Why Do the Demon King and the Sword Venerable Look Alike? - Chapter 4

But one person still remembered him.

Zuo Xu, the Temple Master’s first disciple.

He was an orphan.

More than a century ago, while fleeing the Demon-Suppressing Mausoleum, a great demon casually killed his father, mother, elder sister, and younger sister.

He had only been five. His family hid him in a rice vat.

His parents blocked the door with their own bodies and bought a mere fifteen minutes.

I heard that when the demon found the three children in the rice vat, it bit his sisters to death first.

Its tongue had already reached Zuo Xu’s face

when Lan Xiao descended from the heavens, saved him, and thrust the blood-soaked child into Chu Huarong’s arms.

Then he entered the Demon-Suppressing Mausoleum alone.

He never returned. From that day on, there was no word of him.

This First Senior Brother, who was usually quiet, reserved, and always alone,

heard that Lan Xiao had returned.

It took him only a day and a half to fly here from the imperial capital on his sword.

He watched Lan Xiao from a distance without approaching.

I’d expected him to shriek, writhe, crawl madly through the shadows, and charge forward shouting,

*(flower petals)* LAN XIAO, I LOVE YOU! *(flower petals)*

I hadn’t expected him to be so calm.

First Senior Brother certainly knew how to look cool.

The Temple Master was holding a welcome banquet for Lan Xiao. First Senior Brother and I stood side by side in a corner.

“Your idol has come back alive. Want to go say hello?”

Zuo Xu ignored me.

First Senior Brother rarely spoke, but he usually answered every question put to him.

I circled around to face him and discovered that his eyes were red. His lips trembled, and his whole body shook faintly.

I patted his back. “Are you all right, First Senior Brother?”

His legs went weak, and he fainted.

I hurriedly caught him and carried him back to the dormitory.

Once I had settled him in, I prepared to return to the banquet.

Zuo Xu gently caught the hem of my robe.

“Wait. I have something to tell you.”

I was so touched. Who would have thought that the first thing First Senior Brother said after waking would concern me?

I sat on the edge of his bed.

Zuo Xu pressed a hand to his chest, seemingly still struggling to remain calm. “Your imperial elder brother refused the position of Crown Prince.”

I nodded. “Anything else?”

I’d expected Xiao Jingming to refuse the position.

He didn’t truly care about becoming Crown Prince.

He simply thought it was unfair. He worked hard and excelled too, so why hadn’t he even been given the right to compete?

While I had been made Crown Prince from the moment I was born?

After competing with me for so many years, he was bound to resent my sudden decision to abandon the fight and run away.

That brother of mine was probably trying every possible way to surpass me and inherit the position fair and square.

But that would never make me return of my own accord.

Xiao Jingming was hopelessly stubborn. I had no desire to join his rat race.

“That’s all.”

I pondered for a moment. “Then do you know what was really going on with that chicken trial I took?”

First Senior Brother had already sat up. Only then did my question remind him that I had escaped from there.

He said, “Those three never take human lives. They only enjoy toying with people. Their hides are too tough to injure, but they can’t do much harm either. They play with intruders until they’re exhausted, then give them time to catch their breath. Generally speaking, no one gets out in less than three to five months.”

Those wretched chickens!

“No wonder they resort to dirty tricks like pecking people’s asses!”

Zuo Xu froze. “Pecking asses? They’ve developed a new attack? They used to kick and slap people… I’ll inform the Demon Registry later.”

I returned to the banquet with Zuo Xu. Everyone’s attention was fixed on Lan Xiao.

First Senior Brother was rather introverted, so we sat in the farthest corner.

His gaze followed Lan Xiao constantly, but whenever Lan Xiao looked our way, he stiffly turned to stare at me instead.

How rare. I had never seen First Senior Brother look so insecure.