The Third Year After the Immortal Venerable’s Death - Chapter 5

Upon hearing this, the maid in the pink shirt, Xizhu, hurriedly gathered her skirts and ran over. Xizhu had intended to offer a respectful bow and receive her orders as usual, but as she raised her head, she saw the person collapsed on the steps with a large, unsightly hole in his neck. The wound was not deep, but it was torn severely; even though Xizhu wasn’t present when it happened, just by looking at it, she could imagine how resentful and angry that bite must have been.

While shocked, Xizhu felt a secret sense of relief. She bowed again to receive her orders, “Yes, this servant will take Young Master Gu down immediately.”

Wu Youqi nodded without a word. It was only when Xizhu found people to carry Gu Qingyi that he turned his back and spoke: “Find someone to examine him, and remember to teach him the rules.”

Xizhu froze, a breath catching in her chest. She pinched the hem of her skirt to acknowledge the instruction before asking in a low voice: “May I ask… where should Young Master Gu be arranged to stay?”

Wu Youqi had already撩 (lifted) his robes to sit behind his desk, preparing to process a few newly arrived files. Hearing Xizhu’s question, his hand paused over the scroll, and after a long moment, he picked up a brush and dipped it into the vermilion ink. “The West Courtyard is vacant.”

“West…!” Xizhu inhaled sharply, barely managing to control her voice, and curtsied. “Yes, this servant understands.”

Like the imperial palaces in the human world, the Blood Flame Flowing Cloud Palace had secondary halls. The “West Courtyard” Wu Youqi referred to was a small courtyard behind the Western Secondary Hall: a two-story structure with connecting corridors and a small garden with a pond. The courtyard contained only a main building three rooms wide; although there was no plaque on the doorframe, it used golden tiles and black walls like the main palace, and the roof was a single-eave xieshan style.

The previous Demon Lord, Queyue, never married and did not favor any women, yet he had reserved this small courtyard right next to his own bedroom. Until his death, no one had ever seen the master of this courtyard. And on the very same day that Queyue threw himself into the Mohaluo Spring—the West Courtyard suddenly caught fire, with eerie blue flames leaping up to nine zhang high. People had tried everything to extinguish the fire but could only watch helplessly as it burned for nine days and nine nights. Later, palace servants discovered a red tail feather that looked exactly like a peacock’s plume in the charred ruins. After consulting the Three Wisdoms, they decided to bury the feather in the Imperial Mausoleum and added a small wooden tablet next to Demon Lord Queyue’s spirit tablet, inscribed with four simple words: Demon Consort Chiyu (Red Feather).

The current West Courtyard was a later reconstruction; the materials looked new, but it was largely restored according to the original structure. However, the furniture and furnishings in the main room were simple, consisting only of a few tables, chairs, and a luohan daybed after all, no one knew what had originally been inside.

At the entrance to the West Courtyard, Xizhu originally wanted to order people to carry Gu Qingyi directly to the bed while she turned to find a doctor. However, the moment she pushed open the courtyard gate, the accumulated dust falling from above choked her into a stumble, “Cough, cough, cough”

Xizhu rolled her eyes, knowing it was the cleaning staff slacking off and skipping their duties, assuming the place was unoccupied. She thanked the two demon soldiers for their help in moving him, asking them to place him leaning against the vermilion pillar by the door while she sent a voice transmission to summon the local steward.

When the steward arrived, he was disheveled and frantic. Seeing Xizhu and the demon soldiers behind her, his face turned pale with fright, and he bowed and pleaded three times: “It is this small one’s fault, this small one was negligent, I will never dare again! I will call people to clean up for you and this… this young master immediately!”

Those who served in the Demon Palace were mostly low-level demons. With mixed bloodlines and unremarkable talent, even if they cultivated diligently, they would never reach the highest and purest realms in this life. Thus, many of them, like this steward, lived in a drunken stupor, only handling tasks that offered generous rewards and shirking everything else.

Watching the steward’s pathetic retreating back, Xizhu rolled her eyes, filled with disdain. Crossing her arms, she glanced down and noticed that Gu Qingyi’s wound was still bleeding, already staining a small patch of his collar red. “…” Xizhu frowned for a moment, ultimately sighing as she walked over, leaned down, and used a wisp of demonic energy to block his pulses and stop the bleeding.

Knowing this person was personally arranged by the Demon Lord, the steward didn’t dare to be slow. Soon, he brought people to clean the entire courtyard: a complete set of new pillows and bedding was laid on the bed, fresh flowers and green plants were moved into the courtyard, and even the empty front hall was hung with moon-silver heavy curtains. There was no need to mention the lamps, and the daily necessities pots, bowls, ladles, and basins were all lined up neatly in the room.

“Miss,” the steward wiped the sweat from his forehead and bowed toward Xizhu, “have a look… is this acceptable?” Looking at the refreshed West Courtyard, Xizhu’s expression was complex. “If you still feel something is wrong…” the steward said with a sycophantic smile, “just say it, just say it! We will change it immediately!”

