They Are Archenemies, But They Have A Child - Chapter 60

Chapter 60: Manipulation

This sudden change drew the attention of Xiao Dao, who was playing with mud. She shakily stood up and, following the direction Yun Qingwu was yanked, ran unsteadily: “Daddy!”

Yun Qingwu regained his balance, caught his daughter, and tried to reason with Leng Lici: “As long as I am the Heavenly Realm’s Sovereign, I must return to the Heavenly Realm. I cannot stay at Mount You Su forever.”

“Why not?” Leng Lici walked into the bedroom, his eyes blazing with anger: “If this Lord says you can, then you can.”

“A’Ci, there are some answers I need. Once I find them, I will come back for you.” Yun Qingwu’s eyes were serious.

Leng Lici’s fury did not diminish: “Who cares if you come back for me!”

Yun Qingwu sighed softly, pushed Xiao Dao toward Leng Lici, and tried to hold his hand: “I do. I care about coming back for you. Even if you don’t want me to find you, I will come back.”

Leng Lici tried to shake him off, but when Yun Qingwu’s hand grasped his a second time, he didn’t pull away again.

Xiao Dao followed suit, also raising her small hand, but she was too short to reach. She settled for gripping Leng Lici’s robe: “Find you!”

Leng Lici’s eyes, still fueled by anger, instantly turned to horror when he saw Xiao Dao’s muddy hands. His fox fur bristled. He pointed at the robe Xiao Dao was grasping: “Let go!”

Xiao Dao blinked innocently: “Baba!”

Communication was ineffective. Leng Lici glared at Yun Qingwu: “Take your daughter away!”

Yun Qingwu couldn’t help but laugh. He picked up Xiao Dao with both hands, completely unconcerned by the mud on her: “Come, come to Daddy. Daddy doesn’t mind you being dirty.”

Leng Lici: “…”

At this point, he didn’t even want to touch the father and daughter duo.

Sensing Leng Lici’s extremely strong look of disgust, Yun Qingwu quickly formed a hand seal, cleaning the mud off both of them. He looked at Leng Lici: “See, now they’re clean.”

Xiao Dao curiously looked at her hands: “Clean!”

Leng Lici’s expression relaxed somewhat. He asked in a deep voice: “What answers exactly do you want to find?”

Yun Qingwu took his hand and pulled Leng Lici closer to sit on the edge of the bed, letting Xiao Dao play on his lap: “When I was unconscious, I saw the Naze Kingdom, but it was a Naze Kingdom I had never seen before. Aunt told me that the Naze Kingdom was destroyed because it went against the Dao of Heaven, but I feel that the truth is not that simple.”

Leng Lici’s eyes were complex: “I told you, some truths don’t necessarily need to be fully uncovered.”

“But A’Ci, I will feel uneasy,” Yun Qingwu said softly.

Leng Lici looked at Yun Qingwu. The dim light reflected in those eyes, like blue glaze, leaving a hint of hidden melancholy. He stared for a moment, then turned his head: “Go if you want to go.”

Yun Qingwu sighed in relief and said seriously: “I will come back for you quickly.”

Leng Lici stood up, his shadow stretching long under the lamplight: “Suit yourself, but don’t blame this Lord for not warning you: truths hidden too deeply often bring nothing good.”

“I know,” Yun Qingwu said in a low voice, his gaze fixed on the flickering lamplight not far away.

…

No sooner had they finished speaking than a knock sounded outside Li Palace.

“Your Honor, are you there?”

The person was Hong Sui.

Hong Sui entered Li Palace. Her peripheral vision couldn’t help but glance at Yun Qingwu, but the next second, her view was completely blocked by someone.

She inwardly rolled her eyes.

I have no interest in these pretty-boy gods.

Yun Qingwu noticed Hong Sui’s gaze, assuming she was wary of his presence. He lifted his foot, intending to return to the bedroom, but Leng Lici instantly controlled the chain, preventing him from leaving.

“Speak your business,” Leng Lici looked at Hong Sui with impatience.

Hong Sui wisely averted her gaze and said solemnly: “Your Honor, recently, Director You Suqian has been inciting the Bear Clan, the Tiger Clan, and the Merman Clan to unite and force your abdication. The reason is that you and the God Clan…”

She coughed and lowered her head: “Are intimate.”

Leng Lici waited expressionlessly for Hong Sui to continue, while Yun Qingwu frowned slightly.

Hong Sui continued: “Furthermore, during your absence, You Suqian almost completely replaced the personnel layout of Mount You Su. Your subordinate was also forced to step down.”

Leng Lici walked to the chair, flicked his sleeve, and sat down. He stared at Hong Sui, his tone ambiguous: “Why are you telling this to this Lord? Why don’t you take the opportunity to submit to You Suqian?”

Hong Sui adjusted her glasses and smiled ingratiatingly: “Naturally, because Your Honor is the most brilliant Clan Leader and Demon Lord in your subordinate’s heart.”

Nonsense. If I, a half-demon, don’t side with you, another half-demon, what good fortune would I have over there?

Yun Qingwu glanced at Leng Lici, then looked at Hong Sui with a complex expression. This demon is truly good at saying blatant lies.

Leng Lici was reluctantly pleased by the compliment. He snorted, his tone dismissive yet ruthless: “This Lord has never relied on popular support to get where I am today. If anyone harbors disloyalty, I will kill every person who comes, and kill every clan that comes.”

Hong Sui applauded inwardly. My side should be stable.

Yun Qingwu’s brow furrowed even tighter. He wanted to say something, but another knock sounded outside the door.

