Chapter 72: Bumping Heads: Be Gentle! Part 1

The situation at Half-Mountain Spirit Garden was worse than imagined. The neighborhood was filled with half-demons who had lost control due to demon poison. Although the toxin wasn’t too deep and there was still a chance for treatment, Ye Tan—the General Bureau’s most skilled demon bone physician—refused to act. She even blocked Ye Xi from intervening, and the half-demons’ conditions deteriorated rapidly.

The demons Shen Minghuan had brought temporarily restrained the half-demons’ movements, but without prompt treatment, they would surely rampage again.

Demon poison could stimulate desires and unleash potential, burning through one’s life foundation ahead of time to gain power. Even a great demon of Shen Minghuan’s caliber worried that the half-demons of Half-Mountain Spirit Garden might all lose control. “Ye Tan, if you’re really not going to save them, I’ll kill them all right now.”

Ye Xi didn’t doubt that Shen Minghuan could follow through. The demon poison had spread primarily outside Building Eight—those afflicted half-demons weren’t her clanspeople.

She was merciful to her own but showed no mercy to outsiders.

Ye Tan remained unmoved. “No saving.”

“Fine!”

Shen Minghuan wasted no more words and immediately prepared to order her demons into action. Ni Yueying blocked her. “Leader Shen, not all residents of Half-Mountain Spirit Garden are under your jurisdiction. You have no authority to deal with them. I’ve already notified the clan leaders and the General Bureau’s other physicians.”

“What a hassle.” Shen Minghuan sighed sincerely and retreated to Shen Mingjin’s side.

Ye Xi also found the General Bureau’s procedures overly cumbersome. The human world consisted of ordinary beings without special abilities, posing little individual threat. Comprehensive laws and regulations ensured equality for most lives. But those rigid rules didn’t suit the demon world.

Overly rigid doctrines meant investigations and trials dragged on forever. Demons weren’t humans—they had countless ways to erase evidence.

A little time was all they needed to make evidence vanish.

That was why no proof could be found for the Ye Clan’s massacre. Ni Yueying and the two clans’ first-generation leaders had established these rules with good intentions, aiming for absolute fairness between demons and humans. But the residents here—both human and demon—weren’t exactly saints. The exhaustive processes only gave them more room to maneuver.

Of course, Ye Xi understood why Ni Yueying clung to the rules now. As one of the system’s architects, she couldn’t recklessly shatter established protocols amid chaos, pushing the Eleven Clans and the General Bureau into deeper turmoil. Moreover, ever since that great melee a millennium ago, most demons carried latent hidden poison in their bodies.

Some had discovered theirs, some hadn’t. The depths varied, as did the symptoms. For most with shallow poisoning, there was little difference from ordinary demons.

But residual poison differed from freshly injected demon poison. The culprits had likely harvested it from great demons with confirmed, severe cases—possibly even refined it. Such potent demon poison was highly invasive and deadly, with slim survival odds.

Not every demon was like Ni Yueying, who carried such deep poison yet lived normally.

The wait dragged on endlessly, especially with everyone harboring their own anxieties. Silence amplified the tension.

Ye Tan couldn’t outstubborn Ye Xi and stayed behind, awaiting the Moon Perch Clan’s leader.

Demons’ blood-bound kin could be located through blood. Once the Moon Perch Clan’s leader arrived, Ye Xi could find You Nian via their shared blood.

Ye Tan had compromised with Ye Xi, but she stuck to her like glue—neither letting Ye Xi treat the demons nor approach Shen Mingjin. Her attitude toward Ni Yueying was downright hostile.

Ni Yueying didn’t push. She understood most of Ye Tan’s emotions and offered maximum tolerance—that was her strength. Her flaw was understanding and tolerating too many people.

She loved Ye Tan deeply.

The problem was, she loved many others too.

Even if lovers and children differed, Ni Yueying had too many children.

The “substitute” misunderstanding had cleared up for Ye Tan long ago. She knew she wasn’t a stand-in anymore. Yet she and Ni Yueying could never grow closer.

She couldn’t sync with Ni Yueying’s rhythms or extend the same tolerance to others. That was their greatest rift.

The Shen sisters hadn’t left either. Shen Mingjin wouldn’t rest easy until she saw You Nian.

Si Ruoling stayed by Shen Mingjin’s side, steadily reinforcing her seal. This eased Ye Xi’s mind a bit.

Shen Mingjin’s condition was too unique. Ye Xi feared her desires might burst her body apart. Her repeated urges to get close were to check on her, but Ye Tan seemed to utterly despise demons now, desperate to sever Ye Xi from them all.

Ye Tan’s threat to kill the Shen sisters hadn’t been a joke. Ye Xi had barely quelled her killing intent—further provocation was off-limits.

Ye Xi felt like she’d endured a long, absurd game. After overcoming obstacles to reach the peak and grasp her lover’s hand, envisioning sweet days ahead, her beloved suddenly became a blood-feud enemy.

She couldn’t fathom why her wife had turned into her arch-nemesis or why a selfish demon like Shen Shuyun existed!

Silence was the perfect time for observation. While Ye Xi secretly watched Shen Mingjin’s state, someone watched her too.

Not Shen Mingjin, of course.

Shen Mingjin had long lost the courage to face Ye Xi or this relationship—not from waning love, but from guilt crushed under the weight of her affections.

She could no longer say “I love you” without “I’m sorry” drowning it out.

The deeper the love, the greater the pain—and the stronger the urge to avoid.

