While inwardly grumbling, Chen Yixin lifted a hand and gently touched Wenren Li’s cheek. Guiding him to tilt his head slightly closer, Chen Yixin leaned in and lightly nibbled at the faintly flushed cheek.
The act thoroughly confirmed the charge of “taking liberties.”
After the kiss, Chen Yixin remained close, his cheek still brushing against Wenren Li’s as he smiled faintly. His expression, however, looked perfectly proper.
“So, A-Li,” he asked calmly, “why did you call for me?”
The faint redness on Wenren Li’s cheek had already spread to his ears. He lifted his foot and continued walking before answering.
“A-Rong need not worry. They cannot harm me. This gathering is merely convenient—I intend to ask them for a few things.”
This meeting had not been proposed by Wenren Li in the first place. It simply happened to save him some trouble.
If he wished to completely remove the curse embedded in Chen Yixin’s soul, he would require several rare materials as assistance.
As a Soul Transformation cultivators, the Demon Lords of the Southern Territory possessed vast treasuries. Even if they did not have the items themselves, they might at least know where to find them.
And when it came to dealing with those Demon Lords, Wenren Li had methods of his own.
In short—
The Li Kui Demon Lord was not someone who suffered losses outside.
“Good,” Chen Yixin replied.
As he spoke, he rubbed his cheek against Wenren Li’s again and casually poked the stiff chest before him a few times before finally letting him go.
When they returned to the red sedan chair, Nan Ke and the others had already finished preparing lunch.
Meat dishes, vegetables, and fruit were laid out together, the arrangement looking both abundant and appetizing. Nan Ke’s group’s cooking skills had clearly impressed Wu Fei’s squad of demon guards.
“Not bad,” Chen Yixin said after taking a bite, giving a small nod.
Nan Ke and the others—who had remained completely unmoved by Wu Fei’s earlier praise—immediately flushed red and nodded excitedly.
For them, earning Chen Yixin’s simple “not bad” was extremely difficult.
During their journey from north to south, they had been silently rejected countless times.
Of course, Chen Yixin never outright said the food tasted bad.
He would simply cough up blood to demonstrate it.
After returning to the Demon Palace, every one of the demon guards had secretly gone to learn cooking from the palace chefs.
None of them were foolish. With the chefs’ guidance, and according to their own spiritual roots, each had discovered dishes they were particularly skilled at making.
Thus along this journey, Chen Yixin never had to worry about growing tired of the food.
“A-Li, would you like to try some?”
Chen Yixin picked up a piece of golden-roasted demon beast meat and held it up to Wenren Li’s lips.
Wenren Li’s gaze shifted from the corner of Chen Yixin’s mouth to the meat he held.
Without hesitation, he opened his mouth and bit into it.
Chen Yixin watched Wenren Li’s expression closely as he chewed slowly. His face revealed almost nothing—but for some inexplicable reason, Chen Yixin’s mood brightened even more.
He lifted his head with a brilliant smile, one so dazzling that it seemed to outshine the surrounding scenery.
Chen Yixin soon finished an entire plate of meat by himself.
Then he shuffled closer and settled directly into Wenren Li’s arms. Pulling Wenren Li’s hand over, he pressed it against his lower abdomen.
“Help me digest.”
Only after doing so did he lazily ask,
“Which tastes better? This… or demon cores?”
As he spoke, he lifted a hand and wiped the corner of Wenren Li’s mouth—though there wasn’t actually any oil there at all.
Chen Yixin had simply grown addicted to teasing him.
Wenren Li was the child of a Ghost King and a tree spirit, born as a demonic embryo. In all likelihood, he had never eaten cooked demon-beast meat before.
Wenren Li gently kneaded Chen Yixin’s stomach. Spiritual energy seeped into his palm, slowly separating impurities from the food.
Yet what fascinated him even more was the sensation of touching Chen Yixin’s soft belly.
He almost wished he could keep doing it forever.
