Nie Yinzhi suddenly panicked. She put her ear to his chest, but there was no sound. She checked his breathing and pulse, feeling increasingly horrified as if plunged into an icy cave.
"Gu Jiang..." Nie Yinzhi pushed him, her voice trembling. She tried several times to probe his consciousness with her spiritual sense, but to no avail.
What happened? How could he die so quietly? Was it because of the injury he sustained at the Cloud Scripture Sect when he took the hit from the mountain-protecting formation? Did he endure it all this way, pretending nothing was wrong, just to get her out of there? Had he reached his limit when they arrived here, which was why he rushed into the inn so urgently?
Gu Jiang, why are you so foolish?
This turn of events was too sudden. Nie Yinzhi's mind was in chaos, with many thoughts rushing in, but she couldn't grasp any of them. When she cupped his face in her hands, tears were already falling uncontrollably, making her sob.
"Gu Jiang... *sob*... why, how could you..." Nie Yinzhi couldn't form complete sentences, not knowing what to say.
Just moments ago, she had been happily planning their dinner menu, and while taking a bath, she had been thinking about where they should go next, planning to ask Gu Jiang's opinion when he woke up.
This was truly a bolt from the blue.
[Oh my god, what happened? Why is Nie Yinzhi crying like she lost her man? Did I miss some important plot?]
[???? What's going on????]
[Why the crying?? Did Gu Jiang die?]
[Stop crying, Yinzhi, you're making me cry too.]
[Damn, is this fixing a plot hole? Because Feng Hanying appeared, there can't be two demon lords, so Gu Jiang just dropped dead? I can't think of any other reason why a demon lord would suddenly die.]
[Hahaha, serves him right! He should have died earlier! Without a demon lord backing you up, what are you, Nie Yinzhi?]
Nie Yinzhi caught sight of the floating comments from the corner of her eye. She gritted her teeth, feeling uncontrollable rage rising in her heart. Her spiritual power fluctuated abnormally, and her pupils filled with a red glow of demonic possession.
The Red Leaf Sword trembled with a whimpering sound, and its demonic energy was drawn towards Nie Yinzhi by an invisible force.
Nie Yinzhi thought, to hell with the plot - she didn't care about any plot. She would become a demon and make everyone pay the price.
And then—
Gu Jiang opened his eyes. There was too much Five-Colored Dew in his mouth, and he almost choked. After swallowing it with a gulp, his face showed the grumpiness of someone who had been rudely awakened. He mumbled unclearly, "Nie Yinzhi, you're too noisy."
He gave his sword a sleepy, puzzled look, then turned to the person before him who was crying her eyes out with bloodshot eyes.
Nie Yinzhi choked up, the turbulent spiritual power in her meridians instantly solidified, and the demonic energy that had been drawn to her suddenly retreated back into the Red Leaf Sword.
She probably couldn't turn into a demon now.
When Gu Jiang saw her clearly, he instantly became alert. He propped himself up and lifted her chin, "Why are you crying? What's wrong?"
The tears that Nie Yinzhi had dropped on his face earlier trickled down his cheeks and into his mouth, tasting bitter.
Nie Yinzhi stared at him with wide eyes, opened her mouth, but couldn't help sobbing first. Unable to speak, she could only shake her head.
Gu Jiang frowned. This was the first time he had seen Nie Yinzhi cry like this, and it stirred up an inexplicable irritation in his heart.
He sensed an unusual aura from Nie Yinzhi, and his eyes suddenly darkened. His whole being emanated a gloomy coldness. He wiped her tears, got up from the couch, casually pulled off his outer robe and put it on as he walked out, saying, "Wait for me here."
Gu Jiang crooked his finger, and the Red Leaf Sword whooshed into the air, its blade light casting a defensive barrier in the room. He had already vanished from the room.
Everything happened so quickly that Nie Yinzhi had no chance to stop him, let alone know where Gu Jiang was going or what he planned to do.
The bed curtains fell softly, and Nie Yinzhi placed her hand over her heart to calm herself, slowly recovering from the emotional rollercoaster of thinking the great demon lord had suddenly died, then suddenly came back to life, and then suddenly ran off.
Then, she almost cried again at her own stupidity.
In her panic, she had forgotten about the symbiotic curse binding her and Gu Jiang. Now that he was the only one sustaining the curse, if Gu Jiang had died, she would have died too. She wouldn't have had the chance to mourn him.
