The Demon Venerable Is Delicate and Charming (GL) Chapter 3

Li Lingjiang slowly came back to herself. Holding onto the bed, she climbed down. The sky over No-Return Mountain was very dark. She swept her eyes around casually. Yin Wu had not touched most of her things. She had only put some bundles off to the side. On the wooden table, there was still a bowl of medicine that had already gone cold.
Li Lingjiang withdrew her hand and did not touch it. She found a set of clothes and went behind the screen to change. Her movements were not slow, but her thoughts drifted far away. Lately, she had been falling deeper and deeper into dreams like that. Again and again, they were only the sea, fire, and that unclear figure.
Thinking this far, Li Lingjiang frowned slightly. She felt a strong sense of familiarity, yet she had never remembered who it was. She recalled that a senior of the demon clan had once casually mentioned that some people had the power to see the future. First they would dream over and over, and later the dream would repeat in reality. But after thinking back for a long time, she did not feel she could foresee anything. She was more inclined to think it was a forgotten memory.
She untied her inner robe. Gauze wrapped her whole body. She pressed it with her fingertips and felt no pain, but she could also feel that the wounds were not improving. Instead, they were growing worse.
Li Lingjiang’s eyelashes trembled. She draped the dirty clothes over the screen and reached for the clothes she had chosen. She took one step forward, then suddenly felt dizzy. Everything before her eyes blurred faintly. She quickly held onto the screen to steady herself.
Ever since the punishment, she had sensed that her body was in a terrible state. She simply had not expected that, after only a few days, she would be unable to hold up after walking only a few steps.
Li Lingjiang pressed her lips tight and sighed soundlessly. Her fingertips hooked the inner robe down. She slowly slipped her arms into the sleeves and lowered her head to tie the strings. Yet she could clearly feel that her head was heavy and her feet were light. Even the breath she exhaled was hot. Her fingers were not very nimble either. After trying for a long while, she still failed to tie them properly, and the garment hung loosely on her body.
All at once, she felt thirsty.
Li Lingjiang weighed it for a moment, then decided to sit down and rest first. Now even getting dressed had become a problem. Was it because she was still feverish?
She covered her lower abdomen and turned to drink water. Unexpectedly, her hand used strength without her noticing, and the screen fell with it. Li Lingjiang’s pupils shrank. She reached out to catch it, but her hand missed. The heavy object struck the floor with a muffled sound. Her reaction slowed for an instant. Outside the door, Yin Wu had already burst in anxiously, searching for her in panic.
“Demon Lord, what happened?”
Li Lingjiang bent at the waist and met her eyes. Pale-faced, she moved her gaze away. Without hurry, she gathered her collar and thought, If I were alone, I could set it back up. Slowly would be fine. That would still be better than this situation.
In more than two thousand years, she had encountered all kinds of matters, large and small. She did not feel embarrassed. On the contrary, she was afraid Yin Wu would feel embarrassed.
The young immortal’s reaction was just as she expected. First, she stood blankly for a while. Then she awkwardly scratched her hair, flushed red, and bowed to her. She could barely speak clearly.
“D-Demon Lord, I was too worried about you, so I…”
“It is all right.” Li Lingjiang picked up the clothes and straightened as if nothing had affected her. “Then I will trouble you to pour me a cup of water.”
Yin Wu nodded and efficiently poured her a cup. She followed behind her, very obedient and soft. Li Lingjiang walked step by step to the bed, breathing hard, and sat down. When she wiped her fingertips over her forehead, they came away wet. Only when she grew still did she realize how unwell she felt. Her chest was tight and stabbed with pain. Even her breathing was not smooth.
“Demon Lord, the injuries on your body…” Yin Wu handed the water over. Looking at Li Lingjiang’s thickly wrapped body, she did not dare imagine how badly she had been hurt. With an aching heart, she looked away. “Why did you have to endure that punishment?”
Li Lingjiang took a sip to moisten her lips. Holding the cup, she followed Yin Wu’s question in thought, but she did not consider it a punishment. She did not want to explain too much and only said, “Because the Demon Lord needs me alive.”
By the Demon Lord, she meant Shuang Zixing.
Demons were born fond of fighting and easy to suspect others. This made it impossible for them to pass power peacefully like the other races. Every change of ruler was sure to stir up a bloody storm. Most demons who lost badly could not survive. New rulers feared they would return, so they solved the problem at its root.
