Chapter 79: The Demon Lord (24)

On the first day of Qian’s disappearance, the people of the Demon Palace conducted a methodical search, just as they had done several times before, combing through every corner of the palace.

Liusha searched the Demon Lord’s sleeping quarters, while the other protectors inspected their own territories.

However, after three full days of prying open nearly every crevice in the Demon Palace without finding any trace of the young mistress, they finally realized something was wrong.

“Is it possible that the young mistress has left the Demon Palace?”

Elder Changchun Jia’s words instantly forced everyone to confront the worst-case scenario they had been ignoring.

This wasn’t the first time Qian had played “hide and seek,” and her longest disappearance record was five days.

But every time, she had hidden somewhere within the Demon Palace and had never left.

Over time, and with repeated instances, everyone assumed she was just throwing a tantrum to avoid drinking medicine, believing there wouldn’t be any real problems.

After the last incident, the Demon Lord had already sealed off all the places within the palace where the child could hide. If, under these conditions, she had still managed to remain hidden for three days, then it was highly likely she was no longer in the Demon Palace at all.

As silence fell over the room, Changchun Jia fanned himself and added, “In fact, I did sense the use of a magic artifact I had gifted to the young mistress—the rare treasure fan forged from Mistwood branches, South Sea Illusion Shell, and Fog Soul Gem Light.”

Liusha immediately snapped, “Why didn’t you report something this important earlier?! Since you can sense the artifact, where is the young mistress now?”

Changchun Jia maintained a falsely polite expression. “Regrettably, I can’t sense its current location.”

“When the young mistress took my artifact to play with, the Demon Lord must have erased my connection to it. The only reason I even felt a faint response is because I had infused quite a bit of my own blood essence into the fan during its forging.”

“Speaking of which, doesn’t the Right Protector frequently provide the young mistress with artifacts for self-defense? Can the Right Protector sense anything?”

Liusha fell silent.

Did that even need to be asked? The answer was obvious—whenever her artifacts ended up as the young mistress’s toys, the Demon Lord would decide that once something was in his daughter’s hands, it belonged to her. He would then immediately sever the previous owner’s connection to the artifact.

Forget about tracking the young mistress through the artifact—there wasn’t even the slightest residual link left.

The Demon Lord was so paranoid and vigilant that he would never allow his daughter to use magic treasures that could be controlled by others. As a result, they now had no means to locate her.

“Send word immediately—conduct a covert search of the entire city for the young mistress!” Without hesitation, Liusha mobilized all available forces to ensure the shortest possible time to find her.

After Huai You Nong took power, he completely altered the previous structure where the elders co-governed the Demon Palace alongside the Demon Lord. Instead, he promoted two protectors who were entirely loyal to him, severely curbing the elders’ influence.

In the Demon Realm, the left side was the seat of honor, but the Left Protector, Luo Ye, aside from having a fondness for slaughter, only knew how to say, “Praise me, sister!”

Now that the Demon Lord was absent, Right Protector Liusha had become the de facto ruler of the Demon Palace, and even the elders had no choice but to follow her commands.

While the Demon Palace was thrown into chaos over the young mistress’s disappearance, affecting the entire Demon City, Qian and her newly recognized older brother were already nearing the city’s exit.

After spending two days together, the two children had quickly bonded.

Especially since Qu Lingyu was a responsible child—after being called “Brother” a few times, he almost started treating Qian like his actual little sister. He even forgot about his previous reservations and unknowingly opened up to her completely.

That was how Qian learned his real name was Qu Lingyu, and that he came from the Broken Peak Sword Sect in the cultivation world. His father was none other than the renowned Lingyu Immortal.

Qian thought: That name sounds awfully familiar.

When speaking about his father, Qu Lingyu’s eyes sparkled with admiration.

He spoke with great pride. “My father is an immortal highly revered by all. Many people in the cultivation world admire him. And unlike other immortals, even though he’s already so powerful, he still frequently descends to the mortal realm to slay demons and protect the innocent. He told me that having great power isn’t for indulging oneself recklessly, but for shouldering even greater responsibilities.”

“Did you know? My mother once took me to the mortal realm, and everywhere my father had been, people built shrines and temples for him. He has countless followers.”

Qu Lingyu wasn’t usually a talkative child, but when it came to his father, he couldn’t stop talking. He enthusiastically described how remarkable and beloved his father was.

Seeing his little sister holding her mask in both hands, tilting her head obediently as she listened, Qu Lingyu suddenly felt embarrassed. He regretted getting too carried away—boasting about his father like this was unbecoming. So, out of politeness, he returned the question.