Nie Yinzhi untied the ribbon on her left wrist and revealed the curse mark. The small golden leaf was gently swaying, bright and golden, fresh and vibrant, living very healthily.
She roughly wiped away her tears and buried her face in the pillow, cursing herself in frustration, "Ahhhhh, why are you so stupid!"
Fortunately, Gu Jiang had left. If he knew that she had cried like that because she thought he was dead, Nie Yinzhi would surely die of embarrassment and want to dig a hole to bury herself in.
When she was young, she had a puppy that died suddenly in its sleep after eating something bad, and she had cried for days, unable to eat or drink. How much more would she cry for a cherished demon lord?
It wasn't embarrassing, after all, Gu Jiang didn't know why she was crying.
After adjusting her mindset, Nie Yinzhi sat up, took out a small mirror to check her reddened eyes, then got up and pulled back the curtains. She changed into a snow-white gauze dress embroidered with silver peacock patterns - when she moved, you could see the silver tail feathers shimmer with flowing light, extremely exquisite.
She put on beautiful makeup in the bright sunlight streaming through the window, covering her red eyes. She took out some snacks that had been sent up earlier by the waiter, sat by the window, eating while waiting for Gu Jiang.
The sun was bright, time was peaceful, as if nothing had happened.
[???? What's going on, are you two playing us??]
[To be precise, Nie Yinzhi is playing us alone.]
[How dare you! Are my tears worthless?! I'll be damned if I shed another tear for you!]
[You devil Nie Yinzhi, no matter how beautiful you make yourself, I won't forgive you... oh, wow, sister is really beautiful.]
[LMAO, Nie Yinzhi put on a whole tragic drama by herself, and Gu Jiang's first words upon waking: "Nie Yinzhi, you're too noisy."]
[Why is this so funny? Is this artificial stupidity? (dog head) I have to screenshot this and post it on Weibo, I'm dying of laughter.]
["Nie Yinzhi, you're too noisy." Hahahahaha you jerk, is that any way to talk?]
【I'm dying of laughter, sisters in front, wait for me, let me help Nie Yinzhi dig out a Demon Immortal Castle!】
【Gu Jiang, the heartbreaker】
【Feng Rabbit is going to be scared silly by his master.】
【You're too white, it's blinding. Hahahahahaha I was frantically screenshotting and saving the scene, and you tell me it's blinding?】
【The demon has been single for thousands of years for a reason! Damn, don't fall for the demon, there's no future!】
【Surely not, has Nie Yinzhi already fallen for Gu Jiang? I don't think so, it's probably just a bit of liking and affection.】
【Sisters, someone tell me, did I remember wrong? Did Gu Jiang, this dead-straight man, ever say something like "You are the first beauty who saved me" that makes the heart flutter?】
【Ehhh, that should be the demon's super performance, mainly because Nie Yinzhi guided it well, and the words just came out as the peak of his romantic speech for this lifetime.】
【Nie Yinzhi, listen to me, only by stir-frying this blockhead can he get it!】
While waiting for Gu Jiang to return, Nie Yinzhi had silently prepared her excuse. If Gu Jiang asked why she had been crying earlier, she would say she had a nightmare and was scared.
But in reality, she didn't need to make up any reason, as Gu Jiang had already found one for her.
The large grey rabbit in front of her was the owner of the wisp of demonic energy that had tempted her at the inn entrance, Gu Jiang's disciple, Feng Hanying. No wonder the demonic energy was of the same origin.
Gu Jiang thought she had been bullied by his disciple.
"How did he offend you? You can deal with him however you want." Gu Jiang looked at the redness around her eyes that hadn't faded, and could still recall her sobbing uncontrollably. He knew a bit about Nie Yinzhi's temper, "If you're still not appeased, I can pull out his true form too."
Nie Yinzhi was taken aback by his words, "His true form? It should still be sealed in Ten Thousand Demons Cave, far from here."
Gu Jiang didn't know about Ten Thousand Demons Cave, but hearing that it was far away, he hesitated slightly, then reached out to the roasted rabbit, pulling a wisp of demonic energy from it, which twisted and struggled between his slender fingers, "Did you hear that? Come here yourself."
The wisp of demonic energy clung to Gu Jiang's hand, and Feng Hanying felt more wronged than Dou E, "Master, I really didn't do anything, just checked her spiritual veins."
Nie Yinzhi's eyes moved, "He also bit my finger." She raised her finger, although the tiny mark like an ant bite had long disappeared, "He's stealing your food."
