A Wish for Your Lasting Joy - Chapter 1

Not long after I pushed Xu Changhuan off that cliff, the Kingdom of Jiang fell. I was sent to Mount Taiheng to learn the cultivation arts.

For ten years, I rose before dawn and trained late into the night, all to give myself a fighting chance if I ever encountered Xu Changhuan again.

Yet those ten years passed without incident. Forget him coming for revenge—I hadn’t even heard his name since.

Then, a few days ago, Eldest Senior Brother was gravely wounded while fighting demons. His life hung by a thread. Only moonlight grass could save him, and the only place it still grew was the Three Thousand Realms, a gathering place for demons in the northwest.

“The demon lord of the Three Thousand Realms is said to be vicious, ruthless, and addicted to slaughter. But he has two great loves: precious pearls and beautiful women.”

Um. In plain language, he was a greedy lecher. And since I bore the title of the cultivation world’s greatest beauty, I was chosen to seduce him.

I slipped in among a group of dancers, climbed the hundred-meter jade stairway, and entered the Hall of Rapture. Through layer upon layer of merfolk-woven gauze, thin as cicada wings, I saw a hazy figure above us.

The Three Thousand Realms lay beneath perpetual moonlight. It was full of every kind of demon and monster, so I’d always imagined its lord as some green-faced creature with enormous fangs.

But when a breeze lifted the gauze and I saw his face, I froze as though struck by lightning.

That wickedly handsome man with his chest and stomach exposed, lounging with a beauty in each arm—wasn’t he Xu Changhuan, the male lead I’d pushed off a cliff?

He had been smiling, his eyes half lowered as he teased the beauty beside him. Sensing my stare, he glanced over casually.

When our eyes met, he visibly froze.

My heart lurched. I was done for. I spun around, pushed off with my toes, and flew toward the doors.

A rush of wind passed my ear. The next instant, a hand closed around my throat and lifted me into the air.

The sudden lack of breath left me so dizzy that it took a long while to see who was in front of me.

Xu Changhuan stood with his back to the doors. His loose robes and long black hair whipped in the wind. Behind him stretched endless darkness beneath a full moon.

In the dim light of the hall, his ice-carved features took on a sinister beauty. His lips curved, murder in his eyes.

“Wanyan Mingzhu. It’s been a while.”

My throat felt as though an iron band had clamped around it. I could barely breathe, much less exchange fond greetings with an old acquaintance.

I managed to gather a little spiritual power in my hand, only for another force to crush it immediately.

That gulf in strength chilled me to the bone. After ten years of working myself half to death, I’d never imagined I would stand absolutely no chance against him.

If I’d known, I should have let that rotten old man chop my head off back then, instead of offending the male lead and taking a road with no way back.

Before I could finish despairing, Xu Changhuan’s grip began to tighten. Just as I was about to suffocate, the pressure around my neck abruptly vanished. I crashed onto the marble floor and coughed violently.

Fabric rustled beside me. Xu Changhuan crouched, his waist-length hair spilling across the floor. As he bent forward, his already open collar fell wider.

I took one look and hastily turned away, coughing all the while. Gorgeous, yes, but this was absolutely not something I ought to be looking at.

Apparently displeased at being ignored, he caught my chin in his right hand and turned my face back.

Those cold black eyes and that cruel little smile seemed to be telling me: Look at me, you little shit.

“How does our reunion make you feel, Eldest Princess?”

His soft voice reached my ears like poison, making my heart tremble.

Faced with his mocking expression, I lowered my eyes and gave a dry little laugh.

“You jest, My Lord. Jiang fell ten years ago. What Eldest Princess could there possibly be?”

He stared at me for a long time, that chilly smile still on his lips. My skin crawled. I nearly dropped to my knees and begged for mercy.

Fortunately, just as I reached my limit, he finally let go.

The shadow over me lifted. His voice came from behind me.

“Why have you all stopped? Keep dancing.”

Strings and flutes resumed, and the girls, frightened by what had happened, began to move again on trembling legs.

Not getting a sword through the heart was something of a surprise. I had no idea what Xu Changhuan was thinking. All I could do was climb up from the floor and keep dancing with the others.

Through the gauze, I could only see him drinking cup after cup of wine.

The dance was painful to watch. First one girl missed a step, then another twisted the wrong way.

At last it ended. But Xu Changhuan smashed his wine cup onto the floor with a crack that struck straight into my heart. With a thoroughly spineless thump, I dropped to my knees along with everyone else.

He turned to someone beside him and sneered.

“Can just anyone enter the Hall of Rapture now?”

The man he addressed sank to his knees too, trembling.

“The Lich King sent this group. I knew nothing about it, My Lord. I’ll send them back immediately.”

Xu Changhuan snorted. “Is Cui Xingfeng blind? Sending me a bunch this ugly. If his taste is that bad, he needn’t send anyone else to my hall. Spare my eyes.”

The kneeling man agreed obsequiously. The dancers and I shook in silence.

Honestly. I was shaking because I might die. What were you girls shaking for?

After venting his temper, Xu Changhuan stood and headed out. The two beauties he pushed aside hurried after him cautiously.

I kept my head down as the footsteps approached. At last, a pair of shoes stopped in front of me, and his voice sounded overhead.

“Keep this one.”