Was it Sang Dai’s imagination? The moment she called his name, the heavy, oppressive atmosphere around them seemed to dissipate abruptly, and Su Xuan’s tightly pressed lips relaxed slightly.
A certain fox lazily replied, “Still remember this venerable one? Looks like you haven’t turned so stupid as to lose all your senses.”
“I’m not that muddleheaded.”
Sang Dai propped herself up, trying to sit, but though her body was weak, she still felt uncomfortable lying down in front of Su Xuan.
A faint fragrance wafted in as a shadow flashed before her eyes. A long, slender, fair hand pressed gently on her shoulder. Though the force was light, it left her unable to resist and forced her back down.
Su Xuan leaned forward, bringing his face close to hers. At such a short distance, Sang Dai could clearly see his fluttering long lashes.
She had to admit, he was somewhat good-looking.
“What are you trying to do?” Sang Dai asked coldly.
Su Xuan’s gaze was calm. After glancing at her, he withdrew his hand, straightened his body unhurriedly, and the two returned to their original positions—one standing, the other lying down.
“What do you think this venerable one wants to do?”
“I don’t want to guess your thoughts.”
[Don’t move, your body %#@&]
A vague voice echoed in Sang Dai’s mind, crackling as though through interference, making it hard to discern, yet inexplicably tinged with concern.
Her pupils contracted as she looked carefully at Su Xuan’s lips, only to find he hadn’t opened his mouth at all.
Who had spoken just now?
Sang Dai stared fixedly at Su Xuan’s mouth. Even someone as thick-skinned as Su Xuan couldn’t help but have a faint blush creep to his ears. He stepped back with a frown and said, “What are you looking at? Is this how Sword Sect teaches young ladies to stare at unfamiliar men?”
Still the same sharp-tongued fox.
Sang Dai assumed she had been dreaming after sleeping for so long. How could Su Xuan possibly speak to her in such a tone?
She retracted her gaze from him. As silence returned to the surroundings, her thoughts sank deeper, and those two phrases seemed to echo once more in her ears.
“Can’t save her.”
“Leave her be.”
Sword Sect had abandoned her.
Sang Dai closed her eyes. Falling into Su Xuan’s hands was no different from dying. Although her injuries seemed to have been healed by him, the two of them had fought for years, always eager to kill each other. Every encounter ended in a battle that shook heaven and earth.
Su Xuan had once said Sang Dai could only die by his hand. He probably saved her just to kill her himself or to extract secrets about Sword Sect from her before finishing her off.
Before Su Xuan entered seclusion, he had already reached the peak of the Nascent Soul Stage. Now, over a decade later, his cultivation level must have advanced greatly. Judging by the surrounding aura, he had likely stepped into the Grand Ascension Stage. Meanwhile, she was merely a Nascent Soul cultivator—barely so, with her half-shattered golden core.
Sang Dai remained silent, and Su Xuan didn’t rush her. Instead, he calmly seated himself by the table, poured himself a glass of water, and took a sip.
Yet his half-lowered eyes stayed fixed on Sang Dai lying on the bed, never straying even slightly.
Finally, Sang Dai sighed and said, “Su Xuan, if you want to kill me, then kill me. Don’t expect to get any information from me.”
Sword Sect had used her and then betrayed her. Yet the secrets of Sword Sect concerned the safety of the cultivation world, and she couldn’t disregard the lives of innocent people.
Su Xuan was momentarily stunned, then suddenly understood what she meant.
His expression instantly darkened, and the teacup in his hand shattered under his grip. Tea trickled down his well-defined fingers, sliding past his fair wrist.
Lowering his head to look at Sang Dai, he ground his molars and said coldly, “This venerable one keeps you alive for a purpose. When did you get the right to pick and choose?”
Sang Dai opened her eyes, intending to provoke him and make him kill her outright.
Suddenly, a voice rang out: [Kill you? If I kill you, I’ll have to be a widower!]
Sang Dai: “…?”
She blinked. Having closed her eyes for so long, her sockets felt a bit sore. Reflexively, she raised her hand to rub them, accidentally causing tears to spill over. The corners of her eyes reddened, making her look exactly like someone who had been crying.
Before Sang Dai realized how improper she looked, she propped herself up halfway and, with confusion, asked Su Xuan, “What did you say?”
In Su Xuan’s eyes, this sight was utterly disarming.
The sword cultivator appeared pale, her dark hair cascading behind her back. She was dressed in the clothes he had bought for her and covered with his brocade quilt. Her eyes were tinged red, crystalline tears trembling on her lashes, on the verge of falling.
