Three days later, on the busiest and most bustling street of the Demon City.
Shen Jizhi, clad in a black, form-fitting outfit, walked at a steady pace through the crowd of demons coming and going.
The young man's strikingly handsome features were concealed beneath heavy makeup, his eyes, accentuated by sharply drawn black eyeliner, swept casually through the throng of demons.
It didn't take long for Shen Jizhi to spot his target.
A portly demon man with a large beer belly yawned lazily as he shuffled through the crowd.
A heavy pouch dangled from his waist, swaying with each step he took.
Shen Jizhi lowered his gaze, his figure weaving nimbly through the crowd until he was right behind the beer-bellied demon.
With a swift, almost imperceptible movement, his long legs carried him forward like a gust of wind. As he passed the demon, his slender fingers twitched, and the heavy pouch fell into his palm as effortlessly as an apple dropping from a tree.
Shen Jizhi closed his hand, his expression unchanged as he strode past the demon and quickly disappeared into the surging crowd. He made his way toward a black-clad girl who was lounging idly on a stone staircase nearby.
Like him, she had dreadlocks and wore heavy makeup, her eyeliner drawn so sharply it seemed to reach for the heavens.
When she caught sight of him, Jian Huan's eyes lit up, and she sprang to her feet, rushing toward him. "Did you get it?" she asked eagerly.
She didn't slow down, letting her momentum carry her straight into Shen Jizhi's arms.
Shen Jizhi's brows relaxed, and he wrapped one arm loosely around Jian Huan's waist while handing her the pouch with his other hand. He raised an eyebrow slightly. "Of course. It's just stealing a pouch."
As if it were any trouble at all.
Jian Huan glanced around, then, using Shen Jizhi as a shield, opened the pouch and poured the demon crystals into her own. She grabbed Shen Jizhi's hand and pulled him toward a long line of people not far away. "Hurry, let's find Yin Yusheng! He's almost at the front of the line!"
Two days later would be the Demon Banquet.
Back in the Dark Abyss prison, Jian Huan, Shen Jizhi, and Yin Yusheng had overheard the Demon Envoy's words.
At the Demon Banquet, the demons would publicly cook Elder Gu Shan and Elder Yu Qing.
The three of them knew full well that this was a message directed at them.
The Demon Banquet was a trap set specifically to lure them in.
It was a blatant scheme.
But they had no choice. They had to go.
Although they had already given Elder Gu Shan the Earth Fruit Pill, his injuries were severe, and it would take time for him to recover fully.
On his own, Elder Gu Shan would never be able to escape.
Since they had already ventured into the Dark Abyss, they might as well brave the Demon Palace too.
After all, the three of them had already prepared for the worst. What was the worst that could happen? Death?
But the demons were truly inhumane.
They had made it sound so grand, saying the Demon Banquet would welcome thousands of demons.
When Jian Huan first heard about it, she had assumed it would be free to attend.
But today, the Demon Guards had set up stalls on the streets selling entry tokens, and it turned out that attending the Demon Banquet required payment!
One thousand demon crystals per token.
Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi had plenty of spirit stones, but demon crystals were another matter.
Yin Yusheng had a few hundred, but they were still far from the three thousand needed.
How could they gather three thousand demon crystals in such a short time?
Shen Jizhi immediately proposed the best solution and put it into action.
Half an incense stick's time later.
The three of them successfully purchased their Demon Banquet tokens and, avoiding the crowds of demons, slipped into a secluded alley far from the city center.
Any spatial arrays or spatial artifacts had to be anchored to existing terrain, such as cave walls, corners, or rooms.
In the alley, there was an abandoned courtyard.
After escaping from the Dark Abyss prison, they had temporarily set up their spatial bowl here and had been living inside it for the past few days.
Yin Yusheng walked three steps behind Shen Jizhi, keeping pace as they hurried toward the courtyard. His voice carried a hint of contemplation. "It seems there are more demons in the Demon City lately."
Jian Huan lazily rested her head on Shen Jizhi's back, yawning sleepily.
These past few days, she had been busy drawing talismans, barely getting any sleep.
Hearing Yin Yusheng's words, she opened her eyes and tilted her head. "Is it because of the Demon Banquet?"
