Chapter 28: Demon City

What was called leaving one wanting more was, more or less, exactly this.

By the time Kunlun and Chuci finally stepped outside, the hour for releasing river lanterns had long since passed. The new lanterns they’d purchased went entirely unused. Even one having been stolen now seemed utterly trivial.

The Silver Bind wound around the wrist was exquisitely clever. Kunlun had never seen such a curious little trinket before. Chuci untied it and wrapped it around Kunlun’s hand instead, then held her hand and guided them along the direction the Silver Bind indicated.

It led them through alleys and lanes—down a pitch-black, deep and stretching road.

Halfway down the path, Chuci noticed Kunlun pressing closer and closer to her. At first, she felt a swell of happiness, but gradually, she sensed something was wrong.

It didn’t feel like intimacy. It felt more like… fear.

Kunlun abruptly stopped walking. “Why can’t we use a Divination Technique?” she suggested.

“My magical power hasn’t recovered to the point where I can deduce heavenly secrets.”

“I can, though. Even if I can’t deduce the very will of heaven, if it’s just a mortal or a minor demon spirit, figuring out the bundle’s location shouldn’t be hard,” Kunlun seemed uneasy, glancing around and lowering her voice. “For some reason, I feel like something bad might happen.”

“Something bad?”

“Mm.”

“You’re afraid?”

Kunlun nodded hesitantly. “Probably, yes.”

“Either you are, or you aren’t. Why add ‘probably’?” Chuci smiled. “Don’t be afraid. You have me. Why don’t you try divining it first? See how far away it is, then we can plan. How about it?”

“Fine.”

Thus, Kunlun began to calculate. Her right thumb wove and paused between the middle and pinky fingers, her brows slowly furrowing deeper. After a long while, she opened her eyes and said, “Beneath Azure Cloud Street, in the south of Lanzhou City, there’s a Demon City underground. The bundle is there now.”

Chuci stroked her chin and made a thoughtful “Oh.”

Kunlun said with chagrin, “I knew we should’ve kept our things with us. What were we thinking, lugging bundles around like mortals?”

“It’s probably some no-account little demon who stole it. I was planning to visit that Demon City under Azure Cloud Street anyway. This way, it all works out nicely. No time like the present. Let’s go back and rest well tonight, then head to Azure Cloud Street tomorrow. Alright?” Chuci paused, tilting her head. “Hey, Kunlun. What’s with that look on your face?”

Kunlun was still fretting over this added nuisance, while Chuci looked positively eager for the trip.

“What are you going to Demon City for?”

“Why, to…” Chuci licked her lips and flashed a grin. Her amber eyes glittered with a cold light, and her canines—sharper than a human’s—flashed a wicked smile. Lowering her voice, she said, “See if there’s anything good to eat?”

The phrase “anything good to eat” rolled off her tongue as though the living demons were already a neatly arranged trail of glowing, golden inner cores.

It was rather strange. Any ordinary demon who’d consumed as many inner cores as Chuci would either have exploded from the overload or, at the very least, have become a dominant, infamous demon lord by now. Yet Chuci’s devoured cores seemed to sink into a bottomless sea. Besides making her grow a bit more and granting her a few mid-level spells, they’d done nothing.

Kunlun was horrified. “A whole city of demons won’t be weak. How could you possibly devour its ruler? Don’t be reckless.”

Chuci made a fist and rested it beneath her chin, scrutinizing Kunlun from head to toe with an inquiring gaze. She began to circle around her, letting out a little “tsk” with every rotation.

Kunlun: “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Because you’re nice to look at,” Chuci replied without a second’s hesitation.

“……”

“I’ve just realized something very interesting,” Chuci said. “As a God—a God who pities all living beings—you can actually stand by and watch me cruelly and violently devour other demons? And not just watch, you even send Meng Zhaozhong to help me. If it were any other demon, wouldn’t you have long since descended to vanquish it? Hmm? Am I right?”

“I didn’t watch,” Kunlun said.

“Hm? Didn’t watch what?”

“I didn’t watch you devour other demons. When I first met you, you were already doing so, but you told me you didn’t want me to see. So I didn’t look. Later, when your power grew so immense, you stopped doing all that extortion and plundering. So naturally, I never had the chance to witness it. Since I didn’t see it, in my heart, it’s as if it never happened.”

Chuci clamped her lips into a tight line and shot Kunlun a disgruntled look. “Can’t you just say a single pleasant thing to soothe me?”

“What counts as a pleasant thing?”

“For example…” Chuci paused. “For instance, ‘because it was you, I didn’t interfere with you devouring other demons.'”

Kunlun made a sound of understanding. In her characteristic, rigidly upright manner, she said, “Then I shall say: because it is you, I did not interfere in this matter.”

“Ahhh,” Chuci reached up to knead Kunlun’s face in frustration. “Your body is so soft. How can the words you speak be so stiff? Soften your tone a little. I’ll teach you. Say what I say.”

“Very well.”

Chuci said, with deliberate, careful enunciation: “I am very fond of you.”

Kunlun closed her eyes briefly, then looked at her and said, “I am very fond of you.”

A satisfied smile finally graced Chuci’s lips.

“So no matter what you do, I will forgive you without the slightest grudge. And if I cannot forgive you…” Chuci connected her words to the earlier context, then added, “Then I shall simply pretend I didn’t see it.”

“Actually…” Kunlun bit her lower lip slightly. “It’s not as you think. From long ago until now, I’ve never felt disgust toward you devouring other demons, nor has there ever been a question of ‘not forgiving.’ As long as what you do doesn’t cause the heavens and earth to collapse, the mountains and rivers to overturn, or the living beings to suffer in utter misery… even if you killed me, it wouldn’t count as something unforgivable.”

