GD Ch. 21

Chapter 21: Who’s Speaking?

Changying ground her teeth, her golden eyes turning leisurely, casting a cold gaze toward the crowd in the distance. Her indifference remained unchanged after the roar, as if accustomed to such actions long ago, wielding power over life and death.

Zhuyou couldn’t fathom the thoughts of this little dragon anymore. Her unpredictable demeanor resembled those creatures in the Devil Realm. It almost seemed like Changying had been ensnared by devilry. Even Hanzhu couldn’t compare to her.

At the recent disturbance, the ears of the disciples outside the door buzzed incessantly. Now, not a sound could be heard, and Jing Kexin, whose eyes had been full of desire, felt a panic. Her face was pale, and her spiritual sea was in turmoil as if suppressed. She was on the verge of being scared out of her soul.

A cold wind blew against her back, extinguishing the desires in her heart like a crashing wave, leaving not a single spark. With sweaty palms, she instinctively probed with her consciousness to see if any immortals were approaching within a hundred miles. However, after a full circle, she found not a single immortal or even a spirit pet, only… only the divine offspring in the wooden house who possessed such capability.

But it shouldn’t be Zhuyou; after all, they had known each other for a long time. She still understood Zhuyou.

The pressure disappeared in an instant, and in that momentary distraction, she hadn’t even sensed the opponent’s spiritual power.

She lowered her eyes. Still shaken, she took a slow breath, and then cast her gaze back toward the figure in black inside the wooden house. 

It had been a hundred years, yet this person had hardly changed. Her skin was as white as snow, seemingly untouched by any impurity. However, she was clad in black robes and a dark skirt, with the belt around her waist dyed red as if with dripping blood.

Zhuyou had cast a spell on her hair and face; the once-white hair turned black. Jing Kexin thought she still looked good.

But where had that pressure just now come from? Why couldn’t she sense it at all?

Jing Kexin’s pupils contracted slightly, a hint of fear flashing in her eyes. Her gaze swept through the crowd, scanning every corner of the dark wooden house. As expected, there was only that fallen divine offspring inside, and no one else had such capability.

Jing Kexin didn’t believe that Zhuyou, who had emerged from seclusion after a hundred years, could produce such a strange sound. Though she couldn’t hear clearly, she could generally distinguish how a bird should chirp. Although Zhuyou intentionally suppressed her aura, the roar just now definitely wasn’t a phoenix’s cry.

The disciples from the immortal sects were also frightened. They trembled, afraid to even move their eyes. For a moment, they even felt like they were about to meet their end.

Should they go in or stay out? The group looked at each other, too scared to utter a word.

Inside the wooden house, Zhuyou patted her dragon. She had indeed heard the sound just now; it was a dragon’s roar.

She was momentarily dazed, her heart suddenly tightened. Though not as visibly frightened as the cultivators outside, she was indeed stunned.

Luckily, this dragon had no spiritual power. Otherwise, such a roar would have caused immense pressure, shaking the mountains and trembling the earth, alerting the dragons in the sea for sure.

Changying finished grinding her teeth on Zhuyou’s hand but still refused to let go, as if she were begging for food.

Zhuyou found it amusing. Was this dragon mistaking her for a granary?

She pinched Changying’s mouth shut and looked at the disciples outside the door. “How coincidental. I thought I was the only one seeking shelter from the snow here.”

Jing Kexin’s expression changed repeatedly. She didn’t know to what extent Zhuyou’s cultivation had recovered after a hundred years of seclusion, but the sudden pressure just now was definitely related to her.

The disciples from the immortal sects nodded nervously. The leader among them asked, “May I ask which sect and school the senior is from?”

“I’m from neither sect nor school,” Zhuyou replied truthfully. She glanced sideways at Jing Kexin, eyes calm but mind racing, pondering how to evade this devil.

The mortal disciples cautiously looked around the wooden house, their hair now dusted with snow. After a moment, one of them asked, “Senior, do you know what creature was making that sound just now?”

“The snow in the mountains is heavy. When the wind blows, it sometimes sounds like the roar of a beast. You all seem quite frightened,” Zhuyou said, lowering her eyes and casting a sidelong glance at the broken window.

If only one person had misheard, it could be easily explained. But since all the disciples present heard it, they exchanged glances, even doubting their own ears.