"Possibly," Yin Yusheng replied gently. "But I can't shake the feeling that something's off. While I was waiting in line to buy the token, I overheard some demons talking. One mentioned that her brother, who had been away serving the Demon Lord for years, returned home last night."
Shen Jizhi held Jian Huan's soft, warm legs securely, ensuring she wouldn't slip, and listened quietly.
At this, he chimed in with an analysis. "Did Jiang Wei recall a group of demons for the Demon Banquet?"
"Or," Jian Huan continued, following Shen Jizhi's train of thought, "someone in the Nine Provinces has noticed Jiang Wei's strange behavior!"
At this, Jian Huan's excitement was palpable. She lifted her head and wrapped her arms around Shen Jizhi's neck affectionately. "We've never been sure about the Sect Leader's stance, but if he's on our side, our move might have exposed Jiang Wei's true colors. The Sect Leader would definitely take action, and that's why Jiang Wei recalled those demons!"
"And Mu'er," Yin Yusheng added, his voice tinged with worry as he mentioned his sister. "If she managed to escape during Madam Jiang's birthday banquet, she would definitely—"
Boom—
Boom—
Suddenly, a deafening roar erupted from the horizon, drowning out Yin Yusheng's words.
The ground beneath their feet shook violently, and the surrounding walls and buildings trembled, sending dust and dirt cascading down.
The once-quiet alley was now filled with demons rushing out of their homes.
In an instant, the area was alive with the clamor of demons.
One demon, panicking, nearly screamed, "Is that... thunder?!"
"Don't talk nonsense!" another demon barked. Thunder was a terrifying concept for demons, which was why Jian Huan had been busy drawing thunder talismans lately. "The heavens favor our demon race. The Dark Abyss has never had thunder. How could there be thunder now?!"
"Then what is that?!"
"That direction—" A demon pointed uncertainly toward the sky. "A few days ago, people from the Nine Provinces broke in, and it seemed to be from that direction. Could it be that someone else has invaded?"
In the abandoned courtyard, Jian Huan, Shen Jizhi, and Yin Yusheng stood amidst the overgrown weeds, looking up at the sky with grim expressions.
The low-level demons outside couldn't sense it, but the three of them could.
Especially Jian Huan.
As a talisman master, she could faintly feel that the commotion just now was caused by the destruction of the Dark Abyss's entrance array.
Sure enough, as if confirming her suspicions, a massive swarm of black demon shadows surged into the city from outside, like a black whirlwind.
The wind carried the gleeful, cackling laughter of the demons.
"Hahaha, in the end, we demons were half a step ahead!"
"Thanks to the Demon Lord's foresight, or our lives would have been in danger!"
"Long live the Demon God! Long live the Demon Lord!"
"Long live the Demon God! Long live the Demon Lord!"
"..."
The resounding chants rose from the black whirlwind, sweeping through every street and alley of the Demon City.
In no time, the slogan spread like wildfire, igniting the entire city, burning brightly through the night!
The crimson moonlight fell on Jian Huan's face, and her long lashes fluttered.
Just moments ago, she had been hopeful, hoping that the Sect Leaders of the Nine Provinces would arrive in time, so that she, Shen Jizhi, and Yin Yusheng wouldn't have to face the impending trap alone.
But as if fate had decreed it, this trial was one they would have to face on their own. There was no avoiding it.
Tonight, in the Nine Provinces, the moon was also shining brightly.
In the Jiang family's backyard, a large section of the white wall collapsed, revealing the shimmering surface of the lake ahead.
The surrounding trees had all been cut down at the waist, their trunks and branches scattered everywhere, creating a scene of utter chaos.
The moonlight poured down, casting long shadows of the group of people standing in front of the collapsed wall.
At the forefront of the group were Dao Xuan, the Sect Leader of the Jade Pure Sect; the Sect Leader of the Joyful Union Sect; and the Island Master of the South Dust Immortal Island.
Behind them were mostly peak masters and elders from various sects.
At this moment, everyone stood in silence, taking in the scene before them.
Dao Xuan's green robes fluttered in the wind as he gazed at the broken tiles and shattered walls, letting out a long sigh. "In the end, we were too late."
