Chapter 12

By the time they arrived at the Extreme Night Palace, it was already the hour of Xu (around 7–9 PM).

The Twelve Masked Gods’ residences were also located within the Extreme Night Palace, scattered across the mountainside, surrounding the main building.

Before parting, the ghost woman suddenly called out to the Empress, leaning close to the carriage curtain.

Liuyu lifted the curtain and glanced out, her movements slightly stiff.

The ghost woman held a wriggling white worm in her hand.

—Fortunately, it was only one, and it was the size of an ordinary caterpillar, so Liuyu wasn’t afraid of it.

“Ghost woman.”

A voice with a slight admonition came from inside the carriage. It was Mo Lin.

Liuyu looked at the small worm, her brows furrowing in seriousness, but the tension soon dissipated.

The caterpillar pupated, breaking out of its cocoon to become a butterfly.

Under the moonlight, the butterfly that emerged from the cocoon had a shimmering blue hue. It fluttered its wings and landed on Liuyu’s hand.

“Does the Empress like it?”

The ghost woman, peeking over the window sill, looked eagerly at Liuyu’s face.

“Yes,” Liuyu half-laughed, half-joking. “It would look nice tied to some gold to make a pretty hairpin. Do you have more?”

—-

The ghost woman quickly covered the little butterfly and fled in embarrassment.

Liuyu curled her lips into a smile.

The green-robed demon behind her rested his head on his hand, observing the smile in her eyes.

Finally, a smile.

“Do you really want the ghost woman’s butterfly?” he asked.

Liuyu casually replied, “Just to scare her. If I didn’t say that, she wouldn’t be afraid of me next time. Who knows what insect she’d show me then… But if I really wanted it?”

When he saw Liuyu looking at him, he shifted his gaze forward.

“If you’re not afraid of being poisoned, you can try.”

Liuyu snorted coldly.

She felt that if she truly wanted it, he would probably steal it for her.

Outside the main building, the lanterns swayed gently in the evening breeze. The female servants, ready for their baths, stood with their heads bowed.

Mo Lin, covered in blood, instinctively went to bathe without needing to be reminded, while Liuyu also planned to change out of her dusty gown.

However, as soon as her foot crossed the threshold, she heard a report from Chao Ming.

“Miss, someone named Lanzhu is here to see you.”

After washing her hands and wiping them dry with a towel, Liuyu replied, “Got it, let him wait in the main hall.”

Chaoming hesitated for a moment, his expression a little unusual.

“Luzhu said… he’s afraid of dirtying the Empress’s carpet and requests to meet you in the back garden.”

Liuyu didn’t quite understand why there was a proper back garden in such a place like the Nine Netherworlds, where no flowers grew.

Under the bright moon, she examined the withered plants beside her, which looked like the stems of some flowers. They seemed familiar, but she couldn’t remember what flowers they were.

This place couldn’t grow flowers anyway, wasn’t it just a waste of effort?

Walking around the artificial mountain path, she came upon a tree transformed by illusion magic into a blue jacaranda. Sure enough, the red-haired demon was waiting under it.

When Liuyu approached, Luzhu didn’t waste time with pleasantries and got straight to the point.

“Today, thanks to the Empress’s help, I didn’t lose face in front of everyone, and I avoided receiving thirty lashes. Your great kindness, Empress, I will remember in my heart and will repay in the future…”

His attitude had completely changed, leaving Liuyu a bit taken aback.

“Don’t you hold a grudge for me slapping you?”

Luzhu froze for a moment and then said, “How could I? Although at the time… I later realized that slap was for the benefit of the Jiufang family. The Empress had your own position to uphold, and without doing so, you would’ve put yourself in a difficult position…”

“Well, it’s not that,” Liuyu casually plucked a withered leaf, playing with it as she smiled at him. “I actually wanted to slap you too.”

Luzhu: “…”

“You have such an arrogant look in your eyes. If you were skilled, it wouldn’t matter, but you… you’re neither here nor there, and you act as if you don’t know your place. It’s really hard to look at.”

Liuyu took a step closer, looking into his eyes with a playful smile that didn’t waver.

“Though, it’s still better than your look back then, like a stray dog.”

The young girl’s face was pure and beautiful, yet when Luzhu met her eyes, he felt as if her dark pupils were like sharp blades, cutting through the armor he had put up, exposing his deepest, most fearful vulnerability.

