Master Jiao, former Peak Lord Jiao, Jiao Zilei.
Jiao Ziyu’s head was spinning, and not solely because of that.
“That’s... Master Jiao’s son?”
The son of Master Jiao, the son of the Demon King’s late sister.
Could Mingyue have known? Mingyue was perceptive, and he could hardly have missed this. Still⸺
“Ugh.”
Youming Jun suddenly stirred, blinking blearily. He was clearly still a bit out of it though, because it took a long moment before he seemed to realise his position – and once he did, he immediately scrambled away, baring his teeth in an outright snarl.
It was a surprisingly animalistic yet also perfectly understandable reaction. Bai Jixue hardly seemed intimidated though – if anything, then he seemed amused, particularly when the Demon Prince opted to use Jiao Ziyu as a human shield.
Ah, to be young and suddenly end up facing the righteous calamity that was former Peak Lord Bai. Still, the other did take the time to glare at the ferret still curled up on Bai Jixue’s shoulder.
“Fine,” the Demon Prince said at last, averting his eyes. “I’ll talk.”
And talk, he did.
“The one behind this... incident... is most likely Hua Hongzhu. She’s the daughter of the Butterfly Demon Clan’s chief. We’re... not exactly on good terms.”
Not on good terms, huh? Well, that could mean a whole bunch of things. Still⸺ “Then why aren’t you more... concerned?”
Because Jiao Ziyu would most definitely be concerned if one of his enemies made off with Bai Mingyue – concerned for him, yes, and to a lesser degree also for them.
Youming Jun snorted.
“Because despite our relationship, I know she’s not stupid enough to cause Yue any serious harm," he then said. "Because if she does, or if Yue comes to any harm while he’s in her care, then neither she nor her clan will make it out unscathed. Depending on my uncle’s mood, they might not even make it out at all.”
Hoh? “Then what about your mood?”
“Oh, I’m definitely pissed off,” Youming Jun said, folding his arms across his chest. “But I’ll be sure to consult Yue’s opinions on the matter before I wipe out their entire bloodline.”
How awfully considerate of him – in a way. Granted, this also put a skilled and also mentally unstable medicinal cultivator in a position of great influence, which wasn’t necessarily such a good thing. In fact, Jiao Ziyu was fairly certain that it was probably more of the opposite.
Because while he could definitely recognise Yue’s mitigating influence on the former future Demon Lord’s volatile nature, that very influence could also be used to aggravate it. Because while those fighting to conquer were dangerous, those fighting to protect tended to be even more so.
That said however⸺ “Out of curiosity, how closely – if at all – does the Demon Realm adhere to the tenets of the Jianghu?”
“Depends on the region, and on the position, clan and sworn allegiances of those involved,” Youming Jun said. “The Hua have sworn themselves to my uncle, and my uncle has previously shown favour to Hua Hongzhu. However, my uncle has shown favour to others in the past, and he still killed them the moment they crossed him. I mean, I did and I’m alive, but I’m his last remaining close blood relative and I’m only alive because of Yue’s intervention. And because we settled things after that.”
Right. “You did mention something to that effect. And that your... royal uncle had expressed his approval of recent life decisions of yours.”
Coming to think of it though, exactly what those recent life decisions entailed had never been properly addressed, had they?
Jiao Ziyu could make an educated guess however.
“Then, since Yue’s your... mate, and you were effectively raised by your royal uncle... that would make Yue the King’s son-in-law, wouldn’t it?”
Ah. Never mind the whole blunder of dragging someone’s family member into some personal feud then. Because this Hua Hongzhu hadn’t done just that; she’d also abducted a close family relation of her own sovereign as a part of some feud with said sovereign’s adopted son. Yeah...
“Are you absolutely certain that none of this has your royal uncle’s approval?" Jiao Ziyu asked. "I’m certainly no expert in the Demon Realm and its politics, but from where I'm standing, this seems like a high-risk low-reward kind of endeavour. I mean, if this Hua Hongzhu has a feud with you personally and is willing involve your spouse, then why did she decide to bring it into the Demon Realm? Why not just take him – and the whole city – hostage instead? They’d be running the risk of one of the major cultivation sects butting in, sure, but that could’ve doubled as an opportunity to get rid of you, no?”
Yeah, and if such a thing had really come to pass and cultivators of a certain righteous sect had become involved in any capacity, then someone from the other side would’ve used it as an excuse to start another war in-between the realms – which was a scary thought for sure.
Youming Jun seemed to think differently though.
“Hua Hongzhu knows she can’t defeat me head-on,” he said. “And I’d say the whole Demon Realm knows this as well. As such, she’d have to resort to other means. She’d want to challenge me on her home turf, and since I wouldn’t really bother showing up even if she sent notice, she likely figured that she had to provide some additional incentive. Don’t get me wrong though⸺”
At this, he clenched his fist, eyes gleaming red. “⸺I’m going to crush her.”
Yes, and while this was most likely justified, it too bore the definite risk of setting off some sort of hostilities in-between clans. And, as with all hostilities, there was the definite risk of rapid escalation and the conflict spreading to involve areas and groups previously uninvolved.