The newcomers were Lu You and the Book Spirit Li Shu. Behind them stood a group of half-demons from various clans living on Mount You Su. All of them looked a bit awkward, clearly having run into each other by chance rather than by arrangement.

Lu You stepped forward: “Your Honor, this is a list of those who have had dealings with Director You Suqian recently. I believe these are the groups that require special attention.”

Leng Lici beckoned with his hand and took the list.

“As for the Snake Clan, please rest assured, Your Honor. Qing Yuan has already appeased the unrest within the clan and will not be incited by You Suqian.”

Leng Lici casually unfolded the list. After a quick glance, he tossed it aside and scoffed: “Overestimating themselves.”

“Your Honor, why don’t we preempt them and attack first?” one of the half-demons suggested.

“Weapons are instruments of ill-omen, not instruments of a gentleman,” Li Shu shook his head in disagreement. He immediately felt several cold glares fall upon him, and his head-shaking motion instantly stiffened.

Leng Lici leaned back lazily and mocked: “Then why are you here?”

Li Shu fanned himself rapidly several times and muttered quickly: “Naturally, because that side is more brutal.”

When everyone had more or less said their piece, Yun Qingwu finally interjected: “I have a suggestion, if Your Honor is willing to hear it.”

The demons’ gazes suddenly fell on Yun Qingwu. Except for Hong Sui, most were unsure of Leng Lici’s attitude and cautiously observed his expression.

But the expected displeasure did not appear. Leng Lici merely raised his chin: “Speak.”

Yun Qingwu said gently: “I have a method that can achieve the effect of clearing out the unrest without resorting to drastic measures.”

The sunlight shifted, casting half of Leng Lici’s face in shadow: “Just kill those who are disobedient. Why go through such trouble?”

At these words, the atmosphere in the hall unconsciously tightened a few notches. Li Shu exchanged a look with the other half-fox demon.

Could it be that our pledging allegiance has failed, and we’ve become collateral damage instead? If these two start fighting in a moment, should I run or stay and help His Honor?

This person, you’re a prisoner now, stop going against His Honor!

Yun Qingwu naturally couldn’t hear their inner cries: “Killing one person is easy, but if you want to start an internal war, there will inevitably be times when the innocent are harmed.”

Leng Lici eyed Yun Qingwu with interest: “When did the Sovereign start caring about the lives of demons?”

At this question, even Lu You, who had kept his gaze lowered, couldn’t help but look at Yun Qingwu. Ever since the destruction of the Deer Clan, he held absolutely no good feelings for the God Clan, and he was only standing here now by suppressing his temper.

Yun Qingwu felt somewhat uncomfortable under these scrutinizing gazes. He shot Leng Lici an annoyed look, hinting meaningfully: “I always correct my mistakes when I realize them. At least in this regard, Your Honor is not as good as me.”

Leng Lici’s expression darkened, clearly resistant: “Where did I make a mistake?”

As the tension reached this point, Hong Sui also felt uneasy and realized that a sensible person should withdraw from this great hall right now.

“Oh, it seems Your Honor dares not use my method?” Yun Qingwu showed no sign of backing down, rather intensifying the situation.

Leng Lici looked resentful: “What do I dare not do? Tell me, what method do you have?”

The conversation between the two took a turn that no one else had anticipated. Except for Lu You, the others looked at Yun Qingwu with an inappropriate degree of admiration.

Yun Qingwu knew the matter was likely settled, and the corners of his eyes lifted slightly: “The Dream Eater can solve it. I can provide Your Honor with a Dream Eater. This beast can weave a dream for everyone that rivals reality. It only requires one night to let them experience the consequences of their actions coming true. They will naturally retreat when they realize the difficulty.”

“How do you know the outcome in the dream will be worse than reality? What if…” Hong Sui couldn’t help but ask. As the words left her mouth, she immediately felt they were inappropriate and quickly swallowed the rest of her sentence.

“There are no ‘what ifs.'”

Yun Qingwu looked at Leng Lici: “You Suqian appears gentle and courteous, but he is actually a petty person who only cares about his own interests. Moreover, he has been patient for a long time. If he were to gain power, the situation would quickly spiral out of control. I imagine this is why you are all here today—you must have considered this level of risk.”

Hong Sui nodded. That was indeed her consideration. Although Leng Lici was volatile and uncontrollable, his actions were simple and direct, making him much easier to understand than You Suqian.

Leng Lici’s tone, however, darkened: “When did you meet You Suqian?”

As the words landed, he quickly realized the implications, and his aura turned icy: “You let him out.”

Yun Qingwu turned his face away and coughed, touching his nose: “You know, I had no choice at the time.”

Seeing that the topic had reached this point, the others knew they no longer had a reason to be present. They looked at each other, and Lu You finally spoke: “Your Honor, the decision rests with you. We shall take our leave now.”

Without waiting for Leng Lici’s permission, they all filed out of Li Palace.

As soon as the door closed, and before they could get far, they couldn’t help but start chattering about the things they had held back.

“That was close, that was close! Several times I thought the two of them were about to start a fight right there, but His Honor actually accepted it?”

“Could what You Suqian said be true? That’s not good. I think that Yun Qingwu is fully capable of manipulating His Honor now.”

“I’d say it’s highly likely. Do you remember when Yun Qingwu was the ‘wet nurse,’ His Honor specifically let him stay overnight!”

Li Shu fanned the group, interjecting: “I don’t think so. Maybe our Honor simply took him by force. I saw that Yun Qingwu has chains on his feet!”

Lu You had absolutely no interest in this gossip and walked away.

Hong Sui adopted a superior air, having seen through everything. After dropping the line, “None of you understand,” she also left, satisfied with her unmentioned contribution.