After Switching Bodies with the Villainous Demon Lord - Chapter 11

“Ah? It wasn’t you, my Lord…” The minister’s eyes widened as he fell silent.

He knew well how unpredictable the Demon Lord was, but his Lord had always kept his word—why was he suddenly going back on it now?

But could he question him?

Of course not.

And maybe it was just his imagination, but the Demon Lord’s mood today seemed even worse than usual.

Xiao Wuchen glanced down at the man kneeling before him, trembling with unease. The fog in his sea of consciousness gradually cleared.

After sending Duan Ze away yesterday, he had returned straight to Zeshuang Pavilion to rest. His original plan was to go out the next day and tell the people from Cangyu Sect that he’d already driven Duan Ze and the others off. But after a night of meditation, when he opened his eyes again—he was back in his own body.

He cast a glance at the pile of saplings stacked up in his courtyard. It had barely been half a day, and Duan Ze had already given him a task to do.

But what did the guy make his ministers prepare all these things for? What was the point?

Xiao Wuchen never believed in coincidences. He’d seen too many hypocrites like Duan Ze, who wore righteous masks but were rotten to the core. Most of what they said couldn’t be trusted. It was entirely possible that the body swap incident had been Duan Ze’s doing from the start.

During the time they were switched, Xiao Wuchen had clearly sensed the presence of a demonic cultivation technique in Duan Ze’s body, which had blocked some of his meridians and caused his cultivation to stagnate. Compared to his own body, that one was obviously inferior. Maybe the guy had been trying to take over his body from the beginning.

All kinds of suspicions burst forth in his mind the moment he saw how eager Duan Ze had been to start messing around in his Imperial Palace.

There was even a possibility that the people from Cangyu Sect knew about this too. Were they planning to take down the Demon Realm before the Demon Realm had the chance to strike?

Xiao Wuchen adjusted his robes, stepped around the minister, and said slowly before the man could lose any more color in his face, “Bring the things and follow Benzun to the Main Hall. Repeat everything I told you to do yesterday—word for word.”

…

Duan Ze slept until the sun was hanging directly overhead and still showed no signs of waking—until a series of knocks echoed from outside the door.

The man turned over, lingering in his dreams, brows furrowing as consciousness slowly returned.

The Demon Lord’s bed was extravagantly soft and comfortable, the blankets faintly scented and still warm from the sun, making it feel like he could melt right into it. But right now, the surface beneath him was hard as stone, bare and cold, just like the bed he’d used when he was a Shizu.

He’d thought about laying down some bedding before, but the Shizu didn’t sleep, so what was the point?

“Shifu?”

A half-hearted voice slipped in between the knocks.

The voice sounded really familiar, and even before the next knock came, Duan Ze had already recognized it—it was the male lead, Xie Qingyu.

Wait a second, what’s Xie Qingyu doing in the Demon Realm?

Suddenly, Duan Ze had a really, really bad feeling. He stayed in bed and didn’t move, instead circulating his spiritual power through his meridians in one swift motion. Everything was smooth, his cultivation was fully accessible—even a little stronger.

Only then did he sit up and open his eyes.

As expected, what met his gaze was the same Zeshuang Pavilion he’d seen for decades—unchanged from the day he left.

He and Xiao Wuchen had switched back.

“He’s not here…” came a quiet mutter from outside.

Duan Ze got off the bed, formed a quick spell seal, and tidied up his clothes and hair with practiced ease. After blinking a couple times and settling into his usual cold expression, he walked over and opened the door.

Xie Qingyu, who’d been about to leave, turned in surprise at the sound and found his Shizun but more respectable)",
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“You looking for me?”

Xie Qingyu lowered his gaze and calmed his expression. When he looked back up, all the emotion in his eyes had been buried deep down. The sunlight lit up most of his figure, blurring his outline.

Having just come out of the room, Duan Ze squinted against the brightness outside and couldn’t quite make out Xie Qingyu’s expression. He only heard the teen say, “Shifu, did you forget what you promised me?”

Duan Ze frowned slightly. He could just barely make out that Xie Qingyu was staring silently at him. He quickly dug through his memory and said, expression unchanged, “Didn’t forget. Just got caught up in cultivation and lost track of time.”