“What about Qian’s parents?”

Qian sighed. “In this world, I don’t have a mother.”

Qu Lingyu was startled.

Then he heard her continue, “As for my father… he’s a bad person. He bit a hole in my arm and locked me inside a dark cave.”

Qu Lingyu was outraged. “How could a father do such a thing?!”

Qian’s tone grew even heavier. “Now, he forces me to eat strange things every day. If I refuse, he yells at me. I miss my brother. When he was here before… sniff…”

Back when her bad father was still just her “father-brother,” he wasn’t so fierce. Later on, he couldn’t even win fights against her, so she wasn’t afraid of him anymore.

Qu Lingyu immediately imagined a cruel, monstrous father with a hideous face and a heart devoid of humanity.

“No wonder you ran away from home,” Qu Lingyu thought that compared to his little sister, his own troubles were nothing.

Qian sniffled. “Then why did you run away from home?”

That’s right—her new big brother had mentioned before that he had run away from home and was captured at the border between the Demon Realm and the cultivation world.

His captors hadn’t known his true identity and had simply mistaken him for an ordinary disciple of an immortal sect. They had planned to sell him at the grand Spring Festival market in the Demon City, but he had managed to escape.

At the mention of this, Qu Lingyu lowered his head, feeling a little embarrassed.

But he still told the truth.

“My mother was my father’s disciple. The elders in our sect always say that a romance between master and disciple is taboo and disgraceful. They call my mother the greatest stain on my father’s life. I don’t like them saying that. And whenever they see me, they always sigh and claim that because my mother lacked talent, I’ll never be able to match my father in cultivation.”

“I wanted to prove them wrong. My father killed his first demon at nine—I can do it too!”

And so, in a moment of recklessness, he had run off to the Demon Realm’s border.

Qian scratched her own face, not understanding why he needed to prove himself to people who disliked him. She eagerly offered a suggestion, “If they’re talking nonsense, you can have your father lock them up!”

Qu Lingyu was shocked. “How can you lock up the elders?”

Qian replied seriously, “It’s possible. You can even beat them down until they have to crawl on the ground. That way, they won’t dare to talk nonsense anymore.”

Having been immersed in the Demon Realm for so long, Qian had spent every day listening to Luo Ye the Great Villain’s speeches, witnessing her Demon Lord father rebuke heaven, earth, and his subordinates, and frequently encountering scenes of murder.

As the saying goes, it takes ten years to learn virtue, but only a moment to learn vice.

She continued egging on her clueless older brother. “When you grow up and become strong, the first thing you should do is give those gossiping elders a beating!”

Qu Lingyu shook his head. “No, we must respect the elders.”

“Yes, you can! Do you not like your mother? Is that why you don’t care when they insult her?”

“No, I like my mother very much…” Qu Lingyu said anxiously.

“Do you think your parents were wrong?”

“No! My parents are great! If they were wrong, wouldn’t that make me an even greater mistake?”

“You see, your parents aren’t wrong. They are the ones who are wrong, so they should be beaten!”

“But… but…”

Qu Lingyu stared at her blankly, completely unable to respond.

He felt that his sister was making sense, but it clashed with the teachings he had received for years, throwing him into confusion.

Just as he was struggling with his thoughts, Qian suddenly clutched her stomach and cried out in pain. Then her head tilted, and she coughed up a mouthful of blue-purple blood, breaking his train of thought and scaring him.

“Qian, what’s wrong? Are you poisoned?” Qu Lingyu saw the strange-colored blood and nervously patted his sister’s back.

Qian sniffled and said, “I’m sick. I’m about to die.”

“No way! I’ll take you and run away. Once we leave this place, you’ll be fine!”

Just then, a group of demon soldiers arrived nearby.

Qu Lingyu immediately pulled Qian into a corner to hide.

The soldiers searched around, seemingly looking for something. Though they quickly left, their presence sparked a wave of hushed discussions among the people nearby.

“Did something big happen in the Demon Palace again? I saw a lot of demon generals mobilizing early this morning. It’s like they’re turning the entire Demon City upside down.”

“Hiss—did something happen with the Demon Lord again? With such a commotion, who knows what he’s up to this time.”

Their voices were laced with fear.

“Maybe his cultivation went wrong again.”

The fear made the people of Demon City hesitant to discuss further, but their veiled words were full of unease.

