When Destiny Brings the Demon

The recent gossip in the Demon Realm revolves around Sima Jiao, the Demon Lord of Winter City, and his Dao companion. This woman, rarely seen in public, has sparked endless rumors—some claim she’s a demon cultivator, while others insist she was once a disciple from the World of Cultivation.

Originally, Liao Tingyan had been a spy under the previous Demon Lord of Winter City. Though few in the city knew her true identity, there were still some who did. However, after Sima Jiao arrived, he tracked down every single person aware of her background and "questioned" them.

This ancestor’s methods were always straightforward and brutal. By the time he finished "questioning" them one by one, everyone—including the former Winter City Lord—had been rendered useless. As a result, no matter how hard anyone dug, they could only uncover Liao Tingyan’s years in Crane Immortal City and vague speculations about her past in the World of Cultivation. The rest remained an untraceable mystery, leaving people with an involuntary sense of awe toward this enigmatic woman.

The "enigmatic woman" Liao Tingyan now spent her days strolling inside and outside the Forbidden Palace or in the quieter corners of Winter City, accompanied by a tiny three-year-old girl, Hongluo, and a terrifyingly large black snake that made people flee at the sight of it.

After a few such outings, another rumor spread through the city—that she had borne Sima Jiao a daughter. The reason she and Sima Jiao had been absent from the Demon Realm for some time, the gossip went, was because he had taken her to a secret location to give birth.

Liao Tingyan: "..."

Hongluo: "Am I the rumored daughter?" She had no love for the Zhihun Clan, the ones who had killed her and then given her new life. Having settled her grudges with them, she chose not to live among them and instead stayed by Liao Tingyan’s side.

Now in the body of a newborn child, she trusted only her one and only friend in this world. Staying close to her was simply the safest option.

What puzzled Liao Tingyan was that when Sima Jiao heard this rumor, he didn’t refute it. Instead, he asked her, "Don’t you want a daughter?"

Liao Tingyan answered honestly, "Not really." Besides, while Hongluo often jokingly called her "Dad," it was just teasing—they weren’t actually parent and child.

She had no idea how Sima Jiao interpreted her response, but two days later, he brought a boy who looked about five or six years old to see her. The child had snow-white skin, black eyes, and black hair, dressed in a black robe. His face bore at least a seventy percent resemblance to Sima Jiao’s—like a miniature Snow White.

Liao Tingyan: "???" The hell? Is this your secret love child?!

Sima Jiao wore the same cold, stepfather-like expression toward the boy who might have been his illegitimate son. Meanwhile, the child nimbly circled around Liao Tingyan’s feet.

Watching his practiced movements, Liao Tingyan felt an eerie sense of familiarity and blurted out, "Snakey?"

The situation became clear. Somehow, the big boss Sima Jiao had managed to give his deadly weapon, the Black Snake, a human form. Well, mostly human—the child didn’t seem to know how to speak properly, only hissing at her before looking up with a smile. Honestly, seeing that innocent little face twist into a grin was more unsettling than terrifying—it carried an inexplicable chill, even more unnerving than the snake’s original fearsome visage.

"If you don’t want a daughter, how about this son?" Sima Jiao asked her.

Liao Tingyan stared at him in disbelief. Just what kind of mental gymnastics led you to this conclusion?

Sima Jiao tapped her forehead. "Take him out for a walk."Liao Tingyan was forced to take the lead, parading around with the newly appeared little boy in tow. Unsurprisingly, rumors immediately spread that she had secretly borne Sima Jiao’s eldest son years ago and that the child had been hidden away for protection and training due to their many enemies.

Liao Tingyan: I never even got pregnant, yet suddenly I’m a mother of two.

Black Snake couldn’t always maintain his human form. He had only recently mastered the ability to shapeshift, and even that was forcibly accelerated. He often couldn’t help reverting back to his serpent form. When he was a snake, Liao Tingyan could still treat him as just a pet, but once something took on a human appearance, she couldn’t help but see him as a person and grow attached.

Sima Jiao had been unusually lethargic these past few days, lying on a jade bed with his long hair cascading over the edge like a waterfall. His exposed wrists and ankles were so pale they nearly blended into the jade beneath him.

When Liao Tingyan went to see him, she instinctively held her breath at the sight. Cradling Black Snake in his child form, she crouched by the bed and watched him.

