A Little First Love Shock for the Demon Lord - Chapter 25

Sensing something was wrong, Ying Ning asked, “What is it?”

Minglou glanced at her but quickly averted his gaze. In a low voice, he said, “Nothing. Let’s go.”

He took her hand and strode forward briskly, but his expression had turned cold, his eyes once again returning to that deep, distant darkness.

Ying Ning frowned, watching him, but since Minglou clearly didn’t want to speak, she dared not press further.

She feared her questioning would make him uncomfortable.

Each of them harbored their own thoughts and wore different expressions.

Only the nearby Spider (Zhuzhu) seemed to catch on to something.

She realized why Minglou had suddenly refused to help Ying Ning find her body earlier—he had found out that she was already engaged.

Zhuzhu couldn’t hold back a mischievous chuckle. This was getting interesting.

Walking beside Ying Ning, she picked up where they had left off:

“Ying Ning, you didn’t finish what you were saying earlier. You said, ‘but’—what was the rest—mmph, mmph!”

Zhuzhu suddenly found herself unable to speak. She tried to open her mouth, but it felt sealed shut by something sticky and unyielding. At first, she thought she had triggered another of the maze’s traps—but then she turned and met Minglou’s cold, warning stare.

He had cast a spell to silence her!

Zhuzhu let out muffled protests, stomping her feet angrily in defiance.

Ying Ning looked at her in confusion and was just about to ask when Minglou said coldly, “Focus on dealing with Yu Qianxun. Don’t waste time with pointless chatter.”

His words left Ying Ning feeling a little disappointed.

So that was just a “pointless” matter…

Neither Ying Ning nor Minglou spoke further. Even after Zhuzhu’s spell was lifted by Granny Haitang (who had secretly been scraping the spell off), she dared not speak again, fearing Minglou might lash out in a worse way.

Minglou guided them by memory. Just as they were nearing the maze’s exit, the ground suddenly began to tremble violently.

The shaking was intense—dust fell from above, the whole labyrinth shuddering. Zhuzhu used her powers to anchor her feet, but still staggered wildly.

Ying Ning nearly lost her balance. Minglou quickly reached out, pulled her into his arms, and held her tightly, eyes scanning their unstable surroundings.

“What’s going on? Another stone beast?” Zhuzhu asked, alarmed.

Minglou surveyed the area and replied, “No. The maze itself is shifting.”

Ying Ning looked up and saw that the upper parts of the maze were indeed moving—though the walls around them remained still.

“It looks like… the outer walls are rotating,” she said nervously, turning to Minglou.

He paused, then said grimly, “Yu Qianxun must have realized we found the exit. He’s using magic to rotate the maze’s walls and relocate the exit.”

“What?!” Zhuzhu cried, her face collapsing into a grimace. “That bastard’s playing dirty! Even if we find the exit again, he’ll just move it!”

Minglou frowned deeply. “How did he know we were near the exit?”

Ying Ning recalled something and said urgently, “Before, the Ghostface looked at the maze map and immediately knew you had defeated one of the stone beasts. Could that map allow him to see everything that happens inside?”

Zhuzhu wiped the sweat from her face and shouted irritably, “That’s cheating! If he keeps doing that, we’ll never get out!”

The maze now resembled a massive steamer—sweltering hot. Even with their powers, Minglou and Zhuzhu were sweating heavily. Ying Ning, a mere mortal, was faring even worse.

Minglou had secretly been using his energy to help cool her down, but the unnatural heat wasn’t something ordinary magic could suppress for long. Ying Ning was beginning to falter.

He had tried earlier to dispel the heat spell with his purple-gold fan, but to no avail. He had suspected it was being controlled by something else—and now he was certain: the map Ying Ning mentioned was likely responsible.

Looking down at Ying Ning, Minglou saw her breathing had grown labored.

They had to escape—fast.

After a moment of thought, Minglou turned to Zhuzhu.

“Release all your spiders. As many as you can.”

Zhuzhu’s eyes widened in shock. “All of them? That would drain all my power!”

“Do it if you don’t want to die,” Minglou replied coldly.

Zhuzhu gritted her teeth. There was no other choice—she had to trust him.

