Early the next morning, everyone gathered in the square of the City Lord’s Mansion.
Lingxu not only distributed maps of the Lu family estate but also divided everyone into groups, assigning each a section to search.
Since the Lu family estate was vast, occupying nearly half of Lingguang City, Lingxu gave everyone seven days to complete the search.
This was more than generous. Hearing this, the group’s tense mood lightened considerably.
The search was organized by each peak, with the peak’s elder leading their disciples. Naturally, Ye Ran followed her own master.
But just as everyone was about to set off, a cool hand caught Ye Ran’s wrist.
“Elder Li, I’ll be taking Junior Sister Ye with me.”
Lu Li’s sudden voice drew everyone’s attention. Li Qiuyu shot Ye Ran and Lu Li a knowing look.
“He’s coming to claim you before we’ve even left. I’ve never seen such clinginess. Take her—I don’t want to be the villain who breaks up a pair of lovebirds.”
This drew stifled laughter from the surrounding disciples, making Ye Ran extremely embarrassed.
But Lu Li remained perfectly composed. His smiling face even carried a hint of smugness.
“Thank you, Elder Li.”
With that, Lu Li pulled Ye Ran away from the group.
But the strong gazes boring into her back didn’t let up, making Ye Ran wish she could crawl into a hole.
“If senior brother wanted me to come with you, why didn’t you tell me this morning?”
Only when they reached a place with fewer people did Ye Ran finally confront Lu Li.
They had slept in the same bed last night. If he had told her earlier, she wouldn’t have had to suffer such embarrassment.
But Lu Li looked completely justified.
“If I hadn’t taken you away in front of everyone, how would they know you’re mine?”
Though Ye Ran hadn’t seen Lu Li during the day yesterday, he had seen her many times. And every time, she had been surrounded by men—just like that damned Jing Xing, with no sense of boundaries.
So today’s display was deliberate.
When he had taken Ye Ran’s hand in front of the crowd, he had purposefully glanced at the disciples who had been lingering around her yesterday. Sure enough, several of them looked crestfallen.
This proved that his approach was absolutely correct.
Otherwise, more clueless fools would come sniffing around, and he couldn’t keep guarding against them all.
“I didn’t expect Senior Brother Lu, the sect leader’s chief disciple, to be so childish.”
Looking at the smug expression on Lu Li’s face, Ye Ran couldn’t help but feel exasperated.
The next moment, Lu Li wrapped an arm around her waist and leaned close to her lips.
“Would junior sister like to see something even more childish?”
The sudden move made Ye Ran instantly alert. Only when she saw that no one else was around did she breathe a sigh of relief and push at Lu Li.
“Senior brother, stop joking. Everyone’s already left. We should catch up.”
But Lu Li didn’t move. He didn’t speak, and he didn’t let her go. He just stared at her in silence.
Ye Ran understood what he wanted. Helpless, she sighed and rose on her tiptoes to kiss his lips.
The moment she caught his lower lip between hers, a soft laugh sounded in her ear.
Startled, Ye Ran pushed Lu Li away and looked toward the source of the sound.
“M-master? Why are you here?”
Hadn’t her master already led her group away?
“How unfortunate of me to come at the wrong time. Please, continue. I’ll come back later.”
Seeing Ye Ran’s flustered expression, Li Qiuyu’s playful nature kicked in, and she couldn’t resist teasing her.
Ye Ran’s cheeks flushed red.
“Elder Li, did you have something to discuss with Junior Sister?”
Fortunately, Lu Li spoke up, breaking the awkwardness.
At that, Li Qiuyu finally remembered her purpose. She took out a jade token and handed it to Ye Ran.
“The sect leader ordered these to be given to every disciple. If you encounter danger, use it to summon help. Though I trust you’re safe with this young man, it’s best to take it just in case.”
Li Qiuyu might have seemed unreliable on a normal day, but she genuinely cared for her disciples.
Realizing her master had come all this way just to give her the token, Ye Ran’s embarrassment faded.
Taking the token, she thanked her master. “I understand. Thank you, Master.”
“Alright, I won’t interrupt you two any longer. I’m off.”
Li Qiuyu winked at Ye Ran, then turned and quickly walked away.
After seeing her off, Ye Ran was about to hang the token on her waist when a slender hand snatched it away.
“Senior brother, what are you—”
“Shh.”
Before she could finish, Lu Li pressed a finger to his lips, signaling her to be quiet.
He then led her behind a cluster of bushes.
A wisp of spiritual energy flickered at his fingertip. A faint red glow emerged from the token, carrying a trace of an unfamiliar presence.
Lu Li separated the red glow from the token and crushed it between his fingers.
“Senior brother, what was that?”
“A tracking spell.”
With that, Lu Li knelt down and tied the token back onto Ye Ran’s waist.
Watching him, Ye Ran suddenly had a feeling—this trip to the Lu family estate was going to involve some scheming.
