If I Go With You

The fastest update to Seeking the Dao in the Mortal World!

In the alleys east of the East of the City, moss grows on the bluestone. From within the blue courtyard walls, one can vaguely see a corner of Painted Pavilion with Vermilion Eaves, where swallows return in pairs, frolicking around the eaves.

A few exotic flowers peek out from the wall, their fragrance filling the air, while the sound of flowing water can be heard softly in the courtyard, creating a serene and elegant atmosphere.

With a creak, the courtyard gate opened, and Qin Yi stood by the gate looking out. Several little foxes stood stealthily around the area, with artificial hills, flowing water, pavilions, and bridges in the center. On the stone bridge, Cheng Cheng held an oil-paper umbrella and stood quietly in the middle of the bridge, watching the water.

In her clear, autumn-water-like eyes, the reflection of fallen petals seemed to carry a hint of sorrow.

As the courtyard gate opened, a gentle breeze swept in, causing Cheng Cheng to seem slightly chilly and furrow her brow. But she quickly realized it was Qin Yi, and her brow relaxed. Looking up at the gate, she smiled brightly, "You've arrived?"

A light rain fills the sky and a gentle breeze fills the courtyard; a sorrowful brow is concealed, unseen by anyone.

Suddenly, these lines of poetry came to Qin Yi's mind. He didn't know why, even though Cheng Cheng was not a literary youth, but Ju Yunxiu was, Qin Yi always saw a transcendent and otherworldly air about Ju Yunxiu. Yet, in a demon king who should have been more magnanimous and savage, he could always see the Jiangnan Misty Rain, the gentleness and melancholy under the umbrella.

It felt like an illusion.

It's really just an illusion... Cheng Cheng hasn't cultivated; she's just an ordinary human, but that doesn't mean she has the mind and soul of an ordinary human. Her soul is clearly identical to Chenghuang's, only she's multitasking. Yet, because of her frail body without cultivation, she experiences strange sensations, always giving people a sense of helplessness and delicate beauty when surrounded by this Jiangnan Misty Rain landscape.

Seeing Cheng Cheng but not Chenghuang is Qin Yi deceiving himself, while Cheng Cheng is playing along with him in this play, as if they are really two different people.

A demon king who, due to various political considerations, is unlikely to have any emotional communication with humans, and a human girl who, without any cultivation, runs her family's clothing shop in the Demon City.

Look at the splendor of the human world within this Demon City.

This place is not only filled with bloodshed and cruelty, but also with the Jiangnan Misty Rain.

Not only is there a demon king here, but there are also human girls.

She was willing to play a role, and Qin Yi was willing to act with her.

"Sit down." Cheng Cheng happily took his hand and sat down opposite him at the stone table in the pavilion.

There was already a wine pot and two small cups on the table. Cheng Cheng poured him some wine and said with a smile, "Do I need to be a mute?"

Qin Yi laughed, "No... In fact, you don't need to deliberately pretend to have another identity. It would be bad if you pretended to have a split personality."

"It's not that I want to pretend, nor is it that you insist on seeing me pretend." Cheng Cheng smiled slightly. "The fact that you brought it up that way and I responded that way shows that we're on the same wavelength. You don't want to get involved in the affairs of the Demon City, nor do you want me to consider those things. I'm Cheng Cheng, and you're Qin Yi. Let's keep things simple, shall we?"

"Yes. I don't want to treat Ye Ling as the Young Master of the Demon City, nor do I want to treat Cheng Cheng as a demon king. Too much involvement will annoy both of us. It would be better if things could be simpler. Ye Ling has a pure heart, so that's fine, but I don't know if you can handle it." Qin Yi raised his glass. "Putting everything else aside, let's toast to your successful recovery."

Cheng Cheng raised her glass to clink it with Chengcheng's, and the two drank it down at the same time.

Cheng Cheng's human form clearly didn't have much of a tolerance for alcohol, and her pretty face quickly flushed slightly. She looked at him with a gentle gaze and whispered, "Are you satisfied with this wine? It's made by humans, but it uses the Spirit Grain of the Demon City. Even immortals can enjoy its flavor."

Qin Yi then said, "It's good wine. It's a pity you can't drink much of this kind of spiritual wine."

"Hmm... I get drunk easily," Cheng Cheng said softly. "But it's okay, the person in front of me is you. What does it matter if I get drunk to death?"

Qin Yi turned his head slightly. "Don't say these things."

"Then what do you want to hear?" Cheng Cheng said, "Putting aside my identity as a demon king, do you really not know my feelings? You can't possibly still think I'm just teasing you, can you?"

