Chapter 25: I Thought of You As a Daughter, But You…

Ye Wenxin showed her agreement with this opinion, and seeing Hei Tong coming close on her own accord, she might as well play it up, and placed a soft kiss on Hei Tong’s forehead. Confused at being kissed, Hei Tong froze in place, seeming to not comprehend what tricks Ye Wenxin just used to make the heart of a millennium-old spirit pet like her beat so fast.

However, Ye Wenxin did not even notice Hei Tong’s emotions, her attitude towards Liu Churan turning even more indifferent, “And what’s wrong with that?”

A murderous look suddenly surfaced on Liu Churan’s face, “Then This Slave¹ shall first slay this Hei Tong, and atone with death after!”

At first, she had thought Liu Churan would immediately let her off after seeing this scene, but she did not expect it would instead ignite Liu Churan’s murderous intent. Ye Wenxin really could not understand, Liu Churan had always teased and made fun of her.

Ye Wenxin had never thought Liu Churan would truly like her, but the current Liu Churan got murderous upon her getting close to another woman, leaving Ye Wenxin even more perplexed what Liu Churan actually felt towards her.

Of course, Ye Wenxin would not grant Liu Churan this chance, she took Hei Tong into her arms and rose up to the sky.

No matter how hard Liu Churan gave chase, she could never match Ye Wenxin’s speed.

“You won’t have this chance, This Lord² will go into closed door training.”

The peanut gallery below looked dumbfounded, as if not understanding why the Demon Lord suddenly started fighting with her own Saintess. Even stranger, to escape Liu Churan’s pursuit, Ye Wenxin kept insisting on going into closed door training.

“Gu Qingcheng!” Angrily distressed, Liu Churan called out Ye Wenxin’s name, her eyes brimming with tears, as if another word from Ye Wenxin would cause them to spill.

Knowing this was just another one of Liu Churan’s tricks to toy with her, Ye Wenxin could not bear it. She had watched Liu Churan grow up and understood the girl’s temperament. But now, weary of the complexities of being Demon Lord Gu Qingcheng, she only wanted to be Ye Wenxin, not the Demon Lord Gu Qingcheng.

“No matter what happens, This Lord will not go back with you.” Ye Wenxin had no choice but to suppress her guilt and declared even more firmly.

“You promised this slave… promised to always be with this slave. You heartless… bastard, imbecile!” Liu Churan used every curse she knew to berate Ye Wenxin, but those curses meant nothing to Ye Wenxin.

“That’s a promise from your childhood. You’re all grown up now.” Ye Wenxin felt even more emotional. Although there was no blood relation, Ye Wenxin had long regarded Liu Churan as her own daughter.

But upon careful consideration, Liu Churan had never treated her as a mother, and had even schemed to ‘eat’ her.

Various strange images flashed through her mind, and the slight sense of guilt that had lingered moments ago disappeared with those memories.

“Don’t care, This Slave is still a child,” Liu Churan retorted stubbornly. Fortunately, Ye Wenxin had already cast a barrier. If the people below had heard Liu Churan say such words, who knew what expressions they would reveal.

Liu Churan, Saintess of Wind and Moon Palace, might not inspire fear like Demon Lord Gu Qingcheng, but she was a figure known throughout the Three Realms, recognized by all.

A demon cultivator’s ruthlessness, a female cultivator’s seductiveness, and a devilish personality – all these traits made Liu Churan quite popular among cultivators. If there was a ranking for most eligible dual cultivation partners, Liu Churan’s position would undoubtedly be second.

As for the first place, it naturally belonged to that damned Fairy Fengya.

Ye Wenxin cursed Fairy Fengya in her heart out of habit, but she saw Liu Churan still looking at her pitifully.

“You’re already old enough to find a cultivation partner.” Ye Wenxin continued to refuse.

“No, except for Qingcheng, This Slave doesn’t want anyone else.”

“This Lord might as well be your half mother.” Ye Wenxin’s body trembled, recalling how she had painstakingly raised Liu Churan, only for Liu Churan to think about doing dual cultivation with her. If she had known it would end up like this, she would never have told Liu Churan about her Iceborn constitution.

“Hmph, if you dare leave now, This Slave will tell the whole world that you’re not only this slave’s mother in name but also treated this slave like a human furnace…” Liu Churan threatened even more discontentedly, still steaming with killing intent, the Willow Leaf Blade in her hand about to be thrown.

Ye Wenxin was not worried about her safety or her reputation. Even ten of Nascent Soul cultivator Liu Churan would not stand a chance against her. But it was different for Hei Tong. Although she was incredibly fast, she was only in the Golden Core stage, far behind the Nascent Soul stage Liu Churan. If they were at such close quarters, Ye Wenxin would not be able to protect Hei Tong completely.

“Hei Tong, stand behind me, don’t wait…” She looked towards Hei Tong beside her, only to find Hei Tong already standing ten meters away from her, her eyes losing focus. Obviously, in the moment Ye Wenxin was distracted, Liu Churan had used her charm technique to bewitch her.

Ye Wenxin gave a bitter smile, turning her head to look around. In this suspended state, Liu Churan was gradually approaching her step by step.

‘Not good,’ she cried out in her heart, wanting to resist contact with Liu Churan. But Liu Churan had already pounced on her, wrapping her arms tightly around Ye Wenxin.

“Caught you.” Liu Churan’s smile was so sweet, her embrace even tighter, as if afraid that Ye Wenxin would disappear again in the instant she spoke.

“Let go.”

“I won’t let go, not even in death!”