“You’re afraid of him.”

Luzhu froze, immediately retorting, “I’m not afraid of him!”

Seeing Liuyu’s sudden change in expression, he quickly stopped his coarse words, turning his face away with frustration.

“I’m not afraid of him! I just endured him for the Nine Netherworlds!”

“Is that so?” Liuyu locked her gaze on his eyes. “Then why did I look at you and feel like I was looking at a dog that had been scolded by its master? Even though you were beaten, you didn’t dare bite back?”

Luzhu suddenly turned his head, his chest heaving with rage.

“You don’t understand.”

His bones seemed to creak as he gritted his teeth and said, “Jiufang Xinglan’s father is one of the deputy city lords of Colorless City. In front of you, he may act like a well-behaved cat, but in front of us demons, he’s a ruthless hellish executioner.”

He lifted his gaze, and his eyes were darker than the night.

“Empress, if you were starving to the brink of death and a meat pie made from the flesh of your own kin was placed before you, what would you choose?”

Liuyu’s breath caught.

Luzhu tugged at the corner of his mouth, showing a twisted smile filled with hate and fear.

“Jiufang Xinglan… loves watching such scenes. He is more like a ghost than any of us demons.”

The moonlit mountains were quiet, the evening breeze sweeping through the courtyard, carrying a chill.

Liuyu imagined the scene in her mind, and she could already feel a wave of nausea rising from the pit of her stomach.

Furrowing her brow, she took a while to respond.

“You’re right. In this world, sometimes humans are not human, and demons are not demons… What about you?”

Luzhu was momentarily stunned.

“What about me?”

Liuyu stared directly into his eyes and asked:

“Do you want to be human or a demon?”

Coming back to his senses, Luzhu looked at her with a strange expression for a moment before sneering.

“Empress, we were born as demons and ghosts. What choice do we have in becoming human?”

“Of course you have a choice.”

A clear bell rang from the eaves above.

Liuyu, turning the withered leaf in her hand, looked up and collided with a pair of eyes on the upper floor that had probably been watching them for a long time.

She smiled, the moonlight reflecting in her jet-black eyes, giving off a noble and translucent gleam.

“In this world, demons and evil spirits run rampant. If you choose to be human, I will take you to kill the true evil spirits of this world.”

—-

Inside the room, a faint fragrance lingered in the air, and the candlelight in the corner illuminated the entire space.

The conversation in the flowerbed had long ended. He could hear the sound of water coming from the partition, where the maid was serving Liuyu as she bathed.

Lying on the couch, Mo Lin recalled every word Liuyu had said in the flowerbed earlier, lost in thought.

She seemed different from when she first arrived at the Nine Hells.

Mo Lin still remembered the day she arrived at the Nine Hells. News spread from Qingye about pestilence demons appearing. The Lord of Qingye City sent over ten reports urging the Empress to come, but he had no choice but to send someone in his stead to meet her.

Later, he heard that the apology gift he sent was completely rejected by the people of Xian Du Yu Jing, not a single piece was kept.

On their wedding day, after they had completed the formal ceremonies, they were supposed to sit at the night banquet alongside the demon spirits and wait for the city lords of Nine Hells to come and pay their respects.

However, she didn’t even step into the banquet hall. She only took a glance at the scene inside, then turned around and said she was tired, leaving without looking back.

At that time, how could he have imagined her attitude would change so drastically?

Mo Lin thought about her words to Lan Zhu, thinking about what had happened to her while he wasn’t around.

—Had something happened to her in places he didn’t know?

Just then, the door opened.

“—Just put it there, I’ll apply it myself later.”

A group of maids filed in, putting things in place before placing a white porcelain jar beside the couch.

Mo Lin, lying on the couch, lifted his eyelids and glanced at the object in her hand. As the maid placed it down, her eyes inadvertently caught sight of a demonic tattoo visible on Mo Lin’s waist, where his robe had parted. Her gaze trembled noticeably.

Immediately, the maid realized that a cold, sharp gaze was lingering on her from above.

Liuyu noticed the maid’s hasty departure and was somewhat puzzled but didn’t have time to ask. After the maids had all left, she changed into loose nightclothes and sat down in her usual spot, crossing over Mo Lin.

