The Demon Lord and I: Frenemies - Chapter 21

Chu Zaishuang was driven out of the room by Fei Wanghuai. Considering the patient’s mood, she didn’t go back in to further infuriate him.

Xiao Shi was puzzled: [Haven’t we kept watch for several days? Is it really fine to leave now?]

“Since he’s awake, it’s nothing serious,” Chu Zaishuang replied. “Besides, I want to go somewhere.”

[Where to?]

“Library Pavilion.”

The Library Pavilion was located at the main peak of Lotus Peak Mountain. It housed not only cultivation classics, but also all sorts of obscure miscellaneous books. As a child, she loved wandering inside, rarely reading scrolls about cultivation, instead picking out strange books that recorded rare beasts and local customs, flipping through their flamboyant illustrations.

Later, she preferred going to Mortal Dust Marsh and visited the Library Pavilion less often, but now she wanted to look something up.

Inside the room, Fei Wanghuai heard the footsteps outside gradually fade away and finally relaxed his taut nerves, preparing to find a chance to report his safety. He had slept for several days straight; Bone Elder was probably worried sick. Fortunately, his cultivation had broken through during this time, a blessing in disguise.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a small table by the bedside, holding an empty bowl stained with medicine and a small dish of preserved fruit, with one orange-yellow piece left. On the small chair at the foot of the bed lay a thin quilt, and a chess manual rolled up carelessly, likely only half-read.

Everything was quite complete; it seemed she had kept watch for a long time while he was unconscious.

Fei Wanghuai picked up the last piece of preserved fruit and popped it into his mouth, immediately furrowing his brows and clicking his tongue softly.

So sweet.

It was the childish flavor she liked.

*

On the cliff, the Spirit Heart Flower sea spread out, but the rocks at the edge looked as if sliced open by some invisible force.

Su Tingyun had just finished patrolling the small town and found this wild field rich in spiritual energy. He was about to step forward, but before his left foot landed, he heard someone call out behind him.

“Wait, don’t step there! How wasteful to crush the flower stamens!”

Turning around, he saw a hunched figure in a hooded robe, a green vine gourd hanging at his waist, wobbling and stumbling as he hurried over. His voice was hoarse, sounding like an old man.

“Medicine Elder, the whole place is covered in flowers. I have to get across,” Su Tingyun said, recognizing the newcomer. He set his left foot down and sighed, “There’s really no other way.”

The hunched cultivator was none other than Lotus Flower Sect’s Medicine Elder, named Yao Wensheng. He always walked with a bent back. When he reached Su Tingyun, he took off the hood of his Elder’s robe, revealing a delicate face, though deathly pale as if he hadn’t seen sunlight in ages.

“How could there be no path?” Yao Wensheng looked young, but when he spoke, his voice was still that of an old man. “Use Cloud Step to fly over.”

Su Tingyun raised an eyebrow: “I’m the dignified Vice Sect Leader of Lotus Flower Sect. If you tell me to fly, I have to fly?”

Yao Wensheng: “You know it yourself, you’re the Vice Sect Leader.” The implication being, the vice is useless.

“Impudent.”

“What? You want to complain to the Sect Leader? Really going to eat soft rice with a hard mouth?”

“…”

Su Tingyun, resentful, used Cloud Step to reach the edge of the cliff. Though the world praised him as a Nine Leaves master, he was always bullied by those familiar with him.

Yao Wensheng pulled off the gourd at his waist and tossed it into the air, then stepped onto the floating artifact, gliding over the sea of flowers.

The two landed and steadied themselves, looking ahead. Below the cliff was a deep ravine, faint traces of a fierce battle lingering, though so much time had passed that they were nearly gone.

Yao Wensheng said, “I didn’t expect there to be cultivators in a place like this.”

“Probably outsiders. Shuang’er picked up a Ringing Bell Ring, which must have flowed out from this shattered Minor Paradise,” Su Tingyun said, gripping the Tingyun Luoyue Token. He pressed somewhere on it, and a point of violet light appeared, blurring the scenery around them. “Let’s see who was responsible.”

The outlines of the rocks and ravine grew hazy, fallen stones floated back up the cliff, and the green wild grass at their feet burrowed back into the earth. Time reversed, everything returned to its former state.

This was the Mirror of Retrospection Technique, a spell only some high-level cultivators could master, allowing them to revisit scenes from the past.

In the sea of flowers, two young girls were picking blossoms, dressed in Cloud Water Robes of Lotus Flower Sect. They were Chu Zaishuang and Su Hongli, organizing their storage bags and checking the results of their journey.

Yao Wensheng’s eyes lit up, his gloomy aura swept away as he straightened his back and boasted, “Aren’t those my future star disciples? I must introduce them to you! Hongli is the most gifted Alchemist I’ve ever seen, just like me in my youth!”

