Lin Muci found Ling Qianhe somewhat strange.
Perhaps it was because he had returned to the familiar mortal realm.
And when he mentioned the grand wedding, she inexplicably felt guilty and fell silent. From Ling Qianhe's perspective, he saw the young girl with lowered eyes, her face still pale, yet inexplicably evoking pity.
Her cheeks were like snow, almost transparently white, but she still kept her head down, avoiding his gaze.
But those eyes—he traced her cheek bit by bit, his fingertips touching her warm skin, and then he asked her.
"You hate me this much, you refuse to marry me?"
He chuckled lightly, his voice seemingly laced with deep mockery.
"Indeed, you hate me to the extreme. I still remember how you pierced my heart the last time."
Lin Muci didn't know how to explain. The truth was, she had done it herself, and there was no way to whitewash it. She could only remain silent.
After a long pause.
Ling Qianhe's fingertips slowly touched her cheek again as he said.
"I remember you liked mortal food very much. I'll go prepare some for you."
"Nourish your body."
"I dislike a sickly person who collapses at the slightest touch."
"This way—I won't be able to torment you without restraint."
His words were pregnant with meaning, his gaze lingering on her. Lin Muci felt her heart race. Ling Qianhe had already stood up and walked out.
...
The little system finally spoke after a long while.
"Host, when he said he wanted to have a grand wedding with you—to be more precise, he wanted to use the ancient demonic formation to transform your body."
"Your body repels his demonic energy. You cannot stay by his side for long. If you do, your body will collapse, which is why he came up with this method."
"But—what he doesn't know is that you used your phoenix clan's only innate talent on him back then. You shared life and death with him."
"His method will fail."
"Because your body has gone through nirvana once—he doesn't know this."
"He doesn't know that you died for him once before."
Lin Muci paused slightly—he really didn't know?
"Didn't Helian Lanyan tell him?"
The little system said.
"Perhaps Helian Lanyan also had some selfish intentions... If he told him, Ling Qianhe would have no chance at all. But if Ling Qianhe doesn't know that you died for him, that you once shared his pain using the phoenix clan's secret arts, maybe he still has a chance to win you back."
In other words, for his own selfish desires.
He watched them torment each other without intervening.
Lin Muci couldn't help but scoff. However, this was indeed something Helian Lanyan would do. If Helian Lanyan acted this way, it wouldn't be surprising at all.
Lin Muci slowly closed her eyes.
Her body was indeed very fragile.
It needed some time to rest.
...
Ling Qianhe soon moved her to another separate courtyard. This city was quite desolate, likely due to its proximity to the border between the human and demonic realms, with severe demonic energy leakage. Demonic creatures would appear in the city from time to time to pillage.
Therefore, except for the old, weak, sick, and disabled, everyone else had fled.
Acquiring these courtyards was not difficult, but they had not been maintained for a long time.
The courtyard, which should have been desolate, was now clean and tidy. There was even a water缸 in the courtyard, filled with lotus buds about to bloom.
This was almost unthinkable in this world permeated by demonic energy.
This place had been meticulously taken care of, almost like the imperial palace back then. The room she was staying in was cleaned impeccably, and the bedding was covered with the finest heavenly silkworm silk from the mortal world, incredibly smooth. The incense burned around it was also of the highest quality, with a faint aroma that could soothe the nerves and aid sleep.
Lin Muci hadn't expected that Ling Qianhe would actually—
Plan to stay here with her for the long term.
She was actually very curious about how this mortal realm had operated after she and Ling Qianhe left. After all, the emperor had died—and Ling Qianhe's massacre back then would have made it impossible to find any brothers to inherit the throne.
Perhaps, the world fell into chaos as a result.
She gave a bitter smile.
If this world were to collapse.
No one could escape the blame.
As she was pondering, Ling Qianhe had already walked up to her. In his palm, he held a tray.
A bowl of steaming wontons and a small jade bottle.
He looked at the young girl before him.
"Choose one."
