GD Ch. 6

Chapter 6: Why She Lied

It was impossible for the egg to crack. If a perfectly intact dragon egg were to break from a mere knock, what dignity would the Dragon Clan have left? Dragons were known for their pride.

All that extravagance, thought Zhuyou silently. Whenever a dragon sees something shiny, its eyes light up. Even the Dragon Palace they reside in is more luxurious than the Heavenly Palace, adorned everywhere with gold, silver, jade, and even pearls used for paving.

She remained silent, staring intently at the perfectly round egg, her thoughts drifting away only to be pulled back. Back when she still lived in the heavens, wasn’t she also surrounded by luxury? Yet, everything that belonged to her was lost in the blink of an eye.

Hongqu bent her knees, kneeling with a thud on the ground, her forehead suddenly hitting the floor. The commotion was substantial, resonating loudly like someone banging a drum, causing Zhuyou a headache.

Hongqu looked up in panic. “How will Your Grace punish me?”

“Punish?” Zhuyou seemed to suddenly realize something. She stood and approached the golden pillar. Flipping her palm upward, the egg that had collided with the pillar was lifted by a breeze, landing in her palm. Her fair hand sank slightly under the weight, indicating that the egg was not only icy cold but also quite heavy.

Hongqu’s eyes shifted in restraint, glancing sideways at the egg she had just knocked over. Suddenly, she caught sight of the markings beneath the mist-like sleeve worn by this fallen divine offspring. The black diabolic markings on the ivory arm seemed to fade momentarily, making her wonder if she had been mistaken. She dared not dwell on it, though, especially with the instability of this mistress.

The dragon egg seemed rather heavy as Zhuyou quickly tossed it onto the soft couch right after picking it up.

Hongqu swallowed nervously and buried her head again.

“Then I’ll have you go to the human world as punishment.” Zhuyou sat back on the soft couch, the silver strands of her hair falling over the embroidered blanket of plane tree branches.

Hongqu froze, puzzled by the decree. She wondered, was this considered punishment?

Zhuyou continued, “You’ll go personally and inform the Three Lords to be aware of the Dragon Clan.”

Hongqu grew even more perplexed, unsure of the connection between informing the Three Lords, who were searching about the reincarnation of the Devil Lord, and the Dragon Clan.

Zhuyou waved her hand, the wispy sleeve of her mist-like sleeve swaying, “If you fail to deliver this message, I’ll cut off your roots.”

“I’ll go right away!” Hongqu hastily responded, fearing she might be split in half with a single snip.

After the lotus demon had left, Zhuyou’s expression turned dark as she lowered her eyes to the dragon egg. She found it strange—could this egg be unwilling to be touched by others? It seemed to know that other spiritual powers were inferior to her. Quite particular indeed.

Zhuyou stood and paced around the Grand Hall with her hands behind her back. In truth, she could have directly sent a message to the Three Lords herself. It’s just that she and these three devils had never quite gotten along, and besides, others could do it. It would be a waste of talent not to use them.

However, the lotus demon’s words were somewhat peculiar. Jing Kexin wasn’t skilled in divination, so how could she have figured it out?

She wanted to know whether the lotus demon truly listened to her or if she had conspired with the Three Lords to do something.

***

In the Devil Realm, which was perpetually shrouded in darkness and fire, half a day passed by in what seemed like the blink of an eye.

Hanzhu returned from outside and entered the Grand Hall, only to find the floor covered in dusty spirit stones.

Spirit stones, usually brimming with spiritual energy, should have been clear and transparent. But these on the ground looked like stones freshly dug from a mountain, clearly having been used.

Hanzhu was greatly surprised. Previously, when Zhuyou’s vision was impaired, it only took a little to restore her clarity. How could it have consumed so much now? Moreover, hadn’t her own spiritual power been offered up?

Strange, truly strange. If someone didn’t know any better, they’d think her esteemed mistress’ Grand Hall was used for stacking stones.

Zhuyou wasn’t on the soft couch; her voice came from behind the screen on the right. “You’re back?”

Hanzhu hurriedly responded, “I went to the human world and encountered the nightmare ghost who often accompanies Jing Kexin.”

“Oh? What happened?” Zhuyou inquired further.

