After hurriedly explaining everything to Luo Fei, I sighed. Our daily life was full of mishaps like this.

With Luo Taoming in the picture, adding to the fact that my baby girl was just so adorable, she became more milder over time. The two of them got so close that one would really think they're relatives.

I got an invitation from the Luo Clan and a letter to persuade her to come home, but I ignored them.

Instead, the person question wrote to them herself.

My servants tried to stop me from giving her permission to do so, saying she could be spying.

But who really cares, anyway?

It wasn't like I had anything to hide. Sure, 'Kang Hyuk' was no longer here to act as himself, but that wasn't really a problem for me. Seeing a smile on Kang Fei's face from playing with Little Tao was also fun to watch. It filled my heart with joy.

The only thing that was bothering me was something I'd never expected to hear in this life...

"Young Master... It seems like the Demonic Cult of the vile Heavenly Demoness, Bai Lingyun, have been moving." I stopped lazing around and looked at the guard reporting this. My mouth was sealed.

It was only after a bit did I response: "Understood."

My hands trembled as I remembered the woman I'd risked my life for in my past life. Was this a joke?

It could be just a coincidence...

However, from the information I could personally gather on her, it didn't seem like that was the case.

She had the same connection to the Orchid Pavilion. The only difference was some aspects.

The first was how she was described. They say that she was an inherently evil woman in the texts.

Some even outright claim her to be the devil.

However, I knew that wasn't the case. Our meeting was brief, but it was clear to see her kind nature.

The second difference was what had happened in that incident before I died. They're saying she killed the 'pure and honest' sons of nobility. The methods she being 'tricky and evil in nature'.

How could anyone write this without cringing...?

And hold the fuck up! You're telling me they WEREN'T bandits?! That has to be a mistake!

Either that, or the information was fabricated.

It's said that after the 'despicable lover' of the Heavenly Demoness died in the conflict, that she went insane. She revealed her Martial Spirit to be the 'Demon of the Sword', one that thirsted blood.

After my corpse suddenly vanished in public, it looks like she went around looking for an answer.

The once legendary evil faction, the Immortal Corpse Sect, was destroyed in her hands. So was a large portion of Martial Kings and Demon Kings alike. This feat was what made her a religious idol.

The Demonic Practitioners worshipped her strength. Especially when she found her own treasure. For some odd reason, it seemed like she also potentially became a Twin Spirit user that day.

The more I heard, the more my heart thumped. I wanted to meet her and ask if she was alright.

Flipping through page after page in my office, it occurred to me that my death was the trigger.

Meaning: The deaths she caused was my fault...

Even if some say that I didn't need to take responsibility, there was no way I'd accept it.

If I hadn't agreed to that transparent woman eating up my body, she likely wouldn't have tried looking for my corpse. For the first time, I wished that a woman would forget about me and how I'd lived.

Just as I was scratching my head on what to do from now on, someone came in to pour some tea.

This was a habit of 'Kang Hyuk'. Every time he'd go into his office to study texts from the library, he'd have someone bring him something to drink. This time, it looked like the servants had remembered.

This thing was... the maid herself who brought the tea seemed suspicious. I couldn't understand why.

She seemed pretty normal. Rare blonde hair of western lineage, but still considerably 'normal'.

There wasn't much to say about her other than that. She didn't exactly pick my interest to be honest. Though not many women could. It was after all, due to my 'type' being quite unique.

My fetish was true love!

It didn't matter if she has those big and perky boobs westerners had more then eastern women.

Her body didn't move me whatsoever!

At least... that was what I was telling myself while quietly ogling at her; forgetting my earlier thoughts.

 

Just as I brought the tea to my lips, I stopped. The scene of 'Kang Hyuk' being poisoned arose in my mind. The only problem was... I didn't have any way of checking for poisons other than using silver.

I'd heard that royalty used this to check for the most obvious and common poisons. However, it wasn't that good. There are many poisons that wouldn't affect silverware, which was why antidotes were kept on hand just in case.

My suspicion only grew when the maid refused to leave. Almost as if she wanted to see me drink it.

{Would you like to use 'Life Detection'?}

I agreed, and my sight was instantly greeted by a new 'flavour' of Demonic Qi. This one didn't seem as murderous, yet still carried a vile stench of someone who had killed people before in her life.

That was unexpected to me, but not enough to warrant surprise. Many wanted to assassinate me after word of my body being cripples leaked out by Luo Ming. What was a bit confusing to see was that the teacup in my hand also had a glow of 'Life'.

Did she put a 'Gu' in it or something...?

{Incorrect. 'Qi' can also be detected due to its ties with 'Life'. What you see inside the teacup is known as 'Toxic Qi'. It is used in many types of magical poisons. Would you like to scan for its effects?}

Please do that for me.

{Command accepted. Scanning... Scan complete.}

Now that was fast!

{Results: The toxin isn't lethal. It's effects are unable to be counteracted with Water Qi, and has the power to put the user in a state of euphoria. It is similar to the medicine known as aphrodisiac.}

So this was a honey trap? If you can scan what kind of toxin this is, then what about the poisoner?

