The Demon Lord Only Wants to Follow the Script

Chapter 10: BeingSpoiled

November 19th, 2022

Fang Li lifted his head and looked at Xie Huai in a daze.

The white-robed man stood quietly outside the bamboo house, a slight breeze rustling past his clothes, his tranquil complexion reflecting the last rays of the setting sun. Such a beautiful scene After the nightmare that had just receded, half real and half fake, it was hard to tell for a while if this was dream or reality.

The System shouted anxiously: Host, host, host,wuwuwuare you alright?!!! Just now itd been yelling for half the day, but the host had acted like he hadnt heard at all. It had been worried to death. This was all its fault It should have told the host earlier that Yan Suis memories were dangerous!!!

The familiar clamor appeared in his mind.

Oh, it looked like this was reality.

Fang Li blinked.

Just now, he had been caught off guard and had gotten sucked into Yan Suis nightmare. If not for that distinct shout, he was afraid he would have been trapped inside, unable to wake.

There no was no one else here, so it could only have been Xie Huai.

At that moment, he had been at his weakest and most defenseless. Even a tottering child still learning to walk could have held up a knife and killed him. Such a good opportunity Xie Huai not only hadnt eliminated him in the name of defending the common people, but had even saved him.

Why?

Fang Li looked at Xie Huai with a complicated expression, saying hoarsely, Why are you here?

Xie Huais face was cool and calm, his expression indifferent. I was looking for a quiet place to clear my mind, thats all. Is this somewhere Im not allowed to be?

Fang Li had never restricted his movements, and he had effortlessly scouted out the whole demonic palace. There were no secret places, and even the so-called forbidden area only had a single sword set out.

Not a divine weapon that could strike the heavens and split the seas, but a common, ordinary sword, mottled with gashes and with very little spiritual energy remaining.

How could a sword like this be cherished so much by the magnificent demon lord?

That could only mean that its significance was greater than its value.

Xie Huai couldnt see anything unique about this sword. Even when it had been whole, it couldnt be considered a very valuable treasure. After it had been damaged, it had been left without an owner to nourish it with spiritual energy, and by now, it was little more than a lump of useless metal But to Fang Li, this sword must have unusual importance. He suddenly felt a bit of an urge to know the genuine, unknown face of this person, so hed quietly hidden himself inside the bamboo forest.

But he hadnt imagined that Fang Li had simply touched the sword and sunk into a nightmare, faintly showing the portents of going into a qi deviation.

If he merely left it alone, there was a high chance that Fang Li would die.

He should have left, or perhaps seized the opportunity to kill him, forever resolving this danger.

But hed looked at Fang Lis painful expression, that pair of eyes shot with blood, the blue veins pulsing on his pale, ashen face. In a split second, Fang Li had been submerged in the suffering of the past, like a drowning man struggling with all his might to escape, but finding in despair that there was nowhere to go. He had been trapped in that eternally unending dream, sinking into an endless hell. Nobody could give him a pull, and even if his soul tore and scattered, he wouldnt be able to escape

That person had finally shed his pretenses, revealing the genuine side of him concealed within, but was this scene what Xie Huai had wanted to see?

Xie Huai had closed his eyes, and before hed even realized it, hed already cried out to awaken Fang Li.

Why had he done that?

Perhaps it was merely because he didnt want to see that person reveal such a helpless, despairing look. It made one unable to help but wonder what exactly hed experienced to become like his current self.

Why dont you allow anyone to come here? Is it because the memories here are painful, very painful, yet you still cant bear to let go?

Xie Huai pursed his lips. He knew these thoughts of his were dangerous. This world had tens of thousands of kinds of suffering, and no matter what ones past, it wasnt a reason to wallow in corruption. Since he had chosen to enter the demonic path, then he should bear the cost of his choice.

Thats right, it wasnt that he took pity on that person. He was only, unwilling to take advantage of his critical state, that was all.

That was what Xie Huai told himself.

It was just a pity that he hadnt acquired any useful information today.

Xie Huai slowly and firmly moved his gaze away, not looking at Fang Li any longer, then turned and left.

Fang Li watched Xie Huais back as he left, not speaking up to stop him.

If he still didnt know good from bad right now, there was a high chance Xie Huai would regret his actions and come back to make up for it with a stab of his sword.

He pondered for a long time and came to the conclusion that with he and Xie Huais current standpoints, there could only be one reason that Xie Huai hadnt acted, which was that he was a gentleman of honor and wouldnt deign to take advantage of anothers moment of crisis.

