I Ruined the Long Ao Tian Script-Chapter 124

Confrontation

Xu Shulou met Yue'er's round, doe-like eyes: "Since we know the Demon Lord has no intention of waging war, we naturally won’t cut ties with you just because of your identity."

Yue'er, who wasn’t one for overthinking, believed her immediately and brightened up. "You really want to be friends with me?"

Xu Shulou’s eyes sparkled with amusement. "Mhm."

Yue'er lowered her head. "Thank you. I’ve never had many friends growing up."

Bai Roushuang gave her a sharp glance but then shook her head, chiding herself for overanalyzing. Yue'er was transparent—she spoke her mind without any hidden agenda or attempts to manipulate sympathy.

"Most demons actually prefer peace," Yue'er said softly. "That’s why I was so upset when I first visited the cultivation world and heard their slander against us. I even wanted to invite them to see for themselves, to dispel their prejudices. But I knew they’d never agree."

"..."

"Luckily, I met you," Yue'er added with lingering fear. "Looking back now, I realize how dangerous it was. If I’d died in the cultivation world, my father—no matter how much he loves peace—would have avenged me. Who knows what chaos would have erupted between our realms?"

The cultivation world was indeed perilous for demons. And the cultivators’ wariness wasn’t unfounded. To dissolve their prejudices, the demon realm’s dark reputation would first need to be cleansed. Yet, that very infamy also served as a shield—a delicate balance of mutual wariness kept the two sides in check.

If, like Ling Yuechan in the dream, one were to bare their heart to someone like Lu Beichen, and if that trust were exploited, tragedy would surely follow.

Xu Shulou had no immediate words of comfort. She simply nodded. "Since both cultivators and demons have the chance to ascend through cultivation, perhaps there isn’t much difference between us. But many still cling to the belief that ‘those not of our kind must have treacherous hearts.’ Centuries of accumulated hatred aren’t easily erased."

Bai Roushuang blinked. "Some things can’t be judged without seeing them firsthand. At least after visiting the demon realm, we understand why you’re so fond of mortal delicacies."

Yue'er ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‍couldn’t help but laugh, though her smile soon faded into a frown. "Not all demons are content with the current truce, though. One of my father’s subordinates, a demon lord, disagrees with his policies. He commands a horde of mindless lower demons, and Father worries he might do something reckless. That’s probably why he invited you here."

Bai Roushuang chuckled. "I bet the Demon Lord planned to broach the subject after getting closer to my senior sister. Yue'er, you just spilled his scheme outright!"

Yue'er widened her eyes. "Aren’t we friends?"

Xu Shulou ruffled her bangs. This guileless girl bore an uncanny resemblance to the saintess in the dream who had divulged the demon realm’s secrets to Lu Beichen.

The two stayed in the demon palace for a few days, and Bai Roushuang gradually let her guard down. She no longer jumped at every little thing—at least she stopped asking if every object was made of human skin.

Apart from the lack of sunlight, the demon realm wasn’t all that different from the mortal world. Each morning, a creature resembling a yellow dog would howl to wake everyone up, much like a rooster’s crow—except this beast was far more vicious. If anyone dared to sleep past its third call, it would burst in and start biting.

On their third day, the dog mysteriously vanished, granting everyone a rare lie-in. The demon servants searched high and low, suspecting the ruthless Xu Shulou had silenced it—only to find the beast curled up peacefully in her arms.

The servant irritably roused it. The dog shot him a disdainful look, as if to say, "I only bothered waking you lot because I couldn’t sleep. Now that I’m cozy, why should I care?"

Xu Shulou patted its head and set it down, but it wagged its tail and leaped right back onto her lap.

She laughed. "Maybe it’s the calming incense in my room. It refused to leave after sneaking in last night."

The servant forced a smile, grabbed the traitorous creature by the scruff, and scurried off.

Before Xu Shulou and Bai Roushuang arrived, Yue'er had been lonely, often amusing herself by poking at the rubbery-skinned blush bugs in the courtyard. With the two around, the bugs finally got a reprieve and hopped about more freely.

The palace garden was also dotted with bizarre mushrooms—some as small as thimbles, others as large as pavilions, sturdy enough to hold a person’s weight. The trio occasionally sat atop them to chat.

Yue'er explained that some demons, too poor to build houses, would hollow out these giant mushrooms and live inside.

"These are quite handy," Xu Shulou remarked. "Mind if I take one?"

"Of course not! You’re my friend—you could empty the whole garden if you wanted."

Xu Shulou sighed inwardly, wishing she could remind Yue'er not to trust so blindly.

"Do you eat these mushrooms?" Bai Roushuang suddenly asked.

"We do," Yue'er nodded. "Poisonous or not, though they’re not very tasty."

"Let me teach you a few recipes," Bai Roushuang grinned. "Guaranteed better than your ‘braised brains’ or whatever."

"Really?" Yue'er hugged her in delight as Xu Shulou watched fondly.

