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The night was dark. The lake shimmered under the faint glow of fireflies.
If one could ignore the countless bodies strewn across the ground, it might have been a perfect setting for a confession. But considering the twisted nature of a certain someone, such minor details might as well be overlooked.
Le Gui observed the momentary stillness in Di Jiang’s expression and made her gaze more sincere. “I like you, Your Lordship. You are my favorite person in this entire world.”
[Tremble before my heartfelt confession, you emotionally blank novel character! Let my sincerity move you to tears!]
Di Jiang’s expression grew even more unreadable.
After a long silence, he finally spoke. “Sometimes, I really want to crack open your skull and take a good look at what’s inside.”
In all his millennia of existence, this was the first time he had encountered someone foolish enough to think they could escape death just by professing their feelings.
“Your Lordship,” Le Gui seized the moment to change the subject. “So you knew there was a spy in Wuyou Palace and pretended to be injured to lure them out?”
Di Jiang started walking away. “Was that a problem?”
“Not at all! How could it be a problem? Your Lordship, whatever you do is always right.” Le Gui quickly flattered him and hurried after him. “It’s all thanks to your wisdom. You knew that turning the situation to your advantage was the only way to root out the traitors. Of course, I also played a role in this. I was able to see through Yaoyao’s scheme in time. When she tried to hand me the Bone-Eroding Poison, I immediately sensed something was off and decisively buried it to prevent your plan from being ruined.”
Di Jiang glanced at her. “Is that so? I thought you were just too cowardly to actually poison me.”
[Well… you’re not wrong.]
A faint smirk tugged at Di Jiang’s lips.
But he hadn’t guessed everything. The real reason Le Gui didn’t go through with the poisoning was because she recognized the knot tied around the small box—it was the same knot as the packaging of the red dress she had once bought.
Considering how that scammer had swindled nearly all her savings and sold her a cheap, mass-produced dress, her first instinct was to return the poison for a refund. But she didn’t want to offend Yaoyao, so she planned to pretend to use it on Di Jiang, return it later, and then secretly give the money back to Yaoyao.
Earlier, while walking through the pile of bodies, she had spotted that scammer among the dead. So it turned out that scammer and Yaoyao had been in on it together from the start.
Realizing that she was the one who had been deceived all along, Le Gui felt both hurt and frustrated.
“Your Lordship, I’m never making friends again,” she sniffled, looking aggrieved.
Di Jiang ignored her.
“I already know I’m not smart. I’m weak. Every time I try to make friends, I just end up being used…” She hesitated. “Well, not every time. Before coming to Wuyou Palace, this never happened to me. But ever since I arrived, I’ve either been ordered around or manipulated. I thought I was being cautious this time, yet I still fell for it.”
“It’s too much. Why is my life so miserable?”
[I have no home to return to. I work hard yet still get tricked. Is there anyone in this world more pitiful than me?]
The night at Diyun Peak was cold. Dark figures of massive demonic creatures flickered in and out of sight, their eerie wails piercing the air. Yet, for the first time, Le Gui wasn’t afraid of the night.
After witnessing so many deaths, she felt dazed, like an overwound toy that had finally snapped. She followed Di Jiang, rambling on and on without thinking.
Di Jiang wanted to ignore her constant whining about betrayal and suffering. He even considered just killing her to put an end to the noise. But he had never met anyone who could turn a simple complaint into a bizarre, meandering monologue.
One moment, she was lamenting about trust and pain. The next, she was grumbling about how Diyun Peak didn’t offer employee benefits, lacked a cafeteria and dormitory, and treated her worse than Bi’an Terrace.
By now, Di Jiang had grown used to the strange words she occasionally threw into her speech. He didn’t bother asking for explanations anymore.
But when they reached the gates of Cangqiong Palace, he suddenly stopped.
“What?” Le Gui halted as well, yawning.
Di Jiang: “Who said you could follow me?”
Le Gui’s yawn was cut off midway, and after a long silence, she cautiously stated, “The lake is full of corpses.”
Di Jiang remained silent, but his expression clearly said, So what?
“…I wish to stay at Cangqiong Palace and serve Your Lordship,” Le Gui switched to formal speech.
Di Jiang narrowed his eyes and scrutinized her for a long time before rejecting her outright. “Cangqiong Palace has never needed servants.”
[Oh please, as if. Who summons eight hundred people just to play music every day?]
“But I truly wish to serve Your Lordship. Please grant me this opportunity,” Le Gui pleaded, letting a single tear fall.
[Such a perfect tear. Such a delicate and pitiful girl. Any decent person would be moved, feel pity, or at least bang their head against the wall in guilt.]
“…Do you not look in the mirror?” Di Jiang suddenly asked.
Le Gui blinked, momentarily suspecting she had accidentally spoken her thoughts out loud.
[No! That’s impossible. I definitely didn’t say that out loud!]
[…Then what does he mean by that? Is he mocking me for looking ugly when I pretend to be sad? Damn it. As if he’s any better-looking—wait, never mind. He is ridiculously good-looking.]
Le Gui pouted. “Your Lordship, just let me stay. I’ll be very quiet.”
“No,” Di Jiang refused once again.
Le Gui widened her eyes. “Why not?”
“Because there are no benefits here,” Di Jiang said flatly.
Le Gui: “…”
“There are also no dormitory or a cafeteria.”
Le Gui: “…”
“The treatment here is even worse than at Bi’an Terrace,” Di Jiang added at a leisurely pace.
Though he had no idea what those strange terms she used actually meant, he could tell they weren’t anything good.
Not killing her didn’t mean he had to tolerate these bizarre remarks.
Le Gui’s lips moved, and after staring at him for a long while, she suddenly had a realization: [What a petty yet handsome man.]
