Chapter 19: The Demon Princess

  When she said the last word, I felt a sharp gust of wind coming from my left side, and right in front of me, Mo Yue's figure was gradually disappearing. Not good, due to the speed being too fast, an afterimage appeared.

  Although the narrow sword had not yet pierced my body, the sharp aura had already made my skin ache secretly. Mo Yue's attack this time was aimed at my temple, and if I were hit, no matter how strong my defense was, there would only be one outcome - falling into hell.

  Because I had been paying attention to her movements, as soon as I sensed something was off, I immediately raised my Ink Shadow, and the narrow sword just happened to be pointing at the hilt of the Ink Shadow. The metallic scraping sound was exceptionally piercing to the ear. I was knocked back by her powerful strength, but her attack was far from over. In front of my eyes appeared countless flapping Moons of Ink, countless black lines shooting out from her hands, stabbing towards all the vital points on my body.

  Speed was never my strong point, I could only wield the Ink Blade to block the fatal attacks that could be directed at me, other places were beyond my care. The Fallen Angel's offense was indeed powerful, under her attack, blood splattered from my body, dyeing the warrior robe on me red.

  A bright light bullet shot towards the center of Mo Yue's power, and was shattered into a sky full of glittering lights by her sword energy, but this also slowed down her speed. It was Zi Yan who was supporting me.

  Seizing this fleeting moment, I no longer hesitate. Incanting: "Darkness condenses the soul, falling is freedom, awaken, endless magic in my blood." Along with the incantation, a dense black light emanates from my body.

  I let out a long howl towards the sky, and huge black wings tore through my warrior attire, unfolding on my back. My head full of light green long hair completely turned black, and an evil smile appeared on my originally cold face.

  I felt the energy inside me circulating at several times its original speed, and the dark elements around me quickly surged into my body. With each flap of my wings, the ground around me became a storm of flying sand and pebbles.

  My black eyes shone like two black gems under the sunlight. A layer of sword aura appeared, blocking the narrow sword that was chasing me, and the air was filled with the sound of clashing swords. After transforming, I surpassed Mo Yue in strength and completely blocked her attack for the first time.

  Mo Yue's eyes were filled with a look of astonishment: "You, you've also become a fallen angel, aren't you human, are you one of our demon clan?"

  I glanced at the equally surprised Ziyan, and gave her an apologetic smile: "Can only your demon clan become fallen angels? I didn't want to kill you, this is what you forced me into."

  My body moved at will, I raised the Ink Ming, transformed into a black longbow, and rushed towards the frightened Ink Moon. The move didn't mean much to me, after transforming, my speed and strength increased exponentially, my attack was straightforward and without any fancy moves. Ink Moon was hastily sliced by my sword, she couldn't match me in terms of power.

  I chased after her, unleashing seven consecutive sword strikes, each one powerful and forceful. Mo Yue struggled to block my attacks, the immense impact sending her crashing into four ancient trees before she managed to steady herself. A trickle of blood flowed from the corner of her mouth, and for the first time, fear filled her eyes. Since she had triggered my transformation, I was now consumed by a desire to kill, and silencing her was my only option. But what I couldn't understand was that as fallen angels, why did it seem like I was on a completely different level than her after transforming? She was powerless against my speed and strength.

  Actually, the reason why Mo Yue can become a fallen angel is that she was originally an anomaly. She was transformed by the Dark Emperor's input of dark magic into her body. In comparison, my dark magic has been cultivated through many years of hard work, and the difference between us is obvious. Moreover, I have a stronger physical body than Meng, which is beyond her reach. To be honest, my current situation isn't great either. The pursuit of one day and one night has consumed a lot of my physical strength, and I lost a lot of blood just now. Although transforming gives me great power, the dizziness keeps invading my mind. A quick battle is my best choice.

  Mo Yue Hen Sheng said: "I don't understand why you can transform into a fallen angel, but since you want to kill me, let's die together." Mo Yue's black hair fluttered up, her hands grasped the narrow sword, and her whole body's aura continued to rise. The black mist around her body disappeared, replaced by a faint black light.

