The Demon Queen Insists on Marrying Me - Chapter 10

Lu Xiaoxiao quickly covered Zhu Yujie’s eyes, fearing that Zhu Liang’s imminent bloodshed would traumatize the young girl.

She had already assessed Zhu Liang’s combat prowess—barely past the early Golden Core Stage, around the 15th level. Tantai Jing, a Great Demon from the depths of the Demonic Beast Mountain Range, could easily defeat a demon far above her own cultivation level.

With a roar, Zhu Liang transformed mid-air into his Aohun form: a monstrous, bull-like demon with four horns. He charged at Tantai Jing, his massive frame looming like half a house. Tantai Jing seemed small enough to be crushed under a single stomp.

But the situation wasn’t so simple. Tantai Jing leaped nimbly, unleashing seven or eight whip strikes in rapid succession. Each lash struck the Aohun squarely in the face, drawing piercing, shrill howls of agony.

Lu Xiaoxiao felt a prickling sensation on the back of her hand. The girl, growing impatient with her covered eyes, had begun tugging at her hand. As soon as Lu Xiaoxiao moved her hand, the girl’s lips quivered, threatening tears. Quickly, Lu Xiaoxiao tore off her black hair ribbon, tied the ends together, and started playing cat’s cradle with the girl. Anxious about Tantai Jing, Lu Xiaoxiao could only steal glances at the battlefield between each cat’s cradle move.

Soon, dozens more rounds passed in the arena. At some point, Aohun swallowed a crimson pill, and Tantai Jing, who had been gradually gaining the upper hand, suddenly lost her advantage. Even after striking Aohun with dozens of whip strikes, the beast showed no signs of dodging.

Lu Xiaoxiao panicked and wanted to intervene.

But then the scene shifted dramatically. The human and demon now stood tens of meters in the air, surrounded by a raging tornado. Facing each other amidst the howling winds, Tantai Jing reached for the necklace at her chest, as if trying to tear it off.

Lu Xiaoxiao recognized the Concealing Pearl—the artifact sealing two-thirds of Tantai Jing’s cultivation. Removing it would unleash her full power, but it would also release her suppressed demonic aura.

“Looks like she’s getting serious,” Lu Xiaoxiao murmured. “Better end this quickly. I still don’t know what’s happening with Senior Sister.”

“Junior Sister, watch out!” a male voice suddenly shouted across the arena.

Tantai Jing froze, startled by the sudden warning, and the beast seized the opportunity. Aohun struck her with a devastating blow, sending her flying backward to crash into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. Lu Xiaoxiao leaped to her feet, cursing under her breath, “Damn it! Why did that idiot have to show up now?”

As the dust settled, Tantai Jing shakily rose to her feet, wiping bl00d from the corner of her mouth. Her moon-white robes were stained with crimson droplets. She noticed Mei Yuanhua’s arrival but offered no acknowledgment.

Tantai Jing immediately sprinted toward Lu Xiaoxiao and Zhu Yujie, shouting, “Run!” She scooped up Zhu Yujie and fled into the distant mountains, Lu Xiaoxiao hot on her heels.

Seeing Tantai Jing retreat, Mei Yuanhua abandoned his fight with the Aohun and followed closely behind, choosing a slightly divergent path through the mountains.

The Aohun, relentless in pursuit, veered off to chase Lu Xiaoxiao.

“Damn it! Why aren’t you going after him?” Lu Xiaoxiao yelled, channeling her newly learned qi to boost her speed, barely managing to keep pace with Tantai Jing.

“Are you alright, Tantai Jing? How badly are you hurt?” Lu Xiaoxiao glanced back anxiously. If the big brother’s down, the little brother’s doomed no matter how hard he struggles.

Tantai Jing’s gaze remained fixed on Mei Yuanhua’s retreating figure as she turned to fly toward him, replying weakly, “Not good.”

The Aohun moved with astonishing speed. They had hoped the trees would conceal their escape, but the creature could shrink its form, now resembling a cheetah, relentlessly snapping at their heels.

Ten meters… five meters… closer and closer… Lu Xiaoxiao felt her back tighten, as if she were locked in the sights of a ferocious beast.

Tantai Jing’s injuries had slowed her down considerably.

Lu Xiaoxiao’s heart wavered like a scale, torn between her conscience and self-preservation. Seeing Tantai Jing grimace in pain as she carried Zhu Yujie and fled, she couldn’t bring herself to abandon them. But after all, it was Tantai Jing, not her, who had fought Aohun. If she were smarter, she might have followed Mei Yuanhua’s example and fled away from Tantai Jing, perhaps even escaping with her life.

