The young demon cultivator started to form a hand seal, but stopped halfway. He looked at Jiu Hui and Zhi You, who had been silent, with suspicion. “Are you really not lying to me?”
“You used a demon treasure to capture us, so how can you be afraid that I’m lying to you? Even if you don’t believe me, you should believe your demon treasure.” Jiu Hui leaned on Zhi You’s body. “But if you really want to think that way, then I can’t help it.”
What do you mean, if you really want to think that way, then I have no choice?!
Upon hearing this, a nameless fire surged in the young demon’s mind.
“If you’re really worried, you can also bribe us with spirit stones. I’m a greedy and cowardly person. As long as you’re willing to pay, I can even help you distract the people from the City Lord’s Mansion.” Jiu Hui huddled in the net without moving. “However, the Second Young Master of the City Lord’s Mansion has some friendship with me. If you want me to do this, you have to pay more.”
“Your abilities are mediocre, but your ambitions are lofty.” The young demon was disgusted by Jiu Hui’s pathetic and greedy appearance. “Shut your mouth. If you say another word, I’ll kill you.”
He looked at Zhi You and said, “I’ll give you half an hour. If you don’t open the Taolin City’s protective formation in half an hour, I’ll kill her.”
Zhi You looked up at the young demon without speaking. The young demon pinched a hand sign, releasing Zhi You from the Soul-Swallowing Net, and pointed his sword at Jiu Hui: “The time starts now.”
Zhi You stood in place and watched Jiu Hui. Jiu Hui waved at him and said, “Hurry up and leave. Remember, half an hour.”
“Alright.” Zhi You retracted his gaze and turned to stride away.
Watching Zhi You’s back as he left without any hesitation, the young demon sneered. He turned his head and looked down at Jiu Hui, who was sitting in the net, not daring to move. “You risked your life to let him go first, but he didn’t hesitate for a second. If there’s no movement in Taolin City after half an hour, then you…”
He raised an eyebrow. “You’ll become the sacrifice.”
Jiu Hui looked up at him and said, “If he doesn’t come back, wouldn’t it be a good deal to exchange my life for the lives of the entire city?”
The young demon heard this but didn’t get angry. He didn’t seem to care whether Zhi You could return or not, nor did he care whether Zhi You would really open the Taolin City’s protective formation. His previous persistence and suspicion had turned into indifference.
“Why didn’t he stay and let you open the city’s protective formation?” The young demon sat cross-legged in front of Jiu Hui. Through the Soul-Swallowing Net, he looked at Jiu Hui as if she were an idiot. “How does a woman like you even think?”
“Because before he left, I wrote two words in his palm.” Jiu Hui chuckled.
“What character?“carpreads.pages.dev
The young demon watched Jiu Hui without blinking, waiting for her answer. His curiosity was quite strong.
“Trust me.”
“What?” The young demon was stunned.
“I asked him to trust me.” Jiu Hui suddenly stood up and kicked the young demon sitting cross-legged in front of her. The butcher knife reappeared in her hand. The rusty butcher knife flipped in her hand. The demon treasure seemed to be like an ordinary fishing net, easily cut open by her.
“Why doesn’t the Soul-Swallowing Net work on you?!” The young demon crawled up from the ground. Seeing Jiu Hui holding a knife and swooping down from the sky to kill him, he quickly resisted with a bone knife.
Clang!
The knife made from the bone of a ten-thousand-year-old python was buzzing from the butcher knife’s shock. The young demon’s expression changed drastically. He pinched a spell with one hand and barely avoided the opponent’s next attack.
The other demons realized something was wrong and hurriedly surrounded her, engaging Jiu Hui in a fierce battle.
Jiu Hui didn’t care about the other demons. She brandished her knife to force them back and focused on beating up the young demon.
The young demon also realized that Jiu Hui didn’t intend to let him go. He gritted his teeth, bit his index finger, and swiped it across the bone knife. “Heaven-Swallowing Python!”