In that flash of recall, he remembered—before the Immortal Ascension Ceremony, he had promised to take Xie Qingyu to explore an ancient god’s ruin.

The so-called ancient god ruin was, as the name suggested, a place filled with leftover relics from ascended immortals. Treasures weren’t rare there, and sometimes cryptic runes were carved into the walls. Understanding even a few lines could bring huge gains in cultivation and mental clarity for any cultivator.

In the original novel, at this point, Duan Ze had just gotten into a big fight with Xiao Wuchen and returned to Zeshuang Pavilion seriously injured. He immediately entered seclusion to heal, and naturally broke his promise to accompany Xie Qingyu. The teen ended up going alone.

That was the turning point where the male lead began to shed the darkness hanging over him and step into the life of a proper power fantasy protagonist.

So right now, as the Shifu, he should go along while he still could. Otherwise, the relationship might drift, and when fights broke out later, there’d be no mercy.

Xie Qingyu showing up now probably meant the ruins were about to open. Duan Ze instinctively wanted to check if he had everything packed.

But the moment his fingers touched the storage ring, the cold, composed expression he’d maintained for over fifty years—no matter the situation—cracked.

Duan Ze lowered his eyes and glanced at the ring on his finger, feeling a wave of despair crash over him.

The storage ring he’d fought so hard to get back just days ago was now in the Demon Lord’s possession again, thanks to the body swap. And the one on his finger now—was Xiao Wuchen’s.

As he was silently losing his mind, Xie Qingyu hit him with another blow. The teen glanced at his hand with a hint of confusion and asked, “Shifu, when did you change your storage ring? And didn’t you always wear it on your left hand? Why is it on your right now?”

Duan Ze’s fingers twitched, but his face remained calm. “After decades of the same, I felt like switching things up. I’ll change it back if I don’t get used to it.”

Xie Qingyu nodded thoughtfully, not pressing further.

Taking advantage of the moment, Duan Ze slipped his divine sense into the Demon Lord’s ring. Same as before—he could only crack it open a sliver. Useless.

His current cultivation was enough to handle the trip to the ruins, but without all his stuff ready and within reach, he felt uneasy.

In these stories, the people around the protagonist often served as red flags to show how dangerous a place was. Especially someone like him—high cultivation, proud, and way too confident—was bound to end up “getting taught a lesson.”

In the end, only Xie Qingyu made it out alive.

No one could predict what would happen next, and if he was going, he needed to be fully prepared.

Having made up his mind, he looked up at Xie Qingyu. “You go wait at the ruin entrance. I’ll be right behind you.”

Xie Qingyu didn’t seem surprised by his words. The teen nodded and flew off on his sword without hesitation.

Once the boy was gone, Duan Ze set a protective barrier around Zeshuang Pavilion, made sure everything was secure, and went back inside. From the tiny gap he could access in the Demon Lord’s ring, he pulled out the communication token and poured spiritual power into it to contact Xiao Wuchen.

The token lit up twice—then dimmed.

Xiao Wuchen had rejected the call.

He tried again. Still no answer.

Again. Again. And again.

Finally, after who knows how many tries, Xiao Wuchen gave in and answered with a voice full of irritation.

“Speak.”

Duan Ze held the token and said quickly, “My storage ring is with you. Can you send someone to bring it over? Or I can come get it myself.”

“…” The other end of the token went silent for a long time—then hung up.

Duan Ze, “?”

Just as he was about to try again, Xiao Wuchen suddenly called him instead.

So Duan Ze hung up.

What, like he didn’t have any pride? He had the Demon Lord’s ring too!

Clearly not expecting Duan Ze to reject the call, Xiao Wuchen paused, then called again. This time, Duan Ze relented and said, “The room where you changed clothes last time—there’s a teleportation array in there. Come yourself.”

The message was barely finished when the connection was cut again, like Xiao Wuchen was afraid Duan Ze would hang up on him again.

“Teleportation array?” Duan Ze stepped out of his room and headed to the room Xiao Wuchen had used before. Zeshuang Pavilion had many rooms, and he hadn’t been in all of them—this one in particular, he’d never entered.

