Chapter 12

“Too late, little junior sister.”

As far as Sang Ying knew, the Northern Border Demon King was a burly, imposing, and formidable man who had fought his way to the demon king’s throne with his iron fists a few years ago, earning quite a reputation.

But… pregnant?

Sang Ying imagined that beautiful scene and immediately felt uneasy. She shook her head. “Are you sure it’s pregnancy? Couldn’t it be some other trick or something?”

Xiao Lingzhou smiled. “Little junior sister, whatever you can think of, that demon king has naturally considered it too. Otherwise, why do you think the Northern Border Demon King came all the way to the Nanli Realm?”

The Nanli Realm was skilled in Gu poison techniques. Sang Ying nodded. Making a male demon pregnant out of thin air would indeed raise suspicions about sinister Gu arts, so it made sense for him to seek out the Southern Realm Demon King.

However, since he had already sought out the Southern Realm Demon King and still kidnapped so many female cultivators, it meant it wasn’t caused by Gu poison.

“The Northern Border Demon King was unconscious at the time and only vaguely remembered that it was a young human woman with profound cultivation.” Xiao Lingzhou took a sip of pear juice.

Sang Ying understood. Without a clear target, they were capturing people everywhere, drugging and taking away any young female cultivators they encountered.

She took another bite of flower cake. A female cultivator with profound cultivation… No wonder the young girls from the four great families were taken. Luckily, she was weak, or she might have become a target too.

Sang Ying was genuinely curious now. A male demon getting pregnant, and it was done by a human female cultivator.

“How have you been these past few years, junior sister?”

Sang Ying was taken aback and replied, “Pretty good?”

It had been years since they last met, and she had mellowed somewhat. She smiled and said, “Lengmian has made great progress in swordsmanship recently, though he still has that wooden face. Laba has been running around everywhere these years. Since I can’t go out much, he manages many of the branch guilds.”

Both Lengmian and Laba were picked up by Sang Ying and were a few years younger than her.

After getting married, Lengmian stayed by her side as a guard. Laba was good at socializing, chattering all day like a little trumpet, so he managed the branch guilds.

Both of them had names—Lengmian was Chi Yan, and Laba was Feng Chao—but Sang Ying often forgot their names, so she nicknamed them Lengmian and Laba based on their personalities. Over time, even Jingxi and Xie Lingyu started calling them that.

Xiao Lingzhou rested her chin on her hand, her gaze distant. “Junior sister really is good at picking things up.”

One Xie Lingyu wasn’t enough, so she picked up two more.

Sang Ying sighed softly. She still hadn’t broken the habit of picking up random things, though she was trying to control it.

Half a year ago, she encountered an unconscious young man; last month, an unconscious rabbit; last week, an unconscious child… She didn’t take any of them home, okay?

“Branch guilds… The Yunshui Merchant Guild is yours?”

Sang Ying nodded. There was no need to hide anything from Xiao Lingzhou. A bad reputation didn’t matter anyway.

Xiao Lingzhou laughed. “Junior sister, you’re something else, quietly achieving great things.”

After chatting for a while longer, Xiao Lingzhou suddenly asked, “What about Xie Lingyu?”

Sang Ying found it strange. “Shouldn’t you already know? His rumors are everywhere—the demon cultivator prodigy, Qingyu Sword Lord, who just won the Heavenly Ranking championship a few days ago.”

“I’m not talking about that.”

Xiao Lingzhou leaned in slightly, narrowing her eyes as she stared at Sang Ying. “I mean, how are things between you and him? Have you confessed your feelings to him?”

Sang Ying’s heart gave a “thump,” but her expression remained calm and composed. She lifted her little face high and said, “Second Senior Brother, which eye of yours saw me liking him? Even if we got married, it was just a delaying tactic. He’s nothing more than my little follower. How could I, the boss of Minghua Mountain, possibly like him? Second Senior Brother, you’re really overthinking it. Impossible, absolutely impossible.”

“…”

Xiao Lingzhou looked at her trembling eyelashes, both amused and helpless. “Alright, alright, it was Senior Brother overthinking it.”

“Since Junior Sister doesn’t like him, when do you plan to divorce?”