The wisp of demonic energy was shocked and turned to Nie Yinzhi, then drooped weakly. He had already restrained himself to just a light bite, not painful at all, and this woman was actually tattling!
"Master, I admit my mistake, I didn't know she was yours."
Nie Yinzhi hooked her arm around Gu Jiang's neck, looking down at the wisp of demonic energy with a superior gaze, correcting him, "You've got it wrong, your master is my demon."
Feng Hanying disdainfully snorted. In the hundreds of years after Gu Jiang's slumber, Feng Hanying had gathered all demonic cultivators under his command, reigning as the Demon Lord, calling the shots in the entire cultivation world, and naturally had no shortage of women throwing themselves at him.
He had seen too many women like this, just a bit favored, and they became arrogant, not knowing their own names.
Nie Yinzhi frowned, deliberately saying, "Brother, stuff him back into the rabbit and roast it."
Gu Jiang flicked his fingers, sending the wisp of demonic energy back into the body of the flaming rabbit, sealing Feng Hanying's consciousness within the rabbit's form and preventing him from escaping. After glancing at Nie Yinzhi to confirm her mood had returned to normal, he looked dispirited and walked back towards the bed.
"You take it to the kitchen yourself."
Nie Yinzhi temporarily ignored the rabbit, following Gu Jiang like a tail, slipping into the bed curtains with him.
Gu Jiang pushed her face away slightly and asked, "What's wrong?"
Nie Yinzhi stubbornly moved closer again, casting a soundproof spell before saying, "Are you feeling unwell? Is it because you expended too much demonic energy last night?"
She felt something was off with Gu Jiang; he was usually lethargic, and Nie Yinzhi always thought he was just lazy, but today it seemed there was another reason.
Gu Jiang half-closed his eyes, "I'm fine."
Nie Yinzhi didn't believe him. She reached out and placed her hand over his chest. The strong, vigorous heartbeat beneath her palm puzzled her. "You... previously had no breath, no pulse, and your heart stopped. Is that normal? You didn't seem to be like this when you were asleep before?"
Gu Jiang didn't respond, just stared at her.
Nie Yinzhi realized and withdrew her hand awkwardly, "Is this something you can't tell me?" She forced a smile, "Alright, as long as you're fine. Our lives are intertwined, so that's why I asked. Don't be offended."
Gu Jiang's eyes were complicated as he gently stroked the redness under her eyes that had yet to fade. "So, did you cry for me just now?"
Nie Yinzhi was stumped. Why did he focus on that detail? Couldn't he just gloss over her embarrassing moment?
She remembered Gu Jiang's previous statement about "being accepted by the heavens and not rejected by all things" and speculated that he might be enduring some pressure others couldn't feel. She gritted her teeth, sliced her wrist, and held it to his lips. "Will drinking my blood make you feel better?"
Aliali: 673ef259c4f3f33ac4f19166
Gu Jiang took her wrist and hesitated for a moment, pressing his thin lips to her delicate wrist and flicking his tongue to lick her wound.
The flaming rabbit in the corner, smelling the scent of blood, suddenly perked up its ears, crawled out from under the cabinet, and jumped to the bed curtain, sniffing vigorously but intimidated by Gu Jiang's presence, it could only stamp its feet anxiously.
Feng Hanying, tempted by the smell of blood, even felt his main body in the Ten Thousand Demons Cave stir. The rabbit stretched its neck to look inside, finally unable to resist, and hopped in.
Just as it took one step, a blade of red leaves whistled and landed in front of it, almost chopping it in half, preventing it from advancing even a fraction.
Feng Hanying shuddered, his fur standing on end, and rolled back.
The barrier formed by the blade's light completely separated the two sides, not even the smell of blood could pass through. The rabbit kept sniffing the lingering scent, its three-lipped mouth moving incessantly, its eyes showing contemplation. It decided not to escape anymore; it would stay.
Inside the bed curtains, Nie Yinzhi propped herself above Gu Jiang with one hand, his other hand holding her wrist. The wound hurt, and the slight suckling sensation was strange.
Previously, Gu Jiang would drink all her blood before it healed. This was the first time he had sucked on her wound.
The sound of his swallowing was clear.
Nie Yinzhi's hand went numb and she collapsed onto his chest. Gu Jiang's eyes moved slightly, as if startled awake, the haze in his eyes fading. He moved down slightly, biting the red string tied to the white bead, squeezing out the Five-Colored Dew, and holding it in his mouth before covering her wrist wound again.