The Demon Venerable Is Delicate and Charming (GL) Chapter 54

Li Lingjiang did not rest for long. She woke after three hours. The others had no desire to sleep under the blazing sun either. Once their strength recovered, they asked to set out.
They all wanted to leave this cursed place too badly.
She saw that Yin Wu’s expression was normal. Even after moving without pause, Yin Wu was not breathing hard, so Li Lingjiang finally felt at ease.
The black dragon was wrapped around her waist like a belt. If one did not look closely, it would seem like part of her sash. The white dragon circled Yin Wu’s neck. In this weather, both dragons looked a little listless.
Yin Wu stood up right after her. “My Lord, do you know what time it is?”
Li Lingjiang glanced back and pointed lightly at the object Feng Luan was playing with. “That is a flow-time dial. It should have been used from the moment we entered. Judging by it, there are still four hours before dawn.”
“Time is passing so slowly.” Yin Wu rested her head against Li Lingjiang’s shoulder and called loudly, “Fellow Cultivator Wen, when are we setting out?”
Wen Si had already put his clothes back on. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at the blazing sun. “Now.”
Everyone had dressed properly again. Otherwise, they could easily be burned. They dragged their tired bodies forward. Each step left a footprint in the desert, but soon the sand repaired itself.
Shen Duoyi thought Qi San looked familiar, so he kept trying to make conversation, even though he might not get a reply. Ling Xin and the other two teased each other nearby, so the road was still peaceful for a while.
Aside from their voices, almost no one else spoke. Liu Ying cursed under her breath. She looked back and suddenly caught sight of Li Lingjiang. Her eyes turned. Seeing the right chance, she left the group. She hopped backward, then quickly walked toward them. “You two.”
Yin Wu had been acting obedient beside Li Lingjiang. Hearing the voice, she swept a displeased glance over.
Li Lingjiang looked at Liu Ying calmly, signaling for her to speak.
“I have never found the chance to apologize for what I did before.” Liu Ying cupped her fists and bowed her head. Her attitude could be called sincere.
Yin Wu laughed with a hum. Her dislike was written directly on her face. “Is that so? Then your timing is very poor.”
Liu Ying looked straight at her. “I am speaking to this fellow cultivator.”
“My Lord.” Yin Wu frowned. She bent close to Li Lingjiang and called her in a breathy voice, her tone full of unconcealed grievance.
Li Lingjiang only felt a warm breath beside her ear. Without showing it, she moved away a little and held back the urge to rub her ear. Her beast ears, however, twitched again and again. She did not look at Liu Ying. Her gaze shifted slightly aside. “I do not care, nor do I keep it in mind. If there is nothing else, leave.”
She rarely spoke so directly. Liu Ying’s expression stiffened, but she soon returned to normal and quickly changed her words. “What I said just now was wrong. Please do not blame me.”
“If you have something to say, speak plainly.”
Li Lingjiang casually hooked Little Black’s chin. The dragon immediately understood and swam along her arm, resting its head on her shoulder. Its pupils held a clear threat that was not hidden at all.
Being stared at made Liu Ying’s back chill. She laughed dryly. Who did not know these two had two powerful flood dragons? The dragons could change size, and their strength was not weak. Everyone had been guessing whether they might one day transform into true dragons. For a moment, Liu Ying did not know whether to feel jealous or envious.
She gathered her courage and walked a little closer. The question she raised was, “Did Tang Wusuo die normally?”
Hearing this, Li Lingjiang finally gave her a glance. Her eyes were full of indifference. “He is dead. Why divide it into normal or not?”
She looked forward again. Her voice was calm. “You should not have been close with him. He seemed just like Bai Zhi. Neither of them was liked by you.”
At the sudden mention of Bai Zhi’s name, Liu Ying clearly froze for a few seconds. It took her a long while to remember who that was. She did not avoid the topic. “Yes. A woman from the pleasure quarter and a wandering swindler. Naturally, they were treated worse.”
“Oh? Is that so.” Li Lingjiang answered without emotion. She let out a silent sigh.
One was an orphan daughter of a military family. One was a diviner chosen by heaven.
The ways of the world were truly changeable, and people’s hearts were frightening.
Yin Wu could not listen anymore. Her face darkened. “And how much better are all of you? What, now that the situation looks bad, you remember us? Why did you not think of that when you were whispering behind our backs?”
“There are four people ahead. Why cling to us?”
Liu Ying hid her expression and straightened her attitude. “If I went to them, I would most likely be the one scolded. You should understand that. And I can tell you part of what you want to know. I know you are suspicious of this matter.”
Li Lingjiang lowered her eyes. When she raised them again, there was a trace of meaning in them. “You rank yourselves, so there may be conflict later?”
She gave Liu Ying no chance to speak. “Fine. Tell me, then. What happens to those people the Immortal-Entering Sect brought in who have no foundation at all? Is this only a fight among your inner group? Or…”
Li Lingjiang suddenly moved a little closer. “Do you simply not put them in your eyes? Was everything a lie to trick them?”
“You…” A flash of bloody red passed through Li Lingjiang’s eyes. “What do you take me for? Someone you can toy with as you please?”
Liu Ying looked into her eyes. Her breathing was forced into disorder for several breaths. This explanation had been something they casually agreed on at the time. She had not expected Li Lingjiang to already know it. Liu Ying had planned to add details and circle around, giving out information bit by bit. Who would have thought it had been exposed long ago?
