The moment the words left his mouth, Zhang Yuanqing could feel Yin Ji go rigid all over. The first thing that showed on her face was neither shock nor joy, but blankness — sheer bewilderment.
Only after a second or two did extreme shame and fury flood into those warm, liquid eyes, and her fair cheeks flush red.
In her eyes, Yuanshi Tianzun was toying with her, plain and simple.
She had just felt that the way Yuanshi Tianzun looked at her was off, and now he had deliberately mimicked the Demon Lord's tone to call her that — a naked, insulting tease.
In truth, she had sensed before that Yuanshi Tianzun held some fondness for her, but he had been relatively restrained; and as a famous beauty of the Taiyi Sect, she had no shortage of promising young men fond of her.
So Yin Ji had never taken it to heart. As long as Yuanshi Tianzun did nothing drastic — a confession, say, or a courtship — she could pretend not to notice.
Compared with those swarms of lecherous admirers, Yuanshi Tianzun at least did not repel her; she was willing to be friends with him.
Who would have thought that once he became the Lord of the Sun, he would stop pretending altogether and use the Demon Lord to mock her — insulting the Demon Lord and insulting her in the same breath.
Yin Ji drew a deep breath, forced down her shame and anger, and said, frost congealing in her eyes:
"You are the Lord of the Sun now, the strongest demigod. If you want me, I can only submit; even destroying myself would be pointless — I would still be refined into a spirit servant, a yin corpse. But you cannot use the Demon Lord to humiliate me, and still less to humiliate him. You know perfectly well what he and I were to each other!"
Yin Ji was soft on the outside and hard within. After the Demon Lord's death, she had veiled her face in black gauze and refused all offers of marriage — a silent protest against her teacher and her sect.
Actually, I could have just played dead and refused to admit I'm the Demon Lord, and the evil demigods wouldn't have stepped forward to expose me... The thought came to Zhang Yuanqing suddenly.
The Demon Lord's lover had long since accepted that he was dead; if he had quietly played dead, the whole matter would have been buried.
In the past, Zhang Yuanqing might have muddled his way past a debt of love like this.
But after fusing with the Sun Origin, his temperament had been affected to some degree: he carried an innate majesty now, upright and forthright.
The sun is the symbol of order and majesty. Everything in the world can be covered up, but the sun shines on, unchanging, and no power can block its light.
So Zhang Yuanqing had never once considered hiding the Demon Lord's identity.
He gazed at her and sighed.
"I have the Elvis Presley speaker the Demon Lord left behind, so imitating the way he spoke is only natural. But there are some details the speaker would never have recorded."
He paused, then said softly:
"The first time we met was in the capital. Back then I had taken a job from the Deceitful Eye Judge — assassinate a Night Wanderer of the Taiyi Sect. The Night Wanderer I killed was called Xiari Yousheng, a rising talent of no small potential.
"You were already a level 5 Saint then, and the Taiyi Sect sent you to investigate. You spent half a year tracking me down and hunting me, and every time I slipped out of your encirclement.
"At first you loathed me. I was a fallen one, and lecherous as they came; in our few clashes I liked to goad you with filthy language. I was exactly the sort of man you despised most.
"What truly bound us together was the Nightless Palace dungeon of the Song dynasty. We were matched into the same dungeon, and there we were teammates. Over those six months I caught up to you in level.
"For the sake of the bigger picture, you didn't choose to fight me to the death; you simply guarded against me in secret. I had your character pegged, so I deliberately said vulgar, trashy things to tease you. At the time I was quite fond of you — hmm, to be precise, I coveted your beauty and wanted to sleep with you.
"In that dungeon I shone. I saved your life twice. You said a kindness is a kindness and an evil is an evil, that you wouldn't go soft just because I had saved you, that you would rid the orthodox faction of me, a fallen one. But in fact, from then on your pursuit of me gradually turned perfunctory.
"Later, when the Deceitful Eye Judge saw my level slowly catching up to yours, he drew up a hunting plan aimed at you. He forced me to serve as bait and lead you into a trap. Six men lay in ambush for you, every one of them a Saint.
"I didn't dare disobey the Deceitful Eye Judge's order, and I decided to kill you. I told myself over and over that she is only a woman, that the world holds countless beauties, so why put myself in danger for her sake.