He pushed open the door. It was clean and spacious. Right in the center of the floor was a teleportation array, just big enough for one person.

No idea how Xiao Wuchen had drawn it, but even though the room was always unoccupied and spotless—thanks to the purification symbols etched into the floor—the teleportation array hadn’t been wiped away. Must’ve had some kind of spell protecting it.

Still… Xiao Wuchen had drawn a teleportation array in his home—what exactly was he up to?

Duan Ze stepped on the array and infused it with spiritual power. In a flash, the scene changed to the front gates of the Demon Realm’s Imperial Palace. He wrapped his spiritual energy around himself to block out the demonic aura in the air.

He remembered the route from his time in Xiao Wuchen’s body and followed his memory through the palace gates, into the Main Hall, and then on to the sleeping quarters.

Just as he arrived, the demon slave Mo Han blocked his way with a sword. Not far away, Xiao Wuchen was sitting in a pavilion beside a mulberry hazel tree, absentmindedly toying with the glowing communication token—like he’d been waiting a while.

With a frosty face, Duan Ze pointed to the storage ring on his finger.

The Demon Lord waved his hand. Mo Han sheathed his sword and vanished, leaving only the two of them.

Duan Ze strode up, sat down, and took off the ring without a word—but before he could speak, Xiao Wuchen raised a hand to stop him.

He tapped the token on the stone table, over and over, like knocking on Duan Ze’s heart. Just when Duan Ze was about to lose his patience, the Demon Lord finally asked, “How does it feel to be back in your own body?”

“Huh?” Duan Ze blinked in confusion for a second, then immediately checked himself for curses, poisons, or seals. Finding nothing, he replied, “Pretty good.”

“If that’s the case, if your own body works just fine, why go out of your way to cause trouble for Benzun?”

“I didn’t,” Duan Ze denied instinctively. He hadn’t even started anything yet.

Xiao Wuchen narrowed his peach blossom eyes, then pulled out a storage ring from his sleeve and crushed it in front of Duan Ze. In an instant, the contents spilled out, filling half the courtyard outside the bedroom.

Saplings. Digging tools. Spiritual fertilizer. All the stuff he’d ordered prepared.

With the evidence laid bare, Duan Ze tapped his nose and said coolly, “I just thought the Demon Realm’s environment could use a little improvement. Not exactly trouble, right…?”

Besides, Xiao Wuchen had drawn a teleportation array in his place while wearing his body. If anything, that was way more shady.

“Not necessary,” Xiao Wuchen cut him off flatly, clearly not buying a word of it.

“Fine, whatever,” Duan Ze replied. Honestly, he had no business interfering with the Demon Realm. Still, it was a shame—his passion for construction had barely sparked before it was snuffed out.

He glanced at the ring in his hand and remembered why he came. “Alright, let’s just switch rings back already. I’m in a hurry.”

Seeing the impatience on his face, Xiao Wuchen poured himself a cup of tea and deliberately dragged things out. “What’s the rush?”

“Why do you care?” Duan Ze shot back, pouring himself some tea too.

“…” Xiao Wuchen didn’t respond. He just stared at him.

The staring contest went on until Duan Ze, remembering Xie Qingyu was still waiting, finally gave in. “I’ve got something to do.”

“Mhm.”

“…”

Duan Ze took a deep breath and calmly explained, “I’m taking my little disciple to explore a ruin. Now hand over the ring.”

Even after all that, Xiao Wuchen still didn’t move. He just sipped his tea. Duan Ze was seriously about to throw hands. He stared at the guy for a bit, then raised his cup and took a sip too. As Xiao Wuchen’s expression shifted ever so slightly, Duan Ze suddenly asked, “Wait—you want me to take you too, don’t you?”

Xiao Wuchen finally looked up, his peach blossom eyes lifting slightly, like he’d been waiting for that exact question all along. He took off the ring and said, “Sure.”

⸻

Author’s Note:

Xiao Wuchen (after thinking really hard), “You can’t fool me!”

Duan Ze (smirking coldly), “Heh.”