When Destiny Brings the Demon

"Ah, speaking of which, I heard some news yesterday," Hongluo suddenly said. "They say the Demon Lord over in Winter City has been getting restless again recently, seems like he's planning to expand his territory. Who knows, Crane Immortal City might be within his sights too."

"Oh?" Shi Yan clicked her tongue. Winter City had a notorious Demon Lord named Sima Jiao, who already controlled a vast swath of the Demon Realm—nearly half of it. Even commoners like Shi Yan knew that the great Demon Lord based in Winter City would likely unify the Demon Realm before long.

But what did that have to do with her? Territory disputes were commonplace in the Demon Realm. Chatting about it now felt like gossiping about presidential elections in her previous world—utterly irrelevant to her life.

Hongluo, however, was thrilled. "If they really attack and take over, that'd be great! Not that I'd ever get the Demon Lord, but if they send some handsome demon generals over, I’d definitely beg for a night with them!"

After finishing her leisurely breakfast, Shi Yan returned to Rouge Terrace and spent another uneventful day. As night fell, she clocked out on time. A duck shop by the roadside reminded her that they had just received a new batch of specialty cured ducks from the immortal realm. Delighted, she bought a generous portion to take home.

Stepping into the courtyard, she saw her father, Shi Qianlv, sitting in his wheelchair, glaring bitterly at the sky.

When he noticed Shi Yan's return, his face darkened with unmistakable disappointment—the classic "I expected better from you" look. Shi Yan was used to it. Parents probably always wore that expression when looking at their kids. She grabbed a handful of roasted peanuts and offered them to her grumpy old man. "Want some?"

Shi Qianlv had no appetite. He slapped the armrest of his wheelchair and said coldly, "How can I eat when the vengeance of our Shi family remains unfulfilled?"

Ah, here we go again. Fine, skip the peanuts—it wasn’t like he’d starve. Shi Yan took them back and munched on them herself while listening to his daily lecture.

Ever since she woke up in this body, her father had been relentlessly recounting the former glory of their Shi family and their deep-seated hatred. Day after day, without fail, it was practically brainwashing.

Apparently, about ten years ago, their Shi clan had been the leading power in the Gengchen Immortal Mansion of the cultivation world, living in grandeur. But their great enemy, Sima Jiao, had destroyed their family, leaving almost no survivors except for a few high-level cultivators who barely escaped.

Her father, once the esteemed leader of the foremost immortal mansion, had been reduced to a fugitive, constantly on the run to evade their enemies. As for her, she had been severely injured during the catastrophe, left disfigured and with her memories wiped clean.

When Zou Yan first transmigrated here, she knew nothing. She only remembered collapsing into bed after an exhausting overtime shift the night before—then waking up in another world. Her father had sat before her, asking, "Do you remember who you are?"

How was she supposed to answer? She couldn’t exactly say she was a transmigrator, so she played along, claiming she remembered nothing. Her acting probably wasn’t great, but her father believed her instantly. That’s what fathers do, she supposed. Then, naturally, he filled her in on her identity and sternly reminded her never to forget their family’s vengeance.

"If you ever see Sima Jiao, you must kill him!" her father roared once more, his anger flaring.

His body had been crippled in the past, even losing his legs. Shi Yan could understand his bitterness and temper. So she nodded obediently, playing the dutiful daughter.As she turned to pick up some braised duck, she thought to herself, If you could have killed him back then, would your family have ended up ruined in the first place?

If she were the original Shi Yan, she would surely be consumed by hatred, united in vengeance. But she wasn’t. She was just an innocent victim, inexplicably dragged into this feud. Revenge was out of the question—all she wanted was to work quietly here. The only thing she could do for the original owner of this body was to see her old father through to his final days.

As for marching straight to the Great Demon King of Winter City to serve herself up on a platter? No thanks. A person’s greatest wisdom lay in knowing their limits.

The door opened, and a young man walked in.

Shi Yan saw him and called out, “Brother.”

