Chapter 27

“I’ve held hands with… oh, so many people.”

Liuyu, breathless from the passionate kiss, slowly regained her composure. She lazily recited a list of names, starting with Chaoming and ending with a childhood friend who promised to marry her when she was five. She teased:

“You’re reacting so strongly, could it be your first time holding hands?”

Liuyu originally meant it as a joke.

How could someone grow up without ever holding hands with anyone? Friends occasionally pull each other along, right?

But in the silence of the demon ghost before her, Liuyu slowly closed her mouth.

It seemed this really was his first time holding hands with someone.

How pitiful.

Mo Lin didn’t know what Liuyu was thinking at that moment; his mind was still replaying the names she had mentioned.

No Jiufang Zhanghua—good.

The Demon Lord with a cold appearance had a slightly stiff expression.

He knew what Yin Shan Ze was referring to. The box contained some pills which, according to Chao Ming, were contraceptive pills that were not commonly found on the market. Yin Shan Ze had specifically ordered them for Mo Li.

——Liuyu is still young and cannot be reckless.

Yin Shan Ze also asked Chao Ming to convey this message to him.

Mo Li looked away and said:

“Hmm.”

Unlike the somewhat shy young man, Yin Shan Ze smiled openly:

“Remember to use them as needed. If they are not enough, inform me anytime, and I will have someone send more to Jiuyou.”

Of course, he did not hope that Mo Li would request more anytime soon, as that box, under normal circumstances, should last at least three to four years.

After Mo Li left, the smile on Yin Shan Ze’s face quickly faded. He stared at Liuyu’s tearful eyes and asked:

“Were you bullied in Jiuyou?”

Liuyu swallowed the lump in her throat and changed the subject without showing any emotion:

“How could I be bullied… But why are you dressed so plainly today?”

The white clothes he was wearing had no decorations at all, resembling mourning attire. Liuyu knew her father loved to dress up, spending an hour each day just choosing clothes and applying makeup, far more meticulously than her mother.

Seeing her unwilling to speak, Yin Shan Ze did not press further. He simply held his wine cup and said with a subtle smile:

“When there’s a major loss in the family, naturally, one should dress plainly.”

Major loss—

Liuyu realized belatedly that if the family suffered a loss and he could still smile so happily, the only one who could have “died” must be her third uncle.

“How did the people in Yujing react?”

Liuyu asked with interest.

“At first, there was a lot of suspicion, but once the coffin returned to Yujing and our family officially held the funeral, even adding your third uncle’s death year to the family records, the external doubts finally subsided.”

Yin Shan Ze brushed off the fallen petals on his clothes, his half-lowered eyelashes catching a few strands of hair. A smile formed on his lips as he said:

“These people came to offer condolences in a pretentious manner, but in reality, they were all scheming how to take over the unclaimed Taiping City.”

In the current weakened state of the Chao dynasty, the emperor, besides holding the Jade Seal of China and granting a few powerless official titles, had no real control over his territory.

The land was in the hands of local strongmen and aristocratic families, and taxes could not reach the capital, making it impossible for the emperor to maintain his own army.

As the emperor, he even had to sell official positions to maintain a delicate balance among the various aristocratic families eyeing his power.

In such chaotic times, a prosperous city like Taiping, with its wealthy merchants and significant taxes, naturally became a target for all.

But for the Yin Shan family, the wealthiest in the world, losing a small city like Taiping was like losing a single gold coin out of a hundred.

Regrettable, but not crippling.

Investing a large number of family experts for that city would be the truly crippling matter.

Moreover—

“A Jing has told me about your idea of using a fake aristocratic family’s golden cicada strategy… It’s risky, but given the current situation, it might be the most gentle way to extricate ourselves.”

The Yin Shan family had already reached the pinnacle of nobility, and the next step would be directly aiming at the royal capital of Zhongzhou.

Therefore, Liuyu initially proposed the alliance marriage with Jiuyou, hoping to withdraw from the political scene of Xian Du Yujing and show sincerity to the other aristocratic families that the Yin Shan family would not advance further.

However, the assassination attempt on Yin Shan Qi by two families proved that even if Liuyu married into Jiuyou, they would not give up their pursuit of the Yin Shan family.

It was a life-or-death situation with no retreat.

Yin Shan Ze sighed lightly.

“Regarding Taiping City, feel free to proceed. If it succeeds, that’s great. If not, it’s just a calamity our family must face—”

“I don’t believe in fate.”