Sima Jiao kept his eyes closed but reached out to rest a hand on her head. “What?”

Liao Tingyan: “Did you secretly do something again?” She couldn’t really tell when this man was in pain or not—whether he was suffering or perfectly calm, he always looked the same.

Sima Jiao: “I did do something.”

He opened his eyes and turned to look at her. “What about it?”

Hearing how casually he said it, Liao Tingyan touched his hand and found it cold. That reassured her a little. She vaguely understood that when his body was cool, he was usually in decent condition. If he was warm, things weren’t so good.

Relieved, she remembered why she had come and placed the child’s tiny hands on the edge of the bed. “Aren’t you going to give him a name? I don’t think I’ve ever heard you call him by one before.”

Sima Jiao finally glanced at Black Snake. What had once been an ordinary little serpent had now become something else entirely—practically his own creation under extraordinary circumstances.

The snake had been by his side for many years, always afraid of him. At first, it hadn’t even dared to stay near him for long. The only difference between it and an inanimate object, as far as Sima Jiao was concerned, was that it could move and breathe. But anything that stayed by one’s side for long enough inevitably became a little special.

“It doesn’t have a name,” Sima Jiao said. “You can give it one.”

Liao Tingyan: “Should it take your surname or mine?”

Sima Jiao: “…Are you seriously treating it as your son?”

Liao Tingyan: “…Didn’t you say that? Were you just teasing me again?” A man’s words are a devil’s lies.

Sima Jiao: “Forget it. Just pick any name.”

Liao Tingyan thought it was only right to consult the child’s opinion, so she looked down at Black Snake and asked, “What do you want to be called?”

Black Snake: “Sss-sss—”

Liao Tingyan, ever democratic: “Alright, then Sisi it is.”

Sima Jiao: “…”

He pressed a hand to his forehead before collapsing back onto the bed, laughing as if he’d lost his mind.

Seeing him laugh, Liao Tingyan leaned in and rested her head on his hair. “Dual Cultivation? The Soul Abode kind?”

Sima Jiao’s laughter stopped abruptly. “What, haven’t you had enough pain?”

His expression shifted slightly as he looked at her. “You’ve never asked for it before. Could it be… you actually like the pain?”

Liao Tingyan: “Why does that make me sound like some kind of pervert?! I hate pain. I’m terrified of it.”

Sima Jiao: “Then behave yourself.”Liao Tingyan was at a loss for words. Perhaps due to some special connection with Sima Jiao, she had recently sensed something off about him, which made her uneasy. Yet he remained silent. She thought she might find answers during their Soul Abode Dual Cultivation, only to be shut out.

After a moment's thought, Liao Tingyan scooped up her goose and walked outside the hall, nudging it. "Go play with Hongluo." Then she shut the palace doors behind her and trotted back inside. In her mind, she pictured herself slapping the bed and shouting, "Are we cultivating or not?!" But when she returned, she found Sima Jiao sitting up, casually undoing his belt and tossing his outer robe to the bedside before lying back down.

"I don't feel like moving. If you want to, do it yourself."

Liao Tingyan: "……?" What's wrong with you, big shot? Other domineering CEOs say, "Sit on top and move yourself," but you're just exhausted? Seeing you so tired makes me tired too!

She walked over, grabbed Sima Jiao's shoulders, and shook him twice. "Then tell me, is something really wrong with you? What's going on with the fire in your Soul Abode? Why is it burning fiercer? It doesn't feel right—are you hiding something from me?"

Sima Jiao: "There is something I haven't told you."

His face practically screamed, "What are you gonna do about it?"—that trademark big-shot arrogance. Liao Tingyan was nearly frantic, perhaps influenced by the flames in his Soul Abode last time, feeling irritable and heated. Gritting her teeth, she yanked at his belt.

…………

What do you mean, "you don’t want to"? Who are you fooling?

Liao Tingyan decided that if she ever believed this bastard's nonsense again, she’d be an idiot.

Despite Sima Jiao's odd behavior, his demon generals remained as driven as ever to expand his dominion. Three months later, they had conquered the entire Demon Realm, bringing all its territories under Sima Jiao's name. He had truly become the Demon Lord of the entire realm.