Unlike Shi Qianlv’s passive-aggressive attitude, Shi Zhenxu was actually decent to her. After recovering from his injuries, he had gone out to work just like her, though his job required him to travel frequently between cities, only returning once every ten days or so.

“You’re back. I’ll go heat water for your bath.” Shi Yan slipped away, seizing the chance to escape her father’s nagging.

Once she was gone, Shi Zhenxu bowed to Shi Qianlv. “Sect Leader.”

Shi Qianlv’s expression darkened. “Well? What’s the situation outside?”

Shi Zhenxu replied, “In Winter City, Sima Jiao is indeed preparing to expand his territory further. Crane Immortal City may not be safe for much longer. Should we take her and leave?”

Shi Qianlv was practically seething. “That Liao Tingyan is utterly useless! After years of indoctrinating her with hatred, all she does is eat and drink. We even used a secret technique to erase her memories, intending to mold her into a weapon against Sima Jiao—but now it’s clear she’s completely worthless!”

Shi Zhenxu glanced at the plate of braised duck on the table, his lips twitching. He pressed a hand to his throbbing forehead.

If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have wasted such a precious life-saving immortal artifact to rescue her back then. What a regret.

Had Shi Yan been present, she could have accurately summed up their current mental state: They invested heavily in a stock, expecting huge returns—only for it to stagnate. Now they’re stuck holding onto it, unsure when it’ll pay off, yet reluctant to cut their losses.

Over the years, the two of them had agonized over this dilemma countless times.

Shi Yan, oblivious to the conspiracy, called out from the window, “Brother, the bathwater’s ready! Come wash up—and bring the braised duck in for me!”

Shi Zhenxu fell silent for a moment. Then, at Shi Qianlv’s impatient wave, he picked up the duck and put on his best “doting older brother” face before stepping inside.

The moment he entered, Shi Yan pulled him aside with a grin, even giving him a shoulder rub—which made his expression stiffen.

“What do you want now?”

Shi Yan said, “My paycheck hasn’t come in yet, and I’ve been spending too much on food and clothes. I’m a little short on cash. Heh, big bro…”

Shi Zhenxu: I knew it.

He pulled out a pouch of magic stones, forcing a gentle smile as he played the role of the caring brother. “Here, take this.”

Once again, Shi Yan was moved by their sibling bond. In her past life, she had often joked that the universe owed her an older brother. Now, in this world, she finally understood what it was like to have one. Those so-called brothers her friends had—the kind who refused to give their little sisters pocket money and even took money from them—were clearly fake. This was what a real brother was like!

Shi Yan: “Brother, you’re the best.”

Shi Zhenxu: “Heh.”

With her allowance in hand, Shi Yan happily coasted through the next few days.A few days later, when she returned home from work, she saw a stranger in the house—a middle-aged woman holding a zither, standing in front of her father and speaking softly.

Shi Yan: Shocked! Has my hot-tempered old man found a second spring?!

Both of them turned to look at her, their expressions grim. The female cultivator’s gaze was especially hostile, as if she bore some deep-seated grudge against her.

Shi Yan thought to herself, Could this be a stepmother? Usually, it’s stepmothers who harbor such hatred toward stepdaughters. If the heavens bring rain and a father remarries, what can you do? After all, she wasn’t his biological daughter. So she kept her composure and asked, “Father, who is this?”

Shi Qianlv gave Shi Qian Du a look, signaling her to tone it down, then said, “This is my younger sister, your aunt. She’s been away all this time but has now returned. You probably don’t remember her, but the two of you used to be very close.” He said it as if it were the truth.

So it was her biological aunt. But are you sure the original owner and this aunt were close? Was that hatred in her aunt’s eyes actually the burning passion of a long-lost reunion? Forgive her bluntness, but the two of them seemed like the type to have a fake aunt-niece relationship.

After a moment’s hesitation, Shi Yan stepped forward and hugged Shi Qian Du’s arm, calling out, “Auntie!” Fake or not, she had to save face.

