They Are Archenemies, But They Have A Child - Chapter 89

Chapter 89: The Jealousy

The next morning, at the moment the first faint sunlight slipped through the window crack, a figurative ice hammer swung straight toward Yun Qingwu’s head from the void. The person still deep in sleep immediately opened his eyes.

The impatience in Yun Qingwu’s eyes quickly gathered, then abruptly froze, and finally vanished completely. He leaned slightly toward Leng Licí, who was still asleep, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Today was Leng Licí’s first birthday, and he couldn’t oversleep.

Perhaps his gaze was too intense, as the naturally vigilant man’s eyelids soon fluttered. In the second before Leng Licí opened his eyes, Yun Qingwu seized the moment to kiss him, whispering, “A-Cí, Happy Birthday.”

Leng Licí’s mind hadn’t fully returned. He instinctively responded to the kiss. It was only when both of their breaths became ragged that he remembered his birthday.

Leng Licí flipped over, pressing Yun Qingwu beneath him. He panted slightly and said, “Does the Lord Prime only use his mouth to speak?”

Yun Qingwu wrapped a hand around Leng Licí’s neck, raised himself slightly, and kissed the twin lotus mark behind Leng Licí’s ear. “Can I owe you one for now? If we were to do anything here, it would be difficult for us to leave this courtyard.”

As he spoke, he slipped a jade pendant into Leng Licí’s hand, explaining while kissing him, “This was my hundredth birthday present. I’ve worn it for all these years, and now I want to give it to you.”

Leng Licí turned his face to look at the jade pendant in his hand. The pendant was intricately carved with lifelike mountains and rivers, its magnificent detail showing the high expectations the giver had for Yun Qingwu.

“This jade pendant was a gift from Grandfather God. This jade has absorbed the essence of the sun and moon since the beginning of time, making it a portable spiritual jade that nourishes the soul.”

Leng Licí’s brow furrowed slightly when he heard the first half, and harsh words were about to escape. When he heard the latter half, his tightly furrowed brow smoothed out. He held the jade pendant tightly in his hand. “Then I’ll accept it.”

Yun Qingwu sat up halfway. “Come, let me tie it on for you.”

Leng Licí, however, opened his Qiánkūn bag, carefully placing the jade pendant inside. “Tying it on just to take it off is troublesome.”

Yun Qingwu smiled. “As you wish.”

…

By the time the two were washed and dressed, sounds of activity were already starting to ring out from outside, along with the continuous whimpering of the many foxes.

The Crazy Old Man’s gentle voice sounded. “Don’t rush, one at a time.”

The two exchanged a look. While Little Dāo was still sleeping, they took the gold medallion off her and walked out of the room.

Yun Qingwu sat down next to the Crazy Old Man, holding the medallion. “Is this what you are looking for?”

The Crazy Old Man spared it only a glance, then his attention returned to grooming the fox. “Where is it, exactly?”

Yun Qingwu put the medallion away, somewhat disappointed. “It seems it’s not this either.”

Just then, Liu Yu walked out of his room, his face excited. “I know what he’s looking for!”

Yun Qingwu and Leng Licí looked at Liu Yu. Liu Yu stood in front of the Crazy Old Man and pointed at Jì Lín, who had just stepped one foot out of his room. “The gold hairpin Xiǎozhú left for Jì Lín. That is the closest connection to Xiǎozhú so far.”

Jì Lín immediately retracted his foot and said coldly, “That is something Xiǎozhú left for me. It is mine alone. I will not give it to him!”

With a bang, he shut the door.

Liu Yu turned to Yun Qingwu and Leng Licí, his tone accusatory. “Listen to that! What kind of thing is that to say!”

Yun Qingwu unfurled the gold medallion in his hand. “This is also something the lady left behind, but it is not what the Crazy Old Man needs. Perhaps that gold hairpin isn’t either.”

Liu Yu: “We should still try it.”

Leng Licí frowned. “I’ll go snatch it.”

Yun Qingwu reached out and held Leng Licí’s hand. “A-Cí, don’t use force. Give him some time.”