“…Then, how about I go back to Bi’an Terrace?” she cautiously suggested.
[I’ll go back first and figure out a way to leave the Demon Realm later. I don’t want to stay in this wretched place a moment longer!]
Di Jiang glanced at her before walking straight into Cangqiong Palace.
“…So does that mean I can go back?” Le Gui asked hesitantly.
Silence.
Ah, that meant she wasn’t allowed to leave. She sighed but quickly added, “If I can’t go back, then I’ll just stay here in Cangqiong Palace for the night!”
Still no response.
Alright, that was as good as permission. Le Gui happily followed him inside, but as soon as she stepped through the door, her foot landed on a green slime. Her heart skipped a beat, and before she could cover its mouth, it let out a loud wail.
“The blue-faced Dou Erdun stole the imperial horse~!”
A flash of pain crossed Le Gui’s face. She carefully lifted her skirt and tiptoed forward. As she passed by the Seer Mirror, the silent surface of the mirror suddenly reflected a man-eating flower that twisted its petals in her direction.
“Hehuan Sect’s little beast, long time no see,” it sneered.
“Your flower changes?” Le Gui asked, intrigued.
The man-eating flower paused for a moment, then arrogantly placed its leaves on its hips. “Of course.”
“Wow, that’s amazing!” Le Gui clapped her hands.
The flower smiled proudly, but then something felt off. It suddenly swelled three times its size, almost squeezing out of the mirror. “Are you mocking me?!”
“…I can’t even give a compliment now?” Le Gui was speechless.
The flower grew furious. “No! I will never forgive you, you little beast!”
“I have a name. Can you stop calling me that?” Le Gui frowned. “So rude—who did you even learn that from…?” Mid-sentence, she suddenly remembered how Di Jiang always called Juzi that way. Her voice faltered, and she coughed awkwardly. “Never mind. But still, you should learn from His Lordship. When he says those three words, he makes them sound elegant and refined. Look at you—not an ounce of class.”
“I’LL KILL YOU!” The flower flared up, radiating a menacing blue glow.
Le Gui was already exhausted. Rubbing her eyes, she yawned. “Alright, then hurry up.”
The man-eating flower: “…”
“You’re not doing it?” Le Gui found a spot in the corner and sat down. “Then I’m going to sleep.”
The man-eating flower: “…”
She was doing this on purpose. She had to be! She knew the Seer Mirror wasn’t a weapon-type artifact, so she was deliberately provoking it!
The Seer Mirror was an ancient artifact. Over the years, aside from Di Jiang, no one had dared to treat it so lightly. The mirror immediately started jumping and shouting insults at her. Le Gui yawned again. Just when she was about to drift off, the green slime had finally settled down—but then this thing started making noise again.
She lost her patience and sat up abruptly.
“If you keep yapping, do you want a beating?” she asked darkly.
The Seer Mirror fell silent in an instant.
Le Gui gave it a warning glance before lying back down.
After a day filled with betrayal, poison, Di Jiang catching her groping him, and watching countless people die before her eyes, Le Gui had expected to have nightmares. But the moment she lay down, she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. She didn’t even bother to roll over.
However, in the middle of the night, she suddenly woke up coughing.
“Cough, cough, cough…” Le Gui instinctively covered her mouth. After a moment, she cautiously opened her palm and saw streaks of blood.
Blood…
Her eyes widened, her pupils trembling. Though she wasn’t fully awake yet, she immediately started reassuring herself, “It’s fine. It’s nothing… just dry air, my throat’s just irritated.”
“The air in Diyun Peak isn’t dry,” the Seer Mirror’s malicious voice suddenly rang out. “Your Heartbinding Gu is starting to take effect. Coughing up blood is only the beginning. Soon, your limbs will go cold, breathing will become painful, and your chest will feel heavier. Then, you’ll feel invisible threads winding tighter and tighter around your heart—until it’s completely crushed, and you die.”
Though it was summer, Le Gui suddenly felt a bone-deep chill. She stared at the blood in her palm for a long time before slowly walking up to the Seer Mirror.
“Want to make a deal?” the mirror whispered enticingly. “I can teach you how to remove the poison and save your life. In exchange, after you die, your soul will belong to me—”
Before it could finish, Le Gui smeared her blood onto the mirror.
The flower inside the mirror flinched.
“One more word, and I’ll really beat you up,” she said flatly.
The Seer Mirror: “…”
Finally, peace.
Le Gui pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling exhausted. She returned to her spot by the window and lay down again.
Still unwilling to give up, the Seer Mirror asked, “Aren’t you afraid of death?”
“Of course I am,” Le Gui mumbled as she turned over. “Now shut up and let me sleep.”
The Seer Mirror: “…”
She quickly fell asleep again. But just as she finally thought she could rest, a piercing wail echoed through the palace.
“Husband! You have wronged me so terribly!”
Le Gui jolted upright, only to see a woman in dramatic opera makeup standing outside the hall, singing at the top of her lungs. The next moment, a full musical ensemble started playing—suona, jinghu, yueqin—accompanied by acrobatic performances.
Hearing this kind of noise from far away was one thing. Experiencing it up close was an entirely different level of torture. Le Gui felt like her skull was about to split open. She turned her head and, unsurprisingly, saw Di Jiang lounging lazily on his throne, casually watching the spectacle unfold—completely at ease.
As she sobered up a little, she walked up to the throne and gave him a respectful bow. But seeing how comfortably he sprawled there, a sudden thought crossed her mind:
[I don’t like seeing him this happy. If I’m going to die anyway, I should do something big before I go… How about charging at him and taking him by force?]
Di Jiang’s eyes flickered slightly as he finally gave her a proper glance.
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Arya[Translator]
૮꒰˶• ༝ •˶꒱ა ~♡︎