"Speaking of which, aren't you afraid of being discovered and thought to be a zombie if you stand here so brazenly?"
Zhuque raised an eyebrow at Xiao Zi. With demons coming and going in this palace, wouldn't it be troublesome if someone saw him?
Xiao Zi was just about to recall this when a gentle female voice sounded from behind him.
"Your Majesty, the Demon Emperor?"
His body stiffened. Zhuque turned back in disbelief. Had she jinxed it?
A figure appeared from who knows when, standing in the distance and staring directly at them.
Lin Ze's mouth twitched. He quickly stepped forward to block Xiao Zi. "What is it?"
The figure gradually approached. With every step she took, it felt like a drumbeat on everyone's heart, raising their spirits to their throats.
"Stop. You can report what you need while standing there." Lin Ze quickly called out to stop her.
Hair as beautiful as snow, a cinnabar red mark between her brows. The figure stopped and her face became clear.
It was the eldest daughter of the Lian family, Lian Shuiyue, whom they all knew well.
"Your Majesty, the Demon Emperor, the person behind you is...?"
Why did that person's profile look so familiar? She felt like she had seen her somewhere before...
Xiao Zi panicked for a moment, signaling frantically to Zhuque. They couldn't be exposed!
Zhuque understood instantly and strode forward, directly blocking Lian Shuiyue's line of sight. "He, he's an old friend of your Demon Emperor. No need to worry! No need to worry!"
Zhong Zi and Dong Ling also silently shifted their positions, completely blocking Xiao Zi and his eight fox tails.
Lin Ze feigned seriousness and coughed. "What business do you have with this Emperor?"
As he spoke, he walked towards Lian Shuiyue. However, while Zhuque and the others blocked Xiao Zi's tails, they couldn't block his ears.
Lian Shuiyue had no intention of looking away. She blinked in disbelief.
Snow-white ears, with purple tips...
Lian Shuiyue gazed at the figure being blocked by everyone, and it seemed as if she could see Xiao Zi's face directly. Could it be...?
A trace of shock flickered in her eyes, and then she quickly shifted her gaze.
"Speak, what is it?" Lin Ze rubbed his forehead, feeling utterly helpless.
Xiao Zi hid, his features scrunched up like a bitter melon.
Lian Shuiyue chuckled, turned to look at Lin Ze, and didn't expose Xiao Zi. "Your Majesty, the Demon Emperor, this is a ten-thousand-year spirit plant sent by my father. I hope you will accept it."
With a slight movement of her hand, a well-grown seedling of the Child Buddha appeared in her hand.
Lian Shuiyue's lips curved, and her eyes smiled into two crescent moons, appearing to be in a very good mood.
Fearing that Xiao Zi would be exposed, Lin Ze immediately accepted the spirit plant. "This Emperor accepts the Lian family patriarch's kind gesture. You may withdraw."
"Yes." Lian Shuiyue didn't linger and turned to leave.
Just as they breathed a sigh of relief, Bai Ran's door was opened from the inside.
Jiang Ye, who stepped out, frowned and looked at the furtively hiding Xiao Zi with confusion. "You fox spirit, what are you doing?"
"Hey!" Zhuque quickly stepped forward and covered Jiang Ye's mouth.
Lin Ze stiffened his neck and looked at Lian Shuiyue's retreating back, but she seemed not to have heard and continued to walk steadily away.
"Phew—" Lin Ze let out a long sigh. His heart had been pounding like a roller coaster.
Unexpectedly, Lian Shuiyue, with her back to them, heard Jiang Ye's words clearly. A gentle smile graced her face.
Xiao Zi rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. "This is so annoying. Hiding like this isn't a solution."
He should have found another way. Now that he was a dead man, it was inconvenient to move around. Did he have to stay in the little ghost's space all the time?
"It's all your fault for coming up with such a terrible idea!"
Xiao Zi glared angrily at Lin Ze. It was this guy who had come up with the idea of saying he was dying.
Lin Ze pouted. Well... it was indeed his idea...
Who would have thought that this fox, who didn't even want the position of Demon Emperor, would one day return to the demon race?
"Why not ask Miss Bai for a disguise pill?" Jing Feng said, looking at Xiao Zi.
Xiao Zi thought it was feasible. He didn't want to stay in that space all day, bored to the point of drowsiness.
Xiao Zi pushed the door open. Jing Feng instantly remembered that their Venerable Master was still inside.
"Hey! Wait!"
Xiao Zi looked at the two deeply in love figures in front of him, his face darkened, and he gritted his teeth as he closed the door again.
"Told you to wait..." Jing Feng sighed helplessly.
Although Miss Bai and Venerable Master hadn't done anything, the sweet atmosphere made it impossible for them to insert themselves. This was why Jing Feng and the other had come out.
They didn't want to stay inside any longer, being like shining lightbulbs.
Inside the room, Bai Ran's lips curved. "Perhaps he has something to find me for. He didn't know you were here, did he?"
Long Jinhan chuckled. "I will send some demons to hide outside the demon territory. If you encounter any danger, ignite this flare."
Saying that, Long Jinhan handed over a flare about the size of a fist.
He had to intercept the powerful individuals from the Divine Realm and couldn't always be by the little girl's side. He was simply too worried.
Bai Ran put away the flare and seemed to remember something, her eyes twinkling with amusement.
"Didn't you promise that as long as I came to the Nine Heavens, you would never leave me again?"
Long Jinhan's long eyelashes fluttered, and then he let out a deep laugh. "Girl, you don't want me to leave?"
Bai Ran was stunned, and two red clouds appeared on her cheeks. Had she been cornered?
She frowned and looked away, mumbling softly with a red face. "Nonsense..."
A captivating deep voice sounded in her ear. Long Jinhan smiled, his dark eyes full of doting affection for the woman before him.
"Alright— I'm talking nonsense—"
The drawn-out voice, like coaxing a child, made Bai Ran's ears turn red.
"This time, it was my oversight that almost put you in danger." His smile slowly faded. Long Jinhan gently touched the bright red earring on his ear.
Bai Ran blinked and looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Long Jinhan's well-defined fingers reached out and slowly took off the blood-drop-shaped earring. "Look."
Bai Ran frowned and picked up the earring suspiciously.
At first glance, the earring seemed fine, but the temperature of the entire blood drop was terrifyingly cold.
Normally, once the blood drop had a master, it would feel warm. If it was unusually hot, it indicated that the owner had encountered danger and was severely injured.
"Fake?" Bai Ran asked in confusion. Long Jinhan smiled and nodded.
"That's right. It's fake."
"Why?" Was it stolen and replaced by someone?
Long Jinhan's eyes darkened, flashing with an ambiguous gloom that Bai Ran had never seen before.
"It's to lure Mo Ze into the trap."
His tone was cold, unlike the gentle words he spoke to her.
That Mo Ze was cunning and scheming. Without presenting the real earring to prove Zhong Yichuan's betrayal, he wouldn't be able to get any information.