"But as I watched you surrounded by fallen ones, in more and more danger, instinct overwhelmed reason. I ambushed and killed six of my own companions and saved you. In that moment I knew clearly that I liked you — not a coveting of beauty, but a liking for you yourself, from the bottom of my heart. Though at the time I didn't know what it was about you that I liked.
"In that battle I nearly died to my companions' counterattack. You carried me out and settled me in a safe house, and you asked me why I had saved you, why I had betrayed the Deceitful Eye Judge — that as a fallen one, betraying him meant a life worse than death."
Zhang Yuanqing looked at Yin Ji, the frost in her eyes melting away bit by bit, shock and agitation climbing onto her face, and smiled.
"My answer was: In your eyes I may be a piece of trash deserving a thousand cuts, but before the Chalice of Corruption tainted me, I was a good man too!"
Trembling, Yin Ji raised a hand and touched Yuanshi Tianzun's cheek. In a flicker of illusory light, she saw once more that young, ordinary face, with the weariness of years gathered between its brows.
In an instant her tears poured down.
She was certain the man before her was the Demon Lord!
Her Demon Lord — the lover she had never forgotten, whom she would love unto death.
No one but the Demon Lord himself could have spoken of those past events.
She gazed at him lingeringly for a moment, then wiped away the illusion and stared at Yuanshi Tianzun's face, choking out:
"Is this what you really look like?"
She knew the Demon Lord had worn a disguise ring back then, that the face she could never forget had not been her beloved's true face.
But she had never tried to explore what lay beneath the "mask," because she knew it was the Demon Lord's last shred of dignity and stubbornness.
Zhang Yuanqing nodded, and the majestic, low timbre of his voice turned gentle.
"Yin Ji, I'm back."
Yin Ji's heart pounded wildly in that moment; the excitement and joy of regaining what she had lost nearly drowned her, leaving her unable to breathe.
Yet doubt still lingered in her heart. She could not believe the Demon Lord was alive — after all, that was a fact acknowledged by every demigod.
But she did not dare ask, afraid the truth would turn out to be a trick, a humiliation.
She could not bear to lose him again.
As though reading her thoughts, Zhang Yuanqing said:
"Last year, the Lord of the Stars and the Lord of Taiyin surrounded and killed me. My body and soul were destroyed — but I did not die completely..."
He told Yin Ji in detail how he had come back to life, concealing his connection with the Void demigod and saying only that the man was an investor.
"So it was you..." Yin Ji laughed, tears spilling from her eyes. "So I had already seen you long ago, already met you long ago..."
Unable to contain herself, she threw herself into Zhang Yuanqing's arms.
A long while later, having barely composed herself, she clutched her lover's hand tightly, as if afraid of losing him again, and ventured:
"Are you — are you confident you can defeat the Lord of the Stars?"
"Do my best and leave the rest to heaven." The majesty on Zhang Yuanqing's face seemed as unchanging as the ages.
Yin Ji pressed her lips together.
"Those lovers of yours..."
The majesty on Zhang Yuanqing's face remained as unchanging as ever, though this time it seemed a little forced. "The follies of youth. I'll try not to disturb them, and try to make it up to them."
"And Guan Ya?" Yin Ji said again.
This was what she cared about most. She was the Demon Lord's first love, and Guan Ya was Yuanshi Tianzun's first love.
Zhang Yuanqing said nothing.
Yin Ji asked no more. She smiled and said softly, "My rank is too low to help you, but I will be waiting for you in the capital. Does the Demon Lord's identity need to stay secret?"
Zhang Yuanqing shook his head. "I am the Demon Lord, and the Demon Lord is me."
He looked at the darkened sky. "Yin Ji, I have to go."
There was not much time; he had to gather the treasure map fragments as quickly as possible.
Yin Ji threw herself into his arms again, holding him hard, as though he would vanish the moment she let go.
But this time she kept the moment just right. She pulled out of his embrace, smiled, and nodded.
Zhang Yuanqing turned into golden light and shot into the clouds.
Yin Ji stood watching the direction in which he had vanished for a long time, unwilling to leave.
About five minutes later, Elder Hongying descended into the little courtyard. At the sight of her tear-streaked student she was startled, and probed in a low voice:
"What did he say to you?"
What she really wanted to ask was what he had done to you.
Yin Ji wept and laughed at once. "Teacher, he's back, he's back..."
He's back? Elder Hongying frowned. "What do you mean?"