A gigantic phantom of a sky-swallowing python appeared behind him. Jiu Hui tapped her toes and dodged the python’s tail. “You can actually use a ten-thousand-year-old evil python to refine a magic weapon. It seems that you have some status in the Demon Clan.”
“What, are you scared?” The young demon crossed his arms over his chest. “I see that you have some charm. If you’re willing to abandon your spirit and become a demon like Yin Ji, and become my concubine, I’ll spare your life.”
“Your abilities are lacking, yet your ambitions are grand.” Jiu Hui scoffed.
The young demon recalled that sentence, which was the very mockery he had just thrown at her. He never expected her to return it to him at this moment.
“Since the beauty is bent on dying, I can only fulfill her wish.” The young demon formed hand seals with both hands and used his demonic energy to control the giant python. “Go, kill her!”
The giant python let out a roar and opened its bloody mouth to attack Jiu Hui. Jiu Hui took out a protective magic weapon to block its attack.
She looked up at the giant python that was as tall as a hundred-foot building, quickly put away her butcher knife, and formed a bow in the air. Countless spirit arrows formed behind her.
“What… what is this?!” The young demon looked at the countless arrows filling the sky like raindrops and stared at Jiu Hui in horror. “Who exactly are you?”
“The one who will take your life!” Jiu Hui released the bowstring, and countless arrows fell like a rainstorm, piercing the giant python that was taller than a hundred-story building into a giant caterpillar.
“Go!” Jiu Hui snapped her fingers with one hand, and the spirit arrow exploded. The giant python let out a mournful cry and turned into a puff of green smoke, disappearing.
Click.
The bone knife in the young demon’s hand split apart with a click. He clutched his chest and spat out blood, looking at Jiu Hui with terror on his face. “You’re the cultivator who injured Yin Ji a few days ago?”
Jiu Hui ignored him. She took out the butcher knife again and stabbed it straight at his waist.
“Your Highness, the Third Prince!” The other demons who had been knocked away by Jiu Hui’s spiritual power roared in anger. “Don’t hurt our prince!”
“Third Prince?” The moment the tip of the knife touched the young demon’s waist, Jiu Hui retracted the butcher knife, raised her hand, and fanned the young demon into an invincible spinning top. After he landed freely, she stepped on his chest. “Are you the Third Prince of the Demon Clan?”
The young demon coughed violently and spat out mouthfuls of blood.
“Why did you leave your comfortable life as a prince to come here?” Jiu Hui glanced at the few demons who intended to come over and save him. “If you take another step forward, I’ll stab him to death.”
“Let’s talk this out. Don’t kill our prince,” several demons quickly took a few steps back and looked at Jiu Hui anxiously. “As long as you’re willing to let the prince go, you can ask for anything.”
Jiu Hui ignored them and stepped on the Third Prince’s foot. “You’re a little smarter than that idiot prince last time, though not by much. At least you brought some help with you.”
“Are you talking about the second prince?” The third prince lay on the ground, looking up at Jiu Hui with suspicion. “He didn’t end up in your hands too, did he?”
The single word “too” fully revealed the shock and complexity in his heart.
“That’s not it.” Jiu Hui shook her head. “He fell by the hands of the person you just let go.”
Third Prince：“……”
“Since we’ve met, it must be fate. Why don’t you tell me some interesting stories about your demon clan? Who knows, I might spare your life if I’m in a good mood.” Jiu Hui took out a formation magic weapon and enveloped the two of them in it. No matter how the demons outside attacked, the formation remained unyielding.
“What do you intend to do to our Highness?!”
“Release His Highness!”
“What are you crying about? If you keep crying, I’ll chop him up!” Jiu Hui pulled out a sword and stabbed it next to the Third Prince’s ear. The demons outside instantly fell silent.