The Joyful Union Sect Leader clenched her teeth, nearly grinding them to dust. "To think that Jiang Wei, the demon hunter, was actually a demon all along! We've all been deceived by him all these years! How infuriating!"
After receiving reports from Mei Ni and Yin Yuan, she had immediately called Dao Xuan and the others to the Joyful Union Sect to discuss the matter.
As for the contents of Ran Mu'er's Heavenly Mirror, they had been half-convinced, half-skeptical.
Ran Mu'er was a daughter of the Mu family, a descendant of demons.
They couldn't easily trust her.
The matter of the lost Bodhi Pagoda was of utmost importance. At Madam Jiang Wei's birthday banquet, Ran Mu'er brought up the issue of the Bodhi Pagoda, forcing everyone to take it seriously.
The leaders and elders of various sects were divided in their opinions. In the end, it was Dao Xuan, who had rushed over, who spoke up, saying, "If you want to know if it's true or not, just test it!"
They mobilized forces and summoned demons from various local garrisons, assigning one demon to each person. The goal was to see if there really was a Demon Forest and a dried-up well in Jiang Wei's residence that only demons could see and enter.
However, as soon as they secretly infiltrated the Jiang family, they realized something was wrong.
The vast Jiang estate was eerily empty, like a ghost town.
Only a few elderly servants remained, who knew nothing when questioned. Jiang Wei was gone, and so were his family and subordinates.
Realizing the severity of the situation, the group hurriedly rushed to the backyard with their demons, only to be met with a deafening explosion.
The entire transplanted Demon Forest and dried-up well turned to dust, vanishing from the world.
The people from the Nine Provinces, who had rushed over, didn't even get a chance to step into the Demon Forest or confront the demons.
What a disgrace! What a humiliation!
"What should we do now?" someone in the crowd asked.
Hearing this, Dao Xuan gazed at the rippling surface of the lake in the distance, stirred by the evening breeze, and said, "The demons have taken the Bodhi Pagoda, which means they must be planning something big. But now that the entrance to the Dark Abyss has been destroyed, we have no way to enter. For now, we can only focus on eliminating Jiang Wei's remaining forces and... prepare for the great war between the righteous and the demonic factions."
Dao Xuan's face was filled with worry, and his voice grew softer as he spoke. After uttering the last few words, he turned and left first.
Gu Shan and Yu Qing had been out of contact for some time now.
Judging from the conversation between Ran Mu'er and Jian Huan on the Mystic Mirror, it seemed they had already infiltrated the Dark Abyss.
Now, even Shen Jizhi and Jian Huan had entered.
Let's hope... they can stop the demons' plans and retrieve the Bodhi Pagoda.
Otherwise, the Nine Provinces are about to face a great calamity.
Speaking of which, these two disciples must have had their suspicions from the start.
Back then, when Shen Jizhi came to ask about Gu Shan's whereabouts and the Bodhi Pagoda, he probably already knew something and was testing Dao Xuan.
At the time, Dao Xuan didn't disclose Gu Shan and Yu Qing's whereabouts, choosing to keep it hidden.
In Dao Xuan's eyes, Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi were still just inexperienced youngsters. Revealing such important matters to them might have caused more harm than good.
As a sect leader, Dao Xuan found it hard to trust others completely, always speaking half-truths.
So, they didn't trust him either, fearing he might be connected to Jiang Wei, and thus chose to infiltrate the Jiang family and enter the Dark Abyss on their own.
Thinking of this, Dao Xuan felt a sense of defeat, his departing figure lonely and desolate.
Inside the spatial bowl, a torn curtain hung in the middle, dividing the space into left and right sides.
On the left, Yin Yusheng had divided the various pills he had hastily refined over the past few days into three portions. He took two and stood up, stopping behind the curtain, and asked, "May I come in?"
From inside came Jian Huan's voice, "Come in!"
Yin Yusheng lifted the curtain and walked over, handing the pills to Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi in turn.
"Perfect timing," Jian Huan said, putting down her talisman brush. She rummaged through her storage pouch and pulled out a stack of talisman papers. "Senior Brother Yin, these are for you. We don't know what will happen at the demon banquet tomorrow, so let's all be ready to act according to the situation and take care of ourselves."