Ye Wenxin sighed helplessly. She did not want to hurt Liu Churan, and Liu Churan understood that Ye Wenxin would never harm her, which was why she acted so recklessly.

“Liu Churan, if you continue like this, you’ll develop internal demons.”

“What harm is there if it’s for you? Without Gu Qingcheng, where would Liu Churan be?” Liu Churan’s voice had never been so resolute.

While she lived, Liu Churan would continue living for her;

If she left, Liu Churan would be willing to give up everything just to be by her side;

And if she died, Liu Churan would follow her without hesitation into the underworld.

Ye Wenxin gave her a home, made her a promise to restore the Wind and Moon Palace to its former glory. Ye Wenxin fulfilled her promise, but Liu Churan still developed internal demons. If Ye Wenxin had always been by Liu Churan’s side, she would have remained the way she was the year they had met.

She would not have grown up, would not have aspired for progress, and would have forever been content living in Ye Wenxin’s shadow.

“You… Gu Qingcheng is dead, why are you so fixated on her?” Ye Wenxin’s brain quickly spun, suddenly realizing that she did not need to confront Liu Churan head-on.

“Since that’s the case, Liu Churan won’t live on either.” Liu Churan raised the Willow Leaf Blade in her hand and, without hesitation, slashed towards her own throat.

Ye Wenxin reached out bare-handed, and blood dripped onto the blade, not from Liu Churan, but from Ye Wenxin herself.

Liu Churan was taken aback, hastily trying to retract the Willow Leaf Blade, afraid of harming Ye Wenxin again.

“Forgive this slave, This Slave didn’t mean to, This Slave just…”

“Your actions now are no different from stabbing a knife into this lord’s heart.” Ye Wenxin exerted a bit of force, and with a sharp sound, the Willow Leaf Blade immediately snapped.

Liu Churan stepped back in fear, unease evident on her beautiful face. She knew, Ye Wenxin was angry.

Ye Wenxin was indeed a little angry, angry at herself for teaching Liu Churan how to be a villain, how to deal with enemies, but now, the dirty tricks Ye Wenxin had taught Liu Churan were being used against her.

She was angry, angry at herself for not raising Liu Churan to be a virtuous and decent girl, but instead turning her into the woman she was now.

Ye Wenxin was even angrier, angry at herself for spoiling Liu Churan, allowing her to develop delusions.

“I’ll give you two options now.”

“Please speak, Demon Lord.”

Liu Churan did not dare to be presumptuous, keeping her head low, awaiting Ye Wenxin’s instruction.

“First, go back and continue being the Saintess, after reaching the Soul Transformation stage, announce that Demon Lord Gu Qingcheng is dead, and you’ll become the new Palace Master.”

Liu Churan could not help but tremble, seeming reluctant to consider this option.

Ignoring Liu Churan’s hesitation, Ye Wenxin continued, “The second option, This Lord will give you one year. If you can find this lord within this year, This Lord will go back with you.”

Upon hearing the second option, Liu Churan showed an expression of disbelief.

“So, if This Slave manages to find the Demon Lord, the Demon Lord will never leave this slave’s side again?” Liu Churan found this choice too good to believe, so good that it made her doubt whether Ye Wenxin was lying.

Ye Wenxin naturally was not lying. Her Bone-Shrinking Technique was unparalleled, let alone one year, she could hide for a hundred years without any issue.

Even if Ye Wenxin was found, she had no intention of admitting it.

With such shameless intentions, Ye Wenxin squinted her eyes slightly and continued, “Then what’s your choice?”

“Of course, it’s the second option. When do we start this game of hide and seek?”

Liu Churan was already impatiently envisioning Ye Wenxin staying by her side forever, asking about the starting time.

“Once I leave with this girl, you can start.” Ye Wenxin turned around and walked towards Hei Tong, rousing her from Liu Churan’s charm. Seeing that Liu Churan had regained her fighting spirit, Ye Wenxin’s gaze shifted to the peanut gallery on the ground who had been spectating all along.

“Listen up, This Lord has placed a curse on each of you. If anyone speaks of today’s events, This Lord will make sure they suffer a fate worse than death.” Seeing the the crowd’s dumbfounded expressions, Ye Wenxin had to muster the courage to squeeze out another sentence.

The crowd dared not disobey, kneeling on the ground and agreeing.

After seeing that everything had been settled, Ye Wenxin looked back at Liu Churan.

“Alright, I’m ready to leave now. Churan, get ready.” Ye Wenxin suddenly felt the familiar sense of playing hide and seek, recalling the first game she played with Liu Churan was also hide and seek.

Ye Wenxin had hid very well, and Liu Churan could not find her at all, thinking Ye Wenxin had used this method to abandon her, she cried loudly on the ground.

Now, she seemed to see the appearance of the grown up Liu Churan crying loudly, but this time, Ye Wenxin actually wanted to abandon Liu Churan.

“Wait, Demon Lord, This Slave suddenly feel it’s a bit unfair!” Just as Ye Wenxin was thinking of ending it like this, Liu Churan suddenly stopped her.

Ye Wenxin suppressed the urge to explode, squeezed out a forced smile, “Churan, what’s up with you this time?”

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1. Liu Churan uses this pronoun referring to herself when talking to Wenxin/Qingcheng, indicating she’s the subordinate ↩︎
2. Wenxin/Qingcheng uses this pronoun when she’s asserting her authority as the Demon Lord. ↩︎

TL note: For the pronouns ‘This Lord’ and ‘This Slave’, following the rule of ‘I, my, me, mine’, I only capitalize when they’re used in place of ‘I’.