I Could Never Pity a Demon
I Could Never Pity a Demon Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Soaring Serpent

Liu Shuang did not trust Yan Chaosheng.

This man was cold-hearted and ruthless, showing no compassion even towards his own concubines. It was impossible for him to protect her in a dangerous situation.

But after a moment of consideration, she still followed Yan Chaosheng.

Even if Liu Shuang had countless reasons not to trust him, she believed in Yan Chaosheng’s ability to survive. After all, seven hundred years later, he was still alive and well, while the world no longer knew of Chi Shui Liu Shuang.

Staying where she was would mean certain death once her immortal energy dissipated. Following Yan Chaosheng might just offer a glimmer of hope.

Liu Shuang remained vigilant, touching the various life-saving trinkets at her waist, and formed a plan in her mind. Yan Chaosheng had no cultivation, but she had a treasure trove of magical artifacts at her disposal.

She was no longer just a celestial herb; she was now Chi Shui Liu Shuang. If they were to walk together, whoever died first would be the loser!

The two of them walked towards the city, passing by houses with lanterns lit.

The city was eerily quiet; the sound of a falling leaf could be heard.

Suddenly, the piercing sound of a suona broke the silence. The wedding music, usually festive, now carried an inexplicable sense of dread.

“Come here,” Yan Chaosheng said.

He and Liu Shuang hid outside and watched as the suona-led procession headed towards the city lord’s mansion.

Outside the mansion, a crowd of people stood with stiff smiles on their faces, holding lanterns and staring intently at a bridal sedan.

The suona music stopped as the sedan came to a halt.

The matchmaker carried out a woman on her back. The woman lifted her veil and struggled desperately, screaming in despair, “Let me go! I won’t marry him! I refuse to marry a beast!”

She pounded on the matchmaker’s back, but the matchmaker seemed unfazed, her face beaming with joy as she said in a monotone voice, “The groom welcomes the bride—”

The mansion’s gates suddenly opened, and a gust of cold wind blew out. Liu Shuang stared at the gate, feeling inexplicably nervous.

Soon, a man was helped out, “walking” in a peculiar manner.

Liu Shuang found his gait oddly unsettling.

The man’s face was pale, his lips a deep black, yet he was surprisingly handsome. He seemed oblivious to the bride’s struggles, smiling as he approached, “Yun’er, let’s perform the wedding ceremony.”

The woman trembled at the sight of him, clinging tightly to the matchmaker’s neck, unable to look at him.

The man spoke gently, “You’re weak. Let’s have something to eat before the ceremony so you’ll have the energy.”

As soon as he finished speaking, countless red threads shot out from the woman named “Yun’er,” sprouting thorns that pierced the onlookers. In an instant, several mortals entangled by the red threads turned into withered corpses, collapsing to the ground.

“Yun’er’s” complexion, however, became more radiant.

Liu Shuang pursed her lips. This was bad.

Although she lacked experience, she could still analyze the situation. The man was clearly a demon, though she didn’t know what kind. Chi Shui Liu Shuang’s cultivation was low; if Bai Zhuixu were here, he would have identified the demon at a glance.

Yun’er also reeked of demonic energy. After consuming the mortals, her expression grew more pained, as if she didn’t want to do this.

Yan Chaosheng’s gaze lingered on the man’s legs beneath his wedding robes, his expression inscrutable.

As the crowd surged into the mansion to witness the wedding ceremony, Yan Chaosheng spoke, “Young Master, do you know what Tai Chuan City is?”

“What is it?”

Yan Chaosheng turned to meet the puzzled gaze of the little pink dumpling, suppressing the malice at the corner of his mouth as he smiled gently, “Tai Chuan has belonged to the Southern Realm of Kong Sang for thousands of years. Therefore, this is your territory, Young Master.”

Liu Shuang’s face turned green upon hearing this.

She knew that the ancient immortal realms each had their own mortal territories. The immortals of the realms had the duty to protect the mortal world, and in return, mortals offered their worship and faith, providing a continuous source of spiritual power that gave birth to spiritual veins.

Now that Kong Sang’s spiritual veins were withering, it was a sign that the ancient immortal realms’ influence over mortals was waning, and the mortals’ faith was insufficient.

As a member of Kong Sang’s Chi Shui lineage, Liu Shuang naturally bore the responsibility of slaying demons and vanquishing evil. If she hadn’t encountered such a situation, it would have been one thing, but now that she had, she couldn’t stand idly by. It seemed that the entire city’s population had been turned into reserves for the demons.

She was Chi Shui Liu Shuang; she couldn’t ignore this.

