The confinement chambers beneath the altar were used to imprison errant members of the Ji Clan. Each room was similarly sparse and austere.
Some desks held a few family precepts or scriptures. Besides these, there were only writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones for copying texts.
After Dark Cinnabar Mountain was occupied by demon tribes, this branch of the Ji family was scattered or killed, leaving these chambers empty.
The chambers were extremely quiet. The lamp bowls contained mermaid oil, which burned silently and steadily for thousands of years without extinguishing.
Staying here for long, one would gradually forget the passage of time.
Yu Yi searched around thoroughly but found nothing.
Suddenly, a loud noise came from behind. Before she could react, Huai Li had already transformed into a five-colored bird with a poof and frantically flew back to the original stone chamber, terribly afraid that something had happened to her immortal lord.
Before the five-colored bird returned to the stone chamber, Xue Chenjing raised his sleeve, gathering the demon jellyfish that were lined up waiting for him to wipe their heads into his sleeve.
At the same time, a transparent tentacle extended from the hem of his robe. It twisted in the air, changing positions two or three times before finding a suitable angle. Its tip curled slightly and slowly pressed against the incense ash on the ground.
He gently tugged, and the tentacle lifted with a layer of ash clinging to it, leaving a winding trace on the ground, ensuring that the distinctive features on the tentacle were imprinted in the ash.
Xue Chenjing moved the tentacle elsewhere, shook it vigorously to remove the excess ash, and then retracted it.
The sound of the little bird demon's flapping wings grew closer. A moment later, a five-colored blur rushed in, landing and transforming into a girl wearing a short jacket and skirt.
She glanced at the incense ash scattered on the ground and asked worriedly, "My lord, are you alright?"
Xue Chenjing shook his head, "I'm sorry, I accidentally knocked something over just now."
"It's alright, it's just an incense burner." Huai Li, completely oblivious, wanted to go over and help her immortal lord to a clean place to rest. However, as she lifted her foot, she didn't move. Instead, she abruptly turned her head back to look at the incense ash on the ground.
Huai Li asked inwardly, puzzled, "What's wrong?"
Yu Yi stared at the winding trace in the ash. The floor of the stone chamber was paved with dark stone, and the grayish-white incense ash spread on it made the trail left by something dragging across it particularly obvious.
At first, she suspected a snake had crawled by, but upon closer inspection, she realized something was off. There were some blurry circular outlines in the ash, and the entire drag mark went from thick to thin, curling at the end.
This clearly looked like the imprint of a tentacle!
She followed the trail with her eyes and saw the hem of Ji Hanyi's wedding dress spread on the ground. He sat cross-legged on a rush cushion, his back against a desk, with crimson trousers visible beneath his torn skirt.
Yu Yi looked up at his face. The rouge and powder had been washed clean by the little bird demon, revealing his handsome features. His left eye was covered with medicinal herbs and bandages, while his right eye pupil was dull gray, showing no signs of vitality.
But when he tilted his head up towards her, for a moment, Yu Yi had the feeling of being observed.
A-Qiu?
No. Yu Yi shook her head, correcting her instinctive internal address for him.
There was no Xue Qiu, only Xue Chenjing, a persistent demon.
Even when she accidentally fell into the Ghost Realm, he could track her down, like a stubborn plaster that couldn't be shaken off.
Did he deliberately leave a clue for her to recognize him, or did he unintentionally leave this tentacle mark because he couldn't see now?
Yu Yi pensively examined his expression but could discern nothing from his face.
The immortal lord sitting on the rush cushion tilted his head slightly. Although he couldn't see, the omnipresent demon spirits in the room transmitted Huai Li's reactions to Xue Chenjing's mind.
With such minute observations of her breathing rate, eye movements, and even pulse, almost a 360-degree surveillance without blind spots, Xue Chenjing could easily distinguish between the two of them.
Clearly, Yu Yi had discovered the mark in the incense ash, and moreover, she had recognized him.
What should he do next to make her willingly touch him when her affection for him was only at six percent?
At this point, Xue Chenjing felt a bit fortunate that there was still six percent affection.