This statement already has a hidden meaning; it doesn't refer to the sentence in front of us.

Instead, it's that line from long ago. "If you wish to stay, I am willing to entrust my life to you."

When Cheng Cheng spoke those words in her human form, it was her True Intention.

It wasn't a deliberate attempt to seduce him, nor was it a performance for Guo Xiao's benefit.

It's true from beginning to end.

However, when the Demon King's responsibility was involved, she dared not face the True Intention, and Qin Yi dared not believe it either; both of them took it as a flirtation.

With the passage of time and looking back, the two of them naturally knew that it was true.

"This Brocade Embroidery Workshop wasn't something I bought on a whim to fool you into buying," Cheng Cheng said softly, sipping her wine. "The Demon City has always had a sense of aesthetics in its clothing making; it's not like they're eating raw meat and drinking blood. However, their aesthetics are closer to those of the alien tribes among humans. This was originally a workshop where my mother worked. Of course, my mother was just an ordinary Weaving Girl, not the owner—more precisely, she was just a Human Slave."

Qin Yi sipped his wine in silence, listening to Cheng Cheng tell her story.

"I don't know exactly how she met my father, but she became his slave and was favored a few times. The legend of the demon king falling in love with a human is false; my mother was just very lucky... You know, the stronger a life form is, the harder it is to reproduce, and interspecies unions are even more difficult. Other demon concubines couldn't conceive no matter what, but my mother, a human, unexpectedly became pregnant."

At this point, Cheng Cheng said with a hint of sarcasm, "The so-called purity of bloodline is nothing compared to the crisis of having no offspring. My mother simply transformed from a human into Queen. This Brocade Embroidery Workshop was also preserved as a memento and became one of the royal family's properties. So I am the owner, my physical body resides here, and I've even personally designed clothing patterns, which I learned from humans, I'm not lying to you."

Qin Yi smiled, "Yes, the beauty of the human world within the Demon City. From the past to the present, it has always been that way."

This is not just a small part of the Brocade Embroidery Workshop; it's merely a microcosm. The splendor of this Demon City is reflected in many aspects of human institutions and civilization, unlike the demons themselves. This was all thanks to Cheng Cheng's efforts.

Cheng Cheng rested her chin on her hand charmingly and asked, "Actually... Qin Yi, do you know that offspring born from mating with a demon also have impure bloodlines? Why doesn't anyone care?"

Qin Yi was taken aback. He hadn't thought of it this way before, but now that he thought about it, it made sense. Where would the pure blood of the offspring born from other Demon Race come from? Why don't they care? So they still discriminate against humans, right?

"It's not simply a matter of discrimination against humans, but a crisis of consciousness and dominance," Cheng Cheng said calmly. "I was born to be king, something they couldn't choose. But I have human blood, so naturally I have human biases. I promote human artisans, and I even have human advisors in some important departments. Monsters can't just eat people; they have to get certified and report it, and so on. If it weren't for the fact that I am indeed the strongest, the White Kingdom would probably have rebelled several times already. The Guoxiao Two Kingdoms have tried to incite the White Kingdom with similar things before, but I suppressed them all."

Qin Yi finally understood where Ying Li and the others' real worries lay.

This is far more serious than simply a matter of pure bloodline; it's much more serious.

"If my offspring are born from a union between humans and humans, the Demon City will inevitably change. All the demons will find it unbearable. They would rather I marry any demon than marry a human—oh, except for Ye Ling."

Qin Yi: "..."

Cheng Cheng's expression turned solemn. "I'm talking about all monsters, not just a few like Ying Li, but all of them. And all of them... include Chenghuang."

The conversation from back then resurfaced in my mind. "They are all people who want to gain both wealth and people; there are no genuine people among them."

The monsters may not necessarily be after both people and money; their motives are more complex. In short, they certainly don't have any genuinely kind people among them.

However—"the hard work of our ancestors cannot be abandoned," this is her responsibility.

So the whole story was actually told years ago, and every single word is true.

Qin Yi remained silent for a long while before raising his glass and saying, "I understand. Let's drink."

Cheng Cheng pressed down on her wine glass and whispered, "But I am Cheng Cheng, I am human, not Chenghuang. I don't ask you to stay, but if I go with you, will you want me?"

Qin Yi's hand trembled slightly, and a drop of wine spilled onto the stone table, slowly spreading out like a peach blossom.

Cheng Cheng finally raised her own wine cup and said, word by word, "I have two bodies: a demon as a king and a human as a lord. If you are willing, let us drink this cup together."