Yan Chaosheng said, “Young Master, go ahead with confidence. I’ve observed that there are only two who can fight. With your divine might, it should be no problem.”

Liu Shuang choked, not expecting that before she could experience the joys of being Kong Sang’s Young Master, she would first face such a heavy responsibility.

Liu Shuang sighed in frustration. Cang Lan had been her past responsibility, but now that she had taken on Chi Shui Liu Shuang’s identity, the original owner’s duties were also hers to uphold.

She should protect Kong Sang’s immortal realm just as she had protected Cang Lan. Liu Shuang didn’t know if the original owner would have gone in this situation, but she certainly would.

Though she had lost the heart to feel joy, she was still the same person at her core. Once willing to sacrifice everything for Cang Lan, she would now shoulder the responsibilities of Kong Sang.

But—

Liu Shuang raised her hand, signaling Yan Chaosheng to look. She condensed an ice-blue immortal technique, only for it to dissipate instantly. “I can’t fight them like this.”

“That’s a pity; they’ll have to die one by one,” Yan Chaosheng said indifferently, teasing Liu Shuang with no expectation that she would actually dare to go.

No wonder the spiritual veins of the four great immortal realms had been withering in recent years. The immortals had become increasingly selfish. Over thousands of years, mortals had either thrived or found themselves helpless, gradually losing their reverence for the immortal sects.

With insufficient faith, the withering of spiritual veins was inevitable.

Yan Chaosheng sneered inwardly, about to brush Liu Shuang off and tell her to stay put while he investigated. But before he could move, a delicate white hand tugged at his sleeve.

The pink dumpling opened her palm, oblivious to his cold expression, pondering as she spoke to him, “But we can’t let the demons wreak havoc. You have demonic veins; help me see which of these items we can use. Let’s give it a try.”

In her palm lay a Qiankun bag.

Yan Chaosheng stared at the Qiankun bag in her hand for a long moment before saying, “How do you know I have demonic veins?”

Liu Shuang couldn’t explain that she recognized him, so she simply answered honestly, “I saw it that day.” In the Nine Thoughts Pool, she had seen the dark, ugly scales on his body.

Hearing this, Yan Chaosheng lowered his gaze, falling into silence. After a moment, he reached out and took the Qiankun bag from Liu Shuang. Without another word, his face remained cold, as if he had been struck in a sore spot, and he dropped the subject.

Upon inspection, Yan Chaosheng indeed found several useful items. He took out a stick of red incense and a flute.

Yan Chaosheng asked Liu Shuang, “Young Master, can you use the Moon Luo Flute?”

Liu Shuang looked at the jade-green flute in his hand and shook her head. When she was a celestial herb, her mortal mother didn’t teach her the flute; the girls in the mansion were taught the guzheng.

Yan Chaosheng said, “I’ll use the Moon Luo Flute to deal with that demon. Can you light the incense?”

From his indifferent tone, Liu Shuang sensed the threat of “if you can’t do anything, then go die.” She took the incense and nodded.

“I can,” she said confidently.

Yan Chaosheng glanced at Liu Shuang.

Seeing his gaze, the little pink dumpling held the incense in her hand and earnestly added, “Don’t worry, I’ll do it well.” She certainly wouldn’t do worse than him.

The veil hid her ugly appearance, but her eyes shone like water, as if saying she wouldn’t hold him back.

Yan Chaosheng averted his gaze. It was laughable; this was the first time… someone of noble status asked her to save people, and she actually went.

In Liu Shuang’s previous life, demons weren’t as ferocious as they were now because the demon lord Yan Chaosheng, who established strict laws, was more ruthless than any demon.

Under Yan Chaosheng’s iron-fisted rule, no demon dared to cause trouble; those who did often ended up with three-meter-high weeds on their graves.

Liu Shuang knocked out a mortal and blended into the bridal procession.

The people of Tai Chuan were under her protection; strictly speaking, this time Yan Chaosheng was helping her.

Before they could turn against each other, they were unexpectedly collaborating on the same task. She didn’t know what Yan Chaosheng’s purpose was in saving Tai Chuan City.

They split up, with Liu Shuang’s task being to use the One Thought Incense to knock out the bride. Liu Shuang removed her veil, lowered her head, and mimicked the puppet-like people around her, keeping her gaze vacant and silent.

Surrounded by controlled mortals, no one noticed she had just snuck in.

Liu Shuang followed the crowd, passing by the rockeries in the city lord’s mansion, and further in was the goldfish pond. Liu Shuang glanced discreetly and saw that the goldfish in the pond were completely still, as if frozen.

