Chapter 52

Although Dong Xia was reluctant in her heart, Li Qing had hit her weak spot.

—If Li Qing was determined to compete with her in patience, she couldn’t leave him here.

He alone was enough to destroy the Demon Realm.

“This is not a threat,” Li Qing said, “it’s to gain your trust.”

Dong Xia sneered: “Even with the Heart of Loyalty, I still can’t trust you.”

Li Qing looked at her: “We have to try.”

“My lady?” Two little heads peeked out mischievously from the door beside Dong Xia.

Dong Xia immediately turned around and pointed at the two restless little ones who had run out: “Go back.”

The two little imps eagerly looked at Li Qing’s appearance before running back giggling, the door not quite closed.

“As long as you’re here, I won’t hurt anyone,” Li Qing had also seen the appearance of the two children. He pursed his lips and added, “If I sense that I’m about to lose control, I’ll leave this place immediately.”

Dong Xia tossed the Heart of Loyalty, thinking that Li Qing had already been defeated by the heart demon, and would at most last another ten to twenty days before perishing.

These ten to twenty days, she might as well treat him as air.

This was for the sake of the bigger picture.

Dong Xia forced herself not to fight on the spot, stepped forward and used her demonic energy to plant the Heart of Loyalty into Li Qing’s neck.

But the Heart of Loyalty was different from the Hezi Contract. Even when planted, there was no sensation. Although Dong Xia was 80% sure that Li Qing had given her the real thing, thinking that this fellow never had a word of truth in his mouth, she spoke to test him: “Say what you just said again.”

Li Qing repeated clearly word for word.

Dong Xia looked up at the calm sky, not very satisfied.

Li Qing’s gaze never left Dong Xia. He absorbed her aura like a dying beast finally finding a water source, and couldn’t possibly miss Dong Xia’s obvious emotions.

“How do you prove that the Heart of Loyalty has been planted?” Dong Xia questioned.

“On the first day we met, I saw you first, not you seeing me first,” Li Qing said.

Dong Xia: “…? You’re lying to ghosts.” She looked at the sky, increasingly feeling that the Heart of Loyalty Li Qing had produced was a fake.

“I liked you first, then you came to tease me.”

Dong Xia stared into Li Qing’s eyes for two breaths, then turned and left.

Li Qing grabbed her hand: “I regret every moment choosing to return to the sect that day, so I wouldn’t have to meet you.” With a crack, a silver-blue lightning suddenly appeared in the sky, striking straight down towards Li Qing’s head.

Dong Xia turned back in surprise to look at the lightning in mid-air.

Li Qing let go of Dong Xia’s hand before the lightning struck. He endured this blow with the chaotic true energy around him, paused for a moment, then continued: “I never thought about spending this life with you either.”

Dong Xia watched wide-eyed as the second divine lightning descended from the sky, as if the heavenly way had finally opened its eyes and realized that Li Qing was a liar full of lies.

She thought for a moment: “Then say, you deeply regret deceiving me, hiding things from me, insulting me.” Dong Xia bet this lightning wouldn’t strike.

Li Qing looked at her for a long time before speaking under the quiet sky.

“Sealing your memories, locking your cultivation, deceiving you to trust me, I was never proud of any of this before,” he said quietly. “But now, I truly know what it means to be wrong and to regret.” As he finished speaking, Li Qing closed his eyes, like a criminal awaiting judgment.

Dong Xia looked up at the quiet clear sky, remained silent for a while, then spat: “Fake.” She left Li Qing and turned to walk back.

Li Qing thought for a moment, tentatively followed, and wasn’t stopped by Dong Xia. He couldn’t help but feel a humble excitement in his heart.

When they reached the door, Dong Xia stopped and turned back: “You can’t enter like this.” Li Qing was like a walking disaster. Even though he forcibly compressed all the evil within a three-foot radius around himself, three feet was not a short distance.

Anyone other than Dong Xia who tried to get close to him would likely die horribly.

Li Qing stood outside the three-foot line of the door, looked up at Dong Xia, pursed his lips and said: “Then I’ll stay outside.” With a crack, the third lightning finally struck, hitting Li Qing right on the head.

Dong Xia: “…” How the hell could this still be a lie?!

Li Qing: “…” He swallowed the blood in his throat and explained incoherently, “I didn’t mean to… cough, I have a way.”

The thunderbolt finally alarmed others. The woman who had spoken to Dong Xia earlier came to the door.

She showed no panic on her face, and after looking at Li Qing’s face, she revealed a knowing smile: “My lady, why not listen to his method?”

Dong Xia frowned without speaking.

Li Qing seized the opportunity: “You can control my heart demon.”

Dong Xia expressionlessly folded her arms: “It’s already merciful that I’m not killing you, and you want me to help suppress your heart demon?”

The woman beside her coughed into her fist and painfully covered her forehead: “This person’s pressure is too strong, I was feeling dizzy even when I was inside earlier.”

“Did you hear that? Stay further away, three feet is not enough, make it thirty feet,” Dong Xia turned her spearhead towards Li Qing.

Li Qing stood still for a moment, then took a step back.

With just this one step, the evil aura around him suddenly expanded by several inches.

Before Dong Xia could explode in anger, Li Qing quickly explained: “It’s not intentional, I can’t control it.”

“…” Dong Xia closed her eyes and took a deep breath to control herself.

Can’t use force, can’t use force, can’t take it anymore, really want to beat him to death.

