“Yanbei.” Shen Sheng sniffed again, and his fair little face almost wrinkled, “Why are you here at this time?”
“Liang Yanbei is here?!” Wen Chan was completely the opposite. When he heard that it was Liang Yanbei, his smile came out immediately, and he asked impatiently, “Where is he? I’m going to find him!”
Sheng Sheng glanced at him, “What’s your hurry? This Raksha’s illusion is divided into several layers. You have just passed the third level, and Yanbei is still in the first level. If you want to find him, you have to wait until he passes the third level.”
“I have passed the third level?” Wen Chan wondered and thought about it. After the little monk opened the door, he met Concubine Mei and the palace maid, which should have been the first level. Then the Buddha statue in the pointed-roof house should have been the second level. And the pear tree and Liang Yanbei just then should have been the third level. Among these three levels, it seemed that the one with Liang Yanbei was a little more dangerous.
But it was still broken by Sheng Sheng’s two coughs.
Sheng Sheng seemed to know what he was thinking and said with a smile, “The Rakshasa illusion is the same as the Myriad Manifestations Tai Chi. It is a magic array from ancient times. The stronger the person who starts the array is, the more powerful the array is. It is obvious that a weak demon started this array. Thus, so far, the array is full of low-level magic.”
“But the Rakshasa illusion is not something that an ordinary little demon can start. The reason why the demon in this temple was able to start the array shows that it used a more powerful formation. So your last illusion must be a bit dangerous.”
Wen Chan’s eyelids jumped, “How dangerous?”
“For that you have to ask yourself what you are most afraid of. Anyway, it will scare you.” Sheng Sheng looked annoyed, “Laozi[footnote]father / daddy / “I, your father” (in anger, or out of contempt) / I (used arrogantly or jocularly)[/footnote] hate this illusion the most.”
It seems that it was not the first time he entered here.
Wen Chan didn’t have time to think about it. Since he wouldn’t be able to find Liang Yanbei for a while, he had to go find Liang Shuhong to prevent him from getting into trouble. He said to Sheng Sheng, “Then take me to find my subordinate. He’s injured, and I’m a little worried.”
Sheng Sheng nodded and agreed, saying, “It just so happens that I have nothing to do too.”
As he said, he turned around and walked on the path of bluestone and green tiles. His pace was not slow, and his muddy cloth shoes left a string of footprints.
Wen Chan followed immediately. He was very surprised that Sheng Sheng had such a good temper. After all, he could tell from his words that he was a very powerful character, but he patiently answered Wen Chan’s questions one by one in detail, and now he took him to find someone, which was completely different from what people said, “All demons are evil.”
Earlier in Wuyue Island, the man who was praised as the exiled immortal with the white fan also said that he was the one who sent him back here from decades later, so his aura was still on him, and it was this aura that Sheng Sheng had followed to find him.
He said that the man who claimed to be Lou Muge was his apprentice.
It was obvious that the group of people on Wuyue Island were all demons. They sacrificed ten thousand evil hearts to open the huge Myriad Manifestations Tai Chi, called back the real Lou Muge, and attracted so many immortal sects.
None of these demons, Tang Yixiao, Lu Shaoqing, or Tang Qin, looked like unknown little demons, and that man with the fan must be related to them.
What was Sheng Sheng’s true identity? Why did he become like this? New questions were added to Wen Chan’s mind.
After walking through the path, the view suddenly became clear, and a garden appeared in front of him. There was a cobblestone road in the garden, and the flowers were blooming beautifully.
Wen Chan observed and found that this place was not unfamiliar. This was the real Yanxiang Temple, but there were usually not so many flowers in Yanxiang Temple, and there were only some small flowers with simple and elegant colors.
He followed Sheng Sheng through the garden and came to a house. The vermilion door was closed tightly. He said, “Remember this door. After entering the illusion, the only exit is this door. If you can’t defeat the demon inside, you can choose to escape.”
Wen Chan looked at the door up and down many times and did not find anything unusual, so he asked, “How do I identify this door?”
“You touch it.”
He listened to his words and walked to the door to touch it. Then a strange pattern appeared on the vermilion door. It was like a paintbrush, slowly leaving delicate textures on the door. The colour was very similar to the door, but because Wen Chan was close, he could see it.
“Anyone who has encountered the gate of Illusion will see the pattern on the door, but this pattern is invisible if you don’t stand in front of the door. So when you look for the door, you must look carefully.” Sheng Sheng said.
“Also.” He added, “This door will not appear in a dead end. So you must not go to a dead end; otherwise, no one can save you.”
Wen Chan sensed something was wrong, “Are you telling me this because you have anticipated something? What danger will I encounter?”
