its form wavering as if it were a bitter melon. It could not lie to its Deity, which was why it had been avoiding her. But it was caught.

“What has she done?” Gu Jinli’s heart sank. She had suspected something was wrong given the shadow’s elusive behavior.

“She… she is killing people everywhere,” the Tower spirit confessed reluctantly. “Because she cannot find you, she has wreaked havoc across the human realm. The Jiuyi Sect was her first target… many were killed.”

It tried to be vague, not daring to tell her that every single person she had spoken to was dead. It hoped she wouldn’t investigate further, and certainly hoped she wouldn’t go back. The human realm was no longer safe.

“What did you say?!”

Despite her mental preparations, Gu Jinli couldn’t accept it. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to be calm. “Tell me exactly what she did. Everything.”

The spirit sighed. It knew there was no avoiding the truth. It recounted everything—the fall of the Jiuyi Sect, the fate of the workers…

Gu Jinli knew it all now.

******

The Jiuyi Sect was only the first. Shen Chigui’s memories of her past lives gave her an immense advantage; she knew exactly which sects held the treasures she sought. After leaving Jiuyi, she targeted the Great First Sect. She knew its layout and secrets, making her sabotage effortless.

Yet, she still hadn’t found Gu Jinli.

“Where could you have gone?”

Her plans were being disrupted, and the feeling of things being out of her control made her increasingly volatile. Who had taken Gu Jinli? How had they done it from such a close distance? The mystery caused her a strange, gnawing anxiety she couldn’t name.

…

Gu Jinli reappeared.

No one knew how; she simply manifested just as she had vanished. Shen Chigui had just finished her “business” with the First Sect and returned to the Jiuyi Sect—the base she kept precisely because of its connection to her lost toy.

That evening, as Shen Chigui landed in the courtyard, she sensed the change. The disciples, who had been beaten into submission, were gathering in small groups, glares directed at her.

How bold. Have they not learned their lesson?

Shen Chigui hopped off her sword, her movements light and elegant. She was curious what had emboldened them. But she didn’t have to ask.

She saw Gu Jinli.

“Shen Chigui!”

Gu Jinli pushed through the crowd, her face pale with fury. She had hoped the Tower spirit had exaggerated, but seeing the state of the sect, she knew it was all true.

The sect was a ruin. The air was thick with the scent of blood and smoke.

The sect leader and elders had all been slain, leaving only a handful of inexperienced disciples to struggle amongst the ruins. The Jiuyi Sect was now a mere shell of its former self, its foundation shattered.

But most importantly…

“Why did you have to kill Su Hua and the others?!”

This was the part Gu Jinli could not fathom. If killing the sect leader and elders was a strategic move to eliminate resistance, then murdering her roommates was an act of pure, unadulterated malice. Those people posed zero threat to the female lead!

Just because they were associated with Gu Jinli, these defenseless people were slaughtered like cattle. The reality of it made Gu Jinli’s blood boil.

“Big Sister~”

The person she had been hunting for days finally appeared before her eyes. Shen Chigui’s eyes lit up with predatory delight. She ignored Gu Jinli’s fury, ignored the accusations, and asked conversationally, “Where did Big Sister come from? I’m fairly certain the Jiuyi Sect has no place left for you to hide.”

She had scoured every inch of the sect. Every magical treasure related to teleportation or concealment had been confiscated and placed in her own storage bag. Unless these people were hiding a secret vault she missed, there was no way Gu Jinli should have appeared out of thin air.

“So, did these people hide Big Sister from me after all?” Shen Chigui tilted her head, effortlessly shifting the blame back onto the decimated sect.

“Shut up!”

Gu Jinli was at her breaking point. To still be looking for excuses to justify her atrocities—it was intolerable. “Destroying an entire sect based on a mere guess… you are beyond arrogant! My departure had nothing to do with anyone else. I left on my own.”

“On your own?”

