The Demon Lord Relied on His Imagination to Get Together with the Protagonist. - Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Tong Siqing, responsible for warming the bed, woke up a few times due to the noise outside. She vaguely felt that the hour was late, but still hadn’t seen the Demon Lord return to rest.

The bedding had been warmed for several hours. Eventually, Tong Siqing barely needed to use her internal energy to heat it; she could simply lie flat and the blanket would become warm.

Although she knew Zhihua was a great villain, she hadn’t realized the other woman worked so hard, not returning to sleep even at this hour.

Thinking this, and recalling the mountain of reports piled on the Demon Lord’s desk, Tong Siqing flipped over with increased admiration.

She tucked in the corner of the quilt and went back to deep sleep.

Sigh, I wonder when Zhihua will return.

However, what she didn’t know was that everyone in the Palace of Decadence and Lust was nearly frantic.

After Shi Zhihua discovered Tong Siqing was missing, she completely lost control. She smashed the vermilion brush and cursed the Sage-Scribe, calling him a terrible person—pretending to reconcile on the surface, with apologies and gifts, but actually secretly taking his daughter back.

Poor Surong was dragged in for interrogation and was equally bewildered… She didn’t know why things had turned out this way. The Heavenly Venerable Sage-Scribe’s attitude was clearly fine!

Sure enough, the Heavenly Venerable Sage-Scribe was deeply cunning. One couldn’t judge the direction of events from surface appearances.

Surong was terrified.

Qing Lin knelt beside Surong, continuously attempting to console their Venerable Lord.

In the grand hall of the Palace of Decadence and Lust, Shi Zhihua had summoned everyone on duty and was grilling them one by one. She was convinced there was a traitor in the Palace of Decadence and Lust who had colluded with the Sage-Scribe to steal Tong Siqing away.

Hearing that a traitor was to be found, Surong was so scared she didn’t know what to say.

She frantically grabbed Qing Lin’s hand: “Qing Lin, what should I do? If the Venerable Lord makes an example of me, please plead for me.”

Her voice wasn’t loud, but Shi Zhihua was in a fit of rage and unusually sensitive to all sounds. She turned back and said to Surong: “I am not an unreasonable person. When she went missing, you were with me discussing matters. It couldn’t possibly be you.”

Surong let out a sigh of relief: “That’s good. I was afraid the Venerable Lord would think I deliberately came to draw your attention, then conspired with the Immortal Clan to lure you away and secretly send the person off.”

Qing Lin: “???”

Could you just say less!

Shi Zhihua gave a very fake smile: “That seems plausible too…”

Surong: “…”

Qing Lin frantically covered Surong’s mouth and rapidly argued: “Venerable Lord, please don’t listen to her nonsense. Her brain couldn’t handle being an undercover agent… Right, Surong.”

Surong was drenched in cold sweat: “I… suppose so.”

Shi Zhihua: “Indeed.”

It was clear how furious she was. Qing Lin knew their Venerable Lord well. Only when the Demon Lord’s mood was at its absolute worst would she speak to them with that insincere, forced smile. If she were in a better mood, her tone would be lazy and indifferent, not like this.

Qing Lin didn’t know who this new Immortal Clan girl was. She assumed Shi Zhihua was only angry that the girl had lied to her and worked with the Heavenly Venerable Sage-Scribe to mock the Demon Realm.

So, Qing Lin tried to reason with her: “Venerable Lord, please calm your anger. The guards of our Palace of Decadence and Lust are very strict. Even outside birds cannot cross the guard’s barriers. Perhaps she hasn’t escaped yet…”

Shi Zhihua’s tone was icy: “Yet when she first came to the Palace of Decadence and Lust, no one discovered her. I really cannot trust the current guard strength of the Palace of Decadence and Lust.”

Qing Lin stated seriously: “Your subordinate will definitely reinforce the defensive measures tomorrow. Please wait a moment. Let everyone search again. If we catch her, we will kill her immediately.”

Surong: “???”

Ahhh! This won’t do!

