Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
Advance chapters available for patrons on Patreon. And a chapter can be sponsored by buying me a ko-fi.
Today, You Xu guessed that Shen Jue was out causing trouble again, and she had nothing to do except maintain her health and pet her cat.
Whenever Shen Jue left the Huage Pavilion, demons would come to serve her; when she wandered around the palace, demons would follow her and obey her commands; and if she left the palace, a large group of demons would follow behind to protect her.
You Xu even suspected that if she returned to Yaoling Valley, she could take all the demons there with her.
The demons here were very obedient to her, and her requests were always fulfilled. So, You Xu ordered someone to summon a cat demon.
The cat demon knelt and kowtowed: “Your Majesty.”
You Xu nodded solemnly: “You may now transform back into your original form.”
The cat demon, unsuspecting, immediately transformed into cat form, licked its paws, and looked at her.
You Xu approached, reached out and stroked its fur; it was smooth and soft, and felt wonderful to the touch. She couldn’t help but marvel, “Are all demon fur this pleasant to touch?” Or was it some kind of demonic power that made her fur different from ordinary animals?
You Xu glanced at it and noticed its tail was long and thin, unlike Shen Jue’s large fox tail, so she only touched the fur on its back and forehead.
The little demon who served You Xu noticed her preference and gave the order for all the furry demons in their original forms to come to the Huage Pavilion.
So when Shen Jue returned, he saw this scene: a long queue had formed in front of the Huage Pavilion, including rat demons, sloth demons, wolf demons, and even bird demons. When they saw Shen Jue, they all knelt down and kowtowed to make way for him.
Shen Jue walked in with a dark face and saw You Xu lying lazily on the soft couch, one hand touching a squirrel demon’s large tail. The squirrel demon had a strange expression, but You Xu looked comfortable, as if she could fall asleep at any moment.
Shen Jue’s brow twitched, and he said in a deep voice, “All of you, leave.”
In an instant, all the demons disappeared, leaving only Shen Jue and You Xu.
You Xu slowly sat up straight, yawned, her eyes misting over, and looked at him with shimmering eyes: “You’re back.”
Shen Jue looked down at her, and inexplicably, the volcano about to erupt in his heart was mostly extinguished. “Why did you touch them?”
You Xu: It was just a whim, but it turned out like a zoo.
She was carefully considering her words, trying to think of an explanation, when she saw Shen Jue transform into his fox form, his large tail draped over her leg, turning his face away from her.
You Xu: So proactive today?
She didn’t hold back and reached out to touch it twice, forgetting all about explanations. Just as she was enjoying herself, she heard Shen Jue say in a low voice—
“My tail is the best.”
….
Two days later, Shen Jue summoned all the demons under his command to gather in the main hall.
On their way there, the demons were buzzing with discussion: “Of the eight great demon-slaying academies, the King has already destroyed four. Now he wants to gather everyone together to wipe out the rest?”
“I think it’s possible, and it’ll save us trouble.”
“Besides, the King’s centenary is approaching…”
“There’s this talk of a centenary celebration, hasn’t the King already taken human form?”
Amidst the murmurs, Shen Jue appeared, seated on the golden chair atop the steps. He glanced around, and the crowd fell silent.
Their gazes held fear, anticipation, and speculation.
Shen Jue said calmly, “Demons with fur, stand on the right; demons without fur, stand on the left.”
The demons were all taken aback. The koi and turtle demons were the first to react, standing on the left. Gradually, the other demons, still confused, followed his orders.
Shen Jue continued, “From this day forward, demons with fur will do the farming work, and demons without fur will serve in the palace.”
The implication was clear: If you have fur, you raise chickens and farm.
The furry demons: …What?!
Shen Jue said nothing more and left the hall amidst the astonished gazes of the demons.
He returned to the Huage Pavilion and saw You Xu talking to the pheasant demon.
The pheasant demon’s eyes were filled with tears, and his voice was filled with deep paternal love: “Your Majesty, I hatched these two little ones. They call me Mother, which makes me feel the responsibility of fatherly love. I beg Your Majesty to bestow these two green worms upon me.”
It turned out that the green egg contained twins, and a pair of green worms at that. You Xu looked at the two green worms, magnified ten times and as thick as a human wrist, coiled around the pheasant demon’s body, and they really did call the pheasant demon “Mother” repeatedly.
You Xu: …I never thought I could have a happy family. A father’s love is indeed great, making the pheasant demon restrain his instinct to eat these two worms.
You Xu: “Ah, I’ll give them to you then. You deserve the most credit.”
The pheasant demon thanked her repeatedly and withdrew.
You Xu felt a pang of regret. If Shen Jue had hatched them, the two little green caterpillars following him, sweetly calling him “Mother,” the scene would have been absolutely beautiful.
Shen Jue walked up to her, looking at her coolly.
“…” You Xu scratched the back of her head and laughed, “I wasn’t thinking anything.”
Shen Jue: “Take a nap.”
Seeing that he wasn’t going to pursue the matter, You Xu quickly lay down, preparing to fall asleep. During her midday nap, Shen Jue remained in human form, lying on his side next to her, only revealing his large tail for her to hug.
She didn’t know when it started, but he always liked to hold a strand of her black hair while sleeping, just like Duan Min before, wanting to touch her but unable to restrain himself.
After You Xu closed her eyes and fell asleep, Shen Jue still looked at her with his eyes open.
The quiet afternoon was like a carving knife, etching her beautiful face into his heart, stroke by stroke.
He didn’t know why he always needed to hold a strand of her black hair to feel at ease. He only knew that on countless afternoons, he couldn’t help but breathe softly, greedily savoring her sleeping face, her scent, her body temperature.
