Smoke and Fire [GL] - Chapter 8
Perhaps it had been too long since she heard that address. Luo Yao paused for a moment before saying, “You may all rise.”
Having spent so much time in the Human Realm where everyone was equal, she was genuinely unaccustomed to the sight of everyone kneeling before her. Though thousands of years ago, she never saw any problem with this etiquette.
Bu Ye was absolutely obedient to her. Even after standing up, she kept her head lowered.
“Where is Shang Mian?” she asked.
“The Sovereign is in the Central Hall,” Bu Ye replied respectfully. “The Sovereign commanded that your status in the Demon Realm is equal to hers, and you are free to enter any room.”
Well, the reason for such reverence and fear from these people was finally clear.
Luo Yao smiled almost imperceptibly, then stood up. The black-robed maidservants immediately scattered with a swish, clearing a path for her.
Bu Ye immediately stepped forward: “Your Highness, are you going to see the Sovereign? Do you require a subordinate to—”
“No need,” Luo Yao looked back and smiled sweetly. “I’ve been here before.”
Before she had fallen.
She walked alone, navigating the intricate and mysterious corridors. The Demon Realm’s eternally dark night sky was suspended above the carved ceiling. The solitary Cliff Moon hung coldly, just as it had a thousand years ago.
She had once complained to Shang Mian that the Demon Realm was too quiet, and the Cliff Moon was many times larger than the human moon, its light cool and stark. It couldn’t compare to the unending blossoms of the Celestial Realm, and the boundless firmament always interwoven with gold dust.
That was why, after their marriage, they rarely returned to the Demon Realm, preferring to live in the Azure Luan Divine Palace in the Celestial Realm. Only now, looking back, did she want to ask Shang Mian how she endured all those years being scrutinized in the Celestial Realm as the Demon Sovereign.
Just then, she looked up in a daze and saw the silhouette cloaked in a red veil behind layers of curtains.
“Good, you can be quiet now.” The person clearly chuckled, not in anger, but in a way that discouraged any further conversation.
“But, Mistress…”
“Be quiet.”
She repeated faintly, pacing a few steps. Then, as if realizing something, she suddenly stopped, looked up behind her, and met Luo Yao’s gaze.
All the coldness and unhurried composure in her eyes instantly vanished, like melting snow. She quickly rushed forward, smiling, “Sister, you’re awake?”
“Mhm.” Luo Yao responded, then used her eyes to point towards the curtain and asked what was happening.
“Just disciplining a child. Sister needn’t worry, my subordinates know their limits,” Shang Mian said, her eyes curving in a smile. She naturally took Luo Yao’s hand, giving a look to the maidservants on both sides as they walked. In less than ten seconds, all the maidservants vanished from the corridor.
The vast hall was instantly left with just the estranged family of three, and the atmosphere was slightly awkward.
Shang Mian carefully helped Luo Yao sit down on the main seat, while she leaned casually against the side, very naturally handing Luo Yao a cup of tea.
Anyone familiar with Shang Mian’s usual demeanor would likely doubt their eyesight upon seeing this scene. While Lin Shuang knew her Mistress was extremely biased, witnessing it firsthand was still quite bizarre.
Her mouth twitched, but she resigned herself to performing a deep bow to Luo Yao: “Mother.”
Luo Yao was about to say there was no need to kneel, but Shang Mian quickly held her hand, winked at her, and then turned to Lin Shuang, saying coldly, “Just two words?”
Shang Mian actually possessed extremely seductive beauty. She had taken off her mask; the red veil trailed three feet on the floor, her long hair was casually draped over her shoulder, and her deep crimson eyes always held a hint of a smile, a beauty that dared not be looked at directly.
If Yi An were here, she would know where Lin Shuang’s vivid beauty was inherited from. But Lin Shuang dared not know; she was close to being driven mad by Shang Mian.
“I… I was wrong, Mother, Mistress. I should not have constantly thought of escaping to the Human Realm because I fear you, Mistress. I should not have privately set up a sacrificial array to harm the innocent, nor should I have challenged other Gods, and definitely not spoken recklessly to Mother.” Fearing it wasn’t enough, she kowtowed again, “Daughter sincerely repents and absolutely will not commit these mistakes again!”
