Chapter 13: The White-Haired Man

Hearing that Yu Tingye had spent the entire day in the Council Hall conferring with the Demon Lords, Lin Xihe felt a sudden urge to see him. She busied herself slicing a platter of fruit unique to the Demon Realm and made her way there.

When she appeared at the entrance of the Council Hall with the fruit, the Demon Lords all turned their gazes toward her.

"Your Excellency."
"It is the Demon Sovereign."

As the Demon Lords moved to pay their respects, Lin Xihe hurriedly clarified, "You are all mistaken. I am not the Demon Sovereign. My name is Lin Xihe; I only happen to look like your Sovereign."

"Not the Demon Sovereign?"
"But the resemblance is uncanny."

The Wolf King turned his gaze toward Yu Tingye. "Lord Tingye, is she truly not the Demon Sovereign?"

Yu Tingye did not answer. Visibly displeased by her sudden appearance, he commanded, "Go back."

Lin Xihe pushed past the crowd of demons, approached Yu Tingye, and set the fruit on his table. "I... I just came to bring you some fruit."

"Get out!"

Yu Tingye’s roar startled every Demon Lord in the hall into silence. Lin Xihe was left bewildered; the man was far too temperamental.

"Fine, don't eat it then. No need to be so fierce," she muttered, picking up the platter and leaving.

Yu Tingye glared at the gathered lords, his expression chillingly cold. "I will say this one more time: The Demon Sovereign Wanwan is dead. From this day forward, if anyone dares to mention her name again, I will kill them. Is that understood?"

"Understood," the Demon Lords replied in haste.

***

"What a strange, foul temper," Lin Xihe grumbled to herself, using a fork to eat the sliced fruit as she walked.

Before she knew it, she had arrived at the gates of the Night Palace. Eight guards stood watch. She hesitated—should she leave? Yu Tingye had warned her that the outside world was perilous, and without her demonic power, she feared she would be defenseless against evildoers. Yet, the desire to see the world beyond was overwhelming.

An idea struck her. She set the fruit platter aside, tidied her appearance, and walked out with feigned confidence. Once on the road, she scooped up a handful of dust and smeared it across her face. That should suffice.

No sooner had she departed than Tang Xin'er began to follow her.

***

"A cat."

Seeing a tabby cat by the street, Lin Xihe found it adorable and reached out to pet it. To her shock, the cat transformed into a human in the blink of an eye. Thankfully, she was in the Demon Realm; had this happened in her ordinary life, she would have been frightened to death.

Lin Xihe didn't dwell on it. She looked up and saw a sign that read "Marketplace." A sea of people surged back and forth—or rather, demons.

"Young lady, would you like to buy something?" a middle-aged woman asked.

Lin Xihe glanced at the stall, which was filled with pills of various sizes and colors. Could this be what they ate for their three meals a day? In the memories she possessed from the Demon Sovereign Wanwan, there was nothing regarding food.

Five meters away, Tang Xin'er whispered an instruction to a white-haired man beside her: "Trap her inside forever."

The man nodded and moved to obey.

The cat demon seemed to sense danger and reverted to its tabby form. Lin Xihe noticed the cat again and rubbed her eyes, wondering if she were seeing things. Why did it change back? As the cat scurried toward her, she felt a flicker of fear.

As it passed by, the cat spoke in a woman's voice, "Beware the man with white hair."

Lin Xihe stood frozen. A white-haired man? She was about to look for him when she realized a man with white hair was already standing right before her. On his forehead was a flame-shaped mark. She glanced at it, and suddenly, her vision darkened. Her mind grew heavy and groggy, and within moments, she collapsed to the ground.