It was Shen Minghuan who seriously observed Ye Xi, more precisely warning her with glares not to become a heartbreaker.

Shen Minghuan’s eyeballs turned sluggishly, her scarlet vertical pupils gleaming with danger. The warning was unmistakable.

Ye Xi knew that without Si Ruoling and Shen Mingjin holding Shen Minghuan back, she would’ve clashed with Ye Tan already.

Shen Minghuan lacked lofty morals or guilt. Even if Shen Shuyun had helped her once or was blood kin, she could sever ties without hesitation.

She didn’t care much for Shen Shuyun, just as Shen Shuyun hadn’t cared for them.

The Spirit-Devouring Snake Clan felt emotions intensely but finitely. Shen Mingjin and Si Ruoling filled Shen Minghuan’s capacity—Shen Shuyun had never made the cut. Her closeness to Shen Shuyun had been purely transactional.

A “auntie” got her leadership aid and sisterly harmony. Why not milk it?

By contrast, Si Ruoling felt deeper for Shen Shuyun. Ye Xi noticed her occasional glances at the corpse, pity flickering in her eyes.

Ye Xi wasn’t sure what kind of snake Si Ruoling was, but from her actions since arriving, she matched Shen Mingjin’s description: gentle, kind, beautiful, and far more emotionally intelligent than Shen Minghuan.

Si Ruoling wouldn’t pour oil on the fire or provoke Ye Tan. Nor would her feelings for Shen Shuyun make her forget her stance.

Yet her body seemed off—she’d occasionally press her heart, especially when Shen Minghuan spoke recklessly.

As if angered.

Back at Wanghe Village, Shen Minghuan had mentioned Si Ruoling’s fragility to stress. Was that real?

Ye Xi couldn’t stop observing. Only by scrutinizing Shen Mingjin’s circle could she predict her future.

She wouldn’t let go of Shen Mingjin, but Shen Mingjin seemed ready to release her.

Convincing Ye Tan and Shen Mingjin would take time. Ye Xi doubted Shen Mingjin would stay at Half-Mountain Spirit Garden now. Home was her likeliest destination.

Ye Xi had overheard it: Shen Mingjin, usually cold and using Shen Minghuan’s full name, had softened noticeably—a sign of impending return.

She had left Shen Mingjin homeless, forcing her back to the home she’d fled.

She was the sinner.

Ye Xi couldn’t blame Ye Tan for hating demons. Deep down, Ye Tan wanted her away from them out of love and protection.

Nor could she fault Shen Mingjin for letting go. She could guess her thoughts. In the end, she could only blame her own powerlessness.

—

Demons were selfish and callous by nature, but with a new clan leader election looming, the clan leaders arrived swiftly.

The fastest was Yin Xietong, leader of Building One’s Star Droop Clan. Sole heir to her clan’s first-generation leader, her ascension hadn’t been as smooth as You Xishan’s, nor her votes as high as Shen Minghuan’s. Her uniqueness lay in her demon body.

Yin Xietong’s true form was a glazed lamp. She arrived stepping through moonlight on rainbow trails—impossible to miss.

Right behind her came Building Two’s Night Whisper Clan leader. Their clan consisted mainly of nocturnal animals. The half-demon residents fared decently, but pure demons showed it starkly, arriving more spirited than others in the night.

Their leader was a nightingale, far from Ye Xi’s expectations.

Lacking other leaders’ gravitas—and even less tact than Shen Minghuan—she didn’t steer clear of the wretched Ye Tan. Instead, she approached first, earnestly asking if Ye Tan wanted to hear her new song.

Her intentions were pure, aiming to soothe, but proximity to Ye Tan now guaranteed poor treatment. Without Ni Yueying’s intervention, she might’ve gotten slapped.

Building Three’s Phlox Clan leader was far savvier, avoiding self-inflicted embarrassment. She methodically directed subordinates to tend the wounded.

Their demons were mostly vegetable and fruit spirits; their leader, a water honey peach. Since her arrival, the bloody stench faded, gradually overtaken by fruity sweetness.

Building Four’s Desolate Word Clan sent the fewest—mirroring their sparse numbers. But their strength was formidable. Desolate Word demons were old artifacts turned spirits, their demon bodies wielding potent spiritual power alongside demon power.

Their leader was a white jade pipa spirit. Not the strongest, but her position was secure.

Ni Yueying explained it was because most Desolate Word demons were too ancient and apathetic for power struggles—rich in resources and power, mostly spiritual artifacts unable to bear life, thus without heirs. They needed little from a leader’s ambition.

Elections were more like choosing a family elder: anyone responsible sufficed.

Building Seven’s Hundred Condensation Clan was similar. Their demons formed from heaven-earth spiritual qi—like morning dew spirits, moon-white spirits, stone spirits. Harsh formation conditions, weak vitality, and prior internal strife had thinned their numbers below even Desolate Word Clan’s.

Both clans had scant demons in Half-Mountain Spirit Garden—under two dozen each.

The rest were populous, like Building Six’s Flower Mist Clan.

Composed mainly of flowers, their leader was a pink-and-white peony. Perhaps due to her exquisite form, she was the only leader arriving in her floral state. Her presence further diluted the blood scent.

Building Ten’s Crane Slumber Clan leader outshone her in flamboyance: a flower peacock, arriving in demon form with tail fanned wide.

Besides these unfamiliar clans, there were the more familiar ones.

Moon Perch Clan from Building Five (You Nian’s clan), Embracing Snow Clan from Building Eight (Shen Mingjin’s), and Qingdu Clan where Yin Erou resided.