Marrying the Soft-hearted Villain

Hearing Yuechen's words, Ruan Qiuqiu finally understood the current situation—they were separated by a spatial barrier, and Mr. Big Bad Wolf was working hard to break through it. Ruan Qiuqiu felt a sense of relief. She struggled to control her partially recovered consciousness, trying to move her body.

If breaking the spatial barrier is dangerous, I'd rather endure years of missing each other than have that wolf risk himself. This conviction was so strong that Ruan Qiuqiu finally felt her fingertips twitch. She moved her fingers slightly, trying to attract the attention of Yuechen, Tian Ye, and the others.

Yuechen was excitedly chatting with Tian Ye and the other demons about the Demon Realm. Ruan Qiuqiu tried several times, but no one noticed. Finally, Granny Ruyi, who had been watching her, noticed something was different.

“Qiuqiu?” Qing Ruyi tentatively called Ruan Qiuqiu's name, her expression becoming agitated. “You're awake? How do you feel? Does your body still hurt?” Qing Ruyi asked several questions in a row, her voice, weakened by the demonic poison, becoming slightly louder.

Ruan Qiuqiu could hear the urgency in her voice, but she couldn't speak. She could only move her fingertips with great effort, indicating that she had regained consciousness.

Hearing Qing Ruyi's voice, the other demons stopped talking. Ruan Hanshan frowned slightly, a hint of tension flashing in his eyes. He turned around and saw that Ruan Qiuqiu had only regained consciousness and couldn't move freely or open her eyes to speak. The tension in his eyes faded strangely.

Ruan Hanshan raised his hand to cover half of his handsome face and couldn't help but chuckle softly—he had finally found a girl who might be his younger sister, and he was actually a little nervous. Back then, his father and mother had taken his sister to participate in the Star Moon Wolf Clan leader's advancement ceremony. After that, the three of them, along with the entire Star Moon Wolf Clan, disappeared without a trace. He had been searching for them ever since.

Actually, after hearing that the little girl lying in the ice jade bed not far away was called Ruan Qiuqiu, Ruan Hanshan had a strange feeling in his heart. Because his younger sister was called Ruan Hanqiu, and Qiuqiu was her nickname.

Not only that, but his parents had indeed arranged a marriage between his sister and a wolf cub. At the time, everyone had just treated it as a joke. That wolf cub, whose name he couldn't remember, seemed to have the surname Yuan as well.

Taking a deep breath, Ruan Hanshan tried to stop himself from thinking too much—if fate was truly like this, if Ruan Qiuqiu was really his sister, and the Demon King was really that wolf cub from back then… With that wolf cub's desperate and almost insane possessiveness, fate seemed to have drawn a perfect circle between Ruan Qiuqiu and Yuan Jue, a circle that would remain unbroken no matter how many times they reincarnated. The conviction of holding onto someone and never letting go.

To be loved by such a wolf… No, strictly speaking, Yuan Jue could no longer be considered a wolf. Calling him "Demon King" might be more appropriate. Was it fortunate for Ruan Qiuqiu to be loved by such a Demon King?

Ruan Hanshan didn't know, but he felt that perhaps it was. Such fervent and intense love had saved two beings trapped in darkness and despair, and that was enough. The contemplative look in his eyes gradually dispersed, and a smile appeared on his lips—no matter what, Ruan Qiuqiu had regained consciousness and had passed the most difficult stage. All she needed to do now was recover slowly, and her life was no longer in danger.

When Yuechen heard that Ruan Qiuqiu was awake, he first jumped up happily. Then, as he laughed, he suddenly realized a serious problem. He opened his three mouths and hurriedly said, "The Queen wouldn't have heard what we just said, would she?"

"What?" Xiong Duoduo didn't react and asked foolishly.

Yuechen became anxious. "Just now, about His Majesty the Demon King frantically risking his life to break through the spatial barrier…"

He shouldn't have said anything. As soon as he did, Ruan Qiuqiu felt a tightness in her chest and desperately tried to regain control of her body. After much effort, she finally managed to move another finger.

