When Su Yuan woke up, a group of demons were anxiously surrounding him.
"How is he exactly?"
"Hey, he's awake! He's awake!"
When Nan Jia saw that Su Yuan finally opened his eyes, she heaved a huge sigh of relief and quickly asked, "Boss, how are you? Do you still feel uncomfortable anywhere?"
Su Yuan listened to Nan Jia's words, but they seemed to go in one ear and out the other. The memories of being trapped by the inner demons just now still lingered in his mind, making it hard for him to distinguish between dream and reality for a moment.
"Boss, what's wrong with you? Say something!" Nan Jia was even more anxious about Su Yuan's silence. The little demons beside her also stared at him nervously.
"I'm fine." Su Yuan threw off the quilt on him, got out of bed, and turned to go outside.
The newly retrieved memories constantly reminded him of what had happened in the past, what kind of hardships he and Zhao Zhao had gone through to get to where they were now, and more importantly, they made him understand what the biggest hidden danger lurking beside Zhao Zhao had always been.
This time, he would never allow anyone to have any ill intentions towards Zhao Zhao again, and he would never allow her to be hurt in the slightest.
If he couldn't protect the one he loved a thousand years ago, how could he just stand by and watch her go through the same ordeal again a thousand years later?
"Boss, where are you going?" Gu Qing appeared at the door with a bowl of steaming medicine in her hand. Seeing that Su Yuan had woken up and was walking out with a cold look on his face, she couldn't help but stop for a moment and looked at him in confusion.
"Go and bring Zhao Zhao back."
Su Yuan pushed Gu Qing aside and was about to walk out, but unexpectedly, Gu Qing sighed and held his hand. Looking at him firmly, she said softly, "Boss, anyway, Zhao Zhao is also a member of our Demon Management Bureau. Have you forgotten? Let's go together."
"Yes, let's go together." Nan Jia stepped forward and stood shoulder to shoulder with them without the slightest hesitation.
"And me!" The demons looked out following this strange yet familiar voice and saw a handsome young man standing at the door. Beside him was Fu Feng, whom they hadn't seen for many days.
Su Yuan's eyes fell on the young man. With just one glance, he recognized his identity. This was Taotie, who had recovered from his old injuries and returned to his adult form.
His eyes shifted from Taotie to Fu Feng. Fu Feng seemed a little afraid to meet his gaze and lowered his head guiltily.
"I know what I said before made you angry and offended you. I really feel sorry for our long - standing friendship with Zhao Zhao." Fu Feng explained hoarsely, laying out all his thoughts and his once - despicable ideas in front of Su Yuan.
He raised his slightly red eyes and looked at Su Yuan again: "I thought I could just not care. After all, since you saved me on the battlefield a thousand years ago, you have always been the most important person in my heart, like a teacher and an elder brother. But the entanglement in my heart has been torturing me day and night. Maybe I should respect your thoughts and my own. Zhao Zhao is innocent. I'm going with you."
"What are you talking about?" Nan Jia was completely confused by Fu Feng's words. She didn't know what had happened when she was away. Suddenly, the atmosphere had become so solemn. Had Fu Feng done something wrong to make the boss angry?
At this critical moment of rescuing Zhao Zhao, Nan Jia didn't want any conflict to break out between them.
So she patted Fu Feng on the shoulder and was about to smooth things over, but unexpectedly, Su Yuan beside her suddenly said:
"You've always got one thing wrong. Zhao Zhao is your real savior."
"What?" Fu Feng was stunned by his words. What did he mean?
"But it's not your fault." Su Yuan's eyes were lost in deep memories. He sighed and raised his hand to pat Fu Feng on the shoulder, as if encouraging and comforting him: "It's my fault. I didn't do well back then."
After saying this, he pushed aside Taotie and Fu Feng who were crowded at the door and walked out.
Fu Feng stared blankly at Su Yuan's back. Suddenly, his head ached violently, and some blurry pictures flashed by.
——
"Farther, a little farther, just a little farther."
Somewhere far away from Wutong Mountain, Yue Yao pulled Zhao Zhao's hand and flew forward desperately.
But perhaps she had over - exhausted herself, and since Yue Yao was not good at flying skills in the first place, the excessive consumption of her magical power caused her and Zhao Zhao to fall from the sky.
"Sister!"
The sudden sense of weightlessness hit. Zhao Zhao tightly held her sister's hand and kept falling.
She was more worried about her sister's physical condition than her own. All along, her sister had the weakest magical power and physical condition among the five of them. That was why she had stayed on Wutong Mountain all year round and didn't practice spells for direct combat.
However, even in this situation, her beloved second sister still hugged her tightly and used her own body to bear most of the impact of the fall for her.
"Ouch——!"
Yue Yao let out a muffled groan of pain, then immediately got up and helped Zhao Zhao sit up, carefully checking her body: "Did you hurt anywhere? Tell sister, okay?"
"No." Zhao Zhao replied in a small voice with tears in her eyes.
Yue Yao seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and quickly tried to pull her up to continue on their way: "Come on, we haven't reached our destination yet. It's not safe here."
"Sister..." The tears that Zhao Zhao had been trying so hard to hold back finally fell. Looking at her gentle sister, she asked softly, "What's wrong with you?"
