The Villainous Demon Lord’s Handbook for Success: Rebirth - Chapter 2

If this wasn’t a dream, Ning Fuyi thought as she stood frozen, then she must be going mad.

Everything before her defied logic. First, people who were dead and places that had been destroyed appeared before her eyes. Then, there was this cursed “Marriage Covenant” between her and Chu Qingqiu.

The idea was laughably absurd. Everyone knew Ning Fuyi hated Chu Qingqiu. Everyone also knew that Chu Qingqiu was the “white moonlight,” the unattainable ideal, of her mother, Sect Leader Ning Tian, and a senior whose cultivation predated her own by a thousand years.

Even as a former Demon Lord, Ning Fuyi found this utterly preposterous.

After standing in silence for a long while, Ning Fuyi let out a cold laugh. “Chu Qingqiu, what kind of joke is this?”

She tried to wrench her hand back with all her might, but despite her struggle, Chu Qingqiu’s two fingers remained as immovable as stone.

Having no magic power really is a wretched feeling, Ning Fuyi cursed inwardly.

Because she had exerted herself so recklessly, the cloth wrapped around her body slipped down to her chest. As her supple skin was exposed, Chu Qingqiu’s gaze flickered for a brief moment before she finally released her grip and turned her back.

Ning Fuyi retreated several steps, splashing water everywhere.

“Transgressing the laws of heaven results in sixteen lightning strikes for minor offenses, and total annihilation for major ones. If you believe I am lying, you are welcome to try,” Chu Qingqiu said.

With that, Chu Qingqiu walked slowly onto the shore. Her steps were steady, but a closer look revealed a lightness in her gait that suggested she was weaker than usual. She extended her palm and turned it slightly; instantly, the water on her body vanished. A cloak as light as drifting clouds draped over her shoulders, swaying even in the absence of wind.

“Master,” Qiu Yi, standing nearby, hurried forward to support her, but Chu Qingqiu reached out a hand to wave her off.

Ning Fuyi, naturally, didn’t dare to test the heavens lightly. Setting aside the fact that she couldn’t defeat Chu Qingqiu in her current state, even if she could, she wouldn’t risk it. It would be a historical embarrassment if a Great Demon Lord lost her life over a godforsaken marriage contract.

She remained standing where she was for the time being, surveying her surroundings to get her bearings.

A glowing jade stone was embedded in the ceiling, illuminating the cave. The light from the jade reflected off the bottom of the pool like sunlight, shimmering and flowing, while the stone pillars surrounding the cold spring were polished to a mirror-like sheen.

She was all too familiar with this place. In her youth, her mother had entrusted her to Chu Qingqiu for training. At that time, Chu Qingqiu had heartlessly thrown her into this cold spring to force her to practice her cultivation. She had cried and screamed in the water for three days before her mother finally took her home.

Upon returning to her room, she had suffered from a high fever for three full days.

Consequently, Ning Fuyi had feared Chu Qingqiu since childhood.

Looking at it now, this was indeed the Bone-Chilling Cold Spring of the past. A bold suspicion suddenly took root in Ning Fuyi’s mind. She pinched herself hard, so hard she nearly grimaced from the pain.

The dead had reappeared, and she was back in an old haunt. This was no dream. Furthermore, the aching pain in her body, which felt as though she had been severely beaten, was very real.

Could it be that her array hadn’t brought the dead back to life, but had instead caused her to be reborn?

At this thought, even someone as hardened as Ning Fuyi was stunned into a long silence. A tidal wave of emotion surged from her cold limbs to her heart, making it drum against her ribs.

She hurriedly summoned what little immortal energy she had, struggling for a long time before she could manifest a bronze mirror. She held it up to examine herself.

Phoenix eyes, glass-like pupils, and slightly curly hair tied up high. Her face was only the size of a palm, not the cold, glamorous woman of her later years, but a girl possessing a lingering, youthful innocence.

This is exactly how I looked as a teenager! Ning Fuyi felt a surge of joy. She leaned in closer and noticed that the two symmetrical beauty marks at the corners of her eyes from her previous life were currently missing.

Her once curvaceous figure had also returned to being as flat as a board, which left her slightly disappointed.

“Master, look at this unruly creature! You were kind enough to save her, yet not only is she ungrateful, she dares to show such insolence. She even, even,” Qiu Yi was so angry she could hardly speak, “she dared to try and take liberties with you! What audacity!”

Ning Fuyi, who had been staring blankly at her reflection, lowered her hand and arched an eyebrow at the girl.

