Chapter 96: I’ll Wait for You

Upper Cavern, inside what used to be Hong Yanzhi’s boudoir, was a scene of dazzling beauty.

Two delicate girls were entwined together, embracing as they slept.

Hong Yanzhi’s head was buried against Lin Xue’s chest, while one of Lin Xue’s slender jade legs draped across Hong Yanzhi’s waist, her hand still resting upon that ample, full mound.

Lin Xue, unlike Hong Yanzhi’s former air as a Demon Princess, did not put on any airs—even though Hong Yanzhi was now her demon slave, she did not make her sleep on the floor.

Instead, she let her sleep with her on that comfortable large bed.

“Squeak, squeak, squeak!”

From outside came the sharp cries of rats, mixed with rustling footsteps.

Lin Xue was startled awake.

She opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was Hong Yanzhi curled in her arms.

For a moment, Lin Xue felt a bit of panic in her heart.

She was afraid Hong Yanzhi would sit up again, glowering and scolding her for being clumsy, not as deft as Pingping.

But she soon remembered—Hong Yanzhi was no longer the Demon Princess.

This she-cat had already been subdued by her, and had become her servant, utterly loyal, with no divided intentions.

Lin Xue quietly let out a breath of relief.

Then, she felt the softness beneath her hand.

Looking down, she saw her little hand pressing right atop Hong Yanzhi’s full and ample peaks.

Lin Xue’s heart suddenly filled with restless heat.

She couldn’t help but squeeze gently.

Hong Yanzhi’s body trembled, and she immediately opened her eyes, waking up in terror.

When she saw it was Lin Xue who had squeezed her, the terror faded from her face, replaced by a flush of embarrassment.

Seeing she had frightened her, Lin Xue felt a little apologetic.

Hong Yanzhi hadn’t slept well at all the night before.

After being tormented for half a month by a thousand male demons in the mountain, she had woken screaming from nightmares several times through the night.

Lin Xue could only hold her in her arms before she finally fell into a shallow sleep.

Lin Xue herself hadn’t slept that well, either.

Back when she was Hong Yanzhi’s maid, Hong Yanzhi had been the Demon Princess, with guards outside—her bedroom was utterly safe.

That kind of secure environment let her sleep at ease.

But now, with Shu Da and Shu Er in charge of the cave, and their underlings guarding outside her room, this chamber was basically defenseless against them.

Being in such a situation, right under others’ noses, made it impossible for Lin Xue to rest easy.

The slightest disturbance in the night would startle her awake.

Later, holding Hong Yanzhi’s soft, curvaceous body, like hugging a large plush pillow, made her heart feel a little steadier.

Both demons only drifted into hazy sleep in the latter half of the night, so they woke up quite late the next morning.

Lin Xue sat up in bed.

Hong Yanzhi quickly sat up with her.

Now, in name, she was Lin Xue’s maid, while Lin Xue was undoubtedly her master. No matter what, she ought to serve Lin Xue in her daily routines.

Usually, others waited on her. Now, it was her turn to serve someone else, but Hong Yanzhi had no complaints at all and prepared to adjust to her new role as best she could.

She was already deeply grateful that Lin Xue was willing to save her.

But Lin Xue did not wait for her to serve. She rolled right out of bed and strode straight outside.

She wanted to see what was going on outside, why it was so noisy and chaotic.

Hong Yanzhi hesitated, then followed behind Lin Xue as they left the cave chamber together.

Outside the door stood eight Rat Demons.

Seeing Lin Xue and Hong Yanzhi come out, all eight bowed and saluted in unison, calling out, “Greetings, Future Second Madam.”

Lin Xue responded with an emotionless “Mm” and started toward the Upper Cavern.

The lead Rat Demon saw she wanted to leave and immediately blocked her way, asking, “Future Second Madam, where are you headed?”

Lin Xue felt a little annoyed.

It was already bad enough for them to keep a constant watch on her—did it have to upgrade to house arrest now?

She glared and said coldly, “If you follow me, won’t you find out where I’m going?”

The lead Rat Demon said, “Future Second Madam, the Grand Cave Master ordered a lockdown. No one is to run around or enter and exit the Upper Cavern without permission. Please return to your room and wait.”

Lin Xue asked, “Lockdown? Why?”

The Rat Demon didn’t answer, only repeating, “Please, Future Second Madam, return to your room and wait.”

While their little leader spoke with Lin Xue, several other guards let their gazes roam shamelessly over Hong Yanzhi’s body, their eyes filled with lecherous desire.

Hong Yanzhi’s face went pale, her hands clenching into trembling fists.

Over those half a month, nearly every male demon in the mountain had visited her.

She felt as if she were naked before these little demons.

Lin Xue snorted coldly, saying, “I’m just going a few steps ahead to look, not leaving the Upper Cavern. Don’t block my way!”

With that, she ignored the Rat Demons, brushed aside the leader’s hand, and strode into the cavern with Hong Yanzhi in tow.

Seeing he couldn’t stop her, the rat leader had no choice but to lead his men and follow close behind.

……

Zhang Zongnian followed the rat horde to the vicinity of the Upper Cavern.

He was panting, eyes blackening with exhaustion.

After climbing thousands of steps, as an ordinary rat, his stamina was at its limit.

But the rats around him seemed tireless, still running with wild frenzy.

Shu Da unleashed his mind control twice more.

