After Switching Bodies with the Villainous Demon Lord - Chapter 20

Watching the guy dash away like his life depended on it, Duan Ze couldn’t help but feel like he’d just fallen into a trap.

He stood there replaying what Xiao Wuchen had just said about staying put in the Demon Realm—was it because he caused some trouble outside and didn’t want to be recognized? Or did he set up some kind of duel and needed Duan Ze’s body to hold the line?

Knowing Xiao Wuchen’s personality and cultivation level, the second option seemed more likely.

But since he wasn’t being rushed to return right away, there was probably still time.

So, Duan Ze took out a lotus-shaped magic artifact from his storage ring, sat on it, and started flying in the opposite direction at a steady pace.

He hadn’t gotten far when a white blur suddenly leaped straight into his arms.

His reflexes kicked in instantly—he clamped a hand around the intruder’s throat. Taking a closer look, Duan Ze frowned. A demon beast?

The white fox, realizing whose arms it had crashed into, immediately fluffed up its big fluffy tail in panic and struggled violently. “Let me go!”

Duan Ze recognized the voice—it was Chi Xiuzhu. So Xie Qingyu and Chi Xiuzhu had managed to escape. But why did Chi Xiuzhu suddenly jump into his arms?

“You’re the one who ran into me,” Duan Ze said flatly.

The white fox’s bright blue eyes narrowed into slits. Once he realized he’d mistaken the person, a wave of nausea churned in his gut. The pressure of someone in the great ascension stage suddenly slammed down on Duan Ze alone. “I said, let go of this king!”

Even though the pressure was somewhat held back, the nearby cultivators still got hit with enough of it that they had to summon every bit of their spiritual power to resist. They quickly steered clear and rushed into the ruins. In a flash, the entire area emptied out—leaving just the two of them.

From the corner of his eye, Duan Ze caught sight of his clothes—he hadn’t changed them. Did this guy mistake him for Big Brother Zhu?

But Big Brother Zhu and Chi Xiuzhu weren’t even close.

Or… did he mistake him for the original host?

At that thought, Duan Ze’s eyelashes twitched. His face flushed as he tried to resist the pressure, but in the end, he had no choice but to let go of the fox’s throat in defeat. The fox landed lightly on the ground, lifted a paw with distaste to brush at its neck, its tail still puffed up like a dandelion.

You win, I can’t beat you. Please, just go already, Duan Ze thought, exasperated.

Meanwhile, Chi Xiuzhu was having a full mental breakdown. He’d leapt over in a panic thinking he saw Duan Ze—and now that scene just kept replaying in his head on a loop.

He hated humans so much. And now he’d actually launched himself into one’s arms. On his own initiative. The shame made his blood boil.

Enraged, the fox suddenly launched himself off the ground, growing in midair into a white fox the size of a small mountain, and lunged at Duan Ze.

With no other choice, Duan Ze pinched the fox’s jaws shut with one hand and jabbed a spiritual energy-infused finger under its jaw with the other.

The huge fox immediately deflated like a popped balloon, shrinking into a ball of fur. Two blue eyes stared up at Duan Ze, full of shock and panic—completely speechless.

“Still wanna fight?” Duan Ze asked, holding the furball by the scruff.

Chi Xiuzhu wasn’t dumb. That series of moves had already proven Duan Ze was no ordinary cultivator. He couldn’t win this fight.

But for some reason, that made his hunch even stronger. How many people in the entire cultivation world could one-shot him like that?

The furball shook its head hard, then looked up at Duan Ze with watery eyes, letting out a couple of soft whimpers. It even stuck out a tiny tongue to try licking Duan Ze’s wrist—testing his scent.

Too bad Duan Ze wasn’t buying any of it.

He let go just before the fox could touch him, letting the little guy plop straight to the ground with a yelp, tumbling into a nearby crevice.

Chi Xiuzhu’s cultivation had been sealed. A fox with no spiritual power would have to be brain-dead to keep chasing after him. By the time an hour passed and the seal lifted, Duan Ze would be long gone.

Without giving Chi Xiuzhu another glance, Duan Ze turned and guided his flying artifact to leave.