“Oh?” Chuci blinked.

Kunlun nodded firmly.

“And what if I did such things?”

“You would not.” Kunlun’s voice was absolute.

I have already erred gravely once. How could I ever do so a second time?

Chuci fell silent, though the corner of her mouth seemed to curve upward. A long moment later, she lowered her head, her eyelids gently shut. This only accentuated the delicate lines of her brows and the length of her lashes, radiating an ineffable gentleness and allure.

In a soft voice, Chuci said, “I love hearing you say that.”

“You so treasure everything Pangu left behind, and I so treasure you. Even if I held Pangu himself in utter contempt, I would never violate what is most sacred to you. If, in the times to come, anyone ever threatens the stability of the Three Realms, you won’t need to lift a finger. I will handle them for you.”

Kunlun’s expression dimmed. She murmured lowly, almost to herself, “It’s a pity I didn’t hear these words from you sooner.”

“It’s not too late even now,” Chuci said. “There is still much time ahead.”

Kunlun gave her a profound look. “Yes. Much time… still ahead.”

“Then shall we return to the inn for now?”

“Yes.”

The shadows of the branches crisscrossed the ground in a dappled, chessboard-like pattern. The owl in the tree let out a cackling “Ha-ha-ha” that sounded especially sinister and chilling. They were still far from the city center, and the moonlight was dim. Chuci slid her arm around Kunlun’s shoulders, practically half-carrying her in an embrace.

Kunlun said, “Actually, I did not finish speaking earlier. I don’t know any other demons. Whether they devour each other or not is even less of my concern.”

“Oh, you’re coaxing me now, are you? What about Meng Zhaozhong, then?”

A brief silence. Then, Kunlun let out a quiet “Oh,” and said, “…I forgot about him.”

“And what about that little squirrel spirit right outside our front door? Always sneaking peeks with that shifty, thieving look. Its tail isn’t even as long as my finger. What’s it plotting?”

“……”

“And that silver fir tree on the mountain! All the other trees stay quiet when you pass by. Why is he the only one chattering endlessly, tattling to you every single day? I’ll twist it crooked until it can never stand straight again.”

“……”

“……”

Chuci talked until her mouth was practically parched. “And there’s that Meng Zhaozhong! I can’t even be bothered to talk about him. And don’t you bring him up either.”

“……You were the one who just brought him up.”

“Did I? I forgot. You should forget it too.”

“……”

Chuci proceeded to enumerate every spirit, every sentient being—even the un-transformed plants, trees, rocks, and flowers—on the entire mountain who had ever harbored any “ill intentions.” By the time Kunlun lifted her head next, they were somehow already at the inn’s doorstep.

“Not scared anymore, are you?” Chuci grinned, releasing her tight hold and shaking out her arm. “I’m going to get some water. My mouth is dry.”

She emphasized firmly: “This time, it really is just thirst.”

Just as the Human Realm has cities and emperors, the Demon World has them as well. If Nuwa could mold humans from clay, who was to say Chuci hadn’t molded demons from clay too? A single breath of hers could create a human, and a single breath of demon energy could create a demon. Back in the day, Jiang Yang herself had only cultivated a human form after receiving a single breath of Chuci’s demon energy.

The Myriad Demon Grotto in the Demon World was, in a sense, analogous to the Heavenly Court of the Upper Realm. Mortals might universally praise immortals as wonderful, but not everyone who managed to become an immortal actually wished to ascend to the Upper Realm. Take Lian, for example. Not only did she have deep roots entangling her with the Demon World, but her very personality would never tolerate the strict rules and precepts of the Heavenly Realm.

But there was one major difference: the Myriad Demon Grotto was not nearly as peaceful as the Heavenly Court. For demons within, there were only two paths: eat, or be eaten. When Chuci had been present, her awe-inspiring might as Demon King quelled them all. Now? Who knew what it was like now.

In such a comparison, being an immortal was far more blissful.

Thus, even though the Heavenly Court actively suppressed the Demon World, the number of Demon Cultivators hadn’t dwindled in the slightest. Why else would anyone prefer a life of hardship, unless it was to be a carefree immortal?

Beneath Azure Cloud Street was Bright White City, a Demon City where demons, demon cultivators, devil creatures, Dao Cultivators, and even Loose Immortals mingled freely in a chaotic mix. The current City Lord was a Wolf King with twenty thousand and five hundred years of cultivation. Rumor had it the city was ruled by his clan—the entire pack of wolf demons from the northwest had congregated here.

Chuci was rather adept at making herself suitable. Her current magic couldn’t disguise her from the sharp eyes of the city’s inhabitants anymore. So, she simply restored her true appearance, letting her golden pupils and sharp, pointed beast ears show openly, and swaggered straight into Bright White City with the full bearing of a demon herself.

Kunlun, being naturally slow to these deceptions, simply let Chuci dress her up. Her original flowing, wide-sleeved green robes were swapped for short, practical attire. Her long hair was bound up and pinned with a simple yet elegant Daoist hair clasp. Chuci then found a longsword from who knows where and strapped it onto her back.

The effect was the spitting image of a Sword Cultivator. And a distinctly down-on-her-luck, impoverished one at that.

“Hahaha! Let me find a couple more things for you to carry,” Chuci, now clad in a white fur mantle, was clearly reveling in all of this. With a flourish of her hand, a washed-out, faded bundle suddenly appeared. “Put this on as well. That’ll be perfect.”