After Switching Bodies with the Villainous Demon Lord - Chapter 14

After Xie Qingyu had fallen into the illusion array the first time, Duan Ze had used his divine sense to place a small mark on the corner of the boy’s robe—just in case the male lead suddenly got separated from them again.

As expected, Xie Qingyu had been quickly dragged out of view by the Blood Candle Vine. Now, the mark had stopped moving, likely because he was stuck somewhere near the border between the forest and the core of the ruin.

Thanks to the marker guiding him, Duan Ze’s speed wasn’t slow. If anything, it was the one trailing beside him—Xiao Wuchen—who was acting a little weird.

At this point, he was still not using any demonic energy at all, just relying on sheer physical strength to keep up.

“You can’t use your demonic power here?” Duan Ze glanced at Xiao Wuchen. He’d noticed earlier that the other was suppressing his power, and had assumed it was to avoid scaring Xie Qingyu. But even now, with Xie Qingyu dragged away, he still wasn’t using it.

Xiao Wuchen almost slipped when he heard the question. He caught himself by grabbing a tree branch and said, “Of course I can use it.”

“Really?” Duan Ze broke off a tree branch and swung it straight at him. Xiao Wuchen launched himself off the tree he was holding and dodged, landing on another tree in a smooth arc. Behind him, the branch split through the air and crashed down—instantly leveling seven or eight trees, each as thick as two people hugging and over ten meters tall.

Watching the aftermath, Xiao Wuchen folded his arms into his sleeves and gave a half-smile that was impossible to read. “What, you trying to get rid of me here?”

“Not really. Just checking,” Duan Ze replied coolly, as if he hadn’t just tried to flatten someone with a tree.

Then he took off again toward the spot where Xie Qingyu’s signal had stopped. The boy was probably trapped, since the marker hadn’t moved at all.

Seeing that Duan Ze didn’t try to follow up the attack, Xiao Wuchen finally put away the weapon he’d been hiding in his palm.

Duan Ze was a threat. He needed to find a way to deal with him sooner rather than later.

In the dark forest, pairs of beastly eyes shimmered like stars among the trees, quietly watching as the black-clad and white-robed figures sped through the underbrush.

The two moved in silence. Just before Xiao Wuchen’s stamina started showing signs of wear, Duan Ze came to a stop. “We’re here.”

Ahead, it looked like any other patch of forest—except the trees were wrapped in dense, tangled vines. Huge flower buds, each half the size of a person, dangled like traps ready to spring.

Duan Ze didn’t know much about the habits of Blood Candle Vines, but his instincts told him to stay far away from those blossoms.

“You’re going in?” Xiao Wuchen leaned on a tree nearby. He’d already used his divine sense to scan the area—and discovered that the densest part of the vine cluster happened to be within a zone protected by the ruin’s original owner. Divine sense couldn’t penetrate it.

This had “trap” written all over it. Classic Xie Qingyu setup.

Duan Ze nodded. Like Xiao Wuchen, he couldn’t sense anything from inside, but Xie Qingyu hadn’t moved even a little since vanishing. That had him worried.

He’d raised the kid for over fifty years—he couldn’t just stand by.

Besides, these spirit beasts weren’t even at the fifth tier. Hardly a threat to him.

Xiao Wuchen shivered. Was this really the same Duan Ze he knew? When did he become so selfless and noble?

No, he preferred to believe Duan Ze wasn’t sure if Xie Qingyu was fully dead yet, and just wanted to check before delivering the final blow.

Duan Ze didn’t bother chatting more. He slipped into the forest like a shadow, moving with silent ease, not even stirring the wind.

Just as he was about to step into the cave-like structure formed by the vines, he caught a glimpse of white from the corner of his eye and paused.

A white-robed figure ran toward him. “Shifu, I’m here!”

He looked closely—Xie Qingyu, hair a mess, robes torn, looking like he’d just escaped a brutal fight.

“Disciple?” Duan Ze relaxed slightly. “You…”

Before he could finish, Xie Qingyu’s eyes widened in alarm, and he pointed behind him. “Shifu, watch out!”

