Seeking the Devil - Chapter 26
“Good deeds are rewarded, and evil deeds are punished; this is the way of Heaven.”
“If Heaven does not reveal this principle, I will. If Heaven does not punish, I will.”
— The Heavenly Emperor Zhongtian · Karma
The Tianyuan Crossing is located in the far west of the Netherworld, at the border of Liangzhou, adjoining the Demon Realm.
It is well known across the Three Realms that the place where the Netherworld connects with the Mortal Realm is called the Heavenly Ladder. Practitioners can use flying artifacts to traverse it, reaching the other side in half a day. However, only practitioners can cross the Heavenly Ladder. The space within is chaotic and unpredictable, and those with bad luck might even encounter space storms that leave no remains behind.
The Netherworld has existed for tens of thousands of years, never lacking practitioners who have met their end in the turbulent flows of the Heavenly Ladder.
Over ten thousand years ago, after the Emperor of the Demon Realm, Wen Shifei, unified the various tribes of the Demon Realm, interactions with the Human Race became more frequent.
Demons, relying solely on their innate physical talents for cultivation, find it difficult to control flying artifacts, making it naturally challenging to reach the Mortal Realm. Later, the Emperor of the Demon Realm, Wen Shifei, surprisingly used his own power to open up the Tianyuan Crossing, a path connecting the two realms, ensuring safe passage between the Demon Realm and the Mortal Realm.
“…It seems that this Demon Realm Emperor should be considered a benevolent figure, somewhat different from the brutal and bloodthirsty rumors.”
In a small teahouse in the far northwest of Liangzhou, adjacent to the wild desert of the Demon Realm.
On the second floor by the window, a young girl sitting alone at a table spoke softly.
“Well, if you think that—” The simple-minded boy, wrapped in a tiger-skin jacket, swallowed a chicken leg. “Then you’re thinking too highly of him!”
“Hmm?” The girl paused, setting down her bowl of porridge, and turned her head curiously.
The simple-minded boy wiped the oil off his mouth, then wiped his hands on his tiger-skin jacket, muttering, “Everyone in the Demon Race knows that although that guy is revered as the Demon Emperor by all the tribes of the Demon Realm, he does whatever he wants, without reason. He saves who he wants to save and kills who he wants to kill—he’s even more reckless than I am!”
“In that case, why does the Demon Realm still respect him as their ruler?”
“Of course! Because he’s strong, irrationally strong!” A hint of fear flickered in the black eyes of the boy. “In our Demon Race, strength is everything; everything else is nonsense. Naturally, the strongest one calls the shots. And besides…”
“And besides what?”
This was the first time Shi Liu had heard stories about the Demon Realm on this journey, all thanks to Jiao Zhi, the “insider” who had just recently taken human form and learned to speak.
She was especially intrigued, paying more attention than to her own master.
But Jiao Zhi was clearly much more cunning than she was.
While speaking, the simple-minded boy forced out a fawning smile that did not match his rugged appearance and looked at Feng Ye, who was lazily sitting in the main seat with half-closed eyes: “Besides, the relationship between the Demon Realm Emperor and his subordinates is not stable. It’s definitely different from the loyalty I have for my master, which is unwavering even unto death—right, Master?”
Feng Ye lifted his eyelids slightly: “I asked you to tell the little ant about the Tianyuan Crossing. Why are you going so far off-topic?”
“Oh, oh right,” Jiao Zhi quickly reined in his smile and turned back. “Ever since Wen Shifei opened the Tianyuan Crossing, one can travel to the Mortal Realm by boat. But there are a few limitations: first, it takes a long time. It doesn’t take half a day to go up or down the Heavenly Ladder, but it takes at least ten days by boat on the Tianyuan Crossing. Another thing is that the boat itself is special. I’ve heard it’s made from the hide of ancient beasts with demon bloodline. In any case, it’s something only the Demon Realm can craft. We have to pay with crystals, spiritual pearls, or rare treasures to take the boat.”
