The Demon Venerable Is Delicate and Charming (GL) Chapter 50

Cold sweat dripped along Li Lingjiang’s face and was quickly absorbed cleanly by the ground. She startled awake, yanked out of the dream. For a while, she could not recover at all. Her unfocused eyes stared into empty space. Tears slid down without her noticing. The corners of her eyes were forced red, while her lips were frighteningly pale.
She moved her numb body almost imperceptibly and could still feel the faint pain of those wounds. Remembering the twisted arm of herself in the dream, Li Lingjiang felt a heart-piercing pain climb up her back. She instantly could not smooth out her breathing. With the slight friction of her clothes, the Jade-Bone Fan fell to the ground with a snap.
Li Lingjiang stiffened at once. Her hands rested on her legs, and she could not move at all. The wind on No-Return Mountain blew with a rustle, slipping into every gap and drilling into her broken body. She forced her eyes shut and made a sound from her throat close to a hoarse breath. Icy tears slid from the corners of her eyes.
All her movements were small. She only wanted to endure through the night alone. But Yin Wu had already woken when she fell into the dream. Even with such obvious watching, Li Lingjiang had not noticed.
“My Lord.”
Li Lingjiang suddenly felt a familiar presence embrace her. It was no longer as scorching as before. She lowered her head and breathed in small mouthfuls. She raised a hand and placed it on the arm Yin Wu had wrapped around her waist. “I… am fine.”
Yin Wu gently rubbed against her shoulder. “Mm. I know.”
“What time is it?” Li Lingjiang’s voice was still trembling a little. She opened her eyes and lowered them to Yin Wu’s fingers, thinking of the red thread that had once wrapped around them. She realized she had always forgotten something.
The red thread was that person’s magic artifact. Back then, with only one thread, that person had looked down on all living beings. Even though she had long vanished without a trace, the magic artifact she left behind was still extremely precious. But Li Lingjiang could not use it. Many people had no way to control it. That was why, when Qingyun later asked her for it, he did not dare mention his true purpose. Even the excuse of using it to bind marriage fate had sounded reasonable.
She had given it to Yin Wu only to try. She had not expected Yin Wu to control it so well, or that there would faintly be signs of fusion. She could feel the young immortal’s potential being continuously awakened.
Yin Wu.
If Yin Wu truly could inherit that person’s place, that would be a good thing. People with very high talent should have walked earlier and farther, standing higher.
If she thought deeper, Yin Wu also should not be bound to…
“My Lord, dawn is coming.” Yin Wu held Li Lingjiang’s hand in return. The cold, wet touch made her pause slightly. Narrowing her eyes, she saw thin traces of blood seeping out. Her eyes darkened. Fortunately, it was not serious. Instead, she grew curious about what Li Lingjiang had dreamed to be so afraid.
Li Lingjiang’s thoughts were interrupted. She was not annoyed. Instead, she laughed at herself for no clear reason and left Yin Wu’s embrace. She did not look directly at her, only turning one ear aside. Her voice was soft, and no emotion could be heard in it. “Yin Wu, is the red thread easy to use?”
Yin Wu had not expected her to ask this. After freezing for a few seconds, she hurriedly answered, “It is easy to use. Is something wrong?”
Even her question back carried a little caution. She always felt Li Lingjiang’s mood was not right at this moment.
Li Lingjiang clenched her hands. Even when the sting came, she did not loosen them. The pain gradually cleared her mind, and her eyes were no longer as clouded as before. She gently shook her head. Her hair covered most of her face. “After all, it belongs to that person. I was afraid you could not suppress it. But hearing this, I am relieved.”
She raised a hand and very lightly wiped away her tears.
Dawn came early. Li Lingjiang simply pinned up her hair, leaving no loose strands along her cheeks. She looked much cleaner and sharper. Perhaps because she had cried, her eyes seemed to hold a watery light and were brighter than usual.
Her lips were much redder, perhaps from being bitten or licked. When Li Lingjiang lifted her eyes, they seemed to hold feeling. She stood and tidied her sleeves. Before the sky fully brightened, she changed her bandages. The fur collar wrapped half her face, making her seem even more fragile.
Yin Wu dressed properly. She stood some distance from Li Lingjiang and quietly watched. For some reason, she felt this person was becoming more distant, even though Li Lingjiang looked gentler at this moment.
She stepped over and obediently stayed beside Li Lingjiang without speaking. The two walked one before the other and did not touch, but the shadows beneath their feet strangely merged.
Everyone woke in scattered waves. By the time they were ready to set out, it was almost noon. The weather on No-Return Mountain was worse today. Dark clouds seemed close enough to touch, and the endless sky churned with strange, surging gloom.
At the front, Ling Xin was being pulled by Feng Luan for idle talk. He impatiently pushed him away. “Enough. What does it have to do with me if My Lord is close to her?”
Feng Luan made an “Eh” sound. “Poor thing. They have known each other for less than half a month, yet their bond is heavier than your many years of master and servant affection.”
