The Villainous Demon Lord’s Handbook for Success: Rebirth - Chapter 23

Chu Qingqiu stopped abruptly. Her gaze first fell upon the flowers; the chrysanthemums were indeed fresh, each petal as white as jade, sprinkled with glistening droplets of water, blooming with a clean and passionate intensity.

But the young girl’s face was even more passionate. The sunlight had dispelled the air of malice, scattering golden hues into her eyes and dyeing her sideburns a transparent gold.

Looking at her for more than a second felt like falling into an enchantment.

Chu Qingqiu immediately averted her eyes, looking only at the flowers, deliberately ignoring the surge of emotion in her heart, not daring to look back.

The bustling crowd brushed past them. Ning Fuyi was puzzled by Chu Qingqiu’s lack of reaction. Just as she was about to speak, she heard a soft whisper: “Where did you beg these flowers from?”

“Begging? I bought them.” Ning Fuyi shook the bouquet in her hand and gestured with her chin toward the distance. “There, that flower shop.”

Chu Qingqiu turned to look, her lips unconsciously tightening.

“Do you usually buy flowers from a funeral parlor to give to people?” Chu Qingqiu seemed to weigh her words for a long time before she spoke slowly.

A funeral parlor? Ning Fuyi didn’t believe it at first. She squinted her eyes; when she finally saw the sign outside the shop clearly, her heart sank, and the flowers in her hand suddenly felt like they weighed a thousand pounds.

Damn it, damn it. In her haste, she hadn’t looked at the shop’s name. The shop wasn’t as gloomy as other funeral parlors, so she had actually bought the wrong thing.

“They’re all just flowers. What does it matter where they were bought?” Ning Fuyi never cared for etiquette anyway. She convinced herself in an instant and composedly shoved the flowers toward Chu Qingqiu again. “Don’t you think these flowers are quite pleasing to the eye?”

They were indeed pleasing. Chu Qingqiu closed her eyes, her wrist twitching as if she wanted to take them, but then she remembered something. “Why give them to me?”

“Wenzhu saw you were in a bad mood and wanted me to comfort you.” Ning Fuyi refused to take credit and spoke the plain truth.

It was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her. Chu Qingqiu’s brow furrowed imperceptibly, and she suddenly turned away, her tone becoming much colder. “This deity is merely tired. There is no need for your self-righteousness.”

Ning Fuyi had finally lowered her pride to amuse her, and seeing her suddenly turn cold again made her feel as if her warm face had been pressed against a cold backside. A spark of anger flared up in her heart.

“I knew it. Why would a high and mighty being like the Divine Lord need comfort from the likes of me?” she said in a low voice. “Since the Divine Lord doesn’t need it, then I was indeed looking for trouble and offending the Divine Lord’s eyes.”

“Safe travels, Divine Lord. This disciple takes her leave.” As she spoke, she looked around. Seeing no place to discard the bouquet, she bypassed Chu Qingqiu, jogged back to the shop, and tossed the flowers in front of the shopkeeper. “Shopkeeper, I don’t want these anymore. You take them!”

The shopkeeper was startled. Seeing it was Ning Fuyi, he rubbed his forehead in a difficult position. “Guest, this… my shop is a small business. Once sold, there are no refunds or exchanges.”

“I don’t want the money back, you just take them.” Ning Fuyi finished irritably, turned around, and strode off in the opposite direction.

On the other side, watching Ning Fuyi’s indifferent back, Chu Qingqiu’s heart, already full of anger, felt as if more fuel had been added to the fire. She clenched her delicate hands, standing still and holding her breath.

Good. Ning Fuyi is truly something. Whether in her past life or this one, she was a total bastard—someone you couldn’t talk to or scold.

“Bastard,” Chu Qingqiu cursed under her breath, then angrily flicked her sleeve and strode away.

“Safe travels, guest!” the shopkeeper called out to Ning Fuyi’s receding back. Then, with a beaming face, he pulled out the water jade, kissed it, picked up the bouquet, and prepared to put it back in its place with a joyful heart.

However, just as he reached out, someone knocked on the doorframe. He hurriedly turned around and was dazed by the woman’s face.

Is there some great funeral in Furong Town today? Why are all these people with such extraordinary auras coming here one after another? the shopkeeper wondered. But a smile immediately filled his face. “What would the guest like? Do you prefer this wreath or that one? I have coffins inside—Green Dragon wood, very beautiful!”

