Chapter 019: Drunk Driving!

Liao Qing saw the chariot of the Demon Lord of Xuan Yuan appear before him and dared not be negligent. He quickly dismounted, followed by his deputy generals. Taking a few steps forward, Liao Qing cupped his hands and asked, “Since the Demon Lord of Xuan Yuan’s Winged Rhino Chariot is here, may I inquire if she herself is inside?”

Dressed in blue, Luo Yunshuang smiled and replied, “My master is certainly not in the carriage right now. Who do you think you are, Liao Qing, that my master would wait here just for you?”

Liao Qing hurried to flatter her, “Of course, of course!”

Truth be told, not only he but even his own master from the Grand Void Palace would be insignificant before this Demon Lord of Xuan Yuan.

“However, though my master is not present, she has left you an order,” Luo Yunshuang announced.

Liao Qing asked, a little worried, “May I ask what command the Demon Lord has left for me?”

“By my master’s decree, your army is to veer five hundred meters to the left and make a wide detour around the village ahead,” Luo Yunshuang instructed.

Upon hearing this, Liao Qing breathed a deep sigh of relief, the burden in his heart finally lifted.

It was merely a matter of having his hundred thousand iron cavalry take a detour—hardly a difficult task.

What he truly feared was that the Demon Lord of Xuan Yuan would intervene directly in this war; that would be troublesome indeed.

He surmised the Demon Lord must be in that village ahead and thus wished for the army to steer clear.

Ordinarily, it would be incomprehensible and unacceptable for Yan State’s one hundred thousand cavalry to detour merely to avoid one person. But if that person was the Demon Lord of Xuan Yuan, then everything made sense.

Though his hundred thousand iron cavalry of Yan State moved in a vast, overwhelming tide, blotting out the sky and leaving desolation in their wake, if they offended that demoness, the entire army could be annihilated in an instant.

In fact, even if the Demon Lord of Xuan Yuan had not requested it, should Liao Qing have discovered she was in the village ahead, he would have taken the initiative to lead his army on a wide detour.

As for what devilish plot the Demon Lord might be hatching in that village, or with whom, it was none of Liao Qing’s concern and had nothing to do with him.

Of course, Liao Qing could never have imagined that the Demon Lord of Xuan Yuan was in that village merely to meet her mortal husband for a tryst.

“Then I must trouble you to report back to the Demon Lord that I will certainly carry out her command,” Liao Qing said respectfully to the woman in blue.

The woman in purple beside her, Zhang Qiuyu, grew impatient and barked, “Why are you still wasting words? Get on with the detour already!”

“Yes, yes, at once!” Liao Qing replied hastily, mounting his horse and commanding his hundred thousand cavalry to shift their course five hundred meters to the left, making a wide arc around the distant Qiuyu Village.

At that moment, Zhang Zixuan had arrived near the Yan State army but did not dare approach, only watching from afar.

When she saw the army suddenly change direction, she was greatly surprised but also relieved.

With the army’s new course, they would avoid Qiuyu Village, and as long as Song Ye did not wander off, he should be safe.

Thus, she no longer needed to make a special trip to Qiuyu Village, nor fear being scolded by her master.

With that, she turned and flew toward Xuanqing Palace.

…

Meanwhile, at Song Ye’s tea stand in Qiuyu Village—

“My dear husband, your sesame cakes are delicious!”

Having finished the last bite, Qin Xuanxi took a sip of tea. It seemed to her that it had been a long time since she’d enjoyed such peace—eating pastries, sipping tea, and putting aside the burdens of cultivation and the grudges of the sect.

This scoundrel Song Ye before her, though a mere mortal and forever scheming to share her bed and have her bear his children, somehow did not repulse her at all. Had it been anyone else with such thoughts, she would have annihilated them on the spot.

She could not say why, but she felt an inexplicable comfort in Song Ye’s presence. Perhaps it was because, when she had been gravely wounded and near death, Song Ye had found her and taken her home.

Perhaps, in that brief time, in her heart that had long been cold as ice, Song Ye alone had managed to nurture a small patch of warmth.

“There are more sesame cakes in the kitchen behind the house. If you like them, would you like me to bring you another?” Song Ye stood up and asked.

Qin Xuanxi smiled and shook her head. “No need, one is enough for me.”

Suddenly, she raised her eyebrows and said, “By the way, my dear husband, aren’t you curious where I’ve been these past six months since I left the village?”

Song Ye smiled serenely. “All that matters is that you’re back. Whatever you did out there, if you don’t wish to speak of it, I won’t ask.”

Qin Xuanxi’s smile deepened. “Very well. If you won’t ask, then I shan’t tell—you can guess for yourself.”

Song Ye said nothing more. He knew full well that in the six months since Qin Xuanxi left Qiuyu Village, she’d likely done plenty of killing and arson. After all, in such a short time, her rank on the Demonic Path Roll had risen from fifth to fourth, and to climb on that list required the sacrifice of many lives.

Yet Song Ye cared little for how many people she had killed, or whether she was wicked or virtuous; the troubles of the world beyond the village were beyond his concern, even if he wished to interfere.

Now, on the Demonic Path Roll, the three above Qin Xuanxi were all ancient demon cultivators who had lived for thousands of years.

In other words, in the demonic world, barring those three, Qin Xuanxi was virtually unrivaled.

At that moment, there was a sudden “bang!”—something fell from the sky, landing several yards from the tea stand.

Both Song Ye and Qin Xuanxi turned to look. It appeared to be a woman in a long purple dress.

Another “sister fallen from the sky”?

The woman in purple reeked of alcohol but had not completely lost consciousness. She quickly got up from the ground, though she tottered, unsteady on her feet. She seemed to have drunk a great deal, her face red as an apple.

Just then, a giant white crane swooped down from the sky, three figures—two men and a woman—riding on its back.

The crane alighted gracefully, and the three dismounted, calling out to the woman in purple, “Master!”

Witnessing this, Song Ye surmised that the woman in purple had been “flying drunk”—after drinking so much, she’d dared to pilot the huge crane through the skies, only to fall off due to her intoxication.

The woman in purple turned and waved to her three disciples, “I’m here, your master is…just fine!”

No sooner had she spoken than she collapsed with a thud, falling heavily to the ground—this time, it seemed she had finally drunk herself senseless.