novelraw Chapter 80 : Winning Hearts? Exchanging Hostages
Chapter 80 : Winning Hearts? Exchanging Hostages
Chapter 80: Winning Hearts? Exchanging Hostages
“……”
Shen Yanzhou had absolutely no recollection of such a thing, nor could the original body have experienced it.
He’d barely had time to be frightened back then—this man was clearly spreading rumors about him out of nowhere.
Seeing Wu Ruyue’s somewhat puzzled gaze, he smiled and replied, “Childhood embarrassment, I don’t quite remember it clearly. But Aunt Ran did treat me very well. I remember, whenever I was hungry as a child, I’d always go to her for something to eat.”
“Something to eat?” Wu Ruyue looked even more confused.
“Yes, in a certain sense, she was my provider of food and clothing,” Shen Yanzhou said without fear of fabricating tales—who didn’t know how to spin one?
Even Ran Yi was momentarily stunned, not understanding what Shen Yanzhou meant.
But soon, she noticed his gaze fall toward her chest and suddenly understood.
She didn’t get angry—instead, she smiled charmingly and softly.
“The Heir was quite the little glutton, it seems. Clearly not hungry, yet still liked to sneak bites.”
“……”
Wu Ruyue had no idea what the two were talking about, but she could tell their relationship was close.
Her heart eased a little; it seemed that Shen Gongzi’s situation in the Demon Suppression Prince’s Mansion wasn’t as bad as she had imagined.
Having faced countless demonic calamities in the Southern Border, she knew well that the seemingly gentle and seductive Ran Yi before her was, in truth, the most bloodthirsty and cruel among the Four Fiends—especially with a penchant for sadistic killing.
She possessed a certain ability—whether innate or born of some secret art—capable of confusing her enemies and freezing them in place.
Then, with one sweep of her pitch-black scythe, far too massive for her graceful form, she would slash ten times in an instant, leaving behind nothing but piles of mangled flesh.
Such a method had terrorized countless foes in the Southern Border.
Thus, though Ran Yi had interrupted her breakfast with Shen Yanzhou, Wu Ruyue no longer felt so resistant to her presence.
“The Heir certainly knows how to please others. You even remembered that Aunt likes to drink Bamboo Leaf Green.”
“Oh my, this braised pork is just perfect—tender and rich, yet still chewy…”
“These peanuts are so crispy!”
Soon, the three of them began eating together.
It had to be said, Ran Yi was truly a master of emotional finesse.
With each bite, she offered a word of praise.
Anyone unaware might have thought all the dishes on the table were cooked by Shen Yanzhou himself.
She even took the initiative to pick up food and feed him.
Wu Ruyue, after eating a few bites herself, watched the scene and suddenly felt rather redundant.
Her gaze turned faintly wistful—but then she noticed a meatball had appeared in her bowl.
Seeing Shen Yanzhou’s smiling face as he passed it over, her cheeks flushed.
She lowered her head and took a bite—it somehow tasted even better.
……
After breakfast, Wu Ruyue went to the counter to pay the bill.
Shen Yanzhou couldn’t help but sigh quietly at the sight.
What a good girl, he thought—back in his past life, she would’ve been straight out of a sci-fi movie.
“Heir, where are you two headed next? Going shopping?”
After leaving the restaurant and stepping onto the street, Ran Yi still didn’t rush to leave.
Smiling sweetly, she followed beside Shen Yanzhou and asked.
“To the Chilin Guards,” Wu Ruyue answered before he could.
Ran Yi was taken aback.
She’d been ordered to monitor Shen Yanzhou, but only to observe him—what he did after entering the Chilin Guards wasn’t her business.
After all, she couldn’t get in there anyway.
“Well then, I’ll go back and report,” Ran Yi said with a soft laugh, clapping her hands.
She wasn’t worried they might deceive her.
“What if my father asks questions later?” Shen Yanzhou suddenly said.
“Then Aunt can’t help it. It’s not as if I can sneak into the Chilin Guards, right? I’d be executed by decapitation the next day. Aunt is far too beautiful—soft as the moon and fair as a flower—to die so young.” Ran Yi smiled with a coquettish charm, clearly praising herself.
“My father hasn’t been in a good mood these days. If you report back like this, Aunt Ran, he won’t be pleased.”
“When the death curse activates, can you endure it?” Shen Yanzhou asked bluntly.
Ran Yi froze.
The perpetual smile on her face vanished for the first time, and deep in her eyes flickered a trace of helpless bitterness—or perhaps it was an illusion.
Soon after, she lifted her lips into another smile.
“Oh my, what’s this? The little glutton has learned to care for Aunt now?”
“No matter what, Aunt Ran was once my provider of food and clothing. How could I bear to see you punished and suffering?”
“Why not come with us, Aunt Ran?” Shen Yanzhou said.
Ran Yi, seeing him refuse to let go of that “provider” remark, extended a slender finger and flicked his forehead.
“Winning hearts like this? Aunt won’t fall for it.”