“Then let’s hope the young lady doesn’t end up with a hunchback and takes good care of her voice,” Su Tingyun replied. “Looks like we need to rewind further.”

He turned the token, continuing the retrospection.

This time, a white-robed male cultivator was being chased by several people, finally struck down by a spell and falling right here. The killers wore black robes, their faces hidden. After the white-robed cultivator died, they waited for the Minor Paradise to appear, then forcibly destroyed it with a formation, flames shooting skyward for a moment.
“This history is ancient-at least a hundred years old. I doubt any ordinary folk in town know of it,” Su Tingyun gazed at the Mirror of Retrospection Technique, calculating the exact date. “If the spiritual energy here weren’t so pure, the Mirror of Retrospection Technique probably wouldn’t be able to trace anything.”

The Mirror of Retrospection Technique mainly works by tracking spiritual energy. In some places, the energy is too mixed for the scene to be successfully recalled.

“Is that the Cloud Water Robe he’s wearing?” Yao Wensheng, after seeing the white-robed male cultivator clearly, exclaimed, “Is that Li Qin?”

“You know him?”

“Li Qin was once my most promising disciple, but he had different ideas from me about making Elixirs. One day, he suddenly disappeared from the sect.” Yao Wensheng frowned. “I thought he was just throwing a tantrum, or perhaps went to look for spiritual herbs. Who would have thought he would never return?”

Some disciples, after finishing their studies, would leave Lotus Peak Mountain to find places of their own for cultivation. Since they couldn’t become Elders of the sect and no longer needed the sect’s resources, their relationship with the Lotus Flower Sect gradually faded-some even went on to establish their own sects.

Su Tingyun and Chu Chenyue had always left such matters alone. Those who were meant to stay would stay; forcing people with different ideals together would only be another kind of torment-better to part on good terms. The Qionglian Twelve Islands were the same: each island in harmony, yet each with its own uniqueness.

“He’s still wearing the sect uniform. Did he have enemies-was he being hunted?” Su Tingyun said. “For these people to dare lay hands on someone in a Cloud Water Robe, they’re truly bold-these aren’t ordinary cultivators.”

Li Qin still wore his sect uniform, so clearly he hadn’t founded his own sect and must have intended to return to the Lotus Flower Sect.

“I’m not sure. All I know is that at the time, he was researching Elixirs to enhance cultivation. I didn’t approve of the recipe, and we had a big argument. That very day, he disappeared.” Yao Wensheng stared at the recalled scene, sighing. “But the Alchemists of Thousand-Gold Peak often argue over recipes. Similar things have happened before, so I didn’t take it to heart. Who would have expected him to lose his life over this?”

“You Alchemists argue that much? Is that why your voice is hoarse?”

“That’s simply because I took the wrong medicine.”

“…I thought as much.”

The two stood at the edge of the cliff, watching the Mirror of Retrospection Technique over and over, trying to find more clues. From time to time, they caught sight of Chu Zaishuang and Su Hongli.

“By the way, how is Shuang’er’s Soul Separation Syndrome?” Yao Wensheng suddenly asked. “Given her age, she should be apprenticed and cultivating by now. She can’t just keep muddling through.”

Yao Wensheng had once treated Chu Zaishuang, and they had spent some time together then.

“She’s the same as ever. She says she has a friend named Xiao Shi who is always in her Sea of Consciousness, talking with her.”

Yao Wensheng pondered, “Most cultivators with Soul Separation Syndrome are mad or dull-witted. Rarely are they as quick and eloquent as she is. If you ask me, she isn’t really sick-she wants to be, splitting her soul in two. Did anything happen before she fell ill?”

Su Tingyun shook his head. “It was just that Xiao’er used to take her everywhere. Xiao’er still blames herself because of it. We asked her later, but she doesn’t remember.”

When Chu Zaishuang became ill, she had a high fever and forgot many things after waking up, and ever since then, she’s had Soul Separation Syndrome.

“Is it just going to go on like this?”

“I discussed it with Chenyue. Maybe letting things take their natural course is for the best,” Su Tingyun said softly. “Shuang’er is usually a little flighty, but she’s a smart child. Whatever Xiao Shi is, we’ll believe what she says. Whether she’s innocent or being mysterious, does it really matter?”

“You’ve said before that to cure Soul Separation Syndrome, she has to fuse her own soul. If she doesn’t want to do that right now, then let her live like this. If she changes her mind one day, she’ll recover naturally. It’s all her own choice.”

Yao Wensheng sighed. “You two really are open-minded-leaving everything to fate.”

“We did bring her into this world, but cultivation is her own path. It’s not just about improving cultivation, but also about the Dao Heart. We can’t live her life for her.” Thinking of his daughter’s words, Su Tingyun smiled. “Xiao Shi, little matters-they really are all little things.”

