Zanxing (Retranslated)

Chapter 234 - Gui Yansheng (1)

The light from the Divine Fire Pillar was blinding, and in an instant, everything around fell back into darkness.

The noisy voices from Mount Gufeng, the clanging of swords, and the chaotic footsteps grew increasingly distant and blurred. Zanxing felt as if her body was being dragged far away, only to dissolve into nothingness amidst the pulling.

On a mountain somewhere in Duzhou, dense rain was falling in the thick forest, soaking the land with a fishy odor. Suddenly, a golden light spot appeared in the air, rapidly growing larger and rippling outward like water waves, distorting the air.

With a thud, someone fell out from within.

Zanxing moaned in pain.

The wounds that Gu Baiying had tended to were now only a temporary measure. Leaving Mount Gufeng, the burns from the Divine Fire began to spread real pain. It felt as if her bones were filled with those blazing flames, and every step she took was like a piercing agony.

A whimpering sound came from beside her.

Zanxing looked down to see Mimi lying next to her, struggling to keep her eyes open. Mimi’s once-beautiful white fur was now unrecognizable. Zanxing bent down and picked Mimi up from the ground.

She still clutched the Evening Star Hairpin in her hand and wore the red headband that Gu Baiying had tied around her wrist. Back in Wufan City, when everyone had exhausted their spiritual energy, and the Mirage Woman was closing in, Gu Baiying had also given her this headband.

“It’s called Zhuyan, a gift from the sect leader. It has a teleportation spell engraved on it. By using my soul power, it can help escape from any perilous situation, serving as a life-saving magical artifact.”

The boy’s words echoed in her ears again.

Gu Baiying had indeed not lied. Before the Ten Thousand Killing Formation, with so many disciples from the immortal world eyeing her, Zanxing had managed to escape with her life. However, while she could barely survive in this corner, what about Gu Baiying who remained? He faced the accusation of colluding with the demon clan. Could Shanyang Zhenren really protect him?

Her mind was in turmoil. Mimi, nestled in her arms, extended a paw and gently scratched her. Zanxing looked down, and Mimi opened her mouth to expel a green bag.

“Qiankun Bag?”

Zanxing reached out and took the Qiankun Bag. Before the incident, she had left the Qiankun Bag in her room. Hong Su had later brought Mimi to the Ten Thousand Killing Formation, and Mimi had run in, not expecting that Silver Moon Lion would have brought the Qiankun Bag along.

She quickly opened the bag and took out all the talismans, stuffing them into her own robe. With her Golden Core destroyed and all her spiritual energy depleted, the talismans were more useful than the pills and methods. In the face of real danger, these talismans could offer some protection.

Seeing Zanxing safely stow away the useful items, Mimi tilted her head and swallowed the Qiankun Bag. Holding the Silver Moon Lion, Zanxing felt her legs were as heavy as lead. She looked around at the desolate mountain and the misty night rain. It seemed the entire immortal world was searching for her. In such a vast world, it was hard to find a place to hide.

“First, find a place to shelter from the rain.” Zanxing gritted her teeth against the pain, holding Mimi and moving forward, trying to find a cave.

The rain continued to pour in the mountain, and the wind made her feel a chill all over. The slippery roads were muddy, and Zanxing hurriedly walked, losing her footing and falling into the mud, her knee half-submerged.

She wiped the mud off her face and was about to get up when suddenly, Mimi let out a sharp cry, her back arched, and she stared intently ahead.

Zanxing followed her gaze and saw a shadow appearing among the entangled branches of the forest.

The figure drew closer from a distance, seemingly approaching this way.

The sound of the rain was persistent but could not mask the approaching footsteps. Initially, the footsteps were neither fast nor slow, but gradually, they began to quicken. From just the sound of the steps, it seemed one could sense the joy of the approaching person.

At this point, it was already too late to avoid the situation. Zanxing couldn’t help but hold Mimi tighter.

The newcomer carried a lantern, and despite the wind and rain, the flame remained steady, not flickering at all. As he approached, the light gradually revealed the muddy ground in front of Zanxing and illuminated his face.

He was a boy, about eighteen or nineteen years old, perhaps even younger.

He had a lively and approachable face with a certain childish innocence. His long hair was loosely gathered at the back, adding to his cute and docile appearance. He wore a gold-brown robe embroidered with golden lotuses. While such a bright color might make an ordinary person seem frivolous or foolish, it suited him well, complementing his eye color.

He had golden pupils.

The boy held the lantern in one hand and a white paper umbrella in the other. He stood before Zanxing, curiously gazing down at her.

Zanxing clenched her fists slightly and tried to keep her voice calm as she asked, “Who are you?”

The boy was taken aback, seemingly not expecting her to ask that. After a moment of hesitation, he suddenly snapped his fingers, and silently, several dark figures appeared around them.

When Zanxing recognized the faces of these figures in black, a chill ran down her spine. “Demons!”

