GD Ch. 14

Chapter 14: Why He Steals

“Can this dragon really transform?” Hanzhu caught the two paper balls thrown by her mistress, unfolded them, and confirmed once again that they indeed bore the characters “Chang” and “Ying”.

Zhuyou seemed uncertain. “Probably.” But whether it could or not depended on whether this dragon could produce any spiritual power.

Unfortunately, this dragon only consumed without emitting anything. Despite ingesting so much spiritual energy, it still lacked even a trace of spiritual power. Not to mention spiritual power, it couldn’t even muster any dragon energy.

Hanzhu was quite worried. “Mistress, could this just be an ordinary snake? Have we made a mistake?”

“Impossible.” Zhuyou pinched the black dragon’s mouth, looked around, and said, “Ordinary snakes don’t need to consume spiritual energy.”

That made sense. Hanzhu couldn’t argue with that and could only suggest, “Should we feed it more then? Maybe it needs to eat more to grow faster.”

Zhuyou thought it made sense. “Yes, we should feed it more. Girls need to be well-nourished.”

Hanzhu was puzzled again. She couldn’t see how this dragon could be a princess of the Dragon Clan. “I wonder, Mistress, how did you figure out it’s a girl?”

Zhuyou lifted the dragon and examined it carefully, but couldn’t discern anything. So she simply said, “I can’t tell, but girls are good. They are sensible and obedient, just the way I like it.” After saying this, she remembered the Phoenix Clan’s youngest daughter, whose face she had marked on the day of her marriage. In her childhood, Jingyi could indeed be considered obedient.

Hanzhu thought to herself, If you say so, then so be it.

***

Two days later, Luo Qing emerged from the Heart-Questioning Rock, his spiritual power having recovered considerably, enough for him to move around at least.

The lotus demon, dressed in red, followed behind him. Without much thought, it was clear she intended to reclaim her true form along the way.

The hall doors swung open with a bang, and the great demon leaning on the soft couch casually placed the dragon beside her into the sachet at her side without leaving a trace. 

The sachet was bought by Hanzhu, sewn with mustard seeds inside, thus containing endless space, capable of hiding boundless items. Hanzhu mentioned that mortal children would have a strap to carry it conveniently. This black dragon naturally didn’t need one, so it could simply be stuffed into the sachet.

Although the sachet wasn’t embroidered very nicely, after a moment of consideration, Zhuyou found it indeed quite convenient to stuff the little black dragon into it, so she accepted it.

The narrow mouth of the sachet wasn’t tied tightly. As soon as Changying was stuffed in, she fell into the mustard seeds, so it took quite a while for half of her body to protrude from them. The little black head emerged from the opening, with golden eyes shining like glass beads, a cold and merciless black pupil in the middle, always carrying a hint of scrutiny when looking at people.

As soon as Changying’s head emerged, Zhuyou pressed it back in.

Zhuyou looked at the two people standing outside the hall door one after the other and pretended to be surprised, calling, “Luo Qing?”

This guy Luo Qing indeed didn’t seem like a devil. He spoke with determination and owned a truly resolute face. His expression was often solemn, never joking, perhaps unable to joke. Hundreds of years had passed, yet he still resembled the great generals who once roamed the battlefields in the human world. Such a person wouldn’t easily bend.

As the door opened, a hint of surprise flashed across Luo Qing’s face. It wasn’t until he saw Hanzhu bowing that he pursed his lips and stepped over the crimson threshold.

Hongqu wanted to jog forward a few steps behind him, but the suddenly closed hall doors blocked her outside. Caught off guard by the sudden closure, she hadn’t even caught a glimpse of her own true form.

Inside the Grand Hall, Zhuyou saw that Luo Qing’s recovery was quite good and asked, “How is the Crystal of Law?”

“Thanks to Your Grace’s intervention, the Crystal of Law has been restored to its original state,” Luo Qing replied, eyes slightly lowered, deliberately avoiding looking at the fallen divine offspring lying on the soft couch.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to look, but rather, he didn’t dare to.

