The Demon Lord Relied on His Imagination to Get Together with the Protagonist. - Chapter 40

Chapter 40

The moment the Saint-Scribe hit the barrier, his expression instantly changed.

Qi Magu saw him scowl at the air. The two words “How dare you” were practically on the tip of his tongue… Qi Magu instantly fell silent.

Qi Magu: “…”

He thought the Celestial Venerable had already dismantled this thing.

Who would have thought it was still here?

The Celestial Venerable Saint-Scribe covered his forehead. A hint of impatience laced his indifferent tone: “Quickly break the formation.”

Qi Magu was startled. He was about to stammer “I don’t know how,” but when he looked up, he saw the Celestial Venerable, displeased from losing face, turn back the way he came and retreat into the Palace of Decadence and Lust.

The other party left with the line, “This Venerable One will return shortly,” and withdrew.

Qi Magu had no choice. He couldn’t dismantle the restriction set up by the Demon Lord. He had no clue how, but he knew he definitely couldn’t stop the Celestial Venerable now.

He could only brace himself and try to dismantle it.

If he truly couldn’t, he would just wait for the Celestial Venerable to cool down and dismantle it himself.

Qi Magu stood in front of the formation, took a deep breath, took a horse stance, and tried to reach out his hand to the barrier wall

The Scarlet Sky Realm

Shi Zhihua predicted that Fu Luan would seek help from the Saint-Scribe, so she specifically instructed Qing Lin to intercept the letter.

Qing Lin arrived early the next morning.

Then, she reported that she failed to intercept it.

“Useless,” Shi Zhihua was annoyed. “How could you have failed to intercept it?”

Qing Lin desperately wanted to say that her leg had cramped, and when she saw the suspected flying letter, her legs gave out, and she couldn’t catch up. But she didn’t dare to actually say this, fearing that if she spoke the truth, the Venerable Lord might bring up yesterday’s old accounts to settle.

Qing Lin simply admitted: “It is this subordinate’s incompetence.”

Shi Zhihua rubbed her temples: “Fine. It doesn’t matter if the Saint-Scribe knows. The worst result is just him personally coming here to demand the person back.”

And what if he demands the person back?

The person has already been slept with. There’s nothing the other party can do.

As for how the Saint-Scribe will handle this after knowing, that’s up to him.

Shi Zhihua sighed and got up to return to the room.

When she came out to see Qing Lin, she was still wearing Tong Siqing’s inner garment. Yesterday, she deliberately wore it to spite Fu Luan. Now that it was morning, the clothes should be changed back.

Shi Zhihua moved gently, taking off the red robe draped over her…

Turning around, she saw Tong Siqing watching her, resting her head on the back of her hand.

After the fatigue of last night, Tong Siqing was finally awake. Her pair of extremely dark and bright eyes gazed at her peacefully. Even without saying a word, her eyes were filled with emotion.

She is like a cat.

Shi Zhihua always thought that.

Tong Siqing’s eyes were large and clear. Because they were so bright, they could even reflect her own image.

Shi Zhihua leaned down and touched her eyes, startling the other person’s eyelashes into fluttering. She blinked repeatedly, then after a moment, obediently held still and looked at her again.

Neither of them spoke, just gazing at each other quietly.

Since Tong Siqing’s illusion spell had long been seen through, Shi Zhihua could seriously look at her true face.

Her nasal bridge was slightly low, and her nose tip was small, delicate, and upturned. From a certain angle, her lips were also thin and exquisite, like a single stroke of vermillion brush in a beauty’s scroll.

Shi Zhihua freed a hand to touch her head: “Are you awake?”

Tong Siqing looked at her, softly “Mm”-ed, then blushed, pulled up the quilt, and hid beneath it a little.

Shi Zhihua was puzzled and followed the other person’s gaze downward.

So, Tong Siqing had noticed her inner garment.

“Yours is too small,” Shi Zhihua said. “When you usually wear it, don’t you find it tight?”

Tong Siqing didn’t think so.

Because she was born and raised to wear small clothes as per the Xianning Sect’s practice. In Xianning, deliberately highlighting that area would earn the label of “shameless,” so all women habitually bound that area. On one hand, it made them look thin, and on the other, it conformed to the Xianning aesthetic.

“It’s that the Venerable Lord…”

Tong Siqing couldn’t think of a specific adjective and fell into distress.

What is it?

She definitely wouldn’t evaluate Zhihua according to Xianning’s standards, because regions are different, so the cultural customs are also different.

