Tang Muxi woke up naturally the next day, feeling completely refreshed and full of energy.
However, as soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Jiang Yin propping her face up with her hand, her beautiful, ink-black eyes staring at her intently. There was a faint, unreadable smile on her lips.
Tang Muxi: … Her groggy mind quickly cleared, and she noticed that she had taken up the entire bed again, leaving Jiang Yin to sit on the edge. Feeling embarrassed, she sheepishly greeted, “Good morning, Senior Sister…” Her voice was crisp and sweet, like a freshly ripened fruit, juicy and slightly tart, very enticing.
Jiang Yin’s mood inexplicably improved, and she nodded lightly.
Seeing Jiang Yin still smiling, Tang Muxi’s internal alarm bells rang. After hesitating for a moment, she honestly apologized, “I’m sorry, Senior Sister, I pushed you off the bed.”
The bed was already small, and although she had fallen asleep in Jiang Yin’s arms, she woke up to find Jiang Yin sitting on the edge. Tang Muxi imagined herself sleeping restlessly and kicking Jiang Yin off the stone bed in the middle of the night.
She felt both ashamed and doubtful about her own behavior.
She clearly remembered that she had always slept well, so why had she taken over the bed for two consecutive nights? Jiang Yin was momentarily stunned, then understood and smiled with interest, “Oh, and then?” Her tone was matter-of-fact, without a hint of guilt.
Then? Tang Muxi stiffened, her voice lowering uncertainly, “Isn’t an apology enough?”
Jiang Yin frowned slightly, thinking for a moment as if genuinely displeased, “Just an apology?”
What else? Compensation? Tang Muxi looked at Jiang Yin’s darkening expression and didn’t dare voice her thoughts. Reluctantly, she asked, “What does Senior Sister want?” Her face was full of grievance and struggle, as if she were the one being bullied.
Although, in reality, that was indeed the case.
Jiang Yin frowned, slowly glancing at Tang Muxi’s body, her gaze lingering on the storage ring on her finger, the meaning clear.
Tang Muxi quickly covered the storage ring, exclaiming, “No! Absolutely not! I don’t have much left!”
Although she had collected many spiritual plants and minerals in the Tianji Secret Realm and even stolen a small mountain, they were worthless compared to Jiang Yin’s Soul Jade Marrow. If Jiang Yin took her storage ring, she would be left with nothing.
Jiang Yin had only intended to tease Tang Muxi, but seeing her reluctance, she suddenly became angry and said softly, “Not giving it?”
Tang Muxi knew the demon was about to get angry again and quickly tried to appease her, “These things are worthless and don’t match Senior Sister’s status. How about I use my blood to compensate Senior Sister?”
Jiang Yin’s expression turned completely cold, “I don’t want your blood.”
“Then… doesn’t Senior Sister want anything else? Anything at all, I’ll try to agree to it.” Tang Muxi’s smile was very forced.
Jiang Yin stared at her expressionlessly, seeing that she would rather give blood than the storage ring, and couldn’t help but laugh in anger.
“Anything?” Tang Muxi shivered, sensing something was wrong, and hesitantly added, “Not anything… just as much as I can.”
Jiang Yin seemed not to hear the latter part and nodded, “I’ll remember that.” With that, she stood up to wash up.
Remember? So what does she want her to do? Tang Muxi felt uneasy as Jiang Yin didn’t answer, feeling like a sword was hanging over her head, ready to fall at any moment.
Having experienced countless reincarnations, no one knew better than her how many ways the demon had to torment people.
Tang Muxi pestered Jiang Yin for an answer, but was ignored each time, eventually resigning herself to her fate.
Bai Ling, who was watching from the side, couldn’t help but shake his head and sigh. “Ginger is still the spiciest,” he thought, as Jiang Yin effortlessly played Tang Muxi like a fiddle.
After breakfast, the two of them, along with the fox, prepared to set off.
Tang Muxi emerged from the stone cave and was startled to see that the large forest in front of her had vanished into thin air. “What happened?” she asked Bai Ling, but for some reason, Bai Ling avoided the question. Instead, Jiang Yin, who had been ignoring her, answered first, “Struck by lightning.”
“Huh?” Tang Muxi was shocked.
At first, she didn’t quite believe it, but then she remembered how she had once summoned heavenly lightning that destroyed the Demon Suppression Tower. Compared to that, a few trees being struck by lightning didn’t seem like a big deal. Before leaving, she even took a moment to mourn the fallen trees.
The Misty Mountains were nearly two hundred miles away from their current location. The journey was long, and Bai Ling, having used spatial transfer several times the previous day, was now too weak to travel. The task of getting there fell to Tang Muxi and Jiang Yin.
After flying on her sword for half a day, Tang Muxi’s back ached, and her legs felt like they didn’t belong to her anymore.
“When I get the chance, I must buy a mount. If not, a spirit ship would do. Anything is better than standing on a sword like an idiot,” she complained during a break.
Jiang Yin listened from the side, his mind already working on a solution.
When they set off again in the afternoon, a carriage appeared in front of Tang Muxi. There were no horses in front, and the carriage was narrow, more like a canopy with inexplicable wheels on either side.
The entire carriage was wooden and somewhat old, with new carvings on it, indicating recent modifications.
Tang Muxi was surprised. “What’s this?” Jiang Yin lifted the curtain, revealing a soft, padded interior that looked extremely comfortable even from a distance. “A mount,” he said.
