Fu Ziya sat with her eyes unmoving on the two figures still standing by the bed in one of the rooms within the dark castle. The silver-haired figure seemed to possess a powerful magnet that she couldn't stop looking at, while the large figures of the demon generals stood at attention at the demon emperor's sides, as if they would leap and attack the demon emperor if he let his guard down even slightly.
But, who would have thought the demon emperor was a woman?
She turned to Yun Guoqun, it turned out that not only could she not take her eyes off the demon emperor, Emperor Yun Guoqu also could not escape from whatever spell the demon emperor had cast on them.
The other two, Wan An and Shen Xing had also received treatment, their spiritual energy would not be enough to fight in the enemy's house, and so was her, the thought of attacking the demon emperor and the demon general would not end well, it seemed they would have to trust Yun Guoqun who accepted the offer from the demon emperor.
"Those flowers seem to have had a negative effect on your friend." The demon emperor's words broke the silence, drawing a few heads, her face still calm and gentle. Sun Li was still unconscious, and a demon was checking on her under the watchful eyes of the four of them, along with the demon emperor and the general.
"Those flowers are there as a first line of defense for intruders, they don't harm, they only weaken," the demon emperor explained even though no one asked.
"If your flower is harmless, then why hasn't Sun Li woken up yet?!" Shen Xing's tone of voice sounded hostile as he asked, provoking the demon general's anger, but the demon emperor held him back.
"If we dig into whose fault it is, then it's clear that all of this is your fault. You stepped into the demon realm of your own free will, and your friend's unconsciousness is also your fault." The demon emperor approached. "I'll ask again, weren't you the ones who came in on your own accord?"
"Hey, hey, hey! Do you think we want to set foot here?" It was clear that Wan An's words were filled with reproach, Fu Ziya had already gripped her fan tightly, ready for the demon emperor to attack Wan An. It was true that the demon emperor hadn't been seen in over a hundred years, but she wouldn't have become the leader of the demon race if she was just a fool on the throne.
"Can we discuss this somewhere else, Emperor Yun Guoqun? I don't think it's good to shout in a sick place." The demon emperor smiled at Yun Guoqun, who nodded in agreement, even though his friends followed suit reluctantly.
"Can we entrust Sun Li to your people?" Asked Shen Xing.
"Of course, young master Shen. If I wanted to harm your friend, I would have done so from the start."
In the end, Shen Xing chose to stay with Sun Li. They no longer argued and simply followed behind. The Demon Emperor babbled on several times along the way, asking questions Fu Ziya didn't quite understand. Some of her wounds still ached, and her energy hadn't recovered yet.
The demon emperor took them to another part of the castle. The castle was black and dark, there was nothing to see, but unlike the others, they were taken to a silver gazebo that sparkled in the light, a colorful flower garden added to the beautiful impression it had, she looked back and noticed the contrast between the main building of the castle and where they were going.
"Don't worry, the flowers here won't absorb your spiritual energy, instead, they will help you recover quickly." The demon emperor wasn't lying, she could feel it.
They didn't realize that inside the gazebo, someone was already enjoying tea. It was a man with dark, blackish-red hair. When he turned his head, his eyes also showed a bloodshot red. His face wasn't as friendly as the demon emperor's, but he was certainly handsome.
The man who was drinking tea put down his cup with an unpleasant clatter. He looked at them one by one, his gaze very unfriendly. "I just got back and heard you were taking in an intruder. I thought my ears were broken, but it seems it's true."
"Brother, please be polite to the guest." The man was the demon prince Qi Yang, the demon emperor's older brother. The demon emperor seemed unafraid of her brother; she invited them to sit down and poured tea into the empty cups. Fu Ziya sipped as she studied the tea, still skeptical, but the demon emperor's smile eased her doubts. She couldn't help the expression on her face when she realized the delicious taste of the tea she was drinking.
"I still can't understand what you're thinking," Qi Yang joked.
"I think we need to talk about something, demon emperor." The demon emperor ignored her brother and focused on Yun Guoqun.
"You can call me Qi Yi, Emperor Yun."
"Emperor Yun? Why does your face look familiar?" Yun Guoqun's eyebrows raised.
"Hahahaha, of course you've heard his name and seen his face. Our Yun-ge is the strongest and most famous! You must be very familiar with him!" Wan An laughed with satisfaction. His face displayed arrogance. "My brother is called Yun Guoqun! Emperor Yun Guoqu!"
Fu Ziya couldn't help but notice Prince Qi Yang's shocked expression. He stared at Yun Guoqun as if he had seen a ghost. His mouth dropped open before he glared at the demon emperor.
"Qi Yi!"
"Big Brother, I have something more serious to discuss with them." The Demon Emperor's tone was pleading, though her face looked innocent and carefree. In the end, Qi Yang gave in, but continued to stare at Yun Guoqun even more intently.
They began their conversation by listening to Yun Guoqun explain why they were lost in the demon realm in the first place. It began in Xuehua Palace, then in the Forest of Death, and finally, they met the demon emperor. In the midst of their conversation, a demon general appeared and joined them. The scene was quite strange, as they hadn't yet pointed their swords at each other.
"I might know who brought you here." They waited.
"Some time ago, this castle was attacked by an unknown demon. They managed to enter without my knowledge. Their goal was to kill me. We fought, and I managed to injure them, but they managed to escape." The demon emperor's misty blue eyes remained unblinking as she spoke.
"What surprised us all was that they weren't alone, but rather brought an army of monsters to attack the castle. That kind of thing suggests rebellion." The demon general explained.
"Then, Demon General Gu lost his fire bow. I guarantee that the one who attacked you in Xuehua Palace wasn't General Gu. The one who attacked and brought you here was the same evil spirit that attacked the castle and stole General Gu's bow." If that were true, what was the creature's purpose in bringing them to the demon realm? It was as if it wanted them to kill each other. If two opposing factions met, one of them would die.
"If that's true, it seems this creature can't be left alone. We must return to the upper world immediately." Fu Ziya and Wan An nodded in agreement. The creature certainly possessed great power, capable of drawing monsters to follow it, invading the Dark Castle, and successfully escaping the Demon Emperor. Although the creature hadn't yet confronted Yun Guoqun directly, it wasn't certain that anyone else could defeat it.
Qi Yi remained silent, her face devoid of any obvious expression, but her next words shocked them. "I'm going to the upper world too."