“Come, I’ll ask and you answer.” Jiu Hui stepped on the Third Prince and looked down at him. “Who led you to cause trouble in Taolin City?”
“Who exactly are you? How is it possible that a human cultivator isn’t afraid of the Soul-Swallowing Net?” The Third Prince still couldn’t figure out how the Demon Clan’s treasure could be as useless as a broken fishing net against Jiu Hui.
“Could it be because your demon clan’s treasure has been left for too long, and it has lost its effectiveness?”
“Impossible!” the Third Prince retorted.
“Am I asking you, or are you asking me?!” Jiu Hui stepped hard on the Third Prince’s chest, and he cried out in pain. He felt as if his bones had been crushed by this woman.
Footsteps sounded behind him, and the Third Prince twisted his head with great effort to see the person who had returned.
When the demons outside the barrier saw Zhi You appear, they were overjoyed. They took out their weapons and turned to Jiu Hui, saying, “Release our prince immediately, or we will kill him!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Zhi You’s figure flickered. It was as if he had merely waved his sleeve, and all the demons collapsed to the ground, wailing in agony.
“I forgot to tell you, your Second Prince was captured by my Junior Brother.” Jiu Hui smiled. “It seems we are all fated to meet.”
Third Prince：“……”
The demons who were lying on the ground with only half a life left：“……”
Zhi You stepped over the wailing demons on the ground and walked to the barrier. He looked at Jiu Hui with a gloomy expression, “I was worried about you.”
So he returned.
“Extend your hand,” Jiu Hui said to Zhi You, extending her own hand.
Zhi You obediently extended his hand, and Jiu Hui grabbed his hand and pulled him into the barrier: “I’m interrogating the Third Prince, it’s a lot of fun.”
The Third Prince vomited a mouthful of blood, and he felt that it might not be very fun.
“Don’t just focus on spitting blood, hurry up and answer my question.” Releasing Zhi You’s hand, Jiu Hui gestured with the butcher knife: “I’m young and my courage is even smaller, what if my hand shakes and I accidentally stab you somewhere?”
Although the Third Prince was spoiled by the Demon Queen to the point of being a bit out of hand, his mind was still normal. Knowing that his life and death were in Jiu Hui’s hands, he honestly said, “No one led me here. I heard from Sha Luojia that she and Yin Ji were both injured in Taolin City, so I came to take a look.”
“Is Sha Luojia the princess who’s in love with Yin Ji?” It was the first time Jiu Hui had heard the name of the demon princess from someone else’s mouth. “Was she the one who told you that she and Yin Ji were injured in Taolin City?”
“That’s right,” the Third Prince continued. “If it weren’t for that idiot Sha Luojia, who only thinks about love, I wouldn’t have known that Taolin City was hiding a master like you.”
“Is it possible that I’m not that strong, but you’re just too weak?” Jiu Hui removed her foot from the Third Prince’s body and used her spiritual energy to tie him up tightly. “With your current cultivation level, you can’t even unleash one-tenth of the power of the Evil Python Bone Knife. How dare you come and cause trouble in Taolin City?”
The Third Prince retorted, “If the Demon Clan’s treasure was useless against you, how could I have lost?”
“Are you still going to be stubborn?!” Jiu Hui raised her head, and the Third Prince shrank his neck in fear.
“The Second Prince stole the Qi of Extreme Evil, and you stole the Soul-Swallowing Net. How many top-grade treasures does your Demon Clan have that you can just casually steal them?” Jiu Hui glanced at the Third Prince. With their intelligence, it would not have been easy for them to steal the Demon Clan’s treasures. “Did someone help you?”
“Yin Ji has suffered internal injuries and needs a secret medicine that I have.” The Third Prince answered honestly, “I made a deal with Sha Luojia. She would help me steal the Soul-Swallowing Net, and I would give her the secret medicine. She is the most favored by the King and lives in the inner palace, so it would be easy for her to steal the Soul-Swallowing Net.”