Not to mention that the people in the Palace of Decadence and Lust didn’t have the ability to kill Tong Siqing, but if someone actually managed to injure Tong Siqing, wouldn’t the Xianning Sect explode? The Heavenly Venerable Sage-Scribe would lead an army to attack before dawn!

Then the two realms would be at war again!

Surong stopped her: “Your Excellency, absolutely not! Perhaps she is just lost. Once she realizes you’re looking for her, she will probably come back on her own.”

Shi Zhihua sneered: “The last time she got lost, I simply swept the area with my divine sense and located her, but this time I could not find her.”

Shi Zhihua looked down at the mass of people below, her anger impossible to suppress.

“Stop kneeling and go find her for me.”

Shi Zhihua was dizzy with rage, entertaining a thousand thoughts of carving up the Sage-Scribe. She even sent for the few major generals who were currently out, indicating that if Tong Siqing was not found, she would lead an army to attack the Xianning Sect.

Surong felt exhausted and miserable.

She looked at the shattered vermilion brush on the ground, her heart aching even more… Wuwuwuwu, such a fine treasure, now gone! Gone!

Millennia of merit were smashed by the Venerable Lord for fun. The spiritual energy contained within could have nourished the plants and flowers of the Palace of Decadence and Lust into demons!

Surong desperately wanted to cry.

Just then, Qing Lin noticed her spacing out and nudged her arm: “Hurry up and join the search.”

Qing Lin knew the Demon Lord was still furious. She was worried that as fewer people were present, the Demon Lord might turn her wrath onto Surong. It was safer to get Surong out of the way. If the Venerable Lord couldn’t see her, she wouldn’t suddenly decide to bury her.

Surong thought over and over that Tong Siqing couldn’t have just run off. Even if the Heavenly Venerable Sage-Scribe had secretly taken her, the girl wouldn’t have just abandoned the Demon Lord and slipped away without a word.

The Sage-Scribe was deeply cunning, but Tong Siqing was morally upright; she wouldn’t simply leave like that.

Surong bowed again and explained: “Your subordinate believes she has not left the Palace of Decadence and Lust. She should be in some corner, perhaps, out of curiosity, she was trapped in an artifact set up within the Palace of Decadence and Lust.”

This wasn’t entirely unreasonable. The Palace of Decadence and Lust had a grand landscape, and various artifacts were hidden within the gardens. If an outsider who trespassed triggered the restriction, they would be instantly destroyed or captured alive.

Shi Zhihua was still extremely displeased. She said expressionlessly: “That had better be the case.”

After saying this, she turned and left, radiating fierce hostility.

Qing Lin asked: “Where is the Venerable Lord going?”

Shi Zhihua looked back, her eyes filled with obsessive ruthlessness: “I am going to prepare. If she is not found before dawn, I will lead an army to the gates of his Xianning Sect and force the Sage-Scribe to return her.”

With that, she left, leaving Qing Lin stunned in place.

Qing Lin turned, her expression indescribable.

“That girl is truly something. How long has it been, and she’s already provoked our Venerable Lord to such anger.”

Surong forced a laugh: “Ah… yes, yes.”

It’s utterly exhausting.

No one knew how frustrated Shi Zhihua had been lately. First, she was inexplicably poisoned by an impertinent succubus with a love potion. Then, on the night the poison took effect, she was met with an assassination attempt from the Xianning Sect. On top of the assassination, she hadn’t been able to resist having an intimate encounter with the assassin.

She thought that was the end of it, but then Tong Siqing publicly declared her intention to forcibly marry Shi Zhihua… and that Sage-Scribe fellow actually agreed, out of all things, and immediately arrived with a lavish betrothal gift.

The welcoming was one thing, but the Sage-Scribe even gave her a fake bride, using a green wedding dress to humiliate the Demon Realm, which led to a complete rupture of relations.

They hadn’t lost anything, and the Xianning Sect was still seen as the righteous path in the eyes of the world.

Instead, the Demon Realm looked uncooperative, disrupting the peace between the two realms.

Finally, the Sage-Scribe secretly sent his daughter to her, deliberately setting up a clumsy illusion for her to see through, then offering a fake apology, only to immediately take his daughter back to the Xianning Sect.

