Only then did Yang Kai understand why Yu Rumeng had been willing to let him come to the Cloud Shadow Continent alone, and had even sent Xiao Wu to accompany him.
He had assumed that Yu Rumeng wanted Xiao Wu to attend to him personally while also keeping an eye on him to make sure he didn't go philandering. Now it seemed that Xiao Wu's true purpose had been to serve as a vessel for today's Soul Descent!
Soul Descent was no simple matter. It wasn't something one could accomplish just by possessing sufficient strength — one would need all manner of secret arts to assist beforehand.
If not for Bei Limo, this Snow Demon, showing up here today and pressuring him step by step, Yu Rumeng would clearly never have manifested. Yang Kai even suspected that Bei Limo had done this deliberately; after all, if she truly wanted to teach him a lesson, why go to all this trouble given her abilities?
What she had really been after was Yu Rumeng. Coercing Yang Kai had merely been her means to that end.
But if she wanted to find Yu Rumeng, she could have gone straight to the Holy City on the Phantom Continent — coming here to bully him made no sense. Yang Kai grumbled inwardly.
Bei Limo chuckled lightly. "Don't think that just because you're only a wisp of soul I'd be afraid of you? Even if your true body were here, do you think this Queen would fear you?" Both were Demon Saints, and Bei Limo genuinely did not fear Yu Rumeng. She turned her head and regarded Yang Kai with a lovely smile. "I'll rip out his tongue and shatter his teeth right now!"
"You wouldn't dare!" Yu Rumeng's voice rang out, cold and sharp. "If you lay a single finger on him, this Queen will make sure your Aoxue Continent is left without a single living soul!"
At these words, Bei Limo stared at Yu Rumeng in apparent disbelief. After a long moment, she suddenly covered her mouth and burst into laughter, laughing so hard that tears nearly streamed from her eyes.
Yu Rumeng watched her coldly, then cast a worried glance toward Yang Kai.
Yang Kai could only shrug. This Bei Limo woman really did seem to be somewhat unhinged. For a proper Demon Saint to display such extreme emotional volatility was rather extraordinary.
After a good while, Bei Limo's laughter finally subsided. She looked Yang Kai up and down with great interest, then spoke. "I was only suspicious before, but it turns out to be true — you really used that secret art on him?"
"None of your damn business!" Yu Rumeng snorted coldly.
Bei Limo put on a look of mock sympathy. "The Secret of the Heart Seal — it can only be used once in a lifetime. You invested far too much on him. Was it worth it?"
Yu Rumeng repeated the same words: "None of your damn business!"
Bei Limo nodded slowly, utterly unconcerned. She even reached out with one delicate hand and, in a flirtatious manner, lifted Yang Kai's chin.
Yang Kai felt a wave of disgust wash over him, but with the situation so thoroughly out of his favor, he couldn't very well make a scene. He could only turn his head away to escape her teasing, his face flushing red. He felt the roles had been completely reversed — shouldn't he be the man doing the teasing? Bei Limo gave a light hum. "Quite the temper. Don't think Yu Rumeng can save you — she's nothing but a wisp of soul here. She can't do a thing to this Queen."
Yang Kai sighed. "If you two have business to discuss, go ahead and discuss it. Just leave me out of it."
Bei Limo huffed. "I feel like dragging you into it!"
With that, her delicate hand gently hooked around and pulled Yang Kai's neck toward her. Yang Kai was utterly horrified and instinctively tried to resist, but an irresistible force transmitted from that hand instantly immobilized him.
In the next instant, the hand pressed downward, Yang Kai's head dipped, and his entire face was buried in an exceedingly soft, sweet-smelling area. His eyes went wide, and in the faint light he could just make out a pale, delicate valley.
What the hell is going on?! Yang Kai was completely stupefied.
He instinctively took a breath, and his nose and mouth were filled with that sweet, intoxicating scent — it was enough to make one linger, making his blood surge.
"You. Are. Courting. Death!" The words came as a gnashed-teeth growl right beside his ear. Yang Kai didn't need to look — he could picture Yu Rumeng's fury perfectly. She could tolerate Yang Kai carrying on with Su Yan and the others, could even tolerate him going out drinking and frolicking, but she absolutely could not tolerate Bei Limo putting her hands on him.
This woman was her natural nemesis. They had been enemies for tens of thousands of years, locked in endless entanglement, their clashes over the eons yielding victories on both sides. For Bei Limo to go to such absurd lengths to tease Yang Kai now was nothing more than a provocation aimed at her — otherwise, how could a proper Demon Saint deign to act so outrageously?
Bei Limo paid Yu Rumeng no attention whatsoever. She simply blew gently near Yang Kai's ear and whispered, "Kid, whatever that Yu Rumeng woman can give you, this Queen can give you too — and even better. How about coming with me?"
Yang Kai mumbled into the softness before him. "Not interested. Rumeng and I share a deep and genuine love. Our hearts are perfectly aligned. This love is witnessed by heaven and earth — our loyalty is unwavering. A few words from a woman like you could never drive a wedge between us."
Bei Limo let out a derisive snort. "Deep and genuine love? Perfectly aligned hearts? I don't think so. Do you even know what secret art she used on you? She's an Enchantress — every feeling you have right now is false, an effect of that secret art. Come with me, and I can help you break free of it."
Yang Kai thought to himself that he had known about that long ago, and that damned secret art had already been thoroughly unraveled by him — she could save her after-the-fact wisdom. Without a moment's hesitation, he refused. "No need. We're perfectly fine. We are now, and we always will be. Rumeng and I will love each other through life after life, until the seas dry up and the rocks crumble. My heart will never waver."
Over on the other side, Yu Rumeng, who had been bristling with fury, heard these words and felt more than half her rage evaporate in an instant. The tenderness in her eyes could have melted everything in the world.
Bei Limo let out another contemptuous snort. She knew that under the effects of the Heart Seal secret art, both Yang Kai and Yu Rumeng would regard each other as the most important person in their lives — a few casual words would never be enough to sway that. Still, she had finally caught Yu Rumeng by the tail, and letting go so easily didn't sit quite right.