Chapter 8

Li Jiangying wasn’t a person of great ambition. Her goal in life was simply to eat, drink, and live happily. Pity the heavens didn’t oblige. First, she met with an apocalypse, and then, by a stroke of bizarre luck, she transmigrated to an even more dangerous world.

Other than adjusting her mindset and striving to advance, there was no other way.

For three days, Li Jiangying stayed by Li Yueying’s side, thinking for the entire three days. She concluded: Mountains you lean on may crumble, people you rely on may run. Ultimately, it was best to rely on oneself.

Li Jiangying decided she would become a ruthless person, unscrupulous in her means, just to stay alive.

First, she would remain in the Moon Shadow Devil Palace and seek Li Yueying’s protection, to avoid being captured and eaten. Second, during this time, she would follow along in cultivation. That way, in the future when Li Yueying discovered she wasn’t the person she was looking for, she would have the strength to escape.

Li Jiangying’s plan was wonderful, but reality—

Liang Yiman spread her hands and said innocently, “this humble one is hardly suited to be a teacher. If Miss Jiangying truly intends to cultivate… perhaps wait a couple more days. When Cui Yu returns from buying medicine, let her guide you.”

When in someone else’s domain, one must bow one’s head. Li Jiangying naturally had no problem with this.

But they waited until Li Yueying woke up, and that Devil Cultivator named Cui Yu still hadn’t returned.

Enduring the eerie sensation of a cold snake body pressing against her skin, Li Jiangying patted Li Yueying’s head and said, “I feel like the way things are now isn’t working! I can’t always rely on you to protect me. So, Yueying, teach me to cultivate.”

Li Yueying coiled around her, wagging her tail, just like a little puppy. “I will protect Jiangying!”

“Teaching me to cultivate won’t hinder you from protecting me,” Li Jiangying coaxed patiently.

But this little madwoman seemed incredibly unwilling for her to cultivate. She pretended not to hear, or promised the same things over and over, absolutely refusing to teach Li Jiangying.

After trying to communicate with someone incapable of proper communication for nearly half an hour, Li Jiangying’s lips were dry from talking. Yet Li Yueying simply buried her head into her chest: “No!”

Li Jiangying: “…”

“If you won’t teach me, fine! But you dare take advantage of me?!”

She couldn’t stand it anymore. The long-accumulated anger and resentment shot straight to her head. Reason snapped. Li Jiangying slapped the back of Li Yueying’s head and barked fiercely, “Get off!”

Startled by her, Li Yueying’s body stiffened slightly, and she flinched.

Pushing her head, Li Jiangying tried to peel her off. “If you keep this up, I’ll ignore you!”

“No!” Li Yueying hastily objected. Carefully, she slid her body down a bit and said aggrievedly, “Jiangying can’t ignore me.”

Li Jiangying was full of irritability. She sneered, “Not only will I ignore you, I’ll even fly away!”

Li Yueying: “…”

Plip, plop…

Big, fat teardrops began to surge from those wine-red eyes, like a broken string of pearls, pattering onto Li Jiangying’s body. Her pale little face lost what little color it had, looking pitifully delicate.

Li Yueying tilted her face up to look at her, her expression terrified and uneasy. Suddenly, she began to tremble violently. Right before Li Jiangying’s eyes, the snake body below the human head gradually transformed into a human body.

Only the upper half. Below her waist remained a long snake tail, refracting a cold, inky sheen under the sunlight.

“Don’t, Jiangying, don’t go!” Terrified, she threw her arms open and hugged Li Jiangying tightly, sobbing as she pleaded, “I’ll be very good. Jiangying, don’t fly away, okay? Jiangying, Jiangying!”

Held tightly, Li Jiangying’s face instantly flushed red. She was both furious and amused, struggling frantically. “Put some clothes on first!!!!”

Li Yueying: “Jiangying, wuwuwu…”

Li Jiangying desperately clawed for escape: “Put… on… clothes!!!”

In the end, Li Jiangying tore off her own outer robe and forcibly wrapped it around Li Yueying.

Expressionlessly, she looked at this little madwoman who had cried until her nose was red and her face a mess. She raised three fingers. “One: You must obey! Two: You must obey! Three: You must obey! Otherwise, I’ll ignore you, not praise you, and fly away when you’re not looking! Understood?!”