{Command accepted. Scanning... Scan complete.}

{Results: The nature of the target's physique seems to possess demonic qualities. Demonic Qi seems to be of the 'Lust' Category. It is predicted that the target's technique siphon away vitality.}

Wow... So other people can do that as well?

{Affirmative. Gathered data indicates that stealing Qi is common among Demonic Practitioners.}

I already knew that.

Sheesh, now what am I supposed to do with this girl? I couldn't just kill her like 'Kang Hyuk' would.

...I have an idea. Are you able to isolate the effects of the 'poison' from effecting me from the inside?

{Toxic Qi may be stored in the body for future use.}

Alright! Now time for the moment of truth. I didn't make any suspicious movement and drank the tea.

Then I started acting as if I had been affected.

{As per user's will, outward replication of the effects shall be shown. Increasing heartbeat...}

"Y-young Master?" The maid pretended to be surprised, but her face was full of anticipation.

I kicked back my seat and drew my sword, looking incredibly furious while speaking in a deep voice:

"Evildoer, you dare to poison me?!" My voice was neither quite nor loud, but it could freeze spines.

The maid fell over and conveniently grabbed on the trousers near my 'tent'. She thought this through...

"Young Master, I was forced into this. Please spare my life!" She spoke while leaning her chest on my leg. I have to say... the latter part of her acting was too crude. This had no flavour or finesse put into it.

If I was still the River Parting Martial King, there was only two ways this situation could've gone.

The first is falling for her temptations and violently assaulting her. As the spiteful man he was, he would make sure she felt no pleasure from their union. After having his way, he'd finish her off.

Second was the more likely option someone as proud as him would pick, and that was redirecting the euphoria into killing intent. This would turn him into a bloodthirsty slaughter for a few minutes.

The River Parting Martial King was likely able to kill her and minimise the repercussions on himself.

This was a crude plan no matter how I saw it.

Let's say she DID get past the 30 to 70 chance of not being killed on the spot. Then... what would she do after he realised her trick? Wasn't she too arrogant to think she could 'drain' him dry...?

No, maybe she thought he was crippled, but even with that premise, this scheme was convoluted.

Why not just feed me regular poison instead?

As there was a lot I needed her to answer, I didn't kill her. Instead, my sword lowered while closing in.

She closed her eyes, eagerly expecting me to bite on those rose lips, but she was sorely mistaken.

My hand patted her shoulder before speaking:

"I understand."

"H-huh?" The maid's face was flabbergasted at my calmness. She looked like she couldn't believe it.

But no, the girl didn't mishear me.

"What is your name?"

"Lu... Xia..."

"I see." My hands started stroking my chin as I continued: "There's only one reason you'd do this."

"U-umm... Young Master, please don't say I'm a spy. I really was forced into doing this."

"By who?"

"Err..." She averted her eyes. This maid was as ditzy and clumsy as I'd imagined she'd be.

Did she not even prepare a backstory? How underwhelming. She's just a disposable pawn.

Since that's the case...

"Y-Young Master...?" As I put my wrist on her other shoulder and had Sea Splitter placed behind her neck, she finally seemed to be panicking. It looks like she really didn't know how 'Kang Hyuk' was...

"You're forgiven." 

"Pardon?" She once again thought her ears were rotted or something since I said a strange thing.

I pretended to calm down my breath. Holding back my physical desires with sheer force of will... Not!

Regardless, it was funny seeing the shocked look on her face when I started to act dramatically.

"You may have poisoned me, but I understand your intentions. There's something I have to tell you."

"Eh? W-what is it, Young Master?" She seemed curious about what I was going to say to her.

"Hah... You've fallen for me, haven't you?" Like a man cursed by his fate in love, I turned my head.

"???" Her eyes were enough to show how speechless she was. The girl couldn't even retort.

"Alas... You must forget about me. Me and you... It is a relationship that can never be. A man may crave to grasp the sky, but he can never truly hold it. Similarly, you should not overstep your station."

"Ummm..." She couldn't even form a decent sentence to reply with, only gaping at me.

"I know... I'm handsome, dashing, strong, and someone many girls would fall for... but you must hold back your feelings. I will do my best to comfort you, but please... know your place well."

"Young Master, I-"

"Shhh... Don't worry, I understand." My finger was placed on her lips as I shushed away explanations.

I was secretly entertained by the myriad of expressions that were occurring on her face. 

It looks like she truly didn't expect this would happen. She couldn't even put on an act anymore.

"You may now leave, but please... don't forget my words. You mustn't be overcome by your hormonal lust anymore and do such terrible acts. I shall keep what happened here a secret." I acted so easily...

Pretending to be someone so caught up in their own world they couldn't see reality was what I was going for. Lu Xia seemed to believe it. She seemed both disappointed and appreciative of this ending.

At least, she wasn't quickly killed off by me.

I'm definitely going to keep an eye on her to see who she meets. This will be a fun investigation.

I really want to see what excuses she'll make~