Chapter 2

Li Jiangying loosened her grip in despair. The porcelain shard hit the ground with a crisp sound.

The woman behind her entangled tighter and tighter. Li Jiangying felt she was losing her breath again. She couldn’t help but suspect whether this madwoman intended to strangle her to death.

“Jiangying, why are you ignoring me?” she cooed softly and coyly in her ear.

Unwilling to give up, Li Jiangying gritted her teeth and slammed her head backwards with a thud. A wave of blunt pain immediately surged through her, as if she had knocked against a rock.

The madwoman pressed tightly against her giggled twice, only hugging her even more closely: “Is Jiangying cold? I’ll hold you.”

“No—” Li Jiangying desperately wanted to say, “Don’t trouble yourself,” but her injured throat wouldn’t allow her to form complete words.

So, the madwoman dragged her back onto the bed, entwining all four limbs around her and pinning her down firmly.

Physiological tears slid from the corners of Li Jiangying’s eyes. Forced and helpless, she sank back into unconsciousness.

When she woke again, it was surprisingly already late morning. Li Jiangying discovered with delight that she was the only one on the bed. And not only was she alone, but the entire room was completely transformed—spotless and tidy, as if everything she had seen yesterday was an illusion!

“I… cough, cough… I’m okay?!” Li Jiangying sat up in a daze, touching her throat, then her leg. The pain was gone. Her health and vitality had returned!

Without a second thought, Li Jiangying eagerly scrambled off the bed and headed out. Since she’d regained her mobility and the madwoman wasn’t around, now was the perfect moment to run!

But who would have thought, the moment she opened the newly repaired door, a fragrant, soft arm blocked her way.

Li Jiangying was instantly startled, leaping back to put distance between them. “Who?!”

“Aiyaya, why so fierce?” It was a seductive, unfamiliar female voice. At first, hearing the beginning, Li Jiangying thought it was the madwoman guarding the door. But once she heard the full sentence, she was certain it was a different woman.

Both the tone and the timbre were completely unlike the madwoman from last night.

Not that terrifying madwoman—Li Jiangying secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but she didn’t let her guard down. Anyone who could live together with that madwoman was no ordinary person.

Li Jiangying focused her gaze and saw a beautiful woman with a powdered face and peach-blossom cheeks, adorned in gold and silver, exuding an air of luxury and grace, yet also radiating charm in every gesture.

This woman was slightly shorter than her, plump, alluring, and enchanting, a smile on her face, her upturned eyes revealing shrewdness. She fiddled with the peach blossom hairpin in her chignon and asked with apparent friendliness: “You’ve given this humble one quite a fright. Is this how Miss Li repays her life-saving benefactor?”

“Life-saving benefactor?” Li Jiangying suddenly understood. “You were the one who healed me?”

“Indeed, it was this humble one.” The woman clapped her hands, smiling as she blocked the doorway, her appraising gaze making Li Jiangying deeply uncomfortable.

Even knowing she had healed her injuries and helped her, the look of assessing an object still made Li Jiangying’s skin crawl.

“Great kindness needs no profuse thanks. When I prosper in the future, I will certainly repay you… What is your name?” Li Jiangying hadn’t relaxed her guard.

“this humble one, surname Liang, given name Yiman.”

“Miss Liang, could you please step aside?” If possible, Li Jiangying absolutely didn’t want to come to blows with anyone here.

“And what if I won’t?” Liang Yiman tilted her head, looking at her.

Li Jiangying thought for a moment, then pulled the door shut behind her. Turning around, she headed back into the room, making her way to the window.

Ridiculous. When God closes a door, can’t I just open a window myself?

Li Jiangying opened the window, revealing Liang Yiman’s smiling face, complete with rouge.

Li Jiangying took a deep breath, pressing her temples. She counseled herself: “Calm down. This world is dangerous. Who knows if they can squash you with just one finger!”

“Miss Liang.” Li Jiangying forced herself to calm down. “Let’s be frank. What is your relationship with that woman from last night? Why must you keep me here?”

Hearing her probe so directly, a flicker of appreciation crossed Liang Yiman’s eyes. She clapped her hands and said, “Aiya, that’s a long story. Presumably Miss Li doesn’t want to hear this humble one ramble endlessly. Then this humble one will speak simply.”

