Chapter 36

Mo Lin lowered his eyes to look at her wet neck.

Her hair softly clung to her delicate, fair skin, and just watching it caused his heart to sink a little.

“You really are…”

“Really what?”

The support that had been holding Liuyu shifted, and she couldn’t help but slide a little lower. Her legs tightened around his waist.

The coolness of the snake’s tail barely separated from her by a thin nightgown, and Mo Lin could feel his fingers being tightly wrapped by her in that brief moment.

She was nervous.

But she didn’t push him away, nor did she look at him with disgust. Her brows furrowed slightly, looking serious as if facing a dangerous enemy.

Mo Lin grasped her chin and gently lifted it, ensuring she didn’t see the ugly things.

“You really are domineering.”

Her pale, gloomy face turned crimson with desire, and his gaze lingered on her shallow breaths.

“People curse you a few times, and you want me to be your dog?”

Liuyu tilted her neck back, bathed in moonlight, her body feeling like it was floating in a shallow pond, supported gently and yet melting under the pressure.

She closed her eyes in frustration.

“…Is that not allowed?”

Looking at her expression, Mo Lin’s throat unconsciously moved slightly.

Of course, it’s allowed.

How could it not be?

His love and hate, life and death, had long been at her mercy.

But when he spoke, his voice remained steady and deep:

“Some sweetness is needed.”

Her lashes fluttered slightly, and she turned her head. Following his hand that was supporting the back of her head, she kissed the veins on the inside of his wrist.

She smiled faintly. “Is this how?”

As she did this, her dark, misty eyes locked onto the demon before her, exuding a strange invitation. The lightest kiss seemed to flow along his veins, setting him on fire.

His heart trembled.

After a long while, he raised his right hand and ran his tongue over his middle and ring fingers.

A playful smile curled at the corners of his eyes as he firmly said:

“This way.”

It felt as if her touch had scorched him, or perhaps it was because of his crude and vulgar behavior that she was annoyed.

Liuyu turned her head, changing the subject:

“…Put me down. I want to sleep.”

Mo Lin did not persist, instead, after carrying her back to the bed, he went to the side room to prepare water and clean up.

Liuyu lay on the bed, her face showing signs of exhaustion.

“You’re not going to ask what strategies I’ve been discussing with the ghost academies these past few days?”

He held a hot towel in his hand, wiping as he spoke:

“No matter the strategy, as long as you can protect yourself, that’s enough. Tomorrow, I’ve arranged for a thousand demons to lead the way, and two thousand more demons will be on standby to provide support. If necessary, we’ll use force to stop them.”

His tone seemed casual, like small talk, but when the words ended, Liuyu felt a chill spread.

This wasn’t something that could be solved with slaughter. If it came to that, it would be the worst-case scenario.

After adjusting her clothes, Mo Lin propped his long leg and asked:

“Xiang Lishen and the Jiufang Xinglan group’s secret outposts supplying Yushan have been completely wiped out by Shentu and Yulei. However, with the festival approaching, personnel movement is high in various parts of Jiuyou, and the mastermind hasn’t been caught yet. They’re quick to react, and the Wuliang Hai they had was already destroyed by the time we arrived.”

Liuyu rested her fingers against her chin:

“If we can get our hands on it, that’s the best.”

Obtaining the Wuliang Hai would reveal the true face of the Jade-Faced Spider and its allegiance to the immortal clans, exposing its role in harming the demons of Jiuyou.

“But if we can’t get it, it’s no big deal.”

Mo Lin tossed a handkerchief into a copper basin beside him, then turned over onto the bed, burying his head in Liuyu’s neck.

“Let’s deal with those who need to be dealt with first. There are always ways to make them listen to reason.”

The bed in the Ghost Path Academy wasn’t particularly narrow, but Liuyu didn’t know when it was that she seemed to have lost the right to sleep on her own side.

The heat from his body enveloped her, and his leg pressed uncomfortably against her.

After a long silence, she couldn’t help but ask:

“Are you really able to sleep like this?”

Mo Lin, with his eyes already closed, slightly lifted his eyelids.

“Either I can’t sleep, or neither of us sleeps. What do you think?”

…It’s probably that he couldn’t sleep.

Liuyu shifted in his embrace to get more comfortable. Just as she was about to fall asleep, she groggily murmured:

“It’s not necessarily something we can’t get.”

“I’ve already sent Fang Fucang to intercept outside the Great Wall. If we’re lucky, there might be unexpected results.”

Fang Fucang, now in his night clothes, was stretching his limbs outside the mountain gate.