Qu Lingyu led Qian through the secluded alleys. Hearing these conversations, he was surprised.

So… the people of the Demon Realm didn’t actually revere the Demon Lord?

Their attitude was practically the same as those in the cultivation world—no one dared to mention him. There was even a rumor in the cultivation world that if you spoke the Demon Lord’s name, he would come find you, either to kill or to rob you.

With demon palace soldiers stationed at nearly every street, the chaotic Demon City suddenly fell into an eerie silence.

Like everyone else, Boss Li was also curious about what was happening. She leaned against her door, watching outside.

For certain reasons, she paid more attention to these soldiers than others did.

Among the squad of soldiers marching down the street, there was one familiar figure. That person also noticed her, signaled the soldiers behind him to wait, and then walked toward her.

Boss Li smiled as soon as she saw him, taking hold of his sleeve. “Yin Yan, why haven’t you come these past few days?”

It was none other than the demon general Yin Yan, who was leading the search in Demon City. Standing outside the narrow storefront, he nearly blocked all the light.

He said in a low voice, “The Demon Palace has been unstable lately. I couldn’t come back. You need to be careful.”

“I understand.” Boss Li was reluctant for him to leave so soon and asked, “What’s going on today? Why are so many soldiers running around the city?”

Yin Yan shook his head and was about to speak when his eyes suddenly landed on a piece of paper hanging on the counter inside the shop.

Yin Yan: “……”

In a certain sense, this could be called a talisman drawn by the Young Mistress.

Anyone who had interacted with the Young Mistress before had been fooled by her talisman papers… and had exchanged things for them.

Now that they had found fresh traces left by the Young Mistress, the elders and protectors of the Demon Palace used their various skills to track her down.

They followed the traces of magical artifacts she had used along the way and detected the blood scent left by Xun Peng’s bloodworms, gradually narrowing her possible location.

Liu Sha took action to seal off the area, and the search party advanced step by step, eliminating obstacles as if they were capturing a stray cat.

“Qian, are you okay?”

Qian shook her head and wiped the blood at the corner of her mouth with his sleeve.

“I’ll carry you.”

Qu Lingyu, small as he was, carried the equally small Qian on his back, cautiously avoiding crowded areas.

He asked every so often if she was okay, but after a few replies, she stopped answering, making him increasingly anxious.

When he turned his head to check on her again, he suddenly noticed that the hair draping over his shoulder had turned red.

Qu Lingyu: “?”

Startled, he hurriedly set her down. The jostle caused Qian, who was too weak to maintain her disguise, to lose her mask as well. It fell to the ground.

Qian had always refused to remove this mask. Qu Lingyu had assumed it was important to her and never questioned it. But now, seeing her face without it, he was completely stunned.

If her face alone wasn’t enough, then her now-revealed red hair made it unmistakably clear—she had an undeniable connection to the Demon Lord.

Qu Lingyu had once personally witnessed Demon Lord Huai You Nong appear before their sect, effortlessly defeating his senior brothers and sisters, and even forcing his father to retreat. That was the first time he realized that his supposedly invincible father could also be defeated.

From then on, that wildly arrogant and evil face was burned into his memory.

In short, the villain of his childhood nightmares always wore the face of the Demon Lord.

Qian groggily opened her eyes and saw her older brother clenching his fists.

He said, “You’re the Demon Lord’s child. You lied to me!”

Qian blinked in confusion. “I didn’t lie to you.”

Qu Lingyu choked. He realized she actually hadn’t lied—she just hadn’t told him her identity.

The little boy pushed her away in grief and anger, turned around, and declared, “I don’t recognize you as my sister anymore!”

With that push, Qian immediately coughed up two more mouthfuls of strangely colored blood, looking absolutely terrifying.

The furious little boy thought about the past two days spent with his “sister” and suddenly felt a pang of guilt. He had only taken two steps before turning back to help her up.

Qian whimpered and started crying, “I want to go home. I want to go home.”

She didn’t want to stay here any longer.

She looked so pitiful that Qu Lingyu forgot all about his earlier feelings of betrayal. After hesitating for a moment, he picked Qian up again.

“Stop crying. I’ll take you home.”

Thinking back to what his sister had said before, he guessed that the Demon Lord probably didn’t like her much—maybe someone was even trying to harm her. That must have been why she ran away.

But if she said she wanted to go home, wasn’t her home the Demon Palace? How was he supposed to get her back there safely and find someone to help her?

“Young Master? Young Master, please come out!”

“Young Master, come back with us, we won’t force you to take medicine anymore!”

