"He carries the Demon Lord's demonic seed within him," the Jade Emperor said, summoning the Soul Extinguishing Lamp with a wave of his hand.
Then, with his other hand, the Jade Emperor conjured a piece of clothing: "Remember this, Huo Gui? This garment still carries the Demon Lord's aura."
Huo Gui nodded at the piece of azure fabric in the Jade Emperor's hand. Remember it? Of course, he remembered. How could he not?
Before this Demon Lord, all previous Demon Lords wore black. Only the last Demon Lord, however, wore azure armor, looking like a repulsive worm ready to ooze green water at the slightest touch.
Yet, this Zhu Guangji hadn't dismembered the Demon Lord, but instead dismembered his clothes?
Huo Gui looked at his friend, clad in brilliant yellow, and wondered when Zhu Guangji had developed such a peculiar preference.
"Are his clothes fragrant?" As a military general, this was likely the most heartfelt remark Huo Gui could make.
The Jade Emperor, before he could explain to Huo Gui, froze at the words and immediately dismissed the bizarre notion from Huo Gui's mind.
"The Demon Lord, fragrant? How do you even put those two words together?" the Jade Emperor said, placing the Demon Lord's torn clothing fragment into the Soul Extinguishing Lamp.
The Soul Extinguishing Lamp immediately lit up. The clothes within burned, and wisps of azure smoke rose into the air, gradually forming a human shape.
Huo Gui stared in astonishment at the figure before him and murmured, "Is this Zhao Xue?"
"Yes, it is Zhao Xue."
The function of the Soul Extinguishing Lamp was to determine the existence or demise of a soul.
If it existed, whether it was a living soul or a ghost, the lamp would remain lit. Su Dan Novels.
Conversely, if the Soul Extinguishing Lamp showed no light, it meant the being, whether immortal, demon, or human, had passed beyond the cycle of reincarnation, ceasing to exist.
"So, what do you intend to do, Your Majesty?"
"Zhao Xue broke the barrier I set in the peach forest, and the demonic seed within him has likely awakened," the Jade Emperor said, rubbing his thumb and forefinger together.
Huo Gui noticed the Jade Emperor's subtle gesture and, before his thoughts had fully formed, blurted out, "I will go and kill him."
Huo Gui paused after speaking, finding his impulsive outburst both familiar and strange.
A flicker of a smile crossed the Jade Emperor's face after Huo Gui's declaration, quickly vanishing. "We cannot kill him yet."
"Even if Zhao Xue is killed, it doesn't guarantee that the demonic seed within him will be eliminated."
This was also why, a thousand years ago, when the Jade Emperor found Zhao Xue, identical to the one in the Soul Extinguishing Lamp, he hadn't killed him.
"Alright," Huo Gui responded without hesitation. He himself didn't realize that resolving the Jade Emperor's worries had unconsciously become a reflex.
Huo Gui then asked, "What should we do then?"
"We must allow the demonic seed within Zhao Xue to completely take over his body and mind. After that, Zhao Xue will truly become the Demon Lord from a thousand years ago. Then, we can make our move."
"How do we allow the demonic seed within Zhao Xue to completely possess his body and mind?" Huo Gui frowned slightly.
The Jade Emperor fell silent for a moment before finally speaking, "Zhu Xu."
As the Jade Emperor spoke, Huo Gui's throat tightened.
Although Zhu Xu was not the Jade Emperor's biological daughter, Huo Gui could feel that the Jade Emperor truly regarded Zhu Xu as his own.
"Zhao Xue broke my barrier because of Zhu Xu. After I brought him to the peach forest, he never considered leaving. Yet, in the past few days, both participating in the Flower Appreciation Convention and breaking my barrier were all to get closer to Zhu Xu."
Huo Gui recalled the scene when the Jade Emperor insisted on locking Zhu Xu away.
It was then that he fully understood the Jade Emperor's worry. It wasn't about social standing, nor was it about Zhu Xu's seemingly excessive obsession with Zhao Xue.
It was simply because they were born different, born to be adversaries.
"Therefore, we need to find an opportunity to make Zhao Xue misunderstand that Zhu Xu doesn't have him in her heart."
After the Jade Emperor finished speaking, Huo Gui nodded.
A moment later, after they had discussed some details, Huo Gui stood up to leave.
"Wait."
The Jade Emperor looked up at Huo Gui, who instinctively bowed to him. The Jade Emperor's eyes suddenly felt a little warm.
"Huo Gui, you haven't called my name in a long time."
Huo Gui was taken aback. As a military general, his thinking was usually straightforward, and he didn't comprehend the complex emotions behind Zhu Guangji's words.
Huo Gui: "Isn't this fine?"
Of course, it wasn't fine.
Zhu Guangji pursed his lips, ultimately unable to voice his thoughts.
"Never mind, you may go," he said after a short pause, waving his hand.
Huo Gui stopped and looked at the Jade Emperor for a few breaths. "Guangji, goodbye."
With that, before the Jade Emperor could respond, Huo Gui turned and left.
Huo Gui didn't know if he had just broken protocol. All Huo Gui knew was that Zhu Guangji seemed to want him to call him by his name. If Zhu Guangji wanted it, then Huo Gui would.
Meanwhile, in the mortal realm, Zhu Xu, dressed in clothes bought by Zhao Xue, walked hand in hand with Zhao Xue through the bustling streets.
Along the way, Zhu Xu was unsure if Zhao Xue had any money, so he didn't plan to look at anything too closely. Unexpectedly, at every stall, Zhao Xue would stop and buy trinkets, some of which Zhu Xu had seen before, others he hadn't.
Zhu Xu lowered his head to look at the sugar painting in his hand and then looked up to see Zhao Xue admiring some jewelry. He hurried over and stopped Zhao Xue's hand.
"Zhao Xue, let's not get this."
"Isn't it pretty?" Zhao Xue's slender fingers held a silver bracelet inlaid with jewels, and for a moment, he couldn't tell which was more beautiful.
"Mmm..."
Zhu Xu appeared somewhat nervous. Zhu Xu was too pure; the art of lying was something Zhu Xu had never engaged in before.
Zhao Xue curved his lips, slipping the silver bracelet onto Zhu Xu's wrist. He kissed the back of Zhu Xu's hand, his expression tender and resigned. "Xuxu, I really have a lot of silver."
"...Oh." Zhu Xu lowered his hand, his face flushed and uncomfortable, and responded belatedly.
His hand suddenly empty, Zhao Xue's expression darkened briefly before he quickly recovered and took Zhu Xu's hand again, walking forward.
After a few steps, a man dressed in moon-white suddenly approached Zhu Xu.
"Your Highness, the Imperial Daughter."
A warm and familiar voice reached Zhu Xu's ears. The hand holding the sugar painting unconsciously tightened. Zhu Xu's first thought was that people from the Nine Heavens had found them.