  I know she's going to go all out, trying to take me down with her. Hum, it won't be that easy, though - with my defense, plus my speed and strength surpassing hers, even if I wanted to mutually destroy each other, for her, it's almost impossible. I also gather all my fighting spirit, preparing to give her a Crazy Dragon Dance when she attacks, ending her life.

  Although killing a beauty is not a pleasant thing, I had to do it in order to avoid being exposed. Mercy for women is impossible for me. Our momentum was constantly pushed to the peak, and Mo Yue suddenly let out a loud cry, her sword merged with her body as she charged towards me. I coldly laughed and shouted: "Crazy Dragon's Urgent Dance." Letting my body be completely controlled by Mo Ming, I started spinning wildly, transforming into a giant black dragon with sharp teeth and claws to meet the attack.

  I have every confidence in myself, and the result of such a hard collision will only end with her drinking hate. But just as the two strongest powers of the enemy and our side were about to collide, the black awn transformed by Mo Yue suddenly flashed out a blue light, forcibly changing the direction of her attacking pounce, pointing straight at Zi Yan.

  I was shocked in my heart, and now I understand that what she said about being doomed to destruction wasn't directed at me. The fact that I could change direction while charging forward with all my might is too unbelievable for me. Fortunately, I didn't use my full strength earlier, and the remaining two points of strength played a crucial role at this time. The black giant dragon produced by my high-speed rotation also changed direction and chased after her.

  But I was after all a late starter, and although I had to surpass her in speed, it was already impossible for me to defeat her before she attacked Ziyan.

  I gritted my teeth and rushed towards Ziyuan's location at the fastest speed. Just as I was about to collide with her, the black dragon that I had transformed into used its body, which was also mine, to block Mo Yue's attack. "Boom." The ground was blasted out of a large pit by an enormous force, and the sky was filled with scattered tree branches and dust.

  Ziyan was blown to one side by the violent gust of wind, her face even paler.

  I stand proudly in front of her, with fresh blood dripping down from Mo Ming, left behind by Mo Yue.

  Mo Yue was ten steps in front of me, her hair disheveled, many feathers fallen from her wings, and she spat out several mouthfuls of blood. She pressed one hand against the wound on her shoulder, gazing at me with a mournful expression, her eyes filled with a bewildered look.

  I let out a sigh and said, "Killing a woman is beneath me, you can leave now. I hope we don't meet again in the future. However, if you leak out what happened today, even if you're hiding in the Demon Clan's imperial palace, I'll still dig you out. Don't blame me for being ruthless when that time comes."

  Ink Moon stared at me fiercely, step by step backing away, suddenly turning around, flapping her wings, and flying away with a dazed expression. Anyone could see from her stumbling appearance that she had suffered a severe blow.

  As I watched her back disappear, I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

  Ziyan walked up to me, furrowing her brow and saying: "Why didn't you kill her?" I let out a bitter laugh as I looked at her, and suddenly a mouthful of blood spurted out. My entire body went limp and collapsed to the ground, the wings on my back slowly retracting into my body. The fallen angel's transformation gradually disappeared.

  Just now, to save Ziyan, I used my body to block Mo Yue's attack. Although on the surface I didn't suffer any external injuries, the meridians inside my body were completely destroyed by Mo Yue. I was forcing myself to endure the pain and scare away Mo Yue. If she had persisted in attacking me with one more sword, I'm afraid I would have been sent to the underworld already. Ziyan cried out in surprise and hurriedly supported my body: "How are you?"

  "My injuries are severe, wait a moment and I'll call over the black dragon, you bring me to hurry up and leave. Remember, head deep into the demon tribe's internal area, we can't go back now, maybe there is a large group of demon soldiers surrounding us. Also, absolutely do not use your light system magic to treat me, otherwise it will have an adverse effect. Everything wait until I recover a bit before saying anything."

  I barely summoned the black dragon, and with Zi Yan's help got on the horse.

