Smoke and Fire [GL] - Chapter 5

This was the second time in Yi An’s twenty years of life that her brain completely crashed—the previous time was during the college entrance exam while attempting the final, complex math problem. Every word seemed familiar, but when put together, it instantly turned into garbled code.

—S-she just said, “Mother”?!!

Was that “Mother” as in the dictionary definition?!

Yi An felt like her CPU was about to explode. Not only did Luo Yao not have a boyfriend, but the young woman’s age seemed only a few years different from Luo Yao’s!

Could it be that Luo Yao is actually some kind of fox demon who cultivated into human form?

Thinking this, she suddenly recalled something Si Yin had said not long ago: I have met one demon in this life. Today, no one in the Six Realms dares to mention her name.

And this demon was bl00d-related to the young woman in front of her.

The young woman called Luo Yao “Mother.”

—Holy cow??

Yi An struggled to process the fact that “her roommate, whom she cuddled with daily, was quite possibly a great demon, and the mother of a smaller demon.”

Then, utterly resigned, she chose to mentally shut down.

Of course, no one else was aware of Yi An’s concurrent process of shattered worldview and reconstruction, as the others were busy with a life-and-death confrontation.

“Your Mother’s presence?” Si Yin scoffed with evident mockery. “You still acknowledge her as your Mom, huh? I thought after all these years, you considered yourself sprung from a crack in the stone. Is that right, High God Si Yin?”

The young woman was calm and unhurried, curling her lips as she replied, “…As long as my Mom is alive, the Mistress won’t easily touch you. You’re quite something, treating this as a death-free token. Isn’t that right, High God Si Yin?”

Si Yin narrowed her eyes slightly.

“If I heard correctly, you’re issuing a challenge?”

“Oh dear, the Demon Palace is so boring every day, I just had to escape,” the young woman yawned, her pale legs swinging from the stone steps. “And also…”

“Killing a God is always more fun than killing a person, isn’t it?”

As she said the latter sentence, she instantly teleported from the center of the formation to behind Si Yin, smiling sweetly as she traced a finger across Si Yin’s neck.

In the very same instant, Si Yin formed a hand seal and thrust it backward. Yet, the young woman seemed to have anticipated it, gracefully evading the attack. Her slender fingertips effortlessly carved a path in the air, causing the magical seal to immediately reverse direction and fly back toward Si Yin.

Her series of movements was so fast that while Si Yin could dodge, she knew the power of her own spell. If it struck the stone wall, the mountain would likely collapse.

Unable to take the hit or retreat, a gentle spiritual light suddenly intervened from the air, dissipating the magical seal the very second before it could strike Si Yin.

“Enough.” Luo Yao looked at the young woman with a calm demeanor.

The young woman’s face darkened, and a black, thick mist slowly began to emanate from her fingertips, looking somewhat similar to the resentment Luo Yao had absorbed earlier.

Tan Tan, who had been silent, suddenly knelt down, facing the young woman.

“High God Lingshuang,” her voice was pleading. “Her true body was completely destroyed on the Celestial Glass Terrace. What more do you want?”

The young woman looked down at Tan Tan and sneered, “Her true body being destroyed, what does that have to do with me?”

“Also,” she suddenly leaned down, their noses practically touching. “Don’t call me High God. It makes me sick.”

“No, Your Highness, you don’t know what happened back then…”

“I don’t know?—I DON’T KNOW?!!”

As if finally provoked, the young woman kicked Tan Tan aside, which was followed by a crisp clanging sound.

It was then that they noticed the two heavy shackles locked around her slender, pale ankles, which had been obscured by her long robe before.

Her hair trailed to the ground, her dress was dishevelled, and she looked like a spoiled, broken flower, walking step by step toward Luo Yao, her eyes filled with dense hatred.

“You talk about the Celestial Glass Terrace, but do you know who watched her daughter, who was close to falling into damnation, scream in agony on the Heavenly Heavens, and remained completely unmoved…”

Luo Yao’s expression shifted for a fraction of a second. Her right hand, hanging by her side, moved, and for a moment, it seemed like she wanted to cup the young woman’s face.

“I only died once in this life, and I died at the hands of the person I then thought was the greatest and gentlest.” The young woman’s tone was soft. “She plunged a blade into my heart and then kicked me off the Glass Terrace…”

“Do you know, Mother, every day and night after I fell into damnation, I thought about you. I thought about how you killed me—”

Luo Yao silently closed her eyes.

“—and how I would kill you.”

The moment her words finished, the young woman’s eyes became instantly cold and focused. The black mist on her fingertips condensed into a sharp curved blade, which she swung toward Luo Yao’s neck.

“Clang—!!”

A dazzling white light flashed. The person who should have been unarmed, at some unknown point, held an ice-blue longsword in her hand, meeting the pure black blade without dodging!

The young woman’s brow furrowed, and she instantly pulled back her blade: “The Form of a True God… How is that possible?!”

“You want to ask me why I can maintain the form of a True God even without my true body, is that right?”

Luo Yao—no, the transformed Luo Yao—spoke calmly.

Meanwhile, Yi An, huddled in the corner, was completely dumbfounded. This “Plus” version of Luo Yao wore an ethereal white gown that trailed to the ground, held a string of pure celadon prayer beads in her left hand, a sword in her right, and a golden spiritual light on her forehead. Her entire being seemed to emit a faint moonlight.

