Chapter 21
Nie Yinzhi suddenly panicked. She put her ear to his chest, but there was no sound. She checked his breathing and pulse, feeling increasingly horrified as if plunged into an icy cave.
"Gu Jiang..." Nie Yinzhi pushed him, her voice trembling. She tried several times to probe his consciousness with her spiritual sense, but to no avail.
What happened? How could he die so quietly? Was it because of the injury he sustained at the Cloud Scripture Sect when he took the hit from the mountain-protecting formation? Did he endure it all this way, pretending nothing was wrong, just to get her out of there? Had he reached his limit when they arrived here, which was why he rushed into the inn so urgently?
Gu Jiang, why are you so foolish?
This turn of events was too sudden. Nie Yinzhi's mind was in chaos, with many thoughts rushing in, but she couldn't grasp any of them. When she cupped his face in her hands, tears were already falling uncontrollably, making her sob.
"Gu Jiang... *sob*... why, how could you..." Nie Yinzhi couldn't form complete sentences, not knowing what to say.
Just moments ago, she had been happily planning their dinner menu, and while taking a bath, she had been thinking about where they should go next, planning to ask Gu Jiang's opinion when he woke up.
This was truly a bolt from the blue.
[Oh my god, what happened? Why is Nie Yinzhi crying like she lost her man? Did I miss some important plot?]
[???? What's going on????]
[Why the crying?? Did Gu Jiang die?]
[Stop crying, Yinzhi, you're making me cry too.]
[Damn, is this fixing a plot hole? Because Feng Hanying appeared, there can't be two demon lords, so Gu Jiang just dropped dead? I can't think of any other reason why a demon lord would suddenly die.]
[Hahaha, serves him right! He should have died earlier! Without a demon lord backing you up, what are you, Nie Yinzhi?]
Nie Yinzhi caught sight of the floating comments from the corner of her eye. She gritted her teeth, feeling uncontrollable rage rising in her heart. Her spiritual power fluctuated abnormally, and her pupils filled with a red glow of demonic possession.
The Red Leaf Sword trembled with a whimpering sound, and its demonic energy was drawn towards Nie Yinzhi by an invisible force.
Nie Yinzhi thought, to hell with the plot - she didn't care about any plot. She would become a demon and make everyone pay the price.
And then—
Gu Jiang opened his eyes. There was too much Five-Colored Dew in his mouth, and he almost choked. After swallowing it with a gulp, his face showed the grumpiness of someone who had been rudely awakened. He mumbled unclearly, "Nie Yinzhi, you're too noisy."
He gave his sword a sleepy, puzzled look, then turned to the person before him who was crying her eyes out with bloodshot eyes.
Nie Yinzhi choked up, the turbulent spiritual power in her meridians instantly solidified, and the demonic energy that had been drawn to her suddenly retreated back into the Red Leaf Sword.
She probably couldn't turn into a demon now.
When Gu Jiang saw her clearly, he instantly became alert. He propped himself up and lifted her chin, "Why are you crying? What's wrong?"
The tears that Nie Yinzhi had dropped on his face earlier trickled down his cheeks and into his mouth, tasting bitter.
Nie Yinzhi stared at him with wide eyes, opened her mouth, but couldn't help sobbing first. Unable to speak, she could only shake her head.
Gu Jiang frowned. This was the first time he had seen Nie Yinzhi cry like this, and it stirred up an inexplicable irritation in his heart.
He sensed an unusual aura from Nie Yinzhi, and his eyes suddenly darkened. His whole being emanated a gloomy coldness. He wiped her tears, got up from the couch, casually pulled off his outer robe and put it on as he walked out, saying, "Wait for me here."
Gu Jiang crooked his finger, and the Red Leaf Sword whooshed into the air, its blade light casting a defensive barrier in the room. He had already vanished from the room.
Everything happened so quickly that Nie Yinzhi had no chance to stop him, let alone know where Gu Jiang was going or what he planned to do.
