The Villainous Demon Lord’s Handbook for Success: Rebirth - Chapter 21.2

After closing the drawer with a look of disdain, Ning Fuyi finally stepped out from behind the screen. She found Chu Qingqiu and Liu Wenzhu standing before a wall. Chu Qingqiu swept her sleeve across the surface, and the original brick wall suddenly rippled like water, turning into a glass-like state that revealed the scene in the adjacent room with total clarity.

The woman from before was currently sitting on a lounge chair. Her fingertips held a cup of wine, which she began to pour into her mouth. The clear liquid flowed down her chin, dampening her collar. The woman then reached out to undo her sash; her outer robe slid down, creating a scene of swaying allure. Liu Wenzhu quickly covered her eyes, not daring to look further.

“Why don’t we just grab her, give her a beating, and force her to tell us where Man’er is?” Ning Fuyi suggested suddenly, crossing her arms.

“This building is full of peculiarities. Do you wish to alert the enemy?” Chu Qingqiu spoke.

“Then there is no other way, unless we find someone to accompany her to gather information,” Ning Fuyi moved closer to watch, her phoenix eyes filled with a smile. “This person is actually quite delicate and fair, rather pretty.”

“Ning Fuyi, do not forget that you are a cultivator!” Chu Qingqiu said sharply.

Ning Fuyi fell silent, the smile in her eyes remaining. It wasn’t that she truly thought the woman was beautiful; rather, making Chu Qingqiu angry was a pastime she had always enjoyed.

“Does the Divine Lord have any other better ideas? For example, casting a Soul-Snatching spell to daze her mind,” Ning Fuyi said.

“This person is not simple; ordinary immortal arts are useless against her,” Chu Qingqiu paused. “I tried just now.”

I actually didn’t notice. Ning Fuyi let out a breath, realizing her cultivation was still insufficient.

“Then the only way is what I suggested,” Ning Fuyi tilted her head. “Which of us three ‘handsome young men’ do you think she would prefer?”

Chu Qingqiu’s hand behind her back tightened around the white jade flute. She remained silent for a moment but did not offer a rebuttal.

“Wenzhu won’t do. Just hearing those sounds makes her face turn red as a shrimp. If she truly faced that woman, she would only suffer,” Ning Fuyi said lazily. “The Divine Lord is the glory of the Six Realms, a being of high purity. How could you possibly come into contact with such a filthy place? I’ll go.”

As she spoke, she started walking toward the door. As expected, before her hand even touched the handle, a low shout came from behind: “Stop.”

Ning Fuyi smiled secretly. She knew Chu Qingqiu wouldn’t allow a disciple to do such a thing, so she had intentionally used provocation. She had long wanted to see Chu Qingqiu in a difficult position.

“Fine, I will go,” Chu Qingqiu said softly. She placed her white jade flute on the table and strode toward Ning Fuyi. Her peach-blossom eyes were lowered; as she passed Ning Fuyi, she gave her a deep look. “Stay here. If anything is wrong, you must call out to me.” After giving her instructions, Chu Qingqiu opened the door and left.

“Alright then!” Ning Fuyi felt no guilt. She waved to her, then whispered, “The daughter is sixteen years old, named Man’er. She has a flower-like birthmark on her forehead.”

Chu Qingqiu gave an affirmative hum.

The door closed, and the dimness of the corridor enveloped her. Chu Qingqiu looked at the figure inside the room and sighed silently before heading next door.

How could she not see through that little demon’s wicked intentions? But what choice did she have? Since the girl had spoken, Chu Qingqiu would go even if it meant walking through mountains of blades or seas of fire.

A strange fragrance drifted through the crack in the door. Chu Qingqiu held her breath before knocking. After a short while, the door creaked open. The woman’s soft, beautiful arm reached out from inside and hooked around her own.

“Why did the guest take so long to arrive? This lowly one is tired of waiting.” With a forceful pull from the woman, Chu Qingqiu followed her inside, and the door creaked shut once more.

The decor of the room had already been seen clearly, so Chu Qingqiu did not look further. She silently followed the woman’s lead and was supported as she sat on the lounge chair. The chair was covered in snowy white fur, feeling as soft as a cloud.

