Zhang Mingyuan was completely dumbfounded.
He stared blankly at Su Jinxue, his heart betraying him by beating wildly.
This woman... was asking if his hand hurt?
It had been five thousand years!
They had fought all the way from the Golden Core Stage to the Mahayana Stage, and when had she ever shown this kind of attitude?
An illusion, it must be an illusion!
This icy woman had to be brainstorming some new trick to torment him!
Just as a mental storm raged inside Zhang Mingyuan's head, Su Jinxue moved.
With a casual toss, she threw the Nine-Tailed Fox Su Li, who was still sobbing aggrievedly in her arms, into a nearby snowbank.
Then, stepping lightly, she slowly descended from the void and landed right in front of Zhang Mingyuan.
They were barely three feet apart.
She simply stared at him quietly, her crimson eyes swirling with emotions that Zhang Mingyuan couldn't comprehend at all.
There was anger in them, but it didn't seem directed at him.
There was coldness, yet it was mixed with a trace of... heartache? One that even she herself hadn't noticed.
And there was something even deeper, an emotion bordering on obsession.
To the great demons who had just survived the ordeal, this scene set off a massive wave of shock in their hearts.
The Heaven-Shaking Mastiff had its massive dog head buried in the snow, only daring to peek with its eyes. Its heart was no longer just shocked, but utterly terrified!
Her Ladyship the Immortal Lord... actually threw Lady Su Li away?
Didn't her ladyship usually pamper Lady Su Li the most?
Why did she throw her away today without a second thought, just because of this man?
Besides, the way the Immortal Lord looked at that man... was far too unusual!
A rumor instantly exploded in the minds of all the great demons.
It was said that Immortal Lord Su had a nemesis she had fought for thousands of years. The very first thing Immortal Lord Su did after ascending to immortality was capture this nemesis and lock him up in the Myriad Snow Palace.
She even made this nemesis her Sword-Bearing Attendant during the Ascension Ceremony.
However, though he was called a Sword-Bearing Attendant, rumor had it that he was actually the Immortal Lord's “captive pet” in private!
The relationship between the two was extraordinarily complicated!
It was over, completely over!
They, a bunch of absolute nobodies, had actually tried to gang up on the legendary Sacred Lord Zhang?
Did they have a death wish?!
The group of great demons regretted their actions so much that their guts turned green.
Meanwhile, Su Li, who had been tossed into the snowbank, finally came to her senses.
She crawled out of the snow, shook her fur, and glared at the two not far away, her foxy eyes burning with the flames of jealousy.
So he was that rumored man!
Dammit!
He was nothing more than a plaything imprisoned by the Immortal Lord, a Sword-Bearing Attendant whose status was barely any different from her own!
On what grounds! On what grounds did Her Ladyship the Immortal Lord favor him!
A seed called jealousy sprouted and grew in Su Li's heart.
Feeling thoroughly uncomfortable under Su Jinxue's gaze, Zhang Mingyuan subconsciously hid his hand behind his back and said, “It... doesn't hurt. Not at all. Don't be like this. You acting like this... I'm not really used to it.”
Hearing this, Su Jinxue's beautiful brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, and the surrounding temperature seemed to drop a few more degrees.
That faint trace of “softness” about her instantly vanished without a trace, and she reverted back to that eternal, unmelting iceberg.
“Then make sure you clean this Spirit Beast Garden properly!”
“By the way,” she seemed to suddenly remember something, “how did the seal on your cultivation get broken?”
!
Zhang Mingyuan's heart skipped a beat, and he secretly cried out in alarm.
Here it comes! This crazy woman was indeed looking to make trouble for him! He knew she had no good intentions!
He was just about to fabricate some wildly imaginative excuse, like the seal expiring and failing on its own.
To his surprise, Su Jinxue merely cast a flat glance at him.
“Forget it, do as you wish.”
With that, she actually stopped pressing the matter. Her red-clothed figure gradually grew translucent, on the verge of vanishing from the spot.
A cold, ethereal voice drifted through the air.
“Once you are finished tidying up, come to the main palace to find me.”
As the words fell, she disappeared.
Leaving only Zhang Mingyuan standing there, utterly bewildered in the wind.
Go to the main palace to find her?
For what?
Unpleasant memories he would rather not look back on instantly flashed through his mind.
No way... does she want me to wash her feet again?!
Dammit! Did this woman really think of him as some servant she could just summon and dismiss at her beck and call?!
It was truly infuriating!
The moment Su Jinxue left, the terrifying pressure weighing down on the hearts of all living beings finally dissipated.