But Chen Yixin had asked a question.
He glanced once at Chen Yixin, then at the empty plate beside them.
“I don’t know,” he answered truthfully.
For Wenren Li, food had never been divided into delicious or unpleasant.
Only useful or useless.
“Mm.”
Chen Yixin felt his stomach settle somewhat. He turned sideways, nestling comfortably into Wenren Li’s embrace, and closed his eyes for a brief nap.
Wenren Li had been born a demonic embryo, different from ordinary demonic cultivators.
No matter how others saw him, in Chen Yixin’s eyes—
Wenren Li was simply Wenren Li.
Birth determined nothing.
And no one had the right to decide Wenren Li’s fate.
Holding Chen Yixin in his arms, Wenren Li once again felt that familiar stiffness—an awkwardness that flooded through him.
It was not rejection.
Rather, he understood all too clearly how important the person in his arms was to him.
So important that he could not help worrying—
Even worrying that he himself might harm Chen Yixin.
He continued holding him until Chen Yixin had fallen completely asleep, then carried him gently back into the red sedan chair and resumed their journey.
After traveling with many stops along the way, they finally arrived at Chaotic Demon City one month later.
Including Wenren Li, eight of the Ten Demon Lords of the Southern Territory had already gathered.
Wu Fei had sent thirty men ahead to prepare their residence. He and Nan Ke continued to follow Wenren Li and Chen Yixin as they wandered through the Immortal Market of Chaos Demon City.
Near the city lay the Chaotic Ghost Domain, home to tens of millions of wandering ghosts.
Even the lowest-rank ghosts had a chance of leaving behind Nether Pearls when slain—an essential medicinal ingredient for treating injuries of the soul.
The Danyun Sect even used them as the main ingredient for seventh-grade pills that strengthened spiritual consciousness and stabilized the soul.
Because the sect purchased Nether Pearls at extremely high prices, the Chaotic Ghost Domain attracted tens of thousands of low- and mid-level cultivators every year.
For wealth.
Or for healing soul injuries.
“Nether Pearls! Buying Nether Pearls! Any grade!”
“Protective talismans! First to third grade!”
Cries of trade filled the market.
Countless cultivators passed through the streets, all wearing black cloaks that concealed their spiritual signatures.
Yet when Chen Yixin and Wenren Li walked in, Chen Yixin’s light yellow robes looked like a beam of sunlight piercing through the night—bright, golden, and utterly conspicuous.
Then Chen Yixin turned his head.
His excessively handsome face appeared.
Wherever his gaze fell, buyers and sellers alike slowed their movements.
“Ne…ther…pearls… buying… Nether… pearls…”
Chen Yixin was long used to this reaction.
He glanced back at Wenren Li—and saw the usually expressionless man suddenly grab his hand and hold it tightly.
Chen Yixin squeezed his hand back, narrowing his eyes slightly as a mischievous smile curved his lips.
Being expressionless is a disease.
And diseases should be cured.
He leaned close to Wenren Li’s ear and whispered something.
Moments later—
Wenren Li’s normally emotionless face formed an unfamiliar smile.
It was faint and somewhat stiff.
But when he looked at Chen Yixin, the silver-gray eyes revealed something entirely different from his usual calm.
Focus.
Devotion.
Chen Yixin’s heart skipped.
The playful smile faded as he returned the gaze with equal seriousness.
Suddenly—
Thud!
An old eccentric watching from a rooftop lost his balance and fell flat onto the ground.
He scrambled up, dusting himself off, staring wide-eyed at Wenren Li.
“D-Demon Lord… who are you trying to scare?!”
Wenren Li was frightening enough when he didn’t smile.
When he did—
He was even more terrifying.
Wenren Li’s smile gradually faded. Ignoring the old man’s shouting, he continued strolling through the market with Chen Yixin.
But the words “Demon Lord” had already revealed Wenren Li’s identity as a Soul Transformation realm cultivator.
