Miao Teng'er's mind exploded. A tangled storm of thoughts raged in complete disarray, matched only by the chaos of her emotions. Excitement, sorrow, joy, agony, longing... every shade of bittersweet feeling came surging up at once.
It had been nearly a year since the Demon Lord returned to the Spirit Realm. Throughout this entire year, she had pretended not to care, pretended to grit her teeth in hatred, sneering before her elders that his death served him right.
Yet she alone knew that her yearning had never ceased for a single day, nor had her pain and sorrow ever faded.
Day and night, she pined for that heartless scoundrel—a fickle betrayer whose cold exterior harbored hidden tenderness.
Tears instantly blurred her eyes and spilled over her cheeks. Miao Teng'er gazed dazedly at that familiar face, choking out, "Y-You..."
She had wanted to ask, Aren't you dead?
But the words caught in her throat, and her tears flowed even faster.
Tsk, tsk. What a heartrendingly pitiful sight. Teng'er really has a unique charm when she cries. I strongly suspect the Demon Lord loved bullying her precisely because of this...
The man beside the bed raised an eyebrow and spoke in his distinctive raspy voice:
"I am not dead. That was merely an illusion to mislead the world. I've been keeping a low profile all this time to lay low. Biding my time is for the sake of soaring to the heavens in the future. The day I return, I will surely have become the supreme god, and I will take back everything that belongs to me."
He tilted Miao Teng'er's pointed chin, a wicked, roguish smirk playing on his lips.
"For instance... you!
"Now I'm back. Well? How does it feel to be kidnapped by this lord of yours once again?"
He intentionally brought up being kidnapped again to reinforce his identity as the Demon Lord.
Zhang Yuanqing knew what the Demon Lord looked like; Ghost Bride Bai Lan had sketched the appearance of the mysterious man who stole the Little Sun, and it was indeed the Demon Lord.
Sure enough, when Miao Teng'er heard this, torn between sorrow and joy, she bit her lip as tears poured down like rain. "I wish I had never met you back then! I wish I could kill you!"
Even as she wept, she struggled to sit up and threw herself limply into the man's arms, sobbing uncontrollably. She muttered curses like "scoundrel" and "bastard," though without any bite—more like a frail girlfriend reproaching her rogue boyfriend.
The man chuckled coldly. "You're still as weak as ever. You don't know how to do anything except cry."
Given Zhang Yuanqing's typical personality, he would have melted the girl's heart with sweet talk at this point, turning her tears into smiles, followed naturally by using his weapon to fill her void.
However, according to the Elvis speaker's audio logs, the Demon Lord had never treated Teng'er gently. He behaved just like a delinquent youth abroad treating his girlfriend, tossing out "little bitch" every other breath while smugly considering it a term of endearment.
Time was short, so he didn't allow Teng'er's grief to brew further. "I don't have time to watch you sniffle here," he said. "Where is the map fragment I gave you last time? Give it back to me."
Miao Teng'er's sobbing paused. She lifted her head, glaring at him. "I won't! That was my share of your family property! Unless... unless you take back the part you gave to Yin Ji!"
The man frowned, displeasure flashing across his eyes. "I don't want to repeat myself."
Aggrieved, Miao Teng'er bit her lower lip. "T-Then untie my ropes, and I'll get it for you. Um... I think I've been poisoned. Detoxify me."
The man grunted in assent, snapped the ropes binding her, retrieved an injector vial from his pocket, and injected it into her jugular vein.
A few seconds later, Miao Teng'er regained strength in her limbs. Straightening her back, she sat in a W-sit on the bed. "I carry everything you gave me on me at all times..."
Suddenly, she whipped out a three-inch wooden spike from her inventory and drove it into the man's chest with lightning speed.
Warm blood splattered. Taking advantage of the momentum, she rolled to the other side of the bed, snatched up another item—a tiny potted plant—and shrieked, "Grandfather, save me!"
The little sapling swayed faintly, showing no change whatsoever.
Miao Teng'er froze.
The next second, the scenery in the room shattered like an illusion.
Miao Teng'er opened her eyes in dazed confusion. The lights were bright. She was lying on a king bed in a hotel room, her long brown hair spread across the pristine white sheets like a blooming flower. Her hands and feet remained bound, her body still weak and limp.
Everything just now had been an illusion!
The only thing unchanged was the tears in her eyes.
"Tsk, tsk. How did you see through my disguise?" the person by the window asked with a laugh. "I thought my impression was pretty decent."
Miao Teng'er sniffled, suppressing the emotions carried over from the illusion, and looked coldly toward the window.
Standing there was a young man with ordinary features that concealed a touch of worldly weariness. It was unmistakably the Demon Lord.
Yet Miao Teng'er knew he was not!