“Awoooo!” What he didn’t expect was that this maniac would actually come bursting out of the crevice again, sprinting on tiny legs after him, crying out pitifully as he ran.

From a distance, the newly arrived cultivators all turned to look, thinking Duan Ze had heartlessly abandoned his own spiritual pet.

And when they noticed the white fox had no spiritual power, they became even more certain Duan Ze had ditched it like trash.

Voices began to rise around Duan Ze before he even got out of earshot. Whispers, judgment, endless scolding.

His head started to throb. He sped up, hoping to escape the awkwardness.

The surrounding cultivators lit up with glee. Judging by Duan Ze’s cold attitude and the way he didn’t look back, it was clear he didn’t want the fox anymore. And this white fox clearly had intelligence—plus, it was rare.

Capturing and selling it would fetch a nice price.

Way easier than risking their necks in the ruins for some maybe-treasure.

But as someone tried to corner Chi Xiuzhu, he puffed up like a porcupine again, baring his teeth and letting out a vicious little snarl. “Do you know who this king is?! Dare touch me and I’ll kill you all!”

Normally, that kind of line would make them shake in their boots and question why they were even born. But right now, it had zero impact.

Just as one cultivator reached for him, the fox’s scruff suddenly tightened.

Everyone looked up to see the furball dangling from Duan Ze’s hand as he sat atop his lotus artifact, staring them down with a cold expression.

Without saying a word, he turned to leave again.

“You didn’t want that fox, right?!” one of the cultivators called after him, frustrated that their prize was slipping away.

“Who said I didn’t?” Duan Ze replied, giving the furball a little shake. Realizing the move seemed a bit mean, he awkwardly bounced it into his arms instead. “I’m training it to run. You got a problem with that?”

Chi Xiuzhu, now in Duan Ze’s arms, fluffed up again. He knew full well Duan Ze was just messing with him, but when he looked up and caught a glimpse of the man’s expression, something about it felt weirdly familiar. The fury in his fur slowly deflated.

With so many people watching, the cultivator didn’t dare grab the fox anymore. He could only fake concern. “That white fox is still a cub. Training it that hard is totally unnecessary. Even without spiritual power, you shouldn’t abuse it like this.”

A two-thousand-year-old demon king… called a cub?

Duan Ze let out a cough, nearly laughing.

Chi Xiuzhu, nestled in his arms, was so pissed he could’ve cracked his fangs grinding them. If he still had his powers, that guy’s head would be gone already.

“You said it has no spiritual power. So what else can protect it better than a strong body?” Duan Ze didn’t deny anything. He had his own business to take care of—no need to waste time here.

With that, he sped off on his artifact, clearly trying to lose anyone who might follow.

The cultivators left behind couldn’t argue, and even if they wanted to, Duan Ze was already gone.

After a while, a young man stepped out from behind a large rock in the distance. He stared in the direction Duan Ze had flown, deep in thought, before taking to his sword and following.

This person could suppress a demon king’s power. His cultivation was obviously high. And given how close he seemed to Duan Ze, there might just be a clue to uncover from him.

…

Duan Ze flew all the way to a relatively hidden area. He reached into his sleeve and yanked out the fox that had been trying to burrow in again.

Dangling it by the scruff, he raised an eyebrow with a mocking tone, “I remember the demon king really hates humans, huh? So what’s going on here?”

Breaking character much?

Chi Xiuzhu let out two soft yelps. Four hundred years ago, he’d met Duan Ze in his white fox form. They’d even spent time together and formed a sort-of unofficial contract.

Even if it had been voided later, his memories of that time were fuzzy. Still, instinctively, this man in front of him felt just like that Duan Ze.

“I don’t speak Fox. And stop following me,” Duan Ze said, about to set him down again.

Chi Xiuzhu, desperate to confirm his guess, howled a few times and suddenly forced open the seal Duan Ze had placed on him. A mouthful of blood sprayed out, and in a hoarse voice, he said, “Someone’s following you—and I know who you are.”

⸻

Author’s Note:

Chi Xiuzhu, “Aha! I knew it was you!”