GD Ch. 10

Chapter 10: Why Does It Feel Familiar?

Even if the shell was broken, it was still the egg of a divine offspring, not something others could just look at.

Hongqu immediately averted her gaze and led the way ahead with her head lowered. This was only her second time going to Heart-Questioning Rock. It was the kind of place where it was pitch black with no hint of light, no wind from any direction, and an eerie silence all around, so quiet that even the sound of wind couldn’t be heard. It would have been eerily quiet if it weren’t for the sound of shoes scraping against the yellow sand as they walked.

But in such quietness, one could indeed ponder their own heart, for who else could hear the sound of their own heart if not in such silence?

However, it was indeed strange to have such a place in the Devil Realm. Devils were known for their indulgence and capriciousness. Questioning one’s heart, a time-consuming activity like this, was something only beings from the realms of humans and immortals would engage in. A place like this standing in the midst of the Devil Realm was like a stain, even if it was not considered forbidden, no one would go there.

As they approached Heart-Questioning Rock, the mountain path became darker, and even the light from lanterns seemed dimmer. There truly was no wind around, it was eerily still.

Zhuyou held her egg and followed behind the lotus demon. Somehow, her heart tightened suddenly, feeling like she had been here before.

She should have been here, yet she hadn’t.

After some thought, perhaps she had visited a place similar to this one before. Otherwise, how could she have such a familiar feeling?

“Did you have my instructions memorized and relay them to Luo Qing without missing a single word?” Zhuyou suddenly asked, her tone icy.

The sound of sand and gravel being trodden upon filled the air. As Zhuyou spoke, the lotus demon ahead, dressed in red, seemed startled, instinctively shrinking her neck. Hongqu trembled slightly and hastily replied, “Of course, word for word!”

Zhuyou nodded approvingly. “Then Second Lord Luo should not default on his word.”

“How could he? Second Lord Luo has always been true to his word, daring and forthright. He’s one of the rare honest devils among us,” Hongqu said, barely daring to breathe, her words flowing out rapidly.

Zhuyou was pleased and stroked the egg twice, absentmindedly scraping her fingertip over a crack in the shell. She quickly glanced down, hoping she hadn’t damaged the already fragile eggshell. Luckily, the dragon egg’s shell was extremely tough, reinforced with layers beyond the norm, not easily damaged by mere mortals.

Throughout the journey, there was still no movement from inside the egg, as if whatever was within had decided to remain motionless for eternity.

Hongqu glanced back and saw the fallen divine offspring fuming, as if angered by something. But along the way, besides herself, no one else was present. She dared not speak again, wishing she could quicken her pace even further.

After passing the calm waters and seeing the silent birds, one step further led to the Heart-Questioning Rock.

Hongqu suddenly stopped in her tracks. If she stepped a bit further, she would encounter the prohibition of this guarded rock, an area ordinary people couldn’t touch; trespassers would undoubtedly perish.

Still holding the egg, which was as quiet as the Heart-Questioning Rock, Zhuyou looked up at the strange rock before her. These rocks were haphazardly stacked, some round like persimmons, some sharp like bamboo shoots, or flat like discs, arranged in a somewhat crude manner. Only after her eyes were strained from looking did she glance past the ink-black words “Heart-Questioning Rock” and ask, “Is this it?”

Hongqu, who dared not take another step forward, softly replied with her head bowed, “Yes, this is it. If one shouts here, Lord Luo Qing will hear.”

“Shout, then,” Zhuyou said succinctly.

Hongqu widened her eyes, almost out of breath.

“Don’t delay, hurry up,” Zhuyou urged.

Lowering her voice, Hongqu murmured, “My voice isn’t as pleasant as yours.”

“If it were about being pleasant, I would’ve brought a bird, not you,” Zhuyou said, a hint of disdain in her words.

Reluctantly, Hongqu shouted, “Lord Luo Qing! This—”

Zhuyou whispered beside her, “Scraggly bird.”

Hongqu thought, This pit is really deep; I might as well fall to my death. Her eyes almost teared up as she continued, “—this scraggly bird humbly—”

“Implore,” Zhuyou interjected coldly.

Feeling like crying without tears, Hongqu continued, “—implores you to come over!”