"He was a bundle of contradictions: arrogant and perverse, yet gentle and kind. Most of the time, he was very impatient with me, but whenever I cried, he would always comfort me—even if he was impatient while doing it." Miao Teng'er sneered. "You aren't him. You're just a despicable wretch masquerading as him."
Uh... So the Demon Lord was the kind of guy who boasted 'I wear the pants at home' to outsiders, but was actually a simp for his woman in private? Zhang Yuanqing's expression stiffened slightly.
"The Taiyi Sect Master and the Grand Marshal both said he was dead, so there could never be any mistake..." A flicker of anguish crossed Miao Teng'er's eyes, quickly suppressed. Glaring at him, she ground her teeth. "Who on earth are you, and what is your purpose in kidnapping me?!"
"So you aren't completely lovestruck after all." Zhang Yuanqing turned around, raised a hand, and smiled faintly. "I am indeed not the Demon Lord. As for kidnapping you, it's naturally to claim his legacy."
Under the light, a silver ring sat upon the index finger of that hand.
Miao Teng'er's pupils constricted sharply. She cried out in horror, "Y-You're the Demon Lord's successor the Taiyi Sect is looking for?!"
Zhang Yuanqing stroked the ring, a smile tugging at his lips. "Evidently so!"
Miao Teng'er stared blankly at him, her exquisitely beautiful face frozen like a sculpture as tears welled and rolled down, filled with an ocean of sorrow.
The appearance of the Demon Lord's successor was yet another piece of proof that that man had returned to the Spirit Realm.
She had never harbored any extravagant hope that the Demon Lord was still alive, but this feeling of having the knife twisted in her heart over and over again hurt too much.
"Like I said, I don't have time to watch you sniffle. Hand over what the Demon Lord gave you," Zhang Yuanqing stressed. "The fragment of that map."
A look of grim resolve flashed in Miao Teng'er's eyes. "Kill me, then."
Tsk, Zhang Yuanqing clicked his tongue inwardly. Lingjun had been right—Miao Teng'er was soft on the outside but tough on the inside. It seemed ordinary threats and intimidation wouldn't work on her.
However, it didn't matter. He still had his trump card.
With a chuckle, he said, "Kill you? Why would I kill you? As I just said, I'm here to claim his legacy. The map fragment is his legacy, and so are you."
Miao Teng'er's face turned pale.
Zhang Yuanqing strolled over to the bedside. Miao Teng'er scuttled toward the foot of the bed in terror, but he caught her by her fair, slender ankle and dragged her back in one swift pull.
As she was dragged, her blue pleated maxi skirt rode up to the tops of her thighs, exposing a pair of long, shapely legs that gleamed with a porcelain-white sheen under the lights, smooth and delicate as ivory.
Fingering her smooth, cool ankle, Zhang Yuanqing put on a villainous grin. "The Demon Lord's woman is indeed top-tier. This texture, this skin... tsk, tsk..."
Miao Teng'er let out a high-pitched scream.
"Scream all you want. Even if you scream your lungs out, no one will hear you. I've placed a Soundproofing Spirit Talisman in the room."
Having said that, he couldn't help roasting himself inwardly: A classic villain line!
He did not violate Miao Teng'er further. Instead, assuming the posture of a cat playing with a mouse, he smiled faintly as he fished two items from his pocket, displayed them before her, and said with malicious amusement:
"Unlike that scumbag the Demon Lord, I never force women. However, this ring can make you fall in love with me very quickly. And this spray will make you incapable of leaving me."
Zhang Yuanqing's voice was low and raspy, intentionally mimicking the Demon Lord's tone. To Miao Teng'er's ears, however, it sounded like the whisper of a demon. "You will willingly take pleasure beneath me, actively beg for more, shower me with passion, and forget all about that failure."
Miao Teng'er's screams caught in her throat. She stared blankly at the Charm Ring and the Endurance Spray. A few seconds later, an expression of utter horror and despair welled up in her beautiful eyes.
Clearly, she recognized what these two items did.
Ah, I'm sorry, Teng'er. I hope you won't have nightmares tonight... Feeling a twinge of guilt, Zhang Yuanqing snapped the ropes around her feet—not to free her, but to pressure her further into submission.
Zhang Yuanqing leaned forward, his sturdy torso wedging between Teng'er's fair, slender legs. One hand braced beside her ear, while the other slid up the smooth, firm skin of her outer thigh, reaching beneath the hem of her skirt until his fingers brushed the edge of lace, where he paused.
Miao Teng'er convulsed with terror, letting out another high-pitched, despairing scream.
"Oh? Weren't you quite wanton and seductive in bed with the Demon Lord? That speaker has recordings of your moans, so why are you acting like a blushing virgin now?"
