"Very well. If what you say is true, then agreeing to your terms isn't a problem." After a moment, Yu Rumeng seemed to have made up her fixed her gaze on Chang Tian. "You'd better not try anything funny."
Chang Tian chuckled lightly. "The future of this continent hangs in the balance—would I be so careless?" He tilted his head and looked at Yu Rumeng. "So, is it settled then?"
Yu Rumeng gave a soft hmph without confirming or denying, but Chang Tian knew she had accepted his proposal. After all, this matter held no downside for her whatsoever—on the contrary, she stood to benefit greatly.
She walked over to Yang Kai and took his hand, her voice gentle. "Come walk with me."
Yang Kai obeyed without question, strolling side by side with her. They didn't fly out—simply wandered through the jungle, listening to the birdsong and insect calls around them.
Behind them, the Lian sisters watched the couple's retreating figures with expressions of amazement. They had known beforehand that Yu Rumeng held Yang Kai in extremely high regard, but they never expected the two of them to be this intimate. Setting aside status and cultivation, the man and woman before them were quite plainly life companions.
Could a Demon Saint really fall for a human? Even if that human did carry the bloodline of a Sacred Spirit…
The jungle canopy was dense, with towering trees as thick as several people could wrap their arms around. Leaves rustled softly beneath their feet. With no outsiders around, Yu Rumeng shed all the dignity of a Demon Saint of the Demon Realm, nestling her head against Yang Kai's shoulder like a young woman, her expression serene. She didn't rush to speak, and Yang Kai didn't press her. The quiet moment brought a rare sense of peace.
"This is wonderful." Their fingers intertwined, and a smile curved the corners of Yu Rumeng's lips.
"Hmm?" Yang Kai looked down at her, his lips brushing the soft silk of her hair, catching a sweet fragrance.
Yu Rumeng smiled. "It really is wonderful like this. It would be even better if it could stay this way forever."
Yang Kai reached up and pinched the delicate tip of her nose. "If that's what you want, we could leave everything behind and find somewhere to live in seclusion."
Yu Rumeng laughed. "We've already had one failed attempt at seclusion. You want to try again?"
Last time didn't count. Yang Kai felt a pang of guilt and was about to say something else when Yu Rumeng suddenly raised a single finger and pressed it against his lips, murmuring almost in a whisper. "If one day I did something to betray you… would you hate me?"
Here it comes. Yang Kai's heart went cold. Bei Limo's provocations and Ming Yue's warnings flashed through his mind once more, but his smile didn't falter. He asked gently, "Such as?"
Yu Rumeng smiled faintly. "No 'such as.' I'm only asking—if that day came…"
Yang Kai stopped in his tracks, and Yu Rumeng had no choice but to stop as well, looking at him in puzzlement.
He reached out with both hands, cupping Yu Rumeng's fragrant shoulders, and looked straight into those soul-captivating eyes. He spoke with deliberate weight on every word. "No matter what you do, I will never blame you—let alone hate you."
Yu Rumeng's pupils contracted sharply, as though something had struck her heart with tremendous force. A misty glow welled up in her beautiful eyes. She pressed her red lips together, rose on tiptoe, cradled Yang Kai's face in both hands, and leaned in on her own accord.
The soft touch sent Yang Kai plunging into a sensation like sinking into a bog, utterly unable to extricate himself…
After a long while, Yu Rumeng suddenly seized his hand—which had been wandering boldly upward from her lower abdomen all the way up—and shoved hard against his chest, glowering at him. "You're at it again!"
A flush spread across both her cheeks, vibrant and dewy. Born a Succubus, the female Demon Saint radiated an ineffable allure in that moment, and Yang Kai felt his throat go dry, on the verge of losing all reason.
He bit down hard on the tip of his tongue, and only then did clarity return.
Yu Rumeng pressed a hand to her chest, breathing heavily several times before gradually calming down. Yet the blush on her face refused to fade. She said softly, "A little longer—I'm not ready yet."
The downside of being weaker in strength was precisely this: he had no initiative at all. Even if sweet words could make her swoon, in the final moment he still came up short.
Seeing Yang Kai's crestfallen expression, Yu Rumeng changed the subject. "There's something I need your help with."
"Between you and me, just say the word."
Yu Rumeng pressed her lips together and smiled. "What if I asked you to do something difficult?"
Yang Kai shrugged. "You know I could never refuse you."