Sang Ying was taken aback. “Divorce?”

“Yes.”

Xiao Lingzhou leaned against the carriage wall, crossing his arms. “You and Xie Lingyu only have the name of husband and wife, not the reality, and there’s no affection between you. Sooner or later, he’ll fall for another girl. When that happens, how will you and he get along?”

Xie Lingyu… liking another girl.

Sang Ying was stunned for a moment, chewing on those words, a faint ache spreading in her heart. But Xiao Lingzhou wasn’t wrong. If Xie Lingyu had someone he truly cared for… what then?

“Since it’s just a loveless delaying tactic anyway, anyone would do. It’s just that someone you know well is more trustworthy. But who says the only one you know well is him?”

Xiao Lingzhou glanced at her, smiling. “Eldest Senior Brother isn’t here, but there’s still me. If Junior Sister says some nice words and begs me, I might consider sacrificing myself to help out.”

Sang Ying slapped a hand over his face and pushed him away, disgusted. “No, you’re too ugly. I’m afraid I’d faint during the wedding ceremony.”

Xiao Lingzhou snorted. “Your Second Senior Brother is a flower-handsome man adored by thousands of young ladies. Back when we took sword cultivation classes, female cultivators sent me love letters every day.”

“Forget it, your terrible taste can’t be fixed overnight.” The dog demon pulling the carriage stopped, and Xiao Lingzhou lifted the curtain. “I found a few good ones for you. Pick whichever you like.”

Sang Ying got off the carriage and saw a row of handsome young men and youths standing there, all of them with an aloof demeanor and upright conduct. They merely nodded slightly when they saw her.

Aloof, quiet, indifferent expressions… Sang Ying immediately realized that these people were all modeled after Xie Lingyu.

She couldn’t help but cover her face. “Second Senior Brother, what exactly are you trying to do?”

Xiao Lingzhou slung an arm over her shoulder. “Just say which one you like. Don’t worry, I personally vetted all of them. No romantic history, clean, devoted, dotes on his wife, listens only to his wife after marriage, won’t go west if told to go east. Or if Junior Sister wants them all, that’s fine too… Ouch!”

The girl stomped hard on his foot and turned to leave. Xiao Lingzhou hurriedly chased after her, walking alongside her.

“Hey, Junior Sister, if you don’t like this batch, there are still…”

“Xiao Lingzhou!”

In her memory, Sang Ying rarely called him by his full name—only when she was truly angry.

Hearing this, Xiao Lingzhou immediately backed down and didn’t continue. He looked at the back of her head and pursed his lips.

What exactly is so great about that Xie Lingyu kid? On the surface, he seems noble and upright, but in reality, he’s just a wolf in sheep’s clothing, rotten to the core.

Only his naive junior sister can’t see his true nature, still thinking he’s truly the noble and virtuous gentleman of legend.

If he could really treat Junior Sister well forever, that would be one thing, but the problem is…

“Pfft.”

A soft laugh came from the treetops, clearly tinged with schadenfreude.

Sang Ying looked up to see a youth dressed in the distinctive bright silver attire of the Nanli Realm sitting in the tree, leaning back with one knee propped up. His skin was pale to the point of appearing gloomy.

Though he was smiling, his pitch-black pupils gave off a chilling sensation that made one’s back go cold.

He was a demon, and a seemingly powerful one at that.

She hadn’t noticed when he appeared at all.

“What’s so funny? Watch out or someone might skin you and roast you on a skewer while you sleep tonight,” Xiao Lingzhou snapped from behind. Though his words were sarcastic, they carried a tone of familiarity.

So they knew each other. Sang Ying felt slightly relieved.

The youth nimbly jumped down. Before Sang Ying could react, he had already leaned in close, sniffed her, and suddenly broke into an even brighter smile, his beautiful eyes crinkling.

“So you’re a… mmm… married woman.” Before he could finish, Xiao Lingzhou covered his mouth and dragged him aside. Sang Ying only caught the last two words and froze for a moment, her ears growing slightly warm.

The two of them exchanged a few words before returning. Xiao Lingzhou introduced, “Little Junior Sister, this is the Southern Realm Demon King, Yin Tu.”