He was in Longque City, standing on a desolate mountain. Just five days ago, it had been a wasteland, but since Fang Fucang arrived with Yue Niang and a team of three hundred demons, they quickly began constructing an imposing residence, centered around the dilapidated mountain temple.

The first three days were the busiest, settling the three hundred demons, selecting wood, surveying the terrain, and dealing with the endlessly curious Yue Niang.

Once the demon construction team was on track, Fang Fucang had some free time and managed to sleep five full hours a day.

Before he switched to working for Yinshan Liuyu, the last time he’d been able to sleep five hours in one stretch was before he turned ten.

So when his jade slip received the message from Liuyu, asking him to intercept Xiang Lishen’s team returning to Longdui City from Jiuyou, Fang Fucang was unusually not bothered by the overtime.

Besides, his young mistress had given him an extra reward.

In this world, it was rare for a noble family to pay people for their work.

He had to hold onto this opportunity, or someone else would gladly take his place.

“Is everyone here?” Fang Fucang turned around and asked. The demon leader below responded affirmatively, and Fang Fucang pulled out the pipe from his waist.

“Then let’s go out for the night shift.”

“Master.”

A voice suddenly came from the eaves. It was Yue Niang, who should have been asleep.

“I told you smoking is bad. My neighbor, who smoked a lot, died at twenty.”

“…What are you doing up here so late instead of sleeping?”

Yue Niang replied seriously, “Unlike Master, I don’t need five hours of sleep a day. I can’t sleep, so I thought I’d practice for another hour before going to bed.”

Fang Fucang chuckled.

“This little girl, staying up now, but when you grow up, you’ll have plenty of late nights to deal with.”

Before he could mock her further, Yue Niang dropped a box from above.

Fang Fucang opened it and found a thin, cicada-wing-like piece of paper inside. There were holes carved where the facial features should be, as if it was something meant to be pasted onto the face.

“This is an updated disguise technique. The paper is made from a special material called Jade容蝉纸 (Yurong Cicada Paper), which can be used to change your face. After half an hour of wearing it, you can mold a new face, and when you peel it off after another half hour, your face will return to normal. Master should find it useful.”

Fang Fucang was somewhat stunned.

“Could this little girl actually be a genius?”

Before he could even give her a thumbs up, Yue Niang smiled and said:

“Fifty gold for one sheet. This is a special ‘family discount.'”

Fang Fucang: “…”

That family discount didn’t seem very sincere.

Nevertheless, Fang Fucang placed the fifty gold into the box and threw it back to Yue Niang.

“Don’t stay up too late. Kids who stay up too late don’t grow.”

Yue Niang watched his back as he walked away. Her short legs dangled from the eaves, swinging lightly.

“You’ve given me assignments to do, and I still have a few things I can’t do… Master, don’t come back too late. Don’t delay me from becoming a future genius of Lingyong.”

Fang Fucang attached the somewhat ridiculous disguise paper to his face without looking back and waved his hand toward Yue Niang.

A full moon hung high in the sky.

Two hours later, Fang Fucang, leading a hundred demons, intercepted Xiang Lishen’s team outside Longdui City.

When he saw the faces of the people in the team, Fang Fucang tugged at his face, which had stubble growing, and smiled enigmatically.

A demon beside him noticed his expression and asked:

“Lord Fucang, did you recognize someone?”

“Recognize someone… I guess so. They used to serve the same master as me.”

It wasn’t surprising to see people from the Jiufang family here, since Jiufang Xinglan was about to marry Xiang Lishen.

The demon half-jokingly said:

“Well, Lord Fucang, you’d better make sure to leave their bodies intact. At least give your old colleagues a full corpse.”

Scratching his chin, Fang Fucang smiled and replied:

“A full corpse? No, the most annoying thing in this world is a boss who gives you too little money for too much work. And the second most annoying… is those colleagues who stab you in the back to take the credit.”

He was curious—without him, could these colleagues who were so used to stealing credit from their bosses still complete their mission?

Fang Fucang turned to the demons behind him.

“They look like a lot of people, but the only ones who can actually fight are the fat one in the front and the young one at the back. When we get close to the city gates, they’ll start talking about what to eat for supper. That’s when we strike—understood?”

“Listen carefully!”

A demon pointed at Fang Fucang and gave him a thumbs up.

“Master, you’re really great at being a two-faced man!”

South of the Demon Wall, the night was turbulent.

North of the Wall, in the Nine Hells, the first faint light of dawn broke after a long night.

A soft bell rang in the room as the female attendants entered one after another, helping Liuyu with her clothing and grooming. Mo Lin, who usually wore his simple green robe, was, today, uncharacteristically pushed by a mountain demon to dress more elaborately. When he emerged from behind the screen, Liuyu couldn’t help but glance at him more than once.