Yuechen: "…" It seemed she had heard.

Ruan Hanshan also realized what had happened and said softly, "Now that the Queen is awake, why don't you contact your brother again and see if he can inform Yuan Jue not to push himself so hard?"

He then added, fearing Ruan Qiuqiu wouldn't understand, "After her memories awaken and she regains consciousness, her life will no longer be in danger."

Yuechen cried, "I can only contact him every ten days! I just contacted him…" He looked hopefully at Ruan Hanshan, "Didn't you say that an elder from your clan asked you to come and save someone? Can you still contact that elder now?"

Ruan Hanshan, who couldn't actively contact the elder within Forbidden Treasure Mountain and could only passively wait, "…"

Hearing their conversation, Ruan Qiuqiu felt even more worried instead of reassured.

Qing Ruyi watched Ruan Qiuqiu's eyelashes tremble constantly and sighed softly. She placed some spirit stones and the healing water beads that Ruan Qiuqiu had left her before her departure beside her. "Qiuqiu, try your best to recover. That wolf cub is very powerful. Maybe he has a way of knowing that you've woken up." That way, he wouldn't be too worried.

Ruan Qiuqiu understood what Qing Ruyi meant. She moved her fingers, struggling to draw a sliver of spiritual energy from her rapidly depleting dantian. Enduring the pain, she painstakingly circulated the spiritual energy, bit by bit regaining control of her body.

…

…

Demon Realm:

Mo Xi and the six commanders quietly approached the bottom of the abyss, planning to sneak away.

"Master, are you sure the Demon King won't discover us?" Niu Yue quietly asked behind Mo Xi.

Although she had eaten Hua Xi's heart and her power was now close to seventh-rank, compared to the Demon King, she was as fragile as an ant. If discovered, she would almost certainly die.

"…" Mo Xi smiled faintly and glanced at her.

Niu Yue immediately shut her mouth. She shrank back two steps and didn't say another word.

Mo Xi's gaze swept over the demons behind him, including Commander Ying, and then he chuckled. "What are you afraid of? The newly born Demon King doesn't know about the bottom of the abyss at all. Even if he did, he couldn't possibly know its location. Moreover…"

Mo Xi paused. "Moreover, even if we're discovered, so what? Your master is a seventh-rank peak expert, with a unique talent skill. Do you think I'd let you die?"

Hearing about Mo Xi's talent skill, the demons calmed down slightly. If they could teleport to the Yao Continent in a critical moment, and the Demon King couldn't chase them there, they would be temporarily safe. At worst, they would just have to keep traveling back and forth between the Demon Realm and the Yao Continent.

After hearing these words, Niu Yue couldn't help but fantasize. Perhaps she could meet Lu Ziran again in the Yao Continent and rekindle their romance…

What Niu Yue didn't know was that Lu Ziran, the despicable old lion whom she had protected at all costs, had already run away with half of her fortune through the spatial passage in this short period. Unfortunately for Lu Ziran, he had escaped to the territory of the Golden Python Demon who had taken Rou Yueyao. He even accidentally stepped on an egg that the Golden Python Demon had with another woman, which resulted in Rou Yueyao also being targeted and pursued.

But what happened to Lu Ziran, whether he was doing well or not, was no longer something Niu Yue could help with.

Following behind Mo Xi, she suddenly realized that as they got closer to the bottom of the abyss, the surroundings became quieter and quieter. This was very unusual.

Mo Xi also noticed this. Even with his composure, he couldn't help but frown slightly—the bottom of the abyss was always noisy. The constantly swirling demonic wind that swept through the entire Demon Realm originated from this place.

There were only two possibilities for this silence. One was that the ten-thousand-year cycle had arrived, and the bottom of the abyss would be quiet for a hundred years. The other was that the Demon King had already discovered this place and had taken control of this space in advance, waiting to annihilate any demons that approached.

