Chapter 640: Earth-Shattering Event (Part 2)
"You..."
"Don't interrupt!" Yun Che's expression turned stern as he continued rapidly, "Aren't you being a little too great? When your power was waning day by day, and the Guardian Clans and princely mansions were betraying you in large numbers out of selfish motives, you held out against the Huai Wang Mansion for an entire hundred years... Although it may seem calm and peaceful on the surface, I am well aware that with Ming Wang behind the scenes, your ability to protect the last shred of dignity of the Demon Emperor Clan for a full century is already the most remarkable feat in the history of the Huan Yao Realm! Every single day of that time must have been filled with unimaginable difficulty, pressure, and danger..."
Little Demon Empress: "..."
"Don't think that these are just my assumptions. I know very well what it feels like to have to implicate countless innocent people and make them perish alongside you! Because I have done the same thing—far more innocent people were implicated and died by my poison than by yours! Although later, I did the same thing so many times that I became completely numb, the first time... that feeling of darkness, oppression, and pain—I will never forget it in this life! And you, in your hundred years on the throne, have also personally killed many people, but I have carefully checked—among them, not a single one was innocent. This execution of Huai Wang's nine clans is the first time in your life... What you will endure afterward—perhaps no one in the entire Huan Yao Realm knows, but I know it all too well!"
"It's not that they can't imagine it; it's that they won't. Because what they care about is the outcome and their own future, but what I care about is you!"
"Before I entered the Jinwu Thunder Flame Valley, everything I did for you—including opposing the Huai Wang Mansion head-on and risking my life to save you—was for my deceased grandfather, my parents, and my clan! At that time, you had only one identity in my eyes: the Little Demon Empress! I consider myself to have a heart higher than the heavens and bones harder than rock, and I would never pledge loyalty to anyone. But for the sake of my grandfather's dying wish and my clan's safety, I gave you the utmost loyalty and righteousness I could at that time!"
"But after coming out of the Jinwu Thunder Flame Valley, everything I have done for you has had nothing to do with the words 'Little Demon Empress.' It has all been about you as a person! About everything concerning you! I've even begun to hate your identity as the 'Little Demon Empress'! Because it makes you suffer too much and work too hard, and it even makes it incredibly difficult for me to care about you, approach you, or help you!"
"..." Little Demon Empress's lips moved slightly, but no sound came out.
"'Little Demon Empress' is your identity, and also the fate you were forced to bear after Little Demon Emperor died, forcing you to carry the last dignity and glory of your Demon Emperor Clan. Although I hate that this burden falls on you, no one—including me—has the right to interfere with anything you do, any decision you make, or any sacrifice you make for the Demon Emperor Clan... Even if only three years remain, you still don't live for yourself, but for the Demon Emperor Clan."
"But between you and me, and toward me... things that concern me—I at least have the right to be indignant, don't I?" Yun Che frowned deeply. "You clearly care about me, so why must you deliberately show me a look of disdain, or even disgust at times! Don't try to deny it. You might think you've hidden it perfectly... Anyone else would long have kept their distance from you. But in my eyes, everything you do is nothing but a cover-up!"
"That pill you destroyed in front of me that day... was not the one I gave you! I know the composition of that pill a thousand times better than you do, and my sense of smell for medicine is ten thousand times sharper than yours. What you took out was indeed the one I gave you, but what you burned was nothing but an ordinary Qingxin Pill! All your anger, your scolding, your talk of defiling your bloodline, and your burning it in front of me—it was nothing but your concern for me, your fear that I would harm my own blood and qi for you again."
"During that period, I came to see you every day. Although you were always cold and indifferent, you never refused to see me or directly chased me away. But a month ago, you did exactly that... because that day at the Yun Clan, you saw me with Su Zhixi, and you must have heard my family discussing Su Zhixi and me. So you felt stifled and irritable! If you didn't care about me, why would you act like that!"
"Sometimes you are frighteningly shrewd, but when it comes to matters between men and women, you are more clueless than a teenage girl!"
Yun Che's chest heaved as his voice grew heavier: "Don't think I don't know what's been going through your mind all along! Do you think that because of your identity and your age, if your feelings for me became known to the world, it would have a huge impact on my reputation? That I would face endless doubt? Then you underestimate me, Yun Che! When I first arrived at Demon Emperor City, I dared to completely break with the powerful Huai Wang faction. Do you think I would care about the doubts and stares of vulgar people?"
"Do you think that because you only have three years left to live, you don't deserve to have feelings... afraid that you would become a burden to me!?" Yun Che suddenly stepped forward. In her moment of distraction, he caught her by the shoulders. A flash of panic appeared in her pupils as he continued in a low shout: "Do you think that by pushing me away like this, I would give up all thoughts of you, and after three years, I would not grieve over your death and not suffer heartbreak? You are too naive..."
