GD Ch. 7

Chapter 7: Who Is He Begging For?

In the hanging flower umbrellas on Changming Street, clusters of flames crackled. The surroundings were eerily quiet, as if the walking lesser devils had frozen in place, not daring to move a muscle. Even the faint murmurs had been silenced.

Zhuyou held her precious treasure, gently caressing it while waiting for Luo Qing’s expression to change drastically.

Yet Luo Qing remained cold-faced. Even after becoming a drought demon and entering the realm of devils, he was still commanding like a general in charge of life and death, with a terrifyingly solemn expression.

While his expression remained unchanged, the lotus demon following behind him hunched her shoulders, her beautiful eyes widened, trembling all over.

Could Hongqu not be afraid? With every slight movement, she felt as if her true form was being pulled out of the water, her roots and leaves bumping and bruising, her whole body aching as if she had been beaten.

Not everyone could enter the Black Water Pool, and her cultivation was not low in the Devil Realm. Moreover, after entering the water, her true form could merge with the pool water and would not easily be discovered. The only ones who could pull her true form out of the deep pool were probably this person and her peafowl demon maid.

She was too scared to speak, fearing the worst. If things went awry, this person might just chop her in half with one stroke.

Zhuyou, who was holding the egg, greatly appreciated the fearful expression on the lotus demon’s face. She might even want to paint this scene if she had ink and paper at hand, to occasionally take it out and look at it.

These devils were just like this, guarding against her as if she were a thief when she couldn’t see them. When they actually faced her, they only dared to play petty tricks, speaking half-truths and half-lies, fearing that she would get angry.

As a fallen divine offspring, she was indeed terrifying when angered, capable of stripping people naked and hanging them outside the hall, though that would still be considered lenient.

The lotus demon had always enjoyed scheming against her from behind, and it was unexpected that even after a hundred years, things remained the same. Truly, there was no progress. She still liked to stir up trouble in front of the Three Lords, pretending to be loyal to the devil’s domain.

But devils were devils, there was no such thing as loyalty.

Zhuyou sneered at her, thinking that this lotus demon was truly born with the wrong colors. How could she grow up red when white suited her better? Clearly, she was more suited to purity.

Indeed, white was perfect, especially since lotuses were related to the same lineage as the lily. She could be considered a fine white lotus.

Second Lord Luo Qing had a face that was upright and unyielding, unlike anyone else in the Devil Realm. When he looked at people, it made them feel uneasy, as if they were about to be interrogated.

But Zhuyou had nothing to fear. She even openly observed Luo Qing’s expression.

Luo Qing pursed his lips slightly and then suddenly clasped his fists, saying, “I hope Your Grace will take action.”

Zhuyou found this quite interesting. Since she had been born a descendant of the Phoenix Clan, even though she had turned to the devil’s side, she was still superior. But how could these devils be willing to kneel and call her “Your Grace”? These devils, while they claimed not to care about backgrounds, couldn’t help but envy and be jealous. The more they cared, the more they pretended to be indifferent. After all, the Devil Clan was once equal to the Heavenly Realm. But with the demise of the Devil Lord, the devils could no longer contend with the Heavenly Realm. Who could truly accept that?

“You seek my intervention?” Zhuyou cast another sideways glance at Hongqu, mischievously, as if she were saying it on purpose for her to hear.

Hongqu shuddered again. She hadn’t intended for this person to intervene. Who knew if this offspring was truly turned to the devil’s side or secretly colluding with the Heavenly Realm? It was like lifting a stone only to drop it on one’s own foot. But now the Second Lord himself was coming to slap her face.

“I beg Your Grace to lend assistance.” 

Luo Qing composed himself, suppressing his breath, about to kneel. He seemed to be breaking his pride in front of everyone.

Zhuyou felt pleased but also annoyed at him kneeling. She raised her hand slightly to signal that he needn’t go to such lengths, saying, “You’ve never begged anyone before.”

I don’t beg for myself, but now I’m pleading for the Devil Realm, Luo Qing said this with a technique of telepathy, letting only Zhuyou hear.

The lesser devils hiding around peeked their heads out, only seeing the Second Lord’s lips move as if saying something.

Some who could lip-read roughly understood what the Second Lord was saying, but there were a couple of words that were incomprehensible by lip movements alone.

Did he use mind speech? How cautious. The lesser devils were slightly astonished.

Though Hongqu couldn’t hear, seeing Luo Qing’s lowered brows and closed eyes, she knew that her face must be stinging terribly from the slap.

Under the ever-lit umbrella lights, shadows flickered with the dancing flames, causing the stiffened necks of the lesser demons to subtly shift. After a while, someone with no sense muttered in a low voice, “Who is he pleading for?”

After a while, someone responded, “Perhaps he’s pleading for the Third Lord.”

“Why don’t you say he’s pleading for the First Lord?”

“Could it be… He’s not pleading for us, is he?”

The lesser devils looked at each other, trembling even more violently.

They remembered when the esteemed phoenix first entered the Devil Realm, how the devils refused to let such divine offspring stay. What had she said at that time? 

“Who dares to challenge me? If you have something to say, say it to my face.”

The group of lesser devils then had almost gotten thrown into a boiling pot. Everyone had cried their hearts out, almost flooding the Grand Hall with tears, before being spared.

The lesser devils hiding behind stalls and courtyard lights stepped back one by one. Although the Second Lord was pleading so earnestly, they just wanted to take a step back first.