The shock rising in her heart pierced through her whole body. For the first time, she learned that a person could speak in such an ordinary tone and still carry such heavy pressure.
“I…” Liu Ying’s mind went blank. She stammered and could not speak.
Li Lingjiang put away that faint pressure again. She was so weak that merely making her tone heavier made her cover her mouth and cough urgently. Her lips paled a great deal, making her look even more sickly. She curved her lips. “In any case, we all have the same purpose. Whatever you want to do, as long as the result benefits me, that is enough. We are all people called here by Heaven’s Mandate in a dream. There is no need to pretend to be innocent.”
As she spoke, she watched Liu Ying’s expression from the corner of her eye. Seeing that Liu Ying was not surprised at all when she mentioned the dream, Li Lingjiang knew she had guessed correctly. Too many people clung to dreams, and even she was one of them. So many people dreaming the same content at once only made it seem more believable.
“Your purpose in coming here is only to have me protect you in passing? Bai Zhi and Tang Wusuo both had some connection to me. Which one of them ended well?” Li Lingjiang brushed sand from her sleeve, showing a wicked air she had never shown before. “One was dissolved until only bone remained. The other was smothered to death in mud. Do you want to try the next way?”
Liu Ying’s face flushed red. She was angry and powerless to argue. Back then, she had not known that among this group, the leader was a woman who looked like she might stop breathing in the next breath.
She panted heavily several times, still keeping the proper courtesy. After bowing, she strode away. Her companions saw her and came forward to ask questions. As they talked, they kept glancing back.
One look from the two dragons made them shrink away.
Yin Wu had never seen Li Lingjiang like this. She was clearly a demon, yet she carried a righteous air. Yin Wu had always felt the urge to drag her down from that high place. But now, seeing this version of Li Lingjiang, full of force, she finally saw a bit of the wildness that belonged to a demon.
Li Lingjiang, ah, Li Lingjiang. You really make a person full of curiosity.
“My Lord.” Yin Wu hid every wicked thought that should not appear and looked full of worship. “You were amazing just now!”
Li Lingjiang had already returned to normal. She covered her lips and coughed twice more. Hearing this, she said helplessly, “Why are you cheering? I had to scare her awake, or she would keep coming over and be hard to handle. These people truly like seeking us out.”
Yin Wu heard the speechlessness in her words and laughed. “That is because My Lord makes people want to get close.”
Li Lingjiang did not speak. She only fixed her gaze on Yin Wu, looked her over once, then moved her eyes away.
“I did not say you look easy to bully.” Yin Wu’s voice carried laughter as she tugged at Li Lingjiang’s sleeve.
Li Lingjiang: “…”
“You really are… making trouble.”
The flow-time dial had been turned over. Inside its clear hourglass shape was sand like a river of stars. Feng Luan tossed it high into the air and caught it steadily again. His rabbit ears were soaked with sweat, and his face did not look good. “Eight hours. Dawn has already come.”
Listening to the breathless movement behind him, Wuzhi felt a burst of irritation. “We still have not found the end?”
“No.” Qi San withdrew his hand and crushed the little figure in it to pieces. “We should have stepped into a barrier, or perhaps an illusion.”
Shen Duoyi had also grown tired from talking. Half the water in his flask was already gone, so he did not dare drink more. He had been unusually quiet along the way, and now he asked softly, “What kind of illusion can be this real?”
The sand was solid, and the wind that struck them from time to time hurt their skin.
Qi San finally answered him. “Illusion does not only mean false images. Someone with great strength can create a real world. Of course, even if you cultivated for several more decades, you might not reach that level.”
Shen Duoyi: “… Hah.”
“Then what do we do?” Shen Duoyi asked again.
Wuzhi smiled. He leaned out. “If we survive, we will surely find the way out.”
He smiled and joked, but he also covered the fact that the four of them had taken turns searching for a breakthrough and found nothing. They had never dealt with this place before, so they did not dare spread their power too far.
“Ling Xin, go ask My Lord.”
Ling Xin pressed his lips together. “If she had a way, she would not hide it. Besides, you know My Lord’s body.”
Wuzhi stopped rather helplessly. He turned to Wen Si, who was forcing himself to stay steady, and said, “Rest for a while. We likely cannot get out soon.”
“All right.” Wen Si had been thinking the same thing. He signaled for everyone to rest where they were. The sand had been baked even hotter. No one dared sit down. They could only brace their hands on their knees and gasp. Their noses were terribly sore, and the itch in their throats could not be stopped. Sweat fell to the ground without pause and soon smashed out tiny pits.
“I am almost out of water. What do we do?”
“Me too. There is no water source here.”
“I have already eaten two fasting pills. I cannot take more.”
“…”
None of them had brought much water because it would have been too cumbersome. Fasting pills could hold them for a while, but who could have expected walking to consume so much strength when they were doing nothing else?
“Is this trying to exhaust our strength?” Yin Wu squeezed her knuckles, displeased.
Li Lingjiang lifted her veil. Her cheeks were slightly red. A bead of sweat trembled on her lashes. Her beast ears were wet and drooped weakly. “Yin Wu, listen.”
“There is movement. Right under our feet.”
Yin Wu lowered her head. The sand beneath them was sinking at a speed visible to the eye, like an invincible black hole that wanted to swallow them whole.