IVYSCP - Chapter 101
Chapter 101
Ash flecked with glowing embers drifted down through the air. Ling Qingyue raised her eyes and saw a figure slowly emerge from within the poison miasma. A black-gold robe concealed the form, embroidered with dark, unidentifiable patterns that radiated an air of restrained nobility even from a distance. Half-hidden in the gray-white mist, the silhouette resembled a young master from some immortal sect.
This was the Demon Lord of Wuding River? One of the three Demon Lords of the Great Wilderness. Could it be Qiu Feng?
When the person in the fog stepped fully into view, Ling Qingyue's gaze fell upon that face, and astonishment flickered in her eyes.
Streak after streak of black markings crept and climbed from the tightly wrapped collar of the woman's robes, trailing up her long, slender neck and covering her entire face. Even deep within her pupils, those tangled, intricate lines were faintly visible.
Ling Qingyue was all too familiar with markings like these, because they appeared on her own body as well.
Those were Demonic Markings.
But wasn't she only a half-demon? Why did the markings cover her whole face, even her irises?
After that single startled glance, Ling Qingyue suddenly met the Demon Lord's eyes. A spike of heart-pounding dread nearly made her stumble, and she had to clutch Pei Yin's arm to steady herself.
Pei Yin held her close, her gaze vigilant as she looked at the Demon Lord now standing at the prow of the boat.
The Demonic Markings had densely blanketed the woman's entire face. Even Pei Yin could not immediately tell whether the person before her was the Qiu Feng she had once met.
The Demon Lord regarded the two before her in silence, the corners of her lips curving slowly upward.
"Demon Lord! Demon Lord! They're carrying a huge amount of spirit stones! And just now we were only trying to seize those spirit stones to offer them to you and the madam!" one demonic cultivator cried out urgently.
The Demon Lord cast a cold glance over that demonic cultivator. "Are you telling me how to conduct my affairs?"
A cold sweat instantly broke out over the cultivator, who lowered her head and did not dare say another word.
Ling Qingyue clenched her hands tightly, trying to suppress the turmoil within, but she could still feel the searing heat spreading from her chest, climbing up her neck, and then over the left half of her face.
She knew what it meant. Her Demonic Markings could no longer be suppressed.
But why had they erupted so suddenly? Was it because of this Demon Lord?
Ling Qingyue raised her head and looked at the Demon Lord. Deep within her heart, a strange, inexplicable desire suddenly arose. She wanted to devour the other woman, not by biting into flesh and blood with her teeth, but something more like a hunger to consume.
As if struck by sudden understanding, Ling Qingyue realized why the carved-wood Liu Qingtang and those four demonized corpses had stared at her and chased her back then. They must have felt the same thing, this aching desire to devour her, to consume her whole.
Gritting her teeth, Ling Qingyue abruptly turned and buried herself in Pei Yin's embrace, trying to drown that craving with the cold, subtle fragrance of the woman beside her.
Pei Yin understood well that something was wrong with Ling Qingyue's condition. She raised a hand to cradle the back of Ling Qingyue's head, stroking gently, and faced the Demon Lord who had already stepped down from the prow. Her tone was mild but distant. "We heard the Demon Lord was seeking spirit stones, and so we've come to pay our respects."
The Demon Lord's smile did not reach her eyes. "In that case, you two shall be guests of my Demon Palace. It was my subordinates who offended you just now. I shall have them atone to you at once."
On the other side, the demonic cultivators still bound together could no longer stay still, but before they could even beg for mercy, sparks rained down before their eyes. Demon flames erupted, burning body and soul alike until nothing, absolutely nothing, remained.
The Demon Lord gestured. "Are you satisfied?"
Pei Yin's gaze was frosty. This Demon Lord was indeed as ruthless as the rumors claimed, but those demonic cultivators had been no benevolent souls either. Their deaths were nothing to regret.
Hearing the commotion, the boatwoman emerged from the cabin. Seeing the Demon Lord, she gave a slight bow. "Demon Lord."
The Demon Lord nodded and instructed, "Set off."
The boatwoman answered, "Yes."
The Demon Lord looked at the two still holding each other, then toward the cabin's interior. "Esteemed guests, it would be best to wait inside."
The Demon Lord entered the cabin first. Pei Yin, with her arm still wrapped around Ling Qingyue, followed behind.
Inside the cabin, Xue Zizai had shot to her feet the moment she heard movement. She had thought it was Ling Qingyue and Pei Yin returning, but instead she saw a sinister, spectral woman whose face was covered in black markings, exactly like a malicious ghost crawling up from beneath the black waters of the Wuding River.