Yet despite her words, she still followed the two of them toward the Chilin Guards’ headquarters.
……
At that same time, in the Demon Suppression Prince’s Mansion—inside the study.
From the beast-horn incense burner rose wisps of azure smoke, calming the mind and steadying the spirit.
Shen Jingxiao, dressed in a silken blue robe, stood with his hands clasped behind his back, idly turning a white jade thumb ring.
Behind him, a shadow hidden in the darkness was reporting, “Ran Yi followed the Heir to the Chilin Guards’ headquarters. According to the eyes we’ve planted there, a world-shaking encounter occurred in Hidden Moon Mountain, and it was gained by Wu Ruyue. The incident has alarmed the Commandant, and even His Majesty has been informed.”
“At present, the Chilin Guards have sealed off all channels of information. The Heir seems to be involved as well and may have obtained something from that encounter.”
“This time, Wu Ruyue brought the Heir to the Chilin Guards under the personal instruction of the Commandant.”
Shen Jingxiao’s eyes were deep and unreadable as he said indifferently, “Just as I expected—the fortuitous encounter that wretched son gained lies within Hidden Moon Mountain.”
The shadowed figure said nothing.
“Ran Yi, ah Ran Yi… I’ve trained you for so many years. Now is the time for you to prove your worth.”
“Shen Yanzhou is clever and shrewd. He will surely suspect that I planted the death curse in you. I know you’ve long intended to betray me, and that you never truly submitted.”
“In that case, he will certainly try to turn you to his side.”
“I’ll have him understand what it means when cleverness backfires.”
Shen Jingxiao muttered to himself, waving his hand.
The shadowed figure immediately withdrew.
A moment later, Shen Jingxiao pushed the inkstone before him.
Behind him, the bookshelf rumbled, gears turning, mechanisms engaging—a deep underground passage slowly revealed itself.
He stepped into it.
Both sides of the narrow underground corridor were lined with ever-burning lamps filled with East Sea shark oil.
The steps beneath his feet were built of a special kind of stone, each slab engraved with dense, ancient patterns that faintly glowed from time to time.
Any true master of formations would immediately recognize their uniqueness.
These patterns did not belong to the current age—they could be traced back ten thousand years, the method of engraving long lost to time.
Clearly, these stones had not been carved afterward—they had been brought here from elsewhere through some mysterious means.
At present, there were thousands upon thousands of such stone slabs here.
And at the deepest point of the underground passage, there was only one rune pattern resembling a dried-up well.
Layers of vortex-like lines flowed around it, enclosing it within.
At the center were three oval depressions, faintly emanating waves of spiritual energy.
After Shen Jingxiao arrived here, he first stood atop the dried-well pattern.
Then he took out a bronze beast-headed mask and put it on, before finally retrieving three spirit stones the size of goose eggs from his robe and placing them into the depressions one by one.
In the next instant, streaks of glowing lines lit up along the surrounding paths.
Invisible spatial ripples spread outward, and as the light enveloped Shen Jingxiao’s entire body, his figure suddenly vanished.
……
Southern Border, outside Hantian Commandery — within a lush and ancient primeval forest.
Fu Yuying stood on the edge of a cliff, her face veiled by strands of black hair.
The mountain wind blew gently, as if she might soar into the clouds at any moment.
“Saintess, for now, the Demon Suppression Army has made no movement. The Demon Suppression King seems sincere — he wouldn’t dare risk using his own son to test us.”
An old woman appeared behind her, gazing at the encamped Demon Suppression Army in the distance.
Several prison wagons followed behind the formation.
Even from afar, one could recognize the familiar, tormented faces of those imprisoned — the elders and disciples of the Southern Border’s hidden sects, captured over the years by the Demon Suppression King.
“Let’s hope he keeps his word.”
Another elder spoke, bitterness flickering in her eyes.
The captured might yet be freed — but what of those who had died over the years?
Even the founding emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty had once promised the hidden sects deep within the Ten-Thousand Mountains of the Southern Border that as long as they caused no trouble, refrained from using their immortal might to oppress the common people, and abided by imperial law within the court’s domain, then those Ten-Thousand Mountains would forever belong to them.
For generations, the reclusive sects of the Southern Border had honored that pact, never meddling in worldly affairs.
But since the Demon Suppression King had come to the Southern Border to guard Yao Pass, everything had changed.
Using the pretext of warfare, he ordered the army to march south — cutting forests, opening farmlands, relocating towns, and stationing troops — constantly expanding his own territory.
In just a few decades, the border once dividing Great Qian and the Southern Border had already been pushed thousands of li deeper south.
The reclusive sects of the Southern Border had tried to resist, even appealing to the imperial capital.
Yet most never reached the city — intercepted and persuaded to turn back along the way.
Those who acted too forcefully were thrown into the great prison of Hantian Commandery — countless elders and disciples died there.
“Shen Jingxiao won’t keep his word. This is merely a delaying tactic. Even if he swears an oath, the loopholes in his words will always allow other means to fill them.”
