Chapter 611: Chapter 554: Come Over, Have Some Fish_2

No one had ever spoken to her in such a manner, nor had anyone dared to.

The redness at the tip of her nose slowly faded away, and she released the strand of hair between her fingertips, speaking softly, “I was born under an ominous star and spurned by my clan. My birth shrouded her in dust for her entire life, yet she did not kill me. I feel that there is no reason for me to kill her, even though she treated me so, even though I deeply resent her for being unfair.”

“But… it wasn’t until that night when she broke off a corner of cake and gave it to me that I realized I had always been hoping she would show me a bit of warmth.”

She raised her finger and gently caressed the bead on her earring, speaking in an unusually cold voice, “I have thought about killing her, but that piece of cake stunned me for many years. Every time I wanted to poison her with the demon toxin, to make her taste the agony of wishing for death, I would recall the taste of that moist cake in my mouth, and my resolve to kill her would dissipate.”

Under the night wind, with her hair disheveled, her face seemed blurred, “After all, I only have one mother. Whether she’s good or bad, once she’s gone… there’s no one left.”

She whispered very softly, “I cannot bear to do it.”

Every person who seems to be tirelessly strong hides a sense of loneliness deep inside.

As the night enveloped everything, mist floated up high, like swirling smoke falling from the firmament. Baili An landed at an unpopulated border of the Royal City by Sword Control, and the night mist gradually receded around them.

He looked down at the woman whose facial features were gradually becoming clear and said, “When you cannot obtain something and cannot bear to leave it, then put it far away. Out of sight, out of mind, it’s better than shattering it with your own hands.”

Ning Feiyan smiled with a flash of imperceptible emotion dissolving in her eyes, like a mirage in a mirror or the moon reflected in water.

As she entered the Royal City, Baili An could no longer maintain his human form, leaving Ning Feiyan to make her own way to Chao Mu Hall.

After two days of rest, the Monarch’s Return Banquet quietly arrived.

In the early morning, the Demon Lord emerged from seclusion. At the pillar of the earth veins in front of the Demon Palace, thousands of creatures from the Demon World gathered in throngs.

The fire flags flapped and danced boldly on the divine platform with the sound of silk and bamboo instruments.

The Demon Lord sat high on the throne, with officials of the Demon World seated on both sides. Mythical beasts streaked through the sky and eight demonic flames supported the heavens. Below the Monarch’s throne on the three thousand steps, molten lava churned furiously.

Erhe Zangxin arrived the earliest; still clad in his purple robe and a skeleton mask, he found his seat of honor and sat down.

Ning Feiyan didn’t arrive too late. When she showed up at the Monarch’s Return Banquet with Baili An transformed into a kitten, the seat for the Lord of Wuhe was already taken by another.

That person stood out conspicuously in the banquet, prompting Baili An to take a second look.

It was a young man, standing before the Demon Lord.

His body emitted a forceful Demonic Qi, unrestrained and flamboyant, intimidating other Demon Generals who intended to offer a toast, making them stop in their tracks to watch from afar.

He was clothed in a robe of golden embroidery, just like many other members of the Demon Clan who did not wish to reveal their true faces, his face covered by a layer of black energy.

The garments on his body were loose and sweeping the floor, and between the flaps of the robe, it seemed as if the bloody runes of some beasts were depicted, writing out paragraphs of ancient and mystical texts. When one’s gaze fell upon those texts, without careful attention, one’s Divine Sense felt as though it could be pulled in.

But what was particularly noteworthy was that the man’s hands and feet were shackled.

The shackles were appallingly white, made of Beast Bone, traversing through the wrists and ankles, with a long chain of symbols attached to the tails of the bones.

On the other end of the chain, a ferocious beast gripped it in hand.

Clearly, this man’s freedom was greatly restricted.

Putting aside his status, Baili An thought to himself that the man seemed more like a prisoner forced to be here.

Yet despite this, the man was leisurely pouring wine and enjoying his food, and even in his movement, he exuded an ease of someone who was here just to enjoy the spectacle.

The seat for San He was empty, indicating that the man from that night would not be joining today.

The seat for Liu He was sealed with a black tape, as for the Demon World, the matter of a successor for Liu He was something scarcely addressed.

Ning Feiyan also found her seat and accepted the toasts offered by others, while secretly introducing to Baili An through mind speech, “Shu Ci of Yihe always makes the grandest entrance, coming last every time, while Erhe Zangxin is the most thoughtful and malicious among us.