“Right...” Jiao Ziyu sighed. “Okay, you’re going to crush her. Fine. What’s your strategy here? What’s your plan? What’s your backup plan? What factors are relevant to consider, before and afterwards? Do you actually have some support network over in the Demon Realm or do you rely solely upon your royal uncle’s connections and underlings? What’s your exit strategy? What’s your alternate exit strategy? What’s your plan in the offhand case your royal uncle sides with the Hua clan?”
He earned himself an outright glare for that. That didn’t change the fact that he was perfectly justified in asking however. They were heading into the Demon Realm, so they obviously had to have some sort of strategy prepared.
Youming Jun bared his teeth. “You⸺”
A fan snapping open and shut abruptly reminded them of Bai Jixue’s presence.
“You know,” the immortal said, an uncanny gleam in his eyes. “It’s been a while since I last assassinated anyone...”
Hearing this, Jiao Ziyu made an internal note about the wording and about its actual and potential implications.
It wasn’t as though righteous cultivators never killed. Typically, it was just demonic beasts though, demonic beasts and similar things – feral and typically bloodthirsty things. Killing other things occasionally proved necessary though, and considering the cultivator in question, Jiao Ziyu harboured no doubts.
In Bai Jixue’s case, it was not a matter of if – it was rather a matter of whom, how, and how many.
Jiao Ziyu remembered the shovel talk. He remembered it very well, as a matter of fact. And he had by no means forgotten about his strong, sensible suspicions about the former Sect Leader’s fate either. He wouldn’t ask though, obviously, because the less he knew the better.
They crossed into the Demon Realm without much fanfare, sneaking in like thieves in the night, moving quietly now that Jun had shoved his possessed and noisy sabre back into his spatial ring. That guy had most likely wanted to get some word in, but... yeah, no.
Jiao Ziyu should’ve probably felt more guilty about it than he did, but... he didn’t mind it an awful lot though, as it turned out. What he did mind was the fact that Bai Jixue and the Demon Prince seemed to be covertly exchanging information without sharing it with him – because he was pretty sure that was what they were doing, because why else would the Demon Prince so readily tolerate the other’s fingers clamped around the back of his neck?
Still, while Jiao Ziyu wanted in on that information, he found that he wasn’t quite so desperate that he’d be willing to subject himself to such – because given such a shining opportunity, then perhaps the immortal would seek to snap his neck and be done with it?
As such, he kept quiet, at least for the time being, sticking close without sticking too close as they advanced farther into the Demon Realm. Youming Jun seemed to know what he was doing though, and his improved colour and use of that dimensional ability of his clearly indicated that Bai Jixue had been feeding him more than just information.
“We’re about to get some company,” the immortal suddenly said, letting go of the Demon Prince’s neck in favour of making sure the weimao was still firmly on his head. “Get behind me.”
Jiao Ziyu certainly didn’t need to be told twice, and while Youming Jun seemed far less keen on it, he too fell in line.
According to the Demon Prince’s earlier info, this Hua Hongzhu would likely send a bunch of disposable minions in the hopes of slowing them down on their way – to tire him out beforehand. As such, it would probably be best for the other to stand back and let Bai Jixue handle it – no matter what his feeble pride might’ve suggested.
Jiao Ziyu himself harboured no such qualms. Then again, he wasn’t the one who’d had his spouse abducted by some demoness looking to best him in a one-on-one duel in front of an appropriate number of acceptable eyewitnesses – to prove her mettle in against the mongrel that was Youming Jun.
Because in spite of a sizeable harem, the Demon King had no children to his name – not even a single bastard to call his own, if one disregarded the one that was technically his late sister’s. This effectively left Youming Jun as the crown prince, and thus as an obstacle to anyone else looking to inherit.
Jiao Ziyu found that he still couldn’t quite wrap his head around it though, because if this Hua Hongzhu was indeed aiming to become the Demon King’s successor, engaging in this sort of behaviour seemed incredibly risky – that is, unless she was indeed acting with the Demon King’s permission or even blessings.
As such, Jiao Ziyu was wary – he was wary, but also undeniably relieved. Because having witnessed just how easily Bai Jixue had just taken out an incoming wave of demons, he was glad not to be on the receiving end. Hua Hongzhu’s minions didn’t stand a chance, becoming encased in a thick layer of ice with just a slight wave of the immortal’s fan.
It was humbling – surreal even – and if Jiao Ziyu felt like this, then he imagined that Youming Jun felt it all the more strongly. Because the other hadn’t actually seen Bai Jixue before – not like Jiao Ziyu had, all those years ago.
Memories did have a tendency to exaggerate, sure, but in this case, Jiao Ziyu honestly couldn’t help but wonder how the Demon Realm was still standing if Bai Jixue had indeed possessed a similar amount of power before his ascension. He likely hadn’t, but in truth, it was just as fair to assume that destroying the Demon Realm simply hadn’t been on Bai Jixue’s to-do list at the time.
As for what was on the immortal’s to-do list now however, that still remained to be seen.
