Chapter 8: Stained with His Scent

The female cultivator beside Sang Ying blinked and nudged her. “It’s you! You’re so lucky—not only do you get to accompany Qingyu Sword Lord, but you also helped solve such a major case. You’re definitely getting a promotion when you return.”

Sang Ying could only force a dry laugh, clutching her fox headpiece and wishing she could disappear.

Xie Lingyu had always kept his distance from strangers, his temperament icy. The Immortal Alliance leader had already found it strange that Xie Lingyu suddenly made such a request, but when he spotted the sneaky little fox in the crowd, he understood everything in an instant.

Fanning himself with a folding fan, he smiled. “The Immortal Alliance has many other outstanding disciples. Would the Sword Lord like to reconsider?”

Xie Lingyu replied flatly, “The Demon Realm is hostile to human cultivators. This disciple’s concealment techniques are exceptionally refined, making her the most suitable candidate.”

The Immortal Alliance leader glanced at the stiff little fox in the corner, his smile widening. “Since the Sword Lord has already made up his mind, so be it.”

Sang Ying: “…” Did no one care about her opinion?

Clearly not.

Just like that, Sang Ying was hastily assigned to Xie Lingyu. Amid the envious gazes of the other Immortal Alliance disciples, she boarded the teleportation array bound for the Demon Realm with him.

The Immortal Alliance’s teleportation array was on a completely different level from the small ones Sang Ying had used before—it could accommodate multiple people.

The atmosphere was eerily quiet. Sang Ying stood beside the young man, head bowed, nervously picking at her fingers without daring to utter a word.

In the end, it was the young man who broke the silence first.

“Isn’t it stuffy wearing that all the time?”

“…”

Sang Ying removed the fox headpiece. Her face was flushed from the heat, her hair disheveled, and her eyes glistening with moisture.

She pursed her lips and spoke awkwardly, “I covered my face this time, so how did you still recognize me?”

“That silver fox headpiece was made from leftover fabric when I sewed a fox fur cloak one winter. You once wore it to scare me.”

Sang Ying: “…Did that really happen? I don’t remember. I actually managed to scare you?”

The young man replied calmly, “Naturally, you wouldn’t remember. By the time I returned, my junior sister was already asleep in my wardrobe.”

Sang Ying: “…”

Alright, so it was an attempted scare.

Sang Ying gritted her teeth inwardly. She couldn’t afford such technical slip-ups again—next time, she definitely wouldn’t let Xie Lingyu see through her!

“Why did junior sister come to the Immortal Alliance today?”

Sang Ying stiffened, fidgeting with her fingers as she mumbled vaguely, “Well, you know, staying cooped up at home for too long can have a negative impact on a person’s mental state—things like psychological darkness, psychological abnormalities, which could lead to crime.”

“And so?”

Sang Ying put on a serious face and spoke without hesitation, “So, to eliminate the possibility of such malicious incidents at their root, I specifically came to the Immortal Alliance to study the laws, learn about the miserable fates of criminals in the prison department, and purify my soul. Upholding peace in the Cultivation World is our solemn duty!”

The Luoqing Sword Spirit, who had been listening all along, applauded, “Well said!”

Sang Ying tapped the sword’s body with her fingertip for a high-five.

Xie Lingyu: “…”

The girl smiled, her eyes slightly curved, but her face was unnaturally pale, a thin layer of sweat covering her temples. Her posture was unconsciously curled as she stood.

Xie Lingyu shifted his gaze away from her face and said, “Mm, we’re here.”

Sang Ying was taken aback. “Hey, Xie Lingyu, am I really going to the Demon Realm with you? Isn’t it a bit redundant to bring me along when you’re going to rescue someone? I won’t be of much help anyway.”

The light of the formation faded, revealing the surrounding scenery. The teleportation array had sent them to the border between the Cultivation World and the Demon Realm.

Sang Ying smiled and waved her hand, “You go ahead, I can make my own way home…”

Suddenly, her wrist was caught by slender fingers. The young man, with a cold expression, pulled her forward. Sang Ying was taken aback for a moment, following behind him in a daze. “Xie Lingyu?”

The young man’s voice was calm, betraying no emotion. “Many demons in the Demon Realm know me. To avoid alerting the enemy on this trip, I need your disguise technique.”

Sang Ying immediately understood. “You should have said so earlier. What kind of appearance do you want?”

“You can decide.”

Sang Ying took out a Talisman from her sleeve, thought for a moment, and slapped it onto his shoulder. The white-robed young man’s stature immediately shrank a bit, transforming into a slender youth.

Xie Lingyu paused and turned to look at her. Though his usually flirtatious face had been replaced by an ordinary youthful appearance, those pitch-black eyes still made Sang Ying’s heart flutter when they met hers.

She blinked, quickly pulling out a small mirror to cover her face. “What do you think?”

A clear, spring-like voice came from behind the mirror. “Why a youth?”

Sang Ying replied calmly, “You told me to decide, so I had to come up with a reasonable persona, right?”

“Alright, now your persona is the youngest junior disciple in our sect, and I am your senior sister. We’ve relied on each other since childhood. Come on, junior brother, call me ‘senior sister.'”

Xie Lingyu: “…”

“Sang Ying.”

He took the mirror from her hand, looking at her calmly. “How long have you been waiting for this day?”

Sang Ying turned her face away, feeling guilty.

