Chapter 92: To Become Human

From the back-and-forth between the snake demon and Ji Li, things had become perfectly clear.

It was just the typical story of a naïve sweetheart stepping into society for the first time—tricked by a scumbag who swindled both her heart and her treasures, only to dump her later and turn around to marry some rich and beautiful lady.

Although Ji Li was a demon, she obviously had no experience with the ways of the world. On top of that, she had a doting Demon King father spoiling her, so of course she ended up a bit naïve.

Even after losing her demon core and nearly dying, she still couldn’t stop thinking about going back to release that scumbag from the life-and-death bond they shared, afraid that he would be hurt because of her.

Fortunately, she’d met the snake demon—her childhood friend and steadfast companion—who absolutely refused to let her throw her life away.

Among the demon race, such a bond was equivalent to a marriage contract, one that could not be dissolved lightly. Forcing it to break would cause one’s cultivation to regress at best, or damage one’s soul at worst. The process itself was nothing short of torture.

Yun Jiao couldn’t help remembering the day her ancestor helped her break her own bond. The Demon King had been struck down from the heavens in one blow—but he had regained consciousness almost immediately afterward.

Now that she thought about it, he must have been woken up by the pain.

Originally, Ji Li had a hundred years of cultivation; such pain would’ve been nothing to her. At most, she’d need a few decades to recover.

But she had lost her inner core and could no longer use magic. If she forcibly canceled the bond now, she probably wouldn’t survive it.

That, of course, was why the snake demon had trapped her inside the secret realm—to stop her from getting herself killed.

Unfortunately, Ji Li was naïve to the core. Not only had she failed to see the scumbag’s true colors, but she was still determined not to burden her lover and insisted on sacrificing herself for his sake.

After Yun Jiao gave her a quick crash course in medical science, Ji Li was completely stunned.

If anyone else had said those words, she wouldn’t have believed them—but it was Yun Jiao, the healer who had saved her life even after she’d lost her inner core. When it came to medicine and healing, Yun Jiao’s words could not be doubted.

In that moment, Ji Li felt her entire worldview collapse.

If demon cores couldn’t heal humans, then Qi Cheng had been lying to her all along. Her nose stung, and a crushing wave of sorrow surged through her chest. All the feelings she’d been bottling up broke free at once—she couldn’t hold back any longer and burst into loud, heart-rending sobs.

Her voice was so loud and so passionate that it startled everyone around her.

“Waaaahhh!”

Head tilted up, tears streamed down her face like someone had opened a faucet.

“Why? I did everything just like in the books—exactly the same—waaahhh… Why can’t I live happily ever after with my scholar? Waaaahhh… Father lied to me! His books are all fake! He’s a liar! I’ll never talk to him again—waaahhh!”

Everyone froze.

Wait a second.

Did the tone of this scene just flip?

And—hold on—what’s all this new information?

Shouldn’t she be cursing the scumbag right now?

What did this have to do with the Demon King?

“W-what… books?” someone finally asked.

Still sniffling, Ji Li sobbed out between hiccups,

“Father’s books! Father hides a whole pile of them under his bed…”

She spread her arms wide, tracing a huge circle to show the size.

“They all say… that scholars… l-love… female demons the most! That in the end, they’ll always live happily ever after together! I followed the book exactly—so why didn’t it work?!”

“…”

Everyone was dumbstruck—even the snake demon beside her froze.

What… did she just say?

Ji Li, oblivious to their shock, kept venting, “I’m a demon, of course I had to find a scholar! I read all the books! So why did I still fail?!”

“You—you followed what the books said, and that’s why you gave your demon core to Young Master Qi?”

“He’s a scholar!” Ji Li said matter-of-factly. “Scholars and demons are fated pairs! Of course I believed in him! But… maybe it’s because we never lit the red candles or had a baby, so the ending failed? Father’s books all said you have to warm the hibiscus bed—”

Before she could finish, the snake demon hurriedly clapped a hand over her mouth.

Please stop, Princess! You’re about to expose all of the Demon King’s secrets!

Yun Jiao: “…”

Old man: “…”

Exorcists: “…”

…Okay, they had definitely just learned something they shouldn’t have.

The mighty King of the Demon Realm—keeping a secret stash of erotic novels under his bed!

Instantly, everyone’s image of him shattered.