Wuzhi also coughed lightly and said mysteriously, “This morning before dawn, I saw My Lord and her holding each other.”
“Would it be suitable for me to hold My Lord?” Ling Xin spoke helplessly from the heart. Annoyed, he pushed them away with his shoulder.
“Holding each other…” Qi San suddenly spoke. Uncertainly, he said, “But I think I saw them kiss.”
Ling Xin’s face changed in shock. He stared at Qi San in terror, his body stiff as he stepped back twice. “Do not speak nonsense. How could that be?”
Wuzhi rubbed his chin and patted Ling Xin’s shoulder with deep meaning. “Judging by this momentum, it is not impossible.”
Ling Xin once again could not breathe. His pupils widened, and he trembled too much to speak. “Although… but I do not believe it.”
“It is not up to you. Look.”
Wuzhi forced him to turn around and whistled. “See? My Lord does not reject her.”
Ling Xin half narrowed his eyes and looked over with scrutiny.
The former Demon Venerable, whom he could never surpass in his heart, was having her hand held by a young immortal who had ascended only a hundred years ago. That immortal had even pressed it to her face.
“This…” Ling Xin closed his eyes in pain. “It seems their progress was not this fast a few days ago.”
“…”
While gossip burned on their side, Li Lingjiang’s side was much calmer. The young immortal walked while staring at her suspiciously, sometimes even refusing to walk properly.
Li Lingjiang helplessly slowed her steps and looked sideways at her. “What is wrong?”
“My Lord, did you properly apply medicine?” Yin Wu had a stern face, but not a bit of pressure.
Li Lingjiang nodded. “Mm.”
Yin Wu leaned in and sniffed, clearly not believing her. “There is no medicine smell on you at all.”
She simply asked directly, “What happened to you? Why do I feel your mood is bad? Did something happen?”
Li Lingjiang’s expression was normal. She breathed out and turned her head to look at Yin Wu with a gentle gaze. “No. Do not guess wildly.”
Then she reached out and lightly touched Yin Wu. “This medicine has almost no smell. I am not a medicine jar.”
Yin Wu held her hand, measured the distance carefully, and sniffed. Then she pressed it against her own face. “So cold.”
“I will warm it for you.” Yin Wu wrapped Li Lingjiang’s hand in both of hers. A trace of pride appeared in her smile, like she was asking for praise. She kept muttering, “To recover well, the first thing is to stay warm.”
Li Lingjiang lowered her eyes. Yin Wu’s smile was faintly reflected in them. She hid her expression. Her mind was still filled with leftover fragments from the dream, pressing down until she could not breathe. Her mood was somewhat low, while beneath her eyes was only peace.
They met no sudden accidents along the way. Now and then came several ghost cries. Night fell again, and they still had not reached the next place. The road had been open the whole time. The lack of obstacles instead stirred suspicion. Li Lingjiang looked around and suddenly said, “It seems we have not seen those ghost shadows these past two days.”
Yin Wu agreed and frowned slightly. “It seems so. After we reached Beiluan Mountain, they stopped appearing, right? Could some power be blocking them?”
Li Lingjiang did not answer. She changed direction. “I am more interested in where those ghost shadows came from.”
She shook her head and stopped thinking about it. “For such a long time today, nothing has happened.”
Yin Wu thought it over and came to a serious conclusion. “Bad things usually happen at night.”
Li Lingjiang: “…”
“Mm.”
As soon as she answered, she and Yin Wu met each other’s eyes and looked forward together. The brightness seemed different. It was clearly night, but Li Lingjiang’s sight had become much sharper.
Both Li Lingjiang and Yin Wu realized something. The young immortal laughed dryly twice. “Blame my nonsense.”
But only she knew that she had said those words with careful timing. Based on her rough memory, she had finally remembered what they were about to encounter. Thinking about it carefully, she had not stepped into this place for nearly ten thousand years.
“Is it dawn?”
“Have we walked this long? But why do I not feel sleepy at all?”
“Is something wrong with your head? This is clearly two opposite skies.”
Many people lifted their heads. The sky was divided into two sides like yin and yang. One side was dark night where one could not see their fingers. The other side was night bright as day. Those folk rumors had actually appeared.
There was a rumor: Yin-yang sky, blood-washed night.
Before they could understand what was happening, a wild wind rolled toward them from the front. It carried sand and mud. The muddy wind forced them to raise their arms to block it. Their eyes were so confused they could not open them. Many people’s mouths and noses filled with sand, choking them until they could not speak and kept retching.
Li Lingjiang’s hair was blown into disorder. She hooked a strand behind her ear and opened the Jade-Bone Fan to shield her face. The young immortal stepped in front of her a little. Li Lingjiang saw these small movements clearly.
The wind lasted for quite some time. After it calmed, many people’s tears flowed uncontrollably. They wanted to wipe them away, only to find their whole bodies covered in dust. At once, they looked filthy and disheveled. They had just been about to complain when they saw the desert that had appeared before them out of nowhere. One by one, they froze speechless.
“This… is this a desert?”