The Demon Lord is My Dark Moonlight [Transmigration Novel] - Chapter 44

“Ancient scroll…”

Gu Jinli’s expression was blank. As the author, this was the first she had ever heard of such an item existing in her world. Where did the female lead even find it?

“What does it do?” she asked.

“A completed ancient scroll grants the power to bind a soul,” the sword answered. As a weapon forged by a grandmaster centuries ago, Night Moon knew more than any mortal. It pointed directly to the scroll’s core: “Once the contract is sealed, even if the body perishes, the soul will never be free.”

The soul…

“When did this start?” Gu Jinli’s face paled. She bit her lip. “And besides sacrificing these treasures, what else is required?”

“A long time ago. She was already preparing this when she first drew me from the pedestal,” Night Moon replied. “However, the final step to repair the scroll requires a ‘close relationship’ with the target. Ideally, physical intimacy. The longer the duration, the tighter the lock on the soul.”

Gu Jinli: “…”

Gu Jinli: “???”

What did I just hear?

Physical intimacy…

“Wonderful.”

The word was spat out through clenched teeth. Gu Jinli wanted to laugh from pure rage. She had wondered why Shen Chigui hadn’t interrogated her or sought revenge when they met again. She had wondered why she had been so… enthusiastic.

So that was it. She was so “impatient” because she was afraid her prey would run before the seal was set?

“The longer, the better.”

Gu Jinli chewed on those words, her face flushing red and then turning white. The reason she had been relentlessly “tossed and turned” by that person for the past half-month was… this.

She didn’t know what to say. That brat… she even calculated that?

“Deity…”

As a sword, Night Moon didn’t possess complex human concepts. It didn’t understand why “physical intimacy” was a strange or shameful topic. To a sword, being held by its master to rest was intimacy enough. Seeing Gu Jinli’s distressed expression, it assumed she was merely worried about the spell.

“The power required is vast. I can feel the array is still hungry… it is far from enough.”

Indeed. These treasures, each one a legend in the outside world, were mere fodder here. Thinking of the 36th-floor sword array and the settings she had written, Gu Jinli suspected Shen Chigui had emptied the entire Secret Realm.

“How can I save you?”

She scanned the underground chamber, where treasures were piled like mountains. Because they were all trying to inch toward her, the area around her feet was becoming a dense thicket of magical items.

“Please, take them with you,” Night Moon urged. “I am the core; I cannot leave. But they are just sacrifices. Most of their power has already been drained by the array, so their departure won’t trigger an alarm.”

The sword trembled. “Only you can take them. This array was built for you; it cannot trap you.”

The items weren’t here by choice; they were prisoners.

“How did Ash Frost Snow get out?” Gu Jinli looked at her own natal sword. “Because it’s mine?”

That had to be it. She looked at Night Moon, trapped in the center of the blood pool, and felt a pang of pity. “What if I want to take you, too?”

“I cannot leave,” the sword sighed. “Deity, I will not leave. She is, in the end, my master.”

A legendary sword, once it recognizes a master, follows them forever. Until Shen Chigui died, it would never betray her. That was its mission.

“I understand.”

It was her own setting. But in this moment, Gu Jinli felt a heavy weight in her chest. It shouldn’t be like this. She touched the bracelet on her wrist, thinking of the Tower spirit that had helped her.

For ten years, she had slowly cut off contact with the Tower to avoid Shen Chigui’s suspicion. But she knew the Tower had always been watching. The treasures that followed her were its silent guidance. And now, the first news she got was of its destruction.

“Are you really gone?”

It felt like a nightmare. Truth after truth was exploding in her mind like bombs. She rubbed the bracelet, but there was no response. Finally, she turned her focus back to the treasures on the floor.

“Then come with me!”

With a wave of her hand, she began loading the treasures into her storage bags in batches. After a final, lingering look at Night Moon, she gripped Ash Frost Snow and left the underground.

*****

Emerging from the depths, the fresh air outside made Gu Jinli exhale a long, ragged breath. She stood at the entrance of the passage, utterly lost.

Should she continue the “conquest”? Was there even a point? That kind of person…

If she had harbored even a shred of hope before, it was dead now. Shen Chigui had never changed. She was still hollow.

“Big Sister.”

The familiar call came from behind, and Gu Jinli’s hesitation found its answer.

“What are you doing here?”

Dressed in her brilliant red robes, Shen Chigui approached with an air of refined elegance. Her mask was back on, making her look both mysterious and regal.

“Just walking around.”