What was this? This was deliberately provoking Shi Zhihua! Telling her that the people of the Xianning Sect could come and go as they pleased, and that the defenses of the Palace of Decadence and Lust were useless.

Fine.

She had been openly humiliated!

In her extreme fury, Shi Zhihua’s demonic manifestation began to show. Her eyes suddenly turned crimson, and the demonic nature at this moment made her desire mad slaughter.

Kill some people from Xianning to quell her anger.

“Go to the dungeon. Bring out the captives from the Xianning Sect. When the war begins tomorrow, use them as sacrifices,” Shi Zhihua crushed a decorative skull nearby with one hand. The ghostly green fire within the skull floated up, making her face look even more sinister and terrifying.

The subordinates searching nearby immediately stopped their actions and knelt, saying in unison, “Venerable Lord, please calm your anger.”

Shi Zhihua was so angry her teeth nearly shattered: “Calm my anger? Keep looking! Dig three feet deep, but find her for me!”

Qing Lin rushed over: “Venerable Lord, please go rest first. Once she is found, your subordinate will report to you immediately.”

Shi Zhihua gnashed her teeth: “I’m angry; I can’t sleep.”

Qing Lin continued to console her: “Venerable Lord, even if war is coming tomorrow, you must rest first, or it will affect tomorrow’s battle.”

This was a fact. Shi Zhihua sighed, releasing a breath of pent-up frustration, and reluctantly agreed: “Fine.”

“I’ve been foolish to expect someone cultivating the Path of Heartlessness to soften or awaken to feelings,” Shi Zhihua muttered to herself, looking at the distant Ghost Tower. “Now that I’ve been mocked like this, I must personally snatch her from the Sage-Scribe’s hands, and in front of him, personally shatter her Path of Heartlessness.”

Qing Lin hadn’t heard clearly and didn’t dare ask, only lowering her head meekly.

“Qing Lin, do you know how to break the Immortal Clan’s Path of Heartlessness?” Shi Zhihua was unsure about this and asked, “What is the quickest way to break the Path of Heartlessness?”

Qing Lin wasn’t sure either, but she didn’t dare admit ignorance. She bravely thought for a moment and tentatively made something up: “Loss of virginity? This method might be a bit extreme, but it’s certainly feasible. If you feel that’s not safe enough, you can, as the rumors say, lure her to the point of obsession, making her fall hopelessly in love with you, and then cruelly abandon her. If she falls from the Immortal Path and becomes a demon… After becoming a demon, she will naturally become our Demon Realm’s subordinate. Then will you still worry about not controlling her?”

Shi Zhihua fell silent, finding the suggestion highly feasible.

Making Tong Siqing fall into the Demon Path and become a member of the Demon Realm would surely drive the Sage-Scribe insane—then, she could sit back and enjoy the show.

She would see whether the Supreme Immortal of the Celestial Realm would favor his daughter or, like a righteous gentleman, personally eradicate the demon for the sake of justice.

Shi Zhihua gently pressed her tongue against her back teeth, then closed her eyes deeply: “Qing Lin, you go prepare as well. When dawn breaks tomorrow, we will wage war against his Xianning.”

Qing Lin clasped her hands: “Yes.”

But the Xianning Sect wasn’t easy to defeat. Before that, complete preparation was necessary. Shi Zhihua quickly returned to her bedchamber, intending to rest properly first.

However, as she approached the bed, she suddenly heard light breathing.

Shi Zhihua: “???”

In that instant, Shi Zhihua was flooded with mixed emotions. She suddenly realized she had missed one spot while searching for Tong Siqing—because the search had been centered outward from herself, she had overlooked her own palace.

Who would have thought that Tong Siqing was right under her nose.

Asleep.

Shi Zhihua restrained herself as she lifted the bed curtains, even tasting blood between her lips and teeth.

She gritted her teeth, looking at the sweetly sleeping Tong Siqing. She desperately wanted to grab the girl and fiercely demand: How are you sleeping?!

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