"Such deep devotion indeed."
Yao Po tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear with slender fingers, her gaze alluring and charming as a seductive smile spread across her face.
The minor demons standing nearby were completely captivated, wearing blank, foolish grins. Few men under heaven could resist Yao Po's soul-stirring charms, yet Leng Xiaosu remained utterly unmoved.
"We spent hundreds of years together within the sealed realm—did you never feel even a tiny flutter in your heart?"
Employing the Phantom Shadow technique, Yao Po instantly appeared right in front of Leng Xiaosu, her breath brushing against his ear.
"Demon King, your soul is unimaginably precious. Please take mine instead!"
Lanyu knelt before Leng Xiaosu. Having watched Leng Xiaosu grow up, he had long regarded him as his own son; what parent could stand by and watch their child face mortal danger?
"You?! It would take all three of your soul components just to transform this tempting little sprite into human form. Without those three souls, what's the difference between you and a corpse? You want to trade your life for hers?"
Yao Po glanced sideways at Lanyu, her mocking laughter ringing out like a string of bells.
"This—"
For a moment, Lanyu was completely at a loss for how to reply. The three components of the soul were the Tai Guang, the Shuang Ling, and the You Jing. A person might survive losing one soul component, and could even scrape by with two, but losing all three would leave them no better than a walking corpse.
"Uncle Lan, I will save my own beloved."
Leng Xiaosu's expression remained completely blank, as cold as frost. He usually wore a stern face, and since Bingxin's death, Lanyu had never seen him smile once.
"Yao Po, when can the ritual begin?"
"Today is the fifteenth; tonight will do. Go back, cleanse yourself in a bath, and return for the ritual tonight."
Yao Po licked her lips, her gaze hazy as she swayed her serpentine waist around Leng Xiaosu.Leng Xiaosu left with Blingling. Yao Po watched Leng Xiaosu's retreating figure with a determined look, as if victory was already hers.
Maidservants of the Demon Palace had already prepared hot water in a large wooden tub, strewn with red rose petals that filled the entire room with a rich floral fragrance.
Leng Xiaosu handed Blingling over to the maidservants to look after. He untied his sash, slipped off his outer robe, revealing broad, sturdy shoulders and fair skin, and stepped into the wooden tub. As the warm water enveloped him, the blood in his veins began to circulate faster.
Leng Xiaosu rested his head against the edge of the tub and once again thought of the little girl he had seen on Tianshan during the day. To think that there truly were people in this world who looked identical—even the innocence and kindness in their eyes were the same, so silly, clumsy, and blockheaded. A faint smile hung on Leng Xiaosu's face.
At night, the sky was studded with twinkling stars, like an asymmetric Milky Way paved with fine, shimmering sand sprawling across the azure expanse. The bright moon was veiled in a hazy white mist, looking from afar like a disk of white jade, pure and immaculate.
Beneath the bright moonlight, Yao Po stood before a high table upon which sat two incense burners, each holding three sticks of tall burning incense.
"Beneath the bright moonlight, let the beautiful maiden appear."
Yao Po chanted under her breath. As the incantation was cast, a brilliant beam of moonlight plunged straight down from the heavens like a cascading waterfall.
The moonlight shone upon Yao Po. Her mass of purple hair tumbled down, soft and straight, and her long, thick tail vanished, revealing a pair of slender, straight, beautiful legs—fair and sexy—displaying soft, graceful curves in the moonlight.
All the demons behind Yao Po, save for Leng Xiaosu, were bleeding profusely from their noses.
"Demon King, are you ready?"Her voice was gentle and seductive, seductive enough to melt a stalwart man into a pool of water.
"Begin."
Yao Po shook the bell in her hand and began chanting her incantation once again.Three souls and seven hun, stand in a row; Tai Guang, Shuang Ling, and You Jing, please return. First through fifth souls, please follow along. Sixth soul, come forth; seventh soul, depart."
A multicolored glow emerged and began to spin above Leng Xiaosu's head. Accompanied by the chant, red, yellow, and green lights entered Leng Xiaosu's body first, followed by orange, purple, black, white, and pink. A blue light remained spinning above Leng Xiaosu's head, and finally, a golden light entered his body.
"Commanders of the six souls, one soul for one life, one soul transform into human."
The blue light stopped spinning and darted straight toward Blingling, entering her body.
The tiny Snow Lotus Spirit's body emitted myriad rays of blue light. As the blue light faded, Blingling's petal-like hair transformed into long silver locks; she gained willow-leaf eyebrows, phoenix eyes, crimson pupils, thin lips, and a V-shaped face.
Using an illusion barrier, Leng Xiaosu isolated Blingling. Yao Po handed a set of long robes to Blingling, and only after Blingling was fully dressed did Leng Xiaosu withdraw the barrier.
After transforming into human form, Blingling looked nothing like Bingxin. Bingxin's eyes had been filled with pure kindness, while Blingling's eyes were full of seductive charm. Leng Xiaosu did not know where the process had gone wrong—perhaps his demonic aura was simply too heavy?
"Xiaosu, I've finally turned into a human."
Blingling ran toward Leng Xiaosu, leaped into the air, wrapped both arms tightly around his neck, and locked her slender legs around his waist.
Yao Po let out a cold snort and swayed her hips as she left. The other demons also tactfully took their leave. Leng Xiaosu had waited several centuries just for this chance to be reunited with Bingxin once again.
"Bingxin, get down first."
"I won't! I like you. I no longer have memories of my past life; you said my name is Bingxin, so from now on, I am your Bingxin."
Leng Xiaosu was overjoyed to have saved Bingxin, yet he still felt that something was amiss. Was it because her appearance and personality had changed? Did he love Bingxin's kindness, her appearance, or simply the person herself? Right now, he could not sort out his own heart.
Leng Xiaosu set Blingling down on the ground with an expression of complete indifference, though Blingling was already long accustomed to this side of him.
"From now on, you shall still be called Blingling. Take the Princess back to rest first."
Leng Xiaosu walked away without looking back, wondering why his mind was suddenly filled with that little girl he had seen at Tianshan earlier today—the one who looked identical to Bingxin, so pure and kind.
In his dreams, Leng Xiaosu was reunited with Bingxin once more. Bingxin ran breathlessly up to him.
"Brother Leng, hurry and save that little rabbit! A big bad wolf wants to eat it."
Leng Xiaosu had rescued the Little White Rabbit from the jaws of a fierce, hungry wolf and brought it back for Bingxin to keep. Later on, that little rabbit had run away, and Bingxin had wept for days over it.
Leng Xiaosu woke up from his dream. Even though he had brought Bingxin back, he did not feel any of the emotions he had anticipated for centuries; it was nothing like what he had imagined.
Leng Xiaosu's gaze turned icy and sharp, his entire body radiating a murderous aura that made the maidservants of the Demon Palace tremble with fright.
"Shensi, I will tear you to pieces."