“That nightmare ghost was quite easily fooled. I just probed a little, and she spilled everything. She said the Heavenly Realm plans to build a Devil-Suppressing Tower. Once the tower is erected, all devils will be suppressed beneath it. With the scattered hearts of the devils in the Devil Realm and the uneven cultivation of the Three Lords, plus the lack of capable individuals, awakening the Devil Lord is the only way to change the situation. So, the Three Lords went to the human world to find the reincarnation of the Devil Lord’s soul,” Hanzhu cautiously spoke.

Behind the screen, there was a knocking sound as Zhuyou tapped on the rosewood desk. “Who divined the whereabouts of the reincarnation?” she asked.

“It was Second Lord Luo Qing,” Hanzhu replied.

Zhuyou sneered. As her sneer faded, a fierce wind split the screen in front of her in two.

Hanzhu could now see the black-robed mistress who had been sitting behind the screen. The mistress was cross-legged in front of the desk, with silver hair cascading to the ground, flowing like a white spring.

The dragon egg stood erect in a jade dish on the rosewood desk.

Hanzhu thought to herself, could this egg be meant for consumption? Oddly enough, she found herself feeling a bit greedy at the thought.

A hint of anger crossed Zhuyou’s face. “That lotus demon, deceived by a scholar and led astray into darkness, now she’s learned to weave lies as well.”

“Hongqu has been here?” Hanzhu was nearly too startled by her mistress’ sudden anger to speak.

Zhuyou’s lips twitched, as if amused. She spoke slowly, “She knows Jing Kexin and I aren’t exactly allies. She thought if she blamed it on Jing Kexin’s divination, I wouldn’t interfere?”

Hanzhu thought to herself, Not exactly allies? You are clearly avoiding her like the plague.

Zhuyou continued, “Ridiculous. Even if it were someone else’s divination, I wouldn’t easily venture into the Mortal Realm.”

“Exactly. Mistress’ legs are precious; why bother with such matters?” Hanzhu encouraged.

Zhuyou was slightly pleased. “These devils pretend to respect and fear me openly but secretly guard against me, afraid I’ll ruin their plans.”

“They must be blind,” Hanzhu quickly added.

Zhuyou nodded slightly, fully agreeing. “Indeed, they’re even blinder than me, who is half-blind.”

Hanzhu glanced sideways at the dragon egg in the jade dish. For some reason, it seemed even more appealing now, its iridescence shimmering more prominently.

“So, have the Three Lords found the reincarnation of the Devil Lord’s soul?” Zhuyou lifted one leg and rested her elbow on her knee, tilting her head to look at the egg.

“Not yet,” Hanzhu replied, “but they are aware of your return.”

Zhuyou raised an eyebrow. “How do they plan to proceed?”

“Luo Qing left alone, and it’s unclear if he’s returning to the Devil Realm. Perhaps he intends to persuade you to lend a hand,” Hanzhu cautiously ventured, afraid of inadvertently angering her mistress.

“In that case, I’ll wait for him to come. It will also let that lotus demon see that I’m not genuinely inclined to go; it’s the Three Lords who insist,” Zhuyou said, raising her arm in a gesture that seemed to ward off anyone from approaching.

“B-but Mistress, didn’t you say you wouldn’t go to the human world?” Hanzhu’s eyes flickered.

Zhuyou lowered her gaze, the black phoenix pattern at the corner of her right eye dimming significantly, adding a hint of elusive vulnerability to her appearance. She remained silent for a long time, seemingly lost in thought. After a while, she spoke again, “If those gods have so much free time to build a Devil-Suppressing Tower, and if Luo Qing sincerely seeks my help, I’ll condescend to go to the human world for a while. It’s imperative to retrieve the Devil Lord’s soul, and that tower is unacceptable.” Her tone was casual, and it was unclear how much sincerity lay behind her words.

Hanzhu hesitated to speak her mind.

Who was Luo Qing? He was once a formidable general in the human world, undefeated in battles hundreds of years ago. He possessed an unyielding body and died in the yellow sands to save his liege, only to realize after death that he was merely a disposable pawn in the said liege’s hands.

Born in the first month of the hot season and died buried in the yellow sands, he became a drought demon. Consumed by resentment and obsession, he became a devil, stubborn and unyielding, not one to bow down easily.

Zhuyou chuckled. She enjoyed seeing people like him, who refused to bow down, groveling for help. These devils, they pretended to respect her, feared her, yet also guarded against her. In the end, they had to plead with her.

