Memories flashed back to when he was seriously injured, and the little girl wanted to use his heart's blood to save him.
There were only the two of them in the cave then, but the little girl was clearly talking to someone.
Could it be him? Long Jinhan's dark eyes narrowed, a terrifying killing intent flickering within them.
Xiao Zi clicked his tongue and shook his ears irritably, "So what if it was?"
"Hmph," Long Jinhan chuckled deeply, gathering spiritual energy in his hand, "If you don't want to die, stay away from her."
What is it? Xiao Zi frowned, his tail impatiently slapping the ground. He wasn't here to discuss this!
"Demon Lord, the little one encountered the Leaf of Heavenly Revelation."
Long Jinhan's eyelashes trembled slightly, "What did she see?"
Xiao Zi tilted his head, hands on his hips, his expression proud and arrogant, "This lord suddenly doesn't want to tell you."
Hearing this, Long Jinhan's expression visibly brewed with anger.
Jing Feng, standing nearby, twitched his mouth. Truly, one was more childish than the other...
Jing Feng sighed and walked up to Long Jinhan, bowing, "Your Excellency, Miss Bai is currently unconscious."
As expected, the spiritual energy in Long Jinhan's hand instantly dissipated, and a hint of urgency appeared on his face, "The little girl is unconscious?"
Jing Feng nodded and continued, "Miss Bai saw the scenes within the Leaf of Heavenly Revelation, and with the third layer of the seal unsealed, she fell into a coma."
Afterward, Jing Feng described the scenes from the Leaf of Heavenly Revelation.
Long Jinhan's large hand clenched, his face as cold as ice. Xiao Zi glanced at him and said, "Demon Lord, if one day she becomes the King of the Demonized,
'Killing innocent people, plunging the world into suffering, and destroying it all,'
'Would you choose to kill her to protect the peace of the Demon Realm and the lives of all beings in the world?'"
Xiao Zi stared directly at Long Jinhan. As expected, he saw a flicker of hesitation on the Demon Lord's face.
Xiao Zi sneered. As he thought, he didn't love the little girl that much...
"Your... Your Excellency..." Jing Feng called out cautiously.
Suddenly, Long Jinhan stood up, his eyes filled with helplessness, "Jing Feng, I officially appoint you as the next Demon Lord."
For a moment, the palace was deathly silent.
Xiao Zi's round eyes widened, looking at Long Jinhan in disbelief.
Jing Feng's jaw almost hit the floor. He hurriedly knelt down, unsure of what he had done wrong.
"Your... Your Excellency! Impossible! This subordinate is incompetent and unworthy of the position of Demon Lord!"
"If this subordinate has done anything wrong! I beg Your Excellency to punish me!"
Long Jinhan's eyes dimmed, and he vaguely heard him sigh, "The Demon Lord's stance cannot be by the little girl's side."
"If I were not the Demon Lord, I would not have to bear the heavy responsibility of avenging those who died for the Demon Realm."
"Then I could protect her without any reservations."
Jing Feng lowered his head, his expression complex. Your Excellency...
Xiao Zi's expression turned serious, his brows furrowed. So his hesitation earlier...
Wasn't about whether to kill the little girl, but about his identity, and how he could stand by her side...
Because Long Jinhan's heart—had already completely tilted towards Bai Ran.
Xiao Zi chuckled lightly, "Well, I really underestimated you."
Long Jinhan stared at him, his voice cold, "If I'm by the little girl's side, you can scram."
"Hey—?" With his voice rising, Xiao Zi instantly became furious, "Don't think you can be so arrogant just because the little girl loves you!"
But unexpectedly, Long Jinhan's earlobes turned a suspicious shade of red.
He averted his gaze and deliberately coughed a few times, "This Lord knows she loves this Lord... No need to spread it around..."
Xiao Zi gritted his teeth, his temples throbbing with anger. Someone tell him!
Why was the Demon Lord's focus so peculiar!!!
Xiao Zi took a deep breath. Fine! This Demon Lord was his nemesis!
Jing Feng gritted his teeth and hesitated, "Is Miss Bai really the King of the Demonized... Could it be incorrect information...?"
After all, the news came from the Demonized. No one knew the truth.
Long Jinhan was silent for a moment, and before he could speak, Xiao Zi interjected, "Most likely true."
Xiao Zi provocatively raised his eyebrows at the Demon Lord with a dark expression, "It's highly probable that the little one's inner demon is the King of the Demonized."
