After Being Forced to Conquer the Crazy and Tyrannical Demon Lord, the Entire Book Had a Happy Ending - Chapter 29

Mu Zhe’s gaze suddenly shifted towards her.

“Others have their reasons for hating him, and I can’t control that.”

Wen Ruan’s tone was serious. “But you can’t say that he’s not worth it. You mentioned that the heavens abandoned him, so what?”

“In my eyes, all beings are equal. Whether they are human or demon, they have the right to love and be loved.”

“Besides, he lost his mother, so he must be very sad. Don’t blame him, it’s not his fault.”

…

The girl’s voice was not loud, but it carried a solemnity, like tiny pebbles.

With each word she spoke, it felt like a heavy stone was dropping onto the young man’s heart.

By the time the last word fell, the heavy stones that filled his heart suddenly turned into soft feathers.

They gently brushed through his heart, causing a tingling sensation.

A few strands of strange emotions stirred in his dark eyes, like ripples on still water, spreading one circle after another.

This woman seems different from those righteous cultivators.

Mu Zhe gazed earnestly into her eyes, attempting to find traces of fear and lies.

But the girl’s gaze was clear, as if it held a pool of autumn water, shallow and pure, with only him reflected within.

When their eyes met, his usually steady heartbeat suddenly skipped a beat.

Wen Ruan noticed his silence and became even more uncertain about his thoughts. She could only tentatively speak up:

“Can you promise not to tell the Lord about our acquaintance?”

Afraid that he might misunderstand, she quickly added, “I just want to stay by his side as usual. If he knew about my identity, I’m afraid…”

Her smile turned bitter. “I won’t force you. If you don’t want to, it’s fine.”

“….Okay.”

Wen Ruan’s eyes brightened as she held onto his arm, her ears turning slightly red. “Is that a promise?”

“…”

Mu Zhe looked away, his gaze fixed on a branch with a red plum blossom, his tone light and drifting. “I don’t want to say it a second time.”

The young man is quite prideful.

Wen Ruan happily let go of his arm. Feeling a huge weight lifted off her heart, she relaxed.

“By the way, I still don’t know your name.” She pointed at herself and extended her right hand towards him.

“I’m Wen Ruan, the ‘wen’ from ‘warm’ (wen ruan) and the ‘ruan’ from ‘soft’ (rou ruan),” she said, beaming.

Mu Zhe glanced at his own arm absentmindedly. “Hei Shi*.”
*translator’s note: also means ‘black stone’

Look at this unique naming style. He’s definitely Mu Zhe’s subordinate.

Wen Ruan mockingly laughed at him in her mind for two seconds.

Her smile was radiant as she firmly held his left hand and shook it vigorously. “Now that we’ve exchanged names, we’re friends.”

The girl’s palm was soft and warm. As it touched his cold hand, a gentle warmth spread slowly.

Mu Zhe focused on their clasped hands, his Adam’s apple moving slightly as he lightly curled his fingertips.

“By the way, I promised to treat you to a meal last time we met.”

She let go of his hand and bent down to pick up the food container. “Given the current situation, it’s not appropriate for us to eat together, so let’s make do with this plate of snacks for now.”

“Also, it’s important to take care of your injuries and not delay seeking medication any longer.” She patted his shoulder, her tone light and cheerful.

“I have some things to attend to, so I’ll be going now. Goodbye.”

Mu Zhe watched her walk away step by step, and his hand, hanging at his side, moved unconsciously.

Without the warmth of the other person’s body, the coldness rushed into his palm.

The wind roared, and snowflakes danced with the plum blossoms. A few accidentally landed on the pastries in his hand.

He gently brushed them away, covering the date paste cake with his hand, patiently waiting for the wind to stop. Then he picked up a pastry and put it in his mouth.

The expected sweetness bloomed on his tongue.

After hesitating for a moment, he carefully put the date paste cake into his storage pouch and took out the spiritual medicine he had found this time. He examined it for a moment, then turned and left.

Just as the black-clad youth turned around, the old plum tree trembled slightly.

“Crack—”

A branch that had unintentionally shaken off the accumulated snow responded with a snap and fell onto the pure white snow.

The wind howled, lifting snowflakes in the air. Before long, the branch could only be seen as a rough silhouette.

After a while, faint footsteps could be heard in the snow.

Someone with delicate hands picked it up, gently turning the brown branch. The accumulated snow on the petals fell off with her movements, revealing a thrilling touch of red.

Ping Xian lowered her head and sniffed, chuckling softly. “This junior from the Shangyang Sect is quite interesting.”

“But if she betrays the cultivation world—”

Her gaze turned cold. She exerted a slight force with her fingertips, causing the branch to emit a painful, crisp sound as it snapped in two.

“My ability to think on my feet is getting better and better.” Wen Ruan raised her hand and sprinkled a handful of fish food. Watching the large fish rolling in the sea of clouds, she felt relieved.

“I’ve passed this test.”

996, looking at the continuously rising favorability in the system, pinched itself in disbelief and murmured: 

“You’re really amazing.”

“But it seems like he knows Mu Zhe quite well. He even knows about his background.” She didn’t notice 996’s small actions, placing the white porcelain jar back on the small table and lightly leaping onto the fish’s back.

“I don’t know why, but after hearing him speak, I feel like the Mu Zhe I know is different from what I imagined.”

More precisely, he seemed different from how he was described in the book.

What’s different about him?

She carefully pondered amidst the chaotic sound of the wind but couldn’t sort out her thoughts for a long time.

996 stated matter-of-factly: “Perhaps you initially thought of him as a really bad person, but he certainly isn’t a good person either.”

She tidied her hair and looked through the mist, her gaze falling on the bustling valley filled with freesia flowers. Her voice was broken amidst the sea of clouds, sounding somewhat ethereal.

“In fact, sometimes those hated by the world aren’t necessarily bad people.”

“My Lord, you’re back.”

In the Everlasting Pavilion, Zhu Sha bowed to the black-clad youth and saluted with clasped fists. “You’ve returned so quickly this time. Did something happen?”

Mu Zhe removed his mask and calmly walked towards the study. “Everything went smoothly. I’m going to seclude myself in the Spring Valley, and no one is allowed to disturb me.”

“Yes,” Zhu Sha respectfully replied and hesitated for a moment. “After you left, Lady Wen came to look for you several times.”

Mu Zhe’s hand paused as he pushed open the door, and his lips curled slightly. It was only a momentary change, so quick that Zhu Sha almost thought it was an illusion.

But when he looked again, Mu Zhe still had a cold expression on his face.

“Yes, I’m aware,” Mu Zhe replied.

“Squeak—”

The door closed.

Zhu Sha looked somewhat puzzled at the withered tree in the courtyard, as if expecting a hole to appear in the sky above.

The Lord of the Demon Realm wasn’t fond of smiling.

In all the years in the Demon Realm, he had only seen him smile a few times.

It was either a cold smirk when breaking someone’s spine or a maniacal laughter with crimson eyes while cutting open his own chest.

But there was never a smile like this, light and devoid of any bloodthirstiness.

It appeared ordinary and unremarkable, at first glance no different from an ordinary youth.

Zhu Sha looked up at the gloomy sky and suddenly realized that the snow in the Demon Realm seemed a bit lesser.