The Demon Venerable Is Delicate and Charming (GL) Chapter 67

Before Li Lingjiang could answer, Ling Xin gave a cold laugh from the side. “This is truly enough.”
After saying that, he looked deeply at Li Lingjiang with the disappointment of someone who hated iron for not becoming steel. He said nothing, yet seemed to say everything. Then he casually grabbed Feng Luan beside him and strode onto the ice.
The moment Feng Luan stepped in, he cried out, “So cold! Why did you drag me in?”
His two ears stood straight up from anger. He looked as if he wished he could hit Ling Xin twice.
Li Lingjiang’s lips parted slightly, then pressed tight. “What is wrong with Ling Xin?”
Wuzhi flicked the end of his hair and answered casually, “Spring has come. It is normal.”
Li Lingjiang: “…”
Yin Wu: “… My Lord, do not listen to their nonsense.”
The young immortal whispered beside her. Li Lingjiang raised her hand and carefully examined the red thread on her right hand. Its shine was not especially strong, but the moment it wrapped around her, she clearly felt warmth rise through her body.
“Fellow Daoist Wen.” Li Lingjiang turned to look at Wen Si, her gaze faint. “Let us leave now. There is no need to delay.”
Wen Si’s face turned grave, and he agreed.
“I hope you can manage your fellow disciples well. Try not to… lose any more of them.” Li Lingjiang lifted her eyelids and lazily met Wen Si’s eyes. She did not put deeper meaning into it. After looking at him for two seconds, she moved her gaze away.
The red thread on her wrist tugged. Li Lingjiang slowly turned and followed Yin Wu. The place where the ice joined the ground was far more skillfully made than the previous scene. It was not hard to tell that the person designing the illusion had already grown stronger, but their heart had also become much more urgent.
The moment Li Lingjiang’s toes landed firmly on the ice, bone-eating cold rushed up from below. In the next second, the red thread warmed faintly and directly blocked that chill for her. Yin Wu hooked the red thread with her finger, as if she had bound Li Lingjiang in place.
Walking on the ice was not difficult for Li Lingjiang. Anyone with some foundation could keep from falling if they paid a little attention. The ones who suffered were the ordinary people. They linked together one by one in great unity, shouting angrily the whole way. From behind, the cries of people slipping and falling came from time to time.
Yin Wu walked as if on level ground. She watched Li Lingjiang from the corner of her eye, then her gaze moved slightly. She quickly approached Li Lingjiang, and just as she was about to touch her, she suddenly threw herself forward.
Li Lingjiang instinctively reached out to catch the young immortal. In the next instant, she was hugged full in the arms. Before she could react, she heard Yin Wu mutter softly beside her ear, “So tired. I cannot walk anymore.”
Only then did Li Lingjiang realize Yin Wu had done it on purpose. She pushed her lightly, but without much force. Her voice was soft. “Do not hug me.”
Yin Wu refused. “I will not. My Lord, I am telling the truth. Besides, I am very warm.”
“Even if you are warm, I do not want it.” Li Lingjiang said this, but she did not actually resist. She turned her head and coughed twice. Her rising and falling chest was pressed close to Yin Wu, and their heartbeats seemed as if they would melt into one.
Yin Wu laughed. She lightly patted Li Lingjiang’s back twice before letting her go. The instant they separated, Yin Wu lifted her eyes and narrowed them. She looked at one person, the warning in her eyes clear without words.
She gathered the red thread, then held Li Lingjiang’s hand. Yin Wu did not speak and only pulled her forward. From time to time, she teased Li Lingjiang’s hair ends and sleeves, until Li Lingjiang finally lost her temper.
Li Lingjiang brushed away Yin Wu’s hand. She put on a stern face and wanted to say something, but in the end, she held it back. She took a deep breath and turned to leave, only for the red thread on her hand to stop her steps.
Her temper completely disappeared. The anger that had just risen vanished in an instant. Helplessly, she turned back to look at Yin Wu, whose face was full of grievance. “Come here.”
The young immortal obediently walked over. Her fingers swayed the thread. “My Lord.”
“What are you trying to do?”
Yin Wu gave a vague sound. “Nothing.”
She looked as if she were holding back anger, with unhappiness almost written on her face. Li Lingjiang thought back over the journey and did not remember anything happening. She patiently asked, “Did something happen? May I know?”
Yin Wu still stubbornly turned her face aside. “Not yet.”
Of course Li Lingjiang could not know. If she knew that Yin Wu’s almost childish behavior was only because Yin Wu had discovered someone staring at Li Lingjiang, and that the desire in that person’s eyes was not hidden at all…
It made Yin Wu feel as if her territory had been offended.
Her tongue brushed the roof of her mouth, and she forcefully changed the subject. This time, Yin Wu carefully tugged Li Lingjiang’s sleeve. As expected, Li Lingjiang stopped asking. She was basically indulgent toward her.
“My Lord.” Yin Wu leaned closer. Her toes tapped the ice, making light tapping sounds. “Do you think Heaven’s Mandate cannot wait anymore?”
“This time, more people will probably lose their lives. And he does not seem to show anything unusual.”
Li Lingjiang’s eyes turned slightly cold. She took small steps forward, following Ling Xin and the others. They had put quite a distance between themselves and Wen Si’s group. “I am also thinking about what role he plays in this scheme. If he is only encouraging these people to come here, it does not feel right. And I have not sensed any special aura on him.”
“But no matter what, we cannot lay everything bare. Each of them has complicated thoughts. They will not believe someone who seems to have the same goal as them. In the end, it would instead become our fault. Life and death are fated. They chose this road themselves and cannot blame others. Right now, the only thing we can do is try our best to keep their lives.”