The black-clad great demon holding the egg wasn’t entirely unreasonable. After being abandoned by the Phoenix Clan, she knew exactly what she wanted. She understood what Luo Qing was worried about. He was a respectable Second Lord, yet he had to plead with a fallen divine offspring. If the lesser devils found out, they would surely think that the Devil Realm was truly not as good as before.

But she couldn’t help but laugh when she heard his words. Luo Qing was quite discerning, no wonder he managed to find a way to plead. 

“Pleading for the Devil Realm won’t work, but if you plead for yourself, I might consider it,” Zhuyou said calmly.

Unexpectedly, Luo Qing actually bent down, his face serious, and said, “Then I plead for myself.”

“You don’t seem very sincere in your plea,” Zhuyou teased.

Luo Qing remained silent for a moment before saying, “Please, Your Grace.”

According to Hongqu’s expectations, this proud divine offspring would never easily agree. She might be able to take advantage of the situation, if so. 

But unexpectedly, Zhuyou nodded slightly and said, “Since you insist, not agreeing would seem like making things difficult for you.”

Luo Qing furrowed his brow, momentarily taken aback. Was this matter really so simple?

Zhuyou then said, “I can help you, but you need to give me something in return.”

“What do you want?” Luo Qing asked.

Zhuyou lovingly patted the egg in her arms. “While I was away, I heard that you took my spirit stones without permission. Taking them without asking is stealing, which is unacceptable. Please return double the amount of spirit stones.”

The devils looked at each other in disbelief. This divine offspring actually said “unacceptable” to a group of devils?

Well, as long as one had thick enough skin, they could ask for even more.

Luo Qing calmly responded, “Alright.”

Satisfied, Zhuyou nodded slightly. “However, I have some important matters to attend to in the next few days.” With that, she intentionally or unintentionally pushed back her sleeve, revealing the egg in her arms. Even under the yellowish glow of the firelight, the egg still shimmered with iridescence, except for the dark patterns on its shell, it was indeed pure and flawless.

What a fine egg, clearly remarkable.

The egg briefly showed its “face” before once again being covered by the mist-like sleeve.

Luo Qing had thought she was holding some kind of disc, but only now did he get a clear look at it, and he couldn’t help but feel incredulous. He turned his head expressionlessly to glance at Hongqu, his face showing a hint of confusion. Is there really an egg?

Hongqu’s eyes gleamed with excitement as she nodded repeatedly. See? It really is a very large egg.

Even the composed Second Lord couldn’t help but feel a bit flustered, thinking to himself, could this fallen divine offspring be planning to hatch an egg? Regardless of whether it was devil or celestial, if one were to bear offspring, their own cultivation would be halved. Could she really handle the task of finding the reincarnation of the Devil Lord?

Regardless of whether it was feasible or not, Zhuyou eventually agreed. However, she hadn’t given a definite answer as to when she would act, keeping everyone in suspense.

***

Second Lord Luo Qing wished to stay in the devil’s domain for a while before returning to the human world. On this occasion, he went alone to the Heart-Questioning Rock.

The Heart-Questioning Rock was a forbidden place in the Devil Realm. Ordinary devils would die if they approached it, not because of anything else, but because the rock held the deceased body of the Devil Lord and one of his three souls sealed within a crystal.

This news was brought back to the Grand Hall by Hanzhu, who walked over the dusty spirit stones with a creaking sound toward the soft bed where Zhuyou lay.

Zhuyou held her egg, feeling somewhat melancholic. Despite absorbing so much spiritual energy, the egg still showed no signs of movement. Could it be having difficulty hatching?

Unaware of what her mistress was worrying about, Hanzhu stood aside and whispered, “Mistress, the Second Lord went to the Heart-Questioning Rock.”

“The reincarnation of one soul might affect the remaining souls. Let’s see how long he stays at the Heart-Questioning Rock,” Zhuyou remarked.

Hanzhu nodded quickly, then hesitantly added, “I heard that you agreed to the Second Lord’s request on Changming Street.”

“Yes, I did,” Zhuyou replied, stroking the egg.

“How dare they trouble you, Mistress? Look at your delicate hands, not at all like they’ve touched anything impure. Besides, it’s much easier for the Dragon Clan to go to the human world than to the Devil Realm. Aren’t they just inviting trouble?” Hanzhu lamented.

Zhuyou found her words comforting. “I’ve indeed agreed, but I didn’t specify when I would go. After all, for devils, being capricious and unpredictable is not uncommon.”

Hanzhu was left speechless. Compared to her, her mistress seemed to be taking her role as a “devil” quite seriously.

Zhuyou tapped her egg, feeling that whatever was inside should have formed by now but was unwilling to come out. She continued, “Besides, I didn’t agree for nothing. Today, all the little devils on Changming Street saw the Second Lord humbling himself and pleading. He also promised to give me more spirit stones. That satisfies me, and that’s enough.”

Hanzhu remained silent for a while before reluctantly saying, “Your satisfaction is naturally the most important thing in the world.”

Zhuyou waved her hand, indicating for Hanzhu to stand further away. Hearing the same words over and over again was no longer refreshing. In matters of flattery, this little servant of hers seemed to lack talent. It might be better to train someone from a young age, so she wondered when this little dragon would finally hatch.

As she was about to close her eyes for a nap, waiting for her spiritual power to recover on its own, she suddenly heard a crisp sound, as if something had cracked open.

The sound was clear but very brief.

Zhuyou quickly opened her eyes, wondering, could it be that her plea had been answered?