He had expended a great deal of spiritual power and cultivation to prevent the Crystal of Law from deteriorating further. However, with just a wave of the fallen divine offspring’s hand, every crack disappeared.

Such cultivation was truly terrifying. How could the lotus demon dare to claim that the divine offspring’s spiritual power was unstable?

It wasn’t unstable; she was likely just hiding her true strength.

Zhuyou tilted her head, pondering over Luo Qing’s obscure gaze, “Since the Crystal of Law has been restored, why have you come?” The statement sounded like she was driving him away.

Yet Luo Qing did not leave. It seemed as if he was persuading himself to endure for a moment longer, before suddenly speaking up after a while, “I request that Your Grace make another trip to the Mortal Realm.”

Zhuyou could feel the sachet at her side moving, clearly indicating that the black dragon inside was nudging against it. Her expression remained unchanged, but she raised her hand to cover the sachet embroidered with wutong branches and said calmly, “That comes with an additional price.”

After all, as mentioned earlier, if she were to make a trip to the human world, it would require payment in spirit stones. Half of the spirit stones she had brought back earlier only belonged to the restoration of the Crystal of Law.

Luo Qing seemed taken aback by the shamelessness of this fallen divine offspring, who was even more like a devil than a devil itself. But did he have any room to negotiate? 

Clearly not.

Now that the Demon-Suppressing Tower was about to be completed, if the Devil Lord did not awaken soon, there would be no turning back.

Luo Qing felt reluctant, but he still dragged the spirit stones out of his mustard seeds. The boxes were full to the brim, all containing spirit stones.

The yellow wooden boxes were wide open, with spirit stones of various sizes piled together. These spirit stones were of good quality, with smooth cuts, unlike those obtained from rough excavation or chiseling.

Even Hanzhu, a demon from the Mortal Realm, had never seen spirit stones of such high quality. It was evident that these were not something an ordinary person could obtain.

Zhuyou covered the sachet and leaned forward slightly, examining the spirit stones in the wooden box. She had found it odd before—these devil cultivators didn’t need spirit stones, yet they secretly moved the ones from her Grand Hall out. She wondered what they were being used for. Now it seemed even more peculiar. Why would the Second Lord of the Devil Realm need to hoard so many spirit stones? Were they intended for passing down through generations or for some other purpose?

“These spirit stones are all for you,” Luo Qing said solemnly, a hint of reluctance in his eyes.

Zhuyou waved her hand, and the boxes of spirit stones swept across the ground with a swish, crashing into the pile of demon weapons in the corner of the Grand Hall with a thud. The items in the corner were haphazardly stacked, resembling a pile of discarded objects.

Luo Qing’s expression changed slightly, showing some anger that he couldn’t express.

Zhuyou’s soft palm was nudged by something—it must have been the dragon’s head.

So she still knows how to act coquettishly, Zhuyou thought. It seems she isn’t too dull after all. Despite her cold face, she knows how to tug at people’s heartstrings.

But Zhuyou didn’t want to reveal the dragon in front of Luo Qing, so she reluctantly curled her fingers and rubbed the head that was nudging around through the brocade of the sachet.

“Your Grace, the spirit stones have been delivered,” Luo Qing said again with a stern face, implying that everything had been received and it was time to agree.

However, Zhuyou responded, “Then I will trouble the Second Lord to leave first.”

Luo Qing raised his eyes and looked toward the fallen divine offspring with white hair and black clothes. “Your Grace, are you going back on your word?”

“Why would I go back on my word?” Zhuyou said casually.

Seeing that Luo Qing didn’t believe her, she reluctantly extracted a strand of her consciousness, a shimmering white light that floated toward the stern-faced general and settled on top of his head, as if a random white hair had grown there. 

“This way, I’ll be able to find you once you descend to the human world,” Zhuyou said when she felt a slight pain in the finger pressing against the sachet, as if it had been grazed by teeth through the brocade. Frowning, she hastily added, “Do you also want me to escort you there?”

