The Demon Venerable Is Delicate and Charming (GL) Chapter 60

By the time Ling Xin and the others arrived, night had already fallen. They had come far faster than expected. Li Lingjiang had her eyes closed in false sleep. Only when she heard movement did she open them and sit up straight.
Yin Wu had also slept for a while. She rubbed her eyes and stretched. Looking at Ling Xin, she roughly counted the people, then leaned close to Li Lingjiang. “My Lord, three people are missing.”
Li Lingjiang signaled that she knew. She did not stand. She only turned her gaze toward Qi San and Shen Duoyi beside him. After this short separation, one could clearly see the two had grown much closer. But if one looked carefully, it was not hard to see that Qi San still unconsciously avoided the other’s touch.
After several reincarnations, he was no longer that person.
“My Lord,” Yin Wu suddenly called.
“What is it?”
Yin Wu stood. “I am going to ask Lord Ling Xin something.”
Li Lingjiang would not interfere too much with her choices. After nodding, she moved her gaze away. She lowered her head and watched the black dragon swim around her wrist. As if feeling somewhat uncomfortable, she pinched it lightly.
She sensed something and tilted her head to look at Yin Wu. A soft sound came from her nose. “Mm?”
Yin Wu immediately smiled and rubbed her hands. “I will go now. I will be back soon.”
But the instant she turned around, it was as if that pure harmlessness had never existed. Her eyes held only coldness.
She walked toward Ling Xin. He was listening to Wen Si speak, giving perfunctory answers now and then. Hearing footsteps, he turned to look. Seeing it was Yin Wu, he frowned slightly.
“Something wrong?”
Yin Wu’s face was grave. “Yes.”
“About…”
Yin Wu continued nodding. “Yes.”
Only then did Ling Xin let Feng Luan deal with the conversation. He and Yin Wu walked to the side. “What happened?”
“Nothing has really happened. I only noticed My Lord keeps rubbing both wrists. If I ask her, she likely will not say anything. I am still worried, so I came to ask you.”
Yin Wu looked full of concern. She sighed deeply and lowered her head in defeat, while the corner of her eye watched Ling Xin’s expression.
He was not surprised. He even seemed relieved.
“My Lord used to use a sword. You did not know? Later, she changed to the Jade-Bone Fan because she was injured.” Ling Xin frowned, his thoughts drifting far away. “That year, she opened a path for the Demon Realm by herself, but she also suffered very serious internal injuries in the war. Since she did not receive rest in time, she could almost no longer lift a sword afterward. Only then did she change weapons.”
Yin Wu had heard of that war. There was not much written about it, only a few lines: the three realms went to war; the ruler of the Demon Realm washed all directions in blood for three days; the war ended there.
When she had seen it, she had not paid close attention. Thinking of it now, she realized with shock just what Li Lingjiang must have done to resist so many people.
Ling Xin continued, “You have likely been ascended for less than a hundred years. It is normal that you do not know.”
Yin Wu smoothed her brows and asked softly, “But a weapon like a fan requires even more flexibility in the wrist, does it not?”
“It does. But this Jade-Bone Fan was made by My Lord herself.” Ling Xin’s gaze grew scattered, and his voice drifted. “She had an immortal bone. She tore it out by force and made it into this fan. That is why it fits her hand so well and does not need adjustment.”
“Immortal… bone?” Yin Wu lifted her head in shock.
Ling Xin gave a low “mm.” “A demon having an immortal bone, you have never heard of it, right? Even My Lord herself did not believe it. But it was true. There was even a time when people called My Lord a disaster, a great misfortune. Only after she removed that immortal bone and successfully refined it into a demonic artifact did those rumors stop.”
“Did My Lord… do it alone?” Yin Wu did not finish, but Ling Xin understood.
Ling Xin was silent for a few seconds. His hand clenched without him noticing. “…We did not know. She only said she would enter seclusion for a few days. During that time, we heard no movement at all. When we saw My Lord again, she had already refined the artifact. As for all the wounds and sickness on her body, she simply brushed them aside.”
“Even now, with all her demonic power lost, I suspect it may have been caused by the root of illness left back then. But things are already like this. I only hope My Lord remains safe.”
Ling Xin suddenly stared at Yin Wu. Only after a long while did he say, “I have rarely seen… no, basically no one can approach My Lord so easily. Yin Wu, you are the first. I hope you can help me take good care of My Lord. Consider it my request.”
Yin Wu looked up. Her voice was low. “You are more loyal to My Lord than I imagined.”
“Then you are wrong. I have never deserved to be called loyal. Otherwise, My Lord would not have grown distant from me.” Pain and struggle flashed through Ling Xin’s eyes, then hid behind calm.
“Enough. No more talk. Discover the rest yourself.” Ling Xin did not want to say more. He turned and left. Yin Wu bowed slightly as she watched his back.
She was still thinking about what Ling Xin had said. Removing a bone was not rare, but the pain was not something normal people could bear. Yet a demon born with an immortal bone was something even she had never heard of. It was not hard to imagine how much pressure Li Lingjiang had endured back then. If the time was calculated, she had only been a little over twelve hundred years old then. At that age, she had still been a child.
Even at twenty-four hundred years old, Li Lingjiang was only in the young stage for the Demon Realm.
Feng Luan and Wuzhi were already over ten thousand years old. Only Qi San was just over a thousand, but he had become a ghost after dying as a human and stayed to serve in the underworld. As for Ling Xin, if Yin Wu had not guessed wrong, he was also far older than Li Lingjiang. Yet every one of them called her “My Lord.”