Zhang Zongnian was wary and did his best to resist.

But he felt he couldn’t hold out much longer.

In his mind, that voice kept urging him to give up, to join the swarm.

His energy was spent, his spirit battered—it was all he could do to hang on.

His steps grew unsteady.

He began to worry if he could make it to Lin Xue.

In his mind, he pictured every smile and frown of Lin Xue, every brief moment they’d spent together, clenched his teeth, and held the Gongfa tightly in his mouth, crawling onward with all his might.

At last, he made it out of the tunnel and into the Upper Cavern.

After all his struggles, he had finally gotten here—one step closer to Lin Xue. He let out a long breath.

Now, he just had to find Lin Xue and give her this Gongfa.

He looked up, and instantly spotted the figure that haunted his dreams.

Lin Xue was standing at one of the forks ahead, staring in shock at the sea of rats.

Zhang Zongnian was overjoyed.

He changed direction and crawled toward Lin Xue.

Lin Xue had reached the Upper Cavern.

She saw wave after wave of red-eyed rats pouring from the ringed tunnels, streaming endlessly toward Hong Lao San’s old cave chamber.

She was filled with amazement.

This was the first time she’d seen such a scene.

Over a dozen Rat Demon guards stood in the cavern, watching her and Hong Yanzhi warily.

Hong Yanzhi’s face changed dramatically at the sight of all these rats.

She thought for a moment, then leaned close to Lin Xue and whispered, “Sister Xue’er, if I’m right, Shu Er is about to ascend to Grand Demon.”

Lin Xue was taken aback.

She looked at Hong Yanzhi and asked, “How do you know?”

Hong Yanzhi explained, “Last time, when Shu Da advanced to Grand Demon, the cave was just like this—rats everywhere, running wild.”

“I don’t know where Shu Da learned this damned method, but he managed to hide it from my father and me, secretly advancing to the peak of Body Tempering with Shu Er. Then, after drugging all of us, they ascended to Grand Demon.”

“At the time, Shu Er’s leg was broken by me, so he couldn’t ascend together with Shu Da.”

“Now that Shu Er’s leg has healed, and Shu Da has suddenly called for a lockdown, I bet eight or nine out of ten that Shu Er is about to ascend.”

Lin Xue’s heart filled with fear and dread at Hong Yanzhi’s explanation.

She thought Hong Yanzhi’s guess was likely spot on.

Shu Er was actually ascending to Grand Demon today?

And once he did, wouldn’t the first thing he want be to claim her?

What could she do?

If Shu Er became a Grand Demon, she’d be nothing but a lamb awaiting slaughter—an easy prey.

The gap in power after that breakthrough was like the difference between heaven and earth.

She would have no way to resist him.

Lin Xue’s heart was a jumble of chaos.

Should she try to escape before Shu Er’s ascension?

She looked at the dozen-odd Rat Demon guards ahead, and the eight behind her, calculating how long it would take to kill them all, whether she could do it without alerting the others, without alarming Shu Da, and escape quietly.

But she realized, disappointed, that unless she had that set of Fei Zhen, there was no way she could instantly kill all these Rat Demons at once.

And she’d still need to fetch Zhang Zongnian from the cell.

To leave with Zhang Zongnian and Hong Yanzhi, quietly, without alerting the other demons or Shu Da, and escape from Xixia Mountain—such a task was impossible.

Lin Xue felt a bit of despair.

Was she really going to just sit and wait for Shu Er to come and humiliate her?

As Lin Xue was lost in despair, she suddenly saw, amid the swarming rats, one little rat struggling against the tide, crawling determinedly toward her.

This rat was different—she noticed it at a glance.

The other rats had blood-red eyes, but this one’s eyes were much lighter in color.

It clenched a folded piece of paper tightly in its mouth. Its frail body was battered by the others, knocked over again and again, but it never let go, always struggling up and stumbling toward her.

A strange feeling rose in Lin Xue’s heart—this little rat seemed to know her.

Finally, the little rat reached her.

It opened its mouth and let the folded paper drop to the ground, then looked up at her, as if trying to remember her face.

Then, its eyes gradually turned blood-red, like the others.

Next, it turned away and disappeared into the rat tide, becoming just another in the surging swarm.

Lin Xue stared blankly at its vanishing figure, feeling an inexplicable pain.

She bent down and picked up the folded paper.

Unfolding it, a line of text popped up on her panel:

“Detected new Gongfa book ‘Changsheng Jue (Upper Part)’. Please read to record into the system. Once recording is complete, you can use experience points to learn.”

“‘Changsheng Jue (Upper Part)’ has been recorded. You may now use experience points to study it.”

Lin Xue recognized the familiar handwriting on the page.

It was Zhang Zongnian’s.

She saw the new content of the Changsheng Jue—Refining Qi, seventh level, all the way to Foundation Establishment.

And the blood-written Yang character, with a big red ‘X’ above it.

In that instant, Lin Xue understood everything.

Zhang Zongnian, to save her, had nearly destroyed himself by forcibly seizing the body of a rat, just to deliver this Gongfa to her.

She hastily put the paper down and searched the rat swarm.

The rats surged on—how could she pick out which one was him?

A layer of tears clouded Lin Xue’s eyes.

Ignoring the strange looks from the surrounding Rat Demons, she called after the departing rats, “Brother! I’m here waiting for you! You must come find me!”

The rat tide rolled away without any response.