Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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In short, Tian Wu’s ugliness was unique among the demon race.
Moreover, while other demons were ugly in their original form, at least they were normal-looking when they transformed into human form. Even if they were not handsome but at least they looked like normal people. Only Tian Wu was different. His original form was ugly, and his human form could only be described as deformed.
Perhaps due to its mixed bloodline, when Tian Wu took human form, although it only had one head, it had four faces: one gloomy and twisted face in front, behind, left, and right.
However, in ancient times, humans had a low status, and the great demons rarely transformed into human form, so everyone had a deeper memory of Tian Wu’s original form.
However, Ji Xian had seen Tian Wu in human form before, so even though she was not familiar with Tian Wu and there were thousands of years in between, and Tian Wu had disguised himself, Ji Xian still recognized him.
“Regardless of his purpose, now that we know he might be a geomancer from the Qian School, we should be extra cautious of him,” Jiang Lan concluded.
There’s no such thing as being able to guard against thieves for a thousand days without doing so. Right now, they were in the open, while the Qian faction was in the shadows. All they could do was be extra vigilant and react to whatever came their way.
Ying Qiao shared the same idea, so the two temporarily put aside the matter of Tian Wu and took the little ones out for dinner.
At the same time–
Inside a high-end villa in Jiangcheng.
A man with red hair and dressed in red stood with his hands behind his back. His much taller body cast a long, distorted shadow on the ground: “Yuan Yin has been found?”
“Found him.” Another person hidden in the shadows reached into their sleeve and pulled out a dwarf puppet about the length of a forearm: “There is still one soul left. Should we wake him up and question him?”
The man in red nodded silently, then pointed a finger at the puppet’s brow. A few seconds later, the dwarf puppet opened its eyes, a glint of light flashing in its lifeless, dull eyes. It then struggled to jump to the ground and bowed to the man in red: “Your Excellency.”
The man in red clearly held considerable weight in their eyes.
The dwarf puppet, Yuan Yin, bowed apologetically before explaining in a somber tone, “Fu You ignored warnings and acted rashly. Taotie discovered the deception and followed the trail to the Oakwood Inn, destroying the inn’s small space as well. I sensed something was wrong and went back to investigate, but my good disciple noticed.” Yuan Yin gritted his teeth as he spoke, “He even conspired with Bi’an to ambush me. I had no choice but to cut off my tail to survive, sealing a part of my soul within the puppet which escaped when he was off guard.”
He tried to defend himself and exonerate himself at every turn, shifting all the blame onto Bai You.
The person hidden in the shadows gave him a mocking look and said, “The mission went wrong, which must be due to your carelessness. Now only you have escaped back. Fu You and Suan Yu have both fallen into the hands of the Demon Management Bureau. But you don’t have to put all the blame on him. Fu You has followed the Venerable for many years. The Venerable must know his character better than you do.”
The speaker had his hands in his sleeves and was short and thin, but his head was unusually large. He wore a wide-brimmed straw hat that almost covered his entire face, leaving only a slightly stubbled chin visible.
His gray clothes made him almost blend into the shadows in the corner.
“Tian Wu, what do you mean by that?” Yuan Yin turned his head to look at him, his wooden body making a stiff creaking sound.
The puppet’s face revealed a human-like, sinister expression.
Tian Wu, who was called out, chuckled twice, his voice tinged with mockery: “It’s nothing.”
That’s enough.
Seeing that Yuan Yin was about to argue again, the man in red waved his hand with his back to them: “It’s pointless to argue about right and wrong now. Since Suan Yu and Fu You have already been caught up in it, the Demon Management Bureau must have noticed our plan. We can’t delay any longer.”
When the topic turned to important matters, the two men became serious and stopped their sharp exchanges and sarcastic remarks.
Yuan Yin said bitterly, “But we were unable to rescue Suan Yu.”
“Don’t worry about him,” the man in red said. “Suan Yu is not an indispensable piece. Tian Wu has already found a way to replace him. The most important thing right now is to find a way to take back the Nine Cauldrons and then lure them to the center of the formation according to the plan.”
Yuan Yin’s expression hardened: “You mean…?”
The man in red spread his sleeves, glancing sideways at the bright moon outside the window. He said coldly, “After all these years of planning, it’s time to act.” Red scales covered the half of his face that was exposed, appearing and disappearing with his changing emotions. “Xuanyuan[1] and Gaoyang[2] willingly became lackeys of the Heavenly Dao, cutting off their own path to survival. The once supreme sorcerers have fallen to be trampled underfoot by the Heavenly Dao and humanity. We have waited long enough. Let’s proceed according to plan. Once the Heavenly Road is reopened and we return to the Upper Realm, the Heavenly Dao will no longer be able to restrain us in the slightest! Human ants will only be able to grovel at the feet of the gods!”
“Yes!” Upon hearing this, the two men’s expressions brightened, their eyes filled with eagerness.
They had been patient for far too long.
Tian Wu chuckled twice and volunteered, saying, “I’ll go this time. I’m confident I can lure Taotie to the center of the formation.”
He glanced at Yuan Yin with disdain: “I’ll leave that little one to you. You can handle him, can’t you?”
Yuan Yin’s expression twisted for a moment before he gritted his teeth and said, “This time I will definitely not fail. But you, don’t underestimate Taotie. Fu You was too careless and was defeated by Taotie. Don’t follow in his footsteps and ruin everything.”
“Worry about yourself. I’ve never made a mistake when I do things.” Tian Wu chuckled, bowed slightly to the man in red, and then completely disappeared into the shadows.