“I don’t want a coffin. I want that bouquet,” the woman said in a low voice. As she spoke, she took several jade fragments from her sleeve and placed them on the counter.

“Guest, this…” the shopkeeper pointed at the fragments hesitantly.

“She is extravagant and has no brains. Do you think everyone is like that?” The woman looked at him with narrowed eyes. The shopkeeper immediately broke into a cold sweat and dared not say more, respectfully handing over the bouquet.

The woman took the flowers and vanished in the blink of an eye.

The shopkeeper let out a long sigh of relief and sat down, wiping his forehead with a handkerchief.

After Elder Yuanming finished healing the rescued spirits, he handed the trafficking case over to the Heaven’s Pivot Sword Sect, the head of the Six Great Sects. Early the next morning, he led Ning Fuyi’s group back toward the Yunjisun Sect.

Ning Fuyi slept through the entire journey, unaware that her exploits over the past two days had already spread throughout the sect, becoming a topic of conversation for many days. The disciples of the Yunjisun Sect had always found her, the “useless” Young Sect Leader, an embarrassment and looked down on her. Thus, the fact that she had escaped the Ghost’s Eyes and followed Chu Qingqiu to raid Ruyan Pavilion was a huge surprise to everyone.

Although most people knew this was the work of Divine Lord Chu Ling, many disciples had practiced for a hundred years without encountering such a major event, so they were still quite envious of Ning Fuyi. This envy, when heard by those who hated her, made them burn with rage.

For example, Li Chaoan. Dragging a leg that had just been set and wasn’t yet very useful, she was so angry upon hearing that Ning Fuyi had returned alive that she locked herself in her room for several days without practicing.

When Ning Fuyi stepped back into the sect, she felt an atmosphere different from before. Fellow disciples from various courts, who used to ignore her, now greeted her one after another. Many even asked her about the details of the trip. This made Ning Fuyi feel a bit flattered; her mood was quite good for several days as she returned to her normal life.

As the Zhaoyao Grand Assembly drew closer, disciples from every court went out before dawn and returned after dark, gritting their teeth in practice in hopes of being chosen by the Four Great Elders to participate. Although Ning Fuyi held no hope for the assembly, under the influence of such a hardworking atmosphere, she also rarely joined the morning cultivation.

But the main reason was that she wanted to figure out the origin of that power in her body. However, she asked many teaching elders, the Elder of Learning who managed all the books, and even the Chief Elder who was in seclusion all year round, but none had an answer.

That Chief Elder, who was as old and immobile as a candle in the wind, felt her pulse for a long time, let out a “pah,” and fell asleep with his mouth open. This made Ning Fuyi suspect whether her cultivation was so low that her brain was malfunctioning, and she had hallucinated defeating the beast.

She also thought about asking Chu Qingqiu. However, after hesitating outside the Jingshan Palace for half a day, she turned away indignantly.

Since that day, she still held a grudge and didn’t want to provoke that God of Malice.

After five days passed like this, one afternoon, Ning Fuyi was sitting in the noisy dining hall, listening to her fellow disciples’ questions while stuffing herself to finish quickly and leave this place.

“Young Sect Leader, tell us, how did Divine Lord Chu Ling bring you out of the Ghost’s Eyes?” the girl with the topknot sitting opposite Ning Fuyi asked.

“Only the Divine Lord could be so powerful, entering and leaving the Ghost’s Eyes twice,” a bald male disciple said with a slight blush. He squeezed in next to Ning Fuyi and whispered, “Young Sect Leader, what’s the harm in telling us?”

“If you want to know, go ask Chu Qingqiu. Why ask me?” Ning Fuyi said irritably, wishing she could pull her ears off. These questions had brought a bit of joy at being noticed the first few days, but after five consecutive days of being hounded, it was truly unbearable.

The girl shivered. “I wouldn’t dare. Just one look from her and I feel like I’ve fallen into an ice cellar. Who would dare approach someone as cold and heartless as Divine Lord Chu Ling?”

“She is a Divine Lord; why would she let you approach?” the male disciple argued back.

“She’s not the only one who has reached the Mahayana stage. Why are the others not so terrifying? Emperor Tianrui of the Penglai Realm and our former Sect Leader were both very kind,” the girl muttered.

