Chapter 41: Won't You Let Me See?

A flicker of surprise passed through Qi Yan’s eyes. He had not expected Yun Zhao to think this way, nor had he anticipated her suggestion to head to the Demon-Subduing City. After all, everyone who knew the truth believed his mother had seduced Song’s father. However, this saved him quite a bit of trouble, as he no longer needed to invent excuses to justify the trip.

Qi Yan whispered, "Is that wise? We just killed people from the He family. If we go to the Demon-Subduing City now, won't we..." He hesitated, leaving the rest unsaid.

"It’ll be fine," Yun Zhao comforted him. "They don't know it was us. We can wait a few days before heading over; it’ll be a good way to stay out of the spotlight."

Qi Yan nodded. "I’ll follow your lead."

With that settled, Yun Zhao shifted her attention to the scars on Qi Yan’s body. There were many unsightly marks on his otherwise jade-like skin—a flaw in a piece of fine white jade—and Yun Zhao found them rather jarring.

"Is there any way to heal these completely?" She didn't dare touch the scars, her brow furrowed in concern. "Being in such pain all the time isn't a solution. We have to find a way to fix it."

Qi Yan lowered his gaze. "I don't know. I’ve never even seen the medicine Song Zhiyuan gave me. It might be a secret concoction of the Song family."

Yun Zhao agreed, silently making a mental note to search for an antidote once they reached the Song estate. Looking at her earnest expression, a strange sensation suddenly surged within Qi Yan. It was a dull, swelling feeling—a mix of discomfort and a curious sense of ease. He wasn't entirely sure what it was.

"By the way," Yun Zhao asked curiously, "what kind of demon are you exactly? We’ve been together for so long, and I’ve never seen your beast form. Won't you show me?" She was genuinely curious; the original story had never mentioned it.

Qi Yan heartlessly rejected her request. "No."

Yun Zhao’s face fell. "You stingy thing!"

Watching her reaction, Qi Yan recalled a saying he had once heard: a maiden’s face is like the weather in June—it changes in an instant. Just moments ago she was beaming, and now she had turned cloudy. Yet, every look and movement of hers, whether joyful or angry, seemed to pull at his heartstrings.

Yun Zhao... she really was different from before. He didn't know if it was just an illusion, but he felt as though the girl before him was slowly merging with the figure in his memories.

"Yun Zhao," Qi Yan said out of the blue, "I believe you."

"Believe what?" Yun Zhao asked, confused. His train of thought jumped so fast she couldn't keep up.

"I believe you’ve lost your memories," Qi Yan smiled. "I remember you once said you didn't know what kind of demon I was, but when you were little, you had seen my beast form."

Yun Zhao was shocked. "Ah?"

Qi Yan’s eyes held a smile. "When I was locked in the dungeon, you came to talk to me every day. Once, when I was injured, I lost control and you saw it."

Yun Zhao coughed twice. "R-really? That’s such a pity, I’ve lost all my memories of that." She said it was a pity, but she felt a wave of relief inside. Thank goodness she had preemptively set the stage, or she would have blown her cover. Fearing he might say more, she used the excuse of the late hour to pull him toward their main group.

Seeing them return, Bai Lingxiao and the others tacitly refrained from asking what had happened. They simply invited Yun Zhao and Qi Yan to sit by the campfire, where all six of them gathered to roast the game they had just caught.

To Yun Zhao’s surprise, the Blazing Golden Lion had not left; it lay lazily on the ground, allowing Bai Lingxiao to feed it from time to time. Yun Zhao stroked the lion's soft fur. "Senior Sister Bai, are you going to form a contract with it?"

Before Bai Lingxiao could speak, Gu Dinghan rolled his eyes. "Beast contracts aren't something you just do on a whim. This big guy just wants to freeload off us and have us protect it while it gives birth to its cubs."

Yun Zhao looked closely and noticed the Blazing Golden Lion’s abdomen was distended—it was clearly pregnant. She carefully avoided its belly and patted its other side. "It seems I wasn't wrong before. It’s fine to have it follow us; let’s just consider it a good deed."

The Blazing Golden Lion understood her, rubbing its head affectionately against her cheek. It tried to lick her face in gratitude, but was scared off by a sharp glare from Qi Yan. It whimpered and tried to squeeze its massive body into Yun Zhao’s arms. *Sob, the lion is so scared!*

Qi Yan didn't even glance at it. He patted his Blood-Drinking Sword, and both Blood-Drinking and Fuguang appeared. One wolf and one cat squeezed the lion aside and curled up in Yun Zhao’s arms, one on each side. The Blazing Golden Lion growled darkly, but the other two didn't back down. Immediately, the sound of growling filled the air. Though the group couldn't understand what they were saying, it was clear they were all trading insults.

Yun Zhao sighed, gave each of them a light rap on the head, and they finally quieted down.

Gu Dinghan wanted to laugh but didn't dare, as all three beasts were glaring at him. To change the subject, he brought up the grudge between the Blazing Golden Lion and He Yongrui.

"Zhao Zhao, did you know?" he gossiped. "He Yongrui caught the Blazing Golden Lion because he wanted to contract its cub!"

Yun Zhao looked puzzled. "What’s strange about that? Cultivators usually prefer to contract a cub so they can build a bond from a young age." It was a common practice in the cultivation world to ensure the contracted beast wouldn't easily turn on its master.

Gu Dinghan whispered mysteriously, "There’s more. Guess what else he wanted to do?"

Yun Zhao rolled her eyes. "I’m not guessing." She turned to Xiaotong. "Xiaotong, what did He Yongrui want to do?"

Hearing Yun Zhao ask, Xiaotong ignored Gu Dinghan’s frantic winking and spilled everything like beans pouring from a bag.

It turned out the He family possessed a dark technique that could refine demon beast cubs into puppet beasts. This would strip the contracted beast of its self-awareness, ensuring it would forever obey its master and never revolt. However, the refinement process caused the cub immense agony, and the slightest mistake could result in its death. The higher the grade of the beast, the higher the success rate, which was why He Yongrui had set his sights on the Blazing Golden Lion.

The Blazing Golden Lion, having overheard their conversation, had been desperate to escape.

After hearing this, Yun Zhao was furious. They hunted beasts for survival, but that was just the cycle of life, not cruelty. The He family’s dark arts had no place in this world!

The Blazing Golden Lion let out a soft whine. Yun Zhao couldn't understand the specific words, but she could clearly sense its intent—it wanted revenge.

Yun Zhao patted its head. "We’ll talk about that later. The most important thing now is for you to safely deliver your cubs. The He family is powerful; you’re just one beast, you can't fight them alone." Even with their group, it would be like a mayfly trying to shake a tree.

Still, the trip to the Demon-Subduing City was necessary. She informed the group of her plans. Xiaotong had no objections—wherever Yun Zhao went, she went. Bai Lingxiao agreed, as long as she didn't run into Hu Guichen, she was fine with anywhere. The opinions of the other two men were deemed unimportant and ignored.

"However," Meng Wenchang said with concern, "the Song family is the top clan in the Demon-Subduing City. If we offend them, it might lead to some trouble."

And they were not yet strong enough to stand against a major family.