Chapter 97 - The Harem Rescue Project

Lin Qianshuang brushed off the water spots from her skirt and wiped her face. She knew that Xiao Lanle was ignoring her to avoid suspicion, but it still left a bitter taste, especially after being used as a 'human beverage' by the city lord, who had taken a few sips without asking. She took a moment to look up and down at Xu Zheng, who rushed over purposefully to check on her. It was more than likely that the city lord had sent him to ensure she was well enough to continue her mission to the demon realm. Casually, Lin Qianshuang sat cross-legged and began eating a few magic pellets, saying, "I was bitten by a mosquito and feel a bit hungry. I need to eat to regain my strength. You can wait for me outside while I change." Xu Zheng clapped his folding fan against his palm, instructing, "The gate to the demon realm will open in one cup of tea's time. Make sure to be there early." Lin Qianshuang took her time, slowly consuming and digesting the magic pellets. Suddenly, the formation in the center of the lake came alive with faint blue spiritual light, and a constellation pattern emerged from the mist, with two lines of golden script elegantly flowing and dancing in mid-air. The ancient hexagrams were crooked, resembling stuck-together insects, yet she could not recognize a single character. Taking a guess, Lin Qianshuang assumed it was likely a divination left by Mu Weiyin. However, she had left too hastily to examine the hexagram in detail. Mu Weiyin was the second-generation master of Tianshu City and an extraordinary person who could see the rules of the heavens and fate with her "Heaven's Eye," a sight seen only once in a century. The hexagrams she left behind surely hid some mystery. Grabbing a piece of spirit stone, Lin Qianshuang decided to transcribe these hexagrams, believing there might be useful information hidden within them. She planned to ask the dormant system about it later. After carving the hexagrams, she placed the spirit stone into her storage jade slip. The gilded hexagrams floated like living shadows, and after transmitting their complete message, they shattered into spiritual particles, dispersing over the lake. Lin Qianshuang was relieved that she had copied them down; the sudden appearance and disappearance of such strange characters surely held secrets of great importance. Inside Tianshu Palace, the silhouettes of maidservants flitted back and forth across the painted screens. Their brocade shoes hurried across the floor as they carried trays of clothes and accessories into the palace door, carefully navigating the intricately arranged gardens to reach the inner halls of Tianshu. Taking advantage of Mu Weiyin's changing clothes, Xiao Lanle dodged the patrolling guards and swiftly leaped across layers of eaves shrouded in clouds, quickly arriving at the inner courtyard of Tianshu. Within the Tianshu's intricate star chart, intelligence secrets transformed into a galaxy-like radiant brilliance, flowing gently. Amidst this, all the heavenly hexagrams Mu Weiyin had ever glimpsed were displayed, sparkling on the unusual ice-blue glazed floor. Xiao Lanle extracted a brocade pouch, transcribing the intelligence into it, and then, moving along the smooth glazed stone surface, she carefully examined the rows of gold glittering hexagrams she stepped on. When the plain white shoe touched the final line of hexagrams, two colorful butterflies, trailing faint golden luminescence, intertwined and fluttered out from the hexagram—an uncommon pair divination sign. This particular hexagram from Mu Weiyin seemed newly revealed, not yet recorded in the star chart apparatus. The dual names shimmering in the hexagram made Xiao Lanle's face change instantly. Upon seeing a familiar trio of characters, she almost frantically grabbed her Suwen Sword, abandoning her usual elegant demeanor, using crude force to tear the stone's hexagram apart with sword energy until the butterflies dissipated and the hexagram completely vanished. Having done all of this, the Suwen Sword disappeared from her hand. Xiao Lanle's expression gradually shifted from madness to calm, a barely perceptible smile tugging at her lips as she regained her composure. With graceful poise, she returned the brocade pouch to her waist, tapped lightly on the ground, transformed into a beam of white light, and flew over the eaves back to her original location. The grand, heavy door of the inner hall swung open instantly. Mu Weiyin, wearing a crown of purple jade dragon motifs and draped in the majestic dark purple robe of Tianshu City's ruler, adorned with pearls and jade gleaming brightly on a lengthy train, stepped out. Her first sight was of the waiting Xiao Lanle approaching, whose face seemed fraught with anxiety. A bit concerned, Mu Weiyin asked, "Lanle, you seem worried. Is there something troublesome on your mind?" Feeling somewhat guilty, Xiao Lanle replied, "I was thinking about Senior Sister Lin. We left her all alone there, and she seemed really weak. What if something happens to her?" Mu Weiyin smiled and said, "Her? There's no need to worry. Do you know about the most renowned place in the cultivation world for human trades, Yixiang Tower? Your senior sister is a ranked assassin there, also known as the famed 'Interpreter Gentleman' in the city. When you came to Tianshu City for me to stabilize your inner Buddhist Glaze, it was under the guise of her 'One Zither Interpretation' title." Senior Sister Lin, she's actually a demonic cultivator? And that... 