The Demon Lord’s Dramatic Entrance

Despite Dan Fusheng’s outward display of anger, he had no intention of getting deeply involved in the official investigation. After all, Chen Gui had only brought him along for convenience, wanting to keep a close eye on him.

Bai Yu was currently explaining the internal structure and key personnel of the Qianyu Sect to Chen Gui. Meanwhile, Dan Fusheng sought to comfort Jade Mastiff.

The perpetrator responsible for killing Jade Mastiff’s beloved a century ago was none other than Si Chen’s martial uncle. Upon arriving at the Qianyu Sect’s territory, Jade Mastiff had been reminded of his sorrowful past, causing him to withdraw into himself.

Dan Fusheng, however, was at a loss. Having never experienced love or romance in his life, he had no idea how to properly console the fox-demon.

Jade Mastiff was listening to music on his phone to soothe his emotions—specifically a tragic tale about a fox spirit who transformed to repay a kindness, only to be abandoned. He wept profusely, tears and snot streaming down his multicolored fur.

Dan Fusheng scratched his head. It was then that he noticed the unopened box of braised duck heads on the table. He tore open the packaging, pulled out a duck head, and offered it to the fox.

Chen Gui looked at Dan Fusheng, a bad premonition stirring within him.

Indeed, Dan Fusheng shook the duck head in his hand like a dog treat. “Come here, little doggy, chew, chew, chew… Mmph!”

Chen Gui rushed forward, clamping a hand over Dan Fusheng’s mouth before he could finish the insult. He quickly wrapped Dan Fusheng’s duck-holding hand in toilet paper, then rolled him up tightly in a heavy quilt.

After finishing, Chen Gui let out a sigh of relief.

Jade Mastiff turned his head, sniffling. “Did you need something from me?”

“No,” Chen Gui replied. He carried Dan Fusheng to a corner and silently set down the “Demon Lord Burrito.” Dan Fusheng sat on the floor, wrapped so tightly in the quilt that only his toilet-paper-bound hand was exposed.

Chen Gui unwrapped the toilet paper, took the duck head away, and carefully wiped Dan Fusheng’s hand clean.

“Don’t speak another word,” Chen Gui warned Dan Fusheng via spiritual transmission. “He will genuinely want to kill you.”

Dan Fusheng offered no reply, only giving a thumbs-up with his free hand from within the swaddle.

Content to remain in the corner as a burrito, Dan Fusheng didn’t seek out Jade Mastiff, but the fox soon came to him. Jade Mastiff got off the bed, walked over to the quilt, and silently sat down, leaning his entire body against the wrapped Demon Lord.

Dan Fusheng’s hearing was excellent; even through the quilt, he could hear the lyrics of the tragic song playing from the phone. He reached out his hand and stroked Jade Mastiff’s head, offering silent comfort.

Jade Mastiff indulged in his sorrow for a while, then asked via spiritual transmission, “Are you not going to do anything? Si Chen is an old acquaintance of yours, isn’t he?”

“It’s not that I’m doing nothing; it’s that I can’t do anything yet,” Dan Fusheng replied. “The Demon Lord’s identity is too sensitive. My every move is scrutinized. The official powers and I are in a stage of mutual probing. They can never truly trust me, and the same goes for me. Even though the concept of a nation has faded, I’m not so foolish as to believe the rule-makers use ‘goodness and beauty’ as their standards. They are cautious and rigorous.”

“Even if I were to act, it would have to be after the official powers explicitly request it. I must ‘reluctantly’ make a move only after they ‘plead’ for it.”

This was crucial for his retirement.

Inside the quilt, Dan Fusheng pulled out his phone and began liking posts from his old supermarket friends. Those elders loved posting pictures of their grandchildren. Dan Fusheng continuously liked and commented, lamenting that the “little cubs” he had once raised—his former subordinates—were now grown, making their current photos much less interesting.

He began to recall if he had any old spirit stones with Chen Gui’s childhood images. He wanted to post something too; he wanted to blend in with the seniors.

“The founder of the Qianyu Sect is dead. They say he suffered a mishap during cultivation,” Bai Yu explained to Chen Gui. “Si Chen is the child of that first-generation sect master.”

“A child with whom?” Chen Gui asked. The information Bai Yu provided only listed Si Chen’s father.

“There’s no record. The Qianyu Sect founder reportedly never married.”

“That’s not right,” Chen Gui frowned. “Si Chen is in the official records. For an illegitimate child to be registered with their father, both parents’ information is required. How could there be no record at all?”

Bai Yu fell silent.

Chen Gui understood immediately. “Someone within the administration is playing tricks?”

“Perhaps.” The higher-ups were aware of the corruption, but those individuals were deeply hidden.

“The authorities have a partnership with the Qianyu Sect. Until a definite problem is uncovered, they cannot forcibly seal it off,” Bai Yu continued. “This time, I can only serve as your consultant. We cannot enter the sect to search under official authority.”

Chen Gui looked toward the “Demon Lord Burrito” in the corner. Dan Fusheng’s outstretched hand was swaying, keeping rhythm with Jade Mastiff’s music.

“You can get in, right?” Chen Gui asked. “You have a way.”

Dan Fusheng’s hand paused its rhythmic swaying.

“The Qianyu Sect won’t let a Demon Lord enter, but you have a plan, don’t you?”

“I won’t live! And neither will you!”

