You Know, I'm a Demon Lord!

"It's you... my good nephew. Put down the knife first. Whatever it is, we can talk it over properly, all right?"

After a long while, Zhao Yungui slowly spoke.

Yet there was a faint tremor in his voice.

His face revealed a tangle of emotions—shock, fear, confusion, and more.

Ji Qing remained unmoved. He glanced at the two guards, then at the Zhao Family servants farther away, and said coldly, "Uncle, are you sure you want them to hear what I have to say?"

Zhao Yungui said to the two guards, "Leave. Do not come any closer."

The two guards exchanged a glance.

With their martial skills, they were no match for Ji Qing.

They could only obey and retreat, withdrawing all the way to over thirty meters away.

Zhao Yungui took a deep breath and said with a complicated expression, "Ji Qing, I believe there must be some hidden truth behind what happened to your family. But the Government Authorities are now hunting you down. There is nothing I can do."

Ji Qing sheathed his knife and said coldly, "I only need you to do one thing this time."

Ji Qing set down the basket on his back.

A little head poked out from inside the basket.

"She is... Yao'er?"

Zhao Yungui immediately guessed Ji Yao's identity.

"That's right. She is Yao'er, your own niece! Of the entire Ji Family, only the two of us are still alive."

"Now I'm entrusting Yao'er to you. You will raise her until she grows up. Any problem with that?"

Ji Qing spoke bluntly.

"This..."

Zhao Yungui said somewhat awkwardly, "Ji Qing, my household situation is complicated. My wife and I are at odds, my children are all troublemakers, and several of my younger brothers have their eyes on the family assets. Now that Yao'er has joined us, I fear she may be caught up in the Lineage's internal disputes."

Ji Qing lifted Ji Yao out of the basket.

His tone was calm as he said, "It's fine. If Ji Yao is bullied, or if she does not live well, I will kill your entire family!"

"Uh... you..."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yungui seemed as though an invisible hand had seized him by the throat. His face flushed crimson, yet he did not know what to say.

"You know, I'm a Demon Lord!"

After saying that, Ji Qing crouched down and said to Ji Yao, "Yao'er, from now on, you will live with Uncle. He is your mother's elder brother, and he will certainly treat you well. If anyone bullies you, or if you suffer any grievance, tell me when I come to see you."

Though Ji Yao was only six years old, her experiences wandering the Jianghu along the way had already made her very sensible.

Tears streamed silently down her face, but she did not make a fuss. Instead, she asked, "Brother, will you come see me?"

"I will. You are my only little sister. I will definitely come see you."

"Okay. Then I'll listen to you, Brother. I'll stay here with Uncle, and when I grow up, I'll be able to help you."

Ji Qing wiped away Ji Yao's tears.

He rose and looked at Zhao Yungui. "Uncle, any problem?"

Countless thoughts had flashed through Zhao Yungui's mind just now.

But when he saw Ji Qing's icy gaze, his heart still trembled. "No problem. Absolutely no problem. With me, Yao'er will be treated like my own daughter. I will never let her suffer any grievance!"

"Remember to let Yao'er study."

"I'll find Yao'er the best tutor in the entire city."

Ji Qing nodded.

"I'll say it again: if Yao'er does not live well, I'll wipe out the Zhao Clan!"

With that, Ji Qing's figure flickered. After several leaps, he vanished without a trace.

The two guards and the servants hurried over.

"Master, are you all right?"

One of the guards asked.

Zhao Yunchuan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, still gripped by fear.

Ji Qing was a genuine Demon Lord.

Eighth on the Villain Ranking, with a thousand-tael silver bounty from the Government Authorities.

He did not doubt the weight behind Ji Qing's words, "wipe out the Zhao Clan."

"Let's go. Hurry back."

Zhao Yungui also took Ji Yao by the hand and hurried back to the Zhao Residence.

"Yao'er, go rest first. I'll send two maidservants to attend to you."

Zhao Yungui said "kindly."

"I shall follow Uncle's arrangements."

Ji Yao was very sensible as well. She understood that she was now living under another's roof.

It was different from before, when she was at home.

No sooner had Ji Yao left than a middle-aged woman hurried in.