Shen Chigui let out a cold, sharp laugh. Her gaze darkened instantly. “Do I really look that stupid to you? I’d love to hear exactly how Big Sister left, and what method you used.”

“Besides, everything I did was for Big Sister. Wasn’t it effective?” She gestured mockingly at the survivors glaring at her from the sidelines. “If I hadn’t dismantled the Jiuyi Sect, would Big Sister have ever come back to me?”

She understood Gu Jinli—perhaps better than Gu Jinli understood herself. Shen Chigui knew that as long as she squeezed the things Gu Jinli cared about, the “Creator” would eventually be forced out of hiding. And look, here she was. In Shen Chigui’s mind, her logic was flawless.

—SLAP!

Fury propelled Gu Jinli’s hand forward. Before today, she never imagined she would ever lay a hand on Shen Chigui. But she struck her—hard—across the face, in front of everyone.

“You are a lunatic! I told you we were done! Do you not understand human speech?!”

“I wanted to get away from you, so I left. It’s that simple!” She had already given up on the mission; what more did this girl want? Creating this character was her greatest sin, and she was repenting for it every single day.

“I don’t know why your heart is so full of bloodlust! What is human life to you? What am I to you?!”

If Shen Chigui truly cared about her, she would never have done this. She knew how much Gu Jinli loathed killing. She knew how much she valued these connections. Yet Shen Chigui did it anyway, again and again, with zero regard for her feelings.

Staring at Shen Chigui with eyes full of grief and disappointment, Gu Jinli let go of her last shred of hope.

“Now you’ve got what you wanted. You’ve forced me out…” She closed her eyes to suppress the bitterness. “Do whatever you want with me. Kill me, torture me—I don’t care.”

She would not bow. Not anymore.

“…”

How had it come to this? Shen Chigui wasn’t sure. She instinctively raised a hand to touch her cheek, which was already starting to swell and burn. Suddenly, she felt a hollow sense of boredom.

How dull… Creator.

She was the one who started this. She was the one who provoked her first… and in the end, she blames me for clinging to her like a dog.

Shen Chigui hated dogs.

“If Big Sister is so determined…” She heard herself sigh, her voice uncharacteristically soft. “Then go.”

“I won’t look for you again.”

If this was what Gu Jinli wanted, if she truly insisted on leaving her… then she would grant it. But this wasn’t an ending; it was a reprieve. She would give them both time. One day, Shen Chigui would make this person come crawling back, begging for her presence.

“I hope you don’t regret this,” she said.

“I won’t.”

The sudden release left Gu Jinli dazed for a moment. She didn’t know what game Shen Chigui was playing, but she wouldn’t squander the opportunity. Maybe she’s finally tired of me… Gu Jinli mused, her words remaining sharp.

“You have nothing left to threaten me with anyway,” she mocked. “Everyone I ever knew here has been killed by you, haven’t they?”

“Is that so? Perhaps.” Shen Chigui offered a small, chilling smile. “I just didn’t like them calling you ‘Nangong Li.’ I destroy things I don’t like. Isn’t that the instinct you gave me?”

Gu Jinli had created her, given her her personality and her life. And now, she was the one rejecting her. Her Creator did not love her, even after giving her such a name.

“I will never find my way ‘home’ (Return).”

With one last, deep look at Gu Jinli, Shen Chigui turned and tore open a passage to the Secret Realm. It was her privilege as its master—a power given to her by Gu Jinli.

“Sorry~ for disappointing you.” Those were her final words.

“…”

Gu Jinli watched her disappear, watched the portal seal shut. She bit her lip and said nothing. It was over. She was free. Knowing Shen Chigui, a promise like that was a blood-oath. She wouldn’t come back.

Finally, it’s over, isn’t it? No more ties to Shen Chigui.

“Why does it hurt so much?” Her heart felt as if it were being squeezed. This was the result she wanted, yet she felt no joy. She couldn’t erase the look in Shen Chigui’s eyes—the look of someone who had been deeply wronged.

But she was the one in the wrong. She was.

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