If she was willing to marry someone with only three percent affection, then surely she wouldn't mind touching him, right?
Xue Chenjing pondered, tilting his head in a listening posture. Because he hadn't heard her speak for a while, he took the initiative to call out, "Miss Huai Li?"
"I'm here, I'm here." Huai Li immediately responded. She didn't understand what had just happened to Yu Yi, but she didn't dwell on her unusual behavior. She said caringly, "My lord, please don't move. The ground is covered in incense ash. Let me clean it up first, otherwise it might get into your wounds."
"I'm sorry for troubling you and forcing you to hide here with me," Xue Chenjing's face showed a trace of apology. "You really don't need to look after me."
Huai Li vehemently objected, "My lord once saved me from that stinky cultivator and fed me medicine to heal my wounds. You practically saved my life. It's only right that I repay you now."
Xue Chenjing let out a light, self-deprecating laugh, "I've lost all my powers now. I'm no longer any kind of immortal lord. You can just call me by my name."
Huai Li shook her head vigorously, causing a small hairpin on her head to jingle, "That's not true. In my heart, you will always be the noble and virtuous immortal lord."
Huai Li's cultivation level was low, and she needed external objects to assist in her spellcasting. She took out a Water Spirit Pearl from her treasure pouch, formed a water-gathering seal to summon a stream of clear spring water, and carefully wet the incense ash on the ground before washing it out of the stone chamber.
During this process, she would occasionally turn her head to check on the injured immortal lord with concern.
Yu Yi took advantage of these moments when she turned back to vigilantly examine Xue Chenjing, guarding against any unusual movements from him.
Although Xue Chenjing had freed himself from the shackles of the Earth-bound Spirit, this body was still trapped in Ji Hanyi's role. With his powers nullified, he had become a mortal, even less capable than an ordinary person.
After a night of turmoil, coupled with injuries and illness, and having gone without food or water for a long time, his stomach was now so empty it was practically caving in, growling twice audibly.
The sound wasn't loud, but in the quiet stone chamber, it was extraordinarily clear.
The little bird demon reacted quickly. She washed her hands and took out some rice cakes wrapped in lotus leaves from her treasure pouch. The cakes were made by steaming locust tree flowers with pounded glutinous rice. As soon as she opened the package, a sweet fragrance wafted out.
After warming them with her magic, Huai Li pushed a cake into Xue Chenjing's hand, "I only have some snacks like this in my bag. Please make do with these for now, my lord."
"Thank you, Miss Huai Li," Xue Chenjing nodded gently in gratitude.
Huai Li smiled so widely her eyes nearly disappeared, and she happily began eating a cake herself.
This silly bird was carefree and empty-headed, only concerned with watching her lord eat, without a worry about their current predicament or any thought of leaving.
Yu Yi also began to give up.
Firstly, the outside was surely crawling with demon tribes searching for them, so going out would only be walking into a trap. Secondly, she needed to think carefully about how to deal with Xue Chenjing, this demon.
Yu Yi had no intention of waiting on Xue Chenjing. Huai Li was busy with everything. Yu Yi wanted to advise the little bird demon not to bother with him, but clearly, Huai Li wouldn't listen to her.
Seeing Xue Chenjing finish one rice cake, Huai Li immediately eagerly offered another, thoughtfully pouring him a cup of flower dew as well.
After feeding the immortal lord, Huai Li busied herself changing his wound dressings.
Xue Chenjing's left eye was severely injured, and demon poison was constantly eroding his eyeball.
To help him expel the demon poison, Huai Li had nearly exhausted her pitiful amount of demon power, but she could only temporarily suppress the poisonous insects, barely maintaining his comfort for an hour or two.
After suppressing the poisonous insects, Huai Li reapplied pain-relieving medicine to his left eye. When she turned to look at his raised right eye, she suddenly felt dizzy for some reason and abruptly pitched forward.
Yu Yi was startled and quickly took control of this body, straightening her back before falling into Xue Chenjing's arms.
She called out internally, "Huai Li? Huai Li!"
The other soul remained silent, having fallen into a deep sleep.