Liuyu leaned forward, her eyes showing a rare seriousness as she stared into Yin Shan Ze’s astonished eyes:

“As long as I have a breath left, I will never allow history to repeat itself.”

After a while, Yin Shan Ze understood what she meant by “history repeating itself.”

Nangong Jing had mentioned to him that Liuyu said she had a dream where Jiufang Zhanghua betrayed the Yin Shan family. After he and Nangong Jing died, the Yin Shan family was destroyed in an instant, leaving almost no survivors.

“Our Liuyu is still a child,” Yin Shan Ze comforted her lovingly, holding his forehead, “It’s just a dream, not reality. Our family is big and strong; we won’t fall so easily.”

Hearing this, Liuyu’s face immediately darkened:

“——Do you trust Jiufang Zhanghua more than me?”

Yin Shan Ze took a sip of wine and smiled: “Instead of persuading me, you should persuade your sister. She follows Zhanghua around all day, and he deceives her every time.”

Liuyu sat back in her original position and noticed a peeled orange nearby. She took a few segments and ate them slowly, leaning against the table:

“She’s the last person I can persuade.”

Yin Shan Ze was a bit puzzled:

“I heard recently that your attitude towards Liu Niang has improved a lot, so why are you still…”

“Father, do you really know her?”

Liuyu replied with irritation:

“She loves to go against me. The more I persuade her, the more she’ll consider Jiufang Zhanghua as precious. She needs to fall and see how poor her judgment is.”

“Her judgment is poor?” Yin Shan Ze couldn’t help but tease, “Didn’t you also…”

“The matter of the third uncle isn’t finished yet.”

Liuyu harshly changed the topic.

“Letting him in Taiping City is like giving a free rein. He colluded with the Jiufang family and Zhongli family, forged household registrations, and sold admission slots to the Xian Dao Academy. The accounts are in my hands, with irrefutable evidence. This time, we must punish him severely. Our family cannot rot from within.”

“Understood, understood.”

Despite having already made up her mind, she asked him one last question out of courtesy. Mo Li glanced at her and said, “As long as he is willing to register in the Nine Nether Household Register, it’s fine. But do you trust him that much? He is a retainer of the Jiufang family.”

“There’s no choice. He has some skills, and we can’t be the foolish noble family that wastes talent because of their background,” Liuyu said, turning the dossier towards Mo Li with a smile. “Besides, look at this.”

Mo Li’s green eyes skimmed over the writing on the dossier. “He has a daughter? And his wife is from your Yīnshān family’s retainers?”

“That’s right! I suspect that after the relationship between the Jiufang family and our family became strained, the retainers sensed the shift in winds and divorced to mitigate risks. Whether it was voluntary or forced, who knows… Hey, you can read?” Liuyu suddenly realized.

Mo Li’s half-lowered eyelids seemed to express a mix of frustration and resignation. “What do you think?”

He was just not well-versed in poetry and literature.

Hearing his slightly irritated response, Liuyu couldn’t help but smile and said, “True, it would be strange if the Lord of the Nine Nether Demons couldn’t read at all… Our lord is indeed impressive. Did you learn it after arriving in the Nine Nether? Who taught you?”

Lying on the couch, Liuyu propped her chin with her hand, her voice and her swinging feet, like hooks on his heart.

“It was someone you know,” he said suddenly as he blew out the candle.

Liuyu was stunned. Someone she knew? Before she could ask further, her voice was swallowed by his, as he kissed her fiercely.

Liuyu suddenly felt she had opened a can of worms. Even in her previous life, she had never experienced such an intense kiss. It was like falling into a beast’s den, being devoured completely.

In her past life, she had found Mo Li to be overly indulgent, so she had set a rule of only once a month after their marriage. Every time, she focused solely on her own feelings, calling it off when she had enough, regardless of whether he was left hanging.

A muddled thought crossed Liuyu’s mind—had this man never once been satisfied in their past life?

Just as she thought this, he stopped.

Liuyu opened her watery eyes, watching his distinct fingers re-tie the loosened sash of her clothing.

“…Sleep,” he said.

Liuyu tilted her head to look at him.

Mo Li glanced at her and explained, “It’s inconvenient for you to bathe here, and besides…”

It hasn’t been a month yet.

Liuyu guessed the rest of his sentence. Imagining how he had almost devoured her just now but stopped because it hadn’t been a month, she couldn’t help but find it amusing.