Shi Qian Du’s expression nearly twisted. She pulled Shi Yan’s hand away and said, “It’s been so long. How have you been?”

Shi Yan nodded sincerely. “I’ve been doing well.”

Shi Qian Du had not been doing well.

Shi Yan felt there was something off about this suddenly appearing aunt. That night, she found herself unable to sleep and lay on the rooftop stargazing when she accidentally witnessed her aunt and father talking in a corner of the courtyard.

They were using soundproofing talismans, acting all mysterious. Liao Tingyan was a bit curious—what kind of conversation had to be held secretly in the dead of night in a corner? She happened to have learned a method for eavesdropping from Hongluo and, after some hesitation, decided to use it, straining her ears to listen.

Honestly, they were all family—what couldn’t she know?

She heard Shi Qian Du say, “Sima Jiao never found the person back then and refused to believe they were dead. He’s been searching everywhere and still hasn’t given up. He suspects us and would rather kill the wrong people than let anyone go. Every time he sees someone from the Shi family, he kills them. There aren’t many of us left, and we don’t dare send anyone to face him recklessly.”

Shi Yan: Oh, so they’re talking about that great enemy of the Shi family, Sima Jiao. No wonder they’re being so cautious.

Every time they mentioned this demon king, they acted as if facing a formidable enemy, gnashing their teeth in hatred. It made her imagine Sima Jiao as some blue-faced, fanged monster—two and a half meters tall, covered in dozens of bulging muscles, with a taste for human flesh.

Shi Qian Du continued, “We can’t stay passive any longer. Is Shi Yan finally ready to be used?”

Hearing her own name unexpectedly, Shi Yan’s ears perked up.

Shi Qianlv said, “It’s not yet time to send her out.”

Shi Qian Du sneered. “I can see it now—even without her memories, she still doesn’t want to deal with Sima Jiao. Those two despicable lovers! I think she’s just useless. We shouldn’t have saved her back then—we should’ve just let her die! If she had really died, Sima Jiao might’ve gone completely mad from losing the one he loved!”

The sheer amount of information in that one speech left Shi Yan’s head spinning with alternating question marks and exclamation points.

What earth-shattering secret had she just overheard?!That big enemy of their family, Sima Jiao! He actually had an affair with Shi Yan, the original owner of this body! They used to be in a relationship!

Shi Yan's mind instantly flashed with the story of Romeo and Juliet—star-crossed lovers forced apart by their identities and families, turning into bitter enemies, entangled in grudges and whatnot.

No wonder. Now everything made sense.

Why her aunt was furious the moment she saw her—because her original self had once been in a relationship with their enemy! She might have even sided with him during the massacre of their clan.

Why her father never questioned her "amnesia"—because he was glad his traitorous daughter had lost her memories. Why he constantly drilled into her the need to hate Sima Jiao and seek revenge—it was all to prevent her from getting involved with their enemy again!

Shi Yan's imagination ran wild until her head nearly went bald.

The situation was crystal clear now. This was a script of tragic love, and given the current circumstances, there might even be a reunion arc.

But she was seriously panicking. What did the relationship between Sima Jiao and Shi Yan have to do with her, Zou Yan? That Sima Jiao was clearly not someone to mess with—a man who could wipe out an entire clan on a whim. What if she ran into that Demon Lord one day and he discovered she had taken over his girlfriend's body? She’d die horribly!

Better not think about it. Thinking about it meant death.

She didn’t even have the mind to listen to her father and aunt anymore. Returning to her bed, she tossed and turned all night. For once, she suffered from insomnia. Even when she saw someone had dumped a corpse at her doorstep the next morning, she couldn’t be bothered to clean it up.

Today, Hongluo wasn’t on duty. She slowly finished breakfast alone and managed to convince herself again.

It’s fine. The Demon Lord was so far away—they’d probably never meet. She could still lie low for a while.

Then, a distant explosion rang out, followed by screams: "The Demon Lord of Winter City’s forces have invaded Crane Immortal City!"

Shi Yan: "…" Goddammit, why?