The bed curtains fell softly, and Nie Yinzhi placed her hand over her heart to calm herself, slowly recovering from the emotional rollercoaster of thinking the great demon lord had suddenly died, then suddenly came back to life, and then suddenly ran off.
Then, she almost cried again at her own stupidity.
In her panic, she had forgotten about the symbiotic curse binding her and Gu Jiang. Now that he was the only one sustaining the curse, if Gu Jiang had died, she would have died too. She wouldn't have had the chance to mourn him.
Nie Yinzhi untied the ribbon on her left wrist and revealed the curse mark. The small golden leaf was gently swaying, bright and golden, fresh and vibrant, living very healthily.
She roughly wiped away her tears and buried her face in the pillow, cursing herself in frustration, "Ahhhhh, why are you so stupid!"
Fortunately, Gu Jiang had left. If he knew that she had cried like that because she thought he was dead, Nie Yinzhi would surely die of embarrassment and want to dig a hole to bury herself in.
When she was young, she had a puppy that died suddenly in its sleep after eating something bad, and she had cried for days, unable to eat or drink. How much more would she cry for a cherished demon lord?
It wasn't embarrassing, after all, Gu Jiang didn't know why she was crying.
After adjusting her mindset, Nie Yinzhi sat up, took out a small mirror to check her reddened eyes, then got up and pulled back the curtains. She changed into a snow-white gauze dress embroidered with silver peacock patterns - when she moved, you could see the silver tail feathers shimmer with flowing light, extremely exquisite.
She put on beautiful makeup in the bright sunlight streaming through the window, covering her red eyes. She took out some snacks that had been sent up earlier by the waiter, sat by the window, eating while waiting for Gu Jiang.
The sun was bright, time was peaceful, as if nothing had happened.
[???? What's going on, are you two playing us??]
[To be precise, Nie Yinzhi is playing us alone.]
[How dare you! Are my tears worthless?! I'll be damned if I shed another tear for you!]
[You devil Nie Yinzhi, no matter how beautiful you make yourself, I won't forgive you... oh, wow, sister is really beautiful.]
[LMAO, Nie Yinzhi put on a whole tragic drama by herself, and Gu Jiang's first words upon waking: "Nie Yinzhi, you're too noisy."]
[Why is this so funny? Is this artificial stupidity? (dog head) I have to screenshot this and post it on Weibo, I'm dying of laughter.]
["Nie Yinzhi, you're too noisy." Hahahahaha you jerk, is that any way to talk?]
[If someone cried for me like that, I'd marry them on the spot! How could the demon lord just leave someone who was crying their heart out for him??]
[I'm already so embarrassed for Nie Yinzhi I could dig out an entire Disneyland with my toes.]
[Is this actually a comedy?]
Nie Yinzhi's mouth twitched, and she didn't dare look at the comments anymore, lowering her head to analyze randomly.
She knew Gu Jiang was very quiet when sleeping, with shallow breathing, but it shouldn't have been to the point of having no breathing, no pulse, and not even a heartbeat.
At Pill-Forming Peak, she rarely shared a bed with Gu Jiang, and they had only lain this close together twice.
The first time was when he had drunk too much blood and passed out. At that time, she was held in his embrace and was also groggy. After becoming clear-headed, she was very wary of him, and as soon as she escaped his restraint, she quickly distanced herself from Gu Jiang.
When they came out of the Five-Colored Dew that time, she was only thinking about causing trouble and didn't notice much, plus Gu Jiang woke up quickly.
The reason she had misunderstood was ultimately—
It was all the demon lord's fault!!
After leaving the inn, Gu Jiang's half-lowered eyes still held traces of sleepiness. He moved like a shadow through the streets, unnoticed by anyone. If one carefully traced his route, they would find he was following that hair-thin trace of demonic energy.
He didn't know why Nie Yinzhi was crying, but he had sensed someone else's mark on her.
