A Little First Love Shock for the Demon Lord - Chapter 19.1

A storm of fury surged in Minglou’s eyes, his entire body radiating a chilling murderous aura that sent an invisible wave of fear and oppression through the air.

Aunt Li was so frightened that she froze, hurriedly letting go of Minglou’s arm and stepping back. “If you don’t want to help, then don’t! Why are you being so fierce?!”

With that, she turned around and hurried toward the door, muttering under her breath, “That guy must be crazy… No, I really need to convince Ah Ning to kick him out…”

Ying Ning also sensed something was wrong. She lightly patted Minglou’s arm with her paw.

“Minglou, what’s wrong?” she asked softly.

Minglou lowered his head to look at her, but the fury in his eyes only intensified.

He held Ying Ning up to his face and asked coldly, “You’re engaged?”

“Mm, yes,” Ying Ning answered casually, then tilted her head. “Is there a problem?”

A problem?

Of course not—she was just engaged. Nothing strange about that. And it had absolutely nothing to do with him!

But still—he was furious!

No, he had to get to the bottom of this.

Seeing how clueless Ying Ning looked, Minglou knew asking her would only drive him madder. So, he tucked her under his arm and strode off in pursuit of Aunt Li.

Aunt Li had already walked some distance, her mind focused on persuading Ah Ning to keep her distance from Minglou once she returned. As she walked, a cold chill crept up her spine.

She instinctively turned around—and there he was, Minglou, striding toward her like a grim reaper.

Seeing his terrifying demeanor, Aunt Li couldn’t help but quicken her pace. Is he trying to kill me or what?! she thought, breaking into a panicked run.

Just as she was about to slam her door shut behind her, a hand shot through the opening, stopping her.

Through the crack in the door, Aunt Li saw Minglou standing outside, staring at her like a vengeful ghost.

Her hand trembled as she stammered, “Wh-What do you want? I—I’ll scream for help!”

Minglou glanced at her shaking hands.

Clearly, with how much Aunt Li disliked him, she wouldn’t answer anything about Ying Ning’s engagement.

Suppressing his fury, he forced himself to calm down and said stiffly, “I’m… here to help you make dumplings.”

Aunt Li froze.

Even Ying Ning, still held in Minglou’s arm, was momentarily stunned.

So that’s what all that aggression was about—he just wanted to help?

Well, of course. Minglou was such a good person—why would he trouble Aunt Li on purpose?

Ying Ning finally relaxed a little.

Behind the door, Aunt Li glanced at the cat in Minglou’s arm, then suspiciously looked at him. “You’re really here to help?”

Minglou gave a reluctant grunt of acknowledgment.

Still wary, Aunt Li watched as she pushed the door open and stepped inside. “Don’t just stand there. I’ve got questions for you.”

Without waiting for her response, he walked right in.

Aunt Li put her hands on her hips and followed him angrily. “You’ve got some nerve! Did I say you could come in?”

Minglou replied coolly, “Didn’t you just beg me to help?”

That shut her up.

Her gaze dropped to the cat in his arm, and she couldn’t help but mutter, “You’re here to help, fine. But why bring the cat?”

Minglou responded coldly, “I can’t be separated from her.”

Aunt Li raised an eyebrow.

He didn’t seem like the affectionate type, but apparently, he really liked this cat.

Wasn’t it said that people who love small creatures usually have gentle hearts? Maybe Minglou wasn’t all bad after all.

“Are we starting or not?” Minglou asked.

Aunt Li rolled her eyes. “Now you’re in a hurry! Go wash your hands in the bucket over there!”

Meddlesome woman, Minglou thought. But he still walked toward the bucket with the cat.

Just as he bent down to wash, Aunt Li started nagging again. “Hey! Can’t you put the cat down? You’re washing your hands, but if you pick her up again right after, what’s the point? Don’t even think about touching the dumplings with dirty hands!”

Minglou’s face darkened.

This woman’s nagging could rival Luo Su’s…

He gritted his teeth and forced down the rage. “I said—I can’t leave the cat.”

Aunt Li walked up beside him and nagged some more, “Why are you so stubborn? Just put her down. It’s not like she’ll run away in my yard.”

“No.” Minglou was firm.

Aunt Li gave him a look and muttered, “You act like this cat is your wife or something.”

Minglou’s face flushed red. “What nonsense are you saying?!”

Ignoring him, Aunt Li went inside, returning shortly with a small blanket and a long cloth strap.

She held them out and gestured. “Here, give me the cat.”

Minglou frowned. “Why?”

Aunt Li clicked her tongue impatiently. “I’m not going to steal your cat! This was my son’s baby blanket. I’ll wrap her up and tie her to your back. She won’t go anywhere, and your hands will be free.”

Minglou thought it over.

Not a bad idea. And he didn’t have time to waste arguing with her.

He handed Ying Ning over, and Aunt Li swiftly wrapped her up like a baby and tied her snugly to Minglou’s back.

Ying Ning, now immobilized in a blanket on his back, blinked in stunned silence.

Really, Minglou? To this extent…?

She didn’t dare speak, and Minglou, of course, had no idea what she was thinking.

After washing his hands, he sat down with Aunt Li at the table, where the dough and filling were ready.

He started, “I…”

But Aunt Li cut him off. “No more of that ‘I’ stuff. I’ll roll the wrappers. You do the filling.”

She shoved the bowl of filling toward him.

Helping with dumplings was just an excuse—Minglou’s mind wasn’t on the food at all. He tried again, “I want to ask—”

“Less talking, more wrapping! We still have to steam them. You sure know how to dawdle!” Aunt Li cut him off again, rolling dough expertly.

