Her clothes fluttered, she moved as gracefully as a butterfly.
The flowing smoke gently brushed past the fluttering ribbons, leaving not a trace of water, but only a chilling coldness.
The fresh air and cool breeze gave her a sense of freedom, as if she wanted to ride the wind and return home, but they caused her heart-wrenching pain.
My body convulsed uncontrollably, and an uncontrollable pain burst forth from the depths of my heart, radiating to every corner of my body, making it impossible to breathe.
"Lanyan, Lanyan..." In a daze, a familiar, low, hoarse voice urgently called out to me.
who?
Who is it?
I tried to see clearly, but found that everything in front of me was replaced by darkness; the white clouds in the sky and the scenery on the ground were all swallowed up by darkness.
I tried to open my eyes, but found my eyelids felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.
I want to see it clearly, I don't want to miss it.
A voice inside her instinctively urged her to open her eyes.
With a struggle, I finally broke free from the boundless darkness. Before me was a soft, non-glaring light, and I saw people who were both familiar and somewhat unfamiliar.
He subconsciously reached out to touch the person in front of him, but suddenly woke up just as his fingers were about to touch his cheek.
Isn't this person in front of me a demon god?
What's wrong with her?
He abruptly withdrew his hand and lowered his eyes, naturally failing to see the fleeting hint of disappointment in the Demon God's eyes.
"You're awake? Are you still feeling unwell?" The Demon God quickly regained his composure and asked Liu Lanyan softly.
Liu Lanyan blinked, trying hard to recall everything from her dream.
What is it?
Why does she have no recollection of it at all now?
It seems like there's something very important in her dream, but why can't she remember it?
Liu Lanyan reached out and gently patted her head, but nothing had changed.
"What's wrong?" The demon god's voice snapped Liu Lanyan out of her reverie. She looked up and smiled sweetly at the demon god, "Master—"
The deliberately drawn-out sound made the demon god tremble, goosebumps rising all over his skin, and his scalp tingling.
Master?
This title shortened the distance between them, but the problem was, why did the word "Master" sound so awkward to him when Liu Lanyan called him that?
"Ahem." The demon god coughed lightly, automatically ignoring the previous question. "You fainted just now, what happened?"
"I... I fainted?" Liu Lanyan looked at the Demon God in surprise. To be honest, she didn't know why she had fainted either.
She's always been in good health, so why does she faint so easily?
"What did you dream about just now?" the demon god asked casually, but this nonchalant question immediately put Liu Lanyan on alert.
"Master, what should I dream about?" Liu Lanyan asked with a smile, looking at the Demon God with a strong thirst for knowledge.
A perceptive woman.
The demon god was slightly taken aback, then a gentle, chrysanthemum-like smile appeared on his lips: "Master thinks that if you dream of something, it can reflect your physical condition, so that Master can take care of you."
hypocritical!
Liu Lanyan cursed under her breath, tilted her head, pretended to try hard to remember, and shook her head innocently after a long time: "I don't remember."
"If you don't remember, then forget it," the demon god said with a smile. "Dreams are all illusory; living is the most important thing."
"Hmm." Liu Lanyan nodded as if she understood, but in her heart she was pondering the Demon God's words.
What did what happened in my dream have to do with him?
Why does he seem to care so much?
"Come, let me show you the Wuchen Palace." The demon god smiled and reached out his hand to Liu Lanyan, pulling her up and leading her out.
Following the demon god, they toured the Dustless Palace, entering areas they frequently used. Because the Dustless Palace was so vast, the demon god automatically skipped over less-used areas.
"Lanyan, have you figured it out? Don't get lost in the future." The Demon God led Liu Lanyan on a tour. He didn't pay much attention to the surroundings. Anyway, it was his place, and he knew it so well that he wouldn't get lost even with his eyes closed.
"Hmm." Liu Lanyan nodded, then asked a crucial question, "Master, where are we going to eat?"
The question startled the demon god. "Yes, it's time to eat."
His power had grown so great that he no longer needed to eat every day. Therefore, when he brought Liu Lanyan into the Wuchen Palace, he completely forgot about this important issue.
Liu Lanyan looked at the sky and realized it was already night. Had she actually slept for so long?
I hadn't even eaten lunch, and my stomach was already rumbling.
Liu Lanyan said nothing, but pressed one hand against her stomach, her eyes wide open, and innocently accused the demon god of his "evil deeds"—abusing her stomach.
Under Liu Lanyan's gaze, the Demon God felt inexplicably guilty, as if he had committed some heinous crime.
Clearing his throat, the Demon God took Liu Lanyan's hand and whispered, "Let's go back first."
Peng Zhen, who was in the bamboo forest below, suddenly received a summons from the Demon God. Without any nonsense, there were only five simple words: "Come to Wuchen Palace immediately."