So this is what kind of demon king he is?! Does the demon realm know about this?!

But Ji Li, now addicted to crying, shoved the snake demon’s hand away and wailed even louder.

“Why are you stopping me? I didn’t say anything wrong! Without my scholar, I… I’ll always just be a demon! I’ll never become human! Waaaahhh!”

“You want to become human?” Yun Jiao asked calmly.

“Mm!” The cat demon nodded firmly. “The books say that if a demon and a scholar share true love and move the heavens, the demon can turn into a human! That’s what the books said!”

Everyone: “…”

Which books exactly?!

Come on now—falling in love doesn’t move the heavens. Since when is the universe that sentimental?

Wait—

So the only reason she was so obsessed with Young Master Qi… was because that’s what the books told her?

Why did they suddenly feel a little bad for the guy?

(⊙_⊙)

Also, those books were clearly romantic storybooks—the steamy kind, no less!

Had this cat demon read so many that she’d lost all sense of reality?

The old man instinctively glanced at Yun Jiao, a little worried.

Book lovers, after all…

“Hm?” Yun Jiao felt his gaze and shot him a cold glare.

The old man immediately backed down. Okay, okay—geniuses and bookworms are not the same thing.

Watching Ji Li’s endless tears flow like a flood, Yun Jiao rubbed her temples and tried to redirect the conversation.

“Alright, enough crying. Tell me—why do you want to be human so badly?”

“Because… the books say that humans have the seven emotions and six desires—they can feel joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. They’re heaven’s favored children! So of course I want to be human!” she said with absolute conviction.

“Demons don’t have those?” Yun Jiao asked.

Ji Li pouted. “The books say demons are cold and heartless, without warmth like humans.”

Yun Jiao’s brow twitched. What kind of propaganda has she been reading?

“Let me ask you something.” She sighed. “You haven’t turned human yet—but are you sad right now?”

“Mm.” Ji Li nodded miserably, looking even more pitiful.

“If I told you I lied earlier—that the Qi boy didn’t actually deceive you—would you be happy?”

Her eyes instantly brightened. “Really?”

“Fake.”

Her eyes dimmed again.

“Qi may have tricked you,” Yun Jiao continued, “but this snake demon has truly cared for you. Now that he’s healed, does that make you happy?”

“Of course!” Ji Li turned to look at the snake demon with a soft smile.

“Oh.” Yun Jiao nodded—and suddenly smacked her across the face with a sharp slap!

Ji Li was stunned, touching her reddened cheek in disbelief before glaring at Yun Jiao furiously.

“What was that for?!” The snake demon glared too, his eyes full of anger.

“Are you angry?” Yun Jiao asked.

“Of course I am! You—”

But Yun Jiao cut her off and continued,

“You get angry when I hit you, you feel sorrow when things don’t go your way, joy when you think of Qi, and happiness when this snake heals. Tell me then—joy, anger, sorrow, happiness—what emotion are you missing?”

“Huh?”

Ji Li froze, completely taken aback.

Come to think of it… she really didn’t seem to be missing any.

“If you already have all of that,” Yun Jiao said dryly, “then why give up being a perfectly good demon just to become human? Did your brain fall into water or what?”

Ji Li: “…”

That… actually made a lot of sense.

Now that she thought about it, there wasn’t much difference between demons and humans—and humans were even weaker.

So why had she been so desperate to become one again?

She sat there in a daze, feeling her shattered worldview slowly start to piece itself back together.

“From now on,” Yun Jiao said meaningfully, “read fewer romance novels—and more textbooks. Cultivation manuals, preferably.”

“…” Ji Li still hadn’t recovered.

“Oh, right!” Yun Jiao suddenly remembered something. “By the way, how old are you exactly?”

How could anyone be this dense?

“One hundred and… thirty-four,” Ji Li replied automatically. After a moment, she added, “Our race matures early. I’ll be officially grown up in about seventy years! So right now, that makes me about…”

She counted on her fingers carefully before saying with certainty, “Ten years old in human terms!”

What?

…Wait, WHAT?!

So she was still a child?!

Σ(°△°|||)︴

Yun Jiao: “…”

Old man: “…”

Exorcists: “…”

Everyone thought of that Qi fellow at the same time—and blurted out in unison:

“BEAST!” ×7

(End of chapter)