Over the years, Sang Dai had always been like a little monster. Even when beaten half to death during sect trials, she never shed a tear. Su Xuan had never seen her like this before.
His Adam’s apple bobbed slightly. His throat felt dry, and his heart pounded uncontrollably.
Sang Dai asked again, “What did you just say?”
Finally snapping out of it, Su Xuan turned his head away awkwardly and replied hoarsely, “Nothing.”
[I really like Dai Dai. Even when she cries, she looks so beautiful. I want to kiss her senseless!]
Sang Dai: “…?”
Was she hallucinating, or was there someone else here?
She blinked and glanced around, but the grand palace hall was empty save for her and Su Xuan.
Currently unable to use her spiritual power, Sang Dai couldn’t sense spiritual fluctuations. However, Su Xuan shouldn’t have been mistaken—his cultivation was so high that if anyone had entered the palace, he would have torn them apart by now.
Puzzled, she looked back at him. Just as their gazes met, that voice echoed again in her ears.
[What is Dai Dai looking at? Could it be that she finds the Demon Hall not luxurious enough? Damn it, if I’d known, I would’ve asked Liu Lixue to make it bigger back then, with more rooms for Dai Dai’s pretty dresses.]
Sang Dai: “…”
If she remembered correctly, Liu Lixue was Su Xuan’s lackey—a medical cultivator, or rather, an all-around medical cultivator who not only treated injuries but also crafted weapons and built houses.
Then… this voice…
Sang Dai hesitantly asked, “Have you heard someone else talking?”
Su Xuan replied indifferently, “How could there be anyone else in this venerable one’s Demon Hall?”
Sang Dai tried to sit up.
Su Xuan spoke to stop her: “This venerable one advises you to lie down properly. Don’t move.”
At the same time, the same voice shouted with a completely different tone: [Dai Dai, you’re still injured! You can’t move!]
Sang Dai wanted to cover her ears.
Even though the voice in her sea of consciousness was excited, it was undeniably Su Xuan’s voice—cool and deep.
While he himself was sitting leisurely in a wide chair, holding a cup of tea. His long silver-white hair cascaded like a waterfall, making him look like an otherworldly celestial being detached from the mortal realm. His gaze, directed at her, was devoid of any emotion.
She thought she must be going crazy.
Ignoring Su Xuan’s warning, Sang Dai sat up, and as expected, the voice in her mind spoke again.
[Where’s Liu Lixue! He needs to fetch the Tianchan Flower—Dai Dai’s wound must have reopened.]
[No, I can’t rely on him. He’s too slow. This venerable one will go to the Divine Physician Valley myself.]
As the voice finished, Su Xuan set down his tea, stood up gracefully, straightened his sleeves, and looked down at Sang Dai with a cold expression. His lips parted slightly as he said, “This venerable one has some matters to attend to. You’d better stay put. Otherwise, for every day you misbehave, this venerable one will kill one immortal prisoner I’ve captured and string them up like kites.”
Sang Dai looked up at him and nodded. “Oh, then go ahead and kill them. Just make sure to let me watch when you fly them like kites.”
Su Xuan: “…”
[No, this won’t do! Liu Lixue has to check Dai Dai’s brain—she seems to have broken it!]
Flustered, he turned to leave.
Sang Dai suddenly called out, “Su Xuan.”
He turned back to look at her, his expression as detached as ever.
“Speak quickly if you have something to say.”
Sang Dai asked, “Who changed my clothes?”
Perhaps it was her overly calm tone, so similar to the way she used to taunt him during their fights, that made Su Xuan think she was overthinking things.
His expression stiffened, but after catching sight of her indifferent eyes, he seemed to give up and said bluntly, “This venerable one did. What? Does the Sword Sect’s noble lady feel disgusted at being touched by a demon? Do you want to kill this venerable one for it? Then go ahead and take up your sword—I’ll be waiting for you.”
Yet in her sea of consciousness, she heard a completely different response:
[Does Dai Dai really think that of me? Am I the type of shameless scoundrel who would take advantage of someone in need? How could you think that of me!]
Seeing him so agitated, Sang Dai nodded knowingly. “Oh, so you’re saying you didn’t change them.”
Su Xuan pursed his lips, then ultimately threw out a final remark: “Stay put.”
The Demon Hall was now empty, with only her left. Su Xuan had likely gone to the Divine Physician Valley to fetch medicine—or, more accurately, to snatch it. That demon was always so overbearing and lacked any manners.
Sang Dai didn’t know how to make sense of everything happening.
What she had just heard seemed like… inner thoughts?
