Chapter 25

It was no secret among the noble families in Xiandu Yujing that Liuyu disliked sitting upright with a formal posture.

Although high chairs and stools were now available, among the noble families and the imperial clan, the etiquette still required sitting on the floor with a formal posture for meals, lectures, and carriage rides to demonstrate full propriety.

Tan Ning was a faithful adherent to this set of rituals.

Liuyu often suspected that even if the sky were to fall, Tan Ning would first assume this sitting posture before perishing.

When Liuyu was younger, she had to learn these rituals, but at the age of thirteen, the Yinshan family rose from a newly established branch within the noble clans to a position where it could rival top families like the Xiangli clan. Additionally, at thirteen, Liuyu was admitted to the Lingyong Academy.

With the dual honors of her family’s status and her own talent, Liuyu no longer needed to embellish herself with any worldly noble etiquette.

Previously, each lecture at Lingyong Academy required kneeling for an hour. With a wave of her hand, Liuyu had the entire academy fitted with new seating so everyone could sit comfortably during lectures.

When invited to someone’s residence for a discussion, upon seeing that she would have to sit on the floor for five or six hours, Liuyu would turn around and leave.

Eventually, anyone who wished to invite her over had to prepare a special seat for her, to allow the young lady to stay a while longer.

Long ago, Mo Lin had also seen her from afar, reclining on a low couch under a magnolia tree, taking a nap.

Those noble young men who observed her from a distance wrote many extravagant praises like “green clouds slightly askew, fragrant cheeks like snow” and “fearing the flowers would sleep deeply at night.”

He couldn’t write such flowery words.

At that time, watching her through the shadows of the flowers, he merely thought that sleeping like that couldn’t be very comfortable.

Later, when he learned that she was willing to marry into the Nine Underworlds and come to his side, the first thing Mo Lin thought of was to make her a comfortable recliner.

There weren’t many craftsmen who could make recliners, and even those who could typically made them to fit men’s sizes.

Her figure was slender and tall for a woman, but not to the extent of a man’s build.

Mo Lin didn’t know her exact measurements, so he had to rely on his memory to sketch her long neck, delicate waist, the slender yet strong arm she used to wield a sword, and the curve of her knees and ankles hidden beneath her skirt.

He had never done such meticulous craftsmanship before.

He learned slowly and worked slowly. In ten days, he ruined a lot of materials. The mountain demon, passing by the room and seeing those oddly shaped yet expensive recliners, nearly coughed up blood in distress.

At that time, Mo Lin merely stared blankly at the completed recliner.

Would she like it?

There weren’t many sunny days in the Nine Underworlds, and one couldn’t enjoy the flowers.

But he still imagined that perhaps one day, she would lie on this recliner, resting peacefully within arm’s reach.

And now, the girl sunk in the chair had her thin shirt in disarray, like a bundle of tangled clouds, half-covering her moon-like collarbone.

She wasn’t resting but looking at him with eyes full of sparkling light, a playful smile tugging at her lips, as if she could see through all his secrets.

The demon ghost master, leaning against the window, averted his gaze, his voice intentionally flat.

“…All these matters were handled by the mountain demon, you should ask him.”

If the mountain demon were present, he would surely cry out in injustice.

Though she had largely guessed his reaction, Liuyu couldn’t help but smile when she saw it firsthand.

“You’re really all talk and no action.”

The gaze that had shifted outside the window quickly returned.

He seemed to want to retort but held back.

“Well, in that case, I’ll be sure to praise the mountain demon thoroughly tomorrow.”

The young girl squinted with satisfaction, like a cat lounging in the sun on a sunny day. She was basking in the moonlight on a reclining chair by the window. The moonlight cast a pearly glow on her face, even making her cherry lips glisten with a soft, moist hue.

“This chair fits my neck and waist perfectly, not too much and not too little. Although its design is indeed ugly, its craftsmanship is no worse than the chairs I brought with me—so considerate that I almost think the mountain spirit secretly measured my size to make it fit so precisely.”

She tilted her head slightly, her eyes displaying the mischievous innocence of a child.

“Or did he secretly measure it with his eyes?”

“So accurately, how many times did he have to sneak a peek—”

Her teasing voice, light and melodic, filled Mo Li’s ears from all directions, stirring his emotions into a whirlwind.

Almost instinctively, he leaned down and covered her mouth with his hand.

The room suddenly fell silent.

Only the faint sound of their breathing could be heard, and the soft touch of her lips against his palm.

Mo Li trembled slightly, for some reason.

His hand was too large, and her face was smaller than average. His rough fingers pressed gently into her fair cheek, yet she remained unguarded, giving the illusion…

Of being easily bent to his will.

It made him want to envelop her entirely, greedily absorbing her essence.

The girl looked at him for a long time, then finally, her slender fingers encircled his wrist, moving his hand away as she said:

“The chair is very well made. I like it very much. I’ll leave it here. Do you think that’s alright?”