Neither scenario was favorable to him.

Mo Xi's forehead broke out in a cold sweat. In a very short time, he thought of several escape plans and quickly decided to abandon the demons following him and flee alone.

"Master, what should we do…" Seeing that Mo Xi in front wasn't speaking, Commander Tao panicked.

He asked several times, but he didn't hear the demon in front of him answer.

"Master?" Commander Tao couldn't help but ask again. Mo Xi in front of him still didn't answer.

"Master??" Now Commander Ying also realized something was wrong. He suddenly stepped forward and slapped Mo Xi on the shoulder. The Mo Xi under his hand suddenly turned into a puff of black mist and disappeared before their eyes.

"What the—??" Commander Tao also reacted. Mo Xi had been deceiving them all along; they had been abandoned!

Commander Yan, who had been relatively calm all along, had veins bulging on his arms. He only had time to yell, "Run!" before quickly spreading his wings and frantically fleeing towards the bottom of the abyss.

It was a joke. Now that Mo Xi had run away, did he expect them to escape into the bottom of the abyss?

"Everyone, want to go sightseeing at the bottom of the abyss?" A clear, youthful voice rang out. Yuechen and Yuezhi, leading an army of twenty thousand demons, surrounded them from all directions.

Niu Yue's face was filled with despair. "You… you've already pledged allegiance to the Demon King?"

Yuechen just smiled, neither confirming nor denying. After all, they were late. It was clear that Yuan Jue had already noticed the bottom of the abyss and had taken control of this space long ago. Although he didn't know why His Majesty the Demon King had deliberately let Mo Xi go, this favor hadn't arrived in time.

"Seize them." Yuezhi didn't have the same good temper as her younger brother and didn't bother chatting with these former rivals. She narrowed her eyes and commanded the demon army behind her to attack.

Yuechen shrugged helplessly and also manifested his sharp claws—regardless of whether this favor had arrived in time, since it had been given, they had to make it count! With the Demon King secretly helping them, they would not lose this battle no matter what.

Yuechen didn't hesitate. All four of his eyes became sharp as he rushed forward, joining this almost one-sided battle.

The battle didn't last long, but the lightning at the bottom of the abyss became even more terrifying. The entire sky was completely enveloped in a giant black eggshell, and the demonic wind and rain raged, as if the world was about to collapse.

Many low-rank demons, who were originally gathered in small groups, chose to huddle together in larger numbers to prevent being blown away.

Some mid-rank demons who had come to the bottom of the abyss for business also hurried away quickly.

By the time Yuechen and the others captured Commander Ying and the other high-rank demons, the weather had deteriorated to its extreme.

—Having paid a huge price to construct the spatial passage and feeling the aura of the demonic poison in his subordinates weakening, Mo Xi spat out a mouthful of blood in anger.

In order to escape, his cultivation had regressed to the early stage of the seventh-rank. The wealth and status he had accumulated in the Demon Realm, as well as everything he had painstakingly built over decades, were all lost in an instant.

But as long as he was still alive, he would make a comeback one day.

So what if he was the Demon King? Could he tear through the spatial barrier and chase him to the Yao Continent? Even the incredibly powerful Star Moon Wolf King had died at his hands.

Mo Xi's eyes darted around, his heart filled with malice: That's right, he had heard that the current Demon King, Yuan Jue, had the same name as that Yuan Jue from the Yao Continent. He might as well kill his wife in the Yao Continent.

Mo Xi laughed, his entire face showing a look of madness—if he was wrong, he would have just killed one more person. If he wasn't wrong, then things would get interesting.

Mo Xi wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and stepped towards the newly connected spatial passage.

But to his surprise, the spatial passage, which he could enter with a single step before, now seemed to be sealed by some mysterious force, preventing him from taking even half a step.