Shen Jizhi, who was sitting across from Jian Huan polishing his sword, glanced up and gestured with his chin toward the pile of neatly arranged artifacts under the table. "These are yours."
There were all kinds of artifacts—offensive, defensive, escape tools—everything one might need.
Yin Yusheng felt a warmth in his heart and bowed respectfully. "Thank you, Brother Shen, and thank you, Junior Sister."
"No need to be polite. We all have our needs," Jian Huan said with a wave, then bent her head to continue drawing talismans.
With the Dark Abyss now inaccessible, they could only rely on themselves. Every extra talisman they drew now increased their chances of success at tomorrow's demon banquet.
After handing over the artifacts, Shen Jizhi ignored Yin Yusheng and went back to polishing his sword, silently circulating his sword technique.
For a moment, the surroundings were so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Yin Yusheng stood by the table, feeling a bit awkward with no one paying attention to him. He cleared his throat and said, "Brother Shen, Junior Sister Jian, I..." He hesitated, as if struggling to find the right words. "There's something I need to tell you."
Shen Jizhi said, "Speak."
Yin Yusheng glanced at Jian Huan, who was absorbed in her talisman drawing, and then at Shen Jizhi, whose cold expression seemed to say, "Hurry up and leave." He took a deep breath.
He was afraid that after tomorrow, he might not get another chance to say these words.
He didn't want to leave any regrets.
Yin Yusheng straightened his white disciple robes from the Jade Clear Sect and bowed deeply to the two of them, his voice filled with remorse. "Brother Shen, Junior Sister Jian, I, Yin Yusheng, sincerely apologize to you for two things."
Jian Huan finished the last stroke of her talisman with a flourish, put down her brush, and looked up, puzzled. "Two things?"
As far as she knew, Yin Yusheng had only wronged them once, right?
She glanced at Shen Jizhi across from her, seeking confirmation.
But the man opposite her lowered his head, avoiding her gaze.
Almost as if... he was guilty?
Jian Huan: "??"
"Yes, two things," Yin Yusheng said clearly. "First, back in Yuxian City, I hid and waited for you to break through the formation. When you came out, I knocked you out and tried to steal the Earth Fruit Spirit."
Jian Huan put down her talisman brush and leaned back in her chair, listening to Yin Yusheng's words but keeping her eyes on Shen Jizhi, who still hadn't looked up.
His profile was delicate and cold, exuding an air of calm composure.
But his eyelashes, dark as crow feathers, were trembling slightly, and he had been polishing his sword sheath for a while now, still at it.
Something was off.
"Second, when I went with you to the Lotus Square Secret Realm, I planned to steal the Earth Fruit Spirit again," Yin Yusheng admitted with a bitter smile. "I thought you would carry it with you, so while you were resting, I set up a soul-soothing incense nearby. After you fell asleep, I searched your storage pouches but didn't find the Earth Fruit Spirit."
Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi both looked up sharply, their gazes piercing like knives as they turned to Yin Yusheng.
Jian Huan exclaimed, "You searched my storage pouch?!"
Yin Yusheng clasped his hands together apologetically. "I'm sorry, Junior Sister Jian."
Jian Huan rubbed her temples and suddenly asked, "What does the soul-soothing incense do?"
Yin Yusheng replied, "The soul-soothing incense can bring out a person's deepest desires, causing them to have pleasant dreams..."
Without blinking, Shen Jizhi interrupted, "If you wanted the Earth Fruit Spirit so badly, why didn't you try to take it again afterward?"
Yin Yusheng paused for a moment before answering, "After spending some time with you, I realized that if I stole your Earth Fruit Spirit, we would probably become mortal enemies. That's not what I wanted. My goal has always been to seek revenge, not to make enemies. But if I needed it later, I could always buy it from you with spirit stones, and you would surely agree, so..."
Yin Yusheng left the rest unsaid.
Jian Huan: "..."
Shen Jizhi: "..."
That made sense, and they couldn't argue with it.