Taking a deep breath, she opened her arms. A purple light flashed across her body, and countless spiders poured from her sleeves, flooding the ground until there was nowhere left to step.

The spiders skittered excitedly. Minglou opened his purple-gold fan and gave a strong wave toward them. A few gentle breezes swirled above their heads and dissipated.

“Send them throughout the maze,” he commanded.

Exhausted, Zhuzhu weakly waved a hand. “Go on… go…”

With that, the mass of spiders scattered quickly into every corner.

Turning to Ying Ning, Minglou said softly, “We’ll have to fly out. Hold on tight if you don’t want to fall.”

Ying Ning nodded and obediently wrapped her arms around his neck.

She was so close that Minglou could feel her warmth against him.

He glanced at her in silence, but the heaviness in his heart lingered.

Without showing it on his face, he turned to Zhuzhu. “What about you?”

“I can’t… I’ve got nothing left,” she muttered weakly.

Without a word, Minglou grabbed her by the back of her collar and took Ying Ning in his other arm. With a slight step, he launched into the air.

He flew fast. Not knowing where the exit now was, he had no choice but to search every direction.

Ying Ning asked, “What are the spiders for?”

“It’s a gamble,” Minglou said, focused. “I’m betting that the map only tracks aura signatures. All those spiders have our aura now. If I’m right, the map will show our presence everywhere—and Yu Qianxun won’t know our real location. He won’t dare move the exit.”

Ying Ning nodded in understanding, then looked down at the listless Zhuzhu. “Is she okay? She looks awful.”

“She’s fine. Just out of power,” Ming Lou replied calmly.

“So… magic is really important for your kind?” Ying Ning asked.

After a pause, Minglou said quietly, “Very. In the demon realm, power is everything. Without it, you’re weak. And the weak are prey for the strong.”

Then, glancing at her, he asked, “Didn’t you want to go to the demon realm before? Do you still want to?”

Ying Ning looked at him seriously. After a long silence, she replied, “I never wanted to go for the realm itself. I wanted to go with you—to uncover something very important.”

Just as Minglou was about to ask what she meant, Zhuzhu suddenly spoke.

“Look! Is that the exit up ahead?”

Sure enough, at the edge of the maze, a large open gate appeared.

The three soared out of the labyrinth. The black palace loomed before them.

Ying Ning quickly told Minglou, “The ones who’ve swapped bodies—they’re all locked up beneath the palace.”

Without hesitation, Minglou charged through the palace gates. He didn’t bother finding the stairs—instead, he crashed straight down through the floor, forcing his way into the underground chamber.

Ghostface stood before the Nine Nether Mirror, preparing to cast a spell. Behind him, several large cages held cats—lifeless and weary.

A loud crash above startled Ghostface. He turned just in time to see Minglou descend, his face cold amidst the swirling dust.

“Yu Qianxun,” Minglou growled, releasing Ying Ning and Zhuzhu as he drew his blade, Touying.

At the sight of the blade, Ghostface trembled, stumbling back.

He hurled several fireballs in rapid succession, but Minglou effortlessly sliced them away.

Ghostface panicked, pulling out another artifact and launching hundreds of iron spikes.

Minglou didn’t even flinch. A burst of black energy shot from his left hand, shredding the spikes to dust.

Realizing his attacks were useless, Ghostface’s eyes darted. He clutched a hidden item in his sleeve—the Ran Yi Stone. If he could expose Minglou to its light, it would turn him into a cat.

And a cat wasn’t so scary.

Ghostface smirked behind his mask.

But just as he pulled the stone out, a hand smacked his wrist hard. The stone fell to the ground, flickered briefly, then went dark.

Ghostface looked in shock at Ying Ning—when had she gotten so close?

“You—! I’ll kill—”

He never finished the sentence.

Touying’s blade was already at his throat.

Ghostface froze, glancing fearfully at Minglou’s expressionless face.

“Who were you going to kill?” Minglou asked coldly.

“I-I meant nothing by it!” Ghostface stammered. “Your Excellency! I recognize you now—it’s all a misunderstanding! I didn’t mean to kill anyone! Please, have mercy!”

