Once he was certain the person in his arms had fallen asleep, Wenren Li found it even harder to tear his gaze away from Chen Yixin’s face.
What he looked at, however, was not merely Chen Yixin’s beauty.
His body remained stiff and motionless as he allowed Chen Yixin to lean against him. Only after the medicinal effects of the spirit spring had faded did he finally lift the sleeping man into his arms. The sudden surge of emotions within him vanished the moment he rose.
Earlier, he had leisurely carried Chen Yixin through half the Demon Palace. Now, with a single step, he appeared directly inside the bedchamber.
He dressed Chen Yixin in comfortable sleeping robes, then arranged the Weaving Cloud just as Chen Yixin had requested, using it as a blanket. Only after confirming that Chen Yixin was completely asleep did Wenren Li leave the chamber.
He still needed to return to the alchemy room to prepare additional medicines.
Chen Yixin’s injuries were far more severe than he had anticipated.
Outside the bedchamber, Nan Ke and the sixteen demon guards remained stationed on watch.
Originally, they had been personal guards assigned to Wenren Li. But during the journey to Zhenhai in the Northern Territory, they had already been designated as the personal guards of Chen Yixin, the Demon Palace’s future consort.
Nan Ke was their captain.
Seeing the Demon Lord’s unusual attitude toward Chen Yixin, Nan Ke began to reconsider the nature of this appointment. What he had once thought was a promotion in name but a demotion in reality might not be the case after all.
Perhaps the Demon Palace was truly about to welcome another master.
As Wenren Li passed Nan Ke, he paused slightly.
“Tell Wu Fei to collect more Weaving Cloud.”
The mass of Weaving Cloud Chen Yixin currently used was already quite large. But it was still insufficient to furnish every place Chen Yixin might need.
“Yes.”
Nan Ke accepted the order and departed, his earlier suspicion growing even stronger.
Their Demon Lord’s attitude toward Chen Yixin was truly extraordinary.
Chen Yixin slept unusually well.
In his dream, it felt as though he had once again found a scenic spot within the lands of Yuding Sect. With a pot of wine in hand, he slept from sunrise to sunset—carefree as an immortal, unburdened and at ease.
Slowly, he opened his eyes.
The deep crimson decorations of the chamber bore an uncanny resemblance to the blood-red sunsets of Yuding Sect’s territory.
Still lying lazily on the bed, he spoke without moving.
“I don’t like dark red. Could you change it to another color?”
Wenren Li helped him sit up and simply nodded.
He did not ask why.
Outside the chamber, Nan Ke soon received orders to change the decorations of the bedchamber.
Seeing Wenren Li agree so readily, Chen Yixin smiled.
This Demon Lord was even easier to deal with than he had expected.
Since yesterday, his many requests had not truly been requests at all.
They were tests.
He had been quietly probing the limits of the Demon Lord’s tolerance. Only after determining those limits could he properly figure out how to survive in the Demon Palace.
“My surname is Chen, my given name Yixin. What is your name?”
Yixin—Heart of Joy.
That had been his mortal name.
At sixteen he had reached Foundation Establishment and obtained a Dao title. By forty-nine he had formed his Golden Core, and the title “Heart-Slaying Perfected One” had spread throughout the cultivation world.
But what he asked now was not the title “Li Kui Demon Lord.”
He was asking for the man’s mortal name.
Perhaps he had one. Perhaps he did not.
Wenren Li’s eyes darkened slightly.
Just when Chen Yixin thought he would not answer, he finally spoke.
“Wenren Li.”
Li—separation.
For someone named so, his life had probably been filled with many hardships.
The thought crossed Chen Yixin’s mind briefly, but he soon laughed at himself.
In his current state, what right did he have to sigh over another’s fate? Besides, a Soul-Transformation cultivator like Wenren Li had lived through countless years. He hardly needed sympathy.
“Wenren Li…”
Chen Yixin softly repeated the name.
Then he leaned forward and rested against Wenren Li’s shoulder again.
Aside from this broken body, he possessed nothing. With nothing to lose, he feared nothing. Using the Demon Lord as a pillow had become increasingly natural.
“This name sounds somewhat familiar…”
Wenren Li lowered his gaze.
But the man who had just said the name sounded familiar had already closed his eyes again.
Chen Yixin’s resting was merely resting. He had no intention of thinking about where that familiarity came from. After all, he had been able to cast aside even his greatest hatred in an instant—let alone a chance encounter from a hundred years ago that had long since faded from memory.
Wenren Li’s hand shifted slightly lower from Chen Yixin’s shoulder.
Before Chen Yixin could react, he was suddenly lifted again.
Had the Demon Lord grown addicted to carrying him?
Chen Yixin pursed his lips and opened his eyes slightly, peering at Wenren Li’s profile.
Wenren Li clearly sensed the gaze but did not stop walking.
He carried Chen Yixin out of the bedchamber, through several corridors and gates, before entering another hall whose colors were dominated by deep violet and black.
Its size and layout were similar to the chamber Chen Yixin had stayed in the previous day. However, compared with the warmth and luxury of that room, this one felt far more cold and austere.
Wenren Li glanced down and met Chen Yixin’s gaze just as he withdrew it.
Only then did he explain.
“For the next few days, you will stay here.”
“Oh…”
Chen Yixin responded softly.
He had spent half the journey pondering why Wenren Li had carried him out. It turned out to be simply because Chen Yixin had asked for the decorations of his room to be changed.