Su Xuan’s inner thoughts?
That was utterly absurd. In the cultivation world, it was possible to transmit voices using spiritual power, but how could Su Xuan possibly send her such strange messages?
The familiar voice and its words were completely at odds with his cold, detached exterior.
Su Xuan looked like he wanted to kill her on the spot, yet the words she heard were so… bizarre.
But if it wasn’t voice transmission, how could she explain what she had heard? Could it really just be hallucinations?
Having just woken up, her head now felt like it was going to explode. With Su Xuan gone, she had no way to confirm her suspicions further and could only wait for him to return to test things again.
Sang Dai lay down for a while longer, her mind groggy, and it seemed as though she drifted off to sleep again.
She had no idea how much time had passed when she woke up once more. Her head was spinning, and her body felt a bit feverish.
The room was still empty, with only her inside. She sat up and finally had a chance to take in the spacious Demon Hall.
This was likely where Su Xuan lived. The incense burner in the hall still carried a faint fragrance, the unique scent of Su Xuan—cold and woody.
Su Xuan lived lavishly and never deprived himself. Every item in the Demon Hall could probably buy things Sang Dai couldn’t afford. Though she was the eldest daughter of Sword Sect, all her spiritual stones had been fed to her sword.
Her sword.
Lowering her eyes, Sang Dai turned over her slender hand to look at her left wrist, which was wrapped in thick bandages.
The wound no longer hurt. Su Xuan must have used an unimaginable number of Tianchan Flowers on her. She had been hanging by a thread, and it seemed Su Xuan had used at least a dozen of them, possibly along with other rare items.
But the broken meridians and her half-shattered golden core weren’t something the Tianchan Flowers could mend.
Her life-bound sword had also been destroyed. Sang Dai could no longer sense it.
A sword cultivator losing their life-bound sword was devastating. The consequences of a shattered life-bound sword were unbearable. Her mental state had plummeted, and her cultivation level, once at the peak of the Nascent Soul Stage, had now fallen to about mid-stage.
Sang Dai smiled bitterly. Even if her realm was still intact in name, a half-shattered golden core and no spiritual power rendered it meaningless.
She got out of bed. By the bedside was a pair of new shoes, clearly designed for a woman.
Sang Dai tried them on; the size was just right.
She began to move slowly. Having been bedridden for so long, her legs were stiff, and as soon as she moved, she nearly collapsed. She flailed her arms and managed to grab the bedpost for support.
The door to the Demon Hall opened, and someone entered carrying a tray of food.
The visitor was dressed in the attire of a demon clan maid. On the tray were several dishes, still steaming hot as if they had just come from the pot.
Seeing Sang Dai standing, the maid’s expression changed. She quickly put down the tray and rushed over, supporting Sang Dai and pressing her gently but firmly back onto the bed.
“Madam, the Lord has forbidden you from getting up!” The maid knelt by the bed, carefully tucking the blanket around Sang Dai. “If anything happens to you, everyone in the Demon Hall will be punished. We might not even keep our lives.”
The corner of Sang Dai’s eye twitched as she shook off the maid’s hands. “What did you just call me?”
“Madam,” the maid replied, blinking in confusion. “You’re staying in the Lord’s main hall. Only the Lord and his wife are allowed to live here.”
As she spoke, she pointed to the bandages on Sang Dai’s wrist. “Madam, that’s the Lord’s Binding Ribbon. Every demon king weaves it personally with their heart’s blood and cultivation during the union ceremony and gives it to their wife. The Binding Ribbon is a heaven-tier defensive weapon and also nourishes the meridians. After the demon queen acknowledges it with her blood, it becomes one of her life-bound weapons.”
Sang Dai looked down at the bandage on her wrist. It was entirely silver-white, interwoven with blue patterns. Upon closer inspection, the patterns appeared embroidered.
Before her eyes, the bandage seemed to shrink with a life of its own, transforming into… a bracelet, hanging neatly around her wrist.
It looked like a piece of jewelry.
Nourishes the meridians.
Calming herself, Sang Dai could indeed feel a warm and unfamiliar spiritual energy flowing through the Binding Ribbon into her meridians, soothing all pain along the way.
Sang Dai: “…”
She had assumed it was just Su Xuan flaunting his wealth, indulging in a life of extravagance where even bandages were made of premium silk.
Sang Dai numbly asked, “Why did he give me this?”
The maid knelt down and bowed her head, replying with respectful enthusiasm, “Because of love, Madam!”
Sang Dai: “…?”
Su Xuan, who had just entered the room: “…”