Perhaps, in the Demon Realm, bigger is better!

“What about me?”

Shi Zhihua waited for her next sentence.

Tong Siqing answered: “It’s that the Venerable Lord is too considerate of me.”

Considerate of her? Did the other person think her figure and appearance were transformed later?

“This is not a spell!” Shi Zhihua angrily grabbed her hand, brought it over, and let her feel for herself. “This is how this Venerable One was when I transformed into human form. It was not deliberately altered.”

Tong Siqing instinctively wanted to pull her hand away, but Zhihua used some force, making it impossible for her to resist. She could only helplessly rest her hand on the other person’s chest.

Seeing her turn her head, Shi Zhihua thought the other person didn’t believe her.

She straightened Tong Siqing’s line of sight and said every word clearly: “You, feel, it. Do not slander this Venerable One.”

Tong Siqing knew that Great Demons or Great Fiends would cultivate a human form when their cultivation reached a certain level.

Not only did she know this, but she also knew that only those with a beautiful true form would have a beautiful human form.

Since Zhihua was so beautiful, then her true form must also be exquisitely beautiful.

Shi Zhihua guided her hand to apply pressure while explaining: “A few hundred years ago, after this Venerable One transformed into human form, I rarely returned to my original form. Because I am quite satisfied with my human form, I have never used a spell to change anything.”

Tong Siqing: “Mm.”

She understood.

She wouldn’t say that next time.

“Let’s go outside and take a look,” Tong Siqing changed the subject. “I want to walk around the street.”

To prevent Zhihua from misunderstanding again, she proactively explained the situation to Zhihua this time.

“From the first day I arrived in the Scarlet Sky Realm, I noticed that the atmosphere here is very oppressive. Many people’s faces carry a deathly pallor. The food here is rotten, and many of the carved beams and painted pillars are stained with blood,” Tong Siqing said. “It’s very uncomfortable to stay here, so I want to see what the problem is.”

Is that so?

Shi Zhihua realized that she hadn’t noticed this at all. Not only her, but Qing Lin and the others hadn’t noticed anything either.

So, how did Tong Siqing find out?

“If you feel unwell, we can immediately return to the Demon Realm,” Shi Zhihua said. “This kind of mess is probably not a matter of a day or two. It must have existed for a long time. The grievances and resentments inside are not something that can be sorted out quickly. It might be a conflict between a few people, or it might span several generations, perhaps a few years, or maybe decades, or centuries…”

Shi Zhihua’s original intention was to tell Tong Siqing to ignore it. The world is vast, and these trivial matters can never be completely managed.

However, Tong Siqing showed no sign of giving up. She even took Shi Zhihua’s words as a hint.

She said: “It’s alright. Even if it’s difficult to solve, we have to try to know.”

For no other reason than that she was the protagonist of the story. In such a situation, anyone else in the story could stand by and do nothing, but she couldn’t.

She had enjoyed too many favors from destiny. How could she continue to stand aloof and ignore the world’s affairs?

Although she had never attempted to foresee the heavenly secrets of the Scarlet Sky Realm, since the problem had been encountered, it had to be properly resolved.

“If you want to stay, this Venerable One will naturally accompany you,” Shi Zhihua chose to go with her purely to accompany Tong Siqing, fearing she might be harmed. “Let’s go.”

Tong Siqing put on her clothes and was about to do her usual makeup, but Shi Zhihua stopped her.

Shi Zhihua said: “Where is the gold hairpin I gave you?”

“Here.” Tong Siqing flipped her palm, producing the item and handing it to her. “I’ve kept it all along. I didn’t lose it, oh.”

“Very obedient,” Shi Zhihua praised her, then took the gold hairpin and placed it in her hair. “How about dressing like this today?”

Tong Siqing nodded: “Alright.”

When they arrived at the main street of the Scarlet Sky Realm, the Xianning Sect disciples were already busy.

Because the few people from the Demon Realm didn’t pay much attention to what was happening here, they were utterly confused by the sight.

Fu Luan was leading her disciples by example, helping out. They were hanging red lanterns all over the street, decorating the place to look festive and auspicious. Someone who didn’t know better would think they were preparing to marry a bride.

After a short while, Qing Lin returned with news.

She said that the people of the Scarlet Sky Realm frequently fell into illusions, every few days. Once trapped, they wouldn’t wake up for several nights. When they did wake up, their mental state would be very poor. After continuous years of this, some people were already similar to walking corpses.