Demonic energy of the same origin as his.
He had only slept for a moment, and while the righteous path practitioners dared only observe from afar, not daring to approach, it could only have been his unworthy disciple who had troubled her.
Gu Jiang walked into a tavern as if no one else was around. The tavern was famous for its roasted rabbit, and the kitchen was bustling with activity as fresh rabbit meat was being prepared, with rabbit skins scattered all over the floor.
In a cage, a large grey rabbit was frantically kicking its hind legs, trying to squeeze out of the cage.
"Feng Hanying," it heard a nightmare-like whisper, and it seemed that Gu Jiang was not in a good mood. The large grey rabbit immediately froze. The bamboo cage had a gap, and the voice said again, "Come here."
The rabbit froze for a moment, then silently lowered its head and squeezed out of the gap, hopping over to the person's feet. Its three-lobed mouth moved, "Master."
Gu Jiang bent down, grabbed its ears, and walked out with it.
Feng Hanying was trapped in this rabbit's body, its limbs curled together, not daring to move, just like a dead rabbit.
Back when the Demon Sealing Mark at Ten Thousand Demons Cave was loosening, Feng Hanying had managed to find an opportunity to escape, only to be scared back into the cave by the mention of his master's name.
But he still felt a bit of reluctance. Before Wuliang Sect could reinforce the seal, his spirit followed a wisp of demonic energy and escaped. This wisp of demonic energy was too weak to possess a cultivator's body, let alone an ordinary person's.
He could only squeeze into the body of a beast, entering this stupid rabbit, and make his way to this place. The demonic energy belonging to Gu Jiang in the Cloud Scripture Sect was in great turmoil, and even in Approaching Immortals City, he could feel it.
Feng Hanying really wanted to know what had suddenly awakened Gu Jiang. Could it be that in these past few hundred years, his reckless use of his master's demonic energy had finally awakened him?
If he didn't figure it out, Feng Hanying would be restless even if he hid under the Demon Sealing Mark.
He had originally planned to sneak into the Cloud Scripture Sect to investigate, but before he could act, Gu Jiang came out first.
After such a violent turmoil of demonic energy, Gu Jiang would definitely fall into a deep sleep. Feng Hanying sensed the aura of the Red Leaf Blade falling and boldly went to investigate. Then, he saw the woman sitting on the Red Leaf Blade.
This scene was too shocking. When the woman came downstairs, Feng Hanying couldn't help but risk being discovered by Gu Jiang and sneak into her sleeve to check her condition.
A mundane Golden Core cultivator.
However, her flesh smelled exceptionally sweet.
Half an hour later, he was thrown by Gu Jiang at the feet of this mundane Golden Core female cultivator.
As soon as Gu Jiang entered, he saw the person sitting by the window. His eyes were reflected by that figure, revealing a hint of surprise.
Before he left, Nie Yinzhi had been crying so hard, as if she had suffered a great grievance, even his demonic energy was stirred. But now, she had the mood to dress up.
Sunlight fell on her snow-white dress through the window lattice, her black hair smoothly draped over her shoulders. There were still faint red marks at the corners of her eyes, and her lips were painted with rouge, making her skin even more like coagulated fat, delicate and charming, with faint veins visible on her slender neck.
Gu Jiang's gaze lingered on her neck, and he swallowed, picking up a piece of pastry and putting it in his mouth.
Nie Yinzhi looked at the large grey rabbit on the ground in confusion. The rabbit was curled up on the ground, and if not for its blinking eyes and moving mouth, it looked just like a dead rabbit.
Did Gu Jiang go out just to bring back a rabbit? Did he think a rabbit could cheer her up?
Thinking that the demon had gone out specially to buy a rabbit to cheer her up, Nie Yinzhi still felt quite happy.
Although this rabbit was a bit ugly.
To encourage Gu Jiang's good behavior of trying to cheer her up, Nie Yinzhi picked up the rabbit and gave Gu Jiang a sweet smile, "Is this for me? I really like it."
