Is the Demon Sovereign Still Undercover in the Cultivation Sect Today? - Chapter 2

For Senior Sister Su, and for the sect that had raised me,

I decided to lurk around Lord Yinghua and eavesdrop on his thoughts whenever I could.

Once I had enough evidence, I would expose him. Report him.

So I followed him to the Sword Tomb.

At Myriad Swords Mountain, disciples who had reached Foundation Establishment were allowed to go to the Sword Tomb and claim a bonded sword.

I had just reached Foundation Establishment myself.

Lord Yinghua, on the other hand, had never managed to find his bonded sword.

The sect leader explained this by saying his talent was too great, and some other destined opportunity awaited him.

Today, however, I learned the real reason.

He looked at the thousands upon thousands of famous swords without a ripple of emotion. “All of you. Come at me together.”

The swords had spirits. Every one of them flew from its sheath.

Beneath a sky filled with swordlight, his thoughts were unwavering. “Hah. All trash.”

Sword shadows crisscrossed, humming and vibrating.

I had the distinct feeling he had beaten them to tears.

“Who’s there?”

His voice was nothing like his vicious swordplay.

I shuffled out from behind a tree.

Sure enough, I heard, “Isn’t that the little runt?”

Whatever. I was getting used to it.

I bowed to Lord Yinghua. “Greetings, Eldest Senior Brother.”

“Have you come to find a bonded sword, Junior Sister?”

Smiling, he pointed southeast. “Perhaps there’s a sword over there that would suit you.”

He looked perfectly at ease, his tone sincere, just like a good senior brother who treated his fellow disciples kindly.

I pretended to be delighted, thanked him, and hurried away.

Don’t think I didn’t notice. The swords over there had taken the worst beating.

You obviously think I’m beneath you.

Of course, I said none of this aloud.

Because a moment earlier, he had been thinking, “The Sword Tomb seems like a convenient place to dispose of a body.”

Perhaps his demonic whisperings had frightened me too badly.

I came back from the Sword Tomb empty-handed, becoming the second cultivator at Myriad Swords Mountain, after Lord Yinghua, without a bonded sword.

As for the Sword Keeper Elder’s claim that I was so untalented no sword wanted me,

I. Refused. To. Accept. It.

To avoid being alone with Lord Yinghua and ending up a conveniently disposed-of corpse,

I only showed up when other people were around.

What I hadn’t anticipated was that more people meant more rumors.

All I did was wander past a little more often while he practiced his swordplay.

How had that turned into me pining desperately for Lord Yinghua, forced to watch him practice every day because my love was unrequited?

And why hadn’t I watched him before?

Apparently, I could no longer contain my feelings.

I bore the burden every day so they could live in peace, and they spent that peace teasing me and making things up.

Even my blunder at the tournament

had become proof that I was so lovesick over Lord Yinghua I couldn’t tolerate the slightest background noise while he spoke.

Worst of all was Lord Yinghua himself.

That day, on the practice grounds, frostlight shone along his sword. His swift, sweeping movements seemed to startle the wind and moon.

He was utterly without equal.

Everyone there was entranced, myself included.

But I snapped out of it quickly, because I heard him ask, “Love really is something I can’t understand.”

It came out of nowhere, like something an adolescent boy with grandiose delusions might say.

I was about to discover what he meant.

“The runt can’t stop looking at me.

“So she really does have a secret crush on me, just as they say.

“Was that why she was rude to me? Because she’s in love with me?

“Hmm… Understandable, I suppose.

“So, should I still kill her?”

His eyes suddenly met mine.

The sky was clear and cloudless. My fellow disciples were laughing and chatting. A chill swept over me from head to toe.

I forced a smile.

I couldn’t imagine how awful it looked.

I fought the urge to turn and run.

Don’t panic. With all these people watching, he can’t do anything to you.

But his next words sent me plummeting into an abyss.

His thoughts said, “You really can hear me.”

We stared at each other from a distance. Everything seemed to pause.

The other people vanished, one by one. All sound died away.

In the blink of an eye, Lord Yinghua was standing before me.

His cool, ascetic face became uncanny and wickedly alluring,

revealing the true appearance of Huayin, the Demon Sovereign: white hair, violet eyes, and a red mole between his brows.

He chuckled and slipped an arm around my waist.

“Let’s go.”

Without any control over myself, I was drawn into his embrace, my arms winding around his waist.

Through the haze, I heard Senior Sister Su’s voice.

“Put her down!”

But I was too terrified to think, much less shed tears over our earth-shattering sisterly bond.

As I clung to Huayin’s waist, my brain had room for only one thought:

The Demon Sovereign has such a slim waist.