The great and respectable Elder Wei Xing was willing to trade places with Bai Qing. He must be truly in love with her, many of the spectators thought, including Xiu Xiang.
"Poor guy..." Xiu Xiang thought. The poor fellow didn't know that Bai Qing had tried to run out of their marriage and now he was offering to take her place.
She hadn't even agreed when she saw Wei Xing form a seal with his hands and slammed a palm against his own chest. Her eyes widen in shock when she saw what he had done.
He wasn't a poor fellow, he was an idiot. A truly pitiful lovesick fool.
He had sealed his own spiritual core.
"Elder!" the younger disciples under Wei Xing cried out. "Let me take your place!"
When they saw their respectable elder seal his own spiritual core, they were fueled with anger, hate, and utter shock. They wanted to rip Xiu Xiang to pieces but they couldn't make a move for they feared that their elder's lover would get injured. As they each screamed out to ask Wei Xing to let them take their place, Hua Jian jumped in too.
"I'll take his place!" Hua Jian said as he stepped forward and out of the crowd. He was only an arm's width away from Xiu Xiang when someone asked out, "Who the hell are you? You're not with Tian Ling Sect!"
"Oops. Busted," Hua Jian breathed out.
If Xiu Xiang's hands were freed, she would've slapped Hua Jian silly. Even if he was in disguise, he didn't look like anyone from Tian Ling Sect. She decided that it was now or never.
She released her grip on Bai Qing's neck and tossed her over to the frontline of the crowd and together with Hua Jian, they opened up a small portal to jump into. She kicked Hua Jian through the portal first out of anger and jumped in after.
Just as she was jumping into the portal, she felt something grab onto her arm. She didn't fear that she wouldn't make it through because the suction of the portal was strong enough to pull her through including whatever had latched onto her arm.
As soon as she made it back to the Demon Realm, she turned around gasped in shock when she realized what had latched onto her when she crossed through. It wasn't a what either.
It was Wei Xing.
The portal closed almost immediately behind them and the last thing she saw was multiple horrified faces from Tian Ling Sect. If she had a mirror, she would realize that she looked just as horrified as them. Somehow, she had managed to bring along her enemy back with her.
"You--!" Xiu Xiang started to say but stopped when she realized that Wei Xing was struggling to stand on his own feet.
For a respectable elder of Tian Ling Sect, he really was an idiot. Did he not realize the dangers of jumping through a dangerous portal like the one they just went through, especially when he sealed his own spiritual core? The harsh spiraling energy of the portal would've shredded him to pieces, however, seeing how he managed to get through in one piece only further proves just how dangerously strong her enemy was.
He really was the Demoness's enemy. He even went as far as to follow her all the way to the Demon Realm. Did he really want her dead that much?
"You... don't... leave me again..." she heard him say before his eyes rolled back in its sockets.
"Wait!" She managed to catch him in her arms and the both of them went toppling to the ground.
Something was definitely wrong with this scene. Why did it look like their roles seem to have reverse? Wasn't it almost always the female character who fainted in the male character's arms in times like these?
"Aiya! I turned my eyes away from you for a second and you're already throwing yourself at a man!" she heard a ridiculing voice say from above her. Her eyes looked up and she saw Hua Jian looking down at her with his dainty hand covering his mouth. He leered at her and chuckled. "My Lord, there once was a saying 'extreme joy produces sorrow'. Let's take care of business first, shall we?"
"Scram!"
After much unneeded laughter from Hua Jian, he finally decided to help her pull Wei Xing off. The only problem was, when Hua Jian lifted Wei Xing off, Xiu Xiang noticed that Wei Xing kept a tight grip on her sleeve.
"Really now... what is the relationship between you two?" Hua Jian asked as he eyed the hand that kept a tight grip on her.
"He's my enemy," Xiu Xiang replied dully as she tried to pry his hand off of her.
"Is that so? Then you wouldn't mind if I take him for myself? He looks quite delectable," Hua Jian commented. To emphasis how delicious Wei Xing looked, Hua Jian licked his lips as his eyes flickered a strange light.
Xiu Xiang had been so comfortable around Hua Jian, she almost forgot that he was someone who defined himself as a woman. It was only natural that he would like someone who was as handsome as Wei Xing. When she thought this, she felt a sudden irritation.
"Touch him in any way and I'll burn your face off," Xiu Xiang threatened suddenly.
