The night breeze was gentle, and the moonlight was bright. I lay in bed, watching a sliver of moonlight spill in from the window. Accompanying the moonlight was a melodious flute sound.
"Muye," someone suddenly called out.
I recognized the voice as Liu Shinian's. He wasn't asleep yet.
"Why did you come over?" I asked him.
Liu Shinian moved closer to the window, casting his shadow in the moonlight. From inside, I could only see half of his clear, dark figure.
"Do you want to listen to some music?" he suddenly said.
I didn't know he could play the flute. I smiled slightly and, on a whim, said, "Sure, play a tune then."
As soon as I finished speaking, he sat by the window, picked up his flute, and began to play. The melodious flute sound was like a solace in the quiet night.
I lay on the bed, listening to his flute, my hands pillowing my head, a look of happiness on my face. Suddenly, I remembered Mo Zhidou and the Scarlet Flame Dragon King. I wondered how they were doing now.
Mo Zhidou had said that when I thought of them, they would be in my heart.
"Big brother, second brother, are you here?" I murmured, covering my chest.
Though no one answered, it felt as if they had moved into my warm heart, never to leave.
Unknowingly, I slowly fell asleep to the sound of Liu Shinian's flute.
The next morning, I heard a commotion in the courtyard. Everyone was gathered outside, looking at Liu Shinian as if he were a novelty.
Liu Shinian was asleep by the window, leaning against the frame. His bamboo flute, still wet, was held firmly in his hand.
Ye Changfeng observed him carefully for a long time and finally came to a conclusion: "I think he's troubled by love."
At these words, everyone present was astonished. Qing Feiyu, the mountain lord of Qingniao Mountain, though just a minor mountain lord, was no less experienced than Liu Shinian when it came to love stories and flirting.
He stepped forward, meticulously observing Liu Shinian's posture and movements. Finally, he shook his head and said, "I think he's overthinking things."
Just then, Xue Gucheng and Yan Wushuang slowly arrived. As they walked outside the sleeping quarters, they saw a crowd blocking the area outside the house, chattering as if discussing something.
She pushed through the crowd to the front and saw Liu Shinian sleeping soundly against the window. She stepped forward and patted his little face, calling out,
"Shinian, Shinian, wake up, wake up."
Liu Shinian was interrupted from his pleasant dream by the sudden call. He slowly woke up from his slumber, looking at the crowd surrounding him, a little confused. He quickly asked, "Wh-what's wrong? Did something happen to Muye?"
As he spoke, he anxiously jumped down from the window. Yan Wushuang grabbed him and explained,
"Muye is fine. It's you, why are you sleeping here?"
Liu Shinian looked back and then remembered that he had been playing his flute for Muye last night to entertain her and had accidentally fallen asleep. He chuckled and said,
"I just felt like playing my newly learned flute for Muye last night. I didn't expect to fall asleep while playing. I wonder if Muye heard it."
Xue Gucheng put an arm around him, feigning anger.
"Good for you, you can play the flute and didn't say anything. I haven't even heard it."
Liu Shinian smiled foolishly and explained, "I just learned recently. If you like it, I'll play for you too."
The crowd burst into laughter. As they were talking, Lin'er entered with a maid, who was carrying a basin of water.
"You're all here," Lin'er said, seeming particularly cheerful today.
"Elder, you've arrived." Everyone replied.
They had been waiting here for a long time for Lin'er's arrival. Lin'er walked to the door and pushed it open. Everyone followed him into the sleeping quarters.
Seeing that I had woken up, he stepped forward and asked, "Demon King, how are you feeling today?"
"Much better."
However, Lin'er had a lingering question. He asked, "Demon King, normally, someone who sustained such severe injuries would find it difficult to survive. But your injuries have already begun to heal. What's going on?"
Facing his sincere question, I smiled and replied, "I think the Ten Thousand Ghost King saved me."
Everyone then remembered the true king of the Ghost魅族.
He was truly a bit pitiful. As the king of the Ghost魅族 with pure blood, he had been supplanted in the hearts of his people by an unrelated outsider.
This led to him only being remembered when reminded, despite still being the leader.
However, he probably didn't mind these things. In his heart, as long as he could lead his people towards the light, it didn't matter if he was permanently forgotten.
At this moment, Yan Wushuang stepped forward with a cloth, wrung out water, and began to wipe my cheeks. I then told them about my dream.
"I met Mo Zhidou and the Scarlet Flame Dragon King."
