The Demon Abyss Fortress.
In an underground dungeon painted in shades of black, gray, and dark crimson, ancient runes carved into dark iron chains bore bloodstains long since dried. Beneath an inverted cross of ash-gray stone, a frail young woman with cascading ash-gray hair was tightly bound. Heavy Runic chains wrapped around her limbs and torso in three layers, while her crimson eyes stared blankly at the ceiling. What passed for clothing was little more than tattered scraps of fabric. Old scars and unhealed wounds covered every inch of her exposed skin.
The chains suppressed her bloodline and cultivation for centuries. The scars covering her body had remained unhealed for just as long.
Ring... ring... ring...
A familiar bell chid from beyond the cell.
Ilya lifted her head. She rembered, ever since that golden-haired child Lingyuan visited ten years ago with bells wrapped around her ankles, that cheap tinkling sound, which sohow brought her inexplicable comfort, had echoed through this fortress every year since.
But Lingyuan visited her this year, during the Spring Festival.
Back then, she sat beside Ilya, flipping through her diary while complaining about how that small troublemaker was growing up. That troublemaker hit puberty and beca more rebellious by the day. The brat beca a regular in establishnts where humans drank and had fun...
Yet no matter how angry Lingyuan got while telling her stories, at the end, she would always close the diary. She would take a deep breath, and flash Ilya a sweet smile. She would cup Ilya’s face and gush about how the kid at least had so conscience. He was still listening to his aunt and even washing her feet and massaging her shoulders from ti to ti...
Every visit was the sa. Whether Ilya cared or not, whether she was annoyed or not, Lingyuan would squat there and chat endlessly.
Over ti, Ilya had no choice but to listen. In her monotonous existence spanning centuries in the Demon Abyss, Lingyuan and her troublemaker beca the only ongoing storyline one that continued year after year.
But the Spring Festival hadn’t arrived yet, and those familiar bells rang again. For soone accustod to asuring ti in years, Ilya found this... puzzling.
Tap... tap... tap-tap...
With her cultivation sealed, Ilya could only judge by footsteps.
If she heard correctly, two people were approaching. One wore flat shoes with bells wrapped around their ankles. The other wore high heels, each step sharp and heavy against the floor.
"It’s been a while."
A stunning figure in crimson feathered robes and black stockings stopped outside the cell.
In response, Ilya looked up at her. Her usually dull bloody eyes first showed surprise, then resentnt.
Though their grudge was centuries old by now,
Even for soone who held grudges, Ilya should have cooled down by now.
So the chained girl said nothing, staring silently as the red-clad woman entered her domain.
anwhile, the owner of those familiar bells tactfully retreated outside, giving the two influential figures privacy for their conversation.
"Almost a thousand years have passed. Has Ily still not forgiven her master?"
In the sa way as their first eting millennia ago, the crimson beauty looked down at the kneeling girl with a gentle voice. Ilya kept her eyes lower, seeing only an elegant pair of high heels.
The difference was that Ilya had moved from kneeling on one knee back then to both knees now, head bowed in submission.
"Traitor... you dare call yourself my master..."
She spoke in a hoarse voice, without emotion, her gaze fixed on the pointed heels in front of her.
Silence fell over the dungeon.
Despite the pause, Changli did not beco angry. She summoned a blazing peacock fan with a wave of her hand. She shifted two steps to sit suspended in midair, using the fan as a chair.
"Ily, I ca this ti to report on He Yino’s many achievents in the Western Region over the past six months."
Changli deliberately ignored the chained girl’s accusation. She paused, then glanced down at Ilya.
She could faintly sense that, at the ntion of Yino’s na, the Phoenix girl trembled slightly.
So despite her words, there’s still blood after all...
Changli didn’t call her out on it. She smiled before continuing casually, "My dear, why don’t you guess how much this young troublemaker that I nad, inherited from his mother’s legendary abilities?
"..."
...
...
...
"Achoo!"
On the third floor of a small teahouse in downtown Luo City, Yino sat by the window, chin propped on one hand. He sneezed suddenly, wiped his nose with a tissue, then stared curiously at the crowds below while muttering to himself.
"What a coincidence. Yuyan arrived in Luo City today, and last night Auntie left without a word."
"Could she have gotten mad at and run away from ho...?"
"But that doesn’t add up. Senior sent a word she’d arrive today, but I never told Auntie about it. How could she know Yuyan would reach Luo City today?"
"Besides..."
"Auntie’s basically unemployed. She just lounges around the Grand Tutor’s Mansion as so kind of demon tribe envoy, basically a decorative mascot..."
"What urgent business would she have had to leave in the middle of the night?"