“Come, let this lowly one toast the young master.” The woman’s eyes scanned Chu Qingqiu up and down. She couldn’t help but reach out to touch her cheek, but Chu Qingqiu tilted her head to avoid it.

“Oh, still a novice.” The woman smiled even more happily, her red lips curving toward her ears. She picked up a wine cup from the table and forced it into Chu Qingqiu’s hand. “Guests often visit our Ruyan Pavilion, but there has never been one as handsome as you.”

The woman seemed to take a great liking to her. Her entire body was pressed against her, and she drank the wine in her hand with a soul-stirring look. Chu Qingqiu closed her eyes slightly, suppressing the urge to push her away, and picked up the cup, pretending to drink.

“Are you the only one in this Ruyan Pavilion?” Chu Qingqiu set the cup down, trying to keep her distance as she spoke coldly.

“Why? Am I not enough? What need is there for others?” the woman said coyly. Every word she spoke seemed to have a hook in it; every time she opened her mouth, it made one’s heart itch. Except for Chu Qingqiu, who felt as though ants were crawling all over her—it was incredibly repelling.

Seeing Chu Qingqiu didn’t respond, the woman gave a petulant huff and set her cup down. “There are others. Whatever kind you want, I have them all. The feisty ones, the beautiful ones… I have portraits here, you can pick them out one by one.”

With that, she rose and picked up a stack of papers from the table, placing them in Chu Qingqiu’s hand.

The women on the papers were indeed varied in appearance, all of them beauties of the highest caliber. However, they looked strange no matter how one viewed them. Chu Qingqiu stared at two portraits for a while before discovering the peculiarity: everyone, despite having different features, had the exact same expression.

She flipped through them surreptitiously until finally, on the forehead of the last portrait, she found the birthmark Ning Fuyi had mentioned.

“This one,” Chu Qingqiu pulled the portrait out and placed it on the table.

“This…” The woman pulled a handkerchief from somewhere, clutching it in her hands with a troubled expression. “This girl just arrived last night and knows nothing yet…”

“No matter. I want her,” Chu Qingqiu said decisively.

The woman had no choice but to compromise. She rose and opened the door, saying something to those outside. Then she swayed back to Chu Qingqiu’s side and sat down, leaning against her arm. “Young master, wait. She just arrived and hasn’t bathed yet. I’ve already sent people to have her dressed and made up.”

The woman seemed to like Chu Qingqiu immensely. Her eyes constantly drifted toward her. Suddenly, she blew out the candles and placed her hand on Chu Qingqiu’s shoulder.

Chu Qingqiu immediately stood up, dodging the touch. However, as soon as she stood, she felt a sudden weakness in her limbs. She hurriedly grabbed the edge of the table, feeling a surge of alarm. Logically, even if she had lost half her cultivation, she should never have missed any technique being used against her. She hadn’t detected anything wrong, so how could this be…?

The woman burst into a smile at the sight. She rose slowly, acting with the coy grace of a young girl as she reached for Chu Qingqiu’s sleeve. “Young master, do not be afraid. This lowly one will not hurt you. Your face is simply too beautiful; I am unwilling to hand you over to someone else.”

As the woman drew closer, Chu Qingqiu could clearly see that her originally ordinary eyes now featured patterns like four-petaled flowers.

The Fox Tribe, Chu Qingqiu thought to herself, finally realizing the truth. She jerked her sleeve from the woman’s palm and stumbled back. She had been careless. In the past, she had practiced the path of indifference, and such tricks were mere child’s play to her. But now…

The woman covered her lips and drew closer step by step, tilting her head as she approached Chu Qingqiu. “My tricks are useless against those with pure hearts. Young master, within your heart, there is a knot—and a very heavy one at that.”

As she spoke, her finger moved toward Chu Qingqiu’s heart. Suddenly, the scenery before Chu Qingqiu’s eyes transformed. The woman’s appearance was replaced by another person—phoenix eyes curving, carrying an air of malice, looking at her mockingly.