Li Yueying had already started raising the sleeve of the robe now on her body—originally Li Jiangying’s—and was sniffing it with an excited face.

Li Jiangying grabbed her shoulders and shook her wildly. “Answer me!!!”

Weak, pitiful, and helpless, Li Yueying tilted her face and rubbed against Li Jiangying’s hand. “I’ll obey Jiangying. Understood.”

“Good.” After a thousand trials and tribulations, she’d finally gotten through to her. Li Jiangying’s heart was exhausted.

Just then, the Devil Palace’s most diligent subordinate, Liang Yiman, arrived belatedly. She fixed her gaze and saw her half-human, half-snake Venerable, clothing in disarray, sitting on Li Jiangying’s lap. That woman of unknown origin had stretched out her two sinful hands, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her back and forth…

“What are you doing?!” Liang Yiman asked in shock.

Li Jiangying turned her head and upon seeing her, revealed a happy smile. “Miss Liang, perfect timing! Quick, get your Venerable a full set of clothes.”

Frowning, Liang Yiman took out the Devil Venerable’s clothes and assisted Li Jiangying in changing her.

These days, with Miss Jiangying staying by Her Highness’s side, Her Highness’s temper has gotten better and better, and she’s much easier to approach.

But—

Li Jiangying excitedly told Liang Yiman, “I’ve decided that before Cui Yu gets back, I’ll have Yueying teach me to cultivate first. What do you think?”

Dressed now, Li Yueying narrowed her eyes and yawned, then lay back in Li Jiangying’s arms. Her long, thick black snake tail swayed slowly.

Liang Yiman looked at Li Jiangying with deep concern and bluntly reminded her, “Miss Jiangying, could it be that you still haven’t noticed… you’ve already been affected by Devil Qi?”

The words struck like a splash of cold water. In an instant, Li Jiangying recalled what Liang Yiman had once said: No matter how carefully treated, anything from the Devil Domain will carry a trace of Devil Qi.

Why were Devil Cultivators mostly madmen? They were affected by Devil Qi. Li Jiangying had been living here for many days, eating and drinking things tainted by Devil Qi. Unable to cultivate, unable to expel it, the faint Devil Qi had accumulated drop by drop within her body. Now, it was already subtly influencing her.

Realizing this, Li Jiangying felt a wave of lingering fear.

Her temper had indeed been somewhat irascible lately. When she’d lashed out at Li Yueying earlier, she hadn’t considered for a moment the possibility of this little madwoman turning on her!

Taking a deep breath, Li Jiangying pressed her temples and focused her thoughts. After a moment, she felt much better. The violent urges churning in her heart, which she’d previously ignored, now became clear.

As long as she noticed it, she could control it. What was truly frightening was being affected without realizing it.

“Thank you for the warning, Miss Liang,” Li Jiangying said with solemn gratitude. “How should I deal with this?”

Liang Yiman replied, “Choose the most supreme heart method to cultivate. Constantly temper your mind, guard against the emergence of a Heart Devil, and study and train diligently… that is the approach of the Righteous Path.”

Li Jiangying very much wanted to say, I don’t mind being a Righteous cultivator.

But this was the Devil Domain, and her protectors were Devil Cultivators.

Li Jiangying asked, “May I ask how the Devil Path cultivates?”

“I know, I know.” Li Yueying, who was playing with two strands of Jiangying’s hair and tying them in knots, rushed to show off.

“How?”

Li Yueying answered in a crisp voice: “Just be happy!”

Li Jiangying: “…”

Liang Yiman covered her mouth, snickering at the side.

Finishing her answer, Li Yueying looked at Li Jiangying with sparkling eyes. “Jiangying, praise me quick.”

Li Jiangying indifferently pushed her little head aside and looked at Liang Yiman. “Please advise me, Miss Liang.”

But Liang Yiman said, “Her Highness is exactly right. We Devil Cultivators cultivate as we please, precisely to expel the Heart Devil. Miss Jiangying, do you know the difference between the Righteous Path and the Devil Path?”

“Different cultivation methods?”

“That is one.”