Some people who couldn’t wake up became living dead, lying in bed all day, only waking up at night to parade through the streets.

“Parade through the streets?” Shi Zhihua asked. “What do they do in the streets in the middle of the night without sleeping?”

Yes, Tong Siqing had also noticed last night that people did go downstairs at night to gather and do something unknown.

Those with severe symptoms were probably the people whose faces she saw with a deathly pallor.

Tong Siqing: “How can we save them?”

Qing Lin shook her head: “I didn’t find out. Those people from Xianning probably don’t know either. They plan to follow the parading crowd tonight to find out what’s going on.”

Although the few of them were discussing the matter, none of their attitudes were particularly proactive.

They were more like spectators, not very concerned with the matter itself.

That makes sense.

Tong Siqing could understand.

After all, in the story, the villains usually engage in destruction or harm the protagonists. It would be against common sense to force them to do something helpful.

But…

Tong Siqing had already become Shi Zhihua’s person, following her.

When Tong Siqing realized that her own attitude was also becoming very passive, she felt she couldn’t continue this way.

She needed to do something to make up for it.

She couldn’t just sit back and watch Immortal Master Fu Luan and her group busy themselves alone.

But, she couldn’t explore the plot alone either.

Since Tong Siqing knew nothing about the Scarlet Sky Realm, her advantage in foreseeing heavenly secrets couldn’t be utilized here.

How could she use her advantage to solve the problem and achieve the goal?

Tong Siqing calmed down and thought carefully.

She also carefully observed the “complexion” of the Scarlet Sky Realm’s local residents.

She discovered that some people’s faces had a very heavy deathly pallor, while others had none at all, as if they weren’t people of the Scarlet Sky Realm.

The logic was simple. It was like everyone was poisoned, walking around exhausted and worn out, while another group of people was lively and vigorous, as if nothing was wrong.

Needles to say, those who were fine were likely connected to the act of “poisoning” in some way.

Tong Siqing tugged at the Demon Lord’s sleeve and discussed something with her.

Shi Zhihua looked bewildered: “No way? How is that possible? People in the world cannot all be so simple, saying whatever they are asked.”

Tong Siqing was certain: “Venerable Lord must trust me.”

Shi Zhihua indulged her. It didn’t matter even if she confused right and wrong.

Shi Zhihua drew out her voice: “Alright—”

Half an hour later, whoever Tong Siqing pointed at, Qing Lin and Su Rong would drag them to a small dark room. Before long, all the people on the street who were completely unharmed were separately locked up.

Shi Zhihua was curious: “Why arrest them?”

In her view, these people were no different.

But Tong Siqing knew the reason. She arrested all those whose faces were clean, without any deathly pallor.

Tong Siqing said to Zhihua: “I trouble the Venerable Lord to dislocate their legs.”

Shi Zhihua: ???

Qing Lin, who had just returned from arresting people: ???

This sentence wouldn’t sound terrifying coming from anyone else, but coming from Tong Siqing, it was especially shocking.

Because the impression she usually gave everyone was that she was pure and harmless, so innocent that she would cry upon seeing a bloody scene.

When such a villainous phrase as dislocating arms and legs came out of her mouth, it felt extremely discordant, as bizarre as a rabbit you raised suddenly smiling at you and revealing a mouth full of steel teeth.

Qing Lin felt a chill down her spine. Although she had recently witnessed Tong Siqing using a golden lion to crush someone into a coffin, she still found this unbelievable today.

Ah, is this the little Immortal who grew up carefree in Xianning?

This is too devious!

Even she, a subordinate of the Demon Lord, wouldn’t so casually say something like dislocating arms and legs.

Seeing everyone’s surprise, Tong Siqing quickly explained: “Not kill them, but dislocate their arms or legs… of course, legs are better, to prevent anyone from running away at night.”

If she hadn’t explained, it would have been better. Her explanation virtually confirmed that she genuinely intended to do this.

Shi Zhihua: “If you say so, this Venerable One will do it. Just don’t be scared when the time comes. I’m afraid you’ll cry nonstop out of guilt.”

Shi Zhihua had seen too many hypocrites in the Xianning Sect, whose words and actions were completely different.

Just like when she interrogated someone before. The person swore he wouldn’t speak even if she killed him. But after she merely dislocated one of his arms, the person cried and confessed everything.