She dropped the playful tone from earlier, her voice now softer and more deliberate, striking his ears with a force that made his head spin.

She knew it was him who made it.

She didn’t despise it; she kept it and said she liked it very much.

Because of that one sentence, it felt like a mountain and sea roared in his heart.

Even Mo Li couldn’t help but despise himself a little.

She wasn’t a deity, nor a ruler of men.

Yet, her single approval felt like a divine miracle, washing away all the dark, murky thoughts in his heart.

“Okay.”

He uttered just one word, sparingly.

But with his slightly hoarse voice and their current close proximity, some hazy images in Liuyu’s mind started to clear up.

The cold fragrance of the Jiling Platform, the moonlight streaming through the window, illuminating his sweaty forehead and her equally perspiring collarbones.

In the Netherworld, where no flowers bloom, she often felt like she was falling into a world of blooming and closing flowers, ignited by the body heat embedded within her, burning her from inside out.

Such distant memories.

Once buried with this person in her memories.

Now unearthed, shaking off the misty dust everywhere.

Liuyu felt a sudden burst of irritation as if she had been burned.

She glanced at the still early moonlight outside the window, and while deliberating, he suddenly pulled her up.

“I haven’t told you what I was going to say just now.”

His voice seemed to return to its usual coldness, guiding Liuyu to stand by the table. He lowered his eyes and looked at the sand table, saying:

“Although the three thousand demon ghosts of Luming Mountain have good combat power, they have been hiding in the wild as bandits for the past hundred years, including some who are cannibals—if you trust me, you can hand them over to Shen Tu and Yu Lei for education and training.”

Liuyu stared at him.

The topic switched so quickly that her previous agitation seemed baseless.

Heh.

Competing for composure, huh?

“…How will they be educated?”

Mo Li vaguely sensed a bit of sternness in her tone but didn’t think much of it, continuing:

“Lock them up, exhaust their physical strength with daily training, but only feed them porridge for five days. Those who can endure without eating their kind will be kept, and those who can’t will be executed on the spot. This was the method used when the Netherworld was first established.”

Liuyu nodded.

For the pampered noble families, five days of only porridge was very cruel.

But for the bandits and commoners of this world, it was entirely sufficient for survival.

If they still slaughtered their kind under such circumstances, it was conceivable that their means would be even more brutal towards those not of their kind.

“Okay,” Liuyu thought for a moment, “Tomorrow I’ll inform Chao Ming. The military expenses will come from my account, and I’ll prepare a separate salary for Shen Tu and Yu Lei.”

Mo Li looked up at her, a slight teasing tone in his voice:

“Miss, you are generous, they will not be lazy.”

Liuyu lifted her sharp chin, her lips curving in a noncommittal smile.

Mo Li lowered his eyes again, looking at the sand table. His bony fingers moved under the wide sleeves, causing the military pieces on the sand table to move.

What he said next made Liuyu’s heart race.

“The Netherworld currently has fifty thousand troops guarding the demon ghost wall, and the sixteen city ghost paths can summon about sixty thousand troops at any time. The wall troops are all elite and cannot be easily mobilized. The ghost path demons may not be as strong as the wall troops, but their cultivation ranges from the fourth to the fifth realm, making them a force to be reckoned with. If you want Peace City, you can command one of the Twelve Masks to lead the ghost path demons of two cities, and they can take it for you…”

Listening to him talk about the Netherworld’s military strength, the deployment of the ghost paths, Liuyu couldn’t help but feel nervous.

Seeing that he was about to continue, and Liuyu felt like he was about to reveal even the Netherworld’s weapon storage secrets, she had to interrupt him:

“—Is it really okay for you to tell me all this?”

Mo Li crossed his arms, answering indifferently:

“It wasn’t before, but now it is.”

Liuyu was slightly stunned.

Before, she was full of resistance towards the Netherworld demons. Although Mo Li was determined to marry her, the Netherworld was not his private property. He could offer his life but not give away the Netherworld.

The greatest sincerity he could offer was to let Liuyu manage the finances of the Nine Netherworlds, to put her and the entire Da Zhao at ease.

The truly critical military forces, for the safety of the Nine Netherworlds, he still held in his own hands, without revealing anything.

But now things were different.

She had descended from her luxurious celestial palace to the mortal realm.

She slept and ate with the Yaogui (demon ghosts) who were scorned by the world.

She knew the hardships the Yaogui had gone through and willingly stepped into their world.

She even had grander plans than he did—how humans lived, she wanted the Yaogui to live the same way.

And what could he do for her?

Nothing.

She married him, yet he couldn’t bring her any benefit. The people of Xiandu Yujing called her “the disgrace of the noble families,” and he couldn’t kill all those who spoke ill of her.

Liuyu couldn’t understand his current thoughts, only feeling that the light in those dark green eyes was flickering, like a vortex that could draw one in.