The dark-colored fine clothes wrapped around the broad shoulders and narrow waist of the demon, with the soft green inner garment and the turquoise ornaments on his robes in harmony with each other.

The bright red and green hues did not look gaudy on him but instead created an eerie, strange, and enchanting aura, making him seem inhuman and extraordinarily beautiful.

If we only considered looks, who could dare say this handsome demon lord wasn’t the most beautiful in the Nine Hells?

“The selection of the Twelve Nuo Gods will be held at the foot of Yushan, and the starting point for the Nuo Dance procession is at the Extreme Night Palace in Yedu.”

Mo Lin picked up a lock of her hair, twirling it between his fingers.

As he looked down, a pair of mountain demon copper coins with red tassels dangled from his broad shoulders.

“From Yedu, taking the divine palanquin through the Nine Hells to reach the foot of Yushan, it will take about a day and a night. If the timing is right, you and I might just be able to kill our way up to Yushan together.”

Liuyu blinked and smiled lightly.

“Then you must wait for me.”

The mountain demon, standing by, thought the two would exchange more private words and wondered if he should step away.

But after those words, they exchanged just a glance before stepping out of the inner room, heading in separate directions.

Passing by the pagoda tree where Chaoming was hung, Liuyu boarded the ghost carriage headed for the Extreme Night Palace.

Her hand pressed against her chest.

There, she kept a lock of A Jiang’s hair, which she had cut herself.

A Jiang would witness all of this.

The lightly loaded ghost carriage passed through Xianchi City and the dense forests outside the city, quickly revealing the scene in Yedu.

Unlike when Liuyu left, calm and peaceful.

This time, the ghost carriage, bearing the Empress’s insignia, entered Yedu. The female attendants beside Liuyu could clearly sense the tense and murderous atmosphere on the streets.

“She still dares to participate in the Ghost Play Immortal Ritual.”

“Perhaps she thinks killing a demon isn’t a big deal. Don’t all those celestial clan people think the same?”

“She doesn’t even put the Nine Hells in her eyes.”

“I thought I saw her defending us demons in front of the celestial clans at Shifang Street. I thought she was different from the other celestial families, but it turns out she was just pretending!”

“It’s all the same! No celestial clan is good! Especially the Yinshan clan, who’s full of evil!”

Voices like these mixed in the crowd, growing louder and more numerous.

Some even tried to throw stones at the ghost carriage. As soon as they raised their hands, the demons stationed by Mo Lin on the streets quickly subdued them and dragged them away for questioning.

Inside the ghost carriage, Liuyu pressed her lips tightly together.

“Don’t worry, Miss, we will not let anyone get close,” came the calm voice of the female attendants from outside the window.

“You don’t need to worry about us. We may not have understood why you befriended demons before, but now we know exactly what you are doing and why you are doing it. No matter what danger we encounter, we will face it with you.”

Before they came to the Nine Hells, like the rest of the people from the Celestial Capital Yujing, they thought demons were brutal, evil, and inhuman.

But after living with them day in and day out, they realized that while there are brutal demons who harm their own kind for personal gain, there are also gentle demons who love poetry, are delicate, and kind-hearted.

They looked at the deceased A Jiang, and it was as though they were seeing the ordinary people of Dazhao who were harmed by the celestial clans.

The boundary between demons and humans is not clear. Good and evil cannot be measured by race.

Scenes like these in Yedu were not an isolated case.

The closer they got to Yushan, the more the hearts of the Nine Hells’ people leaned toward the demon-slaying faction led by the Jade-faced Spider.

At the Yushan martial stage, the sixteen city lords were seated in a circle, their expressions varied.

Among them, those who had defected to the Jade-faced Spider side appeared calm, the neutral ones were uneasy, and those who stood firmly with the demon lord were subtly angry.

“Once the Twelve Nuo Gods are gathered by the Yushan demons, the demon lord’s position will likely become unstable. Don’t you all think about your future?”

The speaker took a sip of thick tea, speaking slowly.

The city lord beside him kept wiping his sweat: “Without the lord’s lead to break out of Wuse City, how would we have such good days today? The weather is hot, everyone’s tempers are short… Hey, why did the lord suddenly decide to reselect the Twelve Nuo Gods?”

If they didn’t select, there wouldn’t be this problem, right?

“Hah.” A woman with dark, demonic horns sneered. “The lord’s order to reselect is to give the demons below a chance to rise, unlike those celestial families who only use their own people. Also, there are some who enjoy scheming. They’ve infiltrated the Twelve Nuo Gods, and now is the perfect time to kick them out and clean up.”