“Young Master, are you hungry? We brought a lot of delicious food, come out and eat!”

As Liusha’s search area shrank, the shouting grew louder and more chaotic.

Qian woke up to the noise and found herself still on her sworn brother’s back. He had no idea how long he had been carrying her, but his forehead was covered in sweat.

“Are they calling for you? Do you want to go with them?” The little boy, who had been struggling with doubt the whole way, asked in a muffled voice.

“I don’t want to go back.” Qian sniffled.

But in the face of such an overwhelming encirclement, they were like two tiny insects with nowhere to hide.

A moment later, Liusha was the first to spot the missing Young Master. She was leaning against a wall stacked with miscellaneous items, her small face pale, still clutching the Shifang Mountain Scroll.

Back at the Demon Palace, Qian was forced to drink a large bowl of strange medicine. After being thoroughly cleaned up, Liusha delivered her straight to the Demon Lord’s bedchamber and stood guard outside, ensuring that she wouldn’t run off again.

Once everyone had left, Qian sat alone on the bed, quietly unrolling the Shifang Mountain Scroll.

“It’s okay now. You can come out,” she whispered to the painting.

Qu Lingyu emerged from the scroll and looked up at the eerie yet magnificent Demon Lord’s chamber, his whole body tensing up.

As for why he had ended up in enemy territory so suddenly—well, at the time, things were dire, and Qian figured that if he was discovered, he would be captured. So she had hidden him inside the Shifang Mountain Scroll.

The world within the scroll had been mostly sealed by the Demon Lord, leaving only a small section for study. But it was more than enough to hide Qu Lingyu.

Now that she had recovered a little, Qian took her “feral” older brother on a tour.

Stopping by the pool, Qian said, “This is where my dad takes baths.”

Qu Lingyu glanced at the pool in awe, as if expecting the Demon Lord to emerge from it at any moment. He quickly stepped away.

“This is my dad’s clothing.” Qian rummaged through the Demon Lord’s robes and pulled out a food box. “I hid some snacks in here.”

“Here, you can eat.”

Meanwhile, Huai You Nong had returned to the Demon Realm earlier than planned. Since the trip had not gone smoothly, he was in a foul mood.

At the edge of the Demon Realm, he was suddenly intercepted.

His old rival, Immortal Lingyu, stood alone, sword pointed straight at him.

“Demon Lord, return my child to me!”

“If your child is missing, what does that have to do with me?”

“Lingyu’s jade pendant was found at the border of the Demon Realm, tainted with demonic energy. He must have been taken by the demons!”

Immortal Lingyu glared at him without retreating an inch.

“I have no interest in targeting a brat,” Huai You Nong sneered. “But if you don’t believe me, that’s fine. Once I kill you, you can go ask around in the underworld yourself.”

At that moment, remembering the child in the Demon Palace, whose life was slowly slipping away, Huai You Nong’s killing intent surged to an unprecedented level.

This entire trip had been fruitless. He had even ended up in a fight for no reason, and because of interference, he hadn’t managed to settle it. Now, his mood was even worse.

As the frustrated Demon Lord returned to the palace, the oppressive black clouds above the Demon Palace thickened.

Liusha carefully reported the incident of the Young Master’s disappearance over the past few days. Huai You Nong let out a cold snort and strode toward his bedchamber.

Just as he reached the door, he heard Qian speaking to someone inside.

“My dad is coming back in a few days. You must hide well, or he’ll eat you!”

BANG—

The door slammed open. A startled yelp and the sound of frantic movement followed.

Huai You Nong walked in expressionlessly and saw his daughter sitting at the table, her eyes darting about in a guilty but determined effort to conceal it.

His gaze swept across the food on the table, and he raised an eyebrow.

“What did you hide in my chambers this time?”

“N-nothing. There’s nothing here.” Qian shook her head so vigorously that it looked like a rattle.

“Haven’t I told you not to bring random things into my chambers?”

Ignoring her protests, Huai You Nong grabbed the Shifang Mountain Scroll from behind her and gave it a shake.

A child tumbled out.

He had expected his daughter to have hidden some stray animal, but he hadn’t expected her to have smuggled in a person.

Looking at the little boy’s face—so strikingly similar to Immortal Lingyu—Huai You Nong fell silent.

He suddenly recalled the scene at the border earlier, when he had mockingly taunted Immortal Lingyu. He remembered how he had sworn with absolute certainty that the man’s unfortunate son was definitely not in his hands.