Wenren Li gently placed Chen Yixin onto a bed layered with Weaving Cloud.
After hesitating briefly, he raised his hand and somewhat stiffly placed it upon Chen Yixin’s hair, giving it a light stroke before withdrawing it.
“You… don’t think too much. I won’t let you die.”
Chen Yixin suddenly lifted his gaze.
Meeting Wenren Li’s calm, emotionless eyes, he paused briefly—then smiled.
Yet Wenren Li remained as cold and expressionless as ever.
“Wenren Li.”
Chen Yixin called softly.
Grasping Wenren Li’s arm, he slowly sat up. In truth, he had not yet reached the point where he needed others for every aspect of daily life. He simply disliked unnecessary movement.
But Wenren Li’s words had made him want to sit up.
Wenren Li did not help him directly, yet he controlled the Weaving Cloud to support him halfway. Chen Yixin rose with little effort.
He watched quietly, waiting to hear what Chen Yixin wished to say.
Instead, Chen Yixin leaned closer again.
They stopped when only a finger’s breadth separated them.
Chen Yixin looked straight into Wenren Li’s eyes without fear. The faint smile on his lips vanished, replaced by a sharp glint in his narrowed gaze.
For a moment, the cold edge of True Person Luxin returned to him.
“What do you want?”
Life was a temptation he could not refuse.
If Wenren Li intended to save him, then Chen Yixin would inevitably have to give something in return.
Whatever the price might be, he would pay it.
But some things needed to be made clear first.
Wenren Li met his gaze.
His eyes drifted momentarily to Chen Yixin’s lightly pressed lips. As though recalling something, he turned his head slightly and looked away entirely.
That sudden hint of awkwardness instantly made Chen Yixin’s stern questioning feel strangely misplaced—as though he had approached this close merely to flirt with the Demon Lord.
Chen Yixin raised a brow.
He prided himself on reading people’s hearts, yet at this moment he found Wenren Li utterly incomprehensible.
A perfectly formidable Soul-Transformation great demon, yet he couldn’t even withstand the approach of a mere mortal like him…
“Don’t think too much.”
Wenren Li repeated his earlier words.
He did indeed have ulterior motives toward Chen Yixin—but they were not the kind Chen Yixin imagined.
Since their first meeting, Wenren Li had yet to figure out the proper way to speak with him. The manner he used when addressing subordinates clearly would not do.
Thus, a man who was already taciturn became even more silent in Chen Yixin’s presence.
Yet now silence was no longer appropriate.
After a moment’s hesitation, Wenren Li raised his hand again and gently stroked Chen Yixin’s hair.
The words he spoke were still the same.
“Don’t think too much.”
In another context, such words might have sounded cold or heartless.
Yet when spoken by Wenren Li, they carried a faint warmth.
Even Chen Yixin’s vigilance could not hold.
He rolled his eyes elegantly.
With his guard lowered, his knees weakened. Wenren Li instinctively caught him, and Chen Yixin fell straight into his arms.
Wenren Li’s chest was firm and solid—far less comfortable than Weaving Cloud.
Chen Yixin opened his mouth, intending to complain, but the words never left his lips.
Two grown men stood embracing each other awkwardly.
Chen Yixin felt stiff. Wenren Li felt stiff.
But after sensing Wenren Li’s stiffness, Chen Yixin gradually relaxed.
He chuckled lightly and discarded the most absurd possibility he had considered.
“I have nothing now, nothing with which to repay you. But don’t worry—I will remember this.”
Wenren Li’s hand rested on Chen Yixin’s back. He patted it lightly.
After a brief silence, he replied.
“Alright.”
If he did not answer, Chen Yixin would not feel at ease.
And this time, Wenren Li would not give him the chance to forget.
Hearing this, Chen Yixin’s brows relaxed and his smile brightened.
It was still pleasant to behold—but this smile was different from the casual one he often wore while fully conscious.
Carefully, Chen Yixin adjusted his position, finding a more comfortable posture on his own.
He did not fear Wenren Li wanting something.
What he feared was Wenren Li wanting nothing.
Debts of gratitude were the hardest to repay. And barring unforeseen events, the debt he owed Wenren Li was his life.
That would be a very difficult debt to settle.
“Oh right,” Chen Yixin added suddenly. “I meant to tell you yesterday—you don’t need to personally take care of me. You can simply let A-Da and the others come in…”
For a Soul-Transformation cultivator and ruler of the Demon Palace to personally handle someone’s daily needs was truly a waste of talent.
At least, Chen Yixin firmly believed so.
But under Wenren Li’s increasingly cold gaze, his voice gradually grew softer.
“…Alright then. They’re busy.”
Apparently the entire Demon Palace had only one idle person—Wenren Li.
In truth, Chen Yixin had not meant for the guards to serve him personally. He only wanted them to use talismans and spells to assist him according to his instructions.
“They guard your safety,” Wenren Li said seriously. “I am the one treating your illness.”
Looking at Chen Yixin, who now seemed slightly guilty, he clarified:
“I am not busy.”
Chen Yixin curved his lips.
“Fine. You’re the most idle one of all.”
He himself did not quite understand what amused him so much.
But one thing was certain.
The Soul-Transformation great demon before him was completely different from any cultivator he had known before.
Wenren Li could roughly guess what Chen Yixin was laughing about.
But when it came to personally caring for Chen Yixin, there was absolutely no possibility that he would entrust that task to anyone else.
Futile Devices Scans 
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