The moment she entered the hall, she saw Ji Yao being led away by a maidservant. Her face instantly darkened.

"Wonderful, Zhao Yungui! You actually kept a mistress behind my back? You even had a child with her, and you dare bring that child into our home? Tell me, which cheap woman gave birth to this bastard of yours?"

The middle-aged woman stormed before Zhao Yungui and began shouting.

"Shut up!"

Zhao Yungui's expression changed.

He looked around in every direction, terrified that someone might hear.

"Madam, she is Yun Niang's child. Do not make a scene, whatever you do. Otherwise, disaster will befall our household!"

"Yun Niang? Which Yun Niang?"

"Which Yun Niang could it be? Of course, my own younger sister, who married into Ji Manor in Liang City."

"Didn't the Government Authorities say your sister Yun Niang was killed by that unfilial rebel? Then this child... was sent here by that Demon Lord?"

"Lower your voice! My dear madam, how do you still dare shout? He may be watching us from the shadows..."

Zhao Yungui was so anxious that he stamped his feet, clamping a hand firmly over his wife's mouth.

Disaster came from the mouth. He feared his wife would say something even more outrageous.

Madam Zhao took a deep breath as well, calming her rattled nerves before asking in a low voice, "Then we are not reporting this to the authorities?"

"You still dare report it? Do you not know what sort of trash fills the yamen? Besides, that baleful star said that if Yao'er suffers any grievance or is bullied, he will wipe out the entire Zhao Residence! I only met that baleful star once, and my legs are still shaking. With all the things he has done, he is probably truly a great Demon Lord. We cannot afford to provoke him."

"You must properly warn the servants, as well as those troublesome sons of ours. They must never provoke Ji Yao. Otherwise, catastrophic disaster will descend upon the entire Zhao Clan."

"Alas, what a calamity..."

Zhao Yungui's face was filled with anxiety.

Ever since Ji Manor had been exterminated, he had made detailed inquiries into Ji Qing's affairs.

He had killed his father and mother, slaughtered everyone in Ji Manor, then wandered the world. It was said he had also killed the Eighteen Riders of the Great Desert and the Three Freaks of Lingdong, earning himself eighth place on the Jianghu's Villain Ranking!

For such a great Demon Lord, with blood all over his hands and corpses strewn across the wilds, if Ji Yao truly suffered any grievance in the Zhao Residence, everyone in the Zhao Residence would be in real danger.

"Master, rest assured. From now on, we can simply worship Ji Yao like an ancestor, can't we? She will receive the finest treatment in the Zhao Residence, and we absolutely will not let her suffer even the slightest grievance!"

"Good. As long as Madam understands. Nothing must go wrong. Oh, and Ji Yao's identity must be kept under lock and key. No one else can learn of it, or there may be serious trouble."

Zhao Yungui knew that Ji Qing, this "eighth-ranked villain," might look impressive, but he likely carried no small amount of trouble with him.

The Zhao Residence could not withstand such turmoil.

In the blink of an eye, several days passed.

Ji Qing had not left Anyang City. Instead, he hid within the city and watched over Ji Yao from the shadows for several days.

During those days, Ji Yao was somewhat unaccustomed to things at first, but the Zhao Residence truly did not dare slight her. From top to bottom, everyone treated Ji Yao exceptionally well, and every provision she received was the finest in the Zhao Residence.

Zhao Yungui's eldest grandson had mischievously teased Ji Yao. As a result, Madam Zhao enforced Family Law and beat him until his skin split and flesh tore.

Even his father's pleas for mercy were useless.

Ji Qing was very satisfied.

Of course, he also knew perfectly well that Zhao Yungui did not truly love Ji Yao. He merely feared Ji Qing, the "great Demon Lord" of the Jianghu.

As long as this "great Demon Lord" remained alive, Ji Yao could live in peace.

Whoosh.

A fierce glint flashed through Ji Qing's eyes.

"You've followed me for so long. Come out."

Ji Qing's tone was calm, but his hand gradually closed around the hilt of his knife.

As the autumn wind blew, a chilling, murderous air spread through the air.

The surroundings seemed to fall silent all at once, as though even the air had frozen solid.