"This…?" Mo Xi couldn't help but wipe the cold sweat that unconsciously oozed from his forehead. He frantically circulated his demonic blood, trying to reactivate the spatial passage.

But the facts were right in front of him. His talent skill, which had never failed him in decades, suddenly stopped working.

"How… how could this be??" Mo Xi simply couldn't accept it. He had roamed the Demon Realm for over a hundred years, and because of his talent skill, no demon or yao had ever been able to kill him. He had even dreamed of becoming the Demon King!

"Break!"

"Break, break, break!!" Mo Xi went mad, frantically pouring his power into the spatial passage until he transformed into a terrifying, decaying demon with two heads and a body several meters long.

Mo Xi's entire body emitted a pungent odor, an unbearable stench, like the condensed smell of countless trampled lives.

He had no scales, only ugly skin. As Mo Xi exerted his power again and again, the lines on his skin became clearer and more hideous.

"Argh!!" Mo Xi let out a painful and furious roar. Although he looked like a demon, he roared like a human, echoing around him, sounding extremely terrifying.

By this time, even if Mo Xi was stupid, he realized—Yuan Jue had been watching him all along.

He had deliberately let him leave the vicinity of the bottom of the abyss just to let him taste the flavor of despair.

"I won't let you off easy, I won't let you off easy!" Mo Xi roared like a madman. The once powerful demon, who had been like a mountain, capable of crushing Yuan Jue and Ruan Qiuqiu's peaceful life at any moment, now seemed weak and ridiculous.

With a gentle wave of his sleeve, Yuan Jue's eyebrows furrowed. He looked at Mo Xi in the "mirror" formed by the blood butterflies and gently clenched his right hand.

Mo Xi, who had been raging in place, suddenly felt as if his heart was tightly gripped by an invisible hand, rendering him immobile.

"Heh." Yuan Jue sneered. This sneer, across half the abyss, clearly reached Mo Xi's ears.

"Demon King? Is it the Demon King?" Mo Xi knew that he probably couldn't escape, but he was still trying to struggle, terrified. "No, you're not. The Demon King can't be so much stronger than me, impossible!"

He was already delirious, frantically denying it before his eyes dimmed, finally understanding that it was hopeless. "Actually so much stronger than me, so much stronger…"

Yuan Jue, however, hated this demon to the core. The awakening of his reincarnation memories had brought back long-forgotten childhood memories—his father and mother had been killed by Mo Xi, and his wife's parents had taken them and escaped into the turbulent spatial flow.

The adults didn't want their remaining lives to be lived in the shadows, so they cast a spell, sealing his and Qiuqiu's memories.

A blood feud, nothing more.

Yuan Jue pursed his lips, his bloodstained eyelashes trembling slightly, making him look terrifying and morbid.

His face was pale. Facing the "mirror" filled with blood butterflies, he stretched out his two large hands and continuously tore at Mo Xi's body, as if tearing apart a ball of cotton. His exquisitely handsome face was devoid of any expression, as beautiful as a painting.

Mo Xi's throat was cut first. He couldn't cry out at all, only watch in despair as his body was torn apart bit by bit and fell to the ground.

Faced with absolute suppression of power, he couldn't even self-destruct in resistance.

The Demon King's methods were even more cruel than he had imagined. He tore off his flesh piece by piece, like endless torture.

When the last piece of flesh and strength was stripped from his torso, Mo Xi naively thought that everything was over.

He suddenly remembered the words he had just said to Hua Xi not long ago—"Death is the most liberating way for a demon."

Mo Xi felt that death now seemed like a good way to be free.

But when the physical pain completely disappeared, and he thought he could finally be free, his soul felt a tearing pain.

His consciousness didn't fade into darkness. Mo Xi clearly saw a sickle formed by countless blood-colored butterfly wings fiercely slashing at the spatial passage he had painstakingly constructed.

With a "crack," the spatial passage, along with the entire dark, crumbling sky of the Demon Realm, cracked open.

