The Simp’s Heart is Sealed in Cement; The Demon Lord Falls Hard! - Chapter 10

“Send Zhou Yanyu’s corpse back to the Shuiyun Sect. You know how to report it, right?”

At this moment, Yan Yichen was a completely different person from his usual innocent and adorable self. His apricot eyes were devoid of warmth, and his voice was so cold it made one’s hair stand on end.

“The Human Emperor, in order to stand up for his most doted-upon Empress, poisoned Zhou Yanyu to death. I risked my life to steal her body and send it back to the Shuiyun Sect!” one of the black-clad men immediately knelt, cupping his hands in a respectful reply.

His voice was not unfamiliar, even though Su Mo had heard it only a handful of times. It was Qin Shuisheng, the Captain of the Imperial Guard! The imperial palace had always been riddled with spies from various sects. Perhaps no one could have imagined that Qin Shuisheng, who ostensibly belonged to the Shuiyun Sect, was a double agent, and that his true master was Yan Yichen!

This tactic of “shifting the blame” was truly ruthless. Su Mo offered a helpless, bitter smile. The Shuiyun Sect was already dissatisfied that Wen Muli had married Su Mo and abandoned Zhou Yanyu. Framing Su Mo was the best way to drive a wedge between Wen Muli and the Shuiyun Sect.

“This is the map of the eye of the formation I stole from Wen Muli. I will handle the barrier of the Phoenix Capital; you distribute the map and tell the scouts spread throughout the land to move as quickly as possible. Buy me some time—the day of the wedding is the day Wen Muli dies!” Yan Yichen took a map from his storage ring and handed it to one of his subordinates with extreme gravity.

Seeing this, Su Mo, having confirmed the progress of the mission, did not linger and left rapidly. Thinking of the plot to follow, his scalp couldn’t help but tingle. Unsurprisingly, upon returning to the Fengxin Palace, he was greeted by a furious Wen Muli.

“Your Highness, where did you go? I was so worried…” Ye Lin rushed over, weeping, anxiously checking his body, terrified that he might have suffered any harm.

“I’m fine. I’m sorry to have worried you,” Su Mo said softly, wiping the tears from her face with a gentle expression and shaking his head.

“I, I thought something had happened to you, and I had no choice but to contact the Human Emperor. Your Highness, I’m sorry.” Ye Lin sobbed, whispering an apology.

Su Mo looked with complex emotions at Wen Muli, whose complexion was grim.

“Where did you go?” he interrogated, his expression emotionless.

“I just… felt a bit stifled and wanted some peace and quiet,” Su Mo answered hesitantly.

“Do you know how many matters of mine you delayed because of you? Do you know how many people I sent out to search for you… With the enemy at the gates, I thought you had…” Wen Muli was clearly enraged to the point of extremity; even a short paragraph of words took him a long time to finish, his tone punctuated by long pauses.

“I…”

“Su Mo, must I break your legs before you can obediently stay by my side?” Wen Muli interrupted him, his voice laced with the fury of a brewing storm!

Su Mo bowed his head in silence, using silence as his response.

“Good… good… good… Someone, the Empress Su Mo is obstinate and insubordinate! Give him thirty heavy strokes and lock him in the water dungeon to reflect!” Wen Muli, enraged to the limit, raised his voice by eight octaves.

“Your Majesty, please calm your anger… The Empress’s body is not what it used to be. If he is locked in the water dungeon, I fear…” Song Zhi, standing to the side, knelt in panic to plead for mercy.

“Your Majesty, please think twice…” A row of people knelt down en masse. They were all brothers who had braved life and death with Wen Muli, and naturally, they had also witnessed Su Mo’s sacrifices for him. The Human Emperor might not remember his kindness, but they could not forget. After all, everyone present had been saved by Su Mo at some point! Knowing that imperial decrees were hard to defy, they still spoke out at the risk of their lives.

“Insolent! You all have stopped taking my words seriously, haven’t you? Fine, if you can’t bear to do it, I will do it myself!” The more they pleaded, the angrier Wen Muli became. He kicked Song Zhi aside and prepared to do it himself.