Duan Ze turned just in time to see several massive flower buds bloom open, revealing gaping maws that lunged toward him.

He flicked open his fan with a graceful motion. A sharp arc of spiritual energy swept out, slicing the closest flower clean in half. Pale yellow pollen exploded into the air.

“Move!” Duan Ze covered his mouth and nose, creating a path for Xie Qingyu. But the boy slowed down instead.

Seeing Xiao Wuchen, Xie Qingyu’s face twisted into a miserable expression. He coughed weakly and reached out. “Brother Zhu…”

Xiao Wuchen, still playing the part of a sickly man, recoiled in disgust and waved a hand to push the air away from his face, even stepping back.

His body language screamed, Don’t touch me, stay away, I don’t want whatever you’ve got.

Xie Qingyu, “…”

Once the boy had finally made it out, Duan Ze retreated from the swarm of gnashing flowers. He hadn’t used much spiritual power, and other than getting a bit of pollen on him, he was mostly fine.

Still annoying though.

He brushed off the pollen and cast a purification spell before leading them a safe distance away.

Looking at the ragged teen in front of him, Duan Ze noticed the marked corner of the robe was missing. No wonder he hadn’t sensed the kid earlier.

“How’d you escape?” Duan Ze tugged lightly at his own collar. He didn’t know if he’d moved too much earlier, but he was starting to feel overheated.

Xie Qingyu coughed and crouched down slowly, looking exhausted. “After I entered the cave, I couldn’t see anything. Then I felt wind and followed it. I crawled along until I saw you just about to come in.”

He coughed again.

With “Zhu” still standing nearby, Xie Qingyu figured Duan Ze would want to play the concerned Shifu role—and that would be his chance to spring the next part of his plan.

But Duan Ze didn’t buy it. He had a feeling Xie Qingyu wasn’t telling him the full story.

So… he didn’t react at all.

Xiao Wuchen, standing beside Duan Ze, caught a faint, strange scent. Duan Ze usually didn’t carry strong fragrances—when did he get this one? And why were the tips of his ears turning red?

Still, Duan Ze looked fine. If he was poisoned, maybe he could use Xie Qingyu’s trap to his own advantage and take Duan Ze out.

He looked over at Xie Qingyu crouched by the tree and voiced the question Duan Ze had been thinking. “Those Blood Candle Vines were that friendly? You’re lying.”

“I’m not!” Xie Qingyu’s eyes widened with hurt. His bright eyes shimmered with unspoken grief, the kind that could melt anyone’s heart.

But Duan Ze still didn’t act concerned, which made Xie Qingyu panic. If this kept up, his plan was going to fall apart. All because of this Zhu!

Xie Qingyu doubled over in a fit of coughing. “Shifu, don’t listen to Brother Zhu… cough cough…”

Duan Ze finally frowned. He cast a purification spell and noticed the boy’s lips were turning black and his skin had a sickly blue hue.

Signs of poisoning.

The male lead never got poisoned in the book. What was going on?

Was it because he had joined the dungeon, and now the difficulty had been bumped up?

Duan Ze crouched to check the boy’s condition—but just then, a rush of heat surged from his abdomen, catching him off guard. He nearly lost balance.

What the hell? Two flare-ups in one month?

He used some of his spiritual energy to suppress the burning sensation, then placed his hand on Xie Qingyu’s wrist.

The boy’s pulse was chaotic—strange, twisted. Poisoned, but not quite. Nothing that matched anything familiar.

If he didn’t know what he was dealing with, he couldn’t prescribe the right pill.

Duan Ze let go and stood, still using spiritual power to hold down the heat in his body. “What did you eat?”

Xie Qingyu shrank back from his Shifu’s cold, sharp gaze. For a moment, it overlapped with a memory of that same gaze, and real fear crept into his heart.

Playing into that fear, Xie Qingyu said, “Before I came out… I saw a fruit by the entrance. It smelled really good… I couldn’t resist…”

So just go back in already, Duan Ze!

