In truth, Ye Ran had begun to suspect Lu Li’s identity back in the illusion.
Though the guess that he was a descendant of the Lu family was reasonable.
But at that time, when faced with the demon impersonating the great demon lord, his reaction hadn’t fit.
If the demon lord were truly his enemy, even if it were just a counterfeit, his response shouldn’t have been so calm.
So from that moment, Ye Ran had vaguely wondered if she had guessed wrong about Lu Li’s identity.
Only when she heard him recount the demon lord’s past did she become certain—Lu Li was that very demon lord, the one everyone feared.
Otherwise, no one could know such intimate details of his history.
But strangely, given her nature, she should have been afraid when she learned the truth.
Yet when Lu Li walked toward her, she felt no fear at all—only a dull ache in her chest.
It was sympathy.
She was sympathizing with this murderous demon lord.
Watching Lu Li’s expression shift to bewilderment, Ye Ran held him tighter and leaned up to kiss his lips.
“To others, senior brother may be a demon lord. But to me, you are simply the best senior brother.”
Ye Ran had heard many tales of the demon lord recently. They had made her heart race with fear, and she had dreaded ever encountering him.
But now, connecting the demon lord with Lu Li, that terror vanished completely.
She even felt a sense of safety.
Only then did she realize that at some point, she had developed absolute trust in Lu Li.
This trust whispered to her that no matter what his identity, he would never hurt her.
Though Lu Li had tried to act fierce and frighten her, Ye Ran knew that deep down, he craved her unwavering choice.
So she made her choice without hesitation.
Seeing him frozen in shock, she found it rather endearing.
Just as she was about to tease him, Lu Li suddenly pulled her into a tight embrace and kissed her forcefully.
He kissed her urgently, tightening his arms so their bodies pressed together.
His racing heartbeat thudded clearly against her chest.
After a long moment, he finally ended the kiss and buried his face in the crook of her neck.
“Before today, no one ever said such things to me. Hearing them from you, junior sister, makes me very happy.”
His voice sounded different from usual—tinged with a hint of grievance.
That pitiful quality only made Ye Ran’s heart ache more. She gently patted his back.
“People in the cultivation world simply don’t know the truth. That’s why they fear you, senior brother, and see you as a demon lord. If only they knew—”
“Heh.”
Before she could finish, a scoff sounded in her ear.
When Ye Ran looked up, Lu Li’s face was full of mockery.
“Junior sister is wrong. There are plenty who know the truth. If I became a demon lord, they deserve no small credit for it.”
“Why is that?”
Ye Ran didn’t understand.
“Because their goal is the same as the family head’s—the Blazing Spirit inside me. Including Lingxu, the oh-so-righteous sect leader of Wanxian Sect.”
The Blazing Spirit was a force born from heaven and earth, powerful enough to destroy the entire cultivation world.
A thousand years ago, the Lu family was entrusted with guarding it. But the family head grew greedy and wanted to claim it for himself.
Since ordinary cultivators couldn’t withstand the power of the Blazing Spirit, the Lu family head used a secret technique to give birth to Lu Li—a perfect vessel—to refine the Blazing Spirit and make it tame enough for ordinary cultivators to absorb.
Even though the Lu family had since been wiped out, those with ill intentions had never abandoned their greed for the Blazing Spirit.
To that end, they manipulated the narrative so that Lu Li could only be a reviled demon lord. That way, under the guise of upholding righteousness, they could claim the Blazing Spirit for themselves.
Lu Li had always seen through their ugly schemes.
Back then, he hadn’t intended to annihilate the entire Lu family. It was the relentless attacks of those with ulterior motives that led to the family’s destruction.
Even during the centuries he was hunted, every single one of his pursuers had hidden selfish agendas beneath the pretense of protecting the righteous path.
“So then and now, the truth is the least important thing.”
Lu Li slowly raised his hand. A cluster of azure flames appeared in his palm.
The flames were beautiful, like a blue rose.
But Ye Ran knew that for Lu Li, they were the source of all his suffering.
Unable to hold back, she stepped forward and clasped his hand.
“Is there no way to separate you from the Blazing Spirit?”
If so many people wanted it, then if Lu Li no longer had it, would they stop hunting him?
Ye Ran thought her idea was very practical. But under her gaze, Lu Li shook his head.
“There might have been a way before, but it’s too late now.”
When the family head had imprisoned him, he had forcibly merged with the Blazing Spirit to break free. Now, it was coexistent with him. Unless he died, he could never be rid of it.
Watching Ye Ran’s expression shift from hopeful to downcast, Lu Li took her hand and pulled her into his arms.