But when exactly did these countless afternoons begin?
….
You Xu wondered if Shen Jue was afraid she would harm furry demons, so he had significantly reduced his outings. He always accompanied her to the Huage Pavilion or strolled with her in the palace, always tempting her with his fluffy white tail.
She always succumbed to temptation.
Besides petting her fur, You Xu would sometimes plant flowers in the open space outside the window. Strangely, she had tried planting flowers of all colors, but only the small white windflower could survive. So she had to plant only windflowers.
The noble demon king didn’t share the joys of commoners, so he didn’t participate in You Xu’s mundane activities. He simply leaned lazily against the window, his fox eyes slightly raised as he looked at her.
What You Xu found even more astonishing was that even though Shen Jue wasn’t going out to cause trouble, a large number of demon hunters and demons were constantly coming to his door looking for trouble, even more than before, as if they were testing him.
If You Xu didn’t see Shen Jue when she turned around, he must have gone to clear out those causing trouble outside, and he would return in the blink of an eye. Over time, she became less worried.
You Xu’s only concern was whether Shen Jue would be injured. When she saved him at Medicine Spirit Valley, she noticed his recovery was very slow. Even with the Valley’s miraculous elixirs, his recovery was much slower than that of ordinary people. At the time, she thought his injury was probably too severe.
However, two months ago, You Xu discovered a large gash on his palm and applied medicine that night, but the wound still hadn’t fully healed.
She then realized that fate was incredibly fair. It had given Shen Jue immense demonic power, but also the most fragile and incurable body; it had given the Heart-Eating Fox clan the ability to heal the dead and restore flesh to bones but also burdened them with endless risks throughout their lives.
After Shen Jue returned from battles, You Xu would always secretly observe him to see if he was injured. Fortunately, she hadn’t yet seen anyone capable of harming him.
But for some reason, You Xu always had an inexplicable unease, which reached its peak when Shen Jue offered to send her back to Medicine Spirit Valley.
“Don’t you miss your brother?” Shen Jue asked, adding three more spoonfuls of honey to the bowl of sesame dumplings.
He loved sweets like Duan Min, the kind that were cloyingly sweet, but You Xu wasn’t in good health and rarely cooked. Today, however, she was feeling better and had made several bowls of dumplings.
You Xu didn’t rush to answer that question, but instead asked something else: “Why did you send away the demons inside and outside the palace?” She had noticed that there were fewer and fewer demons here but hadn’t had a chance to ask.
Shen Jue lowered his eyes, stirring the glutinous rice balls in his bowl with a porcelain spoon, his tone indifferent: “I don’t need them.”
You Xu didn’t ask anything more, answering his previous question: “I do miss my brother, but I don’t want to go back yet.”
“Why?”
“You’re not in Medicine Spirit Valley.”
Shen Jue paused in his stirring, looking up at her.
You Xu said slowly: “So you’re going to send me away?”
“I…” Shen Jue paused before saying, “I’ll bring you back in ten days.”
“No, there’s still a little over a month until my brother’s birthday. Why don’t I go back in a month and give him a surprise? Don’t even think about sending me away.” You Xu pulled the blanket over her head, shrinking into a corner, facing the wall, looking as if she refused to discuss it any further.
Shen Jue gripped the porcelain spoon tightly, lowered his eyelashes, and slowly finished the glutinous rice balls in his bowl, savoring the last bit of sweetness, only to feel a bitter taste rise in his throat.
You Xu listened to the clinking of spoons and bowls, trying her best to remain indifferent. When she heard him sigh softly, her heart softened, and she couldn’t resist any longer. She had just turned over to lie flat when Shen Jue acupunctured her.
For a moment, she was unable to move or speak.
You Xu opened her eyes wide and saw Shen Jue lean down and place a kiss on her brow, a light touch, yet filled with unspeakable tenderness.
Shen Jue lowered his eyelids, stroking her hair repeatedly, from the top to the ends, and softly said, “I’m sorry.”
Then, You Xu was put to sleep by the acupuncture point and lost all consciousness.
….
When You Xu regained some consciousness, she immediately opened her eyes. What greeted her was no longer the luxurious decorations of the Huage Pavilion, but the familiar furnishings of her boudoir in the Medicine Spirit Valley, the air filled with the faint scent of herbs.
“Cui Zhi!”
Seeing Cui Zhi’s index and middle fingers together, preparing to acupuncture You Xu, You Xu immediately scolded her.
Cui Zhi’s hand trembled slightly, and under You Xu’s cold gaze, she dared not move again. “Miss, don’t be angry. It was the Heart-Eating Fox who said that when you regain consciousness in five days, you should have your sleep acupoint activated again.”
You Xu was stunned. That meant five days had already passed?!
She immediately asked, “Where is Shen Jue?”
“Miss, don’t worry. What if you get sick from worrying?” Cui Zhi said. “The Heart-Eating Fox sent you back to Medicine Spirit Valley five days ago, gave me some instructions, and then left.”
You Xu: “Did he explain what he was going to do?”
Cui Zhi: “No.”
The timeline was only a reference and won’t provide much detail. You Xu vaguely understood why Shen Jue set up the altar for ten thousand people and then killed someone.
You Xu glanced at Cui Zhi: “You go out first.”
Cui Zhi was a little worried: “Then Miss, please rest well. I’ll stay outside and you can call me if anything happens.”
Cui Zhi left, and You Xu immediately called out to 78: “Quick, teleport me to Shen Jue.”
78: “Spatial transfer, deduct 500 points.”
The next moment, the space around You Xu distorted, and the familiar motion sickness hit her. When she opened her eyes again, she was already where Shen Jue was.
However, the scene before her shocked her.
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