Hanzhu dared not disagree with her mistress. She stammered, “What should I do then?”

Zhuyou pondered for a moment. “Go and retrieve Hongqu’s main body from the Black Water Pool and place it in the large flowerpot to the right of my hall’s gate.” She reckoned that the lotus demon wouldn’t be foolish enough to take her main body to the human world; most likely, she had only left a strand of her consciousness.

Hanzhu quickly complied and vanished in an instant.

The dragon egg on the jade dish remained undisturbed, its patterns indeed more prominent now, and its shell shining even brighter, comparable to the lanterns in the Grand Hall.

Truly, it was a good egg, but it had consumed too many spirit stones.

Zhuyou was well aware of the origin of the ordinary-looking stones scattered all over. After all, it was these spirit stones that had turned into dull gray due to being fed to the dragon egg. With all the spirit stones drained dry and not a trace of spiritual energy left, the Grand Hall now resembled a mining site.

Zhuyou was speechless, increasingly curious about what kind of dragon would hatch from the egg.

This dragon, still inside the egg, was already so insatiable, daring to steal even her spiritual power. Truly resembling a creature of the Devil Clan, yet oddly born into the Dragon Clan.

Thinking about it, it seemed like this egg was truly prepared for her. She would raise it in the Devil Realm, and nurture it for five or ten years. Perhaps by then, the dragon would no longer exhibit even a trace of its celestial heritage.

But this egg was quite peculiar, able to swallow so much spiritual energy like a bottomless pit. If this continued, it would surely bankrupt her.

The large sack of spirit stones brought back by the Three Lords had been depleted, yet the egg hadn’t even burped. Fortunately, it had stopped absorbing spiritual energy, indicating that it was satiated.

Zhuyou chuckled inwardly. This egg was quite adept at choosing its host; it had ended up in the extremely affluent Dragon Clan. Unfortunately, it had been brought out by her.

***

Two hours later, Luo Qing, who had returned from the human world, had reached Changming Street—the most bustling and prosperous street—in the Devil Realm, accompanied by a delicate and innocent lotus demon.

In the Devil Realm, one couldn’t see the moon hanging in the sky, nor could they behold the dazzling sun. Yet, Changming Street was illuminated everywhere. Hundreds of silk umbrellas hanging in the sky contained a ball of fire each. Whenever one extinguished, a she-devil would come to relight it. That’s why this market was called “Changming,” meaning everlasting brightness.

The lotus demon spoke softly, but the Second Lord, who was listening to her, remained silent, not even a flicker of expression crossing his face.

Hongqu said, “My lord, the phoenix has been cultivating for a hundred years, but her cultivation seems unstable. She has even laid an egg. In the matter of finding the reincarnation of the Devil Lord’s soul, she may have the will but not the ability. Besides, a divine offspring, even if turned to the devil’s side, still retains their divine nature. How could she wholeheartedly align with the Devil Realm?”

Luo Qing didn’t even glance at her, continuing to walk forward. Surrounded by greater and lesser devils, he was greeted with a shower of flowers thrown by them.

Just as Hongqu was about to say something, she suddenly felt a tug on her hair. She jerked her head around, but there was no one there. She opened her mouth to speak but hesitated. Then, her arm suddenly throbbed, as if someone was pulling on it, yet there was no one touching her.

As her neck twisted unexpectedly, Hongqu finally realized. Perhaps something had happened to her main body. Thinking of what was said earlier, she suddenly felt a chill run down her spine, and she dared not make a sound.

She thought, perhaps I should go and apologize to that person another day.

Hongqu anxiously lifted her eyelids. As she did, she unexpectedly caught sight of the person they had been discussing behind her.

The fallen divine offspring was standing in the center of the bustling street, holding the egg in her arms. Her crimson sash trailed behind her, along with the dark silk skirt. Her long hair shone brightly.

***

Zhuyou had been waiting for a while, anticipating Luo Qing’s arrival on Changming Street.

The lesser devils watched with curiosity as if eagerly awaiting a spectacle.

Zhuyou chuckled softly, looking innocent, but her words sent shivers down the spines of the lesser devils. She glanced at Luo Qing and said nonchalantly, “Second Lord Luo, I heard you have something to ask of me.”