“This does not need to be anticipated. It is inevitable that you will encounter danger.” Sheng Sheng said, “The target of this Rakshasa illusion is you. The power of the weak demon is limited, so it can’t do anything to us. But all the demonic magics will be used on you, so you should be careful.”
Hearing what he said, Wen Chan suddenly felt speechless. As the target of this formation, he did not feel honoured.
However, he was still very grateful to Sheng Sheng for his special reminder. So he said, “I will remember. If I am defeated by the demons in the illusion and can’t find the exit, please go find Liang Yanbei and ask him to save me.”
Wen Chan was thick-skinned and made the request to Sheng Sheng with the mentality of giving it a try, having already prepared himself for rejection.
After all, Sheng Sheng also clearly said that he did not like Liang Yanbei.
However, Sheng Sheng agreed again. He said nothing but nodded.
Wen Chan was very surprised and thought that this young demon was really kind-hearted!
After he was out of the illusion, he must tell the world that demons were also divided into good and evil.
After Sheng Sheng answered, he said, “You push the door open.”
He pushed the door open after hearing his words. Inside the door, it was blurry, and he couldn’t see the scene clearly. Without waiting for the other to say anything, Wen Chan stepped into the door first. The familiar demonic wind blew, and he squinted subconsciously.
The fourth illusion.
The first thing he saw was some strangely shaped stones, located on the withered yellow sand. Some were big, and some were small. The small ones were about the size of a fist, while the big ones were like stone pillars and taller than people.
As soon as the wind blew, it brought up the yellow sand, and it went straight to his neck. Wen Chan turned his head and saw Sheng Sheng still with his stomach open, so he handed him his cloak, “You can put it on. Don’t tear your clothes apart next time.”
Perhaps it was because the wind blew the clothes up and made Sheng Sheng feel troublesome; he complied with it and took Wen Chan’s cloak and put it on. Because of the difference in height, the cloak hung on the ground, and he had to carry it with his hands when he walked.
The two walked forward for a while, and all they saw was wilderness. And except for the yellow sand and strange stones, they saw no one else.
“Is my subordinate here?” Wen Chan asked.
“When I opened the door just now, I used some magic to transfer us to where your person is, which is here.” Sheng Sheng covered his mouth with his clothes to prevent a mouthful of sand. “The wind direction here is strange, and there are people fighting in front.”
Wen Chan raised his eyebrows in surprise, and without asking any more questions, he walked forward with Sheng Sheng. After walking a short distance, the wind around them suddenly became stronger, and a loud noise came from the front.
His heart jumped and unconsciously quickened his pace. He walked around several strange rocks and happened to see Liang Shuhong being blown away by a strange force. His black robe was wrapped around his body, and he flew into the rocks like a kite with a broken string, smashing a stone as high as a person into pieces.
Liang Shuhong spat out a mouthful of blood, kneeling on the ground, his trembling arms supporting his body, and the scimitar was still firmly held in his hand.
Wen Chan saw strange patterns on his face, from the base of his ears to his temples. The dazzling red colour made his face look even more charming. A pair of snow-white ears grew from his black hair, which was long, pointed, and very beautiful.
His blood dyed his entire chin red, and his body was covered with wounds. The blood gathered under his black robes, making it less conspicuous.
Wen Chan was heartbroken when he saw it and was about to step forward. But was pulled by Sheng Sheng, “Don’t be impulsive. That demon is nearby.”
Wen Chan didn’t care about these things. He turned to Sheng Sheng and said, “I just lied to you. He is not my subordinate but a very important friend of mine. I must go to save him.”
“You are no match for that demon. If you go out rashly, you will die.” He said.
“Don’t worry; I cherish this life more than anything else.” Wen Chan lowered his head, took out a dagger from his sleeve, and said to him seriously, “Because it was not easy to get it.”
Wen Chan would naturally not do such a life-threatening thing easily. He speculated that the demon would not kill him easily; otherwise, it would not have gone to the trouble of opening the Rakshasa illusion to collect his soul.
Thinking of this, Wen Chan rushed to Liang Shuhong’s side in a few big strides, squatted down and put his hand on Liang Shuhong’s shoulder, “Liang Shuhong, how are you injured? Can you still stand up?”
Liang Shuhong was really badly injured, but there was a strange force in his body that was repairing his injuries extremely quickly, diminishing the pain all over his body. Hearing Wen Chan’s voice, his blurred consciousness quickly recovered, and he looked up slowly.
The two were very close, and Wen Chan saw that Liang Shuhong’s eyes had changed again.
