Chapter 26: How Important It Is

Shuangyi had been waiting in the corridor outside the bedchamber. Finally, as dawn approached, Lin Xihe returned. She called out to her excitedly, "Miss Wan!"

"You didn't sleep all night?" Lin Xihe asked.

Shuangyi shook her head. "I couldn't. Miss Wan, when will the Demon Lord return?"

"I don't know yet." Lin Xihe pushed open the door to the bedchamber. "Come inside and let's talk."

Inside, Ajiu heard the commotion and rose before they could enter.

"Miss, you've returned."

Lin Xihe looked at Ajiu. "Why did you leave Shuangyi standing outside all night?"

Shuangyi quickly interjected, "This isn't Ajiu's fault; I asked to stay outside."

"You two talk," Ajiu said, stepping out and closing the door behind her.

Lin Xihe said apologetically, "I intended to return earlier, but Yu Tingye... well, I can only say I am sorry for breaking my promise."

"It doesn't matter," Shuangyi said, holding out her hand. "Miss Wan, this is for you."

Lin Xihe gazed at the grape-sized black inner core in her palm, startled. "This is..."

Shuangyi knelt before Lin Xihe. "This is my inner core. I give it to you; I only ask that you protect my younger brother, Shuangyu."

"What on earth has happened?" Lin Xihe helped her up. If a demon lost their inner core, they would be reduced to the state of an ordinary being, or worse, revert to their original form, struggling even to maintain a human shape. Once reverted, they would likely be treated as prey by other demons.

"Please, just promise me," Shuangyi pleaded.

Lin Xihe sighed helplessly. "Fine, I promise to protect your brother, but I cannot take this core."

For a demon, the inner core is of supreme importance, even more vital than life itself.

Shuangyi did not press the matter further, but before leaving, she secretly hid the inner core under Lin Xihe’s pillow.

After Shuangyi left, Lin Xihe could not shake the feeling that something was wrong; Shuangyi’s behavior had been too strange. Could something have happened?

Lin Xihe worried until her head throbbed, and having been exhausted by Yu Tingye all night, she felt drained. She needed to catch up on sleep. As she lay on the bed, she felt something hard beneath her. Instinctively, she lifted the pillow and saw the black inner core. Wasn't this Shuangyi’s?

Lin Xihe reached out to pick it up, but before she could examine it, the core seemed to come alive and vanished into her body. Immediately, a surge of warmth rushed through her, filling every vessel. How could someone else’s inner core be of use to her?

By the time Lin Xihe woke, it was already dusk. Suddenly, she felt a strange, painful sensation within her. What was happening? Could something have befallen Shuangyi?

Lin Xihe scrambled up, quickly dressed, and rushed toward Yu Tingye’s Qingxin Palace.

This palace had been built by Yu Tingye specifically for their trysts. Upon reaching the entrance, she was hit by the thick, pungent scent of blood.

Her heart sank. She dashed inside, only to find Shuangyi lying on the floor, her chest torn open by a gaping hole, a gruesome sight.

Lin Xihe’s hands trembled as she slowly turned her gaze to Yu Tingye, who sat by the bed. "You... you killed her?"

"And why not?" Yu Tingye replied nonchalantly, as if he had merely crushed a gnat.

But Shuangyi was a person. Even if she was a demon, she had flesh, blood, laughter, and warmth. And now, she was gone. If Shuangyu knew, how devastated he would be.

As Lin Xihe thought of this, the sight of Shuangyi’s face—which bore a striking resemblance to Xiao Yun—made her tears fall uncontrollably.

Yu Tingye reduced Shuangyi’s body to ashes.

"It is just a dead demon, yet it makes you this sad," Yu Tingye said, walking toward her step by step. "Back then, when you destroyed my village, slaughtered my kin, and killed my parents, did you ever consider how I felt?"

Lin Xihe looked up sharply at him, seeing the deep-seated hatred in his eyes. Her heart felt as if it were being crushed. "That wasn't me, Ye. That was..."

She wanted to explain, but there was no way to do so. The tragedy had already been wrought, and any explanation was pale and powerless.