Ordered to Marry by the High King - Chapter 14

Crack.

It was a clean break.

The thick black mist blocking the cave entrance was formed from demonic energy—stronger the energy, denser the mist. Yet even such ink-dark mist couldn’t protect the pig demon in the slightest. It shattered like a ripple under a single sweep of Longming’s bare hand.

The pig demon’s hand bent at an unnatural angle, the entire palm hanging limp, like a useless piece of flesh sliced from a limb.

But Longming clearly wasn’t content with just breaking the pig demon’s hand. Her fingers remained clenched, attempting to trace the arm into the mist—as if she meant to rip out its heart and gut. 

Before she could capture him, the segment of hand-bone that had emerged from the mist was suddenly flung cleanly outward, severed. The pig demon would rather abandon its hand than be caught.  Immediately after, the thick mist pouring into the cave surged back like a torrent, vanishing into the air within moments. The severed hand fell to the ground, bloodied. Possibly drawn by its demon core, it twitched like a dead fish a couple of times before falling still.

Such concealment likely served to hide its identity—the force behind it must also fear being exposed. A pity though—the pig demon’s sacrifice of that palm likely cost it a century of cultivation.

Zhuoxue had no time to pity the pig demon; all it lost was some cultivation. She had nearly lost her life. Her expression was dazed, her soul already fled who-knows-where. Only when Longming withdrew her hand did Zhuoxue blink slightly.

Thankfully, she survived. Praying must have helped a bit—why else would a white tiger descend from the sky?

“I had thought that pig demon came for Lingkong Mountain, but now I see—it’s you who brought disaster to Lingkong Mountain,” Longming said calmly. 

The white tiger was still behind the fox, her slowed voice like a chant, laced with its own sharp, chilling edge. The cave air was cold and damp. The breath that fell by the fox’s ear was warm, yet invasive, utterly lacking in gentleness.

Before this, Zhuoxue would have argued back no matter what—but now, it really did seem like the pig demon was after her.

Once might be coincidence. But twice?

There were so many mountain patrol demons—why was she the only one attacked? She couldn’t explain it, racking her brain to find how she could possibly be connected to that pig demon.

Could it be an enemy of Lanhui? Since Lanhui never leaves the mountain and the pig demon can’t get to her, it chose instead to target the fox she raised!

After reasoning it through, Zhuoxue suddenly saw the light—it had to be that!

And that would also explain why Lanhui forbade her from leaving Qiufeng Ridge, fearing she’d meet misfortune.

Lanhui’s past was mysterious and unfathomable. No one on Qiufeng Ridge knew where she came from or what her true form was. She never stepped outside, avoiding people month after month, year after year. If not for having many enemies, none of it would make sense.

“You, little fox—actually have enemies?” Longming followed Zhuoxue’s gaze and slowly looked out of the cave.

The pig demon was certainly trying to flee, but Longming would not allow it. The hand at her side moved abruptly. A crisp snap of the fingers rang out—a sound like a command, spreading with world-shaking momentum.

Snap.

Though it was deep in the night, the demon attendants and mountain guards suddenly awoke, as if summoned, and rushed off in all directions. And that wasn’t all. The pressure from Longming’s presence rippled outward, instantly casting a stifling oppression over every peak of Lingkong Mountain. An invisible force sealed the entire mountain range. At that moment, not even a mosquito could escape Lingkong Mountain.

This was clearly meant to cut off all escape for the pig demon—to trap it like a turtle in a jar, and capture it alive.

Zhuoxue was crushed by the oppressive force, unable to breathe. She trembled involuntarily, and only after Longming withdrew some of her aura did she manage to speak. “I don’t have any enemies—I’ve never done anything terribly wrong!”

Except for stealing chickens…

But stealing chickens didn’t count, of course—she always paid them back. How bad could that be? Besides, she only ate chickens raised by mortals, not ones raised by demons. What business did demons have meddling in that?

“I didn’t seal the mountain before because I wanted to see what exactly that pig demon was up to,” Longming said frankly. “When it ambushed you the first time, I already found it suspicious. That’s why I didn’t restrict your movements afterward—I used you as bait.”

So arrogant—but perhaps it came naturally to the king of all beasts.

“You—” Zhuoxue fumed, but had nowhere to release it. She suddenly turned her head and glared silently behind her.

She’d been toyed with twice now. No matter how angry she was, what could she do? Even if she exhausted all her demonic power, she couldn’t snap a single silver hair from Longming’s head.

The silver-haired demon lord raised her hand, and with just her palm, completely covered Zhuoxue’s nape. It was as if Zhuoxue had unconsciously reverted to her original form—the flesh on the back of her neck was firmly gripped. The fur that had just gone limp bristled all over again.

Zhuoxue’s heart pounded like a drum. She hadn’t even realized she was trembling, looking every bit like a powerless fish flailing in vain.

“This time, I got a good look. There really is a sigil branded on the back of your neck,” Longming said coldly, slowly rubbing her palm over it. “But I’ve never seen this kind of sigil before.”

The sigil, which had just been glowing, now gradually faded—leaving only a faint mark behind. Soon enough, the back of her neck would return to being smooth and fair.

Earlier, in the heat of danger, Zhuoxue hadn’t noticed the pain. But now she felt it clearly—the lingering heat at her nape. The scorching sensation from before felt like it had seared itself into her flesh. When Longming touched it, she couldn’t help but shiver.

“How can that be? I didn’t even know I had a sigil! You’re not trying to scare me, are you?” Zhuoxue still didn’t believe it. If there really was a sigil, why wouldn’t Lanhui have told her?