Just as the trio was about to be overtaken, Aohun’s foul-smelling maw loomed inches away…

Lu Xiaoxiao shouted, “Mother of Lightning and Lord of Thunder, descend your divine power! Five Thunder Talisman, strike now!” She pulled a handful of talismans from her chest and hurled them backward.

Aohun startled at her roar. It recognized the Five Thunder Talisman and feared she might have thrown mid-level or high-level versions.

It skidded to a halt, but the talismans still plastered its face. My life is over! it thought grimly. Yet after a moment, the expected lightning strike never came. Instead, a poof of thick smoke erupted, leaving its face blackened.

Aohun exhaled two plumes of dark mist through its nostrils, its rage boiling over. “Damn you! I’ll grind your bones to dust!”

After flying another hundred meters through the forest, Lu Xiaoxiao wiped away nonexistent cold sweat from her forehead, only to hear Tantai Jing, who was fleeing beside her, let out a snort of laughter.

“You still have the nerve to laugh? Didn’t you claim you were absolutely certain? We’re about to die together, on the same day, in the same month, at the same time!”

Tantai Jing turned to her with a smile. “What’s so bad about that? Dying might even be less painful than the Golden Coin Gu. Once Aohun starts savoring you, Yujie and I might have a chance to escape.”

The moonlight illuminated her bl00d-stained face, giving her an eerie allure. Her playful gaze made Lu Xiaoxiao, who was desperately fleeing for her life, feel strangely captivated. In a moment of distraction, she blurted out her inner thoughts: “Demoness! Even at a time like this, you’re still trying to bewitch me with your magic.”

Tantai Jing’s eyes widened in surprise before she let out another soft laugh.

Aohun, having been tricked by Lu Xiaoxiao’s Five Thunder Talisman, was closing in on them again as they spoke.

Clutching the Concealing Pearl, Tantai Jing glanced at Mei Yuanhua, who was only a few meters away, and hesitated, about to tear it off. But then Lu Xiaoxiao shouted again: “Mother of Lightning and Lord of Thunder, descend your divine power! Break this Five Thunder Talisman!”

This idiot, she thought to herself. You already fell for it once—how dare you try it again?

Just as she was about to move, a deafening thunderclap boomed, and a bolt of lightning as thick as a water vat crashed down from the sky, hurtling toward her from behind.

Aohun hadn’t expected Lu Xiaoxiao to dare repeat her trick, so she didn’t slow down at all after hearing the incantation. She had dodged a few talismans the first time, but this time she evaded none. When a cloud of smoke erupted before her, she thought her gamble had paid off. But as the smoke cleared, a thunderous blast struck her squarely, bl00d gushing from her head as she collapsed to the ground with a clang.

Lu Xiaoxiao cautiously approached the fallen Aohun, nudging her twice with her foot. She turned to Tantai Jing and asked, “Dead? Unconscious?”

Mei Yuanhua, noticing the commotion, approached the pair with one hand behind his back.

“Unconscious, but she’ll be dead soon,” Tantai Jing replied. In a swift motion, she drew Lu Xiaoxiao’s sword and thrust it backward…

The blade pierced Mei Yuanhua’s dantian.

The dagger in Mei Yuanhua’s hand clattered to the ground, embedding itself in the soil at his feet. His eyes widened as he stared at Tantai Jing. “You… when did you find out?”

Tantai Jing watched Mei Yuanhua fall backward, drew her sword, and said calmly, “The stench of demonic creatures is unbearable…”

Lying on the ground, Mei Yuanhua clutched his abdomen, bl00d gushing from his mouth, his face twisted in a grotesque grimace. “Interesting… Junior Sister Jing sends you a gift. I look forward to our next encounter.”

A wisp of black smoke erupted from Mei Yuanhua’s body, catching Tantai Jing off guard and allowing him to escape.

She turned and strode toward Aohun, raising her sword with both hands and bringing it down on the demon’s head.

Lu Xiaoxiao shifted Zhu Yujie in her arms, making her more comfortable, and asked Tantai Jing, “What was that black smoke that came out of Mei Yuanhua’s body?”

Tantai Jing feigned surprise. “Soul Possession. Shouldn’t you know more about that than I do?”

Lu Xiaoxiao was about to argue when she noticed Lu Wanbai approaching from afar, accompanied by a member of the Jade Glow Palace. As they drew closer, she recognized the figure: Hall Master Xiaoshuang of the Hall of Law Enforcement.

Xiaoshuang’s gaze swept over Aohun’s corpse, then shifted to Mei Yuanhua’s body before settling on Tantai Jing with a hint of suspicion.

Taking two steps back, Xiaoshuang asked Lu Xiaoxiao, “How did Mei Yuanhua die?”