“Chu Qingqiu, so you have a day like this too.” The person laughed loudly toward the gloomy sky. The Emei piercer in her hand glinted with a cold light as it slid across Chu Qingqiu’s neck, leaving a bright red bloodstain.

Then, the person’s expression shifted suddenly. Her finger tilted Chu Qingqiu’s chin upward, and her blood-red lips drew close—so close that with just one movement, their lips would touch.

Simultaneously, on the other side of the wall, Liu Wenzhu’s expression changed abruptly. She anxiously pulled on Ning Fuyi. “Yiyi, I feel like something is wrong. Why has the Divine Lord stopped moving?”

Ning Fuyi had naturally noticed as well. She set aside her intention to watch the drama, her brow furrowing tighter as she stared at the scene behind the wall. Chu Qingqiu was retreating step by step, her handsome brows knit together as if she were struggling with something. Her slender body trembled incessantly while the woman opposite drew closer, placing her hands on Chu Qingqiu’s shoulders and leaning into her embrace triumphantly.

“The Divine Lord seems to be whispering a name,” Liu Wenzhu said, about to rush out the door in her urgency.

“Ning… Ning Fu…” Ning Fuyi read her lip movements and her eyes widened instantly. In a flash, she leaped out of the room half a step ahead of Liu Wenzhu. Disregarding the risk of alerting the enemy, she burst through the door.

However, at the very moment she entered, Chu Qingqiu—who had looked soul-shorn just a second ago—suddenly opened her eyes. Her gaze held an uncommon ferocity. Before Ning Fuyi could see what she had done, the woman let out a muffled groan, rolled her eyes, and collapsed to the floor. Liu Wenzhu, arriving right behind, nimbly caught the woman so she wouldn’t make a sound.

Ning Fuyi nearly couldn’t stop herself from crashing into Chu Qingqiu. She hurriedly propped her hand against the wall to steady herself right in front of the woman. Her nose brushed past Chu Qingqiu’s hair, catching a faint, cold fragrance.

“Di… Divine Lord,” Ning Fuyi said blankly.

Chu Qingqiu didn’t look at her. She still seemed to be gazing at the illusion from before. Her peach-blossom eyes were red, and there seemed to be traces of moisture deep within her gaze, shimmering in the lamplight. She leaned against the wall weakly, a loose strand of hair covering half her face. Her expression was like snow fallen into the mud—cold and broken.

After an unknown amount of time, she retracted her gaze and stood up slowly. “The girl is underground,” Chu Qingqiu said, her voice betraying no emotion. “Some immortal arts are useless against her because she is of the Fox Tribe. But when she pulled me into her illusion, she also exposed her memories.”

“The Fox Tribe?” Liu Wenzhu asked in surprise.

While Ning Fuyi let out a sigh of relief, she looked down at the woman’s features. Indeed, being able to bewitch people with just a pair of eyes could only be the work of the Fox Tribe.

In this world, aside from the Ancient God Tribes, there were only five tribes or realms: the Immortal Realm, the Demon Realm, the Mortal Realm, the Underworld, and the Spirit Tribe. Among them, the Spirit Tribe was considered the most “lowly,” mostly consisting of world beings who had cultivated into form. With low magical power, they were often used as slaves in the past. However, since the Six Great Sects rose to power, they had jointly issued decrees forbidding the private capture of the Spirit Tribe, so such phenomena had become rare.

“I remember Elder Pingyao saying that many in the Spirit Tribe are spirits cultivated from precious herbs. For cultivators, they are a great supplement for increasing cultivation, so some people still secretly invade their homes to hunt and consume them. That is why there are fewer and fewer of the Spirit Tribe left,” Liu Wenzhu whispered. “I’ve never seen one since I was a child; I didn’t expect to see one here.”

Chu Qingqiu suddenly reached out. Shards of white silk flew from her sleeve, binding the woman like a cocoon. She even bound her face, especially those eyes, which were covered layer upon layer. Chu Qingqiu is indeed one to seek revenge for even the smallest slight, Ning Fuyi thought.

Yet she wondered why, in her moment of peril, the name the woman had whispered was her own.

“Let’s go,” Chu Qingqiu said. She lightly raised her hand, and her white jade flute, White Bone, returned to her.