  Zi Yan also rode onto the black dragon, embracing my waist, letting me lean against her body.

  I instructed Heilong to listen to her words afterwards, and then fainted in the fresh and fragrant scent of a young woman on Ziyuan's body.

  A sharp pain in my body's meridians woke me up, the fire crackled on the side, I found myself lying in a pile of leaves, looking at the sky, it should be deep night now, Zi Yan was stirring the fire beside me, her eyes were dull and she didn't know what she was thinking.

  Under the illumination of the flames, Ziyan's uncommonly lovely face was rendered a deep red, giving one an urge to take a bite.

  I activated the Tianmo Jue, attempting to repair the meridians within my body. The severed meridian points suddenly transmitted a severe pain, and I couldn't help but let out a low moan.

  Ziyan woke up from her contemplation and ran to my side, saying: "Don't move, your injury is severe. I don't dare to treat you myself, so I've run over 200 miles within the Demon Clan's territory. I was afraid that your condition would worsen, so I stopped here. Your external wounds are already bandaged, but for internal injuries, you can only rely on yourself. You absolutely cannot have anything happen to you, as you still need to protect me."

  This injury is not as severe as the last one, but my old wound has just healed and a new one has been added. It's not something that can be cured in a day or two. I nodded reluctantly and said, "Thank you, how's your injury?"

  Ziyan's tone was very gentle: "My injury is nothing, recovery spells are what we light system mages are best at. Eat something, I have some dry rations." As she spoke, she ran back to the fire pit and picked up a few pieces of roasted dried meat that were slightly charred. Ziyan looked a bit embarrassed, her face red as she said: "I've never cooked before, just make do with this, there's nothing else right now."

  I raised my hand, wanting to take the meat from her hand, but the intense pain made me unable to move. Ziyan looked at my painful expression and quickly pressed down on me, tearing off a piece of dried meat and putting it in my mouth.

  Under the dark night sky, Ziyan's actions gave me a strange and inexplicable feeling. I didn't even taste the flavor of the dried meat.

  We both didn't speak, Ziyan continued to tear off pieces of dried meat and feed them to me, and I silently enjoyed this gentle treatment.

  Occasionally, her fingertips would touch my lips, and an electric shock-like sensation would spread throughout my body. This feeling only occurred when I first kissed Zixue.

  After a long time, I was the first to break the silence, because my stomach really couldn't hold any more food: "I'm full, you have some too." Her appetite was small, she only ate a little and then stopped. She casually cast a low-level water magic spell, and several water balls appeared in front of us.

  Ziyan took out two wooden bowls and filled them up: "I just used your sword to carve these two wooden bowls, you won't be unhappy, will you?" As she spoke, I found that the two bowls were respectively carved with our names. Although the taste of the water made by magic was not very good, I drank it with relish.

  Ziyan took off the cloak on her body and covered me with it: "Get some rest early, I hope you can get better soon. If you need anything, just call me." After finishing speaking, she walked to the side of the fire pit and lay down.

  I feel refreshed all over, the purple yarn's bandaging skills are really good, I don't know where she found these cloths from, why doesn't she ask me about the fallen angel? Doesn't she want to know? Her meticulous care for me makes my heart feel incredibly warm, looking at her enchanting and beautiful back figure, I slowly fall asleep.

  In the early morning, the crisp bird calls woke me up from my sleep. A good night's rest made me feel much more comfortable. The meridians in my body were unblocked a bit, and due to my strong physical recovery ability, the external injury was no longer a problem.

  The bonfire had long been extinguished, with wisps of blue smoke curling up, and Zi Yan was still curled up and lying there.

  I propped myself up and got up, walked to her side, covered the cloak for her, her face was red, making me feel a little uneasy. I called out softly: "Ziyan, wake up, wake up." To my call, she didn't react at all.

  I placed my hand on her forehead, and was shocked to find that it was burning hot. Something's wrong, she's fallen ill. With Zi Yan's mastery of the Light System magic, she shouldn't be getting sick easily, but yesterday's scare was too great, and she got injured, and even gave me her cold-resistant cloak, which is why she fell ill.