But in truth, the fact that Xie Huai hadnt killed him was a hundred percent surprising to Fang Li.

Although hed read the original story and knew that Xie Huai dedicated his life to eliminating demons to uphold justice, punishing the wicked and uprooting evil, and he was someone the whole world revered, Xie Huai definitely wasnt an indiscriminate do-gooder. He didnt carry a merciful heart, a lenient hand, indecision, hesitancy, excessive sentimentality, and other such problems.

On the contrary, he was a hundred percent ruthless when facing demonic cultivators, killing them without blinking. He was unwavering, his way of thinking profound, and he wouldnt easily be swayed by external factors.

He had never been a saint who tried to end the suffering of all living things, but a god of death whose blade cut down evil demons.

But now, it seemed like Fang Li had been wrong

Xie Huai also had this side to him.

As expected of the protagonistshouwho was made of goodness, truth, and beauty!

If it had been Fang Li in his place, he wouldnt have been able to return evil with kindness like this.

System: Host, host, host, are you really alright now? QAQ

Fang Li finally had the energy to respond to the System. He laughed, Im fine now.

The System decided to make up for its past mistakes. He shouldnt have given the host Yan Suis memories. Although the host hadnt run into problems before, that didnt mean that he wouldnt in the future! If he met with another accident and Xie Huai wasnt around to help, who knew if the host would really be unable to wake up? Thinking of this possibility, the System blamed itself endlessly.

System: I can help you reseal Yan Suis memories.

Fang Li smiled and shook his head. No need.

He had truly had a moments carelessness just now, but the reason that the nightmare could trap him was doubtlessly because he hadnt been on guard. The bamboo sword had been a switch that had opened Yan Suis memories, and it was only the sudden surge of the nightmare charging at his consciousness that had caused him to be unable to struggle free But something like this was just like a pitfall; the same disguise in the same location might catch one unawares the first time, but as long as one knew about it, it was no longer of any use.

Besides, this was a cultivation world with fatal perils all around. It was hard to say whether the memories or the world itself was more dangerous.

Fang Li bent over and picked up the bamboo sword on the ground. Earlier, when hed been trapped, hed accidentally knocked it to the ground.

The System was just about to persuade the host, but it hadnt thought the host would dare to touch that sword. It immediately lost all color in fright and was almost terrified into crashing!

But what surprised it was that this time, nothing happened to Fang Li at all. He only picked up the sword and gently put it back in place, carefully wiping the dust.

System: ?

Fang Li slowly walked outside. Before leaving, he turned back to look at the lonely bamboo house.

If this world had never given someone a thread of hope, that was still better than giving you hope, then mercilessly and thoroughly crushing it.

Regardless of whether his white robes were soaked in blood or whether he was mired in a hopeless situation, the person who had protected Yan Sui in his memories had never ceded a single step. Up until the very last moment, he had wanted to shield him with his body, as if as long as he was standing there, he neednt fear this world

Just like how Xie Huai had faced the tens of thousands of demonic cultivators back then, carrying his sword in one hand as he stood in front of the Cloudbank Keep disciples, his white robes soaked in blood, refusing to retreat even half a step, willing to plummet into an endless hell in order to protect the people he wanted to protect

Xie Huai was very similar to that person.

It was only a pity that the person Xie Huai stood in front of to protect wasnt him. As for him, he would never in this life meet someone like that again.

Fang Li thought he understood a little why Yan Sui had allowed himself to sink.

Because he didnt want to free himself and escape at all.

That he would fall in love with Xie Huai wasnt because of the original storys so-called affection borne from time Perhaps, he had only always been chasing a dream that could never become reality. Although he knew it was all a fantasy, he still couldnt bear to let go

In the entirety of his short and tragic life, that was the one and only thing he had wanted to keep, yet had been unable to keep no matter what.

Unfortunately, in the end, what didnt belong to him, didnt belong to him

Trying to keep something by force was only drinking poison to quench his thirst, only a way of deceiving himself.

These days, the System was constantly worried. Although the host had said he was fine, was he really completely fine?

Fang Li thought the System was truly overthinking things.

Compared to those trifling matters, Fang Li was more fed up with the fact that official business was picking up these days.

Du Meng had conquered another province, and their territory had expanded again. When the demonic horde banded together, there were almost no righteous sects who could resist them, causing their territory to expand too quickly recently

Expanding their territory would cause the question of dividing the tribute to come up. Because of this, plenty of demonic sects had started to create a ruckus in front of him, quarreling this way and that. Although he didnt really want to pay attention to it, he could only listen patiently.