The woman beside them smoothed things over: “So what was the method you mentioned earlier?”

Li Qing looked at the woman, then carefully observed Dong Xia’s expression. Seeing that she only closed her eyes without speaking, he said softly: “Skin contact.”

Dong Xia suddenly opened her eyes and lashed out at Li Qing with a thick willow branch that grew with the wind.

The iron-gray willow branch hit the outside of Li Qing’s arm. He didn’t move, but his fallen true energy surged up like a ferocious beast excited by the sight of prey.

The moment the two collided, it caused a violent shock that directly ground a circle of streets and courtyard walls around Li Qing into dust.

Dong Xia: “…”

The good-tempered woman stepped forward to apologize to the trembling neighbors in the courtyard walls.

Li Qing: “…” He knowingly said, “I’ll fix it.”

“Do you have the ability to fix everything you destroyed on your way into the Demon Realm?” Dong Xia asked with a cold smile.

Knowing he was in the wrong, Li Qing used his true energy to forcibly pinch the dust back into its original shape and put it back, but the fallen true energy was not easy to use, and the heart demon briefly escaped control, making the originally flat courtyard wall lumpy and uneven.

Dong Xia turned to complain to the woman: “He planned this to deceive me.”

The woman looked at Li Qing, then turned back to comfort Dong Xia: “There’s no need to quibble with a dying person.”

These words hit the mark with Dong Xia. She took a deep breath and calmed down.

If she killed Li Qing now, forget about Winter City, who knows how many surrounding towns would suffer, maybe half of the Demon Realm would collapse.

The price was too high, not worth it.

This kind of thing should be done in the Immortal Realm, harming others and benefiting oneself, that would be perfect.

“Besides, here…” the woman looked back at the huge cave dwelling, subtly reminding Dong Xia, “there are several hundred people.”

All of them were painstakingly saved by Dong Xia herself, and she wouldn’t be happy if even one more died.

Dong Xia clicked her tongue lightly, tilted her head to stare at Li Qing who was struggling to build the wall for a while, then turned back to ask the woman: “How did you know it was him?”

The woman smiled slightly: “I guessed as soon as I saw this gentleman’s face, otherwise how could you fancy him?”

Li Qing’s movements faltered, and half the wall collapsed with a rumble.

“Focus on your work, don’t slack off,” Dong Xia immediately scolded with a cold face.

By the time Li Qing finally managed to patch up the wall and road, there were more than a dozen people around Dong Xia and the woman, men and women, old and young, all staring at Li Qing non-stop.

Li Qing had been the focus of attention many times, but never had he been so nervous.

He didn’t even need to inspect these people’s physiques one by one to know that they must be the furnaces that Dong Xia had rescued over the years. Many of them seemed to have chosen to live here for the rest of their lives and had naturally grown old.

Adults were fine, they just looked without speaking; children didn’t have so much restraint, they gathered around Dong Xia and eagerly asked questions.

“My lady, my lady, he looked over here!”

“My lady, who is this?”

“Him?” Dong Xia carelessly grabbed a curious little carrot head who wanted to walk to Li Qing’s side, “Just a hypocrite without a word of truth in his mouth.”

“Wow, his name is so long!”

“My lady, my lady, this person is so beautiful, I want to go over and take a closer look at his eyes!”

The little carrot heads clearly didn’t know how dangerous this fallen immortal lord was, and relying on Dong Xia’s presence, they fearlessly wanted to run in front of Li Qing.

Dong Xia grabbed one or two but couldn’t catch seven or eight, she had a headache and could only rush to Li Qing’s side before them.

Strangely, when she stood next to Li Qing and tentatively touched the back of his hand, the fallen true energy and distorted aura around him immediately shrank back.

Dong Xia: “…” I really feel like this guy is here to deceive people again.

Li Qing understood the undisguised doubt in Dong Xia’s eyes with just one glance. He knowingly pursed his lips: “I’m not deceiving you, and I won’t deliberately deceive you anymore.”

Dong Xia: “…” Not deliberately, but still able to deceive?

No, that’s not right, it’s none of her business.

Dong Xia indifferently hooked one of Li Qing’s fingers, lowered her eyes to see the little girl who ran at the front reach Li Qing’s feet unharmed, and her heart calmed down a little.

“‘Just a hypocrite without a word of truth in his mouth’,” the little girl seriously repeated Dong Xia’s evaluation, “Big brother’s name is so long.”

Li Qing: “…” His fingers were burning hot, his blood was practically boiling under his skin, but he had to settle his mind to answer the innocent yet hurtful childish words, “You can call me Li Qing.”

“This name is much simpler!” The little girl clapped her hands happily, “Then do you like our lady?”

Dong Xia snorted coldly: “He doesn’t like me.”

Li Qing paused, then obediently changed his words: “…Um, I don’t li-”

Just as he was about to finish speaking, Dong Xia suddenly reacted, quickly covering Li Qing’s mouth to stop the last word, then looked up at the sky.

The lightning triggered by the Heart of Loyalty striking down would only hurt Li Qing’s body, it was neither painful nor itchy for her, but for these fragile little carrot heads, it was equivalent to murder.

“Oh~~” The little carrot heads clapped knowingly.

Only the woman standing not far away helplessly made a deep breathing gesture to Dong Xia, and mouthed: Calm down, calm down.

Dong Xia closed her eyes and took a deep breath to suppress her murderous intent.

Damn it, she still really wanted to stab Li Qing to death right here and now.