When Destiny Brings the Demon

Black Snake had shrunk itself upon entering the Forbidden Palace's vicinity. Now its waist was only about as thick as a person's height, just enough to slither freely through the palace corridors. Having grown smaller, Shi Yan was finally able to escape from between its fangs, though half her body was still inside the serpent's mouth, leaving her dizzy from being tossed around.

Black Snake couldn't care less about being scolded by its bastard of an owner. It was far too excited, wagging its tail before spitting out its little companion with a "ptui."

"Hiss—" It was presenting its treasure.

Sima Jiao had no idea what it meant. He stared at Shi Yan, who had tumbled to the ground and now stood up, utterly bewildered. The two of them locked eyes for a full ten minutes.

Who is this? The moment the question popped into Shi Yan's mind, she vaguely arrived at an answer. Black Snake was Sima Jiao's pet, and the person before her who dared to scold it must undoubtedly be its owner.

Wait a minute—wasn't Sima Jiao supposed to be a two-meter-eight-tall demon king with blue-faced fangs? This fair-skinned pretty boy in front of her was him?

No, no. As Shi Yan maintained eye contact with this "pretty boy," she suddenly remembered the most crucial detail—Sima Jiao and the original Shi Yan had been lovers! What now? Had he recognized her? Well, of course—she wasn’t disguised at all. Anyone with functioning eyes could tell.

This was not the development she had expected. Traveling all this way, only to be delivered straight to his doorstep—what kind of twisted fate was this? She felt like a damn package.

What should she do now? Should she act? Put on a show of tearful reunion, feigned reluctance, and lingering affection? But her acting skills were terrible—she’d definitely give herself away. Maybe she could claim amnesia? A classic amnesia trope to save the day! No, that would still require decent acting.

This Sima Jiao didn’t seem like someone easily fooled. There was no way he’d just believe her if she casually claimed memory loss.

After ten minutes of staring, Shi Yan’s racing heart and frantic thoughts gradually settled. It couldn’t be helped—her nerves never lasted long. Now, all she could do was keep her eyes wide open.

Sima Jiao studied her for what felt like an eternity before finally moving. His voice was slightly hoarse as he commanded, "Come here."

Shi Yan didn’t budge.

Sima Jiao didn’t get angry. In fact, his previously furrowed brows relaxed. He strode over, lifted her effortlessly, and cradled her in his arms.

Shi Yan: "!!!"

So direct?!

She should’ve struggled, but whether her body failed to react or her brain lagged behind, she remained still. By the time she considered resisting, it felt awkward to start now. Fine—she’d go with the flow. Staying still was the best survival tactic.

Might as well play dead and keep quiet. No way was she initiating conversation.

The pretty boy—presumably Sima Jiao—held her with unsettling ease, pressing her head against his neck with one hand.

Suddenly, Shi Yan recalled years of her father’s relentless warnings and teachings, all boiling down to one thing—if she ever met Sima Jiao, she shouldn’t hesitate. Kill the bastard.Now, this sworn enemy of the Shi family was right in front of her, with his vulnerable neck within her reach—what a perfect opportunity. But strangely, as she was pressed against him, she caught a faint, dry, peculiar scent that made her unbearably sleepy. That overwhelming drowsiness instantly knocked her out.

Since arriving in this world, she had never felt this exhausted. It was like collapsing onto her bed after three days and nights of nonstop overtime work.

Had she really become this fatigued after just a few sleepless days? No—it had to be some kind of sleeping drug sprayed on this mysterious pretty boy!

"Sleep if you want to," Sima Jiao tilted his head slightly, brushing his cheek against her hair. She felt a cold hand press against the back of her neck before sliding down her spine in a soothing, almost instinctive gesture.

And then, Shi Yan’s head lolled to the side as she fell asleep.

She had been in his arms when she dozed off, and when she woke up, she was still nestled there—even more intimately this time. Sima Jiao sat with his head propped on one hand while hers rested against his arm, curled up in his embrace, her legs even covered by his sleeve.

The moment she opened her eyes, she met Sima Jiao’s downward gaze. A snake’s head swayed at the corner of her vision, its flickering tongue hissing and drawing her attention. Then, Sima Jiao kicked the approaching snake away with his foot. The big black snake writhed indignantly before trying to slither closer again, only to be pushed aside by Sima Jiao’s hand.

"Out," Sima Jiao pointed at the wide-open window.

Sensing that his master wasn’t as calm as he appeared, the black snake wisely decided not to push its luck and obediently slithered away, looking rather pitiful.