Neither Ning Fuyi nor Liu Wenzhu spoke again. They walked silently out the door. As they passed a brightly lit room, Ning Fuyi even poked a hole in the door paper to steal a few glances at the unmentionable scene inside. She hadn’t looked for long before a slap hit the back of her head. Stinging from the blow, she quickly straightened up.

“Old fogey,” she muttered under her breath again.

With the woman knocked out, no one else was seen on the way. They returned to the first floor with the massive stage. Chu Qingqiu stepped onto the high platform and tapped her White Bone staff on the floor three times. The landscape painting behind her seemed to come alive, the water within it beginning to flow. Chu Qingqiu was the first to step inside. Seeing her figure vanish, Ning Fuyi pulled Liu Wenzhu along and followed suit.

It felt as though a bucket of cold water had been poured over them—a bone-chilling cold. Ning Fuyi shivered. When she opened her eyes again, she was standing on a stone staircase winding downward. “It’s actually this deep down here,” Liu Wenzhu said cautiously. The staircase was like a snail’s shell, spiraling down and growing darker as it went.

The three walked slowly for an unknown amount of time before finally stepping onto flat ground. It was pitch black. Chu Qingqiu flicked her finger, and the torches on the surrounding walls ignited one by one, revealing everything underground.

Ning Fuyi and Liu Wenzhu gasped simultaneously. The circular cellar before them was packed with cages. These iron cages were like the ones for spiritual beasts, made of profound iron and stained with dried blood. Most were empty, but some contained things. Ning Fuyi frowned and took a few quick steps, discovering to her shock that the cages held living people.

As if a valve had been opened, those people began to wail. The sound was so shrill it made one’s heart tremble. “These are all from the Spirit Tribe!” Liu Wenzhu’s tears nearly fell. “Who could be so malicious as to imprison them here!”

As soon as she spoke, Ning Fuyi sensed something was wrong. She shouted a warning, then released immortal power from her hand to deflect an arrow flying toward Liu Wenzhu. The three of them spun around to face a dark corner.

“Who is there? Reveal yourself!” Chu Qingqiu’s fingers flipped, and White Bone transformed into a long staff in her palm, shimmering with a faint light.

Rustling footsteps sounded as a thin, shriveled man slowly emerged from the shadows—the same man they had seen on the first floor. He had completely discarded his earlier submissiveness; he looked like a different person, and even the scar on his head carried a sense of malice. He was clutching a frail young girl. Her features couldn’t be seen, but from her slender frame, she must be the Man’er the woman had mentioned.

“And who might you be?” the man asked, his voice hoarse. He held a poisoned knife against the girl’s neck. “Entering my Ruyan Pavilion, for what purpose?”

“Capturing and trafficking the Spirit Tribe is a crime punishable by death by the Six Great Sects,” Chu Qingqiu spoke, her voice echoing in the cellar.

“Pah! I’m catching beasts—what law have I broken!” The man pressed the knife closer. “I don’t care who you are. Leave Ruyan Pavilion immediately, or this girl’s life is on your heads!”

“Pah back at you!” Ning Fuyi flared up. No one in this life could threaten her. Disregarding the girl in the man’s hands, she immediately released a surge of immortal power. The man had never seen someone so indifferent to the life they were meant to save; in his panic, the knife edge slid across the girl’s throat.

“Ning Fuyi!” Chu Qingqiu rebuked her. Several strands of white silk erupted from behind her, snatching the girl from the man’s hands with lightning speed. Other strands of silk moved to take his life, but someone else descended from above. Their hand formed a claw, slashing through the silk and shielding the man.

The newcomer was the fox woman from before. She looked crazed now, manifesting nine tails that surged toward the girl on the ground like whips to take her back. But she was not as fast as Chu Qingqiu; in a flash, a white light blocked her movements. Simultaneously, the girl on the ground woke up with a start. Frightened by the scene, she scrambled up and ran toward the three of them in terror.

Her beautiful face was fully revealed to Ning Fuyi just as she crashed into her embrace, clutching Ning Fuyi’s waist tightly. As Ning Fuyi stared at her face, she was momentarily speechless.

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