Leng Licí was displeased. “Give him time? How much time do you plan to give him?”

Yun Qingwu: “Let’s look for other possibilities first. Rat demons are skilled at finding treasures in tiny details. Why don’t you use your power as the Demon Lord to get the local rat demons to help?”

He gently squeezed Leng Licí’s hand, then looked at the Crazy Old Man sitting on the ground, still engrossed in grooming. “I’ll spend some more time with the Crazy Old Man to see if I can get more clues.”

Leng Licí looked down at Yun Qingwu’s hand. After a long moment, he pulled his hand away and walked toward the courtyard exit. “Fine, do as you say.”

Leng Licí walked to an open space. His bone sword flew out, circled in the air, and a powerful pressure spread out. Before long, a stooped, short rat demon tremblingly crawled out of a hole somewhere.

“Greetings, Exalted One. Why has the Exalted One come to this poor, remote place?”

Leng Licí retracted his bone sword and looked down at the rat demon. “Within one day, this Lord wants all the lost precious items here.”

The rat demon asked quietly, “May I ask what specifically constitutes a ‘precious item’?”

“That is for you to determine.”

Leng Licí didn’t want to say more. He turned and walked toward the small courtyard, leaving the rat demon with an enigmatic back.

Rat demon: “I determine it myself? How do I determine it?”

I’m finished. This must be a demand for my life!

…

Meanwhile, in a desolate mountain cave hundreds of miles away, You Su Qiān lay on the ground, his breath shallow, his eyes numb and vacant as he stared at the cave ceiling.

His right leg and right arm hung limply to the side, covered in scars. Flies, smelling the scent, flew around, attempting to have a feast.

He no longer possessed the demeanor of the former Clan Elder.

“You Su Qiān, do you intend to just wait here for death?” A muffled voice suddenly sounded.

You Su Qiān only moved his eyes, remaining indifferent.

A masked figure appeared in the cave. He injected a wisp of spiritual energy into You Su Qiān’s body, and the man, who had been like a corpse, finally reacted.

You Su Qiān turned his head to look at the masked man. His voice, unused for so long, was extremely hoarse. “Someone from the God Clan? What, is someone from the God Clan here to laugh at me?”

A flicker of disgust crossed the masked man’s eyes. He looked away and said, “Your joke is not weighty enough for me to watch.”

This remark accurately struck You Su Qiān’s sensitive nerves. He laughed mockingly. “Then why are you here? To find a place to urinate?”

“I want you to help me kill someone.” The masked man looked down at You Su Qiān, who was like an ant, his voice indifferent.

You Su Qiān laughed out loud. He pointed to his crippled leg. “Me? Help you kill someone?”

Masked Man: “I can help restore this crippled body of yours. If you can fulfill my request, I can even let you become the You Su Fox Clan’s patriarch again in the future.”

You Su Qiān’s eyes moved slightly. “Since you are so powerful, why do you need me to kill someone for you?”

Masked Man: “You don’t need to worry about that.”

You Su Qiān: “Who do you want me to kill?”

Masked Man: “The Scarlet Flame God Lord, Yún Chuān—specifically, the mortal formed by his memory fragments. You only need to kill one of them, and our deal will be complete.”

You Su Qiān narrowed his eyes. “Who exactly are you?”

The masked man took out a bottle of pills from his bosom. He held the pills out to You Su Qiān. “That is not for you to know. If you are willing to make this deal, take this bottle of pills. They will temporarily give you the ability to move and a certain amount of demonic power. Once the deed is done, I will fulfill everything I promised.”

You Su Qiān stared at the bottle of pills. After a long moment, he took the medicine and swallowed it.

The masked man’s lips curled slightly. He walked out of the cave. “Yúnlì City, Yùhǎi Village. This is his location.”

You Su Qiān felt a surge of spiritual energy flowing through his body. His right hand and right leg, which had been like dead objects, regained sensation. He tried to stand up, his eyes filled with the joy of regaining his freedom.