This person…

This person…

Liuyu made a soft sound of acknowledgment. It wasn’t really because of the one-month rule; she was indeed tired. There were still many things to handle the next day, and she really couldn’t afford to stay up late.

“No need to hide,” Liuyu said, closing her eyes and extending her hand to Mo Li in the dark. “Let me touch.”

Mo Li: “…”

Realizing her words sounded odd, Liuyu quickly clarified, “I mean your appendage, or your snake tail, snake scales, whatever.”

In the pitch-black night, Mo Li, with his excellent night vision, looked at her fluttering eyelashes.

“What do you want to do?”

“I have to perform the demon dance for the Ghost Play Immortal Festival, right?” Liuyu kept her eyes tightly shut. “To play a deity and exorcise demons, I have to fight with demons and ghosts. How can I perform the exorcism dance if I don’t overcome my fear in advance?”

This was the grandest ceremony in the Nine Nether.

In the past, she had skipped it out of spite. Now that she had decided to do it, she wanted to do it perfectly, better than any previous chief priest.

Mo Li hesitated.

But seeing her determined expression, he finally placed a snake tail lightly into her white hand.

It was slippery, cold, and scaly, slowly wrapping around her hand—

“Hiss—”

Mo Li groaned, “Don’t grip so tightly.”

Liuyu, with sweat on her back, pretended to be calm and responded with a soft sound.

In reality, she felt her scream was stuck in her throat.

But she wouldn’t scream out loud—that would be too embarrassing. She would just pretend to be unbothered and act as if she wasn’t scared enough to crush the snake tail wrapped around her hand.

“That’s enough for tonight. Don’t move, just hold it and sleep,” Liuyu said, stopping the tail from moving further up her arm. She could almost feel the cold, hard scales scraping against her skin, raising goosebumps all over.

Mo Li breathed a sigh of relief.

He was also worried that if Liuyu’s sword-wielding hand got serious, it could break bones even if it didn’t sever the tail.

Neither spoke further, preparing to sleep.

Liuyu was exhausted from her trip to Taiping City. Despite holding the snake tail, she quickly fell asleep.

The one who couldn’t sleep was someone else.

Mo Li looked down at her hand holding the snake tail, her small palm pressing against the demon’s sensitive appendage. The sensitivity was meant for combat, but being held by her like this, it caused an uncontrollable spasm.

…It would be better if she used a bit more force.

The long night was hard to endure.

He closed his eyes and let out a long breath.

—

Birds chirped, and faint voices could be heard outside the door.

When Liuyu woke up, Mo Li was no longer by her side. She hadn’t felt his departure, proving how deeply she had slept.

After summoning the maid to wash and dress her, Liuyu got up and left the room.

She didn’t know if it wasn’t time for the early lessons at the Ghost Dao Courtyard, or if the lessons were over, but the demons were all gathered in the square outside.

Liuyu glanced around and saw Chao Ming sparring with a demon ghost on the left. The opponent was not weak, and Chao Ming was barely holding the upper hand, the talismans in his hand almost catching fire. The surrounding demon ghosts were cheering for their comrade.

“Don’t lose heart, don’t lose heart! His Qi Sea is vast but lacks killing moves. Wear him out and find an opportunity!”

“Yes! Exhaust his Qi Sea, and you’ll surely find a flaw!”

…That was understandable.

But on the other side, Chao Yuan was also sparring with a demon ghost, yet her treatment was entirely different.

“Sister Yuan, get him—!!”

“Kill, kill, kill!”

“Sister Yuan, you’re so cool!!”

The men and women surrounding Chao Yuan seemed to be cheering her on, as if they were all falling at her feet, completely awed by her prowess with a long knife.

“What is going on here?”

Liuyu looked towards Yin Shanqi, who was watching the scene from the steps.

Two azure and red birds were circling above the plaza. Yin Shanqi casually tossed a few honey balls made from flower nectar from his pocket to feed them and said leisurely:

“You already know that our little Chao Yuan is amazing with a knife. It’s no surprise that these clumsy mud-walkers with only tentacles are intimidated by her. As for Chao Ming over there… Heh, those demon ghosts from the Ghost Path Court think he’s your consort and are venting their anger for their master.”

Liuyu glanced at Chao Ming, who was being jeered at.

The young man in black was so angry that he gritted his back teeth, and talismans fell like rain.

This… seemed to be a common misunderstanding in his previous life as well.