These black-clad individuals all had red pupils, which she had seen before in the Xumi Mustard Seed Diagram. Now, with her spiritual power depleted and her Golden Core shattered, she was no different from an ordinary person and couldn’t discern demonic energy. If she hadn’t previously seen the demons’ appearance, she wouldn’t have recognized them.

This boy with a doll-like face was actually a demon!

The boy seemed pleased with Zanxing’s wary reaction and suddenly burst into laughter. His laughter revealed two round dimples, making him look quite adorable.

He spoke with a voice as sweet as honey, “I’ve finally found you.”

Like a bolt of lightning, Zanxing suddenly realized what was happening. She looked at the boy and said, “It’s you? You’re the one who killed the disciples of Chihua Sect and framed me!”

“Yes, it’s me,” the boy replied with a pleased nod. “That’s right. Do you have any questions for me?”

In an instant, many scenes flashed before Zanxing’s eyes, but the first question she blurted out was, “What exactly happened with Senior Sister Ziluo? She isn’t a demon, so why would she work for you? And if she did work for you, why did you kill her?”

Zanxing was led by Ziluo to a small courtyard where Chihua Sect’s disciples were training. Indeed, even without that incident, the demons would have found a way to expose her identity. But what puzzled Zanxing was that the disciples of Yinfeng Sect had investigated and confirmed that Ziluo was not of demon origin. Ziluo had grown up on Mount Gufeng and was a disciple of the sect. Why would she work for the demons?

“That’s what you want to know?” The boy seemed a bit disappointed at her question but quickly bent down and held out the white paper umbrella to shield Zanxing from the fine rain. “I didn’t kill her. She’s still alive, right here in front of you.”

Zanxing was confused, but when she looked up at the white umbrella, she couldn’t help but shiver.

From a distance, the umbrella’s pattern seemed like an ink painting. As she got closer, it became clear that it wasn’t a painting but silhouettes of people. The umbrella was covered with densely packed figures—old and young, male and female. Some ink stains were deep, others faint. The most recent and vivid ink stain was of a woman in purple robes, full of vigor, with a beautiful face but lacking her previous gentle and spirited smile, her expression rigid and gray.

“Senior Sister Ziluo!” Zanxing was both shocked and angry as she looked at the boy. “What did you do to her?”

“I didn’t do anything,” the boy said innocently, looking at her. He placed the lantern down and lovingly stroked the umbrella’s surface. “This is called the Asura Umbrella, my innate magical artifact. It has a special ability called Soul Capture.”

Zanxing stared at him intently.

“In the immortal world, there’s a spell called Spirit Travel, where a person can separate their soul and enter another’s body.” He explained seriously, “I used the Asura Umbrella to capture her soul and then replaced it with my own. The person you saw on Mount Gufeng was actually my avatar. Do you understand now?”

Zanxing felt a chill running through her.

Ziluo had long been dead. The person Zanxing had interacted with on Mount Gufeng these past days was merely this person’s avatar. Ziluo had been like a puppet, but because she was not of demonic origin, she had not been detected.

They had returned from the treasure location, and Shaoyang Zhenren had ordered the disciples not to descend the mountain. Since Ziluo had been replaced before that, it seemed they had been living with the demons for quite some time.

“Do you have any more questions for me?” The boy leaned in slightly, looking at her with eager anticipation.

Zanxing tightened her grip on the Wuyou Staff and asked, “Who are you?”

“You’ve already asked me that,” the boy replied. “My name is Gui Yansheng.”

“Gui?” Zanxing frowned. “What is your relation to the Demon King Gui Diaotang?”

It was understandable she would make this connection. The name was hard to dissociate from the Demon King.

Zanxing couldn’t tell if it was her imagination, but when she asked this question, the boy’s eyes darkened for a moment. However, he soon smiled again. “You’ve figured it out.”

“So you are…”

“The Demon King’s son,” he said with a smile, though there was no hint of joy in his golden eyes.

For a moment, Zanxing felt utterly bewildered. In the book The Demon Queen’s Confession: On the Wedding Night, I Discovered My Husband’s Illegitimate Child, she had speculated that the Demon King Gui Diaotang might have an illegitimate child. She had always thought she was that hidden child in the mortal realm, but she hadn’t expected it to be Gui Yansheng in front of her. Given this, why did Miss Yang need to collect so many demonic records and display the seal of the Demon King, revealing her demonic identity?

Zanxing looked up at Gui Yansheng and asked, “Why did you frame me?”

Gui Yansheng looked at her with interest. “You’ve finally asked the most important question. But I need to think about how to answer you, where to start. Ah, right,” he tilted his head as if remembering something, “you still don’t know your own identity, do you?”

“What is my identity?”

He gazed at Zanxing with a smile, his dimples shallow, and after a long while, he said slowly, “You are the daughter of the Demon King, my half-sister.”