"Promise me one thing." Yaohua turned her head, deliberately avoiding his gaze. The tip of the sword had cut her fair neck, and the bright red blood stabbed Zhao Wu's eyes.
He had never thought about his feelings for this little phoenix. The only thing he was sure of was that just the thought of her dying made his heart ache so much that he could hardly breathe, regardless of the bond mark.
He closed his eyes briefly, clearly feeling that his dignity and stubbornness had been easily dragged into the abyss by this little phoenix, yet he was helpless. "I promise."
Yaohua's hand trembled slightly. She hadn't expected him to agree without even asking.
She said, "Don't tell anyone that my days are numbered. Once I hear you breathe a word of it, I'll kill myself on the spot."
Zhao Wu was silent for a while, then said, "Then you promise me one thing too."
He leaned forward, looking straight into her eyes. "Keep the jade essence and take good care of your illness. As long as I'm around, no one dares to take your life."
The wind howled across the wilderness. Yaohua met his gaze and seemed to fall into a purple moon abyss. Even her heartbeat was captured.
She asked, "Are you really not going to break the bond with me? If I die, you'll die too."
Zhao Wu bit her wrist and mumbled indistinctly, "Don't even think about getting rid of me."
"Thank you." Yaohua took the jade essence and thanked him sincerely.
Suddenly, she didn't want to deceive him anymore. She took a deep breath. "I probably won't marry you. The Phoenix Clan won't need a clan leader who marries a Heavenly Demon."
Zhao Wu's gaze gradually turned dangerous.
At this moment, a paper crane fluttered over from the horizon.
Yaohua caught the paper crane and her face changed slightly.
The Crested Ibis Clan had recently threatened to make the Phoenix Clan pay with their lives and showed signs of rebellion. The Divine Lord had ordered her to go and investigate.
The long - silent system spoke up quietly, "Please, host, go and quell the rebellion. Leave immediately!"
"Why?" Yaohua was curious as to why the system would speak up at this moment.
The system didn't reply but just repeated the order continuously. It sounded weak and extremely pitiful.
She glanced at the moody Zhao Wu, then spread her wings and flew away.
Zhao Wu also saw the message. He stood there and didn't chase after her.
After a while, he gritted his teeth and said, "Don't worry. I'm not going to be a son - in - law. Once I reclaim the Heavenly Demon Clan, I'll force the Immortal Realm and the Phoenix Clan to send you over for the marriage alliance with drums and gongs!"
By then, he would ignore this little phoenix and make her wait alone in the empty room, crying and coming to his door, begging him to consummate the marriage!
Before she reached the Crested Ibis Clan, Yaohua saw demonic energy rising into the sky from afar.
The system urged, "Hurry, that's the place! As long as I get this demonic energy, I can recover."
So that's why it had been so eager to urge her here, to obtain the demonic energy.
Yaohua did as she had done before. She transformed into a feather and drifted over. But when she reached the place where the demonic energy had appeared, she was surprised to find that the demonic energy was gone!
It was a swamp. The air was moist and pleasant. Only the plants around the swamp that had been contaminated by the demonic energy could prove how abundant the demonic energy here had been.
The system said weakly, "I can't hold on anymore. Before I collapse, you must collect enough Heavenly Demon energy for me!"
After saying that, it fell into a deep slumber.
Yaohua called out to it several times. Seeing that it didn't respond, she felt frustrated.
Did she have to find out in the Crested Ibis Clan why the demonic energy had suddenly disappeared?
After much thought, she transformed into a human form and prepared to explore the Crested Ibis Clan.
Unexpectedly, there came the sound of flapping wings from the side.
A green sparrow flew over happily and transformed into a young girl when it landed. "I knew there was more than just me, a green sparrow, in this swamp! Sister, did you just transform into a human form?"
Yaohua was slightly stunned. Was she being mistaken for a newly - transformed little demon?
However... maybe she could take this opportunity to infiltrate the Crested Ibis Clan.
Thinking of this, she nodded timidly. "Who are you?"
"My name is Qingqing." The green sparrow smiled. "I'm a green sparrow born in this swamp. From now on, we're family."
"Ah?" Yaohua was dumbfounded. Just because they were in the same swamp, they were family? What kind of logic was that?
Qingqing said seriously, "The others out there are all crested ibises. There should only be two of us green sparrows within a radius of ten thousand li. We have to be careful."
Yaohua was led out of the swamp by her. From afar, she saw a few kids running over and throwing stones at them cheerfully. "Oh! The ugly ones are here again!"
Qingqing quickly dodged. "Oh no, let's run!"
The two of them ran all the way to a bustling and lively place before they managed to shake off the kids.
"Who are they?" Yaohua couldn't help but ask.
"The Shuiyue Marsh next to us is where the Crested Ibis Clan Chief lives. Those are the clan chief's sons. They like to bully little demons like us who have no background the most. A newly - transformed blue sparrow was beaten to death by them the other day!" Qingqing showed a frightened expression.
Yaohua's eyes flashed. Maybe she should find a way to get into the Shuiyue Marsh. The Crested Ibis Clan Chief must know about the demonic energy.
The soldiers patrolling the street noticed the unfamiliar faces and looked over severely. "During the war, we must be on high alert for spies. Why have I never seen you before? Show me your pass!"
A pass?
Yaohua had never seen such a thing. "What if I can't show it?"
Qingqing quickly covered her mouth and apologized with a smile. "Gentlemen, this is her pass. She's a blue sparrow newly born in the swamp. She doesn't know anything. Please forgive her."
After saying that, she took out a crumpled pass from her bosom and handed it over.
The soldiers nodded and left.
Qingqing said in a terrified voice, "If they find out that you don't have a pass and you're not from the Crested Ibis Clan, they'll take you for a body check. On the surface, it's a body check, but in fact, they'll rape and humiliate you. They'll only throw you out after they've had enough fun."
"So scary?" Yaohua noticed that Qingqing's body was trembling uncontrollably when she talked about these things. She knew that Qingqing must have experienced these terrible things herself. Anger welled up in her heart.
How could the Crested Ibis Clan have such absurd rules? Didn't they care?
The green sparrow handed the pass to her and whispered, "Let's buy some cultivation items and go back. Don't cause any trouble."
The crested ibises on the street seemed to know Qingqing, this outcast. They looked at the two of them with extreme contempt and even threw stones and rotten eggs at them. "Such a lowly race dares to linger in our Crested Ibis Clan!"
"Get out of here!"
Yaohua maintained her weak - chicken image of a newly - transformed demon and didn't fight back.
The two of them returned to the swamp covered in rotten vegetables and with bruises all over their bodies.
Qingqing seemed to be used to this kind of life. After simply cleaning her body, she picked out the edible vegetables and went to pick some wild fruits. She busied herself cooking and mumbled to herself. It was not clear who she was trying to comfort. "Although we sisters are being bullied now, don't be discouraged. As long as we work hard to cultivate and become strong, we won't be afraid of them!"
Yaohua felt a bit complicated. She had long since stopped eating ordinary food, but under Qingqing's eager gaze, she still managed to drink a bowl of vegetable soup.
A few days passed in the blink of an eye.