“Hand it here.”

She pointed at the jar the maid had brought. After Mo Lin handed it to her, he watched as she opened the lid to reveal a jar of white fragrant ointment.

After a moment’s thought, Mo Lin finally spoke:

“What exactly do you mean by your actions today?”

The sweet fragrance of gardenias filled the room. Liuyu scooped some ointment with her middle finger and applied it to her cheek, replying:

“Whatever you understood from my actions, that’s what I meant. How about it? I’ve shown enough sincerity, haven’t I?”

“You want to ally with the Nine Hells?”

Mo Lin’s gaze grew darker as he fixed his eyes on her.

“Do you know what that means?”

“Of course,” Liuyu lowered her eyes, using the warmth of her finger to spread the ointment on her arm. “I’m going against the Da Chao, going against the immortal families. I know what I’m doing.”

“Then you dare—”

Before Mo Lin could finish his sentence, Liuyu lifted her skirt, revealing her slender, fair calf.

His words stopped abruptly. He averted his gaze and after a long pause, said:

“What’s going on with what you said to Lan Zhu earlier? Do you have enemies in Xian Du Yu Jing?”

Liuyu nodded calmly.

“Can’t your parents handle it?”

After applying the ointment, Liuyu lowered her skirt. The moonlight from the window illuminated her profile, her face unadorned with makeup, showing a peaceful tranquility.

“They’re probably already handling it, but… from the results, it hasn’t been very effective.”

Mo Lin thought she was referring to Jiufang Xinglan, who had been less respectful to her than before, but he didn’t press the matter.

He then looked at her and said:

“You shouldn’t be telling me these things.”

“Why not?” Liuyu asked with interest.

Seeing her innocent expression, as if she were carelessly acting because she relied on her family, Mo Lin couldn’t help but furrow his brows.

She was too ostentatious, her life too smooth-sailing. She didn’t know how many people were scheming behind her back, coveting her and her family, just waiting for the day she fell from grace, so they could vent their twisted malice on her.

She didn’t understand the dangers of the world, and that ignorance would come at a price.

“Because knowing this, I can do a lot of things.”

Liuyu finished the ointment in the porcelain jar and looked up, only to find that Mo Lin had suddenly leaned forward, closing the distance between them.

He didn’t touch her.

But his hand was playing with the porcelain jar, his rough fingers rubbing against its smooth surface, his hand clearly strong enough to crush the jar if he applied just a little more pressure.

“Just like how the Jiufang family is willing to cooperate with the Jade-Faced Spider, more people in the Da Chao will be willing to cooperate with me. I can find your enemies, form an alliance with them to divide up the Yinshan clan. Without the Yinshan clan as your backing, no matter how strong you are, you’ll be left isolated. At that point, I can do whatever I want with you, and you’ll have no power to resist.”

His dark green eyes glowed like fireflies in the night, fixed on her as if to pull her into the flames within his gaze.

But Mo Lin didn’t know, if there was one person Liuyu wasn’t afraid of in this world, it was him.

“…You could do that now.”

Mo Lin’s eyes trembled slightly.

“Your power exceeds mine, even with Chaoyuan and Chaoming, they’re no match for you.”

Liuyu tilted her head and looked at him, saying:

“But you won’t do it.”

Her tone was so certain, so certain that Mo Lin couldn’t tell if she was too naive or if she could truly see through him.

“…Why?”

Liuyu, with her long hair cascading down, supported herself on her hands behind her, slightly raising her chin. She met his intense gaze with an almost unguarded expression, as if she were already strategizing.

“Because you are a demon with the heart of a human.”

A stone was thrown into the long-dead pond, and ripples spread across the surface, disturbing the still water.

The emotions rising from deep within his heart were so overwhelming that Mo Lin almost had a premonition of something unbearable.

“Although you grew up as a demon, and no doubt suffered from the bullying and trampling of humans, you never, like the Jade-faced Spider, thought of reopening the heavenly gates to let the evil beings from beyond return to the human world and destroy humanity. Your power is enough for you to act recklessly in this world, yet you choose to remain north of the Demon Wall, allowing your kin to live peaceful lives—you’re more like a human than many others.”

She analyzed him bluntly, accurately, and without any pretension.

Each word was so intense it made his heart tremble, landing on him like a scorching sentence that would burn into his life.