  Taking care of the patient is really difficult for me, and in an instant, sweat covered my forehead. When I raised my hand to wipe away the sweat, I found that the wound on my hand was not bandaged with gauze, but with some white cloth. I squatted beside Ziyuan, carefully lifted up her hem, and as I had expected, under the thin outer garment, there was only a crystal clear skin, she used her own clothes to dress my wounds yesterday.

  My head exploded with a loud bang, and I felt dizzy for a moment. Yu Yan had silently paid such a great price for me; if it weren't for me, she wouldn't have fallen ill either. Even if I were made of stone and iron, I couldn't help but be moved.

  I swept up the scorching hot Ziyan, and she murmured in my ear: "Water, water." I waved my hand, conjuring a ball of water that I placed in a wooden bowl engraved with her name, feeding it to her drop by drop.

  I tore off a good piece from the hem of my clothes, wetted it with another water ball, folded it into a square shape and put it on her forehead. Now I can only pray that she wakes up soon.

  For the whole day, I fed her water dozens of times and soaked the cloth on her head in cool water hundreds of times. By the time the sky was getting dark, Ziyuan's head finally wasn't so hot anymore, the fever had gone down.

  I lit a bonfire beside her, wrapping her body tightly with my cloak. I didn't dare to sleep, and could only keep a portion of my consciousness, painstakingly repairing the damaged meridians.

  "Lei Xiang, Lei Xiang." I was startled awake from my training by Zi Yan's voice, only to find that she wasn't awake but was instead murmuring in her sleep, calling out my name.

  I held her icy small hand, softly whispering in her ear: "I'm here, sleep well, tomorrow when you wake up, everything will be fine." Ziyan's murmurs gradually became unclear, the expression on her face also returned to calmness, she tightly grasped my hand, and I could only let her hold it like that so as not to startle her.

  I completely separated the Kyoshin Douki and Tenma-ryoku, gradually using Douki to penetrate deep into Shiina's body to drive out the evil spirit. At first, it was relatively successful, but as soon as my energy tried to seep in, it was immediately repelled by a sacred power within her body, and that powerful holy power almost made me lose control.

  My body's pain and fatigue kept numbing me, unknowingly, I fell beside Ziyuan, still holding her small hand that had gradually warmed up in my grasp, and entered dreamland.

  Something cool and smooth kept moving on my face, I was so sleepy that I didn't want to open my eyes, just letting it continue, my brain gradually started working, and my consciousness also cleared up a lot, I knew what was on my face, it was a gentle and slippery small hand, here were only me and Ziyuan, this hand must be hers.

  To avoid awkwardness, I dared not move anymore, trying to maintain the original posture and breathing rhythm, fearing that she would discover that I was already awake.

  "Lei Xiang, you're so good at sleeping, oh. Although I wasn't clear-headed yesterday, I knew you were by my side taking care of me. Why are you so nice to me? Hmm, why is your face red? Ah!" The clever her immediately realized my state and quickly withdrew the hand that was on my face.

  I knew I couldn't pretend anymore, slowly opening my eyes, moving my mouth a few times, and barely squeezing out one word: "Morning." Ziyan's face was red, shyly nodding her head: "What morning? It's almost noon already." Indeed, the sun had risen high in the sky and would soon be directly above us. "I slept for so long, huh. Is your illness better?"

  After a few sentences of conversation, we both gradually relaxed a bit. Ziyan smiled and said: "It's all right now, thank you for yesterday." "What are you thanking me for? This is what should be done. If it weren't for you leading me to run so far, maybe we would have been caught already. Are you hungry? I'll go get some food for you, the dry rations are gone." I tried to stand up, but only then did I realize that our hands were still tightly clasped together. My skin was slightly dark and had turned a bit purple, while Ziyan's pretty face had become a bright red apple.

