Lin Muci immediately understood the source of the smugness on Ling Qianhe's lips.
Was this… schadenfreude?
A faint helplessness surfaced in her eyes, but not a trace of regret. These words were her true feelings.
She could never forgive the man before her!
Xuanyuan Yuting looked at her, deep in his eyes filled with bitterness.
His face was handsome, his starry eyes bright, unlike Helian Lanyan, Xuanyuan Yuting was more domineering and powerful. His facial features were sharper, lacking the refined elegance of a jade tree, instead resembling a blazing sun. His handsome, powerful aura seemed capable of burning one's soul.
Yet, this man who should have been radiant, now looked at Lin Muci with only helplessness and pleading in his eyes!
His voice was deep and hoarse.
"Xiao… Xiao Ci, please, don't be like this."
"I know I destroyed your magic treasures, and it was wrong of me. I promise, I will repay you."
"Now, let me pass and kill this demon. Once I kill the demon and gain merit, no one in heaven or earth will be able to stop me…"
"I want you to be my Dao companion, and we will be together for all eternity!"
The young man’s expression sharpened. Ling Qianhe’s fingertips had already begun to condense dark energy. This person was truly shameless. Did he even know what he was saying? He actually wanted to become Dao companions with Xiao Ci?
It was utterly absurd!
A delusion of a fool!
As demonic energy rapidly gathered at his fingertips, he wished he could blast the other person away the next second, creating gaping holes in him. Lin Muci spoke quickly.
"Unless you kill me!"
"Otherwise, I won't let you lay a single finger on him!"
The maiden spread her arms, like a mother hen protecting her chicks, blocking Ling Qianhe with an astonishing aura. She also raised her head to meet the other's gaze, her voice extremely serious and earnest.
"Also, leave here now!"
"What, after destroying my Mountain Sea Atlas, the merit you gained isn't enough?"
"Becoming Dao companions… Hmph, you've already slept with Zi Yanling, and the entire Celestial Realm knows it. She's extremely smug, constantly showing off to me. Since you've lost your purity, I would never want such a man, even if I died!"
At her words, Xuanyuan Yuting's face instantly flushed red. He was filled with anger, regret, and a hint of unconcealed pain. His breathing became rapid. After several seconds, he finally murmured.
"How could you know… How could you know about this?"
He looked up at the maiden.
"I and her…"
"I have no feelings for her whatsoever. I mistook her for you… Xiao Ci, listen to my explanation. What happened with Zi Yanling was an accident… If I hadn't mistaken her for you, I would never have touched her. Xiao Ci, please believe me."
He wanted to say more, but Lin Muci watched him with a cold smile, wishing he would leave immediately. She showed no intention of being polite.
"What, you don't recognize her after sleeping with her?"
"Yes, yes, yes, you, the dignified Human Emperor, were bewitched—do you think I would believe your words?"
"Back then, I treated you as my senior disciple brother, placing my full trust in you, only to be betrayed by my own maid. You slept with her. I was blind, I brought it upon myself."
"That's why my magic treasures were destroyed."
"But if you take another step closer to me, I'd rather take my own life than see your spiteful and ungrateful face again!"
She had said it to this extent…
Xuanyuan Yuting’s originally flushed face gradually turned ashen. In his palm, he held a piece of warm jade, but now, it seemed he was gripping it too tightly, and the jade slowly cracked. He looked down at it, his voice becoming humble once more.
If Helian Lanyan's humility was about letting go of his dignity,
Then his humility was about wishing to place his dignity beneath his feet.
His voice was very, very low.
The Human Emperor, who was originally strong and domineering, now lowered his proud head only before her.
"Xiao Ci… I wronged you… I am unclean…"
"I shouldn't have been bewitched by Zi Yanling and done… done that with her!"
He gritted his teeth.
"If you truly mind… I…"
Lin Muci glanced at him.
"If you what? Do you think you can cut off that troublesome source of your misfortune? Hmph, you won't dare to."
Ling Qianhe, who was shrouded in demonic energy, let out a chuckle after hearing this behind him. The demonic energy around him also weakened slightly.
"He won't dare, I can help him."
It was like adding insult to injury.
The little system shivered and exclaimed.