Zhuyou nodded slightly in satisfaction. Her silver-white hair seemed to glow in the darkness. Supposed to be immaculate and lofty, yet somehow more devilish than the devils themselves.

Forced to speak against her will, the lotus demon muttered to herself, amazed at the lofty status of this fallen divine offspring, who belittled herself while simultaneously inflating her worth, which was absurd.

As soon as the shout ended, a shimmering light flashed less than three feet away—a restriction.

Zhuyou stepped into the restriction while holding her dragon egg, then turned and beckoned to the lotus demon. When she beckoned with her finger, it was as stirring as the sound of bamboo being shaken, leaving one’s heart pounding and unforgettable. Despite being in the devil’s domain, she made people feel as if they were in the heavens with her heavenly beauty.

For a moment, Hongqu’s mind was bewitched, and she took a step forward. But as she did, she collided with the reformed restriction. Feeling as if she’d been struck by lightning, her hair sang, and she nearly foamed at the mouth. She was jolted awake by the shock, only now realizing she had forgotten that her true body had been taken away by this fallen divine offspring.

Zhuyou sneered. Once feeling the coolness of the dragon egg in her hand, she turned and walked deeper into the Heart-Questioning Rock.

The silent birds perched on the branches tilted their heads. Their closed beaks were slightly ajar, yet not a single sound escaped.

The rugged and grotesque rocks stood tall, their bizarre appearance truly resembling the devils imagined by mortals, with crooked noses and twisted faces, exceedingly ugly. But how could devils be ugly? They were masters of beguiling the heart, adept at creating obstacles and disturbing the minds of mortals. If they were ugly, how could they beguile anyone?

Zhuyou stood behind a large area of charred dead trees for a moment. The silent birds on the trees scattered as she approached.

With each passing moment, it felt more familiar, as if she had been here before. The clusters of birds flying away silently, the half-person-high cave in front of her—all incredibly familiar.

Yet she was certain she had never been here before. It was impossible.

As she was about to bend down and step into the pitch-black cave, the dragon egg in her arms suddenly cracked open again.

Zhuyou thought, how coincidental for the egg to crack open at this moment. Could it be because of the abundant spiritual energy here?

As she lowered her head, she was startled by the haphazard cracks in the egg. The original crack had not widened, but another crack had appeared nearby, forming two dark holes that oddly resembled a pair of eyes.

Inside the two thumb-sized holes, it was still too dark to see anything. Perhaps the dragon inside was naturally black.

Zhuyou raised her head, bent over, and stepped into the surprisingly low cave entrance, thinking to herself that the true form of the East Sea Dragon King was pure white, and even the recently married Crown Dragon Prince Mangfeng was a translucent blue-white. In the past few hundred years, no dragon had been this color—As dark as ink, not like any proper dragon.

***

Although the oddly shaped entrance was a bit low, once inside, it was relatively spacious. Translucent spirit stones clung to the walls, seemingly haphazardly cut out, not very smooth, with sharp edges everywhere. The clusters of spirit stones resembled ice crystals, explaining the abundant spiritual energy.

Luo Qing had been waiting for a long time, sitting cross-legged beside a pool of dark water with large pieces of wooden boards vaguely visible in the pool. They weren’t actually wooden boards but the lid of the coffin containing the Devil Lord’s body.

The water in the pool was calm, making no sound no matter how disturbed it was. It was also very heavy; a bucketful could crush an ordinary person to death.

“Please help me, Your Grace,” Luo Qing quickly stood and bowed his head respectfully.

Zhuyou waved her hand, gesturing for him to step aside a bit.

Luo Qing immediately shifted to the side and took a step back.

Only the coffin in the pool was visible, but there was no sign of the crystal containing the Devil Lord’s soul.

Zhuyou held the dragon egg in one hand and raised the other slightly. As if holding a heavy object in her palm, each inch of movement appearing incredibly strenuous.

In the blink of an eye, a wooden box emerged from the water, dark still water dripping from its top into the pool. With a click, the lid of the wooden box opened, and dazzling light emanated from within, illuminating the haphazardly cut spirit stones, creating a breathtaking scene.