He walked out of the cave. The long-lost sunlight shone on him. He looked up at the dazzling sun.

Leng Licí, Yun Qingwu, I will definitely repay the suffering I endured to you both, multiplied!

…

In the Crazy Old Man’s small courtyard, Leng Licí leaned against the Osmanthus tree, his eyes heavy with displeasure, glaring malevolently at the group of foxes rubbing against Yun Qingwu.

Yun Qingwu had been circling these foxes for two entire days. In these two days, in order to extract information from the Crazy Old Man, Yun Qingwu had nearly eaten and slept with the foxes, just like him.

Although the information gain was minimal, the relationship between the two did make rapid progress.

The Crazy Old Man gently held down a white fox, handing its tail to Yun Qingwu. “You brush it.”

Yun Qingwu took the comb and, following the Crazy Old Man’s instruction, began to brush the fox’s somewhat messy tail fur. Taking advantage of the Crazy Old Man’s relatively stable state, he tentatively asked, “Have you always lived alone? Where is your wife?”

The Crazy Old Man murmured, “My wife… my wife… where is my wife?”

Seeing that the Crazy Old Man was about to lose his lucidity again, Yun Qingwu immediately changed the subject. “This tail, does it look alright to you?”

The Crazy Old Man’s gaze slowly shifted over. His mumbling stopped. He stroked the fox’s ear, then looked at Yun Qingwu. “You feel it.”

Yun Qingwu switched the comb to his other hand and was about to reach out to touch it when suddenly a red fox twice the size squeezed the white fox away. The red fox held its head high, its eyes slightly narrowed, staring at Yun Qingwu.

It seemed to be saying, Try touching it.

Yun Qingwu’s movement paused. He subconsciously looked at the Crazy Old Man next to him. Fortunately, the Crazy Old Man’s attention was also fixed on Leng Licí.

Yun Qingwu’s half-extended hand smoothly landed on Leng Licí’s fox ear instead. The half twin lotus on the left fox ear emitted a faint glow under the sunlight.

The fox, which had been on the verge of erupting, finally softened. It narrowed its eyes and rubbed its head against Yun Qingwu.

The displaced white fox was displeased, but due to the invisible pressure, it dared not openly make trouble. It could only settle for turning to the Crazy Old Man, whimpering and wagging its tail, as if protesting Leng Licí’s foul play.

But the Crazy Old Man simply embraced the tail of Leng Licí that was closest to him, picked up another comb, and began grooming, all the while muttering, “The tail fur is a little knotted. Must smooth it, must smooth it.”

Leng Licí: “…”

He instinctively wanted to shake him off, but just before exerting force, his peripheral vision caught the Crazy Old Man’s focused expression, and he inexplicably stopped, allowing the Crazy Old Man to groom his tail.

Seeing this, the white fox let out a low growl and retreated back to the fox den.

“Tsk, our son is truly possessive. He’s even jealous of foxes.” Liu Yu sat on the steps, holding a handful of melon seeds.

“He certainly takes after me. Besides, why can’t he be jealous of a fox? My son is at least half of the same origin.” Jì Lín continued to peel an apple without stopping.

Liu Yu clicked his tongue. “When will you accept the fact that you are only one-quarter?”

Jì Lín glared back. “You’re the one-quarter.”

Cuī Yóu was full of admiration and pride. “Putting everything else aside, as soon as Little Cí appears, the other foxes are instantly eclipsed. He is very much like his mother.”

Liu Yu casually pulled over a white fox and held it out to Cuī Yóu. “In what way? Doesn’t this one’s fur look more similar?”

Cuī Yóu scoffed. “What do you know? Color is the most superficial characteristic.”

Just then, a rustling sound of a heavy object being dragged was heard at the entrance. A panting voice called out, “Exalted One—Exalted One—Exalted—”

The rat demon’s voice abruptly cut off. He stared at the eight-tailed fox in the center, who was narrowing his eyes and looking rather content and affectionate. His footsteps halted.

Did I come to the wrong place? Or am I dreaming?

This is the ruthless, merciless, killer Demon Lord?!