This position of demon lord was more or less like being the emperor, but handling matters as an emperor was a very taxing job. Only muddle-headed monarchs lived comfortable, carefree lives.

Fang Li decided to go through with the incompetent ruler who destroyed his nation act to the very end.

The best way to evade work was to sink into vices of the flesh. Recently, Fang Li was very fond of going over to Xie Huais. Because of the matter last time, Fang Lis favorability towards Xie Huai had increased again. A noble-hearted gentleman who repaid evil with kindness and emitted the dazzling brilliance of a right and proper citizen wouldnt use base or conniving tactics Before Xie Huai broke through his seal, they could definitely get along peacefully!

Previously, he had been using the heart of a small-minded person to measure the bearing of a gentleman!

Plus, according to the progression of the original plot, after experiencing several intense X scenes, Yan Suis heart was moved along with his body, and he finally started to fall step by step, giving Xie Huai whatever he wanted, completely bending to his will, and gradually turning into an obedient dog. He only hated that he couldnt pluck the moon and stars for the sky to exchange for a single smile from the beauty

When Fang Li had first read the book, hed thought that Yan Sui being moved because of lust to the point of falling in true love was a bit ridiculous and illogical. He could only conclude that it was because this was a PWP novel

But after being trapped in the nightmare last time, Fang Li could understand Yan Suis emotions a little, and he understood why it had to be Xie Huai Because Xie Huai really was very similar to that person.

When the novel world was turned into reality and the two-dimensional characters became real, living people, the parts that originally didnt make enough sense had automatically been filled out. It was a pretty interesting matter.

Today, Fang Li was about to go to the grand hall to listen to official matters again, and without the slightest bit of hesitation, he brought Xie Huai with him to attend court. He held onto Xie Huais hand the whole way, leading him to sit by his side.

The horde of demons below couldnt help raising a clamor. His Excellency was being too outrageous! This wasnt something like a banquet, where bringing a plaything along to toy around with was whatever To bring a righteous sect cultivator to sit on the demon lords throne while the demonic sects discussed official matters, what manner of nonsense was that?!

Xie Huai remained silent, his expression indifferent.

His hand was grasped by Fang Li without rest, and the slightly cool sensation of the others fingertips transferred over. Perhaps it was because theyd been holding hands for a while, but those fingertips gradually stopped feeling cool, as if theyd gained a little bit of warmth While this person ate and lived together with him, hed still been somewhat cautious at first, but now hed become more and more careless. Was it because he was starting to let his guard down?

Other than never truly touching him, this person could be said to be totally willing to bend to Xie Huais whims. His act of favoritism and affection could be considered to have been acted out flawlessly, to the point that it sometimes gave him the illusion that this person really did like him

But he knew it was all fake.

Xie Huai lowered his eyes, meeting Du Mengs gaze.

Hah, so this was Fang Lis goalmaking Du Meng think that Xie Huai was his weakness. For this, he didnt hesitate to go to this extent Xie Huai pulled the corner of his mouth, lowering his gaze to cover up the chill in the depth of his eyes.

Since youre making use of me, why dont we make use of each other?

Fang Li propped up his chin with one hand, impatiently listening to the underling speak.

The Demonflame Sect sect master said, This time, we attacked twelve sects in Wangyue province, and there are seven hundred and ninety-two righteous sect prisoners. Your Excellency, how should we arrange them?

The Demonflame Sect sect master had already planned it all out. The Nascent Soul and above cultivators, theyd refine their souls; the Golden Core and above cultivators, theyd refine into puppets; the rest, theyd divide amongst everyone as slaves. Slaves with cultivation were hot commodities, after all, whether they were to be refined into furnaces or medicinal vessels, they were all top-quality materials Their Demonflame Sect had contributed a huge effort this time, so no matter what, they should get a bit of a larger share, right?

How to arrange them?

Fang Li creased his brow, a little troubled

Xie Huai suddenly opened his mouth, his voice cool and indifferent, his expression frigid. Slaughtering innocents is a violation of heavenly law.

What a slaughtering innocents, what a violation of heavenly law! The horde of demons below immediately burst into roaring laughter, looking at Xie Huai as if they were staring at a fool. He must have gone mad to say those kinds of words in this place. Didnt he see what kind of people were here? Did he really think he was still that Yuyi-jun revered by all? Here, youre nothing but a plaything being toyed around with! Not a sliver of self-awareness!

The Demonflame Sect sect master had also started to sneer. When His Excellency spoke, was there any place for a plaything to interrupt? No matter how much His Excellency doted on him, he wouldnt allow him to act this willfully.

