Chapter 579: 542 Chapter: Poisoning_2

His Majesty the Demon Lord, despite reviewing documents, had no Inner Official beside him to hand him a brush; he alone ground the ink, washed the brushes, and added tea and incense.

The vast inner hall allowed only the company of a single cat, no other.

He rose at dawn to review documents, continuing until the Golden Crow sank below the horizon, while in the west the daylight lingered beyond.

The Female Demon Lord rubbed her sore wrists, closed the documents, and decided to take her cat out of the hall to catch some wind and stroll.

Although the scenery of the Demon World was predominantly grim and there was nothing much to see, she knew of an old mountain that was excellent for stargazing, where one could observe the stars of the Mortal World’s east.

The cat seemed to have enjoyed it previously.

Little did Baili An realize that because of the Demon Lord’s sudden whim, he would suffer an undue disaster.

Having been turned into a cat, he was utterly alone, even the aquamarine jade he carried had been confiscated by Ning Feiyan, leaving him without the Glazed Umbrella.

The Demon Lord pushed open the door with him in tow, the remnant sunlight casting down, the Female Demon Lord utterly unguarded; the sunlight scorched like fire, as if poison, half of Baili’s body was badly burnt, causing him excruciating pain.

The Female Demon Lord immediately issued a Feather Order, summoning Ning Feiyan.

“What on earth is going on?!” she said, her voice trembling slightly, her gaze dark and murky, like dangerous embers suppressed at the bottom of a deep well.

Ning Feiyan entered the Netherworld Palace, immediately noticing that the decor was starkly different from its icy aloofness two days prior; she knew better than anyone that the emperor never pursued luxury or splendor, the Netherworld Palace was always lifelessly cold, hardly a suitable place for anyone to reside in comfort.

Yet now, for a mere cat, she had inexplicably, miraculously turned this place warm and cozy, obviously having put thought into it.

She nearly believed that Her Majesty had recognized the identity of this cat.

But on second thought, if she truly knew the cat was that young corpse demon, how could she bring him under the sun without any precautions, burning him like this?

Ning Feiyan looked at Baili An lying on the Imperial Consort’s bed lightly, without a trace of guilt in her heart.

She knew well that a corpse demon couldn’t withstand sunlight; she deliberately didn’t warn the Demon Lord that her cat… couldn’t be exposed to the sun.

Now, with this simple test, it was clear, Her Majesty did not know the true identity of this cat.

With this, her plan could proceed smoothly.

Ning Feiyan, cunning in her thoughts, spoke up: “Your Majesty, it’s unknown to you, but I’ve had this cat for a hundred years. He was injured by a Ghost Snake from the Nine Snake sect in an accident. Since then, his body has been ice cold and fearful of sunlight.”

The Female Demon Lord’s face darkened: “I have treated him with medicines, but they have been useless. Little Bai’s breath is getting weaker.”

She lowered her voice slightly, her long narrow eyes flickering with a dangerous glint like a Blade: “If he dies, there’s no need for you to walk out of this Netherworld Palace alive.”

Ning Feiyan chuckled inwardly. This little corpse demon was tough; it’s just a bit of sun exposure, what life-threatening harm could it do? The difficulty in healing was merely due to lack of the sustaining power of fresh blood.

In just a moment, feeding him a couple mouthfuls of fresh blood should make him lively and bouncing again.

Her concern for a mere cat was really out of her usual character.

“Your Majesty, rest assured, I have my ways to preserve the life of this cat, but I dare to ask Your Majesty to step aside. The Nine Snake poison is no small matter, a bit of carelessness is not allowed, your presence here might distract me from taking care.”

The Demon Lord was flustered, accepting such a fatally flawed statement without hesitation.

She did not say another word and immediately turned and left.

After sending her away, Ning Feiyan leisurely pulled a Soft Sword from her waist, sliced her palm open, and blood seeped from the wound as she approached Baili An lying on the bed, saying, “I know the girl Hong Zhuang often secretly fed you blood meals at night. You must be frequently hungry in the presence of Her Majesty, right?”

Baili An coolly glanced at the palm she extended toward him and, without any courtesy, lapped up the seeping fresh blood little by little, the burning sensation in his body gradually subsiding.