Upon hearing this, everyone was puzzled, thinking I was joking.
I said, "I met them in my dream, and they taught me the Dragon Roar Swordplay and the Scarlet Blood Swordplay."
Everyone looked incredulous. Shui Fang, looking eager for gossip, ran forward and asked, "What did they look like?"
"Mo Zhidou wore red, and the Scarlet Flame Dragon King wore blue. They were both quite good-looking."
Ying Lu asked, "Did they say anything to you?"
I smiled shyly and replied,
"I became sworn siblings with them in my dream. The Scarlet Flame Dragon King was the eldest brother, Mo Zhidou was the second brother, and I was the third sister."
At this, the entire room was shocked. "What!"
Seeing their cute and bewildered expressions, I couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Yuli Jie, the mountain lord of Yuli Mountain, suddenly remembered something the elders had told him when he was a child. He said,
"When I was young, the elders in my clan told me that if you meet someone in a dream with whom you get along exceptionally well, it means that person had a destined connection with you in a past life.
They have come to see you in this life because of their longing. I guess the Demon King also had a past life connection with Mo Zhidou and the Scarlet Flame Dragon King."
Liu Shinian mocked him, "Hahaha, although it sounds unreliable, it's still believable."
"I'm not lying. What old people say is often the truth, just expressed in a different way."
Hearing him say this, everyone was half-believing.
I suddenly remembered that Mo Zhidou seemed to be waiting for someone. Could it really be me?
Then I thought it was impossible. I was brought here by Liu Xiang. Where would past lives come from?
I figured they must have been worried and anxious day and night these past few days. Why not suggest something to help them relax?
"I have a proposal. Why don't we go out and have some fun?"
"Fun?" Everyone looked puzzled.
"Just go out and play for the whole day, how about it?"
"The whole day?"
"But Demon King, your injuries..." Hei Feng said with concern.
"It's fine, just going out to play won't hurt."
"Then, Elder..." Everyone turned their gaze to Lin'er again.
Lin'er laughed heartily and said, "Since the Demon King has spoken, let's go out and play for a day tomorrow."
Hearing his affirmative reply, everyone was overjoyed and excitedly exclaimed, "Great!"
I said,
"If we're going tomorrow, we need to bring some good food and good wine, and wear the most beautiful clothes. That's how you properly go out to have fun.
I see there are quite a few things to prepare. You should all go back and get ready."
"Okay," everyone said happily, eager to go out and play, and they scurried back to prepare their things.
In an instant, only Liu Shinian, Xue Gucheng, Yan Wushuang, Lin'er, myself, and a maid remained in the room.
Lin'er turned around and waved, signaling the maid to leave. The maid bowed slightly and withdrew.
"That woman doesn't seem like she's from our Black Mountain. Where did she come from?" I asked, watching the maid's retreating figure.
Lin'er replied, "She's an original maid from the royal palace of the Western Purple Kingdom."
"Oh, instruct them not to trouble them."
"I've already told everyone."
"That's good."
Then, I looked up at Liu Shinian, Xue Gucheng, and Yan Wushuang and asked them, "Why aren't you going to prepare?"
Yan Wushuang replied, "We want to spend more time with you."
I waved my hand and said, "It's fine, hurry up and prepare. We need to have a good time tomorrow."
After my repeated urging, they reluctantly left the sleeping quarters.
"Elder, you should go prepare too. You're coming with us tomorrow."
Lin'er smiled slightly and bowed, "Yes, I'll be going now."
"Go, go."
After they all left, I finally felt at ease, imagining what tomorrow would be like.
After Ye Changfeng returned, he took down the bedsheets, then packed all the good wine, snacks, and clothes in the room, including the clothes of his other three brothers.
Fu Zimo asked with bewilderment, "Big brother, do we really need so many things?"
"Didn't the Demon King say so? She told us to bring food and drink, and nice clothes."
Just then, Zhu Yan stepped forward and said, "Big brother, we're only going for one day tomorrow."
"One day?"
It was only then that he came to his senses. Looking at the things he had piled up to fill the entire bed, he realized he couldn't pack them. He suddenly thought,
"One day isn't short, is it? It's fine, maybe they'll be useful."
Saying that, he began to pull the corners, tie, and knot them himself.
Fu Zimo nudged Gui Ye and said, "Third brother, say something."
Gui Ye, however, smiled slightly and said, "As long as Big Brother is happy, don't worry."
His words were as good as saying nothing.