Who could blame him when he and his sister had such distinct roles? She managed external affairs while he handled domestic ones exceptionally well, to the point where Liuyu couldn’t find a replacement even if he wanted to.

Liuyu looked around again but didn’t see Mo Li’s figure.

“Looking for your husband, aren’t you?”

The flamboyant youth in red swept his gaze over Liuyu, snorting:

“Who would’ve thought, you little brat, used to fight with Tan Ning over Zhang Hua like cats and dogs. Now, in just a few days in the Nine Netherworlds, you’re so infatuated you can’t find your bearings, waking up and starting to look for him?”

Liuyu, without a hint of embarrassment, said:

“Hehe, it’s still better than someone being so old and yet unable to find a wife.”

Yin Shanqi’s face immediately changed: “You little brat, who’s old? Is over a hundred very old? Very old? How many young people are as handsome and outstanding as your third uncle—”

Liuyu couldn’t be bothered to deal with him.

Yin Shanqi, unwilling to argue with his blind niece any longer, pointed irritably towards the back of the house.

“Don’t be in such a rush to find your husband. The communication array is still open. Your father told me to call you over once you woke up. Your demon ghost husband is inside too, probably having a lively chat…”

Father and Mo Li?

Liuyu frowned.

What could they possibly talk about?

Meanwhile…

In the communication array connected to the Celestial Capital Yujing.

Mountain cherry blossoms fell softly onto the white-clad youth’s robes as he reclined on a low couch, his eyes closed. The sound of elegant court music echoed through the courtyard, reaching the Ghost Path Court far away, making the room even quieter.

Clearly, the other party wasn’t asleep.

Mo Li, seeing that he wasn’t willing to speak, didn’t say anything either. He just casually flipped through the books in the room.

After turning a few pages, a soft voice came from the array:

“You don’t like reading. Why pretend? Can you even understand it?”

Being so bluntly exposed didn’t anger Mo Li. He calmly replied:

“Thanks to my benefactor’s teachings, I can read well enough to understand.”

The white-clad youth, with a cloak draped over his shoulders, slowly opened his eyes.

As he opened his eyes, an air of elegance flowed from his brows, like a jade mountain lying down, an orchid blossoming—truly living up to his reputation as “the most graceful in the Celestial Capital, Young Master Ze dominating the scene.”

Yin Shan Ze looked at the rarely humble demon ghost.

He curled his lips.

“And you dare to talk about benefactors. Your way of repaying your benefactor is to steal his most treasured possession? You little bastard.”

He said, “Thank you for the reminder, Lord.”

Putting away his smoking pipe, Mo Lin glanced at the little girl on the plaza who was practicing her Qi.

The Lord of the Demons suddenly spoke:

“Is this how you take care of your daughter as well?”

Unlike the disheveled appearance from last night, Yue Niang looked completely different today. Her tangled hair had been tidied, and though she was still wearing the same old clothes, they were now free of dust from the journey. Clearly, someone had not only washed them but also dried them quickly with Qi.

Fang Fucang looked at Yue Niang:

“She is a few years older than my daughter, so it’s easier to take care of her. My daughter is very particular about her hairdos. Sometimes it takes two hours to get them right because she insists on all sorts of fancy styles, even though she doesn’t have enough hair for them—”

He stopped mid-sentence.

It had been a long time since he last saw his daughter.

By now, her hair should have grown much longer. He wondered if it was now enough to do the hairstyles she liked.

Turning his head, he noticed the green-eyed demon staring at him intently. Those deep, green eyes were like whirlpools, making it hard to discern his emotions.

After a while, the demon asked:

“Did you do something to wrong your wife, or is there discord between you two?”

Squatting by the steps, Fang Fucang didn’t understand why this demon lord was so curious about his personal life.

He looked at Yue Niang, his gaze distant.

“Neither. People like us rarely get to choose our own marriages. When needed, we are paired up; when not, we are separated with a single cut—cough, cough. I speak only for myself, with no other meaning. Of course, Lord and Lady Demon are a perfect match and will undoubtedly be together until death…”

Mo Lin paid no attention to his words.

Fang Fucang was actually right.

This marriage for Liu Yu was never her own choice. He was not the husband she desired, nor was he Yin Shanze’s ideal son-in-law. Getting close to Liu Yu might even bring trouble to her in the future.

But.

Even so.

Even knowing he should restrain himself, he couldn’t stop his jealousy towards that person. He couldn’t stop thinking—

He had to insist.

No matter the cost, he had to grow old with her, to be inseparable in life and death.