"After saying this, I feel much more at ease," Yin Yusheng said, his gaze now firm and resolute, as if he had already accepted the worst possible outcome. "Brother Shen, Junior Sister Jian. If tomorrow, I meet my end, and you two make it out safely, I ask that you look after Mu Er and Medicine Granny for me. I will repay this kindness in my next life!"
Yin Yusheng's voice choked slightly, and he bowed deeply once more. "You two must have a lot to talk about tonight, so I won't disturb you any longer."
With that, Yin Yusheng hurriedly left.
The floral-patterned curtain was lifted and then dropped again.
The hem of the curtain swayed in the air like a sheet drying on a bamboo pole, fluttering gently in the breeze.
Jian Huan stared at the blue floral pattern on the curtain, leaning back in her chair, her body half-reclined as she gazed upward in silence.
Shen Jizhi finished polishing his sword, placed it gently on the table, and then walked over. He knelt in front of her and asked softly, "Is your hand sore?"
Without waiting for her answer, his slender, bamboo-like hand reached out and took her right hand, which had been busy drawing talismans, and began massaging her wrist.
Jian Huan snapped out of her thoughts, shaking off the unease Yin Yusheng had stirred in her. She glanced down at Shen Jizhi and asked, "Hey, Shen Jizhi, what was your pleasant dream about?"
Shen Jizhi's brow arched slightly. "What?"
Jian Huan narrowed her eyes, leaned forward, and got closer to Shen Jizhi, her gaze intense. "Yin Yusheng mentioned the soul-soothing incense. I remember now—that night, I dreamed I became the richest woman in the Nine Provinces, sleeping on a pile of spirit stones. But you said you dreamed someone kept chasing you for debts?"
"Your deepest desire couldn't possibly be about being chased for debts, right?" Jian Huan said with certainty. "You must be lying!"
Shen Jizhi looked back at Jian Huan's gaze and calmly admitted, "Yes."
Jian Huan asked curiously, "What did you dream about?"
He idly rubbed her hand, dragging out his words, "Do you really want to know?"
"Of course," Jian Huan lightly kicked him and laughed, "Hurry up and tell me!"
Shen Jizhi pulled Jian Huan closer, and she leaned down a bit further. He raised his head, his lips close to her ear, his handsome Adam's apple trembling slightly as he spoke, "A ruined temple, crumbling walls, the misty rain of Mount Wu, and—" he paused, his cool voice lowering, "you."
Jian Huan: "..."
Jian Huan immediately pushed him away.
Shen Jizhi swayed slightly but remained upright, his expression calm, his tone even, "You asked me to say it."
"Shen Jizhi!" Jian Huan's face flushed inexplicably, her finger trembling as she pointed at him, "You actually had those kinds of thoughts back then..."
She struggled to find the words, finally spitting out, "You beast!"
Shen Jizhi: "."
In the years that followed, there were actually even more outrageous dreams.
But there was no need to tell her about those.
Shen Jizhi simply admitted, his face calm, "Yes, I am."
A swordsman, bold and unyielding.
Jian Huan: "..."
Her previously low spirits inexplicably lifted a bit. She glared at him, picked up her talisman brush, and prepared to continue drawing talismans.
But as she looked at the brush Shen Jizhi had given her years ago, she couldn't help but mutter, "So you were attracted to me because of my looks, huh? Tsk, men."
She had thought it was a mutual understanding born of shared poverty.
Hearing this, Shen Jizhi, who had just been about to stand up, paused slightly.
The warm candlelight at the table bathed the face of the girl who was shaking her head in disapproval.
He quietly observed her for a moment, then suddenly called out softly, "Jian Huan."
Jian Huan: "Hmm?"
"At first, I couldn't believe it either, and I found it hard to accept." Shen Jizhi spoke slowly, carefully choosing his words, "Until that night in Fang Quan's Treasure Hall, when I spent a long time organizing books."
Jian Huan instinctively stopped writing and looked down at him.
The young man's eyes held a hint of nostalgia, as if he could see through the mists of time to himself three years ago, picking up and smoothing out books from a messy pile on the floor, "And then I realized—"
He paused, "Jian Huan, something had already changed."
"If back then, it hadn't been you who came to me with the marriage contract, but any other woman, out of gratitude, I would have let them stay with me. But I wouldn't have returned." Shen Jizhi half-knelt before her, looking up at her steadily, "I would have lived in the weaponry hall, or even found a random patch of ground, but I wouldn't have come back."