"Hmph. Greedy. I thought he was your enemy," Hua Jian pouted.
"He is..." Xiu Xiang replied.
But he was also the first one who showed me true kindness.
She didn't bother telling Hua Jian this. The three of them made it back to the Night Palace without anyone seeing them. If anyone did, Xiu Xiang would die of embarrassment. She as the King of Demons couldn't even pry a single man's hand off of her.
She had Hua Jian lay Wei Xing down on her large bed and then kicked him out of the room, leaving her alone with the man who would one day be the death of her. Once again, this was her chance to get rid of the man who would kill her one day. If he is gone, she wouldn't have to fear death any longer. She wouldn't worry about dying young. She could live out the rest of her life however she wants without a threat hanging above her head.
But he looked so defenseless... so helpless.
She couldn't find it in her to kill him. Sighing in defeat, she called for one of the maids who stood outside her door.
"Bring me some medicine and gauze," she ordered. The maid bowed deeply and left the room.
Meanwhile, back at Tian Ling Sect, many people were trying to figure out a way to enter the Demon Realm to save Wei Xing.
"We must make haste! Who knows what they have done to Elder Wei by now!" one of the senior disciples urged. Everyone in the hall, including Sect Leader Bai agreed, but Sect Leader Lin thought differently.
"Wei Xing must have a reason for doing what he did. The seal he had placed on himself should easily wear off within a couple of hours. I'm sure he has a plan. Wait for him to send a message back," Sect Leader Lin assured everyone.
Hope returned to those wearied eyed faces and were determined to act when the time comes.
Bai Qing, who was hidden in the corner, looked guilt ridden. If only she hadn't tried to run away from the wedding. Would this have happened? If only she had known that Xiu Xiang was the Demoness who had been causing havoc, she wouldn't have agreed to help her. Because of her, Wei Xing sealed his spiritual core and was taken hostage. Such a brave and heroic person, why did she refuse to marry him in the first place? She was such an idiot!
It was then, that she promised to go through with the marriage when he returns. She will faithfully follow him until her death.
There was no such thing as day or night in the Demon Realm. It was always dark so when Wei Xing woke up, he thought he was still in Tian Ling Sect. He felt his hand grasped tightly onto something soft so he looked down. It was Xiu Xiang's white robes. He quickly remembered what had happened. He had sealed his spiritual core in order to trade places with Bai Qing, however, Xiu Xiang decided to escape without a hostage. The thought of watching her disappear on him again, drove him to do something insane. He had jumped into the portal after her knowing that he could very well be ripped to shreds.
Looking around, he noticed he was sleeping in a rather large and luxurious bed. A thin veil wrapped around the entire bed, overcasting his view of the room. The first thing he did was check his spiritual core. It had already been long unsealed. He made sure to hide the fact that it was unsealed. So long as he was here in the Demon Realm, he was going to find a way to destroy the demons and bring Xiu Xiang back to the side of righteous.
He lifted back the veil and the first thing he saw was a table covered with bloody gauze, ointment, and a jar filled with the scent of medicine. When he saw that, he quickly checked the bandage on him and noticed that his injuries had already been healed after his spiritual core unsealed. Realizing he had worried for nothing, he got out of bed to inspect the room that he was resting in.
There wasn't much to the bedroom besides the bed and the table. A dresser was set off to the side and next to it was table with cosmetics sprawled on top. He ignored the room and moved on into the next. It seemed to be the study. Bookshelves spanned three walls with a single table and chair in the middle of the room. Scrolls and textbooks filled the table to the point where it practically fell off. There were even some opened scrolls that laid around the table.
He moved forward to take a closer look when his eyes caught sight of a section of the bookshelf. It was slightly open ajar and a warm breeze wafted through the crack. Wondering what secrets held behind the bookshelf, he quickly checked to make sure no one was around, then he snuck through. It was a pathway inside a tunnel. Every ten steps there was a candle on the wall that lit itself up. He didn't worry about losing his way in the dark because of it. The further he went, the warmer it seemed to be. Eventually he came upon a large clearing. It looked like an underground hot spring.
The rock walls were decorated with glowing leaves and a strange purple flower that gave off a lovely scent. Just one whiff of the flower, and Wei Xing felt his body relax... that is until he saw a naked woman in the middle of the hot spring.