Luo Qing was taken aback by her sudden change in demeanor despite knowing her capriciousness. Yet he still hesitated for a moment before leaving the hall.

Once the door closed behind him, Zhuyou’s expression softened slightly as she pulled the dragon out of the sachet.

Hanzhu stood aside, watching nervously. She saw her mistress pinching the dragon’s tail between two fingers, causing the black dragon to hang limp like a piece of rope, head hanging down.

It was…

Absolutely disrespectful to a divine offspring.

Zhuyou couldn’t stand hypocrisy—Just a moment ago, this dragon was affectionately nuzzling her hand, but now she had suddenly tried to bite her. Truly an untamed beast.

She pinched Changying’s tail, feeling even more uncomfortable under the stare of those golden eyes.

Not only did this dragon not acknowledge her mistake, but she also dared to glare at her.

“If there’s a next time, I’ll stew you,” Zhuyou said, releasing her grip and casually placing the dragon on the soft couch.

Changying seemed to be afraid of being stewed. She obediently curled up beside her.

Hanzhu asked, “Are you going to the human world, Mistress?”

Zhuyou suddenly remembered the urgent matter at hand. “Indeed, after I leave the Devil Realm, you must quickly go to Shangxi City and find Wu Buzhi.”

Changying seemed to understand something and stared at her intently again.

Zhuyou sneered. “Do you really know what Shangxi City is, you silly thing?”

Hanzhu hastily interjected, “But, Mistress, this divine offspring was just born. How could it possibly know what Shangxi City is?” She paused and added, “Do you still remember that this dragon has a name…”

Zhuyou paused at Hanzhu’s words. She had indeed forgotten that she had given this dragon a name, or rather, the dragon had picked one after drawing lots. 

Without changing her expression, she nodded slightly, grabbed the dragon with black scales, and dragged her trailing silk dress along the ground. “Alright, I’ll go to the human world to see if the Devil Lord’s soul has truly reincarnated as a human.”

Hanzhu quickly responded in acknowledgment.

“It’s not as easy being a human as being a devil,” Zhuyou chuckled, and her figure suddenly dissipated like gray mist.

Only Hanzhu was left in the Grand Hall. She soon transformed herself, her green robe turning ink-black, and her black hair turning white in an instant.

In terms of appearance, she was identical to Zhuyou, but her demeanor was slightly different.

Hanzhu felt a sudden heat from the wooden carving in her hand. She had almost thrown it away before catching a whiff of her mistress’ scent on the wooden carving.

***

In the human world, heavy snow fell, whipped by the northern wind. The branches of trees and the eaves of houses were laden with thick layers of white. The sky was gloomy, and passersby hurriedly passed by, holding umbrellas. 

Occasionally, they lifted the umbrellas, catching sight of a gloomy figure dressed in thin clothes, with black hair scattered about. The figure appeared like it might be blown away by the wind at any moment.

But no one stopped. Such thinly clad refugees were not uncommon, so they carried their still-warm porridge and hurried away, clutching their warm cakes.

The figure stood in the snow and wind. The crimson sash around her slender waist was as bright as plum blossoms weighed down by snow. Her mist-like outer garment fluttered in the wind, and on her white wrist, there seemed to be an ancient bracelet. It was dark and seemed to be carved from some ink-colored jade.

Suddenly, someone rushed out from a charred wooden shack, eyes blazing with heat. With a swift movement, they grabbed the dark bracelet.

To their surprise, the bracelet was alive. As it moved, a pair of golden vertical pupils suddenly opened, and its crimson mouth bit down on the person’s hand.

The man, his face covered in ash, screamed and let go, slipping and falling onto the snowy ground. Lying on his back, he quickly sucked on the wound on his hand and spat out a mouthful of blood-stained saliva.

When he looked up, he unexpectedly met a face as dazzling as that of a celestial being. For a moment, he felt as if he were soaring in the clouds.

Zhuyou looked down at him. And as she stroked the dragon coiled around her wrist, she said, “Were you trying to steal my treasure?”