Gu Jinli averted her gaze and looked toward the nearby Selection arena, feigning regret. “I actually really wanted to participate.”

Honestly, looking at the layout, she suspected the arena was built here on purpose. Slaughter above, sacrifice below. It was all connected.

“Does Big Sister want to stretch her muscles?”

Shen Chigui followed her gaze but didn’t seem to notice anything amiss. Her voice softened. “If you just want to move your body, we don’t necessarily have to fight.”

She reached out, her slender fingers tracing a lock of Gu Jinli’s hair by her ear. She twirled it and added suggestively, “I’m willing to accompany Big Sister in… other activities.”

Gu Jinli: “…”

The hint was so blatant it was practically a demand. If she hadn’t known the truth, she might have just been annoyed. But now that she knew the real reason behind Shen Chigui’s appetite, she felt sick.

“Forget it.” She waved her hand and started walking away. “I prefer hunting for myself.”

“Is that so?” Shen Chigui blinked and hurried after her, her voice silky and full of double meanings. “I can be hunted by Big Sister, too. I just wonder how you’d like to catch me.”

“…”

Gu Jinli stumbled. She turned around, looking at the lead with utter disbelief. “You’re too much! Stop being so greasy!”

She hadn’t realized the protagonist could be this nauseatingly “sweet” when she wanted to be.

“Fine, fine~” Shen Chigui pouted, catching up and hooking her arm through Gu Jinli’s like a young girl. “I just wanted to make Big Sister happy! Besides, don’t you like it?”

“You obviously enjoyed it…”

“Shut up.”

Just mentioning it made her blood boil. Gu Jinli shot her an annoyed glare and yanked her arm out of the girl’s grasp. “I want to walk by myself. You are not allowed to follow me,” she barked.

Shen Chigui: “…”

I’ve been rejected, haven’t I?

After dropping that line, Gu Jinli quickly gave Shen Chigui the slip and left the city alone. To the south lay a dense forest; she plunged in without a second thought, eventually finding a massive tree to sit under.

What do I do? How was she supposed to convince herself to keep acting as if nothing was wrong? Continue the conquest? She didn’t think she could do it anymore. It was as if a strange spark had been planted in her heart; every time she saw Shen Chigui, the flames would erupt, burning hotter and higher.

She felt miserable. She didn’t know what to do.

“Still so weak, aren’t I…”

Despite ten years of relentless effort to grow stronger, despite being so careful—never talking to anyone, never daring to make a single friend—she was still here. She had been so lonely, so afraid.

If not for the company of her sentient treasures, she wouldn’t have known happiness at all. But treasures were not humans. Gu Jinli had faced countless moments of doubt, wondering what she was even persisting for.

When she agreed to the system’s demand to return and conquer Shen Chigui, beyond all those grand reasons, there had been a flicker of longing. She wanted to see what the girl had become. She wanted to talk to her. She wanted a friend. She wanted… someone by her side.

But reality was cruel. Before she could even fully experience what it felt like to have someone, she was forced to accept loss. All those treasures were suffering because of her—the Tower, Night Moon, all of them. So many things and so many people in this world suffered simply because she existed.

Perhaps the “cheat codes” she thought she had were actually her punishment—making it so she couldn’t even seek the relief of death.

“I’m so tired.”

Gu Jinli’s eyes began to redden. “I don’t want revenge, and I don’t want the conquest… I just want to leave. I want to leave this place.”

Revenge? Confrontation? Screaming at her? What would it change? The ending wouldn’t alter; it would just be a cycle of repeating the same mistakes. She was just… so tired.

“So Big Sister doesn’t want to conquer anyone?”

When the familiar female voice whispered right into her ear, the emo-laden Gu Jinli jumped nearly out of her skin. She spun around, heart pounding.

Shen Chigui was standing at the base of the tree, looking up at her. It was impossible to tell how long she had been there. Her mask was off, and her beautiful eyes were locked onto Gu Jinli. Her expression was dark.

“I was wondering why Big Sister’s personality changed so suddenly. So, you found out about Night Moon.” The girl’s red lips curled into a pretty arc. Shen Chigui let out a soft laugh. “Is it not enough that you stole those pieces of trash away? Or do you truly believe you’re some kind of God?”

Yes. She had noticed. The treasures in the array were gone. Combining that with Gu Jinli’s strange behavior, there was no mystery left. Her Creator had found out.

And now, she expected the usual display of “merciful love” and “disgusting benevolence.” She expected the hypocrisy.

But Shen Chigui was done playing along.

“My dear Big Sister,” she laughed. “Stop being so hypocritical.”

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