"But at that time, I came back every day I could." Shen Jizhi's eyes curved slightly, his usually expressionless and cold face softening, "Before I even understood my own feelings, my feet seemed to have betrayed me and walked towards you."
Her fingers holding the brush suddenly loosened, and with a soft clatter, the brush fell and rolled towards the edge of the table.
Shen Jizhi's gaze remained on Jian Huan, but his hand reached out precisely, catching the brush and handing it back to her.
Jian Huan looked at the brush, blinked, but didn't take it.
She kicked the chair leg with her foot, pushing the chair back, and crouched down in front of Shen Jizhi.
Shen Jizhi's eyelashes fluttered slightly, thinking Jian Huan was about to kiss him.
Instead, Jian Huan looked at him, then reached out and covered his mouth.
Shen Jizhi: "...?"
Jian Huan said sternly, "Shen Jizhi, I'm warning you, don't say anything more."
Even with her hand over his mouth, Shen Jizhi tried to speak, his voice muffled, "Why?"
Jian Huan pressed her hand tighter, leaned in, and kissed his eyes, which were so good at speaking, her voice growing softer, "Right now, your words are a bit too sweet..."
So sweet that, thinking of his fate in the book, Jian Huan's heart felt as if it were soaked in bitter water, sour and astringent.
She released his mouth, opened her arms, and threw herself into Shen Jizhi's broad embrace, holding him tightly, calling out, "Shen Jizhi."
Shen Jizhi tightened his arms around Jian Huan, burying his head in the crook of her neck, "Hmm?"
"Our time together has been too short," Jian Huan's voice was muffled, her nose sniffling, "There are so many things I haven't done with you..."
Shen Jizhi: "Like what?"
"Like..." Jian Huan thought carefully, recalling some modern list of things couples must do, and adapted it to tell him, "Watching a play together, wearing the most expensive matching clothes to see the Lantern Festival..."
"Wait a moment," Shen Jizhi released Jian Huan, letting her sit on one of his legs, one arm around her waist, the other reaching into his storage pouch to pull out an account book and a brush.
Jian Huan looked closely and saw that it was the same account book that had recorded the 100,000 spirit stones from the broken engagement.
Jian Huan: "You're going to record this too?"
"Mm," Shen Jizhi opened the account book with one hand, still half-kneeling, and began writing down the things Jian Huan had just mentioned.
"Alright then," Jian Huan reached out, brushing the hair from his forehead, and kept adding, "...and climbing a mountain in the middle of the night to watch the sunrise, without using flying swords!"
Shen Jizhi wrote quickly while asking carefully, "Will you walk by yourself, or should I carry you?"
Jian Huan said matter-of-factly, "Of course you'll carry me."
Shen Jizhi nodded, "Alright."
He asked again, "Anything else?"
"Yes..." Jian Huan stared at the still-wet ink on the page, her lips pursing slightly. She glanced up at him, then looked down, her eyes fixed on her nose, her voice soft and shy as she uttered two words, "Getting married."
Shen Jizhi's hand holding the brush paused, the ink pooling at the tip.
With a soft plop, a drop of ink slid down like a raindrop from a roof, spreading into a small circle on the paper.
He turned his head to look at Jian Huan.
Jian Huan didn't avoid his gaze.
The two of them stared at each other quietly, each finding themselves reflected in the mirror-like lakes of the other's eyes.
After a long while, Jian Huan smiled, her eyes curving into crescents.
She pushed him lightly, "What, can't you write those two words?"
"I can," Shen Jizhi's chest vibrated, his voice trembling slightly.
He lowered his head, lifted the brush, and on the slightly yellowed paper, stroke by stroke, like a child just learning to write, he carefully and neatly wrote the two characters: 'Getting Married.'
On the eve of the demon banquet, Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi didn't do much.
They simply added a few more pages to the long-settled account book, letting it end at 'Getting Married,' shared a lingering kiss, held each other for a moment, and then each went about their preparations.
When the blood moon rose the next day, they walked side by side towards the Demon Palace, calm and without regret.