Yin Wu looked toward Li Lingjiang, who was propping up her chin. By chance, Li Lingjiang also looked over. She smiled slightly at Yin Wu, then turned her head aside. She seemed to be lost in thought, but also not quite. It was more like she was hiding something in her heart.
She did not look like a child. Li Lingjiang had never placed herself in that position.
Yin Wu took a deep breath. She had not thought the former Demon Venerable would die so early, forcing Li Lingjiang to take the throne at only four hundred years old. Could that immortal bone also have been because of her…
“Li Jiang.” Li Lingjiang’s tone was not high and was very even. A dragon wound around her arm as she gently beckoned to Yin Wu. “What are you thinking about so deeply? Come here.”
“Coming.” Yin Wu gathered back her thoughts. She quickly walked over and sat beside Li Lingjiang. Her gaze unconsciously fell on Li Lingjiang’s wrist.
Li Lingjiang lowered her sleeve to cover it. Seeing the strange look on Yin Wu’s face, she thought of something and breathed out. She had long let this matter go, so she spoke of it very lightly. “It is already an old injury. It did hurt for quite a while back then. Later, I got used to it.”
Back then, the Beast Realm and Immortal Realm had attacked the Demon Realm together. She bitterly held on for three days before gaining the trust of others and promising that the Demon Realm would change and would not do things against the way of heaven. Only then did the Demon Realm avoid suffering too many deaths. Her immortal bone also had to be removed.
As it happened, her wrist had been damaged, so she thought of this method. As for how much it hurt, she could no longer remember. At the time, there were too many important matters to handle. She had no time to rest. Every day, besides discussing major affairs, she ran throughout the Demon Realm to inspect the damage. By the time she came back to herself, she realized her hand had already been ruined.
“My Lord.” Yin Wu wanted to say something, but Li Lingjiang stopped her.
She held a finger lightly before her lips. “Quiet, Yin Wu.”
“It is already past. There is no need to cling to these small matters. Solving what is in front of us is the important thing. I cannot even remember all the old illnesses, large and small, on my body. How could you know them clearly?”
Yin Wu suddenly froze. She met Li Lingjiang’s eyes, and for one instant, she felt she could see through nothing at all.
“I… understand.”
Only then did Li Lingjiang press her lips together and lift the corners slightly. Just as she turned her head, her beast ears twitched. She keenly sensed movement across from them and looked toward the sound, narrowing her eyes slightly.
It was Mu Mianmian and Liu Ying. She had kept some attention on those two.
Mu Mianmian had only rested for a little while when she suddenly ran to Wen Si in excitement. She grabbed his sleeve as if it were a lifesaving rope. “Senior Brother Wen!”
Wen Si looked at her strangely but still patted her hand in comfort. “What is it? Do not rush. Speak slowly.”
“Heaven’s Mandate came to me!”
“!”
Those words were like thunder striking level ground. Everyone woke at once. Discussion burst out around them with the two at the center. A light flashed in Wen Si’s eyes. He told the others to be quiet and restrained himself. “What did Heaven’s Mandate come to you for?”
Mu Mianmian was so moved that tears nearly came out. “Heaven’s Mandate told me where the water source is. We will not lack water anymore!”
“What?” Wen Si asked in disbelief. In the next second, he could not help laughing. “I said Heaven’s Mandate would surely help us. Mianmian, well done.”
“Wait.”
A female voice suddenly interrupted their conversation. Liu Ying walked out from the crowd. Unlike Mu Mianmian’s excitement, she carried suspicion. “I also heard Heaven’s Mandate.”
“What? Two people?”
“My heavens, why does Heaven’s Mandate not come to me?”
“Who knows whether they are pretending? They love attention.”
“…”
Countless words rushed at them. Mu Mianmian’s eyes trembled. She slowly turned her neck and asked softly, “What did Heaven’s Mandate say?”
“The same as you. Find the water source.”
Liu Ying spoke very casually. She did not hear the tremble hidden in Mu Mianmian’s voice. “Which direction are you going?”
Mu Mianmian pointed to a spot. She lowered her eyes and silently laughed, bitterly wiping away her tears. “This way.”
“Is that not a coincidence? I am too!” Liu Ying raised her brows. She had been worried she had no reason to make peace with Mu Mianmian, and now the chance had come. “This proves we are fated, Mianmian.”
Mu Mianmian did not look at her. Instead, she looked toward Wen Si, catching the pity he showed with exact accuracy.
She opened her mouth. A sense of powerlessness rose. Why did Liu Ying have to interfere in her matters every time? Why did this person always steal her attention? Clearly, she had been first. Yet in the end, she became so unremarkable.
Such a good chance had been stolen by Liu Ying again. Her strength was worse, her popularity was worse. In their eyes, she was only a faint, useless vase.
Mu Mianmian suddenly felt it was laughable. She clenched her hand. The sting made her mind clear, and her hatred became even more obvious. The surrounding comments seemed like dull knives, cutting her flesh little by little, carving her again and again. Pain, jealousy, unwillingness. Her emotions gradually took over her mind, and her eyes slowly turned cloudy.
Suddenly, she smiled at Liu Ying, the corners of her eyes red. “Liu Ying, let us go find the water source together, all right?”
Her voice was softer and gentler than before. Liu Ying was still happy and agreed at once.
Mu Mianmian no longer looked at her. She stepped toward the direction of the water source. At her collar, grains of starlike sand quietly spread.