Ultimately, Xizhu closed her eyes and sighed, “…Forget it.” She took a few demonic crystals from her sleeve and tossed them to the steward, dismissing his group and instructing him to find a doctor on his way out. The steward, having received a reward, was naturally diligent. A demon physician soon hurried over with a medicine chest. After treating Gu Qingyi’s wound, he handed over a small porcelain bottle, instructing Xizhu to change the dressing daily.

“Yes, I understand,” Xizhu replied, taking it. “Thank you for your trouble.”

After seeing the doctor off and refusing the steward’s offer to assign a few people to help her, Xizhu turned to look at Gu Qingyi on the bed likely due to blood loss, he looked pale and listless, yet his features were exquisite, giving him the air of a “sick beauty.” Xizhu’s brows furrowed deeply, and her hand tightened around the porcelain bottle.

Her birth mother was a spider demon. After exhausting her lifeblood to give birth to Xizhu, she was unfortunately discovered by cultivators from the human world. Greedy cultivators wanted to dig out the fifth-rank demon core within her. Her mother fought to the death but was eventually defeated and died of exhaustion. At the point of death, the Grand Priest of the Demon Race arrived, saved the dying Xizhu, took her as a disciple, and brought her to the Demon Realm. The Grand Priest treated her very well, always keeping her by his side. It was only after Demon Lord Queyue fell that she was temporarily assigned to Wu Youqi’s side.

Although the Grand Priest never mentioned it, Xizhu knew that assigning her to the Lord was also a task of espionage and surveillance. Back then, to force Wu Youqi to enter the demonic path, the Grand Priest and Lord Huanyi had spent much effort laying out the schemes that finally managed to lure him in. Without those dangerous calculations, the Holy Fire might have long since extinguished. Having finally managed to keep Wu Youqi in the Demon Realm as the Demon Lord, things were now hitting a snag with the appearance of someone who looked like Immortal Venerable Qing Yi! The Grand Priest was in seclusion, and Lord Huanyi was elusive and hard to find. Xizhu squeezed the porcelain bottle until it creaked, but she had no idea what to do.

On the daybed, Gu Qingyi suddenly stirred, emitting some unconscious mumbling. This sound pulled Xizhu’s thoughts back. She blinked, hurriedly loosening her grip on the porcelain bottle. Looking at the crack that had appeared on the white porcelain, she quickly set the bottle down and wiped the sweat from her palms with her handkerchief.

What was she thinking? Even if this wasn’t Immortal Venerable Qing Yi, just a little fool who looked a bit like him, even if there was some conspiracy… it wasn’t something a small pawn like her should worry about. Since the Lord had handed the person to her, she would treat him as her master and serve him well.

With that, Xizhu tucked in the quilt for Gu Qingyi and turned to go outside to fetch water, preparing to make a meal for herself and this Young Master Gu.

Half an hour later.

Just as she was washing rice and vegetables, a loud crying sound erupted from the room. Xizhu was startled and hurriedly dropped her work to run inside. She found Gu Qingyi sitting on the bed, pulling forcefully at the bandage on his neck, scratching at the wound while shedding big, golden beans of tears.

“Hey, Young Master Gu, you…” Xizhu stepped forward, blocking his hand and re-wrapping the loosened cloth strips while asking, “What are you doing?”

“Wu,” Gu Qingyi was restrained, his body twisting on the bed in protest, “Pain, Spider-Sister, it hurts, it hurts so much.”

Xizhu’s movements paused, “What did you call me?” She had cultivated in the Demon Realm for a hundred years, and very few people could see through her true form.

“S-Spider-Sister,” Gu Qingyi whispered.

Xizhu was on guard, secretly manifesting demonic energy to protect her body and probing Gu Qingyi, only to discover he had no trace of cultivation at all he was fundamentally a crippled person.

“If Sister doesn’t like it…” Gu Qingyi blinked his eyes, “I won’t call you that again.”

Xizhu pursed her lips and retracted her demonic energy, “My name is Xizhu.”

“Oh,” Gu Qingyi agreed readily, “Xizhu-Sister.”

Xizhu glanced at him again, feeling that with him wearing Immortal Venerable Qing Yi’s face and saying such things, it felt inexplicably strange. After waiting for a while and seeing she didn’t speak, Gu Qingyi turned his head slightly, pointed at his neck, and complained to Xizhu with grievance: “It hurts! And it’s so itchy.”

Xizhu closed her eyes, patiently explaining that he had a wound on his neck and that pain was to be expected: “If you scratch it randomly with your hands, it will hurt even more.” Gu Qingyi gulped, his lips pouting, but he obediently lowered his hands and placed them in front of him.

After tidying up the wound, Xizhu had just let out a breath and was about to instruct him on the rules of the palace, when she saw Gu Qingyi twisting his head to look at the room’s layout.

“Where is this? Where is pretty brother?”