However, it wasn't just Ye Changfeng who had this idea. Even the twenty-four mountain lords were constantly coming and going, packing everything inside and outside the house.
The dust and smoke that filled the palace seemed to tell everyone that an unprecedented grand robbery had occurred here.
The next morning, Lin'er came to pick me up.
"Demon King, it's time to go."
"Okay."
I slowly got out of bed and walked outside, only to find the area outside empty, not a single person in sight. I curiously asked,
"Where are they?"
"They are waiting at the palace gate."
"Then let's go quickly."
"It's fine, let's walk slowly."
Lin'er and I walked towards the palace gate. Before we even reached the gate, we heard cheerful shouts and laughter. When we arrived, we saw a peculiar sight.
The twenty-four mountain lords were each carrying large bags, with wine bottles of various sizes hanging in front of them.
Seeing me approach, they smiled foolishly and said, "Demon King, you're here."
Just then, I heard chewing sounds from within the crowd. I looked up and saw someone in the back sneakily eating something.
"You must be the mountain lord of Yelai Mountain. Please come to the front."
Hearing someone call him, he shyly turned around and walked to the front.
He was gnawing on a radish, with a string of garlic around his neck, and a long string of chili peppers. Two large cabbages were tied around his waist.
"Demon King, did you call me?" he asked, putting down the radish and smiling foolishly.
I asked him, "Mountain Lord, are you going to plant vegetables?"
"No, I just like eating vegetables. They're good for my health." After saying that, he took a large bite of the radish without any hesitation.
The crowd burst into laughter, "Hahaha."
Just then, someone behind us shouted, "Here we come!"
I turned around and saw my twelve star generals walking side-by-side from a distance. Except for Liu Shinian, Xue Gucheng, Yan Wushuang, and Gui Ye, who were carrying small bags,
Everyone else was carrying large bags. Ye Changfeng was the most exaggerated, carrying a package twice his size with a radiant smile. Fu Zimo and Zhu Yan were also carrying two equally large bags.
From a distance, they looked like three giant balloons tied to a tree trunk, swaying slightly.
"Ah, you guys, what is this?" I asked, not understanding what they were doing.
Fu Zimo complained, "We told him to just take a little, but Big Brother insisted on packing three big bags for us."
Feng Xiaoyi pointed at Gui Ye and asked, "Why isn't he carrying anything?"
Fu Zimo pouted, a little jealous, "Big Brother is biased. He favors Third Brother the most."
Ye Changfeng, carrying his package, crossed his arms and explained to us,
"Third brother has always maintained a gentlemanly image. I don't want these heavy packages to ruin his image."
Gui Ye also shrugged, "It can't be helped. I might be a bit delicate."
"So biased!" everyone exclaimed in unison for Zhu Yan and Fu Zimo.
Gui Ye casually pulled his small bag forward and said, "Look, I brought a bag too."
"Tch!" came another disdainful sound.
I laughed heartily and waved my hand, "Alright, alright, let's set off quickly."
"Okay."
At this moment, a guard pulled up a carriage and respectfully said, "Demon King, Elder, please get in the carriage."
"What about them?" I asked.
Lin'er replied, "They have their own ways."
Saying that, he invited me into the carriage, and it began to move forward.
"How do we get there?" The twenty-four mountain lords looked at each other, at a loss.
Just then, we heard the sound of a thousand horses galloping from behind. A voice among the noise shouted, "Sirs, I've arrived."
Everyone turned around and saw over twenty fine horses rushing towards them like the wind. In a moment of panic, they all dodged.
Seeing this, Ye Changfeng sneered, leaped onto a horse, and shouted,
"Everyone, I'm leaving first!"
After that, Zhu Yan, Gui Ye, and Fu Zimo also jumped onto horses and galloped away.
Liu Shinian, Xue Gucheng, and the others also mounted horses and followed the people ahead. The twenty-four mountain lords, unwilling to be outdone, also jumped onto horses and chased after them.
The mountain lord of Yelai Mountain, riding his horse, was in high spirits. He pulled a clove of garlic from around his neck and took a big bite.
Then, he took out a large white radish from his pocket and gnawed on it. After eating his fill, he let out a loud burp.
At this moment, a strange foul odor wafted out and landed on the horse's face. The horse sniffed it carefully, and with a jolt, it shook him off onto the ground.
Then, as if possessed, it ran away crookedly.
Huang Shang fell to the ground, groaning, and then got up to chase after it, "Oh my, wait for me."
It seemed he would have a hard time reaching his destination anytime soon.