Lin Muci, of course, chose the bowl of wontons without hesitation! It was a joke; they looked delicious, with scallions on top, emitting an intoxicating aroma. She stared longingly at the bowl of wontons, appearing pitiful, helpless, and hungry.
Ling Qianhe's lips seemed to curve upwards slightly.
But the young man's face was too cold. Even with a slight upward turn of his lips, no softness could be discerned.
Then he poured a pill from the jade bottle, raised an eyebrow slightly, and handed it to Lin Muci.
"Take this pill."
Lin Muci looked at him doubtfully—she heard him say.
"Take this pill, and then I'll give you these wontons."
Lin Muci was a little angry—he was doing it on purpose!
He was afraid she wouldn't take the medicine, so he used this method to entice her! But Lin Muci had to admit that this method seemed to be somewhat effective. She swallowed her saliva with difficulty, hesitated, and then reluctantly opened her mouth.
Allowing Ling Qianhe to put the pill into her mouth.
His cold fingertips brushed against her lips.
His hands were very beautiful, with a translucent jade-like sheen, but they appeared somewhat pale, his fingers long and slender—Lin Muci stared at his fingers, and suddenly fragments of his hands roaming over her body flooded her mind.
A blush spread across her cheeks—and she heard Ling Qianhe's laughter.
"What, shy?"
She shook her head, her voice low and deep.
"I've taken the medicine—you should give me the wontons..."
Before she could finish speaking, Ling Qianhe's voice, laced with teasing, reached her ears.
"I'll feed you myself."
Lin Muci looked up at him.
"I don't need you to feed me—"
But Ling Qianhe didn't listen to her at all. He slowly scooped up a wonton with the spoon and brought it to her lips. Lin Muci hesitated before opening her mouth again.
It wasn't that the wontons were too delicious.
She bit into them bite by bite, her thoughts drifting. Her entire being felt somewhat hazy. The lingering traces of coldness seemed to awaken her with each bite of the wontons.
She murmured, asking.
"Ling Qianhe—will you let me go?"
He smiled as he looked at her. On his handsome yet indifferent face, a flicker of terrifying fervor passed. He said.
"How is that possible?"
Lin Muci knew it would be like this. She said petulantly.
"Then you might as well kill me."
She thought he would be angry, would question her if she wanted to go to another man. But he showed no signs of anger. He continued to feed her slowly, his gaze fixed on her lips, and then he lightly kissed them.
"Killing you isn't enough."
"I want to torment you for a long, long time."
"I want to see you fall."
"Since you dug out my heart, I want you to return that heart to me."
"Only when you return it to me will I—give up."
Each word he spoke was casual, yet each word sent a shiver down her spine. Lin Muci could no longer fathom his intentions, but she knew that according to the plot, she was destined to feign death. That was why she remained silent.
He slowly put down the bowl, and Lin Muci heard his low voice, like a gentle whisper.
"I've thought about it countless times. The reason you abandoned me was simply because you thought I was a demon—you didn't like it."
"You felt I desecrated you, desecrated a woman like you, who is like a goddess, high above."
"Indeed, in the eyes of you gods and immortals, we demons are the most lowly of beings, mere dirt beneath your feet."
"You are the moonlight in the sky, so how could you be stained by a lowly and dirty blemish like me?"
"Every time I was intimate with you—you must have been in unbearable pain. After all, even the purest moonlight falls into the muddy soil, never to regain its former purity."
"But, if you and this world were to fall together—"
"If I make this world a place of mud everywhere, filthy and terrifying, where not a single spot of light can be found, perhaps then you can stay by my side, and never again feel unwilling or regretful?"
He raised his eyes, looking into Lin Muci's eyes opposite him. Hearing his words, Lin Muci felt her heart suddenly jolt. She knew very well what Ling Qianhe intended to do; he wanted to plunge the entire world into ruin!
When demonic energy enveloped the earth, even ordinary people would be implicated.
But—
The common people are innocent.