When Qiu Yi’s gaze met hers, a flash of inexplicable panic surged through her heart. She forced herself to stand her ground, inwardly puzzled. Usually, she looked down on this so-called Young Sect Leader of the Yunjia Mountain Sect, viewing her as a lazy, talentless brat who was a disgrace to her status.

But that single look just now had been so ruthless and terrifying that it sent an unbidden chill down her spine.

“Save me?” Ning Fuyi looked toward Chu Qingqiu. The woman sat with her eyes closed on a rattan chair, faint feathers drifting around her as she seemingly circulated her energy to heal.

Judging by Chu Qingqiu’s pale complexion, her injuries were not light.

“How else do you think you’re standing here? If that sect disciple hadn’t knelt and begged Master, how could Master have interfered in your internal sect affairs?” Qiu Yi stepped in front of Chu Qingqiu, blocking Ning Fuyi’s view.

A sect disciple? Begging Chu Qingqiu? Ning Fuyi didn’t dare ask too many questions for fear of revealing her rebirth. Instead, she crossed her arms and used her meager immortal energy to probe her internal state. She was instantly shocked.

She had indeed suffered a severe injury; her immortal veins had been nearly destroyed but were somehow reconnected through a mysterious method. Though she was currently weak and had drained a vast amount of energy, her life was no longer in danger.

Looking again at Chu Qingqiu’s brow, furrowed in endurance, she began to believe it.

But why would someone as cold-hearted and detached as Chu Qingqiu risk her own cultivation to save her?

“What is today’s date?” Ning Fuyi asked, ignoring Qiu Yi.

“What, did you break your brain along with your body?” Qiu Yi crossed her arms, sneering. “Isn’t there a major event happening at your Yunjia Mountain Sect today? Even the People of the Penglai Realm have sent representatives. If it weren’t for that, why would my Master have ended her secluded meditation early?”

A major event? Ning Fuyi took a step forward and asked urgently, “What event?”

Startled by the sudden rise in her voice, Qiu Yi took two steps back and defensively raised her curved blade. “What are you shouting for? How should I know the details of your sect’s business?”

Though she didn’t say it, Ning Fuyi already had the answer. She was seriously injured, and the Yunjia Mountain Sect was in chaos. Could it be?

The day her mother died.

She could never forget this day: the fourth day of the third lunar month, just two days before the Qingming Festival.

Her mother had suffered a cultivation deviation right before her eyes, destroying her immortal body. Ning Fuyi herself had been gravely injured. The sect elders had been lured away by those with ulterior motives, leaving her with no one to treat her. She had nearly met the King of Hell. It was only because her friend, Liu Wenzhu, had knelt before the Liu family gates and threatened to kill himself that the Liu family head had stepped in to save her life.

It was also on this very night that she had dragged her sickly body to kneel outside Chu Qingqiu’s door all night, begging her to see her mother, only to receive no response.

However, she still wasn’t sure if she had truly been reborn or if this was a trap set by someone else. If it were real, then she…

A sudden surge of excitement rose in Ning Fuyi’s heart. She pinched herself once more to steady her nerves.

If this is real, it means I can do it all over again. I can stop the tragedies of my previous life from happening.

At this thought, Ning Fuyi suddenly moved toward Chu Qingqiu. A flash of cold steel appeared as Qiu Yi’s curved blade was instantly leveled at her throat, blocking her path.

“What are you trying to do now!” Qiu Yi shouted.

“Isn’t there a marriage covenant? What sense is there in being bound to me if I’m not allowed to approach you?” Ning Fuyi stood her ground, her voice smooth. She lightly tapped the blade with her fingertip, feeling the slight chill of the metal.

“You!”

Qiu Yi’s words were cut short as Chu Qingqiu, who had been focused on her meditation, lowered her hands. Her brow was slightly furrowed. “Qiu Yi, let her come over.”

Qiu Yi was clearly unwilling, but she didn’t dare disobey. She gave Ning Fuyi a sharp glare and huffily stepped aside.

“The marriage covenant was a measure of necessity. It will be undone in the future. You needn’t concern yourself with it,” Chu Qingqiu said coldly.

“How do I know if you’re telling the truth?” Ning Fuyi tilted her head. Her hair fell over her forehead, and her dark pupils seemed bottomless.

Something flickered in Chu Qingqiu’s eyes. Her eyelashes trembled as she looked away, her voice remaining frigid. “Whether it is true or false, what harm does it do you?”

“I don’t know about the harm. I only know that it makes me sick,” Ning Fuyi whispered, her voice low enough for only the two of them to hear.