Maybe it was because she had just woken up, but Shi Yan even felt an odd sense of familiarity with this scene—as if it had happened many times before. The atmosphere was so domestic, like a boyfriend and his pet dog.

At that thought, Shi Yan jolted in alarm.

This wasn’t right. None of this was right!

She tugged at her own hair. What—what had made her pass out so soundly in the arms of a strange, pretty-faced man she had just met? Where was the vigilance she had worked so hard to cultivate? Dead and gone? She had always slept well, but never this well—and that nap had been incredibly deep.

She usually had nightmares for days after killing someone, but this time, there had been none.

She had every reason to suspect that this snake-keeping man, who was now playing with her hair, had used some kind of drug on her.

Sima Jiao reached over and stroked her chin.

"Why so dazed? Sleep well?"

Hearing his overly familiar tone, Shi Yan nearly choked. No, I’m not actually your girlfriend, you know.

"Now that you’ve rested, let’s talk," Sima Jiao said.

Talk… talk about what?

Sima Jiao: "Where have you been all these years?"

Shi Yan found herself powerless to resist as her mouth moved on its own: "In Crane Immortal City."

Shi Yan: What the—?? Did I drink Veritaserum or something? Since when do I have this skill???

Sima Jiao: "Did the Shi family take you away? Was Shi Qianlv with you?"

Shi Yan: "Yes."

Sima Jiao: "Why didn’t you come back to me?"

Shi Yan: "I don’t know you. I didn’t see any reason to return to you."After three questions, Shi Yan understood and withdrew into herself—this guy was cheating; he could activate a Truth Buff.

Three questions were all it took for Sima Jiao to roughly piece together what had happened over the years.

Back then, he had made such a huge commotion searching everywhere for Liao Tingyan. Given his methods, even if her soul had shattered into a thousand pieces, he could have gathered them all back. But there was nothing—not a single trace. So he quickly realized something was wrong.

At the time, he couldn’t bear the reality of Liao Tingyan’s disappearance. In his fury, he vented his anger by hunting down members of the Shi family. During his search for them, he noticed something unusual and suspected they had taken Liao Tingyan away.

He also wondered if someone from the Demon Realm was behind it. After all, Liao Tingyan was from the Demon Realm—perhaps those who had sent her had interfered. Even if not, they might still have a way to find her.

He doubted everything, investigated every possibility.

Because of this, after bringing down the Gengchen Immortal Mansion, he noticed that the surviving members of the Shi family, whom he had decimated, were fleeing toward the Demon Realm. So he abandoned the mess of the Gengchen Immortal Mansion and went to the Demon Realm to stir up chaos.

First, he killed the original Demon Lord of Winter City, the one who had initially sent Liao Tingyan to infiltrate the Gengchen Immortal Mansion for intel. Then, following the Shi family’s trail, he seized every city that had collaborated with them, bringing them under his control… Over the past few years, he had pursued them relentlessly. Every surviving member of the Shi family struggled to survive and escape. He had nearly driven Shi Qianlv bald—no wonder Shi Qianlv looked so irritable every time he saw Shi Yan dutifully playing the role of an office drone.

Shi Qianlv would never have imagined, even in death, that after going to such lengths to hide Liao Tingyan for so many years, not only had his brainwashing failed, but she had somehow ended up right in front of Sima Jiao on her own.

It was like going bankrupt overnight—only jumping off a building could ease such despair.

Sima Jiao had pieced most of it together on his own. When he realized Liao Tingyan didn’t remember him, his expression darkened further. After a few more questions, he had wrung her dry.

Now, she was called Shi Yan. Shi Qianlv was her father. She had lost her memory ten years ago.

Sima Jiao laughed in anger. If Shi Qianlv were standing before him now, he’d stab the man thousands of times on the spot. That old bastard from the Shi family was truly capable of anything. Memory loss? He must have used the Shi family’s Soul Cleansing Technique to erase all of Liao Tingyan’s memories, intending to make her see him as an enemy—another petty revenge scheme. That old bastard had no tricks beyond this.

“You—taking a thief for your father, huh?” He directed all his anger at Shi Qianlv, while his tone toward her, caught between panic and resignation, was more like that of a boyfriend throwing a tantrum. His entire demeanor screamed, I’m about to lose my temper.

“Stupid. You believe whatever that old bastard says? He wants to be your father? Is he even worthy?” Sima Jiao gripped her chin. “You’re Liao Tingyan. You have nothing to do with that old Shi bastard. He just wants to use you against me. Next time I catch him, I’ll make him call you grandma.”