Zhuyou squinted slightly and saw the Crystal of Law inside the wooden box, round like a ball, with a faint light emanating from its core. That glaring light coming from within was the remnant soul left by the Devil Lord.

Just looking at the flickering light, one couldn’t discern much, but Zhuyou inexplicably felt familiar with it. After a while, she suddenly realized that the memories of the Devil Lord were stored not in the remnant soul itself, but in the primordial spirit symbiotically connected to it.

The flickering light within the core of the crystal appeared somewhat weak, likely because the remnant soul attached to it was extremely feeble, causing even the accompanying primordial spirit to dim considerably.

The light kept flickering, like a candle flame swaying in the wind, on the verge of extinguishing with the slightest distraction.

How could she feel familiar with such a thing?

“Please repair the cracks in the Crystal of Law, Your Grace,” Luo Qing’s deep, bell-like voice suddenly sounded.

Zhuyou, who had been focused on the faint light within the crystal, snapped out of her thoughts. She then noticed that there were numerous small cracks on the crystal. The Crystal of Law wouldn’t crack for no reason. Perhaps it was influenced by the remnant soul inside.

But it couldn’t come out; that would undoubtedly lead to its demise.

“This Heart-Questioning Rock is quite impressive,” Zhuyou remarked abruptly.

Luo Qing understood immediately. “The Heart-Questioning Rock belongs to the Devil Lord.”

“If I intervene, it could be considered a debt owed to me by the Devil Lord,” Zhuyou said as she closed the wooden box with a flick of her hand, plunging the surroundings back into darkness.

Luo Qing remained silent. He didn’t dare to act on behalf of the Devil Lord.

“Draft a written agreement, so the Devil Lord won’t forget when he awakens,” Zhuyou said. With a flick of her hand, a phoenix tail feather made into a quill appeared in her palm. She elegantly waved her hand, and a line of text immediately appeared on the ceiling of the cave, the script flowing like drifting clouds, exceptionally beautiful.

“Half the spirit stones owed have been paid in full.”

Luo Qing looked at it solemnly, not quite understanding how it was considered paid in full. 

But soon, half of the spirit stones vanished without a trace with a thunderous roar, leaving only the half of grotesque black rocks.

Half of the spirit stones were simply taken away like that.

Before Luo Qing could say anything, he saw the fallen divine offspring open the wooden box again.

A continuous stream of Phoenix Clan spiritual power poured into the crystal, and in an instant, the cracks vanished completely.

Luo Qing had already been depleted of his spiritual power before this. Initially weakened, he succumbed under the pressure of the fallen divine offspring’s spiritual force, falling to his knees with a thud.

As the wooden box closed, it slowly sank into the still water, completely concealed by the pitch-black, ink-like pool.

“You don’t need to thank me like this,” Zhuyou said, glancing back at him with half-opened eyes, her gaze seemingly cold and indifferent.

***

Hanzhu, who had arrived unnoticed, stood anxiously outside the Heart-Questioning Rock, waiting.

The lotus demon despised both Zhuyou and her maid but had to keep a close eye on them, needing to seize the opportunity to ingratiate herself and retrieve her true form.

As Zhuyou emerged from the Heart-Questioning Rock and heard Hanzhu call out “Mistress,” she raised her hand in acknowledgment.

Hanzhu hurriedly approached. She fixed her gaze on her mistress’ eyes, and cautiously started, “Mistress…”

“Back to the hall,” Zhuyou interrupted with an arm extended, still holding the egg.

Tactfully, Hanzhu took hold of her mistress’ arm and glanced back at the lotus demon trailing behind.

Hongqu quickly offered, “Your Grace, let me assist. I can provide stable support.”

“No need, you stay here and wait for Second Lord Luo. His knees seem a bit weak,” Zhuyou cryptically remarked. As they walked away, she blinked, unable to see the egg clearly. It only appeared as a blur of white mist now.

“Mistress, why is the egg… broken again?” Hanzhu exclaimed in surprise, tempted to pry open the newly formed hole in the eggshell.

Zhuyou patted the egg in her arms and said somewhat wistfully, “I managed to earn some spirit stones back, so it’s time for it to hatch once it’s fully fed.”

It hadn’t been easy for her to care for this egg.