*

Under the tree, Chu Zaishuang brought over a basketful of ancient books from the Library Pavilion and delved into her research, looking for useful information. As she read, she sorted the books, giving each a quick skim before tossing it back into the bamboo basket, leaving only the unread ones on the rock beside her.

Xiao Shi asked curiously, “Why did you bring so many Spirit Beast Books? What exactly are you looking for?”

“My father won’t tell me, and I can’t ask directly, so I have to look it up myself.” She flipped through the pages with a rustle, skimming ten lines at a glance, and sighed, “Just like Father said, there’s so little written about the Mei (Mei, ‘Charm Clan’).”

That Fei Wanghuai actually had Mei blood was a real surprise to her. But it would be rude to ask outright, and there was nothing she could find in the books.
[Mei is not a Spirit Beast born on the Qionglian Twelve Islands. Looking through these books won’t help; you should check elsewhere.]

“Makes sense.” Chu Zaishuang tossed the local Spirit Beast Book into the basket and began searching for other volumes.

Besides the Qionglian Twelve Islands, there were two other renowned factions in the immortal realm: one was Luoqiang Valley, and the other was Four-Symbols Jiuzhou. Both were quite far from the Qionglian Twelve Islands; sword-riding travel was impossible, and only special arrays could teleport one there.

Chu Zaishuang had never left the Qionglian Twelve Islands. Many cultivators were like her, only active in familiar places. If not for her fondness for reading miscellaneous books, she might never have known how vast the world was beyond the Twelve Islands, nor of the many unheard-of exotic beasts and spirit herbs.

She finally found Mei in a Spirit Beast Book from Four-Symbols Jiuzhou. Even so, the records were scant-just a few lines, barely saying anything.

According to the book, Mei excelled at illusions and beguiling the heart, dwelling in deep, secluded rivers. They generally possessed profound cultivation and could even use divine sense to send dreams. Most appeared in human form and were not regarded as ordinary Spirit Beasts; instead, the locals revered them as deities, with mortals occasionally offering sacrifices.

Of course, many cultivators scoffed at this, insisting that Mei were still Spirit Beasts, feeding on souls under the moonlight, and unworthy of mortal worship.

Chu Zaishuang read the earlier passages without issue, but when she reached this line, she suddenly stopped: “?”

She was baffled: “What does this sentence mean?”

[Just what it says.] Xiao Shi replied lazily. [Spirit Beasts have fixed breeding seasons. Even Mei are no exception. Unlike cultivators, they breed year-round.]

“???”

Chu Zaishuang, flustered, tossed the book back into the basket, suddenly realizing she shouldn’t keep reading. If she developed strange notions from this, it might be hard to interact with him in the future-something just felt off. She stealthily hid the book, covered the bamboo basket, and pushed the Spirit Beast Books to the other side.

[Done searching already?] Xiao Shi reminded her. [There are still plenty of books left on the stone.]

“Those weren’t compiled by cultivators-they’re idle tales made up by ordinary people. No idea who mixed them in; it’s better to keep them separate.”

Only the cultivation manuals in the Library Pavilion were neatly organized; the rest were rather chaotic, with useless books mixed in from time to time. With years of experience reading miscellaneous books, she could tell at a glance these weren’t reliable and likely far from the truth about real Spirit Beasts.

[Still, take a look. You never know-there are so few books about Mei, and you’ve borrowed them all anyway.]

“Alright, I’ll flip through them.”

Egged on by Xiao Shi, Chu Zaishuang began leafing through them casually, expecting only storybook tales. Who would have thought the contents were far more outrageous than she imagined? Soon, her cheeks flushed red in shock, and she snapped the book shut, tossing it aside as if scalded by fire.

The story actually described how Mei fed on souls, painting the scene vividly and with scandalous detail!

No matter how she looked at it, this book had no place in the Library Pavilion. Which Lotus Flower Sect disciple was responsible for this!?

She never expected, after years in the Library Pavilion, to stumble so badly. Xiao Shi, on the other hand, was suddenly excited, begging her to pick the book back up.

[Let me see, let me see! What book in this world could possibly be off-limits to me?]

She retorted in embarrassment, “You’re not even human-why do you want to read this?”

[There aren’t only humans in this story!]

“…”

Chu Zaishuang quickly stacked the scandalous stories together, planning to return them directly to the Library Pavilion, not daring to keep them in her possession for long. If anyone found out, she’d never be able to clear her name.

But perhaps, the more anxious the moment, the worse the luck. The person she least wanted to see appeared.

“Are you secretly cultivating?”

A familiar male voice sounded behind her, the tone gentle but with a hidden chill.

Chu Zaishuang’s alarm bells rang instantly. She knew few people came here, and when she turned around, it was indeed the last person she wanted to encounter.

He wore a wide, pure white outer robe, with the silk bandages of his inner garments faintly visible. He was smiling at her, and for once, not impeccably dressed-he truly had a bit of the seductive, soul-stealing air of those scandalous stories.