Shan Qingluo and Yu Xiong had been listening outside the bedchamber for a good hour or more before the screams from within finally began to subside.
Even someone as thick-skinned as Yu Xiong, a powerhouse of the Demon Race, couldn't help feeling a chill creep up his spine.
The bedchamber doors burst open with a thunderous crash, and a figure stumbled out. The man was drenched head to toe in blood, his aura feeble to the extreme—he looked as though he might keel over and die at any moment.
Shan Qingluo narrowed her eyes slightly…
She recognized him at a glance. This had to be Ba He—after all, the aura emanating from his body clearly marked him as a third-stage Return Void Realm expert.
It seemed Mother really had been furious this time. Whether she had actually forgiven Senior Ba He remained to be seen.
"Senior, are you alright?" Yu Xiong stepped forward and helped steady Ba He.
"Cough… I'll live. Won't be dying just yet." Ba He waved his hand weakly, seemingly lacking even the energy to speak.
Yu Xiong opened his mouth but didn't know what to say to comfort the old man.
Ba He suddenly raised his head and looked toward Shan Qingluo. Despite being an old veteran who had seen his share of people over the long years, he couldn't help but brighten noticeably the instant he laid eyes on her. His feeble aura seemed to recover just a little.
He gave a slight nod and said, "You must be Miss Shan?"
"Qingluo greets Senior." Shan Qingluo dipped into a graceful curtsy.
"No need for formalities, Miss Shan. Good—good. At last the Demon Race has produced some real talent." Ba He managed a faint smile. "In my day, I was willful and headstrong, and I failed Lady Commander's expectations. I hope the two of you won't disappoint her again."
"We will heed Senior's words…" Shan Qingluo replied softly, her expression complicated.
"Mm, go on in. She's waiting for you." Ba He waved them off and forced his weakened body forward, leaving a bloody footprint with each step—a sight that was hard to look at.
Shan Qingluo and Yu Xiong watched Ba He's retreating figure in silence, both sighing inwardly. Once the shining star of the Demon Race. The strongest warrior below the Void King Realm. And yet Mother had punished him like this.
"Qingluo? Come in." Red Moon's voice drifted from within the bedchamber.
Shan Qingluo felt a twinge of guilt she couldn't quite explain and bit her red lower lip. Steeling herself, she walked inside.
"Uh… I think I'll just head back first." Yu Xiong muttered to himself, and with that he turned to flee the scene.
"Yu Xiong, get your ass in here too!" Red Moon's sharp voice rang out.
Yu Xiong's scalp went numb. His raised foot immediately came back down, and he turned around with a face like a man whose parents had just died. Reluctance oozing from every pore, he trailed in after Shan Qingluo.
I should've left ages ago… Yu Xiong's intestines were twisted with regret.
Inside the spacious, well-lit bedchamber, a stunning woman in an elegant palace gown stood there quietly, her expression as calm and still as an ancient well.
She was full-figured, with a firm bosom, a slender willow waist, and not the faintest trace of energy fluctuation about her—she looked for all the world like an ordinary mortal who had never cultivated a day in her life.
Her beauty was extraordinary. Her red lips gleamed like the finest ruby, glistening with an alluring luster. Her skin was porcelain pale, and her long, slender fingers were as white as jade.
In terms of sheer appeal to men, she was in no way inferior to Shan Qingluo—she merely lacked that innate, bewitching sensuality that Shan Qingluo possessed. But the noble aura she radiated from within surpassed Shan Qingluo's by an immeasurable degree.
It was hard to imagine that this beautiful woman was none other than one of the ten Commanders of the Demon Star, and the adoptive mother of both Shan Qingluo and Yu Xiong—Red Moon!
Once the siblings had entered, they first paid their respects and greeted her. Only after receiving Red Moon's acknowledgment did they cautiously take their seats to one side.
"The Grand Master Alchemist who came from Huiyue City—has she been settled in properly?" Red Moon asked offhandedly.
"Reporting to Mother, everything has been arranged. Would you like to meet her?" Shan Qingluo looked at Red Moon.
"No rush. The fact that she can refine Void-grade pills with pill clouds is certainly impressive. But compared to her, I'm actually more interested in the human man who came with her. Qingluo, is there anything you'd like to tell me? I've heard some rather… remarkable rumors." Red Moon settled into her seat, her luminous eyes resting gently on Shan Qingluo.
Shan Qingluo's body trembled. She hurried to her feet, sank to her knees on the floor, and said through gritted teeth, "Please forgive me, Mother. That man…"
"There's no need to be so nervous. It's not as though I'm going to eat him. Stand up and speak." Red Moon waved a hand, and an invisible force lifted Shan Qingluo back to her feet.
Seeing that Red Moon didn't seem to be angry, Shan Qingluo's heart eased considerably, and her anxious tension gradually subsided.
"Tell me—is what I've heard true or false?" Red Moon pressed.
"It's true," Shan Qingluo answered through clenched teeth.
"Oh? So that human really is the man who's captured your heart?" Red Moon laughed softly.
"Yes."
"And he's so remarkable? That even a woman like you would fall for him? Yu Xiong says he's nothing but a pretty boy who lives off women."
"That's not true. Yu Xiong is talking nonsense." Shan Qingluo shot Yu Xiong a vicious glare. The latter shrank back, stroked his chin, and turned his face skyward…