Not a single bird flew in the sky; it seemed all living creatures in Tai Chuan City had been controlled.

Liu Shuang thought, to control an entire city and dissipate the immortal energy within, the demon must be incredibly powerful.

The bridal procession stopped outside the bridal chamber. Liu Shuang stood obediently with the other puppet-like people. Not long after, the bride was brought back, still carried by the matchmaker, likely having completed the wedding ceremony.

Liu Shuang kept her head down. As the bride passed by, she caught a strong whiff of demonic energy.

Wondering how to enter and light the incense without alerting the female demon inside, someone suddenly handed her a basin, saying in a monotone voice, “Go and attend to the lady’s washing.”

Liu Shuang was eager for the opportunity and immediately carried the basin inside.

The bridal chamber was lit with red candles. The female demon, Yun’er, sat at the head of the bed, while the matchmaker and a few maids coldly watched her, preventing her from leaving the bridal couch.

Liu Shuang approached, knowing these matchmakers and maids were likely the male demon’s people, not as clueless as the puppet-like mortals outside. She dared not alarm them, keeping her head down and humbly knelt to wash Yun’er’s hands.

Yun’er’s face was ashen, her once beautiful features now listless.

After a while, Yun’er suddenly looked at Liu Shuang’s clothes, her gaze sharp, “Who are you? Where’s my maid, Qiao Qiao?”

Liu Shuang was startled, not expecting Yun’er to recognize the maid she had knocked out and replaced.

At her words, the rigid matchmakers suddenly lifted their eyes, staring at Liu Shuang.

Liu Shuang’s heart nearly leaped out of her throat. Her hand touched the incense, but then Yun’er whispered, “It’s Ah Lian.”

The matchmakers resumed their cheerful smiles.

Liu Shuang looked up at Yun’er, who subtly pinched her hand. Under the cover of the handkerchief, Yun’er wrote in Liu Shuang’s palm, “Help me.”

Liu Shuang clenched her fingers, pretending nothing had happened, and carried the basin out. Before leaving, she wiped the One Thought Incense and quietly placed it in an unseen corner, waiting silently in the outer room.

The One Thought Incense was originally given to the original owner by the realm’s mistress to soothe the soul. Yan Chaosheng had told Liu Shuang that for demons, the One Thought Incense was a potent sedative; even those with deep cultivation would fall into a deep sleep after prolonged exposure. The original owner had never used it, but now it had inadvertently come in handy.

Liu Shuang counted silently in her heart. After a while, she entered the inner room to find the standing maids and matchmakers gone, replaced by several colorful, motionless snakes on the ground.

So they were snake demons!

But Yun’er was not unconscious. She looked at Liu Shuang with hope, speaking excitedly, “I knew it! You’re an immortal! Are you here to save Tai Chuan City?”

Liu Shuang asked in confusion, “You’re a mortal?” Yun’er didn’t seem like a demon, completely unaffected by the One Thought Incense, but why did she have such strong demonic energy?

Yun’er smiled bitterly, “I am indeed a mortal, but I swallowed that monster’s demon core, which is why I’ve become like this.”

Yun’er stepped around the snakes on the floor and approached Liu Shuang, kneeling and bowing, “My name is Xi Yun’er, the daughter of Tai Chuan City’s lord. I beg you, immortal, to show mercy and save me, my family, and the people of Tai Chuan.”

Liu Shuang helped her up, “Please rise. I will help you, Miss Xi. Tell me what’s happening.”

Xi Yun’er’s expression was pained, “It’s all my fault for attracting that demon, bringing disaster to Tai Chuan City. The demon used a divine artifact to control the entire city. Now, the city is covered by a barrier; no one can leave. Every living thing within is like a puppet, their life force fading day by day until they die.”

“A divine artifact?” Liu Shuang was astonished. A demon actually possessed a divine artifact? No wonder the Seven Treasures Copper Coin had disintegrated and fallen when it flew over Tai Chuan, and Bai Zhuixu hadn’t detected anything unusual at first!

No one could leave… For some reason, Liu Shuang was reminded of the barrier that had trapped Cang Lan in her previous life.

Grandpa Tree had once sent a message saying a divine artifact had trapped Cang Lan’s immortal realm, and no one could escape. He had even told Liu Shuang not to return.

How similar it was to what Xi Yun’er was describing now! Could it be the same divine artifact?

That divine artifact had caused Cang Lan’s destruction, leaving it barren. Liu Shuang’s heart grew heavy. In the past, she hadn’t had the time or ability to find the culprit who had harmed Cang Lan, but now she might have a chance!