The rabbit in her arms was stiff, and Nie Yinzhi thought it was scared, so she gently rubbed its long ears.
Gu Jiang didn't expect Nie Yinzhi to like rabbits. He hesitated for a moment, took the grey rabbit from her arms, and threw it back on the ground, "This one won't do. I'll buy you another one if you like."
Nie Yinzhi: "???" So, this rabbit wasn't brought back to cheer her up by the demon?
Nie Yinzhi was so embarrassed that her earlobes turned red, and she sat back down, not wanting to say anything more.
She didn't like rabbits at all.
Gu Jiang pulled her up from the window and sat her next to him, blocking the sunlight from the window, "You're too white, it's blinding."
Nie Yinzhi, like the rabbit, felt utterly hopeless and numb, "Oh." Whatever, stinky demon.
【I'm dying of laughter, sisters in front, wait for me, let me help Nie Yinzhi dig out a Demon Immortal Castle!】
【Gu Jiang, the heartbreaker】
【Feng Rabbit is going to be scared silly by his master.】
【You're too white, it's blinding. Hahahahahaha I was frantically screenshotting and saving the scene, and you tell me it's blinding?】
【The demon has been single for thousands of years for a reason! Damn, don't fall for the demon, there's no future!】
【Surely not, has Nie Yinzhi already fallen for Gu Jiang? I don't think so, it's probably just a bit of liking and affection.】
【Sisters, someone tell me, did I remember wrong? Did Gu Jiang, this dead-straight man, ever say something like "You are the first beauty who saved me" that makes the heart flutter?】
【Ehhh, that should be the demon's super performance, mainly because Nie Yinzhi guided it well, and the words just came out as the peak of his romantic speech for this lifetime.】
【Nie Yinzhi, listen to me, only by stir-frying this blockhead can he get it!】
While waiting for Gu Jiang to return, Nie Yinzhi had silently prepared her excuse. If Gu Jiang asked why she had been crying earlier, she would say she had a nightmare and was scared.
But in reality, she didn't need to make up any reason, as Gu Jiang had already found one for her.
The large grey rabbit in front of her was the owner of the wisp of demonic energy that had tempted her at the inn entrance, Gu Jiang's disciple, Feng Hanying. No wonder the demonic energy was of the same origin.
Gu Jiang thought she had been bullied by his disciple.
"How did he offend you? You can deal with him however you want." Gu Jiang looked at the redness around her eyes that hadn't faded, and could still recall her sobbing uncontrollably. He knew a bit about Nie Yinzhi's temper, "If you're still not appeased, I can pull out his true form too."
Nie Yinzhi was taken aback by his words, "His true form? It should still be sealed in Ten Thousand Demons Cave, far from here."
Gu Jiang didn't know about Ten Thousand Demons Cave, but hearing that it was far away, he hesitated slightly, then reached out to the roasted rabbit, pulling a wisp of demonic energy from it, which twisted and struggled between his slender fingers, "Did you hear that? Come here yourself."
The wisp of demonic energy clung to Gu Jiang's hand, and Feng Hanying felt more wronged than Dou E, "Master, I really didn't do anything, just checked her spiritual veins."
Nie Yinzhi's eyes moved, "He also bit my finger." She raised her finger, although the tiny mark like an ant bite had long disappeared, "He's stealing your food."
The wisp of demonic energy was shocked and turned to Nie Yinzhi, then drooped weakly. He had already restrained himself to just a light bite, not painful at all, and this woman was actually tattling!
"Master, I admit my mistake, I didn't know she was yours."
Nie Yinzhi hooked her arm around Gu Jiang's neck, looking down at the wisp of demonic energy with a superior gaze, correcting him, "You've got it wrong, your master is my demon."
Feng Hanying disdainfully snorted. In the hundreds of years after Gu Jiang's slumber, Feng Hanying had gathered all demonic cultivators under his command, reigning as the Demon Lord, calling the shots in the entire cultivation world, and naturally had no shortage of women throwing themselves at him.