The tea-drinking city lord smiled:

“If it’s really like you say, the people of the Nine Hells wouldn’t be so upset. I fear our lord has been clouded by beauty and forgotten our deep hatred with the celestial clans.”

The woman’s face darkened, ready to argue further when suddenly someone spoke:

“The lord and the Twelve Nuo Gods have arrived!”

Some of the city lords stood up, others remained seated like a mountain.

Some narrowed their eyes and watched for a long time, finally confirming they weren’t seeing things. Pointing at the Twelve Nuo Gods, they said:

“What are they wearing?”

Everyone looked in the direction he pointed. The demon at the front was Lan Zhu, the leader of the Twelve Nuo Gods, and among the many demons present, almost no one didn’t recognize his red hair.

In the battle that set the Colorless City ablaze, he fought hundreds of cultivators single-handedly, following closely behind Mo Lin to carve a bloody path for the first batch of demon ghosts to escape from the Colorless City.

Many still remembered the image of him swiftly striking with his blade, but today, Lan Zhu was dressed in a slightly ill-fitting white robe, with his wild red hair that had been standing on end now tied up with a hairpin.

This outfit…

This outfit was clearly the kind of attire worn by humans from the Immortal City of Jade Capital.

Looking behind him.

The demon ghost mountain demon, always adorned with jingling silver ornaments, had today removed them and wore a moon-white robe. Only a jade crown remained on his head. At first glance, one would no longer recognize him as the demon youth who mysteriously appeared and used his curved blade to sever countless heads.

As for the ghost woman and Bai Pingting behind them, they, too, wore the elegant ceremonial attire of Jade Capital.

The ghost woman had shed her usual eerie, mysterious aura from using demonic curses and now looked more delicate and charming, almost ethereal. Bai Pingting, draped in a mist-like veil, appeared even more refined and out of this world.

Lan Zhu looked at their shocked expressions with satisfaction, then sneered:

“By wearing these clothes today, we are representing the Empress’s honor. When we stand on the arena later, you must not embarrass the Empress by wearing this outfit.”

The ghost woman stuck out her tongue: “That should be a warning to you. Things are different now. I think I could sit in your position as the leader of the twelve Guardian Spirits.”

The mountain demon gave Lan Zhu a look of mild disdain:

“Your hairpin isn’t even straight, I think you’re the one who’ll embarrass us.”

Bai Pingting smiled quietly.

She glanced toward the sundial. At this time, the Ghost Play Immortal Tour group should also be on their way.

The Jade-faced Spider and Mo Lin’s group, arriving from the opposite direction, almost reached the arena at the same time.

From a distance, Mo Lin saw Lan Zhu and the others in their Jade Capital attire.

However, it was nothing more than a display, without any real significance.

Today, the demon ghosts of Jade Mountain, having consumed the Boundless Sea’s power, would surely wash away the twelve Guardian Spirits with blood. Once he severed Mo Lin’s left and right arms, the position of the Demon Ghost Lord would be half secured.

The palanquin sank.

As the Jade-faced Spider landed, the jade slip at his waist flickered.

The Jade-faced Spider’s eyes narrowed.

The message came from Ye Du.

The news must be about Yin Mountain Liuyu, who had just set out. Why would they need to send a message to him?

The flickering light from the jade slip reflected in his eyes. After a moment of hesitation, he finally swiped his hand across the slip and read the contents of the message:

[The tour begins. Yin Mountain Liuyu recited the Nuo play in demonic language, shocking Ye Du.]

The once indifferent expression abruptly changed when he saw the two words in the middle.

She… recited the Nuo play?

In demonic language?

Demonic language??

How could a human woman like her possibly speak demonic language?!

That language is used by the foreign demons, the language of the Father of Demon Ghosts. Only his direct bloodline, born with the power of the Demon Lord, could understand it. How could Yin Mountain Liuyu—

The Jade-faced Spider suddenly raised his head and looked toward the Demon Ghost Lord approaching the arena.

The person moved his lips:

“Heaven’s will is dead—”

A vast, oppressive force from the Demon Ghost Lord pressed down as he neared, causing thousands of demons and ghosts to bow in submission. The crowd echoed in agreement:

“Heaven’s will is dead! The way of ghosts rises! All immortals shall perish!”

The dark robes stopped in front of the Jade-faced Spider.

“—The gods bow to me.”

The deep, distant voice echoed in the Jade-faced Spider’s ears.

Half of his thick black hair curled slightly on his shoulder, the other half draping over his dark green robes. His eyes, cold and deep, gleamed with ghostly, eerie beauty.

Mo Lin’s lips curled slightly:

“From the look on your face, my Empress must have given you quite a surprise.”