Led by the Heaven-Shaking Mastiff, over a hundred great demons scrambled over on their hands and knees, with only the Nine-Tailed Fox Su Li missing.
They prostrated themselves in unison, their massive bodies trembling violently, not even daring to raise their heads.
“We... failed to recognize greatness! Greetings, Sacred Lord Zhang!”
Their voices rose in perfect unison.
Seeing this spectacular sight, the slight frustration in Zhang Mingyuan's heart instantly vanished.
Placing his hands behind his back, he puffed out his chest and tilted his chin slightly, speaking in an incredibly punchable tone, “Oh? You finally recognize my identity?”
“Let me tell you,” he cleared his throat and began his performance, “don't look at me like I can't beat Su Jinxue right now and got captured to be some lousy Sword-Bearing Attendant. But! Once I attain immortality myself one day, I will definitely drag that woman down from her pedestal and trample her hard, real hard under my feet! I'm not blowing smoke!”
As soon as these words were uttered, the great demons prostrate on the ground nearly had their souls fly out of their bodies in fright.
“Sacred Lord, please watch your words!”
“Sacred Lord Zhang! You mustn't say such things carelessly!”
The Heaven-Shaking Mastiff was practically on the verge of tears. How did this ancestor dare to say just about anything out loud!
What if the Immortal Lord hadn't gone far yet...
Zhang Mingyuan also reflexively shrank his neck, casting a swift glance behind him.
Once he was certain that Su Jinxue had truly left, he breathed a sigh of relief and immediately resumed his arrogant, fearless demeanor.
“Hahaha, what is there to fear! Let me tell you, even if she were standing right in front of me right now, this Sacred Lord would still dare to say the same!”
Just as his voice fell, a discordant, somewhat venomous voice drifted over from not far away.
“Is that so?”
Su Li had walked over at some point. She raised a small fox paw, holding a faintly shimmering jade stone in her grasp.
“Zhang Mingyuan, was it? Every single word you just said has been completely recorded by this venerable one using a Projection Stone.”
She sneered in an extremely humanlike manner.
“This venerable one will go report this to Her Ladyship the Immortal Lord right now!”
The smile on Zhang Mingyuan's face froze.
Damn! He had forgotten about this vixen!
However, having been a veteran actor for five thousand years, he didn't show the slightest panic. Instead, he put on an indifferent “go ahead and try” attitude, even carrying a hint of encouragement.
“Go on, hurry up. If you don't go, you're a puppy. It just so happens that I also want to see what exactly she'll do to me.”
Confident and completely unfazed, he spread his hands. “You'd better show it to her right now. Let her know my grand ambitions! Let her know that I, Zhang Mingyuan, am by no means a common creature destined to stay in a shallow pond!”
Su Li was utterly bluffed by his reaction.
Holding up the Projection Stone, she actually hesitated for a moment.
Could it be... he really isn't afraid?
Could it be that the Immortal Lord truly pampered him to such an extent that she could even tolerate such treasonous words?
Seeing Zhang Mingyuan's punchable expression that practically said, “Go on, tattle already, I'm waiting,” the flames of jealousy in Su Li's heart burned hotter and hotter.
Why!
On what grounds did he deserve such doting affection from the Immortal Lord!
Her Ladyship the Immortal Lord should clearly prefer a well-behaved, cute, and fluffy Nine-Tailed Fox like herself!
Su Li gripped the Projection Stone tightly, but in the end, she didn't crush her transmission talisman.
She decided to wait a little longer. She had to find a foolproof opportunity to trample this man completely under her feet!
Seeing that he had successfully bluffed the little fox, Zhang Mingyuan was in an excellent mood. Scanning the circle of demon beasts kneeling on the ground, he announced:
“Alright, stop kneeling. Get up and work for me!”
With a grand wave of his hand, he pointed at the devastated area stretching for a hundred miles.
“The Immortal Lord ordered me to clean this up within a month. Now, I am handing this task over to you! Clean this place up, inside and out, thoroughly for me!”
“Remember, no using magic, and no slacking off. If anyone dares to sneak back to their den to sleep...”
Zhang Mingyuan paused, offering a gentle smile.
“If I catch you, you're dead meat!”
As his voice fell, all the great demons felt as if they had been granted a grand pardon, yet at the same time, they looked as miserable as if they were attending a funeral. One after another, they transformed into human forms, picked up various tools, and began working with grunts and groans.
In an instant, the entire mountain peak of the Spirit Beast Garden turned into a scene of bustling, high-spirited labor.
Once all the spirit beasts went to busy themselves and there was no one left around, Zhang Mingyuan's lips curled up into a wide grin, a smile that looked up to no good no matter how one sliced it.
Rate on N.U.