Dan Fusheng was currently sitting at the guard post of the Qianyu Sect entrance, banging loudly on the wooden table. The guard, a low-level cultivator, recognized him and was utterly flustered.

“What’s wrong with him?! Explain yourselves!” Dan Fusheng pointed dramatically at Si Chen. “He was clearly the Second Prince of the Yu Kingdom! How could he end up like this? What did you do to him?!”

His voice was booming, causing passersby to peer curiously into the guard post.

“Please, lower your voice! Lower your voice!” the guard pleaded.

“You want me to lower my voice?!” Dan Fusheng sneered. “Do you know his past with me?! I can barely control my inner demons!”

“In his previous life, he regarded me as his beloved, yet now he’s completely forgotten me! How can you expect me to be calm?!” Dan Fusheng swept his hand, overturning the table. He then burst into loud, theatrical sobbing.

Dan Fusheng hugged Jade Mastiff (who was still in fox form) and cried. Jade Mastiff, still genuinely sad about his own past, was also crying, and Dan Fusheng occasionally used the fox’s colorful fur to wipe away his tears.

“No, what you’re saying is too absurd…” The guard’s mind was buzzing.

“You think I’m lying? Fine! I’m just a Demon Lord, everything I say is false! Waaaah…”

The guard quickly waved his hands. “No, no! That’s not what I meant!”

“You spread rumors that I killed people, hoping he would hate me?! Why, just because I’m a demon?! You want to ‘slay demons and eradicate evil’!”

“You absolutely cannot say such things!” The guard’s back bristled. Using those prohibited terms in public was a major social taboo.

“You haven’t changed! But he has!” Dan Fusheng pointed at a visibly dying-of-embarrassment Si Chen. “He doesn’t remember me! He doesn’t care about me anymore!”

Si Chen dared not meet Dan Fusheng’s gaze. He looked around helplessly, his eyes finally landing on Chen Gui.

Chen Gui, however, looked equally horrified. He had known Dan Fusheng would have a way in, but he had never imagined it would involve a fake gay lovers’ scandal at the sect gates!

The inner gates opened, and a robust man walked out.

“Dan Fusheng.” The man’s voice was like ice.

Dan Fusheng glanced at him. “Crown Prince?”

It wasn’t surprising. If Si Chen was a “stitched-together” reincarnation, he wouldn’t be the only one. “Is this an asylum for the old royal family?” Dan Fusheng sat up, brushing off his clothes.

Si Chen cupped his hands. “Senior Brother.”

The man—the reincarnation of the Yu Kingdom’s Crown Prince—nodded to Si Chen, then glared at Dan Fusheng. “Don’t think you can cause a scene in our sect.”

“I’m not causing a scene,” Dan Fusheng said, looking deeply wronged.

“After your seal was broken, I remembered things from my previous life,” the man gritted out. “I know I’m a reincarnation; I am not my past self. Your tricks won’t work on me.”

“Ah… so, have you remembered how you went mad?” Dan Fusheng asked casually.

“What?”

“Nothing.” Dan Fusheng changed the subject. “Since you’ve remembered, you should also know that your Junior Brother and I had a very… intimate relationship in our previous lives.”

“Nonsense. He and you were merely ordinary friends.”

“Ordinary? Is that why your imperial brother never got pregnant?” Dan Fusheng asked with a face full of mock confusion.

The man’s breath hitched. He nearly attacked on the spot.

“He let me live in his manor; we often shared a bed,” Dan Fusheng scoffed. “Back then, intermarriage between humans and demons was a capital offense. He never dared tell the truth. But we had an agreement.”

The red gem on Dan Fusheng’s earring flickered, and a long blade appeared in his hand. The hilt bore the royal character ‘Si.’ It was a high-grade artifact, but its purpose was symbolic.

Dan Fusheng gripped the hilt. “Unless it is drawn with true affection, this blade will shatter before it leaves the scabbard. Look.”

He drew the blade smoothly. It hummed with a clear, resonant sound. The man froze, gasping. In his fragmented memories, his younger brother did always insist Dan Fusheng was a “good demon” and frequently squeezed into the same room with him.

Chen Gui sent a frantic spiritual transmission: ‘Do you really think this will work?!’

‘Absolutely!’ Dan Fusheng replied. ‘He thinks he remembers, but he isn’t that Crown Prince. I’m the one who drove the original to madness by showing him the truth of the world. This man is just a bitter copy.’

The man looked at Si Chen with horror. “You actually… with the Demon Lord?!”

Si Chen exclaimed, “I don’t remember any of this!”

“Just tell me if you’ll let us in,” Dan Fusheng threatened. “If not, I’ll stand here with a sign. I’ll let every news outlet in Holy City know about our passionate, forbidden love from a thousand years ago! I’ll expose everything!”

One hour later.

Dan Fusheng picked up a piece of stir-fried pork in the sect’s dining hall. “The food at the Qianyu Sect is surprisingly good, isn’t it?”

Chen Gui held his bowl, wondering if he had made a terrible mistake. Bai Yu looked like his soul had left his body. Jade Mastiff was still listening to his sad fox songs.

Dan Fusheng looked at the traumatized Si Chen and placed a piece of meat in his bowl. “Look at you, you’ve gotten so thin from the stress.”

“I want to die,” Si Chen whispered.

“Shh.” Dan Fusheng placed a finger on Si Chen’s lips. “Don’t say such things. We have a reputation to maintain.”