At the same time, Shi Qianlv, whom he had pursued relentlessly, was finally captured.

This time, Liao Tingyan didn’t go to watch. On the very day Shi Qianlv was brought in, Sima Jiao personally executed him, annihilating both body and soul without a trace. The Shi Clan, who had stolen the Gengchen Immortal Mansion for years and spent nearly a decade fleeing Sima Jiao's wrath, had finally met their end.

However, many heard Shi Qianlv's venomous curse as he died. He swore that Sima Jiao would also perish in flames, meeting the same fate of soul-shattering destruction. With his final strike, Shi Qianlv pierced Sima Jiao's abdomen with an immortal artifact.

And Sima Jiao's body began to burn from the wound, the flames uncontrollable, as if his entire being had turned into kindling ignited by that artifact. The sight left all the demon generals of Winter City and the newly subjugated Demon Lords pale with shock.

Eventually, Sima Jiao managed to suppress the flames temporarily, though his expression was grim, as if he could barely hold on. He soon retreated into the Forbidden Palace, leaving all affairs to his subordinates.

When Liao Tingyan heard the news, she rushed to the hall and found Sima Jiao leaning against the bed, blood staining his hand, his face blank as he stared out the window. She threw herself at him to check his injury, and Sima Jiao didn’t stop her, moving his hand aside to let her inspect freely. But when she lifted his clothes, his abdomen was smooth and unmarked.

Liao Tingyan: "Where’s the wound?"

Sima Jiao: "There isn’t one. Shi Qianlv was already spent—he couldn’t harm me."

Liao Tingyan: Alright, got it. He’s up to something.Sima Jiao hadn't left the Forbidden Palace for a month, and neither had Liao Tingyan. The sealed palace felt like a cage, cutting them off from the outside world.

Until one day, when loud commotion erupted outside. The traitors had taken the bait.

Sima Jiao finally stood up. Liao Tingyan, who had been cracking melon seeds while watching the live broadcast, took out the straight blade she'd prepared earlier and rose to follow him.

Sima Jiao's warm hand grasped her wrist, squeezing her fingers that still smelled of melon seeds, and pressed her back down. "Tonight," he said in a low voice, "you'll sit here and watch Winter City burn."

His tone carried something peculiar—bloodthirsty killing intent mixed with irrepressible excitement. To put it simply, it was the kind of voice typical villainous bosses used when about to do something terrible. Quite disturbing.

Seeing he wouldn't change his mind, Liao Tingyan obediently sat back and watched as fire after fire erupted outside. The towering flames dyed the snow-white city crimson against the night sky.

By dawn, the fires had died. Only afterward did Liao Tingyan learn from Hongluo just how many had died that night—nearly half of the demon generals, for starters. Many city lords in the newly conquered territories had been defiant, but now they didn't need to worry about defiance anymore, having lost their lives in the process.

The Demon Realm was a strange place. The more brutal Sima Jiao became, the more loyal the demon generals under him grew. Since arriving in the Demon Realm, he'd already killed countless demon cultivators, but this was the largest-scale slaughter yet—as if celebrating his complete takeover of the Demon Realm with a grand fireworks display.

This time, it finally thoroughly cowed those people. Liao Tingyan felt like he was taming wild beasts. When she accompanied him on an inspection tour afterward, nearly all the demon generals instinctively reacted with fear and submission at the mere sight of Sima Jiao or his flames.

"Too many people makes them hard to manage," Sima Jiao explained to Liao Tingyan. "Now it's about right."

Liao Tingyan pointed out, "But you've never actually managed them." He just killed whenever displeased, frightening everyone into becoming obedient lambs.

As long as he remained present, active management was unnecessary.

Sima Jiao rubbed his temples and smiled.

Beyond the Demon Realm, in the vast territories belonging to Liao Tingyan, cities quickly sprang up. Preferring that area, Liao Tingyan moved there with Sima Jiao, leaving the Forbidden Palace in Winter City empty.

It felt like relocating a capital to her. The new capital was named after her—Yan City. Many demon cultivators migrated from the Demon Realm to populate it. According to Demon Realm customs, those living in her city automatically became her subordinates, bound by her rules. Liao Tingyan didn't know how she'd inexplicably become a city lord.

Before they knew it, seven years had passed in Yan City.