Zanxing (Retranslated)

Extra 17 - Flower Seeds (1) — Bu Jiang x Gui Diaotang

Bu Jiang really liked flowers.

In the Demon Realm, apart from the Guishou Flower, there are hardly any other types of flowers. The soil on Heishi Mountain was unique, making it difficult for ordinary plants to grow there. It remained barren and dark year-round.

The demons in Heishi City also didn’t care for flowers.

Demons preferred bright and shiny things, such as gold, silver, and jewels. Although flowers were beautiful, they were too fragile and couldn’t last. In contrast, the crystals that decorate the caves were much sturdier and would never wither away before winter arrived.

Bu Jiang was the most beautiful woman in Heishi City, and many of her admirers were well aware of her fondness for flowers. Many demon cultivators had tried various methods to pick flowers from the human realm and bring them to her in different ways. However, Bu Jiang only glanced at them lightly, showing little interest.

The picked flowers soon withered, and even with secret techniques to preserve them, their fragrance and beauty couldn’t be fully retained. Her standards for beauty had always been very high.

Her friend, the Succubus, asked her, “What’s so good about flowers? Heishi City is full of rare and exotic treasures. Flowers are delicate and require care. What’s to like about them?”

Bu Jiang thought for a moment and replied, “They’re like me.”

The Succubus was stunned. “What?”

Bu Jiang looked at her and said softly, “Don’t you think I resemble a delicate flower?”

The Succubus: “…”

The beauty sighed, “When will a flower ever grow on Heishi Mountain?”

“It’s probably impossible in this lifetime,” the Succubus said, then seemed to think of something, glanced at Bu Jiang, and suddenly added, “But it’s not entirely out of the question. A fool has been planting flowers on Heishi Mountain recently. If he waits an eighty or hundred years, he might actually manage to grow one.”

“A fool?” Bu Jiang looked at her, “Who is it?”

The Succubus snorted and there was a hint of concealed resentment in her eyes. “Gui Diaotang.”

Bu Jiang was slightly taken aback.

The name Gui Diaotang had recently become quite famous in Heishi City. It wasn’t just because of his powerful abilities, but also because he had a face that was hard to forget.

Gui Diaotang was a handsome man.

Heishi City had no shortage of handsome men and physical appearance was not of much concern to the demons. However, if this man rejected the Succubus, who was adored by everyone in Heishi City, his beauty would instantly gain an additional layer of charm.

In Bu Jiang’s eyes, apart from herself, the Succubus was the most beautiful. Whenever the Succubus waved her finger, both humans and demons would go wild for her. Recently, when the Succubus had invited Gui Diaotang to accompany her, it became widely known throughout the city that Gui Diaotang had refused her in public.

Countless demon cultivators were enraged. How dare that ungrateful fool reject the esteemed Succubus of Heishi City? The flower protectors rushed out, swearing to seek justice for their beloved lady, but they were all defeated by that man in green with a single move.

It turned out he was of pure Celestial Demon bloodline.

The flower protectors had intended to defend the flowers, but they couldn’t match him in strength and had to flee in disgrace. This left the Succubus feeling quite embarrassed, though she herself was also unable to defeat this demon cultivator of Celestial Demon bloodline.

Seeing her friend still fuming about this person, Bu Jiang rarely offered her some comfort: “Don’t be angry. There’s no cat that doesn’t steal a fish. When a man rejects a woman, it’s often because he’s interested in another woman.”

“What woman could compare to me?” Succubus sneered. “Is there anyone more beautiful than me in this world?”

“Of course there is,” Bu Jiang said calmly, looking at her. “What if he likes me instead?”

Succubus: “Bu Jiang!”

“Alright,” Bu Jiang continued, “think positively. Perhaps his beloved is already dead. Living people can never compete with the dead and demons are no exception.”

“Is that so?” The Succubus was a bit skeptical.

“By the way,” Bu Jiang said thoughtfully, “you mentioned he was planting flowers on Heishi Mountain? What kind of flowers did he plant?”

*

Rain began to fall in the city.

It rarely rained in Heishi City, and even when it did, it was mostly at night. The daytime rain draped a faint black veil over the entire mountain range, making the mist appear dim.

Bu Jiang had seen rain in the Jiangnan region of the human realm, which was light and graceful, in stark contrast to Heishi City’s rain. It was like a well-balanced ink wash painting, making the viewers feel refreshed.

She had always enjoyed beautiful scenery.

The mountain path was rugged and dark. At this moment, she heard some movement ahead and saw a person slowly coming out from the dense black forest on the mountain.

Bu Jiang’s gaze paused.

It was a man in green, holding a green paper umbrella. The umbrella was large, adorned with many ink wash flower and bird paintings. He walked at a leisurely pace, and his green robe dispersed the dense black mist in the gloomy mountain, turning it into a faint ink wash. The rainwater washed the ink away, creating a painting.

Fine rain gathered into droplets along the umbrella and fell into the muddy ground beneath. The wind tilted the umbrella, revealing the man’s handsome face.

He had a noble and elegant face, without any trace of the demons’ brutality or demonic aura.

In an instant, Bu Jiang realized that this man in green was the legendary Gui Diaotang.

When Gui Diaotang first appeared in Heishi City, she had been in the capital. Upon returning, she had only heard about him from the Succubus. Seeing him for the first time now, she couldn’t help but marvel that the Succubus’s taste in men was second only to hers. With such looks and demeanor, it was no surprise that he could mesmerize the Succubus.

As he looked up and saw Bu Jiang, she smiled and was about to approach him. However, he had already passed by her as if he hadn’t seen her at all.

Bu Jiang: “…”

She turned to look at the person who was walking ahead, raising an eyebrow. This person seemed rather arrogant.

After a moment’s thought, she wasn’t particularly annoyed. She simply followed him at a leisurely pace, neither approaching to engage him in conversation nor leaving, just trailing behind him.

Gui Diaotang was aware that Bu Jiang was following him but seemed indifferent. He stopped in front of a dead tree, placed the green paper umbrella under it, and took out a handful of pitch-black seeds from a pouch at his waist.

Bu Jiang’s gaze sharpened slightly.

These were flower seeds—ordinary, powerless, human flower seeds.

Gui Diaotang scattered the seeds on the soil in front of the dead tree.

On Heishi Mountain, there was no such thing as shady or sunny spots; the soil was uniformly barren or fertile. The location of where the seeds fell was meaningless because flowers from the human realm simply couldn’t grow here.

After planting seeds in one spot, Gui Diaotang moved to another area and scattered more seeds, as if he intended to cover the entire Heishi Mountain with flowers.

Bu Jiang found this quite puzzling and couldn’t help but speak up, “Hey, don’t waste your effort. Human flowers won’t grow in the Demon Realm. Even if you cover Heishi Mountain with seeds, they will never bloom.”