The Vicious Beauty Faked His Death Three Times [Transmigration] - Chapter 14

Chapter 14: The Transaction

Demons enjoy long lifespans, but a five-hundred-year-old great demon is already a rarity, let alone a thousand-year-old one.

Baichun was precisely such a thousand-year-old great demon, a rarity once in a century. Logically, even if he weren’t a figure who could command the wind and rain in the three realms, he should at least be a significant individual whom no one would dare provoke.

But unfortunately, he had lost his memory. He opened his eyes only to find himself in this sunless underground, his soul imprisoned and his demonic body used as the skeletal framework supporting this tall building. His demonic power was used to cleanse the demonic aura from filthy magical artifacts and to sustain Tianhai Pavilion, while his primordial spirit was nourished by the remaining demon blood.

During this period of returning to consciousness, Baichun had hardly seen anyone. The few who came here to cleanse artifacts wore specially made black robes; he could hardly distinguish whether they were human or demon.

Baichun was not of a nature to be slaughtered at will; he had had enough of these dark, sunless days. Thus, he intentionally left a trace of demonic aura when cleansing artifacts. In this way, his demonic power wouldn’t be constantly depleted; though it seemed like a drop in the bucket, many grains of sand make a tower. Over decades, he relied on these accumulations to gather the strength for a battle against the restriction trapping him.

But it was only a marginal chance; he didn’t have full confidence. The demon blood provided him with very little; he needed the demonic aura of a living demon to lend him a hand, perhaps to break through this damn restriction.

Yet he hadn’t even seen a human, let alone a demon. Fortunately, heaven did not intend for him to perish; just as he was at his wit’s end, Lin Qinghan delivered himself to the door. The moment the other stepped into the secret room, Baichun felt that extremely pure and dense demonic power.

Although this was only a century-old small demon, he already possessed his own natal magical artifact. Even if the other’s cultivation was suppressed to the Golden Core stage, it was enough to lend him aid.

Baichun immediately set his sights on this person. He didn’t dare strike rashly and could only set up an illusion to bewilder and wear the other down. He planned to seize the moment when the other was utterly exhausted and revealed a flaw to borrow his demonic power to break the restriction.

But he hadn’t expected that the trap he set would be seen through and used by the other to set a counter-trap, forcing himself into a dangerous position.

“You said my cultivation was suppressed to the Golden Core stage?” After listening to Baichun’s narrative, Lin Qinghan frowned and asked.

This was a part not mentioned in the data provided by the system; the introductory description of the original host consisted of only a few sentences.

Ebony Bird, Hawk tribe, late Golden Core stage, single Fire spiritual root, a pawn serving Xu Ji and lying in ambush beside Ling Yanhe.

That was all.

“System, what realm was the original host’s cultivation at?” Lin Qinghan asked the system in his heart.

Late Golden Core stage.

“Can there be discrepancies in the data you hold?”

The data is compiled from the author’s outline.

Hearing this, Lin Qinghan raised an eyebrow imperceptibly; the system had evaded his question.

Logically, this world developed based on that “pigeon” author’s outline, which itself contained many loopholes. The system could have simply told him the world was not fully constructed, just as it had at the beginning, but instead, it said the data was generated entirely from the outline.

Furthermore, the records regarding Qi Bocang did not mention his status as a half-demon. This was content outside the outline.

It seemed there was much for him to explore; the data provided by the system could not be fully trusted.

Regarding the original host’s cultivation being suppressed, Lin Qinghan had a suspicion—this matter likely couldn’t be disconnected from Ling Yanhe’s stepmother. He needed to be on guard, Lin Qinghan thought.

Hearing this, Baichun arched an eyebrow at him. The previously dissatisfied expression suddenly vanished, replaced by curiosity. “You didn’t know? Could it be that you, like me, have amnesia?”

“I only lost a portion of my memory,” Lin Qinghan said, pursing his lips.

Originally, Baichun was quite wary of him, but hearing these words, he felt a bit more sympathy and felt an instinctive closeness to him. “If that’s the case, we are two of a kind. We can look out for each other after we get out.”

Lin Qinghan looked at the favorability value of “10” above his head and spoke, “How is it that you haven’t asked what deal I want to make with you?”

Baichun arched an eyebrow at him, surprised. “I thought you would first threaten me into doing things for you.”

