Chapter 29: Naive and Innocent
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“The Feng family? Are you sure this place used to belong to the Feng family?” Xiao Junwang taunted from above.
“This... It belongs to the Feng family now! This is our territory! If you know what is good for you, leave at once! Otherwise, once I call for help, you will regret it!” Feng Wujian retorted defiantly. His eyes meaningfully swept toward Greenbud. In her current state, once people gathered around to watch, she would only become the subject of vile gossip.
Greenbud had never imagined that anyone else would be in the garden. When someone suddenly appeared, she reacted like a startled bird, pressing herself tightly against the wall. She covered her body in shame, not even daring to raise her head.
When Xiao Junwang saw that Feng Wujian was actually using a maid as leverage to threaten him, his already gloomy mood became even more irritable. He had felt stifled from the moment he had accidentally noticed the portrait of Mo Liuli clutched in Feng Wujian’s hand. Now, hearing such arrogant words as well, it was easy to imagine how terrifying the eruption would be after all that suppression.
Xiao Junwang transformed into a gust of wind, appeared behind Feng Wujian, and swiftly snatched the portrait from his hand, concealing it inside his scroll. Then, with a single leap, he swept past Greenbud and carried her over the garden wall.
In the blink of an eye, a warm, voluminous silver robe had appeared around Greenbud’s body.
“Her belongings are not yours to defile!”
Xiao Junwang shot Feng Wujian a cold look. Leaving behind those words, he took Greenbud and departed from the old grounds.
Through the fabric of the robe, Greenbud felt the masculine warmth emanating from Xiao Junwang. Her heart fluttered like a startled fawn, her face flushed crimson, and her entire being seemed to melt into bliss.
In truth, Greenbud possessed a pure and gentle beauty of her own. It was only because she had spent so many years by Mo Liuli’s side that Mo Liuli’s breathtaking beauty had overshadowed her, causing others to overlook her natural charms.
As Greenbud felt the wind howl past her ears, her hands quietly slipped around Xiao Junwang’s waist. She closed her eyes, completely intoxicated by the sensation.
Feng Wujian stared at the now-empty garden, then foolishly lowered his head to look at the empty hands that had once held the portrait. If he could not still smell Xiao Junwang’s distinctive fragrance, he might have suspected that the entire affair had been nothing but a dream. The portrait he had carefully treasured had been snatched away just like that.
Distraught, he murmured, “The portrait... My goddess, my portrait...”
Watching the two figures gradually disappear into the distance, Mo Liuli closed her eyes. Her bare feet swung gently in the air. The steady movements of the child within her womb softened her once-lonely expression, lending it a trace of tenderness.
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“Did you see him? He is the man named Xiao you spoke of. Now, the woman in his arms is someone else—not you.”
“Does this garden look familiar? It was where you used to live.”
Qiu Xue stood on a branch, watching the changes in Mo Liuli’s expression. With his hands clasped behind his back, he spoke in a seemingly casual tone, as though asking Mo Liuli a question—or perhaps merely talking to himself.
“Is that him? It feels as though it is, and yet as though it isn’t. The woman in his arms feels familiar to me. Do I know her? I don’t remember this garden, but sitting here and looking at the scenery feels wonderful.”
Mo Liuli turned her head toward Qiu Xue, only to be drawn once more to his unusual crimson eyes. With childlike curiosity, she asked her questions.
Xiao. That name ought to have felt warm. Yet, inexplicably, it was as though she had awakened from sleep and forgotten everything.
“That woman... I don’t know her.”
Seeing Mo Liuli return to her innocent expression, Qiu Xue was infected by the purity of her eyes. He did not want her to pursue the matter any further, so he simply lied and said he did not know the woman.
“Oh.”
Mo Liuli did not think much of it. She answered casually, then continued staring at his crimson eyes, both hands braced against the branch as she sat there in complete comfort.
Being watched so intently by Mo Liuli, Qiu Xue became uncomfortable instead. He looked around awkwardly, and even a faint blush appeared on his face.
“Your demonic soul has only just awakened. For some time, your memories will continue to be obstructed. Come back to the Blood Alliance with me. I will find a way to help you recover as quickly as possible.”
Hearing this, Mo Liuli swallowed the question that had just reached her lips, answered with an obedient “All right,” and followed him away.
After arriving at the Blood Alliance, Mo Liuli’s memories continued to come and go. Whenever Qiu Xue was busy, she quietly remained alone in the valley cliffs, thinking of nothing at all.
As the months passed, her belly grew enormously. Her body was no longer light and graceful but had become much heavier. The movements of the child grew stronger with each passing day. At times, she could hear an extremely faint howl, though she could not tell whether it was coming from inside her belly.
“Look at you. Your belly is already this big, yet you still act like a child. You refuse to wear shoes, and you are not even afraid that the baby will laugh at you after it is born!”
One day, after finishing his work for the alliance, Qiu Xue came to the valley cliffs to see Mo Liuli. Finding her walking barefoot as she admired the scenery, he could not help but scold her.
The Blood Alliance stood in an unusual location, surrounded year-round by biting cold. Even ordinary people would have found it difficult to live there, to say nothing of Mo Liuli, a mortal woman who remained barefoot in the drifting winter snow.
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Bored and listless, Mo Liuli heard the voice behind her and smiled without turning around. Gently stroking her swollen belly, she continued walking slowly.
“Why must people be mocked merely for going barefoot? I am used to it! Look—despite being barefoot, my feet are still as clean as ever, without a speck of dust!”
As she spoke, Mo Liuli lifted one small foot with an air of pride, her face full of delighted smiles.
Qiu Xue’s crimson eyes softened. He truly had no defense against Mo Liuli’s appearance.
In the valley cliffs, Mo Liuli had no sense of time. Day after day, she remained there without asking anything. But Qiu Xue knew that two full years had already passed. As for Mo Liuli’s belly... there was still no sign of movement. Even he found it strange. Surely, even if the child were some kind of beast, it should have been born by now?
He had already found a way to remove the gu poison from Mo Liuli’s body. However, because she was pregnant, he had not dared to act. Fortunately, the poison had not flared up during this time, sparing him the remorse that might otherwise have followed.
As the delay grew longer and longer, he gradually lost patience with the baby in her belly. He wanted it to be born as soon as possible so that he could remove the gu poison from Mo Liuli and restore her demonic cultivation.
After the previous successful soul fusion, Mo Liuli had gained demonic energy, but nothing else. Her memories had not returned, her demonic power remained nonexistent, and she did not even possess the most basic ability to protect herself, much less the imposing might she had once possessed as the Great Demon Lord Mo Li.
More than one group was searching the outside world for Mo Liuli. Aside from the wanted notice issued by the Mo family, several other forces were also secretly looking for her.
Mo Liuli noticed that Qiu Xue had once again become distracted while walking, repeatedly staring at her belly. Unable to accept it, she turned sideways and blocked his view.
“Do not even think about harming him. He is my life. If anything happens to him, I will make you regret it for the rest of your life!”
Mo Liuli’s expression turned cold as she looked at Qiu Xue with complete seriousness. She shielded her belly with both hands, like a mother eagle protecting her chick.
Recently, she too had been prone to drifting into trances. Sometimes, she would lose herself for an entire day. Strange images constantly surfaced in her mind, affecting her emotions. Qiu Xue had also been appearing far too frequently. Every time he came, he would stare at her belly with an indescribable look in his eyes, leaving her feeling deeply troubled.
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