San He Wang Yi is the most mysterious, never participating in the Monarch’s Return Banquet year after year. Many speculate that his strength cannot advance and fear the cruelty of washes and transitions, but despite the doubts that arise year after year, he still securely holds the precious seat among the upper Mohe; the strength he displayed that night was barely the tip of the iceberg. Being ranked below Zangxin, he is certainly not simple.”

“Of course, he won’t come today and temporarily isn’t considered our enemy, so we won’t worry too much about him.”

“Si He is none other than I,” she continued with a proper introduction, while not forgetting to tease him, “If Master Si Chen would like to delve deeper into the matter, I can explain slowly when we return to the hall tonight.”

Her Enchanting Demon’s nature was clear as she spoke with a blatant badness.

“The one you’ve been watching for a while is Su Xi of Wuhe. He’s quite young, only just over four hundred years old, and his status is somewhat special. Among us, he’s the most erratic one to live with, and who knows if he might go mad one day and decide to kill even himself.”

Baili An thought to himself that a person with pierced hands and feet who still had the mind to savor wine slowly was indeed insane.

He withdrew his gaze from Su Xi of Wuhe, meowed twice, and raising his paw, pressed down on the glass in her hand, reminding her through mind speech, “With injuries on your body, it’s best not to drink.”

Ning Feiyan laughed out loud, this time not through mind speech, but on purpose to tease aloud, “On normal days, the little housekeeper Hong Zhuang doesn’t dare to stop me from drinking, and yet you, a little cat, dare to be so presumptuous.”

As she spoke, however, in accordance with the direction of the cat’s paw’s pressure, she placed the wine glass back on the table.

She looked up politely and smiled at the young Demon General, saying, “Excuse me, my cat is tidy and dislikes the smell of alcohol. If I get soaked with alcohol, it won’t want to sleep with me tonight.”

The Demon General, whose status was lower than Ning Feiyan’s, did not dare to make a scene, repeatedly laughing and smoothing things over, yet his gaze could not hide the envy he felt as he looked at the kitten in her arms, wishing that he were that cat, to spend each night warming and sleeping with a beauty—how delightful that would be.

Baili An thought to himself that this woman truly didn’t bother to draft her lies; in reality, it was she who was clean and disliked his shedding, forbidding him from approaching her bed.

He rolled his eyes in exasperation, but then sensed a cold and chilling gaze from afar.

Atop the high platform on the throne, the Demon Lord in a dark-colored Monarch’s robe, beneath the crown of beaded black jade curtains, watched intently with enticing eyes. Deep within those pupils appeared to flicker a light, like the burning of icy flames in a vast cold sea, piercing and captivating.

Even the Demon Clan at the far periphery could feel the unusual change in the aura emanating from the Demon Lord, and the whispering voices that had filled the hall suddenly quieted down.

Even Wuhe Su Xi stopped pouring his wine, his body turning rigid as he looked towards the throne, seemingly puzzled by the Demon Lord’s reaction.

Yet among them all, there seemed to be someone completely unaware, as Ning Feiyan acted as if she saw nothing of the Demon Lord’s intense gaze.

She busied herself playing with the kitten in her arms, stroking his little whiskers, bending down to kiss his paws, and winding his tail around her wrist in an overly affectionate manner.

Suddenly, the Demon Lord lowered his eyelids and the precious Jade Pot on her table burst apart, shattering into pieces, with wine spilling everywhere.

This commotion startled the attendants.

But to their surprise, the Demon Lord seemed unbothered, picking up a jade chopstick, taking a slice of fresh, delicate fish to eat, evidently very satisfied. Then taking another slice, she said to the kitten in Ning Feiyan’s arms in a gentle voice, “Come here, have some fish.”

Baili An felt as if Ning Feiyan was intentionally provoking him, attracting the Demon Lord’s fury upon him as soon as the banquet had begun.

He had seen this Monarch’s tyranny and unreasonableness; her current gentle demeanor suggested that if he did not comply, the situation could turn unpleasantly difficult later.

Baili An shot Ning Feiyan a meaningful look.

Yet Ning Feiyan blatantly ignored it, patted his little bottom, and said with a smile, “You mischievous little cat, while it’s good to be loyal to the past, the Monarch remains your new master, and she treats you very well. You should be cozy with her, so why do you cling to me all the time? Go on now.”

Upon hearing this, Baili An distinctly saw a series of spiderweb-like fractures appear silently on the green jade chopsticks under the Demon Lord’s fingers.

What was terrifying was that the new master’s face showed not a hint of change.

Today’s Monarch’s Return Banquet… felt somewhat dreadful.