What she said was simple, but the amount of information was immense, delivering a powerful blow to Li Jiangying’s future plans.

According to Liang Yiman, this place was a Devil Palace named Moon Shadow within the Devil Domain. She was a subordinate of the palace. And the madwoman who had kidnapped Li Jiangying yesterday was, naturally, the Lord of the Devil Palace, honorifically addressed as Devil Venerable.

She had a very beautiful name: Li Yueying.

Li Jiangying’s expression was miserable as she unconsciously stumbled backward into a chair.

“I don’t believe it. A Devil Palace is so run-down? The living standards in your Devil Domain seem a bit… bleak.”

A trace of embarrassment flickered across Liang Yiman’s face, but she quickly cleared her throat, folded her arms, and snorted: “Well, it’s not something I can’t tell you. I just fear you might scare yourself to death hearing it!”

“Is there some unspeakable secret?” Li Jiangying probed.

“Nothing unspeakable. The entire Devil Domain knows most of it already,” Liang Yiman said wistfully.

It all stemmed from Li Yueying herself. Li Yueying was a madwoman. That wasn’t so remarkable; in the Devil Domain, among those who cultivate the devil path, more than half were insane. The rest were all struggling back and forth between sanity and madness.

What was remarkable was her combat prowess. And precisely because she was so powerful, the title of Devil Venerable had remained on her head.

As far as Liang Yiman knew, Li Yueying had been this Devil Venerable for several thousand years already. Back then, there was only one Devil Venerable in the Devil Domain—Li Yueying.

At that time, her madness hadn’t been so severe, and the Moon Shadow Devil Palace already existed. But later, she grew madder and madder, her mind often like a child. Gradually, her followers all left her.

And a Devil Venerable utterly devoid of sanity, possessing only power, could not control the entire Devil Domain. Later, other Devil Cultivators vied with each other. Factions, large and small, rose up within the Devil Domain, until today. The Devil Domain now has in total…

“Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen Devil Venerables. If one day you leave, I advise you not to wander around carelessly, lest you be skinned and eaten.” Liang Yiman shrugged. “Other territories have been claimed; only this patch of land is still somewhat quiet. Do you know why?”

“Why?” Li Jiangying sincerely sought the answer.

Liang Yiman deliberately smiled wickedly: “Naturally, it’s because… Her Highness, when she goes mad, can’t distinguish friend from foe. Most of this palace was destroyed by her.”

She pulled out a handkerchief from somewhere and pitifully dabbed the corner of her eye: “Poor this humble one, every time she painstakingly tidies up, Her Highness ruins it again within two days.”

So that was why. Being able to stay here under these circumstances—truly a remarkable person. Li Jiangying couldn’t help but look at her with a respectful gaze.

Although Liang Yiman told her all this probably knowing Li Yueying’s madness was impossible to hide and with some intention of intimidating Li Jiangying, Li Jiangying was still grateful to her.

Whether it was the healing or the information provided in their conversation, Liang Yiman had indeed contributed to improving Li Jiangying’s survival rate.

Putting her hands behind her back, Li Jiangying nervously clenched her fists: “That said, I admit I don’t know you or the Devil Venerable. Why must you two insist on keeping me here?”

Liang Yiman slowly put away her handkerchief, a cold glint entering her eyes: “Li Jiangying!”

“Huh?” Li Jiangying responded instinctively.

She saw Liang Yiman smile: “See, that is the reason Her Highness wants you here. this humble one actually doesn’t care either way. But it’s just that since Her Highness wants you, then we can only ask Miss Li to stay.”

Li Jiangying said bitterly: “But I’m not Li Jiangying.”

“Then who are you?”

“I don’t remember my own name.” Li Jiangying said, “I don’t know who Li Jiangying is, but I am not her!”

“Does that matter? I thought you’d have some understanding of your own identity.” Liang Yiman chuckled lightly, twisting her waist. “But it seems you don’t know the half of your own situation. Miss Li, I don’t know where you came from. Judging by your attire, I would believe you even if you said you came from another world entirely.”

Li Jiangying said in pleasant surprise: “Yes, yes, I really did come from another world.”