  A night's tight grip made our hands a bit stiff, and after trying several times, we finally managed to separate. A sense of indescribable loss flowed through my heart, and her expression also became somewhat melancholy at the same time.

  I gnawed on the fruit I had found in the woods, eating without savor, while Ziyan leaned against a nearby tree, eating the same thing. Originally, I wanted to catch some small animals to eat, but Ziyan said we couldn't kill indiscriminately, or we would suffer heavenly punishment, and she wouldn't let me do it no matter what.

  I feel like I've become a different person now. In front of Zi Yan, I can no longer put on my former aloofness, and helplessly accepted her suggestion.

  I picked up a big pile of various fruits, Ziyuan only took a look at them and easily picked out which ones were edible. Like this, I also became a vegetarian. After we finished eating the fruit, the sky had gradually darkened, the sun's afterglow shone on the forest, making it a dull yellow.

  "Ziyan sighed: 'The sunset is infinitely beautiful, but it's just near dusk.' She looked like she was feeling a sense of melancholy."

  I suddenly felt myself extremely impulsive, the secret suppressed in my heart seemed to be bursting out, as if I wanted to pour it all out to Ziyan. I suppressed the excitement in my heart and tried to make my tone as calm as possible: "Why do you have such a deep feeling towards the sunset?"

  Ziyan turned back with a smile, her moving appearance stunned me for a moment: "I just remembered my father and mother."

  "I asked in surprise, 'Aren't they very good?' Ziyan sighed and said, 'That's just on the surface. Do you think their relationship is really that harmonious? No. They are political sacrifices. Back then, my grandfather took a liking to my father's potential and arranged for my mother to marry him. My father relied on my grandfather's power to rise through the ranks, finally reaching his current position today. At the same time, he has always been good to my mother, but I know they lack a genuine, deep love between them. Although my mother tries her best to please my father, all she gets from him is respect and courtesy."

  I think I'm the only one who knows this matter clearly. The Duke's love was all given to my mother. If it weren't for King Bimon, my father, taking her away, perhaps you and your sister wouldn't have appeared in this world either, and neither would I. It can only be said that fate is playing tricks on people.

  "They naturally have their own way of life, so many years have passed, and it's not something you can change, just let things be."

  The sunset gradually disappeared in the woods, and the sky darkened. I gathered the firewood I had picked up together and lit a bonfire with a simple fireball technique: "You come over too. Your illness has just gotten better, don't catch a cold again."

  Her face flushed with a faint smile, she said: "I'm not that weak." Although her mouth said so, she still sat over: "Is your injury better? That day, in order to save me, you got hurt so badly."

  I furrowed my brow and said, "Stop saying thank you all the time, okay? Didn't you also save me and take care of me?"

  After finishing this sentence, we both looked at each other unintentionally, our eyes met, and then simultaneously lowered our heads.

  After a long time, we just sat there, neither of us making a sound. It was still me who broke the silence: "Why don't you ask me why I can also transform into a fallen angel?"

  Ziyan's body trembled, and she said in a calm tone: "I know that must be your secret, so I didn't ask, and I was also afraid of knowing the answer. If you want to tell me someday, you will, won't you?"

  I sighed and said, "Thank you for your respect towards me. I don't know why, but I really want to tell you what's on my mind."

  Ziyan smiled slightly and said: "Didn't you just say not to say thank you? Say whatever you want, I'll always be your best listener."

  As I listened to her words, I felt a jolt throughout my body and lifted my head up. Her speech seemed to convey another kind of signal to me.

  "I am not human." As soon as I said this, I saw a look of shock in Ziyuan's eyes, but it disappeared instantly. She was indeed well-cultivated, able to recover her calmness in such a short time: "I'm not a demon either. To be strict, I should be considered a beastman."

  Ziyan couldn't help but exclaim in surprise: "What? You're a beastman, but you don't look it at all on the surface."

  I took a glance at her and slowly said, "I am a hybrid of the three tribes: human, demon, and beast. I possess the robust body of a beastman, the appearance and intelligence of a human, and as for the characteristics of the demon tribe... let's just say it's the fallen angel transformation and innate dark magic usage."