Li Lingjiang breathed out white mist that blurred her sight. She lowered her eyes faintly and scattered the emotion in them.
Sometimes, she also wondered whether some of her past actions had changed people’s fates, causing everything to return as backlash in the end. But when she thought again, she found it laughable. Things had already reached this point. There was no road of regret left to walk.
Gods should not interfere in human matters.
Li Lingjiang was not a god, but back then, she had been worthy enough to compare with one.
Yin Wu pinched her little finger. She saw a hint of Li Lingjiang’s strange mood. When concealment arts were cultivated to a certain level, even Yin Wu could not see through them. And in this world, only a handful of people could do that, including it.
She hissed silently. She could not avoid thinking of that possibility. Her gaze shifted to Li Lingjiang. Li Lingjiang had lifted her hand and was turning her wrist in small movements, all her attention on it. Her side profile showed all her strengths and added a fragile feeling, as if if one looked a little longer, she would vanish in this land of ice and snow.
“My Lord.”
Li Lingjiang turned her head, confusion in her eyes. “What is it?”
Yin Wu reached out, held her wrist, and carefully kneaded it with controlled force. “Nothing. I only wanted to call you.”
At some point, snow had begun to fall. Day and night here were normal. Along the way, there were no other sights, and the ice was too hard to break open. They walked all the way into night. In the middle, they rested for only a short while and were almost frozen stiff. The temperature of dozens of degrees below freezing was enough for them to suffer.
Ling Xin rubbed his hands. He was not affected much. “My Lord, we did not find a place to rest.”
Li Lingjiang gave a soft mm. She tilted her head slightly and spoke with unclear meaning. “There will be one. It is impossible for them to let us wander forever.”
Their eyes met, then moved away. Each of them read the answer they wanted in the other’s eyes.
Ling Xin and the other three were not ordinary people. They had long guessed some clues.
As expected, in less than half an hour, they found a natural cave. It was entirely made of ice, and thin moonlight passed through layer after layer to shine on the ground.
Wen Si had barely spoken the whole time. Only now did he step forward. “Let us rest here. This journey used too much strength.”
Just walking took no small effort. Everyone was afraid they would lose balance and fall in the next moment.
Wuzhi silently curved his lips. “All right.”
The cave was not deep. One could see the end with a single glance. Chilling blocks of ice stood everywhere, and for a time, even sitting became a problem.
“Qi San, where are you going to sit?” Rabbits were not afraid of cold, but Feng Luan wore several outer robes, forcibly wrapping himself round. His ears drooped, and he looked listless. “So cold. So sleepy.”
Qi San glanced at him, then quickly tugged Feng Luan’s ear. Feng Luan cried out in pain and almost exploded. After recovering, he felt offended and crouched in place, burying his head in his knees to digest it alone.
Li Lingjiang bent down and lightly touched Feng Luan’s back with her fingertip. She curled a finger against her lips and coughed twice. In an instant, she sensed something wrong and quickly covered her mouth and nose with her sleeve. Her voice became muffled. “Wear this.”
She handed Feng Luan a wide outer robe. Yin Wu had specially kept warmth in it. Li Lingjiang did not know whether Ling Xin had taken the wrong item, but it was her father’s old clothing. At this moment, it happened to be useful.
Li Lingjiang turned her head away. Only after she felt the bleeding had stopped did she clear her throat. “It will be much better. Do not fall asleep.”
Her tone rose at the end, and one could hear the teasing in it.
Feng Luan’s face reddened, and his ears covered his cheeks. “Thank you, My Lord.”
As soon as he took it, he sensed something unusual. He quickly understood why. He had never been good at controlling fire, so now he had gained a benefit for nothing.
Li Lingjiang looked toward the others, who were busy arranging places to sit. Her gaze softened a little. She was just about to walk over when she heard someone call her. “Fellow Daoist Li.”
She turned and met a not especially familiar face. She bowed slightly. “What is it?”
“I am Li Jiushi. I have always wanted to become acquainted with Fellow Daoist, but unfortunately, I never had the chance.” After speaking, Li Jiushi showed a regretful look. “But it does not matter…”
“It does matter.” Li Lingjiang withdrew her warmth. Her eyes no longer held the softness from before. “Forgive me, but I think we should forget it.”
She remembered now that this person seemed to have been staring at her ever since she woke. Li Lingjiang was very sensitive to such things, so she naturally knew what it meant.
But she did not believe it was love. She felt it was more likely a momentary interest.
Even if it was love, she did not want to bother with it.
“Why must Fellow Daoist refuse so heartlessly? We have never even had a proper conversation.”
Li Jiushi and Shi Baisheng were in the same group, and her strength was far above most of the others. She followed Li Lingjiang unhurriedly, her expression calm and confident, not caring at all about anyone else’s gaze.
Ling Xin, who was at the side, had just wanted to step forward and stop her when Qi San blocked him. Wuzhi sat to the side as still as an old monk in meditation. “Relax. This is their matter. Outsiders should not interfere.”
Only then did Ling Xin sit back down through gritted teeth. “Why are so many people bothering My Lord?”
Yin Wu also wanted to ask the same question. She had just lifted her head when she saw Li Jiushi behind Li Lingjiang. The smile on her face gradually faded. Before she could speak, Li Lingjiang grabbed her arm.
The former Demon Venerable’s brows faintly showed a trace of impatience. She pulled Yin Wu and turned her back to Li Jiushi. “Do not pay attention to her. I do not want to listen.”