Yino beca even more confused after analyzing today’s events. He lifted his teacup and took a thoughtful sip.
He turned his puzzled gaze to the deer girl beside him, who demolished dragon-shaped pastries. Sensing his stare, she looked up with chipmunk cheeks full of crumbs, shaking the little antlers on her head to indicate she had no idea.
"Great. I ordered a whole table of expensive tea and snacks and you’re treating them like a al, you silly roe deer. When Yuyan arrives, the table will be a disaster..."
"Hey!"
The deergirl hadn’t expected the sudden scolding. She imdiately entered combat mode, pointing a finger to retort.
But Yino predicted this. He sighed and turned away, ignoring her protests to look at the other girl at the table, a green-haired treegirl in a sundress with a small flower pinned to her chest, swinging her legs under the table.
Unlike the silly deer, Lily ate elegantly. When she noticed Yino was looking, she tilted her head and blinked at him sweetly.
Yino pinched her cheek, feeling instantly refreshed. He suddenly understood why so many people in his past life liked keeping plants at ho.
"See? Lily is so different! Even her eating habits are cuteter than a wild mountain donkey!"
"There’s no way you can play favorite like this!"
The deer protested in the corner.
But Yino pressed her head down with one hand and turned his attention to the third girl at the table, a crimson fox girl.
Jinyue had a different aura than the two lolis.
Though she ant no harm, just sitting there in the sunlight with her hands folded under her chin, her alluring eyes half-closed lazily, sohow made Yino certain the vixen fox was plotting so mischief.
Sure enough, after listening to Yino’s analysis, Jinyue seed to think of sothing. She stared at him with those aningful fox-demon eyes, her lips curving into a secret smile.
"Jinyue, why are you suddenly smiling? Do you know sothing?" Yino leaned forward suspiciously.
"Of course I know! But I can’t tell unless---"
"Unless?"
"Unless tonight you help with~"
The fox girl grew more excited as she spoke, her fluffy tail swishing back and forth. She leaned so far forward that her face almost touched Yino’s lips.
But halfway through her sentence, Yino spotted sothing behind her. He quickly pulled back and sat properly, clearing his throat.
The fox demon blinked, her sixth sense suddenly detecting danger behind her.
She whipped around to see a mature girl walking past with a sword in her arms.
"Junior, what were you saying about tonight?"
"N-nothing! Just teaching Yino so illusion techniques so he doesn’t get lost in the Liuli Sect’s secret realm!"
Jinyue scratched her cheek. Though genuinely guilty, she also puffed out her cheeks in defiance.
"Is that so?"
Yuyan raised an eyebrow but said nothing more.
She looked around, and saw only one seat at the edge of the table, so she simply grabbed a chair from the neighboring table and squeezed in right next to Yino.
Watching Yuyan’s aggressive move, Jinyue’s competitive spirit flared even brighter.
"Speaking of that, since you’re free anyway, why don’t you help with recruitnt?"
Yuyan crossed her legs under her dress, eyes gleaming with amusent.
At those words, Jinyue’s fists clenched.
The two won engaged in a silent battle of glares until Yuyan suddenly realized she’d missed sothing.
"Wait, you said Yino is going to the Liuli Sect?"
The white-robed woman turned back in surprise.
The pressure shifted to Yino:
"Ah..."
He took a deep breath, sat up straight, and said earnestly, "Senior, you see, it’s like this..."
...
...
...
By the end of the month.
Yino was awakened at dawn by a knock. He dressed and opened the door to find a massive package, tall as a wardrobe, standing upright at the courtyard entrance.
After a mont’s hesitation, Yino realized what it was.
He hauled the package inside, drew his sword to break open the seals, and finally locked eyes with the flower demon girl he hadn’t seen in a month.
"Oh i, you’re here finally."
"I can’t bring Yuyan to the Liuli Sect next month. I was worried about not having soone capable and reliable by my side!"
"Bastard! Die with in a sea of plum blossoms!"
The newly unsealed flower demon imdiately raised her plum blossom sword to commit suicide and explode.
But though her words dripped with killing intent, her body had been thoroughly soaked in dicinal liquids and secret techniques. Not only couldn’t she gather any spiritual energy, but even her suicide sword went limp and soft. Let alone attacking Yino who’d reached the Nascent Soul stage- she couldn’t even break her own skin.
Thud.
The white-haired girl’s self-destruction failed. Instead, she stumbled and fell into Yino’s arms.
"Let... go..."
Seeing her fierce yet pathetic state, Yino suddenly rembered sothing.
In front of the girl, he unbuttoned his shirt and laid her on the bed.
"Almost forgot. A newly acquired puppy should be fed first, so she understands her current situation."
"I-I won’t eat that .... mmph!"
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