Shi Zhihua thought that Tong Siqing was just saying this. Once she actually had Qing Lin temporarily dislocate their legs, Tong Siqing would see the scene and soften her heart, telling her to stop.

She could choose not to do such a thing from the start, but once she started, she couldn’t stop mid-way out of soft-heartedness.

Because she was the Demon Lord.

When establishing her might, she couldn’t go back on her word, or the world would perceive her as a soft-hearted figure, allowing more people to take liberties.

If you give them kindness, they won’t cherish it.

Because Shi Zhihua had experienced this, she understood it clearly. From then on, she would never suddenly stop when punishing someone.

Tong Siqing said: “It’s alright. Even if the Venerable Lord accidentally messes them up, I can help fix them. You don’t need to worry or be afraid.”

Shi Zhihua: ???

Was that what I was worried about?

Shi Zhihua pressed her temples and instructed Qing Lin: “Go do it.”

“Wait a moment,” Tong Siqing thought for a bit and instructed her. “Remember to say some ruthless things, and even if they want to speak, don’t let them actually say it.”

Qing Lin: ???

What is she trying to do?

If we ask, why not listen?

Tong Siqing did this to utilize the common logic of the Heavenly Dao, because she knew that Qing Lin and Zhihua wouldn’t be able to get anything out of them. They were the villains, and for certain matters, no matter how much effort the villains put in, they wouldn’t achieve results as quickly as the Xianning side.

Therefore, she merely asked Qing Lin to add fuel to the fire. When the interrogated people were terrified enough, she would step in to play the good cop.

Qing Lin acknowledged the command and first went into one of the small dark rooms. A moment later, a scream of agony came from inside.

When the screaming mostly stopped, Tong Siqing went in.

In less than half an incense stick’s time, the person inside was neither crying nor making noise. Tong Siqing came out with a few invitation letters.

She hadn’t expected it to go so smoothly. She had originally planned to arrest so many people and interrogate them one by one, but the very first person had revealed many useful things.

Shi Zhihua also found it too easy: “How did you get it so easily? What did you ask?”

Tong Siqing froze for a few seconds and replied: “I went in, introduced myself as someone from Xianning, and said I came to save him and help him leave. He was instantly saved, cried profusely, confessed a lot, and gave me what I wanted.”

Oh, she forgot to mention. She was the protagonist. Other things might be difficult, but saving certain background characters in the plot was absolutely possible. The effect was outstanding. In just a few words, she could make someone abandon darkness and join the light.

This was a power granted by destiny. Although it made little sense, and Tong Siqing also found it a bit absurd what did I even do? Why can I make a suffering person let go of their emotional knot with just a few words?

Although Tong Siqing didn’t like this trait, she had to admit… it was extremely effective in practice!

Coupled with having Qing Lin go in first and trouble the character in the story as a villain, the matter became even easier!

Tong Siqing waved the invitation letters in her hand and said: “Success! Let’s get rid of the people we locked up… Ah, no, let them go.”

Qing Lin: “…”

Shi Zhihua: “…”

Su Rong: “…”

They were all shocked. How could Tong Siqing, the First Immortal Sage of Xianning, say something that sounded even worse than a villain?

Shouldn’t that be what they say!

Using someone and then unscrupulously getting rid of them that kind of talk shouldn’t be said lightly!

Shi Zhihua covered her forehead: “Alright, release them, release them.”

Tong Siqing nodded: “Mm-hmm.”

They finished early, while Immortal Master Fu Luan, even with help from an insider, was exhausted after toiling for half a day to get it done.

To participate in the illusion with the bewitched crowd at night without being disturbed, they had to get the invitation letters. Otherwise, they couldn’t enter while still conscious. The few of them laboriously helped decorate the wedding scene, making themselves part of the illusion theme. Only after doing a lot of work were they deemed insiders and received the hard-won invitation letters.

Busy all day, they were all worn out before nightfall.

The goat-bearded man looked apologetically at the Immortals: “Immortal Masters, I am truly sorry. I didn’t have a better idea. This is the only way.”

Fu Luan wiped her sweat with her sleeve: “It’s nothing.”

Cen Letian comforted her: “Master, I saw the Demon Lord and her group also intending to participate in this matter today, but they didn’t do anything, just leisurely strolled around for half a day and went back to rest.”

Fu Luan: “Since they didn’t do these things, they won’t enter the illusion, and they won’t interfere with our work. Good.”

Support The Demon Lord Relied on His Imagination to Get Together with the Protagonist.