When he saw him in the Gecha Mansion and the Northern District before, it was still black. After entering the illusion, it became lighter. But at this moment, it showed a blue colour, although it was very light and a little grey.
There was a certain kind of weak emotion in the beautiful eyes.
Wen Chan could see clearly that he hadn’t stopped changing yet.
Liang Shuhong’s black hair fell down; he wiped the blood from his mouth, sat on the ground and panted against the stone, raised his right hand, handed out the black iron scimitar, and said, “Your Highness…… Take it for self-defense……”
After speaking, he panted again and coughed out a mouthful of bloodish foam.
“Don’t talk for now. Take a good rest.” Wen Chan felt distressed and reached out to take the scimitar. But he didn’t expect that this small knife would be so heavy. He couldn’t take it out of his hands for a while, and his hand fell to the ground.
Liang Shuhong was a little anxious when he saw him like this, “Your Highness, go!”
Wen Chan’s tone became a little stern, “I told you not to talk. Look at you. You’re almost dead, you know?!”
“Little Young Master.” As he spoke, an ambiguous shout came from behind.
Wen Chan turned around cautiously and saw a young man in strange clothes standing not far away with a smile on his face. This man was not unfamiliar, but the man who gave Wen Chan flowers at the Winter Hundred Flowers Festival a few days ago and was covered with cakes by Liang Yanbei.
He said, “So it’s you?”
As the young man walked forward, he smiled and said, “You have all come here. Could it be that you want to give me your soul obediently?”
“Are you still asleep?” Wen Chan weighed the scimitar in his hand secretly and was sure that he couldn’t lift it. So he gave up decisively and instead held his dagger and said, “Don’t come forward. Be careful that I won’t show mercy.”
Threats were still necessary. Even if Wen Chan was unsure, he couldn’t lose momentum.
The young demon didn’t take his words to heart and continued to approach them. Just when Wen Chan was thinking about how to catch him off guard with a blow, the demon retreated several steps as if he was suddenly attacked and spat out a large mouthful of blood, staining his clothes red.
He clutched his heart in pain; his eyes became ferocious and fierce, staring at Wen Chan’s feet, “It’s him again! It’s him again!”
Wen Chan immediately realised that the string of copper plates given by Liang Yanbei had played a role again. He pretended to be inscrutable and said, “Hmph, now you know how powerful I am? If you dare to come over again, I will take off the bracelet and whip you with it.”
The young demon was indeed afraid of the bracelet and began to retreat, but he did not leave. There was a hesitant look on his face, and he didn’t know what he was thinking.
“The demon blood can only be handed over willingly by him. You will only accelerate his transformation into a demon.” Sheng Sheng suddenly jumped out and said to the young demon, “Don’t waste your energy.”
The young man couldn’t figure out Sheng Sheng’s identity and squinted his eyes to look at him.
Sheng Sheng continued, “What are you still doing here? Can’t you feel that he has entered the illusion? If you say a bit more nonsense, he will come to you, and then it will be too late for you to do anything.”
When the young man mentioned this “him”, his expression suddenly changed. He glared at Wen Chan fiercely, then flicked his sleeves, and the whole person disappeared in the yellow sand.
At the same time, the wind also stopped, and it became quiet in his ears. Wen Chan breathed a sigh of relief and sat on the ground. When the demon glared at him just then, an invisible pressure had pressed directly on his head, and he even had difficulty breathing.
Sheng Sheng walked in front of Wen Chan and looked at Liang Shuhong, “It’s safe for the time being.”
Liang Shuhong’s breath was much more stable, but the pattern on his face still did not fade but became brighter. He said, “I am very willing to give him the demon blood. Is there any way?”
Sheng Sheng chuckled, “Do you think you ate some ordinary demon blood? You got a bargain. You should be secretly celebrating.”
But it was obvious that Liang Shuhong did not want this power. Wen Chan said, “Is there no way to make him return to normal?”
He shook his head, sat down on the side, and said patiently, “It’s a bit troublesome to explain; let me make it brief.”
“For bestialised demons, demon blood can be passed on. If ordinary people eat demon blood by mistake, their bodies will undergo some changes, or their temperament will get tyrannical, or they will get more powerful and strengthened. It mainly depends on the purity of the demon blood. The purer the demon blood, the less harm it will do to mortals.”
“Generally speaking, ordinary demon blood has no effect on demons, but some are different. Some bloodlines have been passed down from ancient times, and they can be turned into immortals and gods by cultivating the Tao. This kind of blood is of great benefit to both humans and demons.
“Are those mythological animals?” Wen Chan asked.
“Mythological animals are mythological animals, and monster beasts are monster beasts.” Sheng Sheng paused a bit before continuing, “But there is no difference in bloodline, except for some special ones.”