Her features were originally gentle, but with a slight change, they carried an indescribable divinity.

To still think Luo Yao was a great demon at this point would be idiotic. Yi An quietly crept toward Si Yin and whispered, “Luo Yao is her mother, so who is the demon you were talking about?”

Si Yin didn’t answer directly, only showing an expression as if her teeth hurt: “Damn it, I didn’t think it would get this big today. My little ancestor, you should pray that demon doesn’t show up today.”

“Oh, but they said you were a God?”

“…”

Si Yin calmly wrenched Yi An’s head back: “I told you to bow to your sister.”

At this moment, Yi An’s sister was busy radiating holy light.

“…Why?” The young woman stared intently at Luo Yao, as if weighing the truth of her words.

Luo Yao smiled faintly, though the smile looked sorrowful.

“I didn’t come this time for you.” She stepped forward and gently stroked her eldest daughter’s cheek. “Her Holiness… I have more important things to attend to.”

“Does it concern my Mistress?”

“You came to the human realm this time because the power you accumulated was finally enough to escape her, correct?” Luo Yao didn’t answer her question. “The sacrificial formation was set up poorly; it took several batches of living and dead people to achieve the effect. But you don’t understand that these people shouldn’t have died now.”

“What’s the difference?” the young woman said indifferently. “The Buddha said there are forty-eight thousand methods, but the lifespan of humans is only a few decades. Which of them can truly comprehend? They suffer the Eight Pains of Life; I ended it for them. They should worship me.”

Luo Yao said, “But they know you are not a God. Do you know that?”

The young woman froze.

“I saw four sticks of incense lit for you on their shrine… They clearly know you are a malevolent spirit, yet they still revere you as the Sea God. Do you know why?”

Luo Yao looked deeply into the young woman’s eyes: “Because ever since you came to the East Sea to cultivate, you suppressed a few tsunamis so they wouldn’t disturb you.”

“Humans know how to repay kindness. You did them a favor. Even though you are not a God, they still worship you.”

The young woman seemed to sense something and interrupted her impatiently: “What exactly are you trying to say?”

Luo Yao smiled, although the smile looked very sad.

“I only want to say that you are still too young. There are many things in this world that you haven’t understood yet, Lingshuang.”

Lingshuang was silent for a moment, then suddenly turned her head away, whispering, “…I am truly sick of your sanctimonious appearance.”

Luo Yao took a deep breath, seemingly about to speak, but suddenly had a premonition and stopped all movement, looking toward the cave entrance of the burial site.

The second person to feel it was Lingshuang.

She abruptly spun around, her gaze passing over Yi An’s shoulder, and the pure black curved blade in her hand was instantly retracted. If one looked closely, they would notice that this little demon, who had been cursing and attacking everyone, was subtly trembling.

It’s not my imagination, Yi An thought.

Lingshuang essentially treated Yi An like air, and her eyes held nothing but contempt when Tan Tan knelt before her.

Si Yin seemed to be able to talk to her on a near-equal footing, but Lingshuang didn’t take her seriously, not even fighting properly.

Only Luo Yao, her biological mother, could truly speak to her face-to-face. But in reality, Lingshuang wasn’t afraid of Luo Yao, even mocking her for being sanctimonious.

But now, Yi An saw a profound wariness in Lingshuang’s eyes for the first time, so deep it could be described as fear.

“…”

Si Yin silently cursed something, then quickly retreated with Yi An and Tan Tan.

She was retreating right toward Lingshuang. If Lingshuang were to swing her blade now, Si Yin would definitely not be able to dodge, but the fact was that no one had any intention of fighting now.

“What’s going on!” Yi An frantically shook Si Yin, despairingly wishing for the nth time that their conversations came with a built-in commentator.

Shaken back to awareness, Si Yin let out a long sigh: “…I really cursed us with my big mouth.”

Yi An didn’t immediately grasp what she meant.

In fact, she didn’t have time to react.

Because tiny ice crystals began to form in the surrounding air. The temperature plummeted by at least thirty degrees, as if they had suddenly been tossed to the South Pole.

Crystalline snowflakes and ice chips began to drift into her field of vision. Yi An shivered and tried to catch a flake, but Tan Tan immediately pressed her down without explanation, shaking her head frantically, not daring to utter a single word.

What the heck?

Yi An had a premonition that another powerful figure was about to arrive. But who could make everyone present withdraw like turtles?

In the dead silence, a graceful silhouette draped in red gauze appeared in their sight.

Tan Tan collapsed the moment she saw the crimson color, sinking to her knees, her head buried in her arms and trembling, apparently not daring to even glance at the person.

Ah, is it that exaggerated?

But before Yi An could even comment, she saw Si Yin immediately kneel down as well. Following closely was Lingshuang. It’s worth noting that the little demon who had been cursing and slashing everyone was actually the most disciplined one kneeling.

Yi An: “???”

Looking around, Yi An was one of only two people not kneeling. The other was Luo Yao.

Just then, Si Yin grabbed her clothing and forcefully pulled her down, so Yi An also plopped down onto the ground in a kneeling position.

“You…!”

“Shut up!” Si Yin’s expression was unprecedentedly solemn. “No matter what happens next, don’t say a single word, understood?!”

Yi An nodded.

Then, Si Yin released her, performed a full kowtow to the figure, and solemnly announced:

“Demon Lord.”