Jiao Zhi finished speaking, showing a pained expression: “It costs a huge amount.”
Shi Liu was stunned for a moment.
She had no experience traveling alone, so she naturally hadn’t thought about this. After a few moments, she hesitantly lowered her head, a bit embarrassed.
“I… don’t have any money.”
“…”
Feng Ye, who had been leaning against the railing, looking lazy enough to fall asleep, raised an eyebrow slightly at this.
He turned his gaze back, eyeing the girl with a half-smile: “No money?”
“Mm.” Shi Liu hesitated. “Is it a lot?”
“Not much,” Feng Ye drawled, “Just sell you ten times, and after you escape and come back ten times, you’ll have earned enough for your fare.”
Shi Liu: “.”
Feng Ye: “For three people, thirty times. Little Pomegranate, it’ll be tough for you.”
Shi Liu: “…”
Shi Liu realized something, quietly raising her eyes: “Little Pomegranate?”
“Mm.”
“Why do you call me that?”
Feng Ye lowered his eyes and smiled. He leaned lazily against the railing on the second floor, his long lashes like raven feathers, slightly lifting under the faint light. The shadow of his lashes fell, but it didn’t enter his pitch-black eyes.
And with those eyes, where no light could penetrate, he carefully, slowly, “peeled away” her calm and serene exterior.
“You’ve never peeled a pomegranate?” Feng Ye’s voice was husky as his gaze lazily swept over her. “Pearls and garnets, emeralds and rubies… don’t they look a lot like you?”
Shi Liu: “?”
This was the first time she had heard someone compare a person to a pomegranate.
Demons have the most peculiar metaphors; she couldn’t tell if it was a compliment or an insult.
Fortunately, Shi Liu didn’t really mind.
She had heard so many interesting things today, seen so many sights, that her mood was light and carefree. She felt curious about him, willing to ask more questions.
“Can the money be considered a loan from you?” Shi Liu thought for a long time, finally coming up with a solution before the porridge and dishes on the table had completely cooled. “Once we reach the Mortal Realm, I’ll earn it back and repay you.”
Feng Ye glanced at her. “How will you earn it?”
Shi Liu hadn’t thought that far ahead.
But she figured that since she was now able to cultivate, although her control over spiritual power was still a bit rusty, she could practice more during the boat journey. By the time they reached the Mortal Realm, she should be able to do something.
At the very least, she could probably handle tasks like guarding a house, right?
Feng Ye seemed to see through her thoughts. He turned his face away, looking out over the railing, and let out a light scoff.
“With your barely adequate skills, you’d be better off earning your boat fare by working for me.”
Shi Liu turned back, puzzled. “But you don’t need my protection.”
“Then do something else.”
“Like what?”
Feng Ye thought for a moment. “You’re no good at warming the bed, so how about a shoulder massage?”
As he spoke, Feng Ye lazily got up, casually throwing a snow-white cloak over his shoulders. As he passed by the girl who was still sitting in the chair, he paused and turned slightly.
His long, elegant fingers lifted from beneath the cloak, and his demonic hand casually rested on Shi Liu’s head.
The stiff little girl was forced to tilt her head as Feng Ye bullied her, meeting the demon’s profile that leaned over her slender shoulder—the obsidian-like black eyes up close looked even more like swirling ink.
He looked down at her.
In his left eye lived a cold deity, and in his right eye, a malicious demon.
It seemed like he was waiting for her to beg for mercy.
Shi Liu thought for a moment and said, “Alright.”
Feng Ye: “?”
Shi Liu, with her soft brows and gentle demeanor, said, “I’ll do whatever Master says. Yes, yours.”
“…”
A boat departs from the Tianyuan Crossing every ten days.
Despite the common rumor that demons in the Demon Realm are simple-minded, when it comes to business, they’re anything but.
At the very least, for the business of running boats between the two realms, they had established an imposing and luxurious dock owned by the royal family of the Demon Realm beside the barren desert, specifically for selling passage slots.