"Little Demon Empress, let me tell you: from the day we left the Jinwu Thunder Flame Valley together, I decided that in this life, you can only be my woman! It has nothing to do with your identity, only with you being you! And also, whether I care about you has nothing to do with whether you care about me or pretend not to care! If my feelings for you could change so easily, then I wouldn't be worthy of being your man, Little Demon Empress! If you could be honest with your feelings for me and let me into your world... three years from now, if I am truly powerless... if I cannot save your life, at least, whenever I think of you, it will be a brief but eternal beauty. But if you keep forcing yourself to be cold to me, and even refuse to see me for these three years... then what you will leave me is a lifetime of regret and oppression! You think by suppressing yourself you are doing me good, but in reality, you are tormenting yourself and tormenting me as well. Don't you understand!"
Little Demon Empress's eyes wavered. Her body swayed slightly as she broke free of Yun Che's grip and staggered back a few steps.
"Little Demon Empress..." Yun Che met her gaze. From her somewhat chaotic eyes, he knew his words had reached her heart: "I also know, there is another reason you are trying so hard to push me away: to protect the reputation of the Demon Emperor Clan, especially Little Demon Emperor's reputation, since you were his empress after all... As long as you are unwilling, I will never let anyone know what is between us. As long as when we are alone, you let us have each other, let me be the pillar for your heart. You have already given far too much for the Demon Emperor Clan—you have even given your life. You have repaid your clan and all your ancestors countless times over... Can't you, in the final part of your life, live just a little bit for yourself!"
"Am I... truly not worthy of being even a small reason for you to be a little selfish?"
Little Demon Empress: "..."
Yun Che spoke a great deal in one breath, releasing all the pent-up feelings in his chest toward Little Demon Empress. Unlike her, who was an utterly blank slate when it came to romantic feelings, he could clearly sense whether she had feelings for him or not. Her coldness and her cover-ups were, in his eyes, even... clumsy enough to be adorable.
But... she was, after all, the Little Demon Empress. On her shoulders wasn't just a clan or a kingdom, but an entire continent! What she also carried was the dignity of a ten-thousand-year imperial clan.
Thus, the words "I hate your identity as Little Demon Empress" came from the depths of Yun Che's heart.
In the face of Yun Che's venting words, Little Demon Empress did not interrupt or interject throughout. In the end, she gave no response at all. Instead, she turned around and flew away... leaving silently, peacefully.
"You're not even afraid of death, yet you keep running away in front of me... and you still dare to say your heart doesn't have me!"
Watching Little Demon Empress's receding figure, Yun Che stomped his foot heavily, cracking half the floor tiles, and shouted loudly: "Little Demon Empress! If it weren't because I can't beat you, even if I were hunted by the entire Huan Yao Realm, I would still kidnap you to the Tian Xuan Continent! So you can never be the Little Demon Empress again!!"
Yun Che's roar was somewhat furious and frustrated... In any situation, strength matters—including between men and women. Back then, because he wasn't a match for Chu Yuechan, he couldn't force her to stay. Now, he had run into a Little Demon Empress whose tsundere attribute was even higher than Chu Yuechan's... and on top of that, her strength was absolutely terrifying. He couldn't even use force even if he wanted to.
Just as Yun Che finished shouting, Mu Yurou's figure appeared in his view. She hurriedly flew over and asked worriedly: "Che'er, what happened? You just said... being hunted by the entire Huan Yao Realm... kidnapping Little Demon Empress? What... what is going on? Don't scare your mother."
"Uh..." Yun Che's mouth twitched. He quickly went up to her and said: "Mother, you misheard. What I said was that I would serve the Little Demon Empress for life, and even if I were hunted by the entire Huan Yao Realm for her sake, I would have no regrets... Yes, that's exactly what I said. The wind was strong just now, so you must have misheard. If I really said what you think I said, the Little Demon Empress would have struck me dead with a single palm strike. How could I stand here unscathed? Right... haha..."
"...Alright then." Although doubt still lingered in her heart, Yun Che's last few words somewhat eased her worry. She breathed a slight sigh of relief: "Che'er, your father said he feels that Little Demon Empress's mood hasn't been very good lately, and with the unrest in Demon Emperor City still unsettled, you must not act disrespectfully toward her just because you have rendered great service. Since awakening her bloodline, the Little Demon Empress has become far more powerful, but also colder and more unpredictable than before. Be careful not to anger her."
Mu Yurou repeated "must not" twice. Yun Che nodded repeatedly, acting the perfect obedient son.
The next three days passed peacefully. Yun Che didn't leave the house—sleeping, practicing, refining medicine, occasionally treating someone's injuries, and teasing the budding young girls of the clan... passing the time leisurely.
On the fourth day, just after dawn, he was roused from deep sleep by Yun Qinghong: "Che'er, today at noon, the Little Demon Empress is hosting a banquet at the Demon Emperor Hall. All Guardian Clans and princely mansions are required to attend... and the Little Demon Empress specifically ordered that you must be present."
"Eh?" Yun Che's drowsiness mostly dissipated. He thought for a moment and said: "Noon banquet... specifically ordered me? Did the Little Demon Empress say what it's about?"
"Not clear." Yun Qinghong shook his head. "The Little Demon Empress only said that she has a major matter concerning the future of the Huan Yao Realm to announce."
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