Chapter 571: Chapter 539: Fatal Weakness_2

Ning Feiyan now occupied the awkward position of fourth among the six rivers, neither high nor low. If she could take this opportunity to become a top river lord among the first three, the marriage agreement between her and Young Master Mi Lu could naturally be broken without a fight.

Ning Feiyan laughed softly, “Compared to leaving my fate in the hands of others, I much prefer to control it myself.”

The Female Demon Lord’s gaze swept past the Treasure Bead beneath her ear, “But I see your current situation isn’t too good, is it? How did the Divine Origin, passed down through generations of the Demon Clan, lose a third of its power just by going to the Mortal World? This time, at the Monarch’s Return Banquet, the third river won’t attend. Thus, you can only challenge the second river. Si He against the second river… those odds are exceedingly slim.”

Ning Feiyan’s smile did not fade as she spoke, “The future is unknowable. If I shall fall in battle, then it is simply my fate, and I am willing to taste its bitter fruit.”

The Female Demon Lord sighed, “In that case, let the River Lord of Si He fend for herself.”

“Your Majesty,” Ning Feiyan called out softly, “at the Monarch’s Return Banquet, I have prepared a gift for you, hoping Your Majesty will like it.”

The Female Demon Lord responded nonchalantly, not taking it seriously, “I’ve heard talk of this in the Royal City, that you intend to offer that cat you’ve raised to me. Unfortunately, I don’t care for cats, so there’s no need for you to bother.”

Ning Feiyan smiled without saying a word. Just as she was about to leave, she asked as if by accident, “Your Majesty, have you heard of the name Arao?”

The Female Demon Lord’s eyes suddenly deepened. She drifted up like a ghost and arrived behind Ning Feiyan, her desolate and icy hand gently caressing her slender nape. The luster in her cold, enchanting eyes was very pronounced. Yet her tone was unusually gentle, so gentle that it inadvertently invoked taboo.

“Where did you hear this name?”

Ning Feiyan’s movement off the bed halted. She seemed unfazed by the deadly intent from the hand at her neck, her face showing a vague and unclear smile.

She looked at the shadow cast on the wall, seemingly speaking without intention, “It’s only that I found a good-looking bed companion recently. In his state of jumbled feelings, he clung to me and called out this name… Hmm… It’s vexing that he slept in my bed while moaning another girl’s name. I wasn’t too pleased, so when he was drunk, I prodded him a little.

Only then did I learn about this Arao girl—a very formidable member of the Demon Clan. I have never heard of such a person in our Royal City who could make the gentleman I fancied so heartbroken.”

The fingertips on the back of her neck suddenly stiffened, and behind her, there was a long silence. Amid this silence, the sense of lethality never faded but only grew.

After a while, the Female Demon Lord said faintly, “Is the mark from your guardian spirit on your arm gone because of him?”

Ning Feiyan’s tone was quite leisurely, “He is indeed a likable little master.”

That hand and the skin it caressed were tender and lingering as if cherishing her. The Female Demon Lord’s voice held a hint of hesitation as she tentatively asked, “The person you mentioned, did he really call out that name?”

Ning Feiyan expressed annoyance, “Didn’t he? Your Majesty, you should judge. Where in the world is there a man who chills the heart like he does? All night long, the name Arao nearly made my ears callous. If he truly likes that girl Arao, why bother to provoke me?”

The Female Demon Lord’s voice murmured in disbelief, her tone slightly vulnerable and panicked, “You say… he likes Arao?”

Ning Feiyan’s brows drooped, hiding an inexplicable smile under her eyelids, yet displaying a bitterness and sorrow of being wronged.

“If he did not like her, why would he recite a person’s name for so long at such a time? He even knew exactly what the girl liked.”

The Female Demon Lord subconsciously asked, “Liked what?”

Ning Feiyan answered with annoyance, “That girl must be a sword fanatic; she loves collecting swords.”

The Female Demon Lord pursed her lips, her eyes showing a reddish hue, almost affirming Ning Feiyan’s words were true. She slowly withdrew her fingers, continuing to inquire, “Did he tell you anything else?”

As her hand left, Ning Feiyan dared to turn around, looking at her with an odd gaze, “Your Majesty’s preferences seem somewhat… odd, to be so curious about the private affairs of my chamber.”

The Female Demon Lord leaned down slightly, looking seriously into her eyes at close range, “Indeed, I’m quite curious how such a worthless thing could make you risk your brother’s thunderous wrath to willingly give yourself to him?”

She had been turned around on.

Ning Feiyan cleared her throat, “Did he not say anything else?”

The Female Demon Lord laughed and patted her head, “You’ve served me very well tonight, and I am in a good mood. You may leave early.”

Ning Feiyan glanced out the window at the increasingly blood-red moon, truly at a loss for where her good mood was coming from.

But tonight, her mood was genuinely very good.

Slowly uncovering the fatal weakness hidden in the monarch’s heart was indeed an extremely interesting process.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

After Ning Feiyan had left, the great hall was empty and everything seemed to merge into the night.

The Female Demon Lord stood alone on the dais, her gaze blankly fixed on the faint green smoke rising from the beast in the Golden Furnace. Her black eyes were at times warm, at times cruel, and at times fell into a perplexing muddle that was hard to untangle.

Tonight, she was at a critical period of calming her spirit and merging her soul, which should not be disturbed by the slightest ripple. However, Ning Feiyan’s words had upset her mind, leaving her unable to calm down for a long time.