“Earlier I thought you were lying in ambush intentionally, but now it seems you are also a victim and pose no threat to me. Why should I be so heartless? Moreover, I have a request of you.” With that, Lin Qinghan lowered his eyes and gave the man a slightly apologetic smile. “I didn’t consider these things when I struck earlier; I’m very sorry for hurting you.”

Hearing this, Baichun froze and looked at the Lin Qinghan before him. The other’s brows were slightly lowered, the corners of his mouth slightly curved with an undeniable look of regret. Instantly, the dissatisfaction in his heart dissipated. He scratched his head somewhat awkwardly and turned his back.

“No need for that. It was I who struck first; your move was merely for defense. Logically, it should be… it’s me who should apologize to you.” By the end, Baichun’s voice was noticeably weaker.

Hearing this, Lin Qinghan gave a slight smile, looking as if he had breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you for your understanding, Senior.”

The word “Senior” fell into Baichun’s heart and instantly knocked him senseless. Having been trapped underground, he hadn’t received the respect he deserved; now, meeting such a person who held control yet apologized to him and called him senior, a sense of responsibility surged in his heart.

“Helping a junior is my responsibility, especially a child as well-mannered as you. Speak, what do you need me to do? If I can help, I will certainly do my utmost,” Baichun said, patting his chest.

Lin Qinghan looked up at Baichun, watching the number above the other’s head jump from “-10” to “40.”

As expected, when dealing with someone who cares about face, one needs to show weakness plus a few points of flattery for it to be effective.

“This junior is deeply troubled by a Gu insect in his body and has no solution. I implore Senior to lend a hand to help suppress it somewhat.” After the words fell, Lin Qinghan bowed and cupped his hands in a respectful salute.

Baichun’s brow furrowed slightly upon hearing this, looking somewhat displeased. “Who planted a Gu in you?”

Lin Qinghan pursed his lips, looking as if he were in a bit of a predicament.

“If you don’t say, I won’t help you.”

“It is my Young Master,” Lin Qinghan said, then quickly added, not forgetting to find an excuse for the person, “The Young Master is extremely good to me, but after all, I am a demon slave. It is only right that the Young Master takes precautions.”

“Since you are willing, why do you want me to help you suppress it?” Baichun asked in confusion.

“The Young Master is busy with many affairs and cannot attend to these trifles, but if the pain of the heart-gnawing is not relieved, I fear I won’t be able to protect the Young Master in a timely manner,” Lin Qinghan replied.

At the words “demon slave,” Baichun’s expression changed instantly. Hearing Lin Qinghan’s explanation, he became even more furious. His gaze toward him carried a mix of heartache and frustration that he “didn’t live up to expectations.”

This person possesses such strength, yet he was captured and made a demon slave? And is even willingly doing things for others?!

The other party is clearly committing an act of taming by refusing to give him the antidote on time, yet this person is still thinking of him in every way?! Simply a fool who doesn’t know it!

Baichun thought this way in his heart, but in the end, heartache prevailed. He didn’t know the current situation of demons, but he knew the situation of demon slaves very well. He himself was effectively a demon slave now; Lin Qinghan and he were in the same situation.

Since the other party was going to help him regain his freedom, he couldn’t remain indifferent to Lin Qinghan’s affairs.

At least, he had to help the person get away from that evil, damn Young Master!

“I can help you, but you’ve seen the method for suppressing evil things. I need to reside within your body and use the sinister aura of the Sub-Gu as nourishment to perform the suppression. In other words, I need to reside within your sea of consciousness,” Baichun said, looking at Lin Qinghan with a serious expression.

Residing in the sea of consciousness is an extremely dangerous act. A person’s sea of consciousness might not even accept the entry of the closest person, let alone letting a stranger enter and reside there.

Sensing that it might be inappropriate, Baichun added, “I need to use your demonic power to break through this restriction. This act will greatly damage my vitality and destroy my demonic body; I need to leave my primordial spirit within your sea of consciousness to reside and recover. During this period, my consciousness will sleep. Once my primordial spirit is fully recovered, you can find a place for me to settle, and I can be stripped from your sea of consciousness.”

“This is the most secure method. If you have concerns, then just lend me your demonic power, and then consume my primordial spirit afterward; that Sub-Gu of yours would likely dissipate without needing even a sliver of it,” Baichun said nonchalantly. “I originally intended to seize your body to nourish my primordial spirit, but now that you’ve seen through me, I won’t pursue that method again. However, I don’t want to wait another ten or hundred years. I want to leave this place. If I cannot, I am unwilling to live on in such humiliation.”