A fragile, blood-colored figure slowly walked from the darkness not far away. He had two sharp demonic horns on his forehead, but a fluffy tail behind him. He wore a blood-red robe, and his enchanting face was filled with mocking hatred.

"…Mo Xi?" Yuan Jue walked to the soul that was imprisoned and unable to disperse. He casually took out a small wooden tube that his wife had made earlier, unwilling to touch his soul directly, and simply stuffed Mo Xi into the narrow tube.

"Thank you for helping me break through the spatial barrier." Yuan Jue, a certain wolf, curved his narrow phoenix eyes. His voice was hoarse, yet seemed to contain a hint of laughter, making Mo Xi's soul almost explode, bouncing around in pain.

The smile in Yuan Jue's eyes faded. He raised his hand and shot a few black flames into the small wooden tube, then turned around and casually tossed the tube to Yuechen, who had been watching the scene from not far away.

Yuechen looked at him from afar, blinking his four eyes, and quickly smiled. "Yuechen will definitely keep a close watch on him."

Yuan Jue, however, looked at him and slowly shook his head. Blood mist surged around him. He raised his hand and touched the demonic horns on his forehead that he couldn't conceal, and in his tattered red robe, he asked softly and helplessly, "Do I look ugly?"

Yuechen: "…?"

Yuan Jue lowered his hand, his blood-colored pupils staring at the unwashable bloodstains on his hand. He tightly pursed his bloodless lips, and his eyes quickly filled with tears once more.

He was madly eager to see her, but now that he knew she was no longer in danger and the spatial barrier had been broken through, he was afraid to see her in this state.

Would she accept him?

A scarred, perverted Demon King, driven mad by his longing and possessiveness for her.

He had accidentally ruined the clothes she had made for him again.

Shattered, even if he tried to piece them back together, they were already tattered and torn.

Yuan Jue stood where the spatial barrier had been broken through, watching as the sky, once filled with lightning and dark clouds, turned translucent.

The lightning disappeared from the pitch-black night sky of the abyss.

Large clouds surged in, and the demonic energy thinned. The bottom of the abyss, which had never seen snow, suddenly welcomed its first snowfall.

Gentle snowflakes fell, landing on his demonic horns and eyelashes, making him look somewhat comical and somewhat pitiful.

The snow quickly covered the entire border, and a certain wolf, who had almost exhausted all his strength, still stood there foolishly, snowflakes clinging to his eyelashes, motionless, even more pitiful than the little wolf cub who had struggled to eat snow back then.

—When Ruan Qiuqiu finally managed to control her body, holding a soft piece of fur in her arms and a bone umbrella, following Tian Ye's directions, she walked step by step towards the spatial intersection near the hot springs behind the Winter Bear Tribe. From afar, she saw this scene.

Her wolf seemed to be in a daze. The snow was falling so heavily, and he was covered in blood and dirt, yet he didn't clean himself, unlike his usual habit of being clean and frequently going out for a bath in the wild.

Instead, he looked like, just like when they first met.

No, that wasn't right.

That wasn't their first meeting.

It should have been earlier, much earlier.

Ruan Qiuqiu's vision was a little blurry. Although her whole body still ached, her eyes and heart were warm.

Snowflakes landed on her umbrella, lighter than cotton candy, leaving nothing but warmth.

She just kept walking towards him, unable to say anything.

Until she was very close, very close, less than half a step away. Even when she stood on tiptoe and gently kissed his bloodstained chin, Yuan Jue still thought he was hallucinating.

He was truly, truly embarrassed, both as a yao and a demon. His long eyelashes trembled slightly, and before he could speak, something sparkling and warm slid down his cheeks and landed on Ruan Qiuqiu's face.

Ruan Qiuqiu couldn't help but smile, her eyes curving. Suppressing the ache in her heart, she let the bone umbrella fall and, amidst the falling snow, gently called him, "Husband?"

Just like their first meeting that day.

(End of Main Story)

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