Jiu Hui raised an eyebrow. “The Qi of Extreme Evil that the Second Prince brought out, did she help him steal that too?”
“I don’t know.” When the Third Prince mentioned the Second Prince, he didn’t hide the disdain in his tone. “I’m not familiar with that idiot.”
“You’re not much smarter than him.” Jiu Hui pinched a spell with both hands, and her right index finger tapped the Third Prince’s forehead.
“What did you do to me?” The Third Prince realized that his brain was uncontrollably recalling everything he had done over the years. When Jiu Hui’s index finger left, he scooted his butt back and asked, “What the hell are you?”
“So, you’re a good little boy who’s been well-protected by your mother.” Jiu Hui had used up a lot of spiritual power searching through all of the Third Prince’s memories, and she withdrew her hand, looking at him with a strange expression on her face.
Other demons ate human flesh and drank human blood, refining pills and magic weapons with the resentment of the living. This third prince wandered around the Demon Capital with his subordinates every day. His favorite thing to do was to listen to his subordinates flatter him about how brave he was and how he always had a perfect plan. He also equally looked down on all his brothers and sisters.
Even when he came to Taolin City to cause trouble, it was because he had heard Sha Luojia say, “Even if it’s you, Third Brother, who goes to Taolin City, you won’t be able to leave unscathed.” That was why he had taken advantage of the Demon Queen’s absence to come to Taolin City to cause trouble.
“Who says I need my mother’s protection?!” The Third Prince reacted strongly to this sentence. “I, Luohe, was born with great talent and am the next Demon King. I don’t need to follow anyone else’s orders.”
“Whose cultivation level is higher, yours or Sha Luojia’s?”
“Sha Luojia is nothing more than the offspring of a treacherous concubine, her bloodline is lowly, how can she compare to me!”
“I understand. Her cultivation is higher than yours.” Jiu Hui placed her hand on Zhi You’s arm, and through her sleeve, a surge of spiritual energy entered her body.
Jiu Hui turned her head to look at Zhi You and smiled at him. Then, she took out a pill from her storage ring, pinched the Third Prince’s chin, and stuffed the pill into his mouth.
“What did you feed me?” The Third Prince felt a surge of cold energy in his body and tried to force it out with his magic power. However, as soon as he had this thought, he was immediately seized by excruciating stomach pain.
He had been pampered since birth, so when had he ever suffered like this? He curled up on the ground in agony.
“Third Prince, don’t move around. The more you struggle, the worse the backlash will be.” Jiu Hui shook the bottle of pills. “This medicine of mine may not be a secret treasure of the cultivation world, but it’s more than enough to deal with you, Third Prince.”
The Third Prince Luohe was in so much pain that cold sweat dripped down his face, but he didn’t dare to say another word.
“I knew it. Whether it’s the crazy young city lord or the demon prince who calls himself the second elder, they can all understand human speech.” Jiu Hui chuckled. “As long as they’re taught well, they can all become good little boys.”
The Third Prince, Luohe, lowered his noble head in frustration.
Jiu Hui took out a detoxification pill and stuffed it into Luohe’s mouth. Luohe’s pale face regained its color. He looked at Jiu Hui in terror and dared not provoke her again.
“This antidote can only guarantee that you can use demonic energy normally for six months. If you don’t take the antidote after six months, you will suffer excruciating pain like just now whenever you use demonic energy.” Jiu Hui said with a smile, “Considering that you haven’t made any big mistakes yet, I can spare your life, but I can’t let you live for nothing.”
The Third Prince exchanged a glance with several demons outside the barrier: “What do you want?”
“Hand over all your valuables,” Jiu Hui demanded, her hands on her hips. “Pay for your lives.”
The Third Prince was in a daze, and for a moment he couldn’t tell who was the real demon between him and this young girl.
“You don’t want to give it?” Jiu Hui pulled out her butcher knife.