Shang Mian was peeling grapes with her eyes lowered. She didn’t even look up after hearing the confession: “Mhm, you may leave. Go kneel for three days.”
Lin Shuang, the entire Demon, felt a great weight lift. She respectfully saluted them again and only dared to turn around once she reached the corridor.
Luo Yao watched Lin Shuang’s retreating figure and couldn’t help but chuckle, “There’s no need for that, A’Mian. She’s just too afraid of you.”
Shang Mian smiled without speaking, came to sit beside her, and placed a platter of peeled grapes nearby.
“Sister.” She smiled gently and alluringly.
“Hmm?”
“Sister doesn’t know how I’ve spent these days. I found out about the Glazed Terrace incident here in the Demon Realm,” Shang Mian’s voice gradually softened as she slowly buried her head in Luo Yao’s chest, looking a little wronged. “I was scared.”
Luo Yao could never resist her like this. She gently stroked Shang Mian’s waterfall-like long hair, asking softly, “Scared of what?”
“Scared that Your Highness would hate me because of Lin Shuang,” Shang Mian whispered against her chest.
Luo Yao’s eyelashes trembled almost imperceptibly.
“Azure Luan, if not for her, you would have healthy children. But with her, you fell into a fated calamity with no solution.”
“Stop running away. You must kill her with your own hands to sever this unholy bond.”
The falling blossoms on the Grand Glazed Terrace of the Heavens were still vivid in her mind, but the voice of the person before her was so earnest. How could she possibly bring herself to do it?
“…If I truly wanted to kill you, I would have struck a killing blow in Yunshan. I only asked you to knock me out to put on a show for Si Yin and the others.” She lowered her head and placed a kiss on Shang Mian’s brow. “I could never kill my wife to prove my devotion to the Way.”
The kiss seemed to be a reassurance to Shang Mian. She sat up from Luo Yao’s embrace, smiling sweetly: “Stay in the Demon Realm for a while. Bu Ye is my confidante, and Sister can command her freely.”
“They seem very afraid of you,” Luo Yao tilted her head, teasing her. “Sovereign?”
Shang Mian immediately showed a “spare me” expression.
“Demon Venerable Lady?”
Shang Mian’s look was very helpless, yet the smile in her eyes added a touch of indulgence: “…Sister.”
Luo Yao was almost bursting with laughter internally.
“Sister can call me whatever you like,” Shang Mian’s porcelain-white fingertip picked up a translucent grape, her smile deepening, “However, I need a little compensation.”
With that, she bit the grape between her lips, leaned down, and kissed Luo Yao.
Luo Yao was genuinely startled at first, but Shang Mian’s movements were very gentle and undeniable. The sweet, syrupy juice of the grape burst between their lips and teeth, and the intermingling of their breaths made the moment exceedingly ambiguous.
“Mmph… someone might see us!” Luo Yao gently reminded her when the person above finally eased her grip slightly.
Shang Mian chuckled softly, kissed the bridge of her nose again, and said casually, “If they see, I’ll kill them.”
Luo Yao’s white sheer garment was already of Demon Clan style with a very low neckline. With this half-push, half-welcome interaction, it slid directly below her shoulders.
In the dim light of the deep, empty hall, the curtains gently swayed. And on the main seat, which symbolized absolute power, red and white sheer silks intertwined, and ambiguous sounds murmured amidst the confusion.
“No…”
A few minutes later, Luo Yao held Shang Mian’s shoulder, giving her a final ultimatum, “Not here. Otherwise, I’ll be angry.”
“…”
Shang Mian’s movements paused. Then she sighed with a smile, buried her head in Luo Yao’s shoulder, and surrendered.
“Sister,” she whined with a hint of spoiled affection, “Can you bear to leave me alone in an empty room…”
“Does the Demon Venerable Lady lack people to warm her bed? Who would believe that if I said it,” Luo Yao leaned back against the headrest, her lips curving into a smile.
She meant it as a joke, but Shang Mian suddenly lifted her eyes, her smile becoming much more serious: “I don’t lack them, but Sister, those people are all air to me. I have only ever seen one person in my life whom I am willing to follow forever.”
Luo Yao paused, then slowly leaned in and voluntarily kissed her cheek.
Shang Mian smiled. Just as she seemed about to say something, her expression slightly hardened. She stood up and scanned the outside from a commanding height.