“You’re right,” Ning Fuyi nodded in agreement.

“That doesn’t make sense…” The male disciple slapped the table. Seeing that they were about to argue, Ning Fuyi quickly grabbed her bowl, said she was finished, returned her utensils, and made her escape.

She walked under the cool shade of the trees outside, let out a sigh of relief, and rubbed her ears while heading toward Zhuguang Pavilion, thinking of taking a nap.

She had only walked a few steps when she heard the sound of hurried footsteps. Turning around, she saw Liu Wenzhu running toward her under the midday sun, her face covered in sweat.

“Yiyi, quick, something is wrong!” She stopped in front of Ning Fuyi like a gust of wind. Before Ning Fuyi could speak, she dragged her up and ran back like a gale again, nearly pulling Ning Fuyi’s arm out.

“Slow down! What happened?” Ning Fuyi was forced to run to keep up, asking breathlessly.

“It’s Li Chaoan! She heard somewhere about us bringing back a spirit tribe member and is leading people to the Yinglai Pavilion to cause trouble!” Liu Wenzhu said indignantly as she pulled Ning Fuyi around a corner. Ning Fuyi’s feet left the ground for a moment, and she was pulled back in mid-air, stumbling back into a run.

Since Man’er had fainted at Ruyan Pavilion, she had not yet woken up. Though Ning Fuyi wanted to ask about her identity, she was helpless. She could only place her in the Yinglai Pavilion, the sect’s guest quarters, to wait until she woke up.

This Li Chaoan has a sharp nose; she can sniff out anything to find trouble with me, Ning Fuyi cursed inwardly, but she quickened her pace. Fortunately, the dining hall was not far from the Yinglai Pavilion. Soon, Ning Fuyi ran into the courtyard and saw a crowd gathered in a circle. In the center was Li Chaoan, her head covered in silk flowers, speaking arrogantly.

Standing opposite her was a girl, her body as frail as a willow branch, explaining something with tearful eyes. The moment Ning Fuyi stepped over the threshold, the girl suddenly turned her head. Her gaze pierced through the bustling crowd, locking eyes with Ning Fuyi from afar.

Ning Fuyi stopped instantly, a strange feeling flooding her heart.

That gaze was, truly, all too familiar.

Du Baishuang.

Du Baishuang had appeared long after those events had passed long enough that Ning Fuyi had forgotten she was once human sent to her as a gift for the Demon Alliance.

Ning Fuyi was already the notorious God-Slaying Demon at the time. She occupied a corner of the demon abyss as its ruler. She didn’t care for fine food or wine, nor did she care for gold or jewels. The other demons wanted to get on her good side, so after much deliberation, they found the “number one beauty of the Six Realms,” packaged her as a gift, and sent her over.

When Ning Fuyi learned they had sent a person, she originally wanted to wave her hand and throw the girl out of the demon abyss. However, when the gift bag was opened and she saw that face, her hand could no longer wave.

It wasn’t because Du Baishuang was exceptionally beautiful though she was indeed stunning and deserved the title of the Six Realms’ number one beauty but, what truly caught Ning Fuyi’s attention was that she looked seventy percent like Chu Qingqiu.

A young, similar face, but obedient, clever, and knowing how to please. Ning Fuyi, for some unknown reason, kept her.

In the days that followed, she liked to have the girl before her. She didn’t do anything, just stared at her face. Du Baishuang was indeed very obedient, gentle as water and tactful in every way, using every method to make her like her.

Ning Fuyi actually knew her purpose and knew who she belonged to, but she never exposed it. She simply enjoyed the days of looking at her face until one day, while Ning Fuyi was in a deep sleep, Du Baishuang pulled a sword and stabbed her. Ning Fuyi then ended this strange psychological state and took her life with a wave of her hand.

Did she like her? No. But when that exquisite face lost its color, she actually shed a single tear.

Simply because, in this world, there truly was no one to accompany her anymore.

Ning Fuyi blinked, ending the memory.

She let out a breath and was about to step forward when she saw the girl suddenly stumble as if struck. Then, under Li Chaoan’s startled gaze, the girl struggled to her feet, rushed out of the crowd, and hugged Ning Fuyi’s waist tightly in front of everyone.

“Sister, save me,” she sobbed, her small body trembling.

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