He had seen too many women like this, just a bit favored, and they became arrogant, not knowing their own names.
Nie Yinzhi frowned, deliberately saying, "Brother, stuff him back into the rabbit and roast it."
Gu Jiang flicked his fingers, sending the wisp of demonic energy back into the body of the flaming rabbit, sealing Feng Hanying's consciousness within the rabbit's form and preventing him from escaping. After glancing at Nie Yinzhi to confirm her mood had returned to normal, he looked dispirited and walked back towards the bed.
"You take it to the kitchen yourself."
Nie Yinzhi temporarily ignored the rabbit, following Gu Jiang like a tail, slipping into the bed curtains with him.
Gu Jiang pushed her face away slightly and asked, "What's wrong?"
Nie Yinzhi stubbornly moved closer again, casting a soundproof spell before saying, "Are you feeling unwell? Is it because you expended too much demonic energy last night?"
She felt something was off with Gu Jiang; he was usually lethargic, and Nie Yinzhi always thought he was just lazy, but today it seemed there was another reason.
Gu Jiang half-closed his eyes, "I'm fine."
Nie Yinzhi didn't believe him. She reached out and placed her hand over his chest. The strong, vigorous heartbeat beneath her palm puzzled her. "You... previously had no breath, no pulse, and your heart stopped. Is that normal? You didn't seem to be like this when you were asleep before?"
Gu Jiang didn't respond, just stared at her.
Nie Yinzhi realized and withdrew her hand awkwardly, "Is this something you can't tell me?" She forced a smile, "Alright, as long as you're fine. Our lives are intertwined, so that's why I asked. Don't be offended."
Gu Jiang's eyes were complicated as he gently stroked the redness under her eyes that had yet to fade. "So, did you cry for me just now?"
Nie Yinzhi was stumped. Why did he focus on that detail? Couldn't he just gloss over her embarrassing moment?
She remembered Gu Jiang's previous statement about "being accepted by the heavens and not rejected by all things" and speculated that he might be enduring some pressure others couldn't feel. She gritted her teeth, sliced her wrist, and held it to his lips. "Will drinking my blood make you feel better?"
Aliali: 673ef259c4f3f33ac4f19166Gu Jiang took her wrist and hesitated for a moment, pressing his thin lips to her delicate wrist and flicking his tongue to lick her wound.
The flaming rabbit in the corner, smelling the scent of blood, suddenly perked up its ears, crawled out from under the cabinet, and jumped to the bed curtain, sniffing vigorously but intimidated by Gu Jiang's presence, it could only stamp its feet anxiously.
Feng Hanying, tempted by the smell of blood, even felt his main body in the Ten Thousand Demons Cave stir. The rabbit stretched its neck to look inside, finally unable to resist, and hopped in.
Just as it took one step, a blade of red leaves whistled and landed in front of it, almost chopping it in half, preventing it from advancing even a fraction.
Feng Hanying shuddered, his fur standing on end, and rolled back.
The barrier formed by the blade's light completely separated the two sides, not even the smell of blood could pass through. The rabbit kept sniffing the lingering scent, its three-lipped mouth moving incessantly, its eyes showing contemplation. It decided not to escape anymore; it would stay.
Inside the bed curtains, Nie Yinzhi propped herself above Gu Jiang with one hand, his other hand holding her wrist. The wound hurt, and the slight suckling sensation was strange.
Previously, Gu Jiang would drink all her blood before it healed. This was the first time he had sucked on her wound.
The sound of his swallowing was clear.
Nie Yinzhi's hand went numb and she collapsed onto his chest. Gu Jiang's eyes moved slightly, as if startled awake, the haze in his eyes fading. He moved down slightly, biting the red string tied to the white bead, squeezing out the Five-Colored Dew, and holding it in his mouth before covering her wrist wound again.