Shi Yan: “Huh?” Wait, was there some kind of plot twist here? This was even more complicated than what she had imagined earlier. She still didn’t quite get it… but whatever, it had nothing to do with her, Zou Yan.She couldn't snap out of her daze, utterly clueless about what bizarre plot was unfolding in this strange situation. Her entire demeanor radiated innocence. Sima Jiao glared at her irritably for a long moment before clicking his tongue in frustration and giving up on the spot. Brushing aside the hair on her forehead, he planted a kiss there, ultimately restraining his temper. "It's all that old bastard's fault," he muttered.

Though their position was intimate, his tone was chillingly cold: "When I capture him, I'll grind every last shred of his flesh and soul to dust to avenge you."

Shi Yan's eyelids twitched. "Wait a second!"

Sima Jiao's expression darkened instantly. "What? You don't believe me? You don't want him dead?"

It seemed if she nodded, he'd immediately fly into a murderous rage.

Shi Yan felt as if she'd been buffed with the courage of a bear and the boldness of a leopard. Faced with such a terrifying countenance that threatened violence at the slightest provocation, she actually... couldn't bring herself to feel afraid?

Her tone unconsciously softened. "Hey now, I don't even know which of you is telling the truth, right?"

Remembering how she'd had nightmares after witnessing a killing, Sima Jiao said, "Don't worry, I'll handle it myself when the time comes. I know you're scared of these things." As he spoke, he pulled her tighter into his embrace, even giving her back a few comforting pats.

Forced to serve as his human pillow, Shi Yan thought to herself, Good lord, so the original owner was a little fairy—the peaceful, non-violent type. Tsk tsk tsk, I guess big bad villains really go for those innocent, naive, kind-hearted girls.

Probably the type who'd say, "Promise me you'll stop killing, let go of your hatred, and learn to forgive, okay?"

In her mind, she concocted a dramatic love-hate saga between 'Sima Jiao' and 'Shi Yan,' imagining them torn apart by their differing statuses and identities, severing ties in a torrential downpour. 'Sima Jiao' would want to kill the Shi family, while 'Shi Yan' would refuse, gazing at her lover with tearful, stubborn eyes before declaring resolutely, "If you want to kill them, you'll have to kill me first!" Then 'Sima Jiao,' consumed by hatred, would shout, "Move! Don't stand in my way!" Amidst the chaos, he'd accidentally wound 'Shi Yan.'

Her imagination ran wild all the way to 'Shi Yan' lying mortally wounded in 'Sima Jiao's' arms—in the exact same position they were in now. With her last breath, the girl would gasp, "Forgive me, I lo—" before her head lolled to the side, unfinished.

Lost in her passionate daydream, Shi Yan unconsciously tilted her head and caught Sima Jiao's current expression. His irritation had vanished, replaced by an impassive stare, his gaze oddly intense.

Shi Yan: ...Huh? Why's he looking at me like that? Hahaha, surely he can't read minds... Right?

Sima Jiao raised his hand, covering her face before making a grasping motion in the air.

Shi Yan: "?"

Sima Jiao: "Pulling out all that nonsense from your head." That old bastard Shi Qianlv actually fed her this kind of backstory? Was he out of his mind?

Shi Qianlv: I didn't! That's not true!

Sima Jiao pulled her upright, wrapping an arm around her waist as he asked, "Do you really want to listen to Shi Qianlv and kill me?"

Shi Yan: "No, no." The truth-telling buff struck again.

Sima Jiao scoffed. "You claim to believe them. They want you to kill me, so why don't you want to?" He caressed her cheek, his expression deceptively amused.

Why "deceptively"? Because there wasn't a trace of warmth in his eyes.Shi Yan: "Because there's no enmity between us." Regardless of how the plot actually goes, it's the Shi family who has grievances with him, not her. The Shi family patriarch always told her that as a member of the clan, the rise and fall of the family was more important than any individual—a notion she could never agree with.

Shi Qianlv's greatest failure lay in not knowing this was actually a soul from another world, unbound by this world's natural laws. Thus, the memories he erased were only those from after her arrival in this world, so she didn't become a blank slate for him to write upon.

Just like Sima Jiao couldn't actually hear any thoughts from her about that other world either.

Hearing a familiar-sounding answer, Sima Jiao was slightly placated, though his face remained as dark as a boyfriend about to be dumped.

"If you don't believe me now, fine. Wait until I capture Shi Qianlv and make him tell you himself."

Author's Note: They slept together right after meeting.

Jiao: Shi Qianlv, you're dead! Just wait—I'm coming to kill you right now! Liao Tingyan made me angry, so I'll kill Shi Qianlv! (Furious)

Yanyan: What? What does this love story have to do with me? Totally confused.jpg (Lazy fish)