“That’s not important.” Liang Yiman was extremely indifferent. “There’s a rumor in the Devil Domain about Her Highness. Legend has it—”

“Jiangying!”

Thud!

Liang Yiman, standing outside the window talking to Li Jiangying, suddenly seemed to have a blur effect applied to her. Her entire silhouette smeared into a blob as she went flying. It took Li Jiangying a few seconds to hear the dull thud of a body hitting the ground.

Accompanied by an enthusiastic and lively call, a woman suddenly replaced Liang Yiman, blocking the window.

She was a woman so beautiful it was stunning. Her long, smooth black hair cascaded down; she wore no jewelry or accessories. Crow-feather dark hair, snow-white skin, ink-black brows, ruby-red lips—the white so white, the black so black, the red so red, creating an intensely stark contrast. This gave her whole being an air of vivid, demonic charm, leaving an indelible impression on the viewer’s mind.

She also had a pair of dark red eyes, like aged, mellow red wine, flowing with a honeyed, intoxicating gleam. Stare too long, and it felt like you might become drunk within them.

Li Jiangying froze. She raised a trembling hand and knocked on her own skull. “You couldn’t be…?”

The shape of the eyes, the voice… No, no, it must just be a resemblance. Hahaha, the filthy, deranged madwoman from last night and the person before her, besides gender and long hair, didn’t look alike at all!

“It’s me.” The woman blocking the window responded sweetly and cloyingly. “Jiangying, it’s Yueying.”

Li Jiangying said bitterly: “You came back really quickly.”

Li Yueying stuck out the tip of her tongue and licked her vivid red lips. When she opened her mouth, Li Jiangying saw two pairs of terrifyingly sharp fangs.

If she were bitten by those, her palm would likely be pierced right through.

Just as Liang Yiman had said, Li Yueying was a delirious madwoman. As if playing some fun game, she suddenly reached into the room, stretching her arm out to grab Li Jiangying.

At a glance, Li Jiangying saw the blackish-red unknown filth on her hands. The mountain of corpses and sea of blood that had so utterly shaken her upon first arriving yesterday resurfaced in her mind.

Li Jiangying turned and ran.

Li Yueying giggled madly, flipped through the window at lightning speed, and pounced on Li Jiangying.

Bang!

Really, so, heavy. And, it, hurts, so, much.

Li Jiangying hissed in a breath of cold air, not daring to speak. She was pressed until black spots danced before her eyes and the bridge of her nose ached. She smelled a thick, metallic reek of blood.

At the same time, a bizarre tactile sensation came from her face—the sticky feeling of viscous liquid (probably blood) coexisting with a sensation of smoothness, softness, and fluffiness.

Li Jiangying opened her eyes and met the deep, loving gaze of a bloody, dead, oversized chicken head, its eyes wide open even in death.

Li Yueying held Li Jiangying with one hand and gripped the neck of this dead chicken—as big as a pig—with the other. Excitedly, like a little puppy, she shook the chicken head vigorously, claiming credit: “Jiangying, look! Food!”

Li Jiangying was so moved that hot tears filled her eyes. Struggling to crawl away, she said: “Thanks, but I’m actually not very hungry.”

“How can that be?” Li Yueying froze, clutching the chicken. A few drops of blood had accidentally splattered onto her beautiful face. Despite this utterly ferocious scene, her expression was blank and innocent, like a child’s.

Li Yueying mumbled: “But she said you needed to eat… She lied to me, she lied to me, she lied to me…”

Li Yueying suddenly let go of Li Jiangying, got up off her, and walked out, clutching the chicken, in a daze.

The heavy pressure abruptly vanished. Li Jiangying took a deep breath, recovering considerably. But seeing Li Yueying in such a state, an inexplicable unease arose in her.

“Where are you going?” Li Jiangying asked instinctively.

“Ah.” Li Yueying heard her voice, turned back, and gave a honey-sweet smile. “She lied to me. She used Jiangying to lie to me. How could she do that? Jiangying would be unhappy. I’m going to kill her.”

Li Jiangying lunged forward, grabbing Li Yueying’s arm. Sincerely, she said: “I’ve thought about it carefully. Actually, I’m pretty hungry.”