by <unknown>
He covered the gel on his swollen left eye carefully while he grimaced and screamed in pain.
Her heart pounding, Jin Xinyue could not help but have other thoughts.
Would her father hand over the future of the Blood Demon Sector, the Heaven's Origin Sector, and the Flying Star Sector to her master if her father saw her master's 'respectable' appearance right now?
It was not until the coldness of the gel found its way into his left eye that Li Yao put the gel down and looked at Jin Xinyue with his remaining right eye.
Jin Xinyue tried her best to stop her eyelids from twitching.
It was supposed to be a serious discussion about the future of the three Sectors, but why was the vibe so weird when her master's pig-like face was present?
It was so funny that she almost laughed out loud.
Putting on a solemn expression despite his pig-like face, Li Yao said carefully, "In fact, I already guessed what you father might say to you. I've been in a dilemma since your father said that he was going to surrender to me. Today, I have been hesitating for an entire day.
"Honestly speaking, when I learned your father's whole plan, my first reaction was not surprise but fury. I was angry that I had become your father's chess piece.
"My second reaction was embarrassment. I was embarrassed that I walked onto your father's chess board without even knowing.
"When my fury and embarrassment slowly dispersed, the third negative emotion, which was more intense, slowly surfaced. It was worry."
Li Yao observed his deformed face in the mirror, but his right eye was as clear as the past, if not more so. "Your father is indeed too awesome. I couldn't help but have other thoughts.
"I was thinking a lot of things. Was your father plan as simple as that? Did he really hope for the integration of the two races? Was everything part of a larger scheme? Is it possible that the Star Glory Federation would be swallowed by the demon race in the end?
"The more I thought about it, the crazier I became. All kinds of dark thoughts were occurring to me. In my insanity, I even considered the possibility that your father was actually a spy of the Imperium of True Human Beings and everything he did was a scheme to pave the way for the invasion of the Imperium of True Human Beings!
"A voice in my head told me again and again that I absolutely shouldn't agree to Jin Tuyi's plan. If I did, it meant that I had lost the game, and I would become his chess piece!
"Another voice was saying that Jin Tuyi was a player that was too formidable for me to defeat. He certainly had incessant, subsequent schemes. Once I helped him accomplish the peace negotiation and the conditional surrender, I would certain regret it someday in the future!
"I must suffocate him in time. I must suffocate him no matter what the price was!
"The voices were echoing nonstop in my head. They were biting my soul like vipers. In the end, I was almost completely devoured by the darkness and embarked on a vastly different path!"
While Li Yao was talking, his soul glimpsed at the deepest part of his brain.
Inside his brain, below the tree of Ou Yezi's memory pieces, the mental devil, who had wounds all over its body and looked more like a pig that he did, cried pitifully. "It was just a joke. Why so serious?"
"Get lost!" Li Yao spat.
Jin Xinyue listened attentively. Although she did not know the existence of the mental devil, it was not difficult for her to tell that her master had just gone through a nervous crisis.
It was not unusual for high-level Cultivators due to their super high computational ability. To put it more frankly, they were often overthinking until they reached a point where they could not turn back.
If the nervous crisis was not resolved in time, it was very possible to lead to the mental derangement.
However, it appeared that the nervous crisis had already been cracked by her master.
With an ugly smile, Li Yao said, "When I was having a lot of evil thoughts and I was ninety percent consumed by the darkness, I suddenly recalled a certain someone."
Jin Xinyue could not help but ask, "Who was it?"
"Ba Yanzhi," Li Yao said, "the predecessor who created the demon race, and the first real Cultivator forty thousand years ago!
"Your father was not wrong. He is a politician, and you will be one, too, in the future. You are the same type of people, good at playing chess games with the magnificent sea of stars as the board and the billions of creatures as the chess pieces.
"But I am not.
"I cannot play such a splendid chess game. I am not willing to play it, either.
"On many occasions, I prefer to consider myself as an ordinary person and reflect on the issues at hand from the perspective of the billions of ordinary people.
"After all, they are all living souls instead of chess pieces!
"Therefore, I simply jumped out of the mess and pondered what 'Chaos' Ba Yanzhi would do if he were in my shoes.
"Forty thousand years ago, Ba Yanzhi chose to transform ordinary people into demons with the Divine Water of Kunlun for nothing else except that he wanted the ordinary people to live better, more stable, and more peace lives in the world plagued by war.
"I remember that, in Ba Yanzhi's memory pieces, there was an ordinary person whose name was Zhang Niuer. The only reason he was willing to turn into a demon was so that his wife and his children would be fed and would be able to build a tiny home in a new world that was away from war.
"Today, aren't all demons in the Blood Demon Sector the descendants of Ba Yanzhi and Zhang Niuer?
"Forty thousand years ago, they turned from human beings into demons for such a simple wish. Forty thousand years later, do their offspring not have the right to realize the wish by transforming into human beings again?
"I have thought everything through. I may eventually lose the game with your father, but so what? My belief when I chose to become a Cultivator was to protect the ordinary people. As long as I am walking down the path, what will an insignificant victory or failure matter?