He continued, “What he ate by mistake was the blood of the current demon king. Although he is called the demon king, he has the orthodox Tushan bloodline. The Tushan Fox clan was listed as a divine beast clan in ancient times. After eating their blood, you can become an immortal after you complete your transformation into a demon and pass the door of the immortal realm. Moreover, this blood recognises its master. It melts into your blood and becomes your blood. Others can’t take it away, and you can’t give it up.”
Wen Chan and Liang Shuhong were both shocked and looked at Sheng Sheng in disbelief. Liang Shuhong asked, “Become an immortal? You didn’t misspeak, right?”
“Otherwise, why do you think that little demon keeps grabbing you but doesn’t dare to really do anything to you? He is afraid of ruining the blood in your body.” Sheng Sheng said, suddenly reaching out and touching Liang Shuhong’s ear, “You are really lucky. If you had eaten blood from somewhere else, you would have turned into a half-human and half-demon at most. But what you ate was the blood of the demon king’s heart, so you can completely become a Tushan fox. So you can be rest assured.”
Liang Shuhong’s fox ears trembled, and he was still silent in shock. After a long time, he said, “But I don’t want to become an immortal. I’m just a mortal!”
“That can’t be helped. Who told you to eat things randomly?” Sheng Sheng shrugged, “You despise things that others want so much.”
While speaking, Liang Shuhong’s injury was completely healed. He moved his arm to pick up the scimitar and asked, “Is there really no way?”
“I really don’t know.” He said, “Why don’t you go to the demon world to find the Demon King and see if he can take back his blood.”
“Will I be killed?” Liang Shuhong was a little scared. Just hearing the word “Demon King” made him feel it to be very dangerous.
“It shouldn’t be.” Sheng Sheng said, “At least you have his scent on you. So you are of the same kind.”
After saying that, he sighed again, “Actually, not necessarily; he has killed many of his own kind……”
After hearing this, Liang Shuhong cast a helpless look at Wen Chan again, but Wen Chan spread his hands innocently: I am just a mortal. I can’t help you.
Sheng Sheng stood up, patted the sand off his body, and said to Liang Shuhong, “Get up, and come with me. Let’s go kill that little demon.”
“No! I want to protect His Highness.” Liang Shuhong immediately refused.
“He doesn’t need you. Someone else will protect him.” He said.
“Who?” Liang Shuhong asked subconsciously.
“Yanbei, he is already here.” Sheng Sheng turned his head and said to Wen Chan, “I will take you to that door. You should be able to see him after you go out. If you don’t hurry up, he may enter the next illusion, and you won’t be able to catch up with him then.”
“He is so fast?” Wen Chan hurriedly got up from the ground.
Sheng Sheng nodded and said, “That little demon is still hiding in this illusion and dares not go out. Your friend and I will kill him. If we kill him, the illusion will be broken.”
“What if he is not killed?”
“That may speed up the opening of the last layer of illusion. So you have to be careful.”
Wen Chan, “……”
“How about we wait a little longer?” Wen Chan suggested.
“You have to face it. The longer you stay in the Rakshasa illusion, the weaker your body will be. You can’t go without food or water for a long time. This illusion has nothing to sustain your life, so you must enter the next illusion or end it as soon as possible.” Sheng Sheng picked up Liang Shuhong from the ground casually, “Let’s go, little fox.”
“I’m a person, not a fox!” Liang Shuhong retorted, “And I can’t beat that demon.”
“Even if you can’t beat it, you have to fight. If you want to save his Royal Highness, you can only do this.”
Liang Shuhong pushed and yelled. Even though he was reluctant, he had to stand up and follow Sheng Sheng when he heard that he could save Wen Chan.
It seemed easy for him to find the door. He led the two of them around the rocky sand dunes and saw a small wooden house standing in the yellow sand. In front of it was a shabby wooden door. When Wen Chan approached, he saw the inconspicuous pattern on the door.
Wen Chan pushed the door open. Before stepping on the threshold, he turned his head and asked, “May I ask your name? Your name is not Sheng Sheng, right?”
Sheng Sheng didn’t seem to expect him to ask this suddenly and was stunned for a moment. He then smiled brightly, “Laozi is proud of my name, and that is Lou Muge.”
Before Wen Chan had time to have other emotions, he was pushed out of the door with a push on his back, and then there was a light “bang”. When he turned around again, the door had disappeared, and Yanxiang Temple was still in front of him.
He was stunned. This boy who had always been called Sheng Sheng turned out to be the heinous demon that was called back by those demons.