He bowed his head, swallowing in small sips. Although Ning Feiyan was the Lord of Six Rivers, she seemed quite different from other members of the Demon Clan, seemingly due to a natural racial defect, her body was easily injured and the wounds were extremely slow to heal.

The tiny cut on her palm, which he licked at for a long time, finally slowly stopped bleeding.

Furthermore, the wounds on her neck, eroded by murky breath, hadn’t shown much improvement over several days.

After finishing the blood, Baili An wiped his mouth with his paw and looked up at Ning Feiyan’s inscrutable expression.

He suddenly spoke, “I heard that among the Enchanting Demon clan, most maintain their cultivation and life through Dual Cultivation, seeing different men as different prey, consuming their essence, needing it daily.”

Ning Feiyan raised an eyebrow slightly, unsure what he meant by suddenly bringing this up.

Was this because she knowingly let him get burnt by the sun, and was he deliberately mocking her?

She flicked his cat head with a finger, smiling, “Aren’t these things I mentioned not secrets anymore?”

Baili An raised his paw, pressing down on her finger, and calmly asked, “Will you also have many men in the future?”

Ning Feiyan narrowed her eyes slightly, her demeanor somewhat mockingly light: “Why wait for the future? I already have many men now, how about that? There’s still plenty of treatment time left, do you need me to change you back into human form to experience it personally?”

He expected to see this righteous little cat become furious and scold her shamelessly, but instead, he very calmly shook his head, saying, “What brings you to see me today?”

Ning Feiyan feigned surprise, “Why, it was not I who came to you, was it not Her Majesty who summoned me?”

“You intentionally hid the fact that I shouldn’t be exposed to light, merely as a pretense to seek me out for a discussion.”

Baili An deeply looked at her, saying, “Given our limited time, since you and I have already struck a deal, why waste time on petty words? Let’s be more straightforward, I think it would benefit us both.”

Ning Feiyan dropped her feigned smile, her expression became serious, saying, “I need you to find a way to leave her side on the day of the Monarch’s Return Banquet and then appear at the banquet as the Lord of Six Rivers, calling her Arao.”

Baili An frowned, saying, “I’m afraid I cannot comply.”

If he identified himself as the Lord of Six Rivers, he would be siding with the demons. If he were just a corpse demon, it might still be manageable, but currently, he was also the lord of Xianling City. Should the news spread, he would inevitably attract hostility from Kunlun; this was outright antagonism against the Hundred Immortal Sects. How could he possibly stand a chance in the Mortal World then?

He had attachments in the Mortal World, naturally he wouldn’t act so recklessly.

Before Ning Feiyan could show displeasure, Baili An added, “Although I can’t accept this particular request from you, I think there are a few pieces of information you’d find very interesting.”

“What information?”

He looked at her and said, “In the Extreme North Forest, Beiyuan Demon Emperor is about to awaken, and it seems he holds a great grudge against your Demon Clan. The Demon Lord finds it a troublesome matter, she orders, dispatching the Flower of A Thousand Poisons into the Enchanting Demon clan, sacrificing a hundred thousand Enchanting Demons to feed the Demon Emperor, setting a deadly trap for him.”

Ning Feiyan hailed from the Enchanting Demon Clan. Since the Demon Lord intended to use her clanfolk as poison, naturally, she would not let her know the stakes involved.

Sure enough, upon hearing the news, Ning Feiyan’s eyes, tinted with a red blush, narrowed, her face flitted with a thin veil of shock passing over.

Her eyes grew cold and dark, she didn’t speak immediately.

Soon, as emotions submerged in her black pupils, a chill emerged, she simply replied, “Since this is a decision made by His Majesty the Demon Lord, naturally no one can change it.”

Baili An found her reaction utterly illogical. He always thought Ning Feiyan was a very proud woman who didn’t believe in fate. Her acceptance of this cruel reality so easily was very abnormal.

Baili An wanted to discuss more with her, but she seemed more interested in the contents of other documents, astonishingly no longer speaking about the disaster befalling her clan.

“Do you know any other news?”

Baili An gave her a deep look, feeling this woman’s mind was truly a puzzle. The Demon Lord’s cruelty, treating her clan as mere expendable pawns, seemed to stir not a ripple in her heart.

Or perhaps, in the Demon World, such matters had long become the norm.

Emotional turmoil, already a dead sea.