"Host, you're so ruthless… But Xuanyuan Yuting doesn't practice male virtue, he's not an outstanding graduate of the male virtue class, he slept with another woman."
"So he deserves this, I don't support him, hmph, this guy is arrogant and conceited. You trample on his dignity like this, and he doesn't get angry, which shows he genuinely wants to reconcile with you."
But how could Lin Muci ever look back at him?
She walked to Ling Qianhe's side and took his hand. Ling Qianhe felt her fingertips slowly caressing his palm, bringing him peace.
Where she was, she was always watching him.
He could tell she had been deeply betrayed. He always thought he was the one abandoned by the world, yet she, having been betrayed so many times, still extended her hand to him.
Didn't it hurt her?
Ling Qianhe stared blankly at her face, then heard her whisper into his ear, her voice sweet, like the purest, coldest spring water.
"I have someone I want to protect now."
Xuanyuan Yuting watched this scene.
His eyes were nearly splitting with rage.
The junior sister he loved was leaning against another man, speaking to him sweetly. Xuanyuan Yuting's face was extremely ugly.
"Xiao Ci, he is a demon. He is just using you…"
"Demons have no feelings, they act despicably and shamelessly, their methods are cruel and bloody… By his side, you will only be devoured until not even bones remain. Xiao Ci, you have been bewitched by him, do not believe this demon…"
He tried to salvage the situation, but Lin Muci let out a cold laugh.
"You want me not to believe him?"
"Then who should I believe?"
The maiden's smile bloomed like a flower. In the depths of her eyes, there was a sparkling light. She then turned her head and stared intently at Xuanyuan Yuting before her. Pointing at him, she questioned him.
"Believe you?"
"I once believed you. What did you do?"
"You destroyed my Mountain Sea Atlas. Do you know that it is a supreme treasure of the demon race, connected to my heart and soul? You destroyed countless demons within the Mountain Sea Atlas, which is tantamount to gouging out my heart countless times! It is equivalent to performing a soul blood sacrifice on me."
"For every demon you harmed, the pain I endured doubled. That day, my eyes were blood red. Although I was in seclusion, I fainted from the pain. Such pain, unlike anything I had ever experienced, was all because of you!"
"Because of you, inflicted upon me. Did you ever consider it?"
Xuanyuan Yuting trembled all over, looking at her in disbelief.
"Xiao Ci… I didn't know. Why didn't you tell me?"
He was clearly the leader of the Immortal Realm, the overwhelmingly powerful Human Emperor, but now, looking at the young girl before him, he experienced heartbreak for the first time. Even breathing brought him pain.
"Xiao Ci—if I had known…"
Lin Muci watched him with a cold smile.
"If you had known, what would you have done?"
"Get out. For all eternity, I never want to see you again!"
Xuanyuan Yuting stared at her blankly, feeling as if the sun and moon had lost their light. The pain was almost unbearable, making it difficult for him to breathe. He opened his mouth, but suddenly spat out a mouthful of heart blood.
His Dao heart had actually developed a crack.
Every word she spoke struck at his heart.
She said the Mountain Sea Atlas was connected to her soul. She said for every demon he blood-sacrificed, her heart died once. She said she fainted from the pain while in seclusion, but why didn't she tell him?
He curled his lips. The world turned dark. He simply didn't know. If he had known, how could he have been so cruel? How could he have done it?
Zi Yanling had told him that the Mountain Sea Atlas had no significant connection to Xiao Ci… The Xuanyuan clan urged him to gain merit and become the Human Emperor. And he himself felt that only by becoming the Human Emperor could he shield her from karma. He knew she was of the demon race, and only as the Human Emperor could he protect her.
He thought that by becoming the Human Emperor, he could propose to the demon race.
In the Immortal Realm, he had been in close proximity with this junior sister, and had unconsciously fallen in love with her.
He thought he could protect her.
He never imagined that the one who hurt her the most, the one who caused her such agonizing pain, was himself!
He clenched his lips, a multitude of thoughts surging through him. In the end, all he could do was helplessly spew out a large mouthful of blood. The blood splattered on the ground, a testament to his absurdity.
Was the suffering he endured even a fraction of Xiao Ci's?
His Dao heart was already riddled with cracks. He clutched his chest, overwhelming pain engulfing him. He could only stare blankly at Lin Muci, hearing her tell him to get out.
