The Edge of Despair

Su Xiaoxiao recoiled, her face draining of color, a mix of shock and pallor.

“You refuse? Then perhaps you should cede the Demon Lord to me.”

Clutching her own slender, fair hands, the demoness spoke with a light, airy tone:

“After all, you and she will eventually become mortal enemies. Why bother staying by her side, seeking her favor? Could it be that her words possess such potent charm?”

“Just look at my fingers—long and slender. I’m quite skilled, too. I guarantee you’ll find it far more pleasurable and comfortable.”

The demon race was inherently licentious; the casual exchange of partners among their kind was a common affair.

Never had Su Xiaoxiao heard such brazen words. She was utterly speechless, overwhelmed by a mix of shock and profound embarrassment.

“I’m leaving.”

This time, the demoness did not stop her. Instead, she uttered words that were clearly meant to provoke, yet carried the undeniable ring of truth.

“Shayue’s words cannot be trusted.”

Su Xiaoxiao paused, and the demoness’s voice resonated from behind her. “I have lived for over a millennium, and I’ve heard countless tales of Shayue’s cruelty. Those not of our kind are bound to harbor different intentions.”

“Tell me, given her nature, would she truly spare the Mermaid clan, who have colluded with the immortal race for so many years?”

Su Xiaoxiao remained silent, but in her heart, she already knew the answer.

The demoness continued, “Currently, she keeps you by her side for two reasons: firstly, out of novelty, and secondly, to hold the Mermaid clan as leverage.”

“She even declared that once she tires of you, she will drag you to the front lines and sacrifice you as a war banner.”

Frozen in terror, Su Xiaoxiao couldn’t bear to stay another moment. She desperately yearned to flee.

Yet, the demoness called out to her retreating back, “If you possess the courage, why not take a gamble? Emulate the mermaid who stayed by the Ghost King’s side thousands of years ago. Perhaps the Demon Lord, too, is a woman capable of deep affection?”

Su Xiaoxiao practically bolted, a tremor running through her that left her stomach churning uncomfortably.

The world spun around her. Everything blurred into double vision. Su Xiaoxiao gasped for breath, the ringing in her ears slowly fading.

In mere moments, she felt as though she was experiencing countless hallucinations.

The waters of the South Sea turned crimson with blood, the corpses of her clansmen floating upon its surface.

Su Xiaoxiao’s eyes grew dim. Her undergarments were soaked through with cold sweat, and her body trembled violently.

“Empress?!”

Chitang, who stood beside her, called out several times before Su Xiaoxiao finally responded in a daze.

“Empress, what’s wrong? You looked terribly unwell just now.”

Su Xiaoxiao pressed a hand to her forehead, another wave of dizziness washing over her. Her heart and lungs felt constricted, as if ensnared by something, making her breathing labored.

“Empress, would you like to return and rest?”

The nausea, coupled with the suffocating tightness in her chest, forced Su Xiaoxiao to gasp for air.

“No…”

Su Xiaoxiao spoke weakly, with a profound sense of loss. “I won’t go back… I wish to walk outside…”

Chitang had no idea what was truly afflicting Su Xiaoxiao. They had all been by Su Xiaoxiao’s side moments ago, witnessing the demoness offer a few smiling pleasantries.

Su Xiaoxiao’s face was frighteningly pale. Chitang was about to interject, intending to persuade Su Xiaoxiao to rest, fearing she might have caught a chill from her recent exertion.

The moment Chitang opened her mouth, Su Xiaoxiao suddenly erupted in a fit of rage. “I said, didn’t you hear me?!”

Startled by this sudden roar, Chitang’s ears drooped. She dared not utter another word of protest or plea, as Su Xiaoxiao promptly dismissed her.

Chitang was cast aside, watching the carriage roll away. Convinced that Su Xiaoxiao’s behavior was alarmingly erratic, she mustered a ‘rabbit’s courage’ and hurried to find Xiyue.

The other Demon Soldiers accompanying her assumed Su Xiaoxiao was merely bored, as she often was when confined to the Demon Palace, and wished to stroll around.

Little did they expect her to head towards the very boundary of the Demon Realm.

As their eyes tracked their increasing proximity to the Demon Realm’s border, the accompanying guards dared not advance further.

Su Xiaoxiao, however, remained eerily calm, betraying no emotion. Her gaze was still vacant. “Stop there.”

“This…” They looked at Su Xiaoxiao, clearly distressed.

But Su Xiaoxiao’s voice rose, bordering on a frenzied shout. “In my current state, do you truly believe I could escape?!”

It was rare to witness Su Xiaoxiao lose her temper. Accustomed to the gentle, amiable demeanor of the Mermaid clan, seeing Su Xiaoxiao in such a rage was quite unsettling.