The moment the thought crossed her mind, Lu Li wrapped an arm around her waist and flew out of the City Lord’s Mansion on his sword.
Lu Li’s task was to ensure the safety of all the disciples. He didn’t need to search the estate himself—just patrol the area and check for any disciples in danger.
Soon, they arrived at the legendary Lu family estate.
Ye Ran was astonished by its sheer scale. Now she understood why the sect leader had sent so many disciples.
From above, the entire estate was an endless expanse of palaces and pavilions.
If not told this was a residence, Ye Ran would have thought it was a town.
Even more astonishing was that nearly a thousand years later, the buildings remained remarkably intact—a testament to how powerful the Lu family once was.
But now, this place had become a forbidden area.
Legend said that after the massacre, the grounds were littered with corpses and thick with vengeful spirits.
Many had come to loot the fallen Lu family, but few ever walked out.
Thus, over time, few dared to approach.
But when Lu Li descended with Ye Ran, she found the place wasn’t as terrifying as the legends claimed.
There were no corpses, no vengeful spirits. It felt like an ordinary, if empty, estate.
Soon, other disciples arrived and began searching their assigned areas.
Lu Li led Ye Ran through the estate, patrolling for any signs of trouble.
He looked so serious and responsible that Ye Ran began to wonder if he actually didn’t plan to do anything.
But not long after, he led her deeper into the estate, where they encountered fewer and fewer disciples.
Finally, they stopped before a wall.
“Senior brother, there’s no path here.”
Ye Ran didn’t understand why he had brought her here. Was there more to this wall than met the eye?
“There is a way.”
Just as Ye Ran grew puzzled, Lu Li’s voice came through.
Lu Li raised his hand and struck the wall with a stream of spiritual energy. The moment it touched the surface, it was absorbed.
Then, lines appeared across the wall, spreading outward as the wall gradually turned transparent.
Through it, Ye Ran could see another path beyond, leading to even more grand palaces—likely the very heart of the entire Lu estate.
But why was this section hidden?
“Let’s go.”
Lu Li wrapped his arm around Ye Ran’s waist, and in the blink of an eye, they were on the other side of the wall.
When Ye Ran looked back, the wall had already restored itself.
“Senior brother, what is this place?”
She glanced around and looked up at Lu Li.
“The demon lord’s residence.”
With that, Lu Li led Ye Ran further in.
After weaving through several palaces, they arrived at a courtyard.
The courtyard was vast, but its walls were unusually high, with no windows in sight. Compared to the ornate halls and pavilions outside, this place felt strangely oppressive.
“The demon lord used to live here?”
After looking around, Ye Ran’s mood grew complicated.
As the young master of the Lu family, he should have lived a life of splendor—not in a place that felt like a cage.
“Yes.”
Lu Li’s calm gaze swept over every corner of the courtyard, finally settling on the closed doors of the main hall.
“From the age of three, he was kept here. The family head set tasks for him. If he couldn’t complete them, he was confined to this place, unable to step beyond the hall’s doors.”
“Doing that to a three-year-old child… that’s far too harsh.”
Ye Ran was astonished. A child locked away from the age of three, forced to cultivate—what was that if not imprisonment?
“At first, he resisted. But that only brought harsher punishment. The family head told him it was to temper him, to prepare him to take over the Lu family. So he devoted himself to cultivation, longing for his father’s approval. But then—”
Lu Li paused. For the first time, his usually impassive face broke into a mocking smile.
“What happened then?”
Entranced, Ye Ran couldn’t help but ask.
Lu Li stepped forward, examining every plant in the courtyard.
“By age twenty-five, he was one step away from the Mahayana stage. He thought he had finally earned the family head’s recognition. But then he failed his tribulation—and was imprisoned instead. Only then did he learn the truth: everything had been a lie. The family head had only ever wanted the Blazing Spirit inside him. From start to finish, he was nothing but a perfect vessel.”
The smile on Lu Li’s face turned cold.
“So he forcibly merged with the Blazing Spirit and used its power to kill the family head. He slaughtered the entire Lu family—and everyone connected to them. Wherever he went, death followed. He became a merciless demon lord.”
Lu Li stopped, turned, and walked toward Ye Ran. He lifted her chin.
“If such a demon lord stood before junior sister now, would you be afraid?”
A smile played on his lips, but his eyes were filled with bloodlust and excitement.
He desperately wanted to see her reaction when she learned who he really was.
Would she be terrified? Horrified? Would she try to run?
But he wouldn’t let her. She was his. They would be entangled forever—even in death.
The excitement in Lu Li’s eyes grew, and a shudder ran through him.
But none of the emotions he had imagined appeared on Ye Ran’s face.
She simply looked at him—and then pulled him into an embrace.
“Of course I wouldn’t be afraid. Becoming a demon lord was never his intention. None of it was his fault.”
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