An empty space immediately cleared around them.
“Is there anything A-Rong wants?” Wenren Li asked.
His divine sense swept the market, yet he found nothing worthy of attention.
Still, just because he found nothing interesting didn’t mean Chen Yixin wouldn’t.
Aside from being a sword cultivator, Chen Yixin was also a grandmaster of talismans.
Unfortunately, he currently possessed no spiritual power. The talismans he drew could barely deal with wandering spirits at the first or second stage of Qi Refinement.
Against stronger enemies, they could not even pierce a protective barrier.
But that was only temporary.
Once he resumed cultivation, everything would change.
Chen Yixin’s gaze drifted briefly toward the old eccentric still scratching his head nearby.
Though he had never met this Soul Transformation realm cultivator before, his clothing and demeanor already revealed his identity.
Chen Yixin withdrew his gaze and whispered to Wenren Li,
“Let’s head back first. I’ll make a list for Nan Ke to buy later.”
Wenren Li nodded.
As they passed the old eccentric, he finally introduced him.
“He is Black Feather Demon Lord.”
Hearing this, the old man instantly straightened.
“Black Feather greets the Demon Lord. Greetings, Demon Consort.”
Though Black Feather did not bow, his posture and tone were extremely respectful.
Both were Demon Lords of the Southern Territory—but Wenren Li was clearly on an entirely different level.
Otherwise a Soul Transformation realm cultivator like Black Feather would never show such humility.
Wenren Li glanced at him once.
Black Feather immediately stopped following.
Wenren Li then led Chen Yixin back toward their residence in the city center.
As they walked, Chen Yixin quietly pondered.
So far, his understanding of Wenren Li—and the Southern Territory—remained incomplete.
Even the ten great orthodox sects probably lacked a full understanding.
When they arrived at the residence gate, four figures were already waiting—arguing loudly.
“Hong Ni greets the Demon Lord! Greetings, Demon Consort.”
A beautiful woman in red stepped forward first, throwing Chen Yixin a flirtatious glance as she saluted.
“Zitan.”
“Brown Ghost.”
“Qing Ning.”
“All greet the Demon Lord and the Demon Consort.”
Wenren Li merely gave a slight nod before walking straight inside with Chen Yixin.
He clearly had no interest in small talk.
The four Demon Lords—three men and one woman—secretly sighed in relief.
Truthfully, they didn’t want Wenren Li chatting with them either.
Their argument soon resumed as they returned to their own residences.
Only then did Chaos Demon City’s streets gradually regain their former liveliness.
Inside the warm hall of the residence, Chen Yixin and Wenren Li sat silently for a long time.
Chen Yixin stared at Wenren Li.
Left.
Right.
As if studying something.
Wenren Li obediently let himself be examined.
For some reason… he even began to look slightly shy.
Finally, Chen Yixin asked,
“Why are they afraid of you?”
He believed he shouldn’t—nor did he want to—harbor unnecessary suspicion toward Wenren Li.
So he asked directly.
Whether to answer or not was Wenren Li’s choice.
Wenren Li hesitated before replying softly,
“Perhaps… because I’ve lived a long time.”
“How long?”
Chen Yixin had considered many possibilities—but not this one.
In his estimation, Wenren Li was perhaps three thousand years old.
Could he really be older?
“Thirty thousand years.”
Wenren Li caught Chen Yixin’s hand again.
This time his worry was undisguised.
“A-Rong… do you think I’m too old?”
He was thirty thousand years old.
Chen Yixin was one hundred and thirty-one.
Not even a fraction of his lifespan.
Chen Yixin’s eyes widened slightly in shock.
But the expression that appeared next was not disgust.
It was fascination.
He lifted a hand, touching Wenren Li’s hair, then his cheek.
Then he slipped his hand inside Wenren Li’s robes and felt around his chest a few times.
“Thirty thousand years…”
He murmured with great interest.
“A genuine antique.”
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