“This is the West Courtyard,” Xizhu pointed outside the window, “The Lord is over there in the Blood Flame Flowing Cloud Palace.”

Gu Qingyi followed the direction of her finger, pondered for a moment, and suddenly threw off the quilt.

“Then I’m going to find him!”

Xizhu could not keep up with his train of thought. It took her a moment to react before she rushed to intercept him, “The Lord is busy, no one can disturb him!”

Gu Qingyi let out an “A-wu” sound, “I’m very well-behaved, I won’t disturb him!”

“…That still won’t do! The Lord does not like to be disturbed.” Xizhu explained many of the palace’s rules that Wu Youqi did not like to be interrupted when processing government business, and that there were restrictions outside the palace. Gu Qingyi listened without a word for a long time, only drooping his face and tugging listlessly at the new curtains on the pillar.

Xizhu felt amused, thinking he had the temperament of a child. Being momentarily curious, she couldn’t help asking: “Tell Sister, why do you want to find the Lord?”

“Brother is pretty!” Gu Qingyi answered loudly and directly.

The Lord was indeed outstanding in appearance, but what kind of reason was that?

“Anything else?”

“Um…” Gu Qingyi tilted his head to think, “Brother smells good and feels soft, I like him so much!”

Xizhu: “…” Wu Youqi was shrouded in demonic energy and had immense pressure; this was the first time she had ever heard someone dare to speak of the Demon Lord like this.

After saying this, Gu Qingyi’s gaze shifted back to the bed he had just been lying on. He climbed up, felt around the bed, and then spread his arms to measure the space. Xizhu looked on suspiciously; what was he doing now?

“Then Xizhu-Sister, if I can’t go, can I invite pretty brother to sleep with me later?” Gu Qingyi patted the quilt beside him heavily, “The bed, is big enough!”

Xizhu was choked by these words, not knowing what to say. When Gu Qingyi saw her remain silent for a while, his expression became disappointed, his lips moving as if he were about to cry, “Is that not allowed either…”

Afraid he might actually cry, Xizhu hurriedly looked for a topic to distract Gu Qingyi, “Is Young Master hungry? I have some delicious pastries here.”

“Pastries?” Gu Qingyi took the bait, nodding heavily, “Want to eat, want to eat delicious pastries.”

Xizhu quickly brought over a small plate of four snacks, mostly Hangzhou-style pastries brought back from the human world, stuffed with sweet-scented osmanthus, red bean paste, lotus paste, and peanut fillings, shaped like plum and peach blossoms. Seeing this, Gu Qingyi’s eyes lit up, and he immediately stopped mentioning looking for Wu Youqi.

Xizhu kept him company while he ate for a while, saying a few more things, and seeing that Gu Qingyi’s attention was attracted by the pastries, she turned to go back to prepare their meal.

But when she came out with two dishes and a soup, Gu Qingyi had disappeared from the main room, and even the food box containing the pastries had vanished entirely.

Xizhu’s face turned pale; she had never expected a little fool to take such an action, and she hurried out to search. After questioning several patrolling demon soldiers, she learned that Gu Qingyi had carried the food box across the West Floating Bridge and was heading toward the Blood Flame Flowing Cloud Palace.

Xizhu took a deep breath and leaped into the air, finally spotting Gu Qingyi in the distance:

“Young Master Gu! D-don’t run around! It’s dangerous!”

But Gu Qingyi didn’t listen to her at all, just carrying the food box and running forward in one breath. Xizhu had assumed he was going to the Blood Flame Flowing Cloud Palace, but after chasing him for two steps, she was shocked to discover that Gu Qingyi was heading straight for the North Gate of the Main Palace.

The color drained from her face, and she stumbled to her knees on the ground.

That was the direction of the Forbidden Area!

The Forbidden Area was a large formation set up behind the Blood Flame Flowing Cloud Palace after Wu Youqi became the Demon Lord; he used the sealing techniques of human cultivators. The area around it was filled with flowing spiritual light, and ordinary demons could not approach it; even the Great General, who had the highest cultivation and greatest martial strength among the Three Wisdoms, could do nothing against it. Previously, a few ignorant little demon soldiers had been playing around there, touched the seal of the Forbidden Area, and were instantly crushed into fine powder by the barrier.

“Young Master Gu!” Xizhu did not dare to approach the Forbidden Area. Watching Gu Qingyi about to charge into the formation, her voice turned shrill with panic, “Come back! Don’t go near there!”

But Gu Qingyi didn’t listen to her at all, still burying his head and charging into the barrier flowing with cyan-green spiritual light.

It’s over, Xizhu knelt on the ground, feeling as if the sky were collapsing; everything was over: if this person turned into powder, the Lord would surely punish her severely and even implicate the Grand Priest. Xizhu hugged her head with both hands, watching in despair as Gu Qingyi stepped into the barrier.

However, the large formation hanging over the Forbidden Area did not descend with divine punishment as she had expected; instead, it overflowed with golden light, escorting Gu Qingyi into the Forbidden Area.