She felt a surge of panic.
"Ling Qianhe, you promised me that if you sought revenge, you would only seek it from me—you cannot destroy this world... Ling Qianhe, you promised me..."
He continued to look at her with gentle and focused eyes. He leaned closer, as if scrutinizing her eyebrows and eyes, a strange and peculiar smile appearing on his lips, which then widened, making one's heart plummet into an icy abyss.
His voice grew increasingly cold, so cold that one's heart felt heavy, sinking into an unfathomable abyss, as if it could never be retrieved.
He leaned closer.
The young man's icy breath, like frost and wind, brushed against her face. He whispered, in the gentlest tone, the most cruel words.
"Promises are never meant to be kept."
"Moreover, if one keeps their word, are they still a demon?"
A disdainful sneer played on his lips, his indifferent expression sending one's heart to the eighteenth level of hell. He said.
"Furthermore, your words were never kept either."
"You said you would always stay by my side, but in the end, you personally dug out my heart and said you never had any affection for me."
"Can words be kept?"
"It was just an absurd joke. Anyone who believed it would suffer unbearable pain, wish they were dead, have their internal organs torn apart—that kind of pain is my retribution for easily believing someone!"
He called it retribution.
Lin Muci remained silent.
She knew very well how much it hurt. She could still share the physical pain he experienced, but the pain he suffered when she dealt him a heavy blow, causing him to develop a demonic heart and completely transform into a world-destroying demon, was something she truly—could not share.
Lin Muci gave a bitter smile.
After a long silence, she slowly raised her head, her eyes now tinged with despair.
"I—"
"All the mistakes, all the wrongdoings, are my fault."
"No matter how you humiliate me or bully me, it is the retribution I deserve. But—"
She took a deep breath, seemingly with all her might, and then said in a low voice.
"But the common people are so innocent."
She was still trying to convert the demon.
To make Ling Qianhe abandon his plan to destroy the world.
But Ling Qianhe merely looked at her contemptuously, his words pressing her.
"The common people are innocent?"
"Then I am guilty?"
"How am I innocent?"
Lin Muci was instantly rendered speechless.
Yes—he was actually... he was actually quite innocent. He was born a demon—Lin Muci could only remain silent. But her silence made Ling Qianhe feel she was guilty. His eyes remained dark as he stared at her face.
"I will make you watch with your own eyes how this world perishes before you!"
Lin Muci wanted to speak again, but suddenly there was a banging sound at the door—she paused slightly and looked outside.
At some unknown time.
The outside had already been shrouded in dense black mist. The black mist billowed, causing people to tremble with fear. The layers of surging black mist gave off an extremely ominous feeling. Lin Muci bit her lip tightly, and said.
"Are there demonic creatures?"
"This city..."
Ling Qianhe remained unfazed.
What happened to this city had nothing to do with him. Even if it were destroyed, and these mortals shed rivers of blood, so what? He was merely a heartless demon.
But Lin Muci stared blankly out the window, the knocking at the door growing more urgent. The sound of knocking made her heart palpitate, and the ominous feeling deepened. She looked up helplessly.
"The situation outside must be very critical—"
"Open the door..."
Ling Qianhe acted as if he heard nothing. In desperation, Lin Muci stood up herself, wanting to open the door. The next second, Ling Qianhe grabbed her arm.
"You are so kind to these inconsequential people."
"Why are you so cruel to me?"
His question was cold, but after a moment of silence, Lin Muci could not answer him. Ling Qianhe continued to stare coldly into her eyes, seeing the fleeting helplessness in the depths of her pupils. He sneered, but then stood up.
Then he snapped his fingers.
The door materialized out of nowhere, and a little girl rushed in, her voice choked with sobs.
"Outside... so many demons..."
"Grandfather was killed..."
"Please, save me..."
She looked up and found that the people living in this strange courtyard were the immortal brother and immortal sister she had met before? She paused slightly, her heart still filled with immense grief, her voice even more pained.
"Please... save me..."