Yin Ji said, "Yuanshi Tianzun is the Demon Lord!"
Elder Hongying was struck as if by lightning, frozen to stone on the spot.
...
The Northwest.
In a small city with a lagging economy, on the outskirts far from the city center, inside a villa with a garden, the Eighth Protector of Dark Night Rose, the "King of the Forest," had an arm around each of two young women in bikinis, swaying side to side in the spacious living room while the speaker blasted pulsing music.
He was around thirty, with rather handsome features and a well-proportioned, powerful build. His Wood Monster class lent him a gentle air; even without using his abilities or spending money, he could charm countless high-quality women.
Two long tables draped in white cloth stood in the living room, piled with fruit, liquor, and dishes, while chefs kept the hot courses coming.
Nine provocatively dressed, sexy women were in the living room. They had the long legs of supermodels and cup sizes no supermodel could boast; their body fat ratios were flawless — big breasts, round firm buttocks, slim waists, shapely thighs.
These women were all members of Dark Night Rose, and all of them were of the Wood Monster class.
They were subordinates of the Eighth Protector, the "King of the Forest." After the Grand Protector, Shanhe Yongcun, ordered the organization to lie low, the King of the Forest had gathered the nine best-looking female subordinates and begun holding parties in his villa, day after day and month after month, in pursuit of pleasure to the death.
The King of the Forest was a Spring God of the breeding type, with an instinctive craving for mating and reproduction, but the traditional way of reproducing was too dull for him, so he had borrowed and reinvented many methods.
For instance, "Spin the Wheel for Treasure": the nine female Wood Monsters formed a circle, and whichever one the wheel landed on, the King of the Forest would plow away behind her; whichever Wood Monster could make the King of the Forest tremble on top of her would be rewarded with a piece of spiritual material or its cash equivalent.
Then there were "Battle for the Lychee," "Dragon Drinks Water," "The Cunning Rabbit's Three Burrows," and so on — no need to go into detail.
After half an hour of frenzied dancing, the King of the Forest picked up the remote and switched the pulsing music to soft piano, intending to gather the women for a game.
Suddenly, all nine of his female subordinates closed their eyes and collapsed one after another, sinking into sleep.
A sharp light flashed in the King of the Forest's eyes; he switched into combat mode, and the potted plants in the living room grew madly, as though coming alive.
The three huskies outside in the yard and the two tabby cats in the side hall all rose at the same time, eerie light flickering in their pupils, fangs and claws lengthening, muscles rippling beneath their fur.
As a Spring God, he never lacked powerful combat beasts.
From the body of one of the sleeping female Wood Monsters, a figure in a baseball cap and a face mask "crawled out." Beneath the brim of the cap, his gaze held gloom and madness.
At the sight of him, the King of the Forest's wariness eased somewhat, and he frowned:
"Sect Master Chunyang? What are you doing here? How did you find me?"
Sect Master Chunyang laughed hoarsely. "When we last met, I planted a seed in your soul. Hey, don't react so dramatically — I planted seeds in the souls of every Dark Night Rose Protector, except those three Day Wanderers."
He paused, then came straight to the point:
"I can't reach Shanhe Yongcun anymore, so I had to come find you."
Hearing this, the King of the Forest relaxed a little and answered, "The Grand Protector has ordered all of Dark Night Rose to lie low. Without his permission, no one may go out, and no tasks may be undertaken."
Sect Master Chunyang frowned. "Why?"
He had contacts only in Dark Night Rose, so his information was relatively limited.
The King of the Forest showed a look of reverence. "The war for the Sun Origin has begun!"
The Lord of Taiyin and the Lord of the Stars fighting over the Sun Origin? Monstrous rage and jealousy surged in Sect Master Chunyang's heart. As a madman, and as a former Golden Crow, he harbored an intense craving and ambition for the Sun Origin.
Sect Master Chunyang promptly smoothed over his mad emotions and said:
"Contact Shanhe Yongcun. I have important intelligence — intelligence about Yuanshi Tianzun."
...
The capital, Five Elements Alliance headquarters.
At the highest-level meeting, Zhang Yuanqing, a golden blazing sun branded between his brows, sat upright at the conference table, watching holographic projections arrive one after another.
He looked around at the Nine Elders, whose expressions varied, and smiled. "So tell me — who should I settle accounts with first?"
Chapter 986