Upon hearing these five words, Peng Zhen was so frightened that he immediately dropped everything he was doing, rushed up, and lunged towards the Dustless Palace in mid-air.
You should know that although he has followed the Demon God for a thousand years, he has never set foot in the Wuchen Palace.
Hearing that the Demon God had brought Liu Lanyan into the Wuchen Palace as soon as possible, I was somewhat surprised, as expected.
He had already witnessed the Demon God's high regard for Liu Lanyan, and apart from a slight surprise, he didn't find it too strange.
What could have happened at this hour of nightfall that made the Lord so anxious to summon him to the Wuchen Palace?
Standing on the white clouds, Peng Zhen did not actually stand on the floating island of the Dustless Palace, but rather outside the floating island, he called out, "Lord."
Although the Lord had sent him over, Peng Zhen didn't really have the guts to set foot in the Wuchen Palace directly.
In fact, Peng Zhen's actions had already alerted the people in the bamboo forest below. An Yi and the others were all hiding in the shadows, looking up nervously at the sky.
Surrounded by smoke and clouds, they naturally couldn't see what was happening in the Dustless Palace, but they were all on edge.
What could possibly have caused the Lord to summon Peng Zhen to the Dustless Palace, a place no one else could set foot in?
Especially considering the speed at which Peng Zhen leaped just now, it's clear that the matter was very urgent.
Just as the people in the bamboo forest were secretly speculating, someone exclaimed, "The steward is coming down!"
"That's fast."
"Yes, it's even faster than when we went up."
"Huh? Steward, did this... fall down?"
The crowd, who had been discussing amongst themselves, finally realized that Peng Zhen hadn't used his demonic power to come down; it was as if he had simply fallen from mid-air.
This startled everyone in the bamboo forest.
Peng Zhen was unable to use his demonic power and fell down. Was he injured? Could it be that something happened to the Lord?
At this moment, disregarding all rules, he rushed forward in a flash, trying to catch the "injured" Peng Zhen.
Just as he was about to touch the ground, Peng Zhen flipped over and landed narrowly, losing his footing and staggering before finally regaining his balance.
This further convinced everyone that Peng Zhen was "seriously injured".
"Steward, you..." An Yi asked nervously, "Should we be on guard or counterattack now?"
With just a word from Peng Zhen, a small team capable of overturning the entire demon realm could be formed immediately within the bamboo forest.
“Go and give the order…” Peng Zhen finally spoke. An Yi listened attentively, but the last two words made An Yi doubt his ears: “The kitchen.”
"Kitchen? Kitchen?" An Yi frowned deeply. When did they start needing kitchen staff to fight the enemy? What kind of tactic is this?
"Tell the kitchen to prepare a light and special meal and send it up quickly. Miss Lanyan is hungry." Peng Zhen finished speaking in one breath, and only then did he recover from the surprise he had just experienced. Looking around at the stunned and petrified crowd, he immediately felt relieved.
It wasn't that I was frightened.
!
Chapter 45 Who Will Win?
An eerie silence descended upon the bamboo forest. Since the day the bamboo forest came into existence, and since the moment the Venerable One moved in, such a strange quiet had never been experienced before.
It was as if the wind in the bamboo forest had stopped, so quiet that everyone could only feel their own heartbeats, pounding violently in their ears.
Peng Zhen felt very pleased with everyone's reactions.
Did you see that?
He wasn't the only one who was shocked; it was the Lord's reaction that was truly abnormal.
However, remembering that the Lord was still waiting in the Dustless Palace, Peng Zhen had no time to appreciate the ridiculous, stunned looks of everyone. He tried his best to maintain his dignity as the steward and ordered, "What are you all waiting for? Hurry up and go!"
A single sentence jolted everyone out of their daze. An Yi and the others continued to hide in the shadows, while the cooks and servants in the kitchen immediately sprang into action.
Amidst the clatter of pots and pans, everyone busied themselves with their tasks.
However, those world-renowned chefs seemed a bit out of their depth this time. Their usually smooth stir-frying movements were noticeably rusty, and they even mistakenly added sugar instead of salt a few times.
The chaotic situation gradually subsided after about fifteen minutes, and the kitchen returned to normal order.
After all the food was prepared, Peng Zhen acted as a servant and carried the food up to the Wuchen Palace.
"Come in." The voice of the Demon God rang out, making Peng Zhen unable to hide his excitement. He could actually step into the Wuchen Palace?
Upon entering the Wuchen Palace, Peng Zhen quickly went to the main hall and set out the food.
The demon god was pulling Liu Lanyan in, and did not order Peng Zhen to leave.
Peng Zhen was not about to give up such a good opportunity to enter the Wuchen Palace, so he naturally wouldn't leave on his own initiative.