Xie Qingyu glanced at Duan Ze. Most of his gaze was still clear, but every now and then, it flickered with confusion. The drug was starting to kick in.

Still, Duan Ze remained suspicious. And the heat spreading through his body was making him increasingly irritable.

Xiao Wuchen had been silently watching the show. Seeing that Xie Qingyu was about to slip up, and that he himself had at least earned a little of Duan Ze’s trust with his performance, he decided to add fuel to the fire.

“Not a fruit,” he said breezily. “Blood Candle Vines leave their underdeveloped eggs at the entrance to lure prey. Once ingested, the poison kills them, and their bodies become fertilizer. Your disciple’s just got good constitution—still has enough breath left to talk.”

“What?! Eggs?” Xie Qingyu’s eyes widened in shock. His face turned pale-green, and he spun around to vomit behind a tree.

Xiao Wuchen’s eyes glinted with schadenfreude. He shrugged at Duan Ze. “Looks like your disciple’s a goner.”

“…How do you know so much?” Duan Ze looked up at him.

Even with a plain face, Xiao Wuchen’s aura couldn’t be hidden.

“You didn’t do your homework before coming?” he shot back, adding one last jab, “Antidotes usually grow near poisons. You’d better hurry.”

Right after he said that, Xie Qingyu turned around again, face now tinged purple.

At this point, Duan Ze couldn’t think too much. He’d already diverted most of his spiritual power to suppress the heat building in his body—and it was clear now that this wasn’t some aftereffect of an old injury.

He’d been poisoned.

The only thing he’d come into contact with was the Blood Candle Vine pollen. That must’ve been it.

“I’m going back. You two, stay put.” Duan Ze gave Xiao Wuchen a warning look. The latter waved a hand innocently, promising to behave.

Once Duan Ze left, Xiao Wuchen finally dropped his gaze to Xie Qingyu. The boy, who’d looked half-dead moments ago, was now perfectly fine.

Xiao Wuchen looked down at him and said coldly, “Your acting sucks.”

Had to even make Benzun get involved…

Xie Qingyu pushed himself up using the tree. With Duan Ze gone, there was no more need to pretend. He glanced calmly at Xiao Wuchen—this so-called “Brother Zhu” gave off such strong disharmony with his disguise, he had to be using some transformation talisman.

“You’re not much better, ‘Brother Zhu.’”

Neither said anything more.

Together, they followed the direction Duan Ze had gone.

They both recognized the familiar hatred in each other—but couldn’t stand being in the same space. Mutual disgust.

…

As time passed, Duan Ze had to use more and more spiritual power to suppress the burning inside. Sweat trickled from his temples as he picked up the pace.

But when he returned to the Blood Candle Vine’s territory, it was like the plants had been waiting for him. They lunged immediately.

Duan Ze raised his hand and countered—but every time he used spiritual energy, it only accelerated the spread of the poison.

Within a few exchanges, his entire body was flushed red, limbs growing weak. He fumbled out a bottle of calming pills, shoved a handful into his mouth, and charged back in.

Just as he neared the vine’s core nest—his focus at its peak—the ground beneath him suddenly gave way.

A massive pit opened up, and he was right in the center.

Duan Ze activated his spiritual power midair and kicked off to fly—but with most of his power tied up in suppressing the toxin, it wasn’t enough. All he could do was grab a vine hanging from the edge.

He gripped the vine and swung, trying to pull himself out.

And then—a shadow blocked the moonlight above him.

He looked up. Couldn’t quite make out who it was.

A flash of cold light.

The vine he was holding was cut clean.

Duan Ze fell.

Xiao Wuchen looked down at the crouching figure by the pit’s edge—Xie Qingyu. He raised his foot, about to kick the boy in after Duan Ze, when—

Darkness.

His consciousness snapped.

When he opened his eyes again…

He was lying at the bottom of the pit.

And burning up.

⸻

Author’s Note:

Xiao Wuchen: “WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME!!!”

Duan Ze: “That’s what you get for teaming up to hurt me. DESERVED.”