Zhuyou didn’t even want to glance at Jing Kexin, but even without looking up, she could feel the intense heat of the other’s gaze. She was already warm all over, but that gaze seemed even hotter than her phoenix fire, as if it could burn holes through her.

“Yes, the wind and snow outside are fierce. The beast’s roar just now really frightened us. I wonder if this wooden house can fit a few more people?” Jing Kexin’s words were soft, almost sickeningly sweet, as if she could wring water out of them.

Zhuyou moved away from the table while tugging at the mist-like cuffs of her sleeve, covering the black dragon on her wrist. Although her sheer sleeve didn’t conceal much, this slight cover-up made the circle on her wrist look like a thick black bracelet.

“Feel free,” Zhuyou said with a slight lift of her lips, though her smile seemed insincere.

Jing Kexin pushed past the cheap senior disciples blocking her way and squeezed into the house, her eyes fixed on Zhuyou. “Then, this junior will come in.”

Speaking of which, no one had really studied how long these Three Lords of the Devil Realm had lived, so Zhuyou didn’t know whether this greater devil was older or younger than her. As she listened to Jing Kexin’s words, goosebumps rose all over her body, feeling like she had stumbled into some strange roleplay with Jing Kexin.

This junior, she said? How shameless.

If this devil didn’t have some use left, Zhuyou would have ended the life of this filthy thing long ago.

The moment Jing Kexin stepped into the wooden house, Zhuyou’s figure flickered, and she instantly vanished through the broken hole on one side of the house. In the blink of an eye, there was no longer anyone in black inside the wooden house.

Zhuyou rushed out in haste, almost flinging the dragon on her wrist away. Thankfully, Changying bit onto her sleeve, hanging from it like a thick rope swaying in the wind. With a flick of her long tail, she wrapped back around Zhuyou’s wrist, even crawling inch by inch back into her sleeve.

Zhuyou felt ticklish as the dragon crawled. She pulled her down when she almost reached her shoulder. “What were you shouting just now? If there were any members of the Dragon Clan within a hundred miles, you would have caused me a lot of trouble.”

Changying stared at her unwaveringly, not even opening her mouth.

As the wind howled by, Zhuyou heard someone muttering in her ear again. 

Don’t be afraid. 

Indeed, it was very light, even more tender than the intentionally squeezed-out voice of Jing Kexin, soft like a breath, weak like a thread, yet carrying an unexpected indifference.

Zhuyou couldn’t help but wonder if she was ill. After hoping day after day for this dragon to transform, she was now imagining the dragon speaking to her.

After a while, the voice sounded in her ear again. She’s catching up.

Zhuyou frowned, indeed sensing a surge of spiritual power coming like a sharp arrow. Instead of dodging, she raised her hand and slapped it. Suddenly, the rushing wind seemed to dissipate, even the snow swept up with it turning into a misty white smoke.

The reason the Three Lords had to divide the Devil Realm was because their cultivation realms were not that impressive.

Two streams of spiritual power collided in mid-air, emitting a cold light. Even the pine trees a hundred meters away were shaken, their branches snapping, and the snow covering them falling in torrents. The green branches, just exposed, were buried in the snow again.

Jing Kexin had come alone in pursuit. When splashed by the surging spiritual power, she suddenly fell from the sky, her arm even broken. But she seemed not to feel any pain; her eyes even shone brighter. Her face was full of desire as she got up, snapped her arm back into place, and said with a choked voice, “Why didn’t you announce your return, Your Grace? It would have allowed this humble servant to dress up a bit earlier.”

“You look somewhat pleasing now.” Zhuyou withdrew her hand.

Jing Kexin’s eyes curved, smiling both charmingly and sweetly. “I heard that something was lost in the Heavenly Realm. Is it on you? If so, why frame others?”

“Are you questioning me?” Zhuyou brushed off the snow on her shoulder, thinking that this devil was really insensitive. It had been a long time since they last met, but her mouth was still greasy, and she still didn’t know how to speak politely.

For some reason, Changying seemed a bit impatient, continuously trying to burrow into her sleeve, clearly showing disdain for this Third Lord.

Jing Kexin chuckled. “This humble servant wouldn’t dare to question Your Grace. I only hope to have an open and honest meeting with you.”