“Haha, how could that be? I just made it up on the spot. How could I possibly be thinking about turning the tables and becoming the boss?”

Xie Lingyu glanced at her calmly, unsure whether he believed her or not, then withdrew his gaze indifferently and led her into a demon-run inn shrouded in night.

Although the Demon Realm and the Cultivation World were on bad terms, trade connections still existed between the two realms. The Demon Realm’s living environment was relatively primitive and undeveloped, rich with countless natural resources.

Human cultivators, on the other hand, excelled at manufacturing. Industrially produced clothing, tools, and equipment were all scarce commodities for the demons of the Demon Realm.

However, due to the overall political climate, the Demon King prohibited trade, so these transactions were conducted secretly and on a small scale.

Numerous demon-run taverns and inns dotted the border. Sang Ying had heard about them—these places, while appearing to be ordinary inns, actually served as venues for trade between human cultivators and demons.

Where there was trade, there was information. Sang Ying understood. “I get it. You want to investigate clues about the missing people here. But Xie Lingyu, did you take a wrong turn? The tavern is next door…”

“Two hundred Spirit Stones. Second floor, the innermost room.”

The lion proprietor, dressed in a red and green jacket, was dozing in a rocking chair. When Sang Ying and the other entered, he lifted the hat covering his face, glanced at them, tossed a key token onto the counter, and closed his eyes again.

Sang Ying took out four hundred Spirit Stones. “Please open another room for my junior brother.”

The lion proprietor impatiently waved his paw. “This establishment doesn’t cater to young couples playing games. If you want to play, go home and do it. Leave the rooms for those who actually need them.”

Sang Ying: ?

Before she could react, Xie Lingyu had already taken her wrist and led her upstairs. They entered the room, and he closed the door behind them.

Sang Ying was still a bit dazed: “No way, even disguised like this, how did he know?”

“Scent.”

Xie Lingyu released her hand, his voice calm. “Demons can smell human scent. To avoid exposure, I covered yours for you.”

Sang Ying leaned in, sniffing the faint white sandalwood fragrance on her wrist, and understood. It was because she carried his scent that the shopkeeper thought they were a married couple.

The stray tabby cat demon Sang Biao she met by chance today was also very sensitive to scent. She had thought it was just cat demons who were like that, but it turned out all demons were… Sang Ying suddenly paused. Would Xie Lingyu be like that too?

“Did Junior Sister encounter any strange people before going to the Immortal Alliance today?”

Sang Ying let out an “ah,” somewhat confused, and thought back: “Quite a few, I can’t remember clearly.”

Just thinking of Sang Biao, Sang Ying casually mentioned: “Oh right, today I met a runaway tabby cat spirit beast. When its owner came looking, it didn’t want to go home, so I helped it out a bit. Why do you ask?”

Xie Lingyu lowered his eyes slightly: “It’s nothing.”

Sang Ying didn’t pay it much mind either. Her thoughts were completely occupied by another matter—they had only booked one room, and there was only one bed in the room.

Which meant… they would have to sleep together tonight?

Although they had slept together before, that was on their wedding night three years ago, and she couldn’t even remember how she fell asleep back then. Besides, her sleeping posture was very irregular—she tossed and turned a lot. And, and she was on her menstrual period; it would be so awkward if she stained his clothes…

“Junior Sister.”

Sang Ying stopped fidgeting with her clothes and looked up at him.

“The demons at the border have low cultivation bases and can’t detect that it’s only a superficial scent cover. But once we go deeper into the Demon Realm, this method will be exposed.”

Sang Ying half-understood: “So we need a stronger scent to hide my identity as a human cultivator?”

The young man before her remained calm, giving a soft “mm” in response.

Sang Ying sat on the bed, tilting her head slightly, her clear eyes fixed on him: “Then what should we do?”

The young man stepped in front of her, his slender frame drawing closer as he bent down, reaching out to gently gather her into his arms.

A cool, white sandalwood scent enveloped her. Sang Ying was stunned at first, then, seeing the jade-like neck so close to her, her ears burned as if ignited by fire, turning red and hot in an instant.

In her daze, she seemed to see several beautiful red candles, hazy and quiet. Amid the flickering candlelight, she heard the sounds of wedding music.

Lively, festive.

But she was crying.

Large, silent tears fell like strings of pearls, splashing onto the exquisitely beautiful wedding fan. The cloud patterns of dragons and phoenixes were soaked, blurring into a mess.

The wedding fan was gently taken away.

She abruptly looked up and saw…

The scent suddenly withdrew. In just a moment, the young man had already released her and stepped back, his tone steady as if handling official business. “Like just now, close contact with a demon will leave a strong scent.”

“But if Junior Sister finds it inappropriate, forget it. I’ll think of another method.”

Sang Ying’s pounding heart hadn’t yet calmed down; her body was stiff, and her mind was in shambles. But the words had already slipped out uncontrollably: “Oh, what’s the big deal? It’s just a hug. How could I possibly not be okay with it?”

Xie Lingyu gave a slight nod, sitting down nearby. He lifted his dark, deep eyes, his tone light and indifferent: “Since Junior Sister has no objections, let’s begin.”

Sang Ying had just pieced her shattered mind back together when she heard these words. She stiffly turned her head to look at him: “…Didn’t we already finish hugging?”

“If we want to avoid arousing suspicion, we need at least half an hour.”

Sang Ying: ?

…How much did you say??!