  Every word I say is earth-shattering to Ziyan, although she has been asking herself to remain calm, but it's hard to suppress the surprise in her heart: "But father investigated you before, your identity shouldn't be like this."

  I calmly said: "That was just my fake identity when I infiltrated the Dragon God, my true identity is the deputy commander of the Beastman Kingdom's Bimon Army, and the current King of Bimon is my father. And I can transform into a fallen angel because I accidentally obtained a copy of the Demon Clan's Tianmo Gong, and my grandmother was from the Demon Clan, which means I have the bloodline of the Demon Clan royal family. After years of hard training, during the last vacation, I finally managed to transform."

  "You really are a beastman, then what is your purpose in coming to the Dragon God?"

  "Of course, it's to steal your military secrets and learn various skills from you. You should know that among the three countries, the beastmen are the weakest, and every time there is a big war, we suffer the most losses. If this continues, there will be no space for us to survive on the mainland, and we can only become slaves of the demon tribe and humans. That's why the Beast Emperor sent me, Bimon, who has a human appearance, to Ryujin. It's been pretty smooth so far, I've learned quite a bit from the library in Tiantang. Don't you feel that I'm very intimidating now?"

  Ziyan's face twisted and her voice rose: "Then you and Zixue, were you also approaching her on purpose for this reason?"

  I shook my head with a low tone: "No, my feelings for Zixue are genuine."

  "Then she also knows your identity?"

  "No, she doesn't know. I don't want to tell her, I'm afraid she'll leave me. Am I being selfish? You're the first person I've confided in, I don't know why, but I don't want to hide it anymore. I feel so tired."

  Ziyan's hand was clenched tightly, her voice trembling: "So you're saying you deceived my sister after all? Why? Why did you deceive her? What would happen if she found out about this, have you thought it through? My sister's feelings for you are really deep."

  I didn't respond to her questioning, my eyes dazed as I said: "I once asked Zixue, if one day I were to leave this place and never come back, what would she do? Zixue said that no matter where I went, she would always follow me, and from that moment on, I completely accepted her feelings."

  Yan's voice softened a bit: "But, this is also too surprising, even if Zi Xue really doesn't care about these things, what about Father? Can he accept you? A beastman spy."

  "My laughter was bitter: 'Yes, I am a beastman spy. But I'm also an unqualified spy, to be honest, I really don't want to go back to the Beastman Kingdom anymore. In these days with Longshen, many warm things have surrounded me, but can I really not go back? No way, after all, I still have the blood of a beastman in my heart. Who else can understand the pain in my heart? Don't worry, I didn't do anything to Zixue, if she doesn't want to accept me, I won't try to contact her again. The time we spent together was short, even if she had deep feelings for me, after being washed by time, it would gradually be forgotten. Today I told you all this, and I didn't think about going back to Longshen anymore.'"

  Ziyan stood up, walked around the bonfire and sat down beside me, gently holding my arm: "Don't be like that, I spoke too heavily just now, sorry."

  I said calmly, "There's nothing to apologize for. You've heard me say all this and you're still calm, that's not easy. What you said is right, maybe I'm really not the best choice for Zi Xue."

  "When you're healed from your injuries, what do you plan to do?"

  "What else can we do, I thought the demon tribe would send troops to chase us, but now it seems they either went in the wrong direction or that demon princess really didn't reveal our identities. This is for the best, in two more days, I'll find a way to send you back, and then I'll return to the Beastman Tribe. Please tell Zixue about my situation. If she's willing, ask her to wait for me for three years, after three years, I'll go look for her. If she's not willing, I won't hate her either, I just hope she can be happy."

  "You're really not going back?"

  I nodded: "Didn't I tell you just now, since I've said all this today, I didn't plan to go back. You can report it to them however you like, you can say I died in battle or that I was captured."

  "Ziyan suddenly widened her eyes and said: 'What if I didn't hear what you just said?'"