“So if you stay by my side, there will be endless battles and betrayals. Junior sister, are you sure you want to choose me?”
“Of course.”
Though Ye Ran had initially latched onto Lu Li’s thigh for her own benefit, after spending so much time with him, she realized she could no longer leave him.
So no matter what the future held, she wouldn’t abandon him.
And besides, once she completed her mission, she could take Lu Li back to her original world—then no one would ever covet the Blazing Spirit again.
“In that case, junior sister has no way back. From now on, you’ll never be able to shake me off.”
Lu Li said this with utmost seriousness, but Ye Ran couldn’t help but smile.
“If I had said I wanted to leave you, senior brother, would you really have let me go?”
“Of course not.”
Lu Li’s arms tightened, as if afraid she might truly walk away.
“You were the one who provoked me first, junior sister. I will never give you the chance to leave.”
“And if I managed to run away?”
The more Ye Ran wondered, the more curious she became. What would Lu Li do if she tried to flee?
“I would catch you and keep you by my side, where you could never leave me for even a step.”
Excitement crept into Lu Li’s voice, a hint of madness flickering across his face.
But to Ye Ran, that very expression made her heart pound fiercely.
She seemed drawn to his obsessive, deranged side.
“Alright. I will never leave you, senior brother.”
She couldn’t resist leaning in to kiss his lips.
“Senior brother, will you take me to see the room you used to live in?”
Though she knew he had suffered, Ye Ran still wanted to see where he had spent his childhood.
“Alright.”
Lu Li released Ye Ran’s hand and led her forward, pushing open the hall’s doors.
The light inside the great hall was dim. Though there were windows on all sides, the light seemed unable to penetrate, leaving the entire space in silent oppression.
Ye Ran stood there for a long while, letting her eyes adjust, before she could make out the layout.
The hall was not small, but its furnishings were extremely simple. Aside from the necessary table and bed, all that remained were rows of bookshelves, each packed with books.
When Ye Ran stepped closer to the shelves, she noticed that every book was worn. They had clearly been read countless times.
She pulled one at random and flipped it open. Dense annotations filled the margins—more meticulous than those she had written during her college entrance exams.
Not convinced, she put that one back and pulled another.
The second was just as heavily annotated, if not more so.
No wonder Lu Li had formed his core at seven and reached the Mahayana stage in his twenties. Besides natural talent, his own dedication must have been immense.
Still, Ye Ran couldn’t imagine how dull and miserable it must be to be locked in a dark room all day, forced to cultivate.
“Besides cultivating, did senior brother do anything else?”
Ye Ran put the book back and turned to look at Lu Li.
“Of course I did.”
Lu Li took her wrist and led her to a corner of the hall.
This spot was darker than anywhere else in the room. But with a wave of Lu Li’s hand, a small door appeared before them.
“The family head wouldn’t allow me to go outside, so I secretly dug a dog hole here to slip out for fresh air. As I grew older, the hole got bigger, eventually becoming this small door.”
Ye Ran was surprised. She hadn’t expected someone like Lu Li to have dug a dog hole as a child.
She couldn’t help but smile to herself as she pushed open the small door.
“Then let me see what’s out here.”
The moment the door opened, light streamed in. Ye Ran eagerly pulled Lu Li through.
But she was sorely disappointed.
Outside was nothing but a patch of grass and a single, lonely tree—nothing special at all.
Still, she realized that this was probably the only place where Lu Li could catch his breath during those suffocating years.
After looking around, she turned back to him.
“What did senior brother do here?”
“Practiced swordsmanship.”
It was the only thing he truly enjoyed, but the family head believed it delayed his cultivation and forbade him. So he could only sneak here to practice.
Just as Lu Li spoke, Ye Ran noticed the many sword marks still etched into the tree trunk.
Back at Wanxian Sect, she had seen Lu Li wield a sword. It was beautiful and breathtaking.
She had thought he only practiced to maintain his image as senior brother. She hadn’t realized he genuinely loved it.
“So senior brother truly loves swordsmanship.”
Ye Ran reached out and touched the sword marks on the tree.
But soon, a hand covered hers, and a warm body pressed against her back.
“I did love it then.”
“What does senior brother love now?”
The question slipped out before Ye Ran could think.
After asking, Lu Li remained silent. She couldn’t help but turn to look at him—and met a pair of burning eyes.
A sense of foreboding washed over her.
Sure enough, the next moment, Lu Li tightened his arms around her waist.
“Making love with junior sister.”
He paused briefly, then leaned close to her ear and whispered the final two words.
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