Hearing this, Long Jinhan smiled, "If I'm not mistaken, you weren't present when the little girl's inner demon began to manifest, were you?"
Well... Xiao Zi guiltily shifted his gaze. He was in the Slaughtering Heaven Realm at the time, so he was technically present...
Long Jinhan lowered his eyes in thought, "Currently, the inner demon within the little girl is sealed by Xuan Qinghong."
"If the seal is broken, the little girl will be in danger."
All Demonized are beings of ultimate evil born from being possessed by inner demons, but in essence, they are another self.
It's just that this other self lacks emotions and doesn't understand love or hate. They are merely weapons of slaughter.
So even if their closest kin stood before them, they would likely die tragically...
Recalling the scenes from the Leaf of Heavenly Revelation, Long Jinhan pursed his beautiful thin lips.
The Leaf of Heavenly Revelation foretold the future, the little girl holding a brocade box filled with the heads of friends and family...
If the girl knew everything... how painful would it be...
"With this Lord here, this scene from the Leaf of Heavenly Revelation will not happen."
Xiao Zi raised his eyebrows and sneered dismissively, "The busy Demon Lord, the current Divine Emperor has been quite active lately."
"You're busy dealing with the Divine Realm every day, how can you have time to care for the little one?"
Long Jinhan gritted his teeth, his cool eyes flashing with a chilling light, "Likewise."
"You probably don't know yet, the demon who annihilated his clan has returned to the Nine Heavens and has been causing trouble these past few months."
The demon who annihilated his clan! Lin Ze had returned!
Xiao Zi's expression immediately turned heavy. What would the demon race be like now...
"Demon Emperor, how long will you continue to wander outside? Even if the Demon race is annihilated, can you still watch with indifference?"
Long Jinhan's words struck home, and Xiao Zi lowered his head, unable to refute.
Yes... he couldn't stay by the little girl's side forever... he still bore the entire Demon race on his shoulders.
There was no use in escaping, the people of the Demon race were still silently waiting for his return.
Even the usually carefree Tinglan would often ask him when he would return to the Demon race...
Xiao Zi clenched his fists and sighed heavily, "This has nothing to do with the Demon Lord."
"Your Excellency..." Jing Feng on the side was somewhat helpless. How did the topic stray again? "Should we tell Miss Bai all of this?"
Hearing this, Xiao Zi's thoughts immediately returned, "No need to tell her."
Since it was a confirmed fact that couldn't be changed, why should she bear the pain and harm herself from now on?
However, Long Jinhan smiled gently, recalling that fiery, dazzling figure in his mind.
"This Lord believes in her—"
Because it was her, Long Jinhan believed.
The darling of Heaven, a unique and miraculous woman in the world, she always found a way out of desperate situations and created miracles.
The little girl would prove with her actions that she would never fall to a mere inner demon.
"Demon Lord, the scenes in the Leaf of Heavenly Revelation will surely happen, don't you know that?"
Xiao Zi frowned deeply. If he could change it, he would choose to tell the truth, but the Leaf of Heavenly Revelation was the eye of heaven.
No matter how hard they tried, the scenes they saw were bound to happen.
"If the little one knows that she was the one who caused it, she will undoubtedly harm herself, am I wrong?"
But how could Long Jinhan not know that the little girl would suffer if she knew, and might even harm herself.
Because that's the kind of person she was: love completely, hate decisively.
Long Jinhan smiled tenderly, a hint of infinite love hidden within, "If there is only darkness around, then she is the light."
He turned and slowly walked away, his voice filled with endless laughter echoing in the air, "Try to believe in the little girl."
Watching Long Jinhan's retreating back, Xiao Zi stood there, contemplating his words.
After an unknown amount of time, he finally looked up and revealed a bitter smile.
Even if the future was set, could they forge a new path and soar to the heavens...
What a bother, how could he have forgotten, this was the real her.
If she knew the truth and wanted to end herself, that was simply not something she would do.
The teleportation scroll lit up, and Xiao Zi's heart finally felt at ease...
Jing Feng on the side's eyes widened, "Hey!"
With a bright flash of light, Xiao Zi disappeared from his spot.
"I haven't gone up yet..."
Jing Yun, who had come looking for the Demon Lord, blinked, "Jing Feng? Why are you back?"
Jing Feng looked utterly dejected, "Guess how I got back..."