Sang Ying wasn’t surprised anymore and gave a slight nod.

Yin Tu, however, seemed quite enthusiastic. His dark eyes fixed on her as he smiled brightly. “Little Junior Sister, aren’t you curious about Fu Ye? Want me to take you to see the excitement?”

Fu Ye was the name of the Northern Border Demon King.

Xiao Lingzhou pushed his face away with a look of disgust. “Who’s your little junior sister? Don’t call her that.”

“Come with me, Junior Sister. Don’t pay attention to this guy.”

Xiao Lingzhou led Sang Ying to the outskirts of the Northern Border Demon King’s encampment.

As for why the Northern Border Demon King was staying in the Southern Realm instead of returning, Yin Tu, who had insisted on tagging along, shrugged innocently. “After I diagnosed him and confirmed it wasn’t a Gu, he shut himself in. He hasn’t moved from his room for days and ignores everyone. I can’t just kick him out, can I?”

Sang Ying pondered, “Ignoring everyone… So he wasn’t the one ordering the capture of female cultivators all over the Cultivation World?”

“Who knows? I don’t bother with that much,” Yin Tu said, pointing to the side. “Well, we’re here.”

Distracted, Sang Ying didn’t dwell on it and followed the two inside.

As soon as they entered, they saw demons lying all over the ground—all subordinates of the Northern Border Demon King.

Xiao Lingzhou muttered, “That guy got here so fast,” and pulled Sang Ying to conceal their presence, moving stealthily through the shadows.

Soon, Sang Ying spotted the familiar figure in white, her gaze involuntarily drawn to him.

This was the place where female cultivators were held captive, guarded by the demon king’s six trusted brothers.

Xiao Lingzhou took out a bag of sunflower seeds, grabbed a handful for himself, and shoved the rest into Sang Ying’s hands. With leisurely amusement, he pointed out the fallen ones: the second brother on the ground, the sixth brother hanging from a branch, and the eldest brother still trembling as he faced off against Xie Lingyu.

Yin Tu also grabbed a handful of seeds and crouched to her left, munching as he said, “They’ve been working hard these past few days, hauling people here even with bruised faces, shouting slogans to motivate themselves. Sounds pretty inspiring, honestly.”

“…”

How did these notorious criminals, feared throughout the Cultivation World, sound like fools in their descriptions?

Come to think of it, when Luo Qing had mentioned the wolf demon Xie Lingyu captured in Beiyuan during their earlier chat, she’d also said that wolf demon wasn’t very bright.

Sang Ying watched from a distance as the eldest brother fell before Xie Lingyu. The youth expressionlessly sheathed his sword and walked toward where the female cultivators were held.

Something was off.

Sang Ying suddenly asked, “Are these subordinates of the Northern Desert Demon King strong in strength but lacking in intelligence?”

Xiao Lingzhou cracked a melon seed: “Yeah, isn’t it obvious, little junior sister? They don’t even bother hiding people properly on someone else’s turf.”

Since the Northern Desert Demon King hadn’t appeared, there must be someone else behind the scenes directing their cooperation with the Jin Xiu Merchant Guild.

He dragged the Yunshui Merchant Guild into this, gathered the forces of the four great families, the Saintess of Yaochi, the top of the Heavenly Ranking…

Sang Ying’s heart tightened as she watched the youth walk to the door of the room where the female cultivators were imprisoned and was about to push it open. Without time to think, she stood up.

“Xie Lingyu, don’t—!”

Thick, pitch-black demonic energy suddenly expanded, instantly enveloping everything around.

Sang Ying’s vision was swallowed by the demonic energy; she could see nothing.

The surroundings became eerily quiet. In an instant, Xiao Lingzhou’s voice, the sound of the wind, the sound of water, the rustling of fallen leaves—Sang Ying could hear none of it.

Only to her left was there a faint sound of breathing.

Sang Ying remembered, that was…

A low chuckle, the youth’s chilling aura lightly brushed past her sensitive ear, like a snake slithering over skin, sending a shiver down her spine.

“Too late, little junior sister.”