“I haven’t seen this divine artifact,” Xi Yun’er continued, “Three days ago, Tai Chuan City suddenly became like this. Everyone seemed to have lost their souls, controlled by that demon. Under my pressure, he told me the reason but refused to let me see where the divine artifact was.”

Liu Shuang asked, “The demon you’re talking about, is he the man who wants to marry you?”

Xi Yun’er, “Yes, his name is Bi Xun. He told me he has the bloodline of an ancient sky serpent. Immortal, no matter how powerful he is, without his demon core, he must be extremely weak. If you want to eliminate him, now is the best time.”

Liu Shuang glanced at her abdomen, “But he gave you his demon core. Do you really want me to kill him?”

Xi Yun’er stiffened, then turned away, “I find him disgusting, immortal. Evil demons and heretics should be eradicated! I won’t marry a snake.”

Liu Shuang pondered. The bloodline of an ancient sky serpent—such a powerful demon’s core must have been cultivated for thousands of years!

Their group was truly unlucky to encounter such a formidable demon on their journey, especially one with a divine artifact in hand. Not to mention the Bai family’s two young masters; even Chi Shui Chong would find this troublesome.

Such a powerful demon had willingly given up his core, resorting to using a divine artifact to commit atrocities, even defying heavenly punishment, all to marry a mortal woman.

For one person, he had trapped an entire city.

Truly mad.

But the woman he loved wanted him dead. Seeing the disgust on Xi Yun’er’s face, Liu Shuang deeply understood the widespread hatred for demons in this era seven hundred years ago. Liu Shuang had asked, fearing that Xi Yun’er, with the demon core, might be reluctant to let Bi Xun die and would help him. But now it seemed Xi Yun’er only felt revulsion and hatred towards Bi Xun.

That made things easier; at least they wouldn’t have another enemy.

“All demons should die,” Xi Yun’er murmured.

Liu Shuang didn’t comment. Bi Xun’s cruel slaughter in the city certainly deserved death.

Liu Shuang didn’t argue with Miss Xi about the existence of good demons, like the Lord Su Lun she had once known. In this era, everyone hated demons. It wasn’t something that could be explained in a few words. There were more urgent matters at hand.

The sound of a flute began to play, and Liu Shuang knew Yan Chaosheng was dealing with Bi Xun.

Liu Shuang’s expression tightened. This was bad! She had acted rashly earlier, not knowing the full extent of the situation. Now that she knew Bi Xun was a descendant of the sky serpent, her heart sank.

A Moon Luo Flute alone couldn’t possibly defeat Bi Xun, even without his core and appearing so ill. His thousands of years of cultivation were no joke.

They couldn’t possibly defeat Bi Xun!

“Miss Xi, something’s wrong! Do you know where Bi Xun is now? Can you take me there?”

Xi Yun’er said, “Follow me.”

After all, the city lord’s mansion was Xi Yun’er’s home. The two quickly arrived at the main hall, where they saw the man in wedding robes had transformed his lower body into a snake tail, tightly coiled around someone’s neck—it was Yan Chaosheng.

“Overestimating yourself.”

Bi Xun’s snake tail was crimson, his eyes a bloody red. The once dignified gentleman who had welcomed the bride at the gate had now become a bloodthirsty monster.

Yan Chaosheng, his neck constricted, remained cold and composed, his eyes fierce. Regardless of whether he would be strangled to death, he thrust the jade flute in his hand into Bi Xun’s snake tail.

Even in death, he would take someone with him.

Bi Xun cried out in pain, transforming into a red snake and slithering out of his clothes.

The discarded clothes revealed a massive red python, its body eight feet thick and ten feet long, its forked tongue flicking, nearly blotting out all light from above.

The red snake flicked its tail, instantly shattering the jade flute within its body.

The red snake’s tail lashed out at Yan Chaosheng, who, without cultivation, spat out a mouthful of blood. Just as the red snake was about to swallow him whole, it paused.

The red snake spoke in a human voice, mocking, “Since you have the blood of a serpent, why don’t you kneel and pay respects to me?”

The red snake struck out with a red light, hitting Yan Chaosheng’s shoulder.

Yan Chaosheng was forced to his knees, his clothes torn, revealing a body covered in dark scales.

The red python sneered, “Can’t even transform to cover your shame. Just a lowly black snake.”

Liu Shuang had just settled Xi Yun’er, telling her to hide, when she turned around and saw Yan Chaosheng on his knees, his fists clenched tightly, his eyes cold and sinister.

So even in his youth, Yan Chaosheng had his pain… his shame over his bloodline.

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