Tang Muxi recognized the padding as Jiang Yin’s bedding, and her heart was touched. “Did Senior Sister make this?” she asked. Jiang Yin replied nonchalantly, “Just something I did in passing.”
There were people living nearby, so she spent a little money to buy a horse-drawn carriage, released the horses, and modified the carriage slightly. She then set up a few arrays to make it float and steer. The “mount” was complete.
It wasn’t particularly exquisite, given that she had only worked on it while Tang Muxi was napping, but it was comfortable. Inside, one could recline and travel without having to stand on a sword.
Tang Muxi was moved and hugged Jiang Yin sincerely. “Senior Sister is so kind.”
It was just a casual remark made during a meal, but Jiang Yin had taken it to heart. Aside from occasionally being a bit mischievous, Tang Muxi couldn’t find any fault with the great demon, and she was genuinely happy.
Jiang Yin felt pleased by the compliment, but as Tang Muxi continued to hug her, that pleasure began to mix with other feelings.
Their soft bodies pressed together, and Jiang Yin could smell the faint fragrance on Tang Muxi. It was subtle but warm, like a cozy sunbeam that reached straight into her heart.
Recently, she had been experiencing this feeling more often, but Jiang Yin still hadn’t gotten used to it.
She had always walked the edge of a knife, not necessarily committing countless evil deeds, but certainly taking many lives. The number of people who died by her hand was innumerable, with no end to the suffering she caused. Therefore, in her own self-definition, Jiang Yin always considered herself a demon lurking in the depths of darkness. If she ever entered the underworld, she feared her heavy sins would prevent her from reincarnating.
However… perhaps spending too much time with a fool could lead to assimilation, Jiang Yin recently found herself wanting to step out of the darkness.
Momentarily lost in thought, Jiang Yin lowered her gaze. After Tang Muxi let go of her hand, she felt a brief pang of disappointment, so fleeting that even she didn’t fully register it.
“Get in the carriage.”
After all, it was a modified carriage, with limited space inside, even somewhat cramped. Once the two of them sat down, they were very close, and any slight movement would cause them to touch.
But Tang Muxi didn’t mind. After all, they had been in closer contact in recent days, so this was nothing. For comfort, she even leaned against Jiang Yin without hesitation, resting her head on her shoulder, smiling cheerfully.
Jiang Yin’s hand, hidden in her long sleeve, clenched slightly but did not push her away.
Since the two of them took up most of the space, poor Bai Ling had to curl up on Tang Muxi’s lap. Its tail wrapped around itself skillfully, and it began to sleep.
Tang Muxi had once been curious and asked Bai Ling why it always liked this position. Bai Ling’s answer was: it felt very secure.
The tail wrapped tightly around itself, creating an impenetrable barrier, feeling very safe.
Tang Muxi still couldn’t understand, but seeing Bai Ling curled up into a small ball, she found it quite endearing. If Bai Ling didn’t dislike being petted while sleeping, she would have loved to stroke its shiny fur until it was bald.
“Senior Sister, how do you operate this thing?” After adjusting her sitting position, Tang Muxi asked curiously.
Jiang Yin didn’t respond verbally, but her hands moved, explaining through action.
She placed her hand on the array on the carriage wall, injecting spiritual power to activate it. Soon, the carriage began to rise slowly.
The process was not stable, swaying back and forth. Tang Muxi clung tightly to Jiang Yin’s arm to avoid falling. However, once the carriage was airborne, it gradually stabilized.
The array on the carriage wall was interconnected, and not all parts could be freely controlled. Functions like rain protection, sunshade, and body reinforcement were sealed by Jiang Yin to prevent accidental activation. Only the directions up, down, left, right, forward, and backward could be controlled.
Choosing a direction at random, as long as there was spiritual power, the carriage would keep moving, which was quite convenient.
Since constantly supplying power was exhausting, apart from the initial activation, the vehicle’s movement consumed spirit stones.
This was Jiang Yin’s first time doing this, and she wasn’t as professional as merchants, resulting in higher spirit stone consumption during flight. But she didn’t mind; she could easily replenish her funds by looting storage rings from any corpse.
Recently, many foolish people had fallen into her hands, significantly boosting her small treasury. She had so many storage rings that ten fingers couldn’t wear them all, not to mention other treasures.
The day they left the Tianji Secret Realm, the Demon Emperor killed many people. Jiang Yin managed to pick up quite a few spoils, with the wealth of the Tianji Patriarch being the most substantial. Jiang Yin took his belongings and now has her own small world, filled with a mountain of assorted treasures and loot.
However, she didn’t tell Tang Muxi about any of this.
It wasn’t out of greed, but she felt that if she mentioned it, Tang Muxi would pester her for some of it. Jiang Yin didn’t want to give any away and found it troublesome, so she simply kept silent.
The mount was bulky and not as streamlined as flying on a sword, and it was much slower. But it was comfortable; sitting inside, you didn’t have to do anything, and it would move on its own.
Jiang Yin was genuinely curious about Tang Muxi’s constitution. Despite sleeping soundly last night and taking a nap at noon, she still managed to fall asleep while traveling.
These days, Jiang Yin had been constantly on the move and hadn’t slept well. Now, with the entire carriage enveloped in silence, she naturally felt a bit drowsy too.
Jiang Yin yawned lightly, propped her head on her hand, and leaned against the soft cushion.