'Interpreter Gentleman' no less. Shock filled Xiao Lanle's eyes, but thinking it over, the small piece of jade hanging from her senior sister's neck, which she never took off even in her sleep, might indeed be something that concealed her demonic aura. "Sister, sister, you've grown bigger, but you're even more beautiful now, hehe." A simple-minded woman rushed towards Mu Weiyin, burying herself in her embrace, holding Mu Weiyin's mature face with a silly smile for quite some time. As she passed Xiao Lanle, she accidentally bumped into her waist, causing the painting she held to fall out, spreading open at Lanle's feet. On the exquisite, valuable paper was a depiction of a woman sitting and playing a zither, momentarily captivating her. Despite the unclear features, the art captured the casual simplicity in movement and the graceful demeanor recognizable even from a distance—it was unmistakably painted with Senior Sister Lin in mind. Xiao Lanle, picking up the scroll, walked over to Mu Weiyin, feigning puzzlement, and asked, "Who is depicted in this painting? Was it your work?" Mu Weiyin glanced at the painting in Xiao Lanle's hand, silently took it, used it to tease Mu Xiaochi, and then placed it in her arms before rising to explain, "The demon emperor tasked this city master with finding the person in this painting. However, this person appears no different from an ordinary young woman, leading me to believe the demon emperor seeks to challenge our Tianshu City under false pretenses. This painting requires no concern." A faint curl appeared at the corner of Xiao Lanle's lips, a flash of sarcasm passing through her eyes. The familiar face of a beloved would be recognized immediately, even if they vanished into a crowd. She touched the Chinese knot charm hanging at her waist, feeling a subtle anxiety for Lin Qianshuang's safety. While she didn't fear for her personal safety on this venture into the demon realm, the domain lord's intentions toward her senior sister were worrisome. Once, by chance, Xiao Lanle came across a portrait of the demon realm's domain lord inside the Tianshu Pavilion—a woman with ink-black hair, violet eyes, and crimson attire more vibrant than fire, stunningly beautiful and once hailed as the most beautiful woman of the demon realm. Even the city lord of Tianshu couldn't help but admire her beauty, yet Xiao Lanle found her unbearably vexing. This very woman was the one she had first encountered when she arrived at the demon realm, engaged intimately with her senior sister beneath a tree. That shameless and vivid scene left an indelible impression on Xiao Lanle. Her current feelings only intensified the sensation like a thistle in her throat... This woman possessed everything Xiao Lanle both envied and detested: absolute power and supreme status. And she had likely been with her senior sister more than once. Xiao Lanle's true self had a obsessive-compulsive disorder, and her heart's demon carried a pathological obsession, whether in relationships, ambition, or pursuit. Upon merging her other self, that frightening persistence hadn't disappeared. She felt, fearfully, that she hadn't vanquished the heart's demon within but had become that very demon. Under her sleeve, Xiao Lanle's hand slowly clenched. Aside from avenging the Chen family that had sheltered her, killed by the order of her sect head father who also spoke of her unyielding vendetta, both the Tianshu city lord and the demon realm domain lord were on her list to eliminate. The Tianshu city lord slaughtered over thirty of her Xiao family and embedded the Buddhist Glaze within her, subjecting her to endless torment, now attempting to control her, making her a laughable and subservient companion. Such blood debts and humiliation would be repaid in full! With growing concern for Lin Qianshuang's safety, Xiao Lanle planned to infiltrate the carriage alongside her with the help of a dragon pearl. Feigning a received transmission, she urgently informed Mu Weiyin, "I must return to Penglai Immortal Sect. The sect head father seems to need me for something." Mu Weiyin noticed Xiao Lanle's worried expression. Her own body had only just recovered and needed a few days' rest. So she said, "Lanle, if anything comes up, use the dragon pearl to call me. This city master needs to retreat for several days." Acknowledging with a nod, Xiao Lanle soared out on her sword, vanishing into the sky, and once out of Mu Weiyin's view, she changed course and headed towards the entrance of the demon realm. After Liang Jingxuan's sword broke through the barrier separating the demon realm from the human world, provoking the demon emperor, the demon realm's seal in the human cultivation world was reinforced several times, its security heightened. The Tianshu city lord prepared a special Azure Dragon patterned carriage for them, to prevent interception by demonic cultivators midway or being drained by unaware demon cultivators. Inside the carriage, Lin Qianshuang was deep in thought. The Demon Suppression Tower was newly built and not yet robust. The demons previously sealed in the Locking Demon Tower of the Wuji Buddhist sect and in the underground palace of Penglai Immortal Sect had been released, bringing chaos to the world. Many demonic cultivators were once human cultivators who had fallen, despised by righteous cultivators, leading to frequent clashes. At this moment, relations between humans and demons were at their most strained, and yet the Tianshu city lord, Mu Weiyin, invited the demon realm's lord to the human realm ostensibly to inspect the construction of the Demon Suppression Tower, likely plotting some sinister scheme. As she was lost in thought, gazing at the passing scenery through the carriage's drawn curtain, an unexpected grape was suddenly popped into her mouth. She bit into it without thinking, only to find it sour and shockingly astringent. Lowering the curtain, Lin Qianshuang shot a glance at Xu Zheng who feigned nonchalance next to her. With quick reflexes, she snagged an underripe grape, snapped it open with a pop, and deftly shoved it between his teeth. Xu Zheng rubbed his dislocated jaw, putting some effort into setting it back. Far from being upset, he looked at Lin Qianshuang with interest and said, "Xiao Liu, I was just joking with you. You didn't have to use that much force, you know?" Lin Qianshuang rolled her eyes and peeled a grape. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Don't impose on others what you can't accept yourself; it's a matter of etiquette." Xu Zheng, with a playful smirk, pointed at Lin Qianshuang and then at himself with his folding fan, saying, "You're a demonic cultivator transformed from a spiritual beast, yet you're lecturing me, a proper human cultivator, on human etiquette? Ask yourself—are you even human? You're a demon, and you still hold yourself to such high standards. Aren't you tired? I'm tired just watching you."