Lin Qinghan looked at Baichun.

What the other said should be the truth. The original novel only stated that the Everspring Ivy was a divine medicine and did not mention it was a demon, and it only appeared at this plot point; it was never mentioned afterward.

It seemed that Ling Yanhe in the original novel chose the other option Baichun mentioned—using the other’s primordial spirit to forcibly suppress the Heavenly Demon Bone.

That indeed fit his character.

But Lin Qinghan didn’t want to do that. He couldn’t and didn’t want to remove the Sub-Gu at this stage. He was going to all this trouble to place the two of them at the same height and obtain a cooperative relationship, not to completely fall out with Ling Yanhe; it wasn’t time for that yet.

Besides, this body could only survive for a certain period, and Baichun’s state was indeed poor enough that he wasn’t worried about the other doing anything.

He was going to take a gamble.

“I choose the first option,” Lin Qinghan said.

Baichun narrowed his eyes at him, as if gauging whether he was lying.

But he saw nothing; Lin Qinghan’s face was firm, showing not a single flaw.

Whether the other party’s decision was out of a soft heart or an idea after weighing interests, it was simply too crazy.

Either an overly kind-hearted fool or a gambler at a dead end.

But Baichun didn’t dislike it; he admired the youth’s decisiveness and felt a bit more gratitude.

“As you wish.”

With that, Baichun’s phantom dissipated, replaced by a tiny vine crawling out from the altar to coil around Lin Qinghan’s fingertip. Lin Qinghan looked down as his fingertip was pricked, revealing a bright red drop of blood, which was then absorbed by the vine.

Almost instantly, Lin Qinghan felt the demonic power in his body being extracted. The other’s extraction was very slow, as if afraid of causing him discomfort; even so, it was enough to be barely endurable.

Lin Qinghan frowned slightly, his expression showing no change, with only his somewhat pale face and the fine sweat on his temples revealing the suffering he was currently enduring.

The inscriptions on the altar emitted an unusually red light, incredibly eerie. Simultaneously, the vine overhead grew wildly, and the array that was revealed emitted bursts of golden light that grew weaker with each flash.

The violent tremors underground gave Lin Qinghan a wave of dizziness.

Crack.

A tiny crack was forced into the array. In the same instant, a burst of stinging pain hit Lin Qinghan’s temples; tiny vines were tentatively poking at his sea of consciousness, bit by bit, like an object repeatedly prodding his brain. The bursts of stinging pain plus the sense of emptiness from his demonic power being gradually absorbed forced him to kneel on one knee to try his best to relieve it.

When it rains, it pours; bursts of stinging pain in his heart made Lin Qinghan’s vision dizzy. He tossed his head violently to try and stay awake, but the stinging pain and the heart-gnawing agony grew increasingly intense, nearly swallowing his consciousness entirely.

In just the blink of an eye, the thorns on his neck crawled onto his cheek.

Damn it, Lin Qinghan couldn’t help but curse inwardly.

The moment Lin Qinghan was about to lose his grip, the array suddenly broke open. The vines spreading overhead gradually lost their support, quickly withering and falling. The ground shook violently.

A wisp of primordial spirit merged into the vines and forcibly broke through the barrier of the sea of consciousness. Thistle flowers instantly covered half of his face.

Lin Qinghan’s eyes lost focus for a moment. His pale face made his slightly parted thin lips look a few shades redder; the previously somewhat bewitching face now possessed a touch of brokenness.

Lin Qinghan fell backward as his strength failed him. His slender fingers lost their grip, and the pitch-black bone fan dropped from his hand.

In a flash, a flying claw flew out from the shadows, lunging straight for Lin Qinghan’s chest, with an air of intending to pierce his heart.

As the Black Bone Fan knocked the flying claw away, fine threads appeared out of nowhere and coiled tightly around the claw before being yanked violently, pulling out a pale-faced woman hidden in the shadows. In an instant, the overwhelming fine threads forced the woman to her knees, leaving her with no strength to resist.

A pair of hands caught Lin Qinghan’s arm. The person who had been falling backward was steadily supported. The person who had lost his strength subconsciously leaned back, his head resting on the shoulder of the person behind him.

“Is this also part of your scheme?”

The playful voice fell by the ear of the person in his arms, drawing the person to subconsciously search for the source of the sound, unintentionally rubbing against the person’s neck. The hand gripping Lin Qinghan’s arm suddenly tightened for a moment.

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