Zhong Zi closed his eyes tightly, his expression filled with grief.
Several gazes focused on him. After a long silence, he finally spoke.
"Actually... I know who the King of the Demonized is..."
Jiang Ye licked his cheek, somewhat dissatisfied. "Then why did you hide it from the young mistress? Why not just tell her, and we'd go kill them?"
Zhu Que echoed in agreement. "Yeah, what's there to hide?"
However, Jing Feng noticed a detail no one else had: "You've been with us all along. How did you find out the identity of the Demonized King?"
Dong Ling had been watching Zhong Zi's troubled expression and stepped forward. "Let me explain. It's impossible to hide it anymore."
"That day, Jiu Zai captured Lord Zhong and spoke to him before releasing him."
Words? Jing Feng frowned. "What words?"
Dong Ling looked at Xiao Zi and sighed. "Bai Ran is the King of the Demonized."
Instantly, Xiao Zi flew into a rage and lunged at Dong Ling. "Say that again! Who is the King of the Demonized!"
Jing Feng froze, his mind in a whirl... Miss Bai is the King of the Demonized...
The King of the Demonized is the Venerable's enemy... the enemy of the Nine Heavens... the enemy of the entire world...
Miss Bai is the enemy...? How could that be...?
Jiang Ye's face also turned pale. He turned sharply, looking at the unconscious Bai Ran on the bed, torn.
Only Zhu Que's eyes welled up with tears.
She looked at Bai Ran with pity, at her pained expression.
If the Master saw deceased loved ones from the Leaf of Revelation, and then learned that she herself was the culprit...
She would undoubtedly try to prevent this future, and the way to do so would be to harm herself...
But all she wanted was for the Master to be safe...
Though it was selfish, she understood Zhong Zi's feelings.
Once the Demonized King's identity was exposed, the Master would be caught between enemies, hunted by the entire world, and would even harm herself...
"Ahem!" Dong Ling was punched in the abdomen, coughing a few times.
Xiao Zi looked down at him, his body radiating violent spiritual energy fluctuations. "If you're playing games with this Lord, you won't leave this room alive today!"
Zhong Zi gritted his teeth and stood in front of Dong Ling. "Demon Emperor, he is not lying..."
Xiao Zi's expression turned icy, like a brewing storm... Damn it...
If that were the case, he shouldn't have asked what this person was hiding.
Jing Feng, a subordinate of the Demon Lord, seemed to be in turmoil.
Jiang Ye, a fallen immortal of the Divine Realm, was also in a dilemma.
This hesitation at this moment already revealed their attitudes.
They were not blindly on the young mistress's side; they were tied down by too many factors.
"What about you two? Are you on the young mistress's side?" His dark eyes locked onto Zhong Zi and Dong Ling.
Dong Ling felt a bitter sweetness rising in his throat and chuckled. They were really going for the kill...
If his strength were any weaker, he would have died here...
"Don't let our appearance fool you, we were prepared long ago."
Dong Ling looked directly into Xiao Zi's eyes. "Prepared to be enemies with the entire world."
After all, they had dedicated their lives to serving their King. No matter who the King was or what their identity, she was their only King.
Jing Feng's body trembled uncontrollably. The demonized had killed so many people in the Demon Realm... accumulating endless resentment...
The demonized must be eliminated... but Miss Bai was the King of the demonized...
Jiang Ye was also lost in confusion. He followed the young mistress to avenge Huan Yan by killing the damn Divine Emperor...
But now he was told that the future young mistress would be even more damned than the Divine Emperor...
Xiao Zi sighed and, after some thought, looked at Jiang Ye. "What is your reason for following the young mistress?"
Jiang Ye blinked, then answered without hesitation. "Isn't it for revenge?"
"Then why didn't you seek help from someone stronger than the young mistress? Why come to her?"
If it was purely for revenge, he could have found one or more individuals stronger than the young mistress.
Hearing this, Jiang Ye blinked, his mind gradually clearing. "Oh, right. Revenge is secondary; protecting the young mistress is the main thing!"
If Jiang Ye was simply foolish and confused about his own goals in his turmoil, Jing Feng, on the other hand, harbored deep resentment towards the demonized and was not so easily persuaded.
Moreover, he had the powerful Demon Lord behind him, whose stance was still unclear.
Xiao Zi took a deep breath and said to Jing Feng, "I'll go back to the Demon Realm with you."
He had to see that person... to protect the young mistress...
Only by witnessing Long Jin Han's attitude firsthand could he confirm whether this fellow harbored any killing intent towards the young mistress...
Furthermore, with his strength as the Demon Emperor, while he couldn't defeat Long Jin Han, escaping was not a problem.
Jing Feng's mind was in chaos, and he didn't hear what Xiao Zi said.
He felt a loosening around his waist and looked up to find Xiao Zi holding a teleportation scroll.
"Little chick, you can protect the young mistress, right?"
At this moment, Zhu Que didn't object to the nickname for the first time. She bit her lip and nodded. "I will protect my Master."
Xiao Zi smiled. That was good...
The light of the teleportation array flickered. Jing Feng's eyes widened. "No? What? Where are we going?"
Xiao Zi pulled Jing Feng into the teleportation array. "Shut up and behave."
"Hey? No??? What's going on???"
Jing Feng's eyes were wide like bronze basins, but in the next instant, the light flared, and they both vanished.
Since a decision had been made, the few people in the room calmed down somewhat.
Jiang Ye collapsed onto a chair, exhausted. "Really, my brain isn't very good to begin with, and then you suddenly stimulate me like this."
Zhu Que glared at him, gently wiping the sweat from Bai Ran's forehead. "You hesitated just now! You're not truly loyal to the Master!"
Jiang Ye scratched his head, then his nose, looking very awkward. "I was just a little confused knowing the young mistress's other identity..."
But Zhong Zi's face remained grim, silent.
"Lord Zhong, what are you thinking?"
Dong Ling's face suddenly loomed large. Zhong Zi stepped back a few paces, but his brow remained furrowed.
"I'm thinking... that expressing our loyalty is actually useless..."
Zhu Que looked at him, puzzled. "Why do you say that?"
"Because the scenes in the Leaf of Revelation won't change because of it..."
"The final choice... still rests with the King herself..."