Wen Chan’s heart was pounding badly, and his thoughts couldn’t calm down. Lou Muge had come to the capital? This big demon called back by the hearts of ten thousand evil beings had actually become a teenager, and he looked quite weak too. Was this really Lou Muge from Wuyue Island who appeared in front of everyone with a proud face?
Knowing Liang Yanbei and knowing the Demon King, he should not be wrong.
Wen Chan sighed and doubted what he had heard before. How could that evil demon be so good-tempered? He answered whatever he asked and responded to whatever he asked. He must be a light-hearted person, right?
He only felt that his mind was in a mess, but he still wanted to find Liang Yanbei. So he walked through the corridor to a small lake, climbed up the high hillside and looked around.
When Liang Yanbei appeared, Wen Chan’s tense nerves suddenly relaxed. As he saw him approaching from under the tree and looking around, Wen Chan couldn’t help but shout out, “Liang Yanbei!”
As soon as the voice fell, Liang Yanbei looked up and saw Wen Chan standing on the hillside waving at him. His eyebrows relaxed, and he jumped up and came to him in an instant and said to him, “Why is Your Highness here? It was really hard for me to find you!”
“It’s a long story.” Wen Chan stepped forward and hugged him, “It’s too dangerous here. Let’s find a way out.”
Liang Yanbei’s eyes sank and were filled with anger, “This broken temple, let’s set it on fire after we go out.”
Wen Chan didn’t respond but just took a step back. He suddenly stretched out his hand to push the chest of the person in front of him, and at the same time, drew out a dagger to attack his neck.
Liang Yanbei reacted extremely quickly and jumped down the hill, shocked, “Your Highness, what are you doing?”
“You are not him. You don’t have his smell on you.” Wen Chan’s face was cold; he held the dagger tightly, and gritted his teeth angrily, “What do you want to do? Why don’t you do it openly? Using this despicable method is simply disgusting!”
Liang Yanbei, who was below, put away his surprised expression after hearing this and smiled evilly, “I thought you would be fooled. It seems that you are still firm-willed even now. I will try to slash you twice first, then.”
As he said this, he raised his sword and jumped into the air, the blade pointed directly at Wen Chan, and his face was ferocious. His face then changed to another one, which was that of the young man just then.
But Wen Chan was already fully prepared.
Just when he was about to deal with it, he saw a snow-white figure falling from the sky, and the black brocade boots stepped directly on the young man’s face. With his robes flying and his black hair fluttering, Liang Yanbei fell from the sky, stepped on the young demon and kicked him hard from mid-air to the ground.
Then, with a sound of “clang — —”, the sharp sword came out of its sheath. Liang Yanbei did not have time to pause but easily held the sword and thrust it at the demon on the ground.
When the young man saw him, he was almost scared to death, and he burrowed into the ground in horror. He then didn’t dare to hesitate at all and fled quickly.
Seeing that he had escaped, Liang Yanbei didn’t chase after him. He turned around and looked at Wen Chan. His black eyes, like lacquer, slowly raised up and finally fixed on Wen Chan’s face. The coldness had not yet faded.
Wen Chan also stood on the hillside and watched him. He was afraid that he was a demon in disguise again, so he did not dare to get close and thought about how to identify him.
Liang Yanbei was also hesitant, but when he saw Wen Chan’s thin clothes, he walked up the hillside, taking off his snow-white fox fur coat as he walked. When he came to Wen Chan, he said, “Why are you wearing such thin clothes, Your Highness? It’s freezing outside; be careful not to get cold.”
After hearing this, Wen Chan was sure that the person in front of him was definitely the real Liang Yanbei. He put away the dagger in his hand, took a step forward and took Liang Yanbei’s coat. His tense heart suddenly relaxed, and he threw himself into his arms at once.
Liang Yanbei immediately smiled and said, “I came across many Royal Highnesses, but none of them were you. I nearly got injured by them.”
As he said, he put the cloak on Wen Chan, put it on carefully, and then hugged him tightly, “I am happy to have found you.”
Wen Chan took a deep breath; the familiar scent filled his nose, and he said with a smile, “Fortunately, you found me. Otherwise, I would have died here.”
He put his face on Liang Yanbei’s shoulder, briefly talked about Liang Shuhong and Lou Muge, and skipped Lou Muge’s identity, “Either I break it and kill the monster, or I die, and then this illusion will break.”
Liang Yanbei stroked the back of his head and sneered, “Is it the demon whose face I covered with pastries?”
Then he said with certainty, “He will die for sure.”
Translator’s corner
Thank you so much for reading the chapter. If you liked my translation and wanna support me, you can comment down your thoughts or send me a Kofi.
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