Clear prices, no deceit between humans and demons.
Before stepping into the hall, Shi Liu had been chatting with Jiao Zhi—just about how it seemed wasteful to build such a grand and lavish building next to the barren desert for a single business.
Then, following behind Feng Ye, the human and demon duo saw the price list hanging on the light curtain in the hall like a waterfall.
At the top row were spirit wood plaques.
Heaven-class rooms, five rooms with four still available—each plaque was followed by a long string of spirit pearl numbers.
Shi Liu’s eyes began to hurt halfway through counting, so she sensibly moved her gaze down two rows to look at the lowest row of plaques for beds only, with no room limit.
She didn’t finish looking.
She heard the small demon under the light curtain speaking weakly, not even lifting his head as he pointed at the water screen: “Pay the spirit pearls, get your plaque, the boat leaves in the afternoon…”
At the end of his sentence, the small demon looked up and saw the snow-white cloak standing in front of him.
The little demon was stunned for two seconds, and then his eyes immediately sparkled, brighter than if he’d seen his own father. He quickly scurried out from behind the counter, bending over in a near-obsequious manner as he ran over: “Honored guests, are you selecting a room? Would you like me to introduce the orientation and views of each of our Tian-class rooms to this esteemed gentleman?”
Feng Ye couldn’t be bothered to respond, so he gestured to Jiao Zhi. The latter tossed a mustard seed ring, containing an unknown but considerable amount of spirit pearls, to the little demon.
After checking its contents, the little demon’s grin grew even wider, nearly reaching his ears. “Then allow me to select for you—”
“We’re three people, but we need only two rooms,” Feng Ye suddenly recalled something and deigned to speak. “She and I will share one room.”
“Huh?”
The little demon was momentarily dumbfounded. He instinctively glanced down at the mustard seed ring in his hand, clearly remembering that it held enough spirit pearls for three Tian-class rooms.
Then, catching sight of the serene and delicate profile of the girl standing beside the gentleman in the white cloak, the little demon seemed to understand something, and was about to smile knowingly.
But his smile froze halfway.
He heard that white-robed gentleman lazily glance back and, in a low, cool voice, threaten the young girl: “Starting tonight, give me shoulder massages—for ten days.”
Little demon: “?”
Little demon: “???”
Thanks to this chatty little demon, by the time the three of them boarded the boat in the afternoon, every demon servant on the vessel knew—
The Tian-class rooms were occupied by three guests.
Among them was a white-robed gentleman, as ethereal as a banished immortal, but who, alas, most likely had suffered a qi deviation during cultivation, leaving him mentally impaired—such a pity.
Feng Ye was unaware of these rumors.
Even if he knew, he wouldn’t care.
The boat traveling across the Tianyuan Crossing had three levels, with the five Tian-class rooms occupying the entire top level.
While the demon servants on the boat chatted about how the white-robed gentleman in the Tian-class room resembled a fallen immortal, the actual “immortal” himself was ascending the stairs from the second floor to the third, followed by a boy with a leopard’s head and large, round eyes wearing a tiger-skin jacket.
The boy hadn’t stopped talking the entire way up.
“Master, the Xuan Sect really went all out this time, sending three of their Grand Elders! What a spectacle outside the Nightmare Demon Valley!”
“…”
“I heard that the Xuan Sect only has four Grand Elders in total. Aside from the youngest Grandmaster who stayed behind to guard the sect, the rest all descended to the Netherworld!”
“…”
“If the Nightmare Demon hadn’t been so thoroughly, uh, ‘disciplined’ by you earlier, she might have been able to rely on the Nightmare Demon Valley to protect herself. But since you released those vengeful spirits, she didn’t last long before they captured her.”
Feng Ye finally showed some interest, the corners of his long eyes lifting into a faint, amused arc as he turned back to ask, “Did she die?”
“No, she didn’t.”
Jiao Zhi scratched his head and grinned foolishly. “They took her back alive.”
“Back where, to the Xuan Sect?”