"Therefore, before you arrived, I beat back the amalgamation of the negative emotions and made my choice!
"I believe that Ba Yanzhi, Zhang Niuer, and the billions of ordinary people who chose to become demons forty thousand years ago will second my choice if they are still watching us from heaven."
Jin Xinyue was both surprised and excited. She exclaimed, "Master, are you saying that—"
Looking at his third disciple, Li Yao said carefully, "One last question. Do you feel that you are a demon or a Cultivator?"
Biting her lips, Jin Xinyue pondered for a moment before she solemnly replied, "Although I have transformed into the appearance of human beings now, the marks that have been etched into my heart will never fade away. I am a demon, and I always will be.
"However—"
She smiled, with brilliance beaming out of her eyes. "Which law states that demons cannot become Cultivators or protect ordinary people?"
Li Yao smiled, too. He smashed his round, puffy fists hard and declared, "Alright. I will do my best to support the Red Tide Plan and help you become the Speaker of Parliament in the Star Glory Federation in a hundred years!"
Chapter 1049: Adventure of the Cat-Eared Girl |
Three months later, in Gloomy Bone City, a town at the border of the Nether Spring Kingdom and the Gold Crow Kingdom…
Illuminated by the pale moonlight, the entire city was enveloped in a hazy mist of blood. Screams and cries were echoing everywhere, and cold wind was blowing, accompanied by the occasional explosions and the noises of the collapsing houses and caves.
Lei Lan used all the strength of the tiger demon inside her blood and dashed here and there in the debris. In her haste, even her white nurse hat fell to the ground, revealing two sharp-tipped cat ears that were shivering in the cold wind.
Pu!
She was tripped over by a dry branch and fell to the ground before rolling into a half-collapsed cave. She got bruises all over her body because of
the sharp remnants in the cave, but she covered her mouth hard and did not dare moan in pain even though tears were rushing out of her eyes.
Looking outside through the gaps of the cave, she noticed that the three bloody moons in the sky were as blurred as the past.
However, Lei Lan felt that the whole world that she was familiar with had been swallowed by violent turbulence and crushed into pieces, never to be recovered again, ever since she picked the mysterious blood-eyed young man on the mountain more than half a year ago!
The cat-eared Lei Lan had been an ordinary chaotic-blood demon in a barren mountain village named Dry Leaf Village deep inside the Hundred Desolation Mountain. She had lived together with her elder brother, Lei Qi, and her younger brother, Lei Chuang. Her life had been simple and peaceful.
She had once spent an entire day climbing the highest mountain to the east of the village and looked at the horizon from the peak. But all that she could see was more mountains, each higher than the last.
She had thought that she would grow old and die in the Hundred Desolation Mountain as her ancestors did, and she had never imagined what the world outside of the mountains would be like.
However, more than half a year ago, after a great forest fire, a mysterious blood-eyed young man had barged into her small world.
At that time, Lei Qi, her elder brother, had been spellbound and joined the organization of rebellions known as the Blade of Chaos. He had even taken part in the Riot of Bloody Blade.
To avoid suspicion and to make it easier for her younger brother, Lei Chuang, to join the coalition army of demons, she came up with the idea to act as if the blood-eyed young man who had lost his memories was her elder brother, Lei Qi.
But everything that happened later was far beyond Lei Lan's imagination.
Jin Xinyue, the most honorable princess of the Gold Crow Kingdom, set foot in the sterile village of chaotic-blood demons before vanishing into the Hundred Desolation Mountain together with the mysterious blood-eyed young man!
Later, quite a few batches of soldiers and many well-known big shots dropped by her small village.
Many troops were recruiting soldiers in the village, too.
However, her younger brother, who had always craved to join the army, suddenly became reluctant. He even fled into the mountain and went missing when the coalition army of demons began enlisting soldiers by force.
Before he went away, he left a letter for her sister.
According to the letter, he had met the real Lei Qi and learned a lot of things from him.
As it turned out, everything that the Pantheon of Demons said was false. The 'Legends of Ancient Demons', the 'obliteration, rebirth, immortality' theory, and all the other propaganda were out-and-out lies!
Now, he was going to look for the truth together with their big brother.
When the situation was less dire, and after they were settled, they would come and pick up Lei Lan, too.
The departure of the two males in her family, and especially the letter that her younger brother left for her, cast the innocent cat-eared girl into deep confusion. She was both worried and angry that her simple-headed young brother had been brainwashed by the fallacies.
At that time, Lei Lan did not know that greater changes were awaiting her and everybody else in the village.
After her brother ran away, the situation became tenser by the day.
It was said that a great war against the Heaven's Origin Sector was coming close, and all demons would be drafted. The males would go to the frontline as soldiers, and the females would stay in the rear and do the burdensome work in place of the males.
Upon hearing the news, many villagers fled into the mountain like her young brother Lei Chuang had done.
But Lei Lan had hesitated for a few days. She had been scared that, if she ran away, her brothers would not find her when they came back home.