She thought, luckily in her past life, she couldn’t even be bothered to act.

Otherwise, with him being so easily deceived, wouldn’t the entire Nine Netherworlds have been within her grasp?

“Don’t use your people.”

Liuyu picked up a military piece and said:

“Too conspicuous. It would easily lead back to me. There will certainly be noble families targeting Taiping City in the coming days. Let them fight each other first. The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. We should be the oriole.”

The false identity of Ji Mo Gui had not yet been established, so it was not convenient to act too early and become a target for other noble families.

Liuyu’s gaze shifted, looking at him with interest:

“You’ve revealed all the secrets of the Nine Netherworlds to me. Haven’t you considered what if I’ve been deceiving you all along? What if, after gaining your complete trust, I betray you and escape back to Xiandu Yujing—”

Molin remained silent.

The pampered young lady did not realize how deep the disdain of the celestial noble families for the Yaogui went.

The things she said and did, if she hadn’t genuinely accepted the Yaogui, an ordinary person couldn’t even make them up, let alone deceive Lan Zhu into complete submission or make the mountain demons drop their guard against her.

But he wouldn’t say these things aloud.

The cold and stern Yaogui Lord said:

“If you dare betray the Nine Netherworlds and our cooperation, I will surely kill…”

The latter half of his sentence was sealed by soft, petal-like lips.

Breathing halted at that moment.

Neither of them closed their eyes. Those almond-shaped eyes were so close to him that he could see the deepening emotions in her eyes.

Liuyu’s eyes held a bit of mischievous delight.

The young woman blinked and, satisfied with the sight of the frozen Yaogui Lord, asked:

“Will you still kill me?”

That teasing tone.

The tail end of her words carried a light laugh, exuding a hint of sweetness.

Something turbulent and uncontrollable surged in his chest, snapping the thread of rational restraint in his mind.

The rigid figure suddenly moved.

His distinctively jointed fingers buried themselves in her black hair. What was meant to be a brief kiss gradually deepened. Liuyu, already unsteady, staggered under his guidance and fell backward into a nearby lounge chair.

This was their first kiss.

That wedding night, far from pleasant, had left him filled with anger because of what Liuyu had said. He didn’t want to take out those unpleasant emotions on her, yet Liuyu, as if completing a task, had pressed him and controlled the entire process.

She was uncomfortable, and so was he.

That night’s hasty chaos was far less enjoyable than holding her and kissing her like this.

But suddenly, Molin stopped, covering her eyes and burying his head in her neck, his breathing heavy.

“…Are you using this to make a deal with me?”

In his eyes, he saw the disheveled young woman, her breath in disarray, and his expression sobered a bit.

Liuyu could only feel his slightly cool hair brushing against her cheek, momentarily unable to discern what he was saying.

He, however, emphasized seriously:

“I don’t like this kind of transaction.”

Transaction?

Liuyu slowly realized.

He thought she was giving him this bit of sweetness because he had helped her.

Liuyu hadn’t expected him to have such a strange insistence on this matter.

She didn’t explain, her slightly swollen lips moved and said:

“Well said.”

“If you dislike it so much, could you stop pressing against my leg? It’s quite uncomfortable.”

“…”

After a long silence, Molin said calmly:

“What’s pressing?”

“Aren’t you tough only in words?”

Liuyu’s breath caught slightly, completely unprepared for him to say something so… crude.

At that moment.

Sensing someone approaching, a presence from outside the inner chamber alerted them.

It was Lan Zhu who had received the message. He stood at a distance in the corridor, addressing Molin and Liuyu inside:

“Lord, Lady, have you gone to bed?”

After a while, Lan Zhu heard Molin’s voice from inside the chamber.

“Speak.”

Lan Zhu made an acknowledgment. He knew it was still early, and the lord and lady were surely not asleep yet.

“A little girl acting suspiciously was caught by the Yaogui responsible for patrolling at night in Ye Capital. She’s not one of ours from the Nine Netherworlds and somehow slipped in from the south of the Great Wall—”

Hearing this description, a figure suddenly popped into Liuyu’s mind.

She straightened her disheveled clothes, opened the door, and asked:

“And then?”

A dim yellow lamp hung in the corridor. When Lan Zhu looked up, he felt that the lady seemed a bit different from usual.

She seemed… more vibrant than during the day.

The red-haired Yaogui didn’t dare look too long, quickly lowering his gaze, and said:

“Originally, we were going to temporarily detain her in the Ghost Dao Institute’s cell with Fang Fuzang, who hasn’t been fully interrogated yet. Unexpectedly, Fang Fuzang asked us to inform you, saying— that the little girl is someone, Yan Wushu’s sister?”

Liuyu and Mo Li exchanged a glance.

That little girl they encountered at the Lantern Festival, Yue Niang?

Wait a minute.

From the Ghost Wall to Yedu, there were multiple checkpoints along the way… How did a little kid manage to get here within a day?