Daring not to speak further, they could only allow Su Xiaoxiao to descend from the carriage.

Still, they followed. With a frustrated cry, Su Xiaoxiao ripped the jade token from her neck and smashed it onto the ground. “I told you not to follow me!!!”

The token bore the Demon Lord’s imprint. The Demon Soldiers, a dark swarm, scattered across the snowy ground, terrified of further provoking Su Xiaoxiao.

Su Xiaoxiao’s head throbbed excruciatingly. She hissed for breath, then turned and stumbled away.

Her illness was debilitating; her vision kept flickering between black and white.

In her dazed state, she vaguely spotted a rapidly flowing river in the distance, a place she vaguely remembered.

She recalled how Xiyue had once tricked her, claiming that the red jade bracelet on her wrist would render her hands useless if she tried to escape the Demon Realm.

Later, during an escape attempt, Su Xiaoxiao had indeed fallen into this very river.

Beneath its surface lurked man-eating plants. If Xiyue hadn’t arrived in time then….

Su Xiaoxiao staggered onward, her movements clumsy and awkward due to her condition. Tears streamed uncontrollably down her face the entire way.

She had been driven to desperation, trapped in a dead end. No matter which path she chose, it was a losing battle.

Whether she sought to protect the little fish-cub in her womb or to save her clan, she felt utterly incapable. Every choice seemed to lead to error.

The immense psychological pressure, coupled with her pregnancy-induced emotional sensitivity, made Su Xiaoxiao even more prone to spiraling into a mire of breakdown and self-reproach.

Her head ached terribly. One moment, her vision showed snow, withered trees, and a river…

The next, it was the South Sea, ablaze with bloody light and strewn with countless corpses.

‘Just a petty mongrel.’

‘How could I ever love a petty mongrel?’

‘Once the fetus is born, it cannot remain in the Demon Palace.’

‘Currently, she keeps you by her side for two reasons: firstly, out of novelty, and secondly, to hold the Mermaid clan as leverage. She even declared that once she tires of you, she will drag you to the front lines and sacrifice you as a war banner.’

‘Those not of our kind are bound to harbor different intentions. Tell me, given her nature, would she truly spare the Mermaid clan, who have colluded with other races for so many years?’

‘One moment, it was Xiyue’s words, spoken while tormenting her; the next, it was the demoness’s words from moments ago.’

The scenes before her eyes shifted with dizzying speed. Su Xiaoxiao bent over, coughing a few times, only to suddenly find herself in the main hall of the Demon Realm.

‘Xiaoxiao, what’s wrong? Do you not wish to return to the South Sea with us?’

‘Xiaoxiao, Elder Yunfa has been toiling for you for so long, and the Clan Leader is worried about you too. Please, say something! Come back to the South Sea with us!’

‘Tell your elders: do you wish to remain in the Demon Realm, or do you wish to return to the South Sea with her?’

Voices incessantly echoed in her ears: the voices of her clan, Xiyue’s voice, and agonizing screams.

And then, like a poisoned whisper, the demoness’s ethereal voice returned: ‘If you possess the courage, why not take a gamble? Emulate the mermaid who stayed by the Ghost King’s side thousands of years ago. Perhaps the Demon Lord, too, is a woman capable of deep affection?’

The disappointed gaze of the elders, the tearful eyes of her clansmen.

‘Xiaoxiao, do you not wish to return with us?’

‘Xiaoxiao! What are you hesitating for? Come over to my side quickly!’

‘I can’t leave, I can’t…’

She heard herself say, “I don’t want to return to the South Sea.”

‘No, that’s not it! I want to go back! How could I not want to go back!!!’

“Ah—!” She squeezed her eyes shut, stumbling to the ground as a fierce, howling wind whipped around her, tearing at her clothes and hair.

When had she walked to the edge of a cliff, beneath which a raging river surged?

“Su Xiaoxiao!”

She heard someone calling her name. Dazed, she turned to see Xiyue, her face dark with concern, rushing towards her. “What are you doing running out here?! Be good, come over here first.”

“Xiaoxiao.”

Someone else was calling, this time from the direction of the cliff, the voice seemingly rising from the river itself.

“Do you not wish to return with us?”

She moved her lips, speaking softly, her voice broken and hoarse. “I don’t want to…”

The demoness’s voice echoed once more, filled with insidious temptation. “If you possess the courage, why not take a gamble? Emulate the mermaid who stayed by the Ghost King’s side thousands of years ago. Perhaps the Demon Lord, too, is a woman capable of deep affection?”

“Are you afraid? Do you dare not take the gamble?”