Huai Li's unusual deep sleep was clearly Xue Chenjing's handiwork. Even though his eyes were blind, he could still harm others. Yu Yi didn't even know when he had acted.
The two sat face to face. Without any hesitation, Yu Yi reached out and slapped his left eye hard.
Xue Chenjing hadn't even had time to open his mouth before she struck!
He covered his eye, angrily saying, "What are you doing?"
"Stop pretending, Xue Chenjing," Yu Yi said as she pulled out a strip of gauze. With one swift move, she slapped his hand away and quickly wrapped the gauze around both his eyes.
She then grabbed a writing brush from the table, its tip long dried and hardened. Using her spiritual power to revive it, she pulled up his sleeve, cut through the previously wrapped bandage with her fingers, and jabbed the brush into the wound on his arm.
The not-yet-healed wound was forcefully reopened by the brush, and fresh blood seeped out, quickly staining the brush tip. Yu Yi enveloped the blood with her spiritual power and swiftly drew a sealing talisman on the gauze.
This talisman was a Demon Sealing Talisman, which she had learned from her master's inherited books on talismans. Yu Yi had only used it before to deal with small demons and spirits hiding in gutters to steal things. She wasn't sure if it would work on a monster like Xue Chenjing, but it was worth a try.
After finishing all this, Yu Yi leaped away from him, as if she couldn't bear to be near him for a moment longer.
Yu Yi wanted to leave this stone chamber, but suddenly her back touched something soft and cold. She immediately realized what it was and twisted her body to land elsewhere.
But this stone chamber was filled with slimy tentacles everywhere. Although Yu Yi couldn't see them, she could feel their cold, damp breath and hear the wet, squishy sounds they made as they moved.
The tentacles blocked the exit of the stone chamber, not allowing her to leave.
Xue Chenjing, dressed in a scarlet robe, propped his elbow on the table and reached out with his fingers to touch the gauze over his eyes. However, before his fingertips could make contact, they were repelled by the power of the talisman.
The blood-red talisman flickered with spiritual light. The seal had taken effect.
"You used my blood to draw a talisman to seal my eyes?" Xue Chenjing calmed himself down, his lips curling slightly, seemingly unconcerned as the wound on his arm continued to bleed.
This body was truly in a state of decay, filled with both demonic poison and insect venom. His five senses had long since dulled, and even pain wasn't so intense anymore. He could tolerate minor injuries.
Yu Yi threw the brush to the ground with a loud clatter. "To be precise, it's Ji Hanyi's blood. Although the Immortal Lord has lost his powers, he was once a spiritual being after all. It's most effective against demons and monsters like you."
"Demons and monsters." Xue Chenjing mumbled these words, tasting them in his mouth. Then, in a particularly aggrieved tone, he said, "Have I ever done anything to hurt you? Why are you always so cruel to me?"
"Invading my consciousness, altering my perceptions, trying to turn me into a tool for you to manipulate - doesn't that count as harm?" Yu Yi remained unmoved, a faint sword light appearing at her fingertips. She said coldly, "I have no interest in being anyone's dog."
Xue Chenjing remained silent for a good while. He lowered his head slightly, his loose hair falling against his pale face. "I just liked you too much, so I used the wrong methods. I was wrong."
His tone was desolate, his voice even trembling slightly with regret, making it sound as if these words truly came from the bottom of his heart.
Yu Yi, of course, couldn't be deceived by his flowery words. She opened her mouth and only uttered a short, mocking syllable: "Heh."
Xue Chenjing pressed his lips together. Even with the gauze covering his eyes, it was clear his expression was not pleasant.
His jaw was clenched tightly, the lines sharp. After a long moment, he finally relaxed a bit, raised his head again to face her, and asked in a humble tone, "Then would you like to keep a dog?"
Yu Yi didn't react immediately. "What?"
Xue Chenjing said, "Take advantage of my feelings for you, put a leash around my neck, train me into the shape you like."
System: Oh my, its host is really going all out!
Yu Yi: "..."
Well, well, as expected of someone who could be a villain. For the sake of completing a task, he really could stoop so low, truly abandoning all dignity.