“Give, give, give.” The Third Prince couldn’t move. “At least let me go first.”
“Zhi You, you go collect the money from the few outside, I’ll collect his.” Jiu Hui retracted her spiritual power, raised her eyebrows and said, “Hurry up.”
Magic weapons, elixirs, spirit stones, magic stones, gems…
Luohe emptied his pockets and looked at Jiu Hui, suppressing his anger. “Is this enough?”
“Pry the gems off your shoes and give me your hair ornament as well.” Jiu Hui removed the barrier and tossed a sack on the ground. “Put everything in the bag.”
The Third Prince and several demons who had been beaten black and blue lined up obediently to put their belongings into the sack. One demon even obediently removed his robe, which was embroidered with gold thread, and put it in the sack.
“Immortal, we have already handed over the items, please spare His Highness’s life.” The demon guards, wearing tattered shoes, shielded the Third Prince in their midst.
“You.” Jiu Hui pointed at the Third Prince. “Pick up the things on the ground.”
Third Prince Luohe followed Jiu Hui’s gaze and saw the shattered fragments of the Ten-Thousand-Year Python Bone Knife. He almost couldn’t hold back his manly tears. It was his most beloved weapon, and now it was completely destroyed.
There were many ways to humiliate him, but this woman chose the most vicious one.
A guard wanted to go help Luohe retrieve it, but Zhi You stopped him, saying calmly, “I didn’t ask you to go.”
Jiu Hui had the final say on who would go.
The demon guard took a deep breath in anger and retreated.
The Third Prince finally couldn’t hold back his tears. With his hair disheveled and wearing shoes that were riddled with holes, he squatted on the ground and picked up the pieces of the python bone knife one by one.
He had lived for over a hundred years, and he had never suffered such humiliation.
“The antidote is only effective for six months. If you want to continue using magic normally after six months, remember to come to me to buy the antidote. But if your demon clan comes to Taolin City to cause trouble again, or if you hurt my fellow disciples, then I can only die together with you, Third Prince.”
Jiu Hui looked at the demon guards and said, “I hope you will pass this message to Her Majesty the Demon Queen. I am just an ordinary stone, while the Third Prince is a precious jade bottle. I believe Her Majesty the Demon Queen knows how to choose.”
After saying this, Jiu Hui tied the sack shut, her eyes curving into a smile. “I’ve always been kind-hearted, so when the Third Prince comes to get the antidote next time, I’ll only charge you five hundred thousand spirit stones for the medicine.”
The Third Prince’s tears flowed even more violently.
“Aren’t you leaving yet?” Jiu Hui glanced at the sky. “If you don’t leave now, I’m going to change my mind. I’m going to count down from ten: ten, nine, eight…”
Watching the demon guards escort the Third Prince away in a hurry, Jiu Hui crossed her arms and clicked her tongue. “Look, even the most unruly brats can learn to bend and stretch.”
“Zhi You, aren’t you curious why I spared the life of the Third Prince of the Demon Clan?” Jiu Hui turned to look at Zhi You.
“For the sake of… charging him five hundred thousand spirit stones for half a year?” Zhi You took out a plain handkerchief from his sleeve, stepped forward, and placed it on Jiu Hui’s hand. Through the handkerchief, he gently wiped her hand.
“The spirit stones were just a side thing. The main thing is that he can’t die in Taolin City.” Jiu Hui didn’t hide the fact that she had searched the Third Prince’s memories. “I used magic to search his memories and found that the Demon King is old and weak and is about to die. Many of the Demon Clan’s affairs are handled by the Demon Queen. If the Third Prince dies in Taolin City, the Demon Queen will definitely not let Taolin City go.”
The Third Prince was the Demon Queen’s greatest weakness. If he were to die at her hands, the Demon Queen would definitely retaliate against the entire Taolin City and Wangshu Pavilion. But if she were to keep the Third Prince as a weakness in her hands, the Demon Queen would be more cautious.