True to Yue'er’s words, after a few days, the Demon Lord hosted a banquet for the two cultivators and broached the subject of the rogue demon lord.

Xu Shulou sampled a few relatively normal-looking dishes before setting her chopsticks down smoothly at the Demon Lord’s cue.

He explained, "This man was once my subordinate but later rebelled and established Xuanyang Palace, styling himself Demon Lord Xuanyang. He’s been training those mindless lower demons, and I fear his ambitions might drag the entire demon realm into chaos. So… I have a favor to ask. I hope you’ll make an appearance to intimidate him."

"Me?" Xu Shulou’s expression turned odd. "Is my reputation in the demon realm… more fearsome than yours?"

The Demon Lord chuckled awkwardly. "We’re too familiar with each other—he knows I won’t start a war over minor clashes. But you’re a cultivator. Your presence alone sends a message."

Xu Shulou nodded. "Very well. I’ll go."

Her purpose in coming here was to investigate such threats. Now that she had a lead, she wouldn’t hesitate.

Bai Roushuang had wandered off somewhere to vomit and was nowhere to be seen. Xu Shulou strolled out of the hall alone and found a demon attendant waiting for her outside: "Miss Xu, are you heading to Xuanyang Palace?"

"Indeed."

The attendant looked rather embarrassed: "Well, I have some personal grudges with the people there. If you're going, could you do me a favor and rough someone up?"

"..." Xu Shulou paused. "First, tell me what this grudge is about."

The attendant immediately leaned in and whispered his grievances. Just then, the palace chef wandered over, cleaver in hand: "Miss, I’ll back you up! I’ve never forgotten how they stole my recipe book last time!"

Xu Shulou glanced at him: "Were you the one who prepared the dishes served at the banquet earlier?"

"That’s right."

Xu Shulou sighed. Stealing recipes from this place? The people of Xuanyang Palace must have a death wish.

A cleaning matron also shuffled over: "Miss, the servants of Xuanyang Palace borrowed a roll of my thread and needles and never returned it. Could you help me collect the debt while you’re at it?"

"...No problem."

"Miss, me too! The lecherous fiend from Xuanyang Palace stole both my wife and my husband!"

"Hmm?" Xu Shulou raised an eyebrow. "Wait, let me jot this down."

Seeing her take their requests so seriously, the crowd was deeply moved and soon surrounded her completely.

Bai Roushuang had accidentally eaten something strange at the banquet, and the moment it hit her tongue, a foul smell surged straight to her brain. What made it worse was that she had followed her senior sister's lead—only for Xu Shulou to taste it without so much as a flicker of expression, successfully tricking her junior sister.

Now, having finished retching by the wall, she emerged to look for Xu Shulou. Spotting a crowd gathered in the courtyard from afar, she crept closer, guided by the principle that where there was commotion, her senior sister was sure to be. Just as she arrived, she overheard someone begging Xu Shulou to help settle a romantic dispute. Listening in, she was stunned—Xuanyang Palace had managed to offend practically everyone in the demon palace, from political disagreements to petty theft of recipes.

With Bai Roushuang, the chef, and others in tow, Xu Shulou led the group in a grand procession to Xuanyang Palace.

Upon hearing of their arrival, Demon Lord Xuanyang hurried out to meet them, flanked by guards and several spider demons as additional protection. These spider demons had humanoid upper bodies but moved silently on eight spindly legs, their eerie presence sending chills down the spine.

Bai Roushuang stared at them, unable to stop herself from wondering if they could spin silk.

Xu Shulou began with courtesy before force, clasping her hands in greeting: "Cultivator Xu Shulou pays her respects."

"Xu Shulou? The Xu Shulou from the cultivation world?" The demon lord’s face twisted with alarm. "When did you arrive in the demon realm? And what business do you have at my Xuanyang Palace?"

Under his wary gaze, Xu Shulou leisurely unfurled a thin scroll, cleared her throat, and began reading aloud: "I hereby represent the Demon Lord, the Holy Maiden, the attendant ‘Ji Ji Fu Ji Ji’—honestly, someone ought to teach them some common mortal knowledge; not every name plucked from poetry is a good one—along with the maid ‘No Rouge Bugs for Me,’ the page ‘Brave Without Tears or Fear,’ the cleaning matron ‘Heart of Glass,’ the chef ‘Keep Staring and I’ll Cut You,’ and... ah, this one, ‘Harm Me and I’ll Gut You,’ ‘Li San’—oh, such a mundane name. My apologies, I misread. It’s ‘Li San · Beauty Fades, Love Wanes’... All of the above have come to settle scores with you!"

As her recitation dragged on, punctuated by occasional dry commentary, everyone present stifled yawns. The once-vigilant spider demon guards had already flipped upside down on the ceiling, their eyes glazed over in boredom.

Bai Roushuang pinched her thigh to stay awake, privately thinking this was the least impressive confrontation she’d ever attended with her senior sister.

Foll𝑜w current novels on fre(e)w𝒆bnovel