Even as he revealed more information, he waited for Teng'er's panic to subside into rational thought.
More than an hour had passed since the kidnapping. Looking at things from Miao Teng'er's perspective, the official elites at the banquet would have certainly realized what happened by now.
Cousin Lingjun would notify Grandfather immediately. With Grandfather's methods and the abilities of figures like Fu Qingyang and Yuanshi Tianzun, tracking her down was only a matter of time.
Therefore, stalling for time was her highest priority. To protect herself, Miao Teng'er would definitely surrender the map fragment.
Meanwhile, from the perspective of the Demon Lord's successor, the reason he hadn't violated Miao Teng'er after all this time was that his primary objective was the Demon Lord's relic on her person, while bedding her was secondary.
The logic formed a closed loop.
No one would find it strange that the Demon Lord's successor hesitated or didn't end up sleeping with her.
"I..." Miao Teng'er finally broke, screaming, "I'll give it to you! I'll give it to you!!"
Taking the cue, Zhang Yuanqing straightened up and withdrew his hand from beneath her skirt, maintaining his roguish, wicked smile. "I like women who know when to yield. From now on, you'll follow me."
With that, he snapped the ropes around her wrists. "Don't play any tricks. You can't even be sure whether you're still in an illusion or not. If you dare deceive me again..."
He eyed her curvaceous, alluring figure and chuckled maliciously.
A chill of revulsion washed over Miao Teng'er. Rubbing her sore wrists and biting her lip, she withdrew a triangular jade pendant fragment from her inventory. White as mutton-fat jade, its surface was engraved with tiny indentations resembling a field of stars.
She usually wore this item around her neck, but because she had to wear a diamond necklace for tonight's banquet, she had taken it off and stored it in her inventory.
Zhang Yuanqing's eyes lit up, and he snatched the jade fragment away.
A few seconds later, the item's attributes surfaced:
[Name: Ascension Immortal Jade (Fragment)]
[Type: Jade Pendant]
[Function: Unlocking]
[Description: One of the key fragments to the Ascension Immortal Sect's treasury. Collecting all the fragments allows one to open the Ascension Immortal Sect's treasury.]
[Remark: There are six fragments in total.]
Ascension Immortal Sect? Why does that sound familiar? It feels like I've heard it somewhere before... Holy crap, I remember now! The Ascension Immortal Sect with its three thousand harem beauties, the dungeon that the Demon Lord lingered in and couldn't bear to leave?
The Demon Lord hid his treasures inside a dungeon? Unexpected, yet completely reasonable—nowhere is safer than a dungeon... There are six fragments in total. Where are the rest?
Zhang Yuanqing closed his hand, gripping the fragment in his palm, and asked, "Does your mother have one?"
Miao Teng'er's expression changed, and she shook her head frantically. "My mother doesn't have a map fragment! Don't hurt her!"
Huh? The Demon Lord didn't leave a fragment for his mother-in-law? Tsk, tsk, looks like I treat mothers-in-law better... Teng'er has one, Yin Ji definitely has one, that Betty from the Goddess of Beauty Association has one too. Where are the remaining three?
Thoughts churning in his mind, Zhang Yuanqing once again adopted a lecherous expression. "Little beauty, now it's time for our night of romance."
"W-Wait!" Miao Teng'er cried in flustered haste. "I haven't finished! I know where two more fragments are! Yin Ji of the Taiyi Sect and that bitch named Betty from the Goddess of Beauty Association each have one!"
Smart girl! Zhang Yuanqing stopped immediately. Toying with Teng'er's petite foot, he asked, "Anything else?"
As he spoke, he made a move to spread her legs again.
Terrified, Miao Teng'er shuddered, clamping her legs together tightly as she stammered, "Y-Yes, yes! But not about the map fragments! I know some things about the Demon Lord!"
A gleam flashed in Zhang Yuanqing's eyes. "Speak."
Miao Teng'er's expressive eyes darted rapidly, seemingly searching her memory. She said:
"The Demon Lord was actually not very old. He was younger than me—much, much younger. Once, he let something slip in front of me. He said, 'You're already twenty-five and you've never had a man? By the time I turn twenty-five, my women will fill up the entire Guosheng Lijing Hotel.'
"Back then, his personality wasn't as twisted as it became later, and he didn't have many women around him yet, so..."
"So turning twenty-five was a long way off for him. The Demon Lord was actually just a greenhorn kid?" Zhang Yuanqing stroked his chin, feigning surprise.
Seeing Miao Teng'er fall quiet, evidently trying her best to stall for time, he said coldly, "I didn't tell you to stop."
Miao Teng'er hurriedly said, "I also know how the Demon Lord fell!"
"Wasn't it from drinking the liquid in the Fallen Holy Grail?" Zhang Yuanqing countered.