It turned out that at some point, a figure in black veil was kneeling in the corridor outside the hall, seemingly holding something.
“Subordinate Bu Ye greets the Sovereign and the High God Azure Luan.”
Shang Mian was highly displeased at the interruption of her mood, with coldness radiating from the corners of her eyes and brows: “Speak.”
“Reporting to the Sovereign,” Bu Ye held the vibrating object forward slightly. “This… this is the High God Azure Luan’s item. It seems to have been activated.”
Luo Yao looked at it from afar and then fell silent.
“My cellphone,” she whispered to Shang Mian as an explanation.
Shang Mian curved her eyes at her, and when she turned back, her tone was much softer: “Mhm, bring it up.”
Luo Yao took the phone from Bu Ye’s trembling hand, saw the caller ID was “Yi An,” and commented faintly, “…A’Mian, since when can your Demon Realm receive calls from the Human Realm?”
The thought was quite terrifying, upon closer reflection.
At the very least, if she made a call, the IP could randomly scare a lucky recipient to death.
“The Demon Realm needs to develop too, Sister,” Shang Mian chuckled. “But currently, it’s only possible within the Demon Palace, and it can only receive, not dial. Limited to texts and calls, no WeChat allowed, though.”
Luo Yao: “…” Alright then.
She pressed the speaker button with a complicated feeling. The next second, the entire hall was filled with Yi An’s hysterical screeching:
“Aahhhhahahaha Luo Yao, are you still alive?! Si Yin said the Demon Realm can connect calls now. If you’re alive, just grunt for me!!”
Luo Yao wasn’t sure what fit she was throwing now, but she figured Si Yin must have already explained the worldview to her. A little hysteria was understandable.
“I’m alive. What’s wrong?”
Yi An continued to impersonate a screaming chicken: “It’s so great you’re alive, aahhhhahahaha!! So, uh, if your Demon Venerable wife isn’t right next to you, can you come save the three of us?!”
“Demon Venerable wife” Shang Mian raised an eyebrow, tacitly accepting the title without comment.
“What’s going on? Where are you?”
Yi An gave her the name of a nightclub, then said: “Si Yin said this level of illusion can only be handled by you now. My heroic sister, I love you, mwah, remember to come save us quickly, hurry up!!”
With that, the call ended.
Luo Yao: “…”
She looked up at Shang Mian. Shang Mian was looking at her with a knowing, half-smile. They looked at each other without speaking.
A few seconds later, Shang Mian proactively backed down, saying, “Sounds like an illusion of attachment. It can trap several Gods at once, so the realm is not low.”
“Sister, I will go with you.”
Luo Yao denied it without hesitation: “No, the Human Realm would be completely exposed to the Celestial Realm’s view. The act we put on before would inevitably be revealed.”
“Then according to the Celestial Realm’s wishes, you and I should now be mortal enemies,” Shang Mian chuckled lightly. “Sister appears out of nowhere. Is it possible that Si Yin and the others set a trap?”
“Si Yin is not that kind of person,” Luo Yao said.
Shang Mian sighed with a predictable smile, lowered her eyes to meet hers for a moment, and then her fingertip subtly condensed a feather earring about three centimeters long.
She gently placed the snow-white feather on Luo Yao’s right ear, whispering, “I am with you always.” (or: “I’ll be there whenever you need.”)
Then she helped Luo Yao up with one hand and drew an arc in the air with the other. A teleportation array instantly formed in the space.
“Don’t worry about me.” Luo Yao smiled back at her and stepped into the array gate, disappearing without a trace.
Shang Mian stared at the spot where Luo Yao had vanished for a long time. The gentle smile completely disappeared from her face, replaced by a familiar and chilling cold authority.
Bu Ye watched her Sovereign’s lowered profile with trepidation. Her long-standing intuition from following Shang Mian told her that the Sovereign was in a very foul mood right now.
Sure enough, the next second, she saw Shang Mian slowly sit back down on the main seat, not even raising her head: “Bu Ye.”
Bu Ye nervously knelt:
“Present.”
“Who gave you the audacity to call Her Highness the High God Azure Luan?” Shang Mian slowly raised her dark crimson eyes, a hint of a smile on her lips:
“Did I permit it?”