Seeing this, Yuan Yin could only bow in respect and select two Class A demons to accompany him.
….
A week passed in the blink of an eye, and it was already late August, another Thursday.
Since contacting Ji Xian last week and taking her to the Demon Management Bureau to see Geng Chen, she hadn’t been back to the Demon Management Bureau. She did visit Jiu Ding once during that period, gave her phone number to a few people, and then left; she hadn’t come back since.
Jiu Ding spent his days texting his mother on his phone, but only received a reply once in ten attempts, leaving him with a perpetually worried expression.
He stopped going out to play and even stopped playing games. Every day he would just run to the Demon Management Bureau, staring at the huge bronze cauldron and sighing and sighing.
He wished he could personally drag Geng Chen out of the cauldron and give him a good talking-to.
Unfortunately, Geng Chen only knew how to drink milk, otherwise he would be looking for Ji Xian.
He was completely unaware of his adopted son’s concerns.
When Jiang Lan heard Ying Qiao talk about this at night, he was both amused and exasperated. Then he realized he wasn’t surprised at all and casually said, “No wonder you said they were father and son. Jiu Ding’s personality is really similar to Geng Chen’s.”
After listening to Ying Qiao’s stories, he had gained some understanding of Geng Chen, whom he had never met before.
He hadn’t really felt it before, but after witnessing Geng Chen’s tantrums and Jiu Ding’s various actions, he strangely discovered that the father and son often behaved in a highly similar way.
They truly were father and son.
Upon hearing this, Ying Qiao also realized what was happening. After comparing for a while, he still said, “Geng Chen is still more annoying.”
It was possible that Jiu Ding also incorporated Geng Chen’s impression of Ji Xian, so although Jiu Ding occasionally acted foolishly, he was much more likable than Geng Chen. But Ji Xian’s attitude made it very clear.
Jiang Lan had gotten used to Ying Qiao’s constant dissing of Geng Chen these days. He had gone from not knowing how to respond at first to naturally ignoring it, taking it as just their special way of getting along as uncle and nephew.
He thus changed the subject, saying, “Jiang Chi’s information has been reviewed and he can start school at the beginning of the school year. I plan to enroll him in a tutoring class so that he can catch up before school starts, such that he won’t fall behind later.”
“Have you found a tutoring center yet? Wouldn’t it be better to hire a private tutor?” Ying Qiao naturally followed up on his question.
The family now had three young children, plus Jiu Ding that half-grown child, all of whom were being cared for by the two of them. Under Jiang Lan’s subtle influence, Ying Qiao had gradually transformed from a hot-tempered, troublesome nobleman who never lifted a finger into a father burdened with the mundane affairs of daily life.
The young couple were very concerned about their children’s education.
Although Jiang Chi was a half-demon of mixed blood, and his identity was still questionable, he was raised by humans and had lived in human society for many years. His way of thinking and behavior had thus become similar to that of humans. Therefore, the two tacitly agreed to educate him according to the human process and let him gradually grow up.
Perhaps when he got older, he would be more comfortable with his half-demon identity, but for now, the two of them were going along with his wishes and letting him live and study in an environment that he could adapt to.
“I’ve found one. Xiao Xiaoyu recommended it. The tutoring center is near the neighborhood office,” Jiang Lan said. “I’ll take him there tomorrow at noon to get used to the new environment. Once he’s used to it, he can go to class by himself. I’ll pick him up after work.”
“That’s fine too. Once Chen Hua has recovered from his injuries, I can be your driver when I’m freer,” Ying Qiao said.
“That works too.” Jiang Lan, calculating his time, huddled up to him and discussed, “The house my brother bought for me is already renovated, and we can move in soon. This house is still a bit small, so how about we move there? I’ll buy a car then, and I can drive myself when you’re busy. We can stay here during the week and go to the villa on weekends.”
“Hmm.” Ying Qiao looked down at him, and the more he looked at him, the more he liked the way he was seriously muttering while making plans for the future. Such that he couldn’t help but lightly touch the corner of his mouth.
Jiang Lan glanced at him, then immediately pouted and kissed him back.
We have to get our money’s worth back.
When he kissed him back, he used too much force and left a mark on Ying Qiao’s lower lip.
Ying Qiao’s lower lip was bitten by him. So he subconsciously licked it, then leaned over and kissed him again, biting him in the same spot once more.
“!!!”
Jiang Lan pursed his lips and glared at him: “Why are you so petty?!”
Ying Qiao laughed confidently, leaning lazily against the headboard, his long legs wrapped around him like a dragon’s tail, raising an eyebrow and touching his lips: “You bit me first, so we’re even.”
Jiang Lan’s eyes darted around, then he pounced and bit his Adam’s apple, leaving a clear teeth mark before releasing him with satisfaction. Admiring the fresh mark, he said smugly, “That’s even now.”
“Hmm.” Ying Qiao responded softly, her tail wrapping even tighter around his waist: “You said we were even this time, but from now on, it’s my turn to call the shots…”
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[1] Xuanyuan, commonly known as Huangdi or the Yellow Emperor, is a central figure in Chinese mythology, revered as the progenitor of the Han Chinese race and a legendary founder of Chinese civilization.
[2] Gaoyang, also known as Zhuanxu, is a significant mythological emperor in ancient China, regarded as one of the Five Emperors (Wufang Shangdi). As a grandson of the Yellow Emperor, he is famed for controlling the northern region, fighting the water god Gonggong, and separating heaven and earth to establish order.