Very few demons were exiled to No-Return Mountain. Most of them had a certain level of trust with the new ruler. They would not die, but they had to suffer punishment. The punishment would not take their lives, but it would damage their foundation and cause their demonic power to decline. In the Demon Realm, the strong ruled. After that, they were no longer candidates, and the new ruler would also lower his guard. The last demon lord sent to No-Return Mountain had been from ten thousand years ago. It was said that the person even traveled through the human world and the Immortal Realm for a long time, and at the end of his life, the demon lord personally saw him off.
But that was, after all, rare.
Li Lingjiang knew that her identity and status would be a threat to anyone, but she was not surprised that Shuang Zixing had left her alive. In only two thousand years on the throne, she had climbed to a height that was hard to look up to. That left the kings who came after her with a great deal of pressure. Her original plan had been to properly train Shuang Zixing and lift him to a new height. But what happened after that made all those plans collapse.
She still could not die. Shuang Zixing needed her help. He needed her alive to soothe the demon clan and prevent unrest. Even more, he needed her to prove the strength of this new king. The new king had no achievements. His status as a twin alone could not convince everyone. So she had to live for a while longer, at least until everything settled.
Yin Wu understood. Her face showed both anger and helplessness. She sniffed and forced back her tears. “Demon Lord, put your clothes on first. I will bring you the medicine.”
After saying that, she stood. “There is definitely no time to brew it again now. Please make do with this first and press down the fever.”
Li Lingjiang did not speak. She seemed to be struggling with something. She draped the clothes over both shoulders to cover her body, and her eyes kept following that small bowl of medicine.
In truth, she did not want to drink it very much.
Yin Wu warmed it with immortal power and brought it to Li Lingjiang, switching it for the cup of water. She looked at her with expectant eyes and called softly, “Demon Lord.”
Li Lingjiang took it without hesitation. She held the bowl with one hand and stirred the spoon around the white porcelain several times, but she did not make another move. Her expression was calm, showing no clear resistance.
Yin Wu asked uncertainly, “What is wrong? Are you afraid the medicine will not work? Or are you afraid I put something in it… Demon Lord, I can drink it for you to see-”
All her words stopped. She stared blankly as Li Lingjiang drank the medicine in one swallow. Li Lingjiang finished it without changing expression. Only after a few seconds did another emotion appear. First, she frowned. Then, after a pause, she said calmly, “I hate drinking medicine.”
Yin Wu said, “Ah.” Then she added, “But if you do not drink medicine, your injuries will not heal.”
Li Lingjiang let out a tired breath and said, “I know. That is why I will finish it.”
Her fingertips rubbed together. She suddenly realized it was already very late. Her tone stayed normal. “It is too late. If I make any more noise, there is no need to mind me. Rest.”
Li Lingjiang’s words were advice, but the meaning beneath them sounded impossible to refuse. Yin Wu hesitated in place for a long while. Seeing that Li Lingjiang had already lain down, she finally gathered her courage and said softly, “I will go look for Dragonwhisker Grass in the morning.”
She paused slightly and waved her sleeve to put out the candlelight. “Perhaps I can find a demonic beast that nourishes the meridians too.”
There was no answer. Li Lingjiang had already fainted into sleep. Yin Wu was left standing silently beside her bed for the whole night.
When Li Lingjiang woke, the sky was already bright. Her fever had gone down, and the discomfort had eased a great deal. She did not know where Little Black had gone last night. Now it stood beside her bed with a slip of paper in its mouth. Seeing her wake, it bounced and stretched out its head.
She opened the note. Yin Wu had left it. The general meaning was that she had gone to look for herbs. Li Lingjiang vaguely remembered that there seemed to have been such a thing. She did not care much. She spent some time putting on her clothes properly. Just as she opened the door, she sensed something wrong.
Li Lingjiang’s gaze swept toward one place. The look in her eyes sank for an instant. Without surprise, she bent slightly at the waist. Her tone was not forceful.
“Immortal Lord Qingyun has honored me with his presence. I have failed to welcome you properly. Please forgive me.”
She lifted her eyelids indifferently, her gaze undisturbed. Her sleeves and robe hems stirred. She stood properly, her voice mild, yet as if separated by a thousand miles. Her dignity could not be crossed.