“Most importantly, the next Demon Lord can’t be an intelligent person.” Jiu Hui sighed. “I admire intelligent and resourceful people, but if she becomes our enemy, it won’t be good.”
Zhi You took the plain handkerchief that Jiu Hui had wiped her hands with. “What should we do?”
“Don’t do anything.” Jiu Hui stuffed the full sack into her storage ring. “Just wait.”
“Wait?”
“The Third Prince returned to the Demon Clan alive and well, so the Demon Clan won’t make any moves for the time being.” Jiu Hui stretched her waist. “Master will be leaving seclusion in a few days. Once Master leaves seclusion, I’ll take you back to the village for a few days.”
“Good… good.” Zhi You hid his hands behind his back, rubbing a plain handkerchief between his fingers, his cheeks slightly flushed under the moonlight.
-—–
“Senior Brother Yan Bo.”
Yan Bo was practicing the xiqin under the tree. When he saw Zhi You coming to him alone, he put down the xiqin in surprise and said, “Little Junior Brother?”
Normally, little Junior Brother would always be with little Junior Sister Jiu Hui, but today was the first time he had come to find him alone.
“Come, sit down and talk.” Yan Bo greeted Zhi You to sit down and poured him a cup of tea. “Tell me what’s the matter. I’ll help you solve it. Are you out of money?”
He began to untie the purse at his waist.
“No.” Zhi You held his teacup, not knowing how to start.
“Did you make a mistake?” Yan Bo stopped untying his purse and smiled honestly. “Don’t worry, at worst, your Senior Brother will help you beg for mercy.”
“I wanted to ask you, what should I pay attention to when visiting a friend’s home for the first time?” Zhi You’s hands were very beautiful. At this moment, his hands were tightly holding the teacup, and he looked a little helpless.
Yan Bo didn’t expect him to ask this, so he stood up and patted his shoulder. “Please wait for me for a moment.”
Not long after, Yan Bo came out with a few books in hand. He patted the thick layer of dust on the books and said, “These are all books written by scholars about interpersonal relationships and how to reach the pinnacle of life. They cover a wide range of topics. You can take them back and read them at your leisure.”
“Thank you, Senior Brother.” Zhi You took the book and glanced at the name on the cover.
The first book is “On How I Became the Richest Man in the City by Flattering Lord Big-Backer”, the second book is “After Becoming a Zhuixu*, I Was Respected by the Whole Family”, the third book is “My Sister is the Richest, and I am Her Only Close Friend”, and the fourth book is “How to Become a Half-Brother with the City Lord”.
TN: zhuixu is when a man marries into the wife’s family, and the children would take the wife’s surname, so it’s married-in-son-in-law
Zhi You looked at the books, then at Yan Bo.
“Although the titles of these books are a bit unconventional, the content is quite serious,” Yan Bo explained as he flipped open “On How I Became the Richest Man in the City by Flattering Lord Big-Backer.”
“The protagonist of this book, through personal perseverance and magnanimity, earnestly raised his abusive sister-in-law and forgave his brother-in-law for stealing from him. In the end, he finally won the approval of his harsh father-in-law, helped the family business, and ultimately made his in-laws the wealthiest family in the city.”
“And then there’s this zhuixu who’s respected by his entire family. His wife died young, and to preserve his wife’s family business, he worked his fingers to the bone, dealing with all sorts of big shots, teaching rebellious children, and in the end, he handed over the family business intact to his and his late wife’s children. So he became the most respected person by his descendants.” Yan Bo patted “After Becoming a Zhuixu*, I Was Respected by the Whole Family”, very confident in the book he was recommending.
“The business of writing novels is not easy these days, and authors are having a hard time making a living. If you don’t come up with a catchy title, readers won’t buy it.” Yan Bo patted the books. “As long as you finish reading these books, I guarantee that you’ll be able to handle any social situation.”