Minglou looked stiffly at the filling in front of him.

After a while, he asked, “What… exactly is wrapping dumplings?”

Aunt Li froze. “You don’t know how?! Then what did you come here to help with?!”

Minglou scowled. “You were the one who—”

“Yes, yes! My fault, all my fault! I’ll teach you, okay?” Aunt Li interrupted, picking up a wrapper and a spoonful of filling to demonstrate.

She taught seriously, but Minglou wasn’t paying attention.

He asked, “You said Ying Ning is engaged?”

“Mm.” Aunt Li answered absentmindedly, folding the dough.

Minglou: “I want to know—”

“Oh come on! Can’t you just talk normally? What’s with the whole ‘I this, I that’—it’s giving me a headache.”

Minglou rarely got to finish a sentence with Aunt Li around.

He ground his teeth. She’s definitely making it onto my kill list.

After calming himself down, he asked again, “Who is she engaged to?”

Aunt Li sighed. “Three years ago, Ah Ning found an injured man named Zhuang Wensheng. She brought him home and took care of him. Around that time, her brother came back, saw the boy was the same age as

Ah Ning, decent, kind to her, and decided to betroth her to him—wanted someone to look after her.”

Minglou frowned. “They agreed to that just like that?”

“Of course! The guy accepted immediately!” Aunt Li said dramatically. “Our Ah Ning is beautiful, kind, gentle—who wouldn’t want to marry her?”

Minglou cut her off coldly, “I’m asking about Ying Ning.”

Aunt Li fell silent, then sighed again. “She agreed too. I think she really liked him. Shame it was a waste. He said he was going to the capital to take the imperial exam and would return to marry her with a grand wedding. But it’s been three years. Ah Ning never mentioned him again, but she never broke the engagement either. Even turned down other suitors. I guess… she still hasn’t let go.”

As her words ended, the dough on the table suddenly exploded with a loud bang, scattering into messy lumps.

Aunt Li jumped. “Wh-What just happened?!”

Minglou said nothing, standing up with a dark expression and heading for the door.

“You’re not helping anymore?!” Aunt Li called after him.

“Wrap your own damn dumplings,” Minglou growled, not even looking back.

Aunt Li opened her mouth to scold him but fell silent as she glanced at the ruined dough.

Sigh. No more dumplings tonight. I guess it’s dough-lump soup then.

Outside, Minglou stormed off and soon ran into Ge Yuetai.

Seeing Minglou’s terrible expression, Ge Yuetai quickly smiled and called out from a distance, “Brother! Remember me? I was passing by and thought I’d check on Miss Ying Ning’s foot—”

“Check my ass! She’s already engaged!” Minglou snapped before brushing past the dumbfounded Ge Yuetai and stomping away.

The anger boiling in his chest felt like it might consume him.

He hated that sleeping for a thousand years had dulled his wits.

He’d spared her from the Demon Realm to protect her, put up with everything so she wouldn’t worry, pretended to be a good person to avoid making her sad.

But now? How ridiculous. Ying Ning—she was nothing but a tool to regain his power!

Why had he ever cared?

By the time he returned to her house, night had fallen.

Luo Su was waiting in the courtyard.

Seeing Minglou approach, Luo Su hurried over—then froze in fear.

The demonic aura pouring off Minglou was terrifying.

“Your Excellency… what happened?” Luo Su asked with a tremble.

Minglou walked up, his expression ghostly, a twisted smile on his lips. “I’m doing just fine.”

Luo Su shivered but dared not press further. “Uh, about the spirit cat—you asked me to investigate. I’ve asked around, but there’s still no trace…”

“No need to keep looking. We’re returning to the secret palace now,” Minglou said coldly.

“Huh?” Luo Su blinked. “Aren’t we still looking for Miss Ying Ning’s body?”

Upon hearing Ying Ning’s name, the darkness in Minglou’s eyes deepened ominously. “All I need is to recover my magic power. Why should I concern myself with the body of a mortal woman?”

Luo Su involuntarily shivered. The Demon Lord standing before him was terrifying—but perhaps this was how the Demon Lord was always meant to be. In fact, he thought to himself, this was the true Minglou returning to form.

Accepting this, Luo Su smiled and said obediently, “I’ll follow your lead, Your Excellency. When do we return?”

“Now,” Minglou answered without hesitation.

Luo Su added, “Very well. But… where’s the cat?”

“The cat…”

Minglou looked down and was startled to find his hands empty. His mind went blank for a second, and he immediately spun around, eyes sweeping the area in panic. “Where is it? Find it now!”

Raising an eyebrow, Luo Su watched the Demon Lord’s rare display of fluster. “Your Excellency, is that Miss Ying Ning on your back?”

Minglou froze.

Luo Su, noticing the strange behavior, grew increasingly curious. What on earth had happened to make the fearsome Demon Lord so agitated?

After a long silence, Minglou regained his composure, calmly untied Ying Ning from his back and laid her down, pretending nothing had occurred. But the moment he saw her curled beneath the blanket, peacefully asleep, rage welled up in his chest once more.

Ying Ning was sound asleep, breathing evenly, her eyes closed in contentment.

Luo Su leaned over for a look and couldn’t help but marvel, “Miss Ying Ning really does sleep well. You said so much just now, and she didn’t even stir.”

Minglou’s fury reached its peak.

She was fast asleep—after everything that had happened?!

He yanked her out from under the quilt, shaking her vigorously. His voice was low and laced with bitterness. “Sleep! All you know is sleep! You’re engaged—do you still have the nerve to sleep like nothing’s wrong?

Or are you waiting for Zhuang Wensheng to return and wake you?”