“This subordinate knows his error; I will do it at once!” Knowing Wen Muli was in the heat of his anger and fearing that he would be reckless with his blows, Song Zhi had no choice but to crawl to Su Mo’s side. He steeled his heart and whispered, “Forgive me, Your Highness…”

As soon as he spoke, he grabbed Su Mo’s hands. Su Mo did not resist, instead looking at Wen Muli quietly, saying nothing. Soon, he was pressed onto the bench, and wooden staves infused with spiritual power landed one after another on his back. His spiritual power had been completely exhausted in the interim, and he had no way to resist; he could only endure the strikes directly. He bit his lower lip hard; even as blood streamed down, he did not utter a sound.

Ye Lin wept uncontrollably beside them, kowtowing incessantly to Wen Muli. “It was this servant’s fault. It was I who lured the Empress out of the palace. Your Majesty, punish me, but please spare the Empress; his body cannot withstand this…”

Wen Muli remained indifferent, staring fixedly at Su Mo as if waiting for him to beg for mercy. Su Mo also possessed a stubborn temper, taking the punishment without a single word from start to finish. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, his eyes rolled back, and he fell into a deep faint.

When he woke up again, he was locked in the cold, damp water dungeon. The wounds on his back had not been treated and stung with a burning sensation; soaking in the rotting, foul-smelling muddy water made it even harder to endure. His whole body felt as if it were in a furnace, and his throat was dry and itchy, making swallowing feel like gulping down blades.

It hurts so much… Su Mo offered a bitter smile. His eyes were filled with bitterness and loneliness. So what if it hurts? Even if I say it, no one will feel heartache; they’ll likely just misunderstand it as me being pretentious. It’s better to just suffer through it myself. Fortunately, he was almost at the finish line… The day of Wen Muli’s wedding was the day he would find liberation!

A persistent high fever left his mind dazed, his consciousness flickering between clarity and blurriness. I don’t know how much time had passed when a soft, almost imperceptible sound of footsteps approached. Su Mo drooped his head, struggling to lift his eyelids to look.

Creak,

The locked wooden door was pushed open, and a petite man in a black cloak walked in.

“Brother Su, are you alright!” Yan Yichen removed his cloak to reveal his true face, his eyes full of heartache.

“Why are you here… hurry back!” Su Mo replied, lacking the strength.

“Don’t worry, the Emperor isn’t in the Phoenix Capital. There were issues with a few barriers, and he went to investigate. What on earth are you all making a scene for? He’s crazy, and you’re stubborn. It’s a matter that could have been resolved with a simple plea for mercy—you just had to make it like this…” As if to put him at ease, Yan Yichen’s little mouth chattered incessantly, taking the clear porridge and healing medicine out of his basket while he complained.

Without a hint of disdain for the filthy water, he stepped into the dungeon to untie Su Mo, supporting him to the bank to sit down. He first served him a bowl of clear porridge infused with spiritual medicine, then spread his cloak on the ground, laid him face down, and applied a dusting charm before putting medicine on the wounds on his back.

“Thank you…” Su Mo thanked him softly.

“What are you thanking me for? Compared to what you’ve done for me, what I do for you is but a drop in the ocean…” Yan Yichen pouted and muttered. “Without the Emperor’s permission, I can’t let you out just yet, but I will come to see you every day. At the very latest, on the day of the wedding, you will definitely be released. You’ll just have to suffer for a few more days.” He sighed helplessly.

Su Mo smiled and shook his head, indicating that it didn’t matter.

“I managed to bribe the guards, but I can’t stay too long. I’m heading back now; I’ll come see you again tomorrow.” Fearing he would stay too long, Yan Yichen stood up after putting away the empty bowl. When he reached the door, he suddenly paused, slowly turned around, and asked in an extremely profound tone: “By the way… where exactly did you go that day, Brother Su? Why were you unwilling to tell the truth to the Emperor?”

Su Mo was taken aback. The latter offered a cryptic smile and left.