As it turned out, the day she made up her mind to run away, she encountered an aggressive slave-catching team when she just got out of the village.
Lei Lan and the remaining villagers all ended up being slaves. The reason was that a lot of soldiers from their village had deserted, which was a huge disrespect for the Pantheon of Demons.
After that, Lei Lan was like a boat that lost all the momentum. She flowed along with the current in the scary river with shocking tides.
She was moved to various places. Eventually, she found herself in a household of silver-blood demons in a major city in the Gold Crow Kingdom, where she worked as a maid.
Lei Lan did not complain too much about being a maid because she was completely fascinated by the dazzling, bizarre city.
In the eyes of the cat-eared girl who had been born and raised in a mountain village, what a prosperous metropolis it was!
Seven Gold Crow Woods covered a territory of dozens of square kilometers. Like seven super skyscrapers, they constituted the main trunks of the city. The branches extended out through the twigs and vines, interweaving into a three-dimensional downtown.
In the gaps of the branches were the tireless flying demon beasts. In a traffic jam, the flying demon beasts that were resting on the branches were heavy enough to break the thickest branch. The glamorous, nest-like villas were glittering in the middle of the vines, adorned by petals and feathers in the most fabulous way. At night, the fireflies would turn the city into an ocean of light. Different feathers would reflect different colors under the light, making the city a paradise on the earth!
Her surprise when she saw the uncanny items in her master's house need not be mentioned.
There was a certain bug that would utter beautiful music when its stomach was pressed softly.
There was also a beetle that had a big belly. The shell on its back could be automatically opened. After one put cold food into it, the food would be heated by the high-temperature chemical reactions in the belly of the beetle in only ten seconds!
There was yet another round, fat bug that had almost twenty tentacles and looked like a jellyfish. Normally, it was soaked in a special solution. But as long as one stuck two of its tentacles to one's temples, one would be able to see pictures as if one were dreaming, including oceans, sky, and vivid towns where the small figures were even moving!
It was said the bug was named Phantom Wave Insect, which was specially created for television purpose.
Every night after dinner, everybody in the household would gather around the big jellyfish and attach the tentacles to their heads, watching and listening attentively. Now and then, they would also nod and comment on the latest events.
At that time, Lei Lan did not know exactly what 'television' was.
There were too many new items in the city that she did not know before. She was like a sponge that was thrown back into the water after being burnt by the sunlight for three days. She absorbed everything hungrily and did not have much time to consider the situation she was in.
Lei Lan was smart and as cute as a red apple. The lady of the house was quite fond of her. Her life in the city was not too difficult. Although her meals were mostly leftover, that was even better than her food when she was still in the village.
She worked as a maid for several months, but she never saw the husband of the family. It was said that the husband was a high official in the army who commanded several thousand soldiers. Whenever the lady of the house brought him up, she was always glowing with pride.
Lei Lan thought that she was going to stay in the household for a long time, and she was considering how she could find her brothers.
However, abrupt changes took place again.
One day, the city was in chaos. A team of ferocious soldiers broke into the house. The soldiers were not the members of the Feather Clan with wings but bull-headed demons with horns on their head.
The lady's hair was messy, and she was taken away as if she were a mad woman. The entire house was turned upside down. The usually arrogant young masters and ladies were all shrinking their wings lethargically,
unable to raise their head, like hens that were suffering a plague.
It was not until later that Lei Lan learn that the coalition army of demons had suffered a great setback in a place named Eye of Blood Demon. The reason for the setback was that some bad guys were stirring trouble. The husband of the household was one of the bad guys who was formerly known as an accomplice of Elder Nether Spring!
In the period, accomplices of Elder Nether Spring were being searched on a large scale in the city. As far as Lei Lan could recall, its scale was even larger than the search for the members of the Blade of Chaos.
As a maid, she certainly had a few friends who were maids in other households.
According to the news from them, in only half a month, many magnificent, influential noble families were uprooted, and all their belonging were confiscated, without leaving a single feather.
Lei Lan was a bit scared. She recalled the time when she was captured by the slave-catching team again.
However, the investigators were rather polite to the maids, especially the newly-arrived slaves such as Lei Lan. After keeping them in custody and checking their identity over several days, they were ready to set all the slaves free.
"You are not slaves in the first place. It was all the fault of Elder Nether Spring. Now, the truth has been revealed. You are all innocent and have been set free. Go home!" an old lady of the goat clan with a long beard told them.
But Lei Lan did not know where she should go to.
When the villagers were captured, Dry Leaf Village had been burnt to the ground by the slave-catching team. Even if she went back home, how was she going to make a living in the debris?
She was homeless now.
A lot of maids shared similar situations with her. Then, the old lady asked them whether or not they would like to work as nurses.
According to the old lady, a large-scale plague had broken out in the Nether Spring Kingdom, which would probably spread to other kingdoms and even the entire Blood Demon Sector.
The plague was quite contagious and had obvious symptoms. Those who contracted the disease would lose their mind and turn crazy.