Xue Zizai instinctively stumbled back a step, only coming to her senses when her leg knocked painfully against the corner of the table.
The Demon Lord let out a scornful laugh at the sight, and said, as if to no one in particular, "And they've even brought along a little ant."
With that, she walked to one side of Yu Ting, swept her robes aside, and sat down.
Yu Ting sighed. "Without bringing her, how would the big fish have taken the bait so quickly?"
Xue Zizai understood at once. The little ant was her. The big fish was Ling Qingyue.
Yu Ting had used her to lure Ling Qingyue here. Xue Zizai's heart churned with a tangle of emotions, guilt and humiliation mingling together.
More footsteps sounded on the steps leading down. Xue Zizai hastily looked up. The moment she saw Ling Qingyue, she moved toward her without thinking. "You… how are you…?"
But Yu Ting's rope was still tied around her waist. Before she had taken two steps, she was yanked back.
Ling Qingyue saw the undisguised worry in Xue Zizai's eyes and managed a faint, relieved smile. "I'm fine."
Xue Zizai's gaze followed her, still uneasy, because at this very moment half of Ling Qingyue's face was also crawling with those black markings, just like the ghastly woman from moments before. The markings seemed alive, swimming along her cheek and down her neck.
Ling Qingyue was helped to a seat. Her gaze moved back and forth between the Demon Lord and Yu Ting. Neither of them showed the slightest surprise at her appearance. It was as if… they had known all along.
In that case…
Ling Qingyue smiled and broke the silence that had settled over the table. "I heard the Demon Lord is also a half-demon?"
The Demon Lord's lips curved upward. She nodded quite casually. "I am. The same as you."
"But to my knowledge, true half-demons are exceedingly rare. In the past century, only one has ever appeared in the Immortal Realm. That half-demon eventually made her way to the Great Wilderness. Does the Demon Lord know of this?" As she finished speaking, Ling Qingyue drew a deep breath and hurriedly averted her gaze, avoiding looking directly at the Demon Lord.
The Demon Lord tapped her fingertips lightly against the tabletop. Once. And again.
After a long while, she finally spoke. "I am that half-demon."
Joy surged through Ling Qingyue. The words burst from her lips before she could stop them. "Then where is Liuli?!"
A thread of softness passed through the Demon Lord's eyes. "She is my wife. Naturally, she is in the Demon Palace."
The stone that had been weighing on Ling Qingyue's heart finally fell to the ground. She murmured quietly, "That's good. That's good."
Before confirming that the Demon Lord was indeed Qiu Feng, a single string had been drawn taut in Ling Qingyue's heart. Now, at last, it could loosen.
"You are truly as Liuli described, valuing loyalty and sentiment so deeply. A hundred years have passed, and you still remember to ask after her."
Those words were like a stone dropped into still water, startling ripples across the surface. Ling Qingyue and Pei Yin looked up at the same time, their eyes reflecting identical wariness and scrutiny.
Qiu Feng had recognized Ling Qingyue. But how could Qiu Feng possibly know her?
Yu Ting remained as unreactive as ever, sitting quietly with her gaze fixed on the tabletop, lost in unknown thoughts.
Suspicion and disbelief churned inside Ling Qingyue. Could it be… was Qiu Feng also one of the pieces on the board?
Who exactly could have orchestrated all of this, calculating every step to this very point?
Ling Qingyue no longer wanted to guess. She pulled out the scroll that Aunt Lan had given her and cut straight to the point. "So you went to all this trouble to lure me to the Great Wilderness, just so I would meet you. Is that right?"
Qiu Feng replied, "Yes."
"We've already come this far. We're all on the same boat now. Why not speak openly?" Ling Qingyue braced her hands against the table and leaned forward, her eyes narrowing with a dangerous edge. "Whose chess piece am I, exactly? And what is your plan?"
Qiu Feng looked at her. "Who it is hardly matters. Would knowing change your decision?"
Ling Qingyue suppressed the fury rising in her chest and slammed a palm against the table. She had not used any spiritual energy, yet cracks still appeared on the surface, spreading outward from her palm all the way to the other end, stopping directly beneath the Demon Lord's eyes.
Qiu Feng lowered her gaze. "When the time comes to remove that person, you will know naturally."
Ling Qingyue let out a cold laugh. "When that time comes, don't blame me for turning my back and refusing to recognize anyone."
The Demon Lord's fingertip, still tapping against the table, paused for a single moment, then resumed its steady, rhythmic beat.
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