Miao Teng'er shook her head. "I don't mean that. I mean the process of his fall. After I got involved with him, he quickly tried to cast me aside claiming he was bored of me. Most of the time, I was the one clinging to him...
"Once, he took the initiative to find me and asked for information about a team captain in Chaoyang District. I didn't want to betray a colleague, so I refused.
"But he told me that the official organization had long been riddled with holes. The ordinary grand health checks could only guarantee that the majority were clean; they couldn't root out corrupt elements protected by high-level powers. Nor was it possible for the officials to use a Tiger Tally on a grassroots staff member. The captain he wanted to kill was a Fallen, one shielded by a secret organization. Later, I found out that secret organization was the Dark Night Rose."
Zhang Yuanqing interrupted, "Get to the point. I'm not interested in hearing about your love-hate drama with the Demon Lord."
Miao Teng'er choked for a second, took a deep breath, and continued:
"He also mentioned something back then. He said that after he obtained his character card, he mistakenly trusted a constable and trusted the official organization, and that was how he ended up becoming Deceitful Eye Judge's thrall."
So that really was it... Realization dawned upon Zhang Yuanqing; an earlier suspicion had just been confirmed.
During the initial stages of the Holy Grail incident, Ou Xiangrong had killed a man named Zhao Yingjun, who was a consultant for the Xiangshui Road Police Station, a member of the White Tiger Guards, and a Level 2 Scout.
His true identity was a Fallen working secretly for Deceitful Eye Judge. Taking advantage of his position, he sold out rookies who had panicked and reported to the police after becoming Spirit Realm Walkers, handing them over to Deceitful Eye Judge to be controlled by the Grail and turned into thralls.
Ou Xiangrong was one of them.
From this, it became clear that Deceitful Eye Judge had used benefits and bribes to turn low-level official walkers in southeastern police stations into his lackeys, tasked specifically with scouting new Spirit Realm Walkers for him to control through the Grail.
Fu Qingyang had even specially requested a Tiger Tally from headquarters to launch a grand health check, which indeed weeded out a batch of bad apples.
At the time, Zhang Yuanqing had suspected that Brother Bing and the Demon Lord likely became Deceitful Eye Judge's thralls in the exact same manner.
Now, it was finally confirmed.
"Which police station did the Demon Lord report to?" Zhang Yuanqing asked.
Miao Teng'er shook her head. "He wouldn't tell me details like that, because it would allow me to pin down his family background and real identity."
Zhang Yuanqing gave a nod, accepting her explanation. "Anything else?"
Miao Teng'er said immediately, "Yes, there's more... The Demon Lord went overseas."
"I know. He was invited by the Goddess of Beauty Association to go overseas and sleep with women. Well, to be precise, he crossed the ocean to sleep with that peerless, stunning stunner of a President." Zhang Yuanqing scoffed. "The speaker already told me all about it."
To his surprise, Miao Teng'er shook her head. "No, he went overseas for another reason..."
Suddenly, a crisp tap-tap sounded from outside the window. Both turned toward the noise and saw a brand-new pair of Red Dancing Shoes glowing with a faint crimson light, trotting across the smooth, sheer surface of the French window into their line of sight.
Dazzling light erupted in Miao Teng'er's beautiful eyes, and her heart pounded wildly.
She recognized those shoes—Yuanshi Tianzun's Red Dancing Shoes!
Right at the moment the Red Dancing Shoes appeared, a dreamy burst of starlight surged inside the room, coalescing into a handsome young man.
The moment he manifested, he roared in fury:
"Scoundrel! If you dare harm a single hair on Sister Teng'er's head, this Tianzun will skin you alive!"
"It's you, Yuanshi Tianzun!" The Demon Lord's successor blanched in terror, bellowing, "Damn you, Yuanshi Tianzun! You've ruined my plans! I will never let you get away with this!"
With that, he too turned into a burst of starlight and vanished from the hotel suite.
The newly arrived Yuanshi Tianzun didn't give chase. Instead, he rushed to the bedside immediately, gathered Miao Teng'er into his arms, and asked with a face full of tender pity, "Sister Teng'er, are you alright?!"
His gentle voice, concerned gaze, and strong, reassuring chest gave Miao Teng'er an immense sense of security.
Even a hero slaying a dragon to rescue a princess was nothing compared to this.
All the grievance, terror, and lingering fear inside Miao Teng'er burst forth at once. Leaning against his chest, she wept inconsolably.
Meanwhile, Zhang Yuanqing gently pulled her long skirt down to cover her slender, shapely legs, taking the chance to steal one last reluctant glance at her petite, fair feet.
At that moment, chaotic, hurried footsteps echoed from the corridor outside.
Chapter 564