Unless Lanhui had deliberately kept it from her—or worse, someone had secretly branded her without Lanhui even knowing.

What a strange thing. She couldn’t possibly have been branded without knowing. The way it burned just now hurt so much—getting branded in the first place must’ve hurt even more.

Longming flipped her palm, conjuring a bronze mirror. Though the mirror wasn’t directly aligned with the fox’s nape, it clearly reflected the sigil on her neck.

“If you don’t believe me, then see it with your own eyes,” she said.

In the mirror, that jade-like nape was slightly hunched in fear. Chaotic and disordered sigils were sprawled across the back of her neck, stretching all the way beneath her collar. They glowed faintly gold, seemingly infused with divine power from another race—like an unbreakable seal, its secrets hidden from all.

The golden light made her neck appear even more delicate and smooth, like unpolished jade—inviting further scrutiny.

Zhuoxue took the bronze mirror and began rubbing it with her sleeve. No matter how she scrubbed, the sigils didn’t fade. It was real—not a pattern in the mirror.

“It just now… was burning. It hurt so badly,” she murmured. “During the day, when I was chased by a hungry ghost, it burned that time too.”

“Burned?”

Longming once again placed her palm over the spot, but now that the sigil was slowly fading, she could feel nothing but the residual heat from the neck—no other trace remained.

In the mirror, the demon lord’s expression grew serious as she pried apart the fox’s collar. Her thin outer robe slipped off slowly. Underneath, her inner garments still remained.

The fox quickly clutched the collar of her clothes, shivering once more. She mumbled, “That seemed… a bit fast.”

“Hmm?”

“I’m not ready yet,” the fox said awkwardly.

No, wait—wasn’t she the one trying to touch the tiger? How had the tables turned?

“I want to see where it comes from. Before the sigil completely fades, I need to examine it clearly. Pardon my intrusion,” Longming said, pulling down the plain white fabric in front of her. Her arms looped forward, loosely encircling the fox’s waist.

As a demon, one usually paid little attention to their humanoid form—whether it was beautiful or ugly, whether one exposed skin or was tightly wrapped—it hardly mattered. Her actions felt so natural that they seemed entirely justified. Soon after, the belt adorned with silver beads jingled as it slipped down, winding across the cold mountain stone alongside the hem of the fox’s skirt—like a spring tinged with dye.

The fox dared not move, only feeling the layers of clothing slide off one by one. Only a chest wrap remained clinging to her torso, while the silk skirt sat low at her hips, barely covering her waist. With fur as white as snow, her human form was just as luminously pale.

The fine hairs on her back and waist were visible. Zhuoxue pressed her lips tightly together, like a flower bud caught in the rain—trembling shyly, unable to bloom.

As the demon lord pressed a hand to her lower back, her tightly closed lips parted involuntarily, her waist collapsing as she leaned forward.

The mirror slipped from her hand—fortunately, it didn’t roll far, swaying a few times before settling within reach.

She planted both palms on the stone, exhaling softly, and realized that elegant hand was tracing down her spine. Fingers slipped just beneath her silk skirt.

The demon lord’s hand, and her own back, were both reflected in the mirror. She had initially felt frightened, but one quick glance left her feeling…

Strangely flustered.

It was all because the demon lord was looking too intently—and touching too thoroughly.

That bizarre sigil was partly hidden beneath the silk skirt, making it impossible to see entirely. It had likely spread all the way between her thighs. But the further down it went, the more blurred it became—only the part on her nape was still clearly visible.

“It’s a seal,” Longming said, palm lightly pulsing with energy in an attempt to push demon power into the sigil. “Not a protective charm.”

Zhuoxue instantly felt as if her skin was being peeled, her bones gouged—she couldn’t even stay upright. With a scream, she collapsed onto the stone. 

“It hurts—so much—!”

Demonic energy couldn’t penetrate the sigil in the slightest, so Longming simply withdrew her hand. “I didn’t mean to hurt you—I just wanted to test whether the seal could be broken.”

Zhuoxue trembled violently and glanced sideways into the mirror. She saw Longming tracing the lines of the sigil with her index finger. It was truly the world turned upside down. She hadn’t even gotten to touch the tiger—and now the tiger was touching her.

“Haven’t you seen enough yet? What, is my back embroidered with the Lantern Festival Riverside Scroll?” Zhuoxue shivered uncontrollably.

“I need to memorize it,” Longming said, eyebrows slightly furrowed. “How curious—these are runes I’ve never seen before, and they can even resist my demon power. It looks like…”

“Like what?” Zhuoxue asked anxiously.

“Like it comes from Kunlun Yaojing,” Longming replied. After tracing the sigil again, she picked up the light outer robe lying on the mountain stone. “Just who are you really?”

Kunlun Yaojing?

Zhuoxue’s heart trembled. According to Lanhui, she had been sent to Qiufeng Ridge by river currents. All these years, she had achieved nothing. She couldn’t break through her cultivation stage, had no particular talent—just a mountain-dwelling fox, nothing more. What other identity could she possibly have?

“Things from the Immortal Realm, if left unchecked, will bring endless trouble,” the demon lord said seriously, even helping the fox rewrap her clothing. “For Qiufeng Ridge to send me such a gift—what is the meaning of this?”

That word—“unchecked”—was so cold.

Zhuoxue shrank back. She was just a young demon. How could she be discarded so easily?

Once her clothes were back in place, the silver-beaded belt was fastened around her waist once again.

“I might be a once-in-ten-thousand-years great demon—just tragically sealed away. Help me lift the seal, and when I return to Qiufeng Ridge, I’ll pass a thousand years of demon power on to you—I swear it,” she said, drenched in cold sweat.