He recalled what Xiao Ci had said earlier: she didn't want to see him, she'd rather commit suicide than see him.
Yes, he had hurt her far more than he realized.
He dared not linger any longer.
"Xiao Ci… I can leave, but this demon has malicious intentions… If he devours you…"
"May I give you a protective jade token? You can drive me away, you can do whatever you want to me, but Xiao Ci, please, this protective jade token, please, for the love of everything, keep it with you. It's my plea to you…"
His voice was bone-deep humble.
He didn't even dare to beg Lin Muci to look at him again.
Lin Muci glanced at his jade token and sneered.
He turned around, his figure stooped. His very body trembled. He was clearly the top expert in the Immortal Realm, the Human Emperor, who commanded the celestial soldiers and generals. But now, before her, he was as humble as a stray dog, mere dust.
Lin Muci watched his retreating figure disappear.
Then she looked at the jade token.
She said to Ling Qianhe.
"Destroy this jade token."
Her words were spoken without hesitation, not even a sliver of doubt.
Ling Qianhe nodded—this man had hurt Xiao Ci, and he didn't want anything from him to remain with Xiao Ci.
"I am by your side, I will protect you."
Lin Muci looked at him, seeming to take a deep breath.
"I believe you."
In the memories injected into her by the little system, the memories of Si Muci, the daughter of the Demon Emperor from many years ago, enduring heart-wrenching pain in seclusion. The demons within the Mountain Sea Atlas were blood-sacrificed, and she bore all the karma. Countless resentments consumed her, all the demons blamed her, how could she trust a human.
The demons within the Mountain Sea Atlas had all willingly entered to live there.
To increase the power of this demon sacred artifact.
Because they believed their Phoenix clan could protect them.
But what was the result?
She had trusted the wrong person.
She had destroyed them. Countless resentments, pain, and hatred entangled her—she developed inner demons several times, suffering to the point of wishing for death. But if she died, the last chance to resurrect them would be gone.
During those moments of extreme pain, no one could save her.
Despite the multitude of gods and Buddhas, she had no one to make a wish to.
The demon race could not tolerate her, and there was no place for her in the Celestial Realm. Her body and soul were shattered. The person she had once trusted had dealt her a heavy blow.
She raised her head, unwilling to let tears fall, unwilling to be fragile.
But—
This girl was too pitiful.
No one knew her suffering.
She could feel that bitterness, which was why she shed tears. She stood silently in place, and as her gaze met the sympathetic eyes of the young man before her, she could no longer hold back her tears. The young man before her, with his slightly cool fingertips, wiped away her tears little by little.
"It won't hurt like that anymore."
"I will forever… protect you."
"No one will harm you."
"I will kill them and avenge you."
The young man knew no good or evil.
He was a demon.
He was born with a malevolent aura, born with fierce energy. He was devoid of emotion and love, and had no future.
But now, his cold fingertips brushed away the tears on the maiden's cheeks, and his heart ached so much he could barely breathe. He looked into her eyes and thought.
So, it wasn't just him who was so miserable.
But—he absolutely did not want her to live a bad life.
He wanted her to be cherished and adored, he wanted her to be held in the palm of someone's hand.
He wanted her… to live very, very well.
Whatever she wanted him to do, he would do. If she wanted him not to become a demon, he would not become a demon.
If she wanted him not to kill.
He could also refrain from killing.
As long as he could stay by her side forever and protect her. As for those who bullied her, if he kept it from her, he could just kill them secretly.
The young man slowly rubbed his face against hers. Tears seeped onto her lips. She looked at him blankly, her vision blurring. His voice was dry but firm. He closed his eyes, his long, slender eyelashes trembling slightly. She heard him tell her.
"The gods, buddhas, and demons do not cherish Xiao Ci."
"It doesn't matter."
"I cherish Xiao Ci."
"I, will forever love you."
The young demon, willing to offer all his affection.
The maiden's tears were his pearls, but— he never wanted to see her cry again.
His fingertips held her tightly.
As if a suffering soul had found solace, as if a lost blue bird had found its way home, as if a Kunpeng swimming towards the sky had returned to the ocean, he had found his heart's desire, he had found his dream's destination.
He was willing to forever—forever—stay by her side.
He was willing to forever protect her.