“His ambition runs deep. The terrain of the Southern Border is easy to defend but hard to attack. He’s spent years developing it, surveying the land, seizing ore veins and medicine gardens, opening farmlands, hoarding grain — all clear signs of preparing for his eventual rise to emperorship.”
Fu Yuying’s eyes were cold and clear.
She saw it all — and was not naïve enough to think that Shen Tian could truly restrain the Demon Suppression King.
Such an ambitious man would, sooner or later, find ways to reclaim the territories returned today.
“The only good news is that the Demon Suppression King is currently tied up in the imperial capital.”
“As long as all the sects immediately take control of the lands returned to them, even if the Demon Suppression Army comes back later, they’ll have a way to cope,” said the old woman from before.
Fu Yuying nodded lightly and waved her hand.
“It’s about time. Bring Shen Tian up.”
As she spoke, several disciples of Luofu Cloud Cavern stepped forward, pushing before them a young man with bound hands and a disheveled appearance.
His robes were torn, his hair a tangled mess — the look of one who had suffered imprisonment and torture.
“You’d better let me go right now — do you even know who my father is?”
“I’ll make sure my father kills you all!”
Shen Tian shouted, eyes filled with rage and malice.
Several elders from Luofu Cloud Cavern restrained him, probing his body’s condition and soul to ensure there were no abnormalities.
Only Fu Yuying frowned slightly.
She had met the real Shen Tian before — and he had been far more composed, not so easily agitated or furious.
But this, of course, was not the real Shen Tian — merely a refined human puppet.
Aside from a trace of Shen Tian’s residual soul, the rest of its spiritual core had been supplemented using soul pills refined from wandering ghosts and lonely spirits that Luofu Cloud Cavern had collected through various means.
At first glance, it was indistinguishable from the real Shen Tian, but anyone familiar with him would notice the difference.
“This can’t be helped.”
“To control this human puppet and make it indistinguishable from a living person — this is already the best we can do.”
“We’ll just say he’s gone mad,” Fu Yuying murmured, shaking her head and withdrawing her thoughts.
Then, together with the elders and disciples of Luofu Cloud Cavern and other hidden sects, she proceeded toward the agreed site to exchange hostages with the Demon Suppression Army.
At that moment, within the open space of the army camp, inside the main tent, Ge Qixing — dressed elegantly in silk robes and holding a feather fan — was writing intently.
Suddenly, the tent flap lifted, and a figure clad in azure silk and wearing a bronze beast-horn mask stepped inside.
“Your Highness,” Ge Qixing said quickly, rising to bow.
Shen Jingxiao waved his hand, his tone indifferent.
“Everything’s arranged?”
Ge Qixing replied, “The ferrymen from the Foreign Demon Realm and the chiefs of several demon tribes have all been contacted. Once the time comes, the Yao Pass at Changyang Gate will fall — and the demon armies will enter the borders.”
“Good.”
Shen Jingxiao’s gaze turned cold and deep as he looked forward.
“I’ll make them understand — I, Shen Jingxiao, am not someone so easily outplayed. Whatever they made me yield, I’ll take back — every last bit.”
……
Imperial Capital, Headquarters of the Chilin Guards.
From afar, the complex looked grand and magnificent, filled with towers and pavilions.
The roars and shouts of training warriors echoed constantly, blood and qi surging skyward, shaking the surroundings and driving away all demonic aura.
Shen Yanzhou, accompanied by Wu Ruyue, arrived there after a long journey.
As the core authority ensuring the capital’s safety, guards were stationed every ten steps, sentries every five — not even a sparrow could fly through.
Without proper identification, one could not take a single step inside, and even with it, moving too slowly might still get one sliced into minced flesh by a descending blade.
Fortunately, Wu Ruyue carried the Commandant’s token.
Even the captains and wardens treated her with utmost respect.
The two made their way to the towering pavilion at the deepest part of the compound.
“You two go ahead — I won’t be joining you.” Ran Yi stopped there and did not follow further.
Shen Yanzhou nodded.
“The Commandant is waiting inside,” said Warden Liu Ci, who had been waiting in advance, smiling politely as he led them upward.
At the top of the pavilion, Commandant Wei Gong stood by the railing, gazing into the distance.
He wore a sunflower-embroidered tunic with a rhinoceros-horn jade belt.
His hair was streaked with white, and though his features seemed frail and effeminate, there was a faint heroic majesty about him — the aura of one overlooking the world.
“Greetings, Commandant,” Wu Ruyue saluted first.
Shen Yanzhou followed suit, bowing respectfully.
No one in the imperial capital dared underestimate this eunuch who wielded immense power — not even the Demon Suppression King, Shen Jingxiao.
“No need for such formality, Miss Wu.”
“This must be Heir Shen, yes? This is our first time meeting…”
Wei Gong turned as he spoke, his tone gentle.
His slightly drooping eyes fell upon Shen Yanzhou — and then froze.