The night was dark, and he sat in the room, observing her current expression—one that was sure and unwavering.

Mo Li could feel the part of him that belonged to the demons stirring within him.

His gaze remained calm, but only he knew that beneath this calm facade, a more intense longing was invading his rational mind, buzzing in his ears. The more he suppressed it, the stronger his heartbeat became.

Did she know what she was saying?

Just a few hours ago, she had looked at the strange limbs of the demons with disgust, as if she couldn’t wait to escape back to the Immortal Capital of Yujing.

And now she said—

He was more like a human than many others.

No one would ever describe a demon in such a way.

Such a filthy and lowly bloodline.

But suddenly, the girl before him seemed to merge with the image of herself at thirteen or fourteen, when she had once said something similar.

…She had never changed.

She had always been different from those in the Immortal families.

Liuyu would never know how Mo Li had used his willpower to quell the invading desires from his instincts and managed to speak to her in such a seemingly calm tone:

“Tell me, how do you want to cooperate?”

Seeing that he agreed, Liuyu relaxed a little and directly said:

“The people around me, in front of those immortal families in Dazhao, are all just names. Many things are inconvenient to do, but you’re different. Many people in Dazhao don’t even know what you look like, let alone who is around you.”

Mo Lin understood. She wanted to borrow people.

It wasn’t a big deal, so he nodded:

“Alright.”

“The people behind the Demon-slaying faction aren’t just from the Jiufang family. In exchange, I’ll help you find them all and eliminate them, so you can secure your position as the Demon Lord.”

Upon hearing this, Mo Lin’s expression changed slightly. After a moment of silence, he said:

“This isn’t a good thing for Dazhao.”

Not just a bad thing.

If Dazhao found out this idea came from Liuyu, even the Yinshan family would have to apologize.

Liuyu, however, smiled and said, “I don’t care if they die.”

In her past life, her entire family was nearly wiped out by those immortal families in Dazhao—why should she care about their interests?

Not pushing Mo Lin to start a killing spree right now was already showing some kindness on her part.

Mo Lin studied her for a long time.

She really did have many enemies.

And the hatred was deep—she must have done something extremely evil to make her hold such a grudge.

He then put forward a few conditions, like her not being allowed to mobilize the armies of the Nine Netherworlds, but these didn’t need to be mentioned. Liuyu would certainly never cross such a line.

The alliance was formed, and Liuyu blew out the last candle in the inner room, ready to lie down and sleep.

“By the way.”

Liuyu turned her eyes and casually asked as she looked at the rising side profile of the person beside her:

“Since we’re talking about revenge, killing one is the same as killing two. Did you have any enemies when you were in Wuse City? If it’s convenient, I can take care of them for you.”

Her eyes, which had been closed, suddenly opened.

Almost immediately, a face appeared in his mind—handsome and noble, like jade or zhang.

A cold smile appeared on Mo Lin’s lips, and he nearly blurted out that name—

But in the end, he swallowed it back.

“No,” he closed his eyes. “If I did, I’ve already killed them all.”

Liuyu seemed regretful: “Then forget it.”

After Liuyu closed her eyes and fell asleep, Mo Li finally relaxed his breathing.

If he had mentioned Jiu Fang Zhang Hua’s name just now, what would her expression have been?

Mo Lin remembered the image of the girl standing beside that person.

The young master of the immortal family, elegant in speech, would write passionate poetry with beautiful calligraphy for his beloved, and he would grow golden-threaded jade to let the world know of her unparalleled beauty.

…Forget it.

He didn’t want to see any trace of her caring for that person in her expression.

Her breathing evened out, and the girl beside him had fallen asleep.

Mo Lin, with the matter still pressing on his mind, didn’t feel tired until late at night. Just as he was about to sleep, he heard a faint rustling sound.

The Demon Lord opened his eyes in the darkness.

—The soft, fragrant girl beside him crossed two blankets and crawled into his arms.

The previously subdued desire flared up again, affecting all his senses. He could almost hear the blood rushing through his body, frantic and desperate.

The girl in his arms, sleeping peacefully, probably didn’t know.

The demon who had just been called “a demon with the heart of a human” was now staring at her soft neck in the dark, his mind consumed with one thought—

He wanted to taste her.

Inside and out.