Minglou studied him. Something felt… off.

With a flick, he used the blade to lift Ghostface’s mask.

The face beneath was ordinary—small eyes, bulbous nose, square lips.

This wasn’t Yu Qianxun.

Removing his own mask, Minglou pressed the blade closer. “Where is Yu Qianxun?”

“What do you want with Lord Yu?” Ghostface said with a nervous grin. “He’s probably back in the Demon Palace. You can see him if you go now.”

Minglou turned toward the Nine Nether Mirror. “Looks like he abandoned you.”

Ghostface stiffened.

Minglou swung his blade sideways. With one strike, the mirror shattered into countless pieces.

Ghostface stared in horror. That mirror was a divine artifact crafted by celestial masters—how could it be destroyed so easily?

Yu Qianxun had run. He had abandoned him, taking the real mirror with him.

“Lord Yu, he…” Ghostface’s hands trembled. Once he fully understood what had happened, he panicked and looked at Minglou.

“Your Excellency! I was wrong! Yu Qianxun forced me! I can tell you everything!”

Minglou remained expressionless. Once Ghostface finished speaking, he said coldly:

“Using transformed people to open the Nine Nether Mirror… to connect realms… and trap souls—I already know all of this. Do you have anything new to offer?”

Ghostface hesitated.

That… was all he knew.

He had nothing left to say.

“Your Majesty… do you think I still have a chance?” Ghostface asked, his expression filled with sorrow.

Minglou glanced at him with clear disdain. Seeing that Minglou didn’t strike him down immediately, Ghostface’s eyes lit up with a glimmer of hope.

But Minglou turned away and looked at Zhuzhu instead. “Didn’t you say you were out of mana? Time to replenish it.”

Zhuzhu’s eyes lit up with excitement. She licked her lips, and in the blink of an eye, transformed into a giant spider. Her many legs skittered toward Ghostface with frightening speed.

Ghostface turned pale as a sheet as the massive spider loomed over him.

Before Zhuzhu could open her mouth to feed, Minglou had already grabbed Ying Ning’s wrist and led her away toward the row of iron cages where the cats were being kept.

Behind them, the unmistakable sound of chewing echoed through the air. Ying Ning flinched and instinctively tried to look back, but Minglou stepped forward and gently turned her head forward with a firm hand.

“Look at the cats,” he said, voice low but serious.

There was something unexpectedly gentle in his tone, and Ying Ning’s heart softened.

She scanned the cages carefully and soon spotted Xiaoli lying on the topmost cage. The little creature had returned to normal cat size, curled up weakly, much of the fur on her back singed and burnt.

“Xiaoli… is she okay?” Ying Ning asked with concern.

Minglou didn’t particularly care about the civet, but since she asked, he glanced at it and replied calmly, “It’s reverted to its original form. Seriously injured, but still alive. We’ll bring it back to Russell for treatment.”

Ying Ning breathed a sigh of relief.

Alive. That was enough. As long as she was alive.

She looked up at him with renewed hope. “Xiaoli told me that if we break the Ran Yishi pendant, everyone who was turned into a cat will return to normal. You should destroy it now.”

Minglou paused for a moment, then said, “Not yet.”

“Why not?” Ying Ning asked, confused.

“Because once they return to human form, their memories of this place will remain,” Minglou explained. “We need them to forget. I’ll have Zhuzhu handle it—after she’s eaten her fill, she can send them all home one by one.”

Just then, Zhuzhu let out a loud burp. Returning to her human form, she rubbed her stomach and grumbled, “I’m a spider, not a pack mule! Why do I have to go to work the second I finish eating?!”

Minglou ignored her, his eyes settling gently on Ying Ning instead.

“You can go home now,” he said.

Ying Ning beamed. “That’s wonderful! Before I turned into a cat, I was planning to go to town and pick up some things. And I still haven’t cleaned your room yet. Once we’re back, let’s go shopping together!”

But Minglou didn’t answer. His gaze drifted into the distance, expression unreadable.

After a long silence, his voice finally came—low and heavy.

“There’s no need to clean it. I won’t be staying in your house much longer.”