Everything thought Xie Huai was ridiculous and laughable.

Only Fang Lis eyes lit up. It wasnt suitable for him to say those words, but for Xie Huai, it couldnt be more fitting. This was basically gifting him a pillow just as he was getting drowsy, was Xie Huai the roundworm in his stomach?

Fang Li sat up straight and didnt even look at the people below. His eyes were full of tenderness and doting as he said to Xie Huai, Alright, whatever you want.

Then he turned and said coldly to the Demonflame Sect sect master, whose face was sluggish as he was still caught in a daze, Didnt you hear? Seeing as Yuyi-jun isnt happy, these people wont be arranged anywhere for the time being.

The Demonflame Sect sect master looked at Fang Li blankly. He thought he must have been hallucinating.

Everyone present was startled for a moment. A terrifying thought appeared in their headscould it be that the one who had gone mad wasnt Xie Huai, but His Excellency?

Because of a single sentence from Xie Huai, they wouldnt be arranging these people? They had put their all into capturing those prisoners, and theyd had plenty of casualties, too! How could they leave it like this! Everyone revealed resentful expressions one by one!

But Fang Li didnt intend to give them the chance to retort. His voice was steeped in a penetrating chill, and his frigid gaze swept through the lower area as he enunciated, What is it? Is there anyone who objects to this lords decision? Come forward.

The room fell into silence.

Not a single person came forward.

Fang Li leaned back, satisfied. Pretty good, nobody was willing to be the nail that stuck out.

Because of this, the look that everyone gave Xie Huai changed. There was a bit less ridicule, a bit more resentment and fear.

After a long time, the Blackwater Valley valley master hesitated, then walked forward, bowing and clearing his throat as he said, It has been said that the demonic palace is lacking in personal servants. This subordinate specially collected eighty-eight young men and women, each top-quality in appearance. This subordinate wishes to send them into the palace to attend to Your Excellency

Xie Huai raised his eyebrows. No need, its enough that His Excellency has me.

! The crowd was furious. Outrageous, truly too outrageous! His Excellency hadnt even spoken yet!

Fang Li simply thought this was absolutely fantastic. He gave Xie Huai a heartfelt look. To think they had this level of tacit understanding! He immediately said impatiently to the Blackwater Valley valley master, Didnt you hear? Release them all. And dont do this kind of unnecessary thing in the future, this lord isnt lacking people by his side.

!!! Shouting, clamor, shock, bewilderment!

Fang Li said, Anything else?

This time, the hall was silent for a long time. No one came forward for half the day.

Just as everyone was still in the midst of shock, not knowing how best to proceed, Du Meng suddenly stepped forward. He raised his head and fixed his eyes on Fang Li and Xie Huai, his murky black eyes carrying an oppressive weight. He slowly opened his mouth, Recently, a few Cloudbank Keep disciples snuck into the areas surrounding Hollow Ridge and were captured. What does Your Excellency think would be the best way to handle them?

Cloudbank Keep disciples, huh

Fang Li was already eagerly seeking advice. He smiled and directly asked Xie Huai, How does Yuyi-jun think it should be handled?

Xie Huais sharp gaze swept past Du Meng. The corner of his lips lifted slightly, and he said blandly. Naturally, let them all go.

Fang Li had been waiting for this exact sentence. As expected, Xie Huai didnt let him down. Someone with any less courage wouldnt dare to seize control like this and might have gotten scared silly by Du Meng

Fang Li gave Du Meng a cold glance, opening his mouth without hesitation. Let them all go, and if any Cloudbank Keep disciples come in the future, as long as they dont stir up any trouble, just leave them alone. Understand? These were his in-laws, Xie Huais maiden family. Forget doing anything to them, he had to properly offer them his respects!

After he was done speaking, he looked at Xie Huai, immediately putting on a warm expression, and said dotingly, Do you think these arrangements are fine?

Xie Huais expression hadnt changed from start to finish, maintaining that cool, indifferent appearance the entire time. He hadnt even given a single smile, only making a light mn sound in his throat by way of reply.

Fang Li didnt mind his indifference in the least. He looped an arm around Xie Huas shoulders, as if he really were smitten all the way to the bone, saying tenderly, As long as youre happy.

Everyone below was already thoroughly dazed. Was there even a f*cking shred of the natural order left?

Outrageous, outrageous, as a mere plaything, this was simply too outrageous! This was being spoiled to the point of arrogance!

Is the person in charge here His Excellency, or you, Xie Huai?!