“Yeah, but why would they bring the Nightmare Demon back?” A sharp glint flashed in Jiao Zhi’s big, round eyes. “Aren’t you worried she might spill the beans about you to save her own life?”
“She won’t.” Feng Ye’s tone was indifferent and lazy.
“Huh? How can you be so sure, Master?”
“The Xuan Sect descended this time, and even captured her, all for the celestial sandalwood.” As he spoke, a lustrous, milky white seed appeared between Feng Ye’s long, slender fingers, hovering a few inches above his palm, bouncing up and down like a sentient creature.
Jiao Zhi, still puzzled, responded instinctively, “But the celestial sandalwood is with you now—doesn’t that make it more likely that she’ll reveal your existence?”
Feng Ye’s five elegant fingers casually clenched, putting the celestial sandalwood away. He continued up the stairs with his hands behind his back, his lazy voice echoing behind him.
“If she says nothing, there’s still a sliver of hope for her survival. But if she talks, who in the Xuan Sect would leave alive a once-powerful ancient demon who is now useless?”
“…Huh?” Jiao Zhi chuckled and quickly followed. “That makes sense!”
“……”
Feng Ye wasn’t particularly interested in dealing with the foolish dog demon, who, even after taking human form, hadn’t grown much wiser. He was just wondering if the little maid was in the room making the bed when, as he turned the corner on the third floor, he caught sight of the girl standing still a short distance away, her head bowed.
Unlike the calm and serene demeanor Shi Liu had recently displayed, she now appeared a bit uneasy, her head lowered, a delicate blush tinting the pale skin of her neck as she seemed to be trying hard to avoid something.
The direction she was facing away from happened to be toward the three Tian-class rooms arranged in a “品” (pin) shape.
Feng Ye’s eyes grew slightly colder as he approached.
Even before getting close, the sounds of flirtatious laughter and sultry voices, tinged with seductive allure, were already drifting out from the wide-open door of the room on the far left.
Accompanying these sounds was a heady mixture of various intoxicating fragrances from cosmetics and perfumes.
Shi Liu, having used her spiritual power to block out her senses, didn’t immediately notice Feng Ye’s approach.
It wasn’t until he was standing directly in front of her that she became aware of his presence.
She looked up in alarm, her cheeks slightly flushed.
“A cultivator cultivates the heart,” Feng Ye mocked coldly. “You have a long way to go.”
Shi Liu held her breath, stammering, “It’s demon energy…”
The snow-white cloak parted slightly as Feng Ye lifted his hand, wrapping the slender girl before him into its folds.
Darkness suddenly enveloped her.
The deliberately provocative sounds and the corrupting, decadent demon energy that had been invading her senses instantly vanished.
All that remained was a faint, refreshing scent, like pine trees after a snowfall—Feng Ye’s scent.
Almost simultaneously, the sounds of wild revelry and laughter from the open Tian-class room door seemed to grow louder and closer, as if amplified many times over.
Inside the room, a demonic figure, both seductive and sinister, was lounging on an intricately woven golden and jade carpet suspended in mid-air.
The man had jet-black hair and crimson eyes, dressed in dark robes with his chest half-exposed, showing off his muscular torso without any inhibition. Several female demons, soft and boneless, clung to him, entwined around his body.
Propping himself up on one knee, the man leaned forward, his eyes, which glimmered with a hint of blood-red light, full of potent demonic energy. His gaze swept over the girl hidden beneath the snow-white cloak before settling on Feng Ye.
“What a beautiful and transparent little beauty,” the demonic prince smiled, his eyes like turbulent waves in a sea of blood. “How about you gift her to me?”
“……”
Feng Ye lowered his gaze, expression indifferent, as if he hadn’t heard anything.
Behind him, Jiao Zhi, who had just caught up, suddenly changed his expression, lowering his voice urgently.
“…Master, there’s a strong killing intent coming from him.”
Storyteller Niasser's Words
This is going to be adapted as a drama!
Comments for chapter "Chapter 26"
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