"What?" Yue Yao was momentarily confused. It was only when she noticed Zhao Zhao's gaze always on her hand that she realized.
One of her hands had gradually become completely transparent.
"Don't be afraid." Yue Yao squatted down and stroked Zhao Zhao's hair. Looking at her with pity in her eyes, she put a round bead into her hand: "This is sister's demon core. Although senior brother and junior brother have temporarily held master back for a while, sister knows that master alone would never be able to do all these things. There must be others involved. Master may not be in league with them, but he must be related to them. Now that master is temporarily trapped, and we don't know what's going on with the others."
Yue Yao smiled and continued, "Sister knows she doesn't have the ability to fully protect you. This demon core represents all of sister's power."
She paused for a moment and then said, "It may not be enough to ensure your safety for a lifetime, but it can protect you for a while. Take it. If necessary, crush it and it can save your life."
Crush a demon core...
Zhao Zhao stared blankly at the demon core in her palm. Did her sister know what she was saying?
For a demon, without a demon core, it was no different from death.
"I don't want it!" She refused loudly, wanting her sister to take back the demon core. Tears kept streaming down her face.
"Be obedient." Yue Yao forcefully stuffed the demon core into a brocade bag and looked very calm: "Since sister has decided to do this, there's no going back."
"You've grown up under the care of sister and senior brothers. Sometimes I feel that there's no difference between you and the child I've raised. In my heart, you've long been my own younger sister."
"My little junior sister, if I can't see you safe and happy, sister will never be happy for the rest of her long life."
The effects of the pill from the third senior brother hadn't worn off yet, suppressing Zhao Zhao and preventing her from moving. She watched helplessly as her sister put the brocade bag containing the demon core into the small cloth bag she had sewn for her.
As she was being led forward slowly by her sister, she comforted herself:
As long as she didn't touch this demon core and protected it well, then she would find an opportunity to return the demon core to her sister's body later. Her sister would surely be okay. She would surely be...
However, accidents always came suddenly. When she saw Lu Chukong with a black hood in front and an identical face, Zhao Zhao felt unprecedented despair.
Watching her sister use her slender body to block in front of her, she admitted that she was really scared.
"Lu Chukong, I'll give you anything you want. Let my sister go." She pleaded in a trembling voice. This was the first time in her life that she had been so humble in front of someone.
She used to be the beloved little disciple of Wutong Mountain, then the well - cared - for junior among the demons in the Demon Management Bureau, and now a prisoner unable to escape the cage of fate.
Lu Chukong just looked at her quietly for a few seconds and finally said slowly, "I'm afraid even if I'm willing to let her go, she won't leave."
"Sister, go! Hurry and go!" Zhao Zhao was extremely anxious and urged Yue Yao to leave.
But Yue Yao turned back and gave her a calm smile: "Sister won't leave."
She took out her never - used natal magic weapon, but how could she be a match for them? Moreover, she had lost her demon core.
"Sister!"
When Yue Yao was knocked down by another "herself" with a palm and couldn't get up, anger and grief swept through Zhao Zhao's whole body, overwhelming all her thoughts.
She revealed her demon form, and the Resurrection Tree returned.
Powerful demon energy swept through every inch of the air here domineeringly. Lu Chukong was pressed so hard that he could hardly breathe, while the other Zhao Zhao beside him slowly curled her lips: "It's really been a long time, my dear 'me'."
What greeted her greeting was the Soul - Reaping Sword, exuding killing intent and cold light.
She dodged to the side, but Lu Chukong was stabbed in the left shoulder by the sword.
Looking at the extremely angry Zhao Zhao, there was a gleam of excitement in her eyes: "It's a pity that you're no match for me now."
Countless vines broke out of the ground and surrounded Zhao Zhao and Yue Yao tightly. The vines blossomed with blood - red flowers, and the blood mist emitted from the flowers gathered into the shape of ropes and tied up Zhao Zhao.
The Soul - Reaping Sword hacked at the vines one after another, but it had no effect at all.
"Do you still remember the blood you gave him? Guess where it all ended up?" She pointed at Lu Chukong and asked word by word. Halfway through, she changed her words in boredom: "I might as well just tell you."
"All that true blood finally ended up on me. With the Eastern demon clan's power and the Southern Border secret arts, plus the true blood cleansing my marrow, do you think you have any chance of winning against me?"
Watching Zhao Zhao being trapped seemed to please her extremely. She added with a smile, "And I've already said that I was born because of you. Even if the spirit of the tree's core is on you, so what? I have all the abilities you have."
Sharp vines pierced into Zhao Zhao's chest. Zhao Zhao could feel her heart being pulled out. It was bloody and painful.
"Why do you get to enjoy all the good things while I'm trapped in endless darkness and never - ending hatred?" The face identical to Zhao Zhao's suddenly became crazy. She said hatefully, "It's time for a change today."
"Because... she will never be as ruthless as you..."
Yue Yao mustered her last bit of strength and touched the cloth bag in front of Zhao Zhao's chest. She grabbed the demon core and exerted force, "If you want my little junior sister's life, you're dreaming!"
"Sister! Stop!"
Boom——!
The demon core shattered. Like a tired bird returning to its nest, a long line streaked across the evening glow on the horizon, marking the final end of the day.
Night fell. All that was left for Zhao Zhao in the end was her sister's endless tenderness.