The girl’s eyes betrayed a level of hatred and arrogance that did not belong to her age. Chu Qingqiu’s fingertips curled unconsciously before she released them a moment later.

“Ning Fuyi.” Chu Qingqiu seemed provoked. Her expression remained unchanged, but the furrow between her brows deepened.

Seeing her anger, Ning Fuyi lowered her head, feigning a momentary slip of the tongue. But her body was not as submissive; taking advantage of the distraction, she suddenly lunged toward Chu Qingqiu.

They were so close that Qiu Yi couldn’t intervene in time. She could only let out a scream as she watched Ning Fuyi’s audacious move.

Most surprising of all was that Chu Qingqiu didn’t dodge. She merely tilted her head and allowed herself to fall back like a graceful cloud, overturning the rattan chair as she landed quietly on the ground.

Ning Fuyi’s hands were quick as she tore open the buttons of Chu Qingqiu’s collar. With a forceful tug, she exposed the skin beneath, which had never been touched by the sun.

The skin was pristine, though it was now tinged with an involuntary flush, like the thin clouds of dawn.

In her previous life, after she had imprisoned Chu Qingqiu, she had tattooed a peach blossom on her shoulder to humiliate her. Now, that peach blossom was nowhere to be found.

Ning Fuyi reached out again, her palm drawing close to that silk-smooth skin.

In the heat of the moment earlier, she hadn’t noticed, but now she could clearly feel the faint warmth brought by the marriage covenant as their skin touched.

She had worried this was an illusion created by Chu Qingqiu to destroy her soul, but that fear was now completely gone.

She had indeed been reborn.

“Have you seen enough?” Chu Qingqiu said coldly, the corners of her eyes tinged with red.

In the next instant, Ning Fuyi was thrown to the ground by a blast of air. A surge of killing intent followed. Relying on years of honed reflexes, she scrambled in the opposite direction, narrowly dodging a strike.

Qiu Yi’s blade left a deep gouge in the dragon-crystal floor. She descended from above along with her weapon, seemingly intent on hacking Ning Fuyi in two.

However, Ning Fuyi stopped running. She crouched where she was, calmly watching the approaching Qiu Yi. She knew exactly what kind of person Chu Qingqiu was, a woman who spoke constantly of benevolence and righteousness. She would never allow her disciple to kill someone so casually.

Otherwise, Ning Fuyi wouldn’t have dared to be so reckless.

Sure enough, just as the blade was about to strike Ning Fuyi, a feather flew in from the side. With a delicate touch that diverted a massive force, it easily neutralized the blade’s momentum.

With a clang, the blade fell to the ground. The wind caught Ning Fuyi’s half-dry hair, revealing a face with sharp contours and a mocking smile.

“Master,” Qiu Yi protested urgently, but after seeing Chu Qingqiu’s gaze, the rest of her words died in her throat. She could only stop, seething with resentment.

Chu Qingqiu had already stood up. Her slender fingers clutched her collar, covering her neck. She looked at Ning Fuyi with suppressed anger, then waved her hand. Feathers swirled through the air, transforming into a white rope.

Before Ning Fuyi could react, she was bound to a stone pillar. Then came an immense pressure, like a heavy hammer striking her skull. Even for someone as tough as Ning Fuyi, it brought out a cold sweat.

“Do you recognize your mistake?” Chu Qingqiu’s voice sounded flat, but the slight trembling of her fingertips betrayed how furious she actually was.

Recognizing that a wise person knows when to submit, Ning Fuyi’s expression changed instantly. She feigned terror, crying out with her head tilted, “Exalted Goddess, have mercy! This disciple knows her mistake!”

Since she was certain of her rebirth, she knew she was currently just a girl with mediocre talent, with no power to oppose Chu Qingqiu. It was better to play along and save her life first.

With this in mind, her acting became even more convincing. her thin frame trembled, her messy hair hid her flushed cheeks, and all traces of her previous demonic aura vanished. Beads of sweat broke out from the pain, and her red lips were as vibrant as fruit, making her look quite pitiful.

The agonizing pain in her head stopped abruptly. Ning Fuyi took the opportunity to gasp for air. Once her breathing steadied, she looked up. A faint fragrance drifted past her nose, and her heart skipped a beat in surprise.

Chu Qingqiu was kneeling before her, the breeze stirring her hair. She was so close that Ning Fuyi could see her own reflection in the other woman’s eyes.

Ning Fuyi instinctively tried to pull back, but her chin was seized and held firmly in place, the grip painful against her skin.

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