Yu Lijing turned to look at Yu Xinyi, and after a long while, she sighed softly, "Xinyi, you've grown up." She sighed again with emotion, and continued, "Unfortunately, I've missed out on so much."
"Mother did it for the demon realm too." Yu Xinyi said this in a way that was neither flattery nor consolation. It sounded normal, but upon closer inspection, something felt off.
Too cold-hearted.
It didn't sound like talking to a family member at all; it sounded more like polite conversation with a stranger.
Yu Lijing frowned in dissatisfaction. She could remember Yu Xinyi's excited reaction when they first met.
The child didn't reject her back then, so what's wrong with him now?
"Xinyi, do you hate your mother?" Yu Lijing wanted to understand what Yu Xinyi was really thinking, especially since she was the only child in the world. She didn't want to become estranged from Yu Xinyi.
Yu Xinyi shook her head: "No."
Yu Lijing's eyes darted around, and she probably understood what Yu Xinyi was thinking: "Are you blaming your mother for her attitude towards your father?"
Yu Xinyi smiled faintly and said nothing, but his eyes made it clear that this was his intention.
“Xinyi, you don’t need to know too much about what happened in the previous generation. Anyway, your mother had her reasons for doing what she did.” Yu Lijing didn’t want to leave a bad impression on her son.
"Xinyi, you're an adult now, you should be able to understand."
Yu Xinyi nodded: "I can understand rationally, but emotionally, Mother, you have really let Father down."
Over the years, he had witnessed how the Demon Lord had fared, but in the end, all his efforts meant nothing to Yu Lijing.
What does this make him think?
"Insolence!" Yu Lijing shouted. Although she was no longer the Demon Lord, her majesty remained. She glared at Yu Xinyi, causing him to involuntarily take a step back. "As a son, who gave you the audacity to question your mother?"
Yu Xinyi stared intently at Yu Lijing, then slowly lowered his head and bowed, saying, "Your son was wrong."
Yu Lijing was just satisfied with Yu Xinyi's attitude when he suddenly raised his head slightly and said in a deep voice, "However, I will never take back what I said. Mother, you have wronged Father!"
"How dare you!" Yu Lijing shouted angrily, slapping Yu Xinyi across the face.
Yu Xinyi did not dodge, but took the slap head-on. Her face was turned to the side, and a trace of crimson blood slid down the corner of her lips.
Yu Lijing regretted her actions immediately. After all, he was her son, and it pained her to continue hitting him like that.
He moved his hand, about to touch Yu Xinyi's slapped cheek, when he heard Yu Xinyi's cold voice: "Mother, your son wants to rest."
Coldly shutting her out, Yu Lijing squeezed her outstretched hand tightly, flicked her sleeve, and forced herself to say in a cold voice, "Fine, you get some rest."
With that, Yu Lijing turned and left to go back to her room to rest.
As the door slammed shut, Yu Xinyi slumped into a chair as if all his strength had been drained away. He truly hadn't expected his mother to be like this.
Is this the mother he has been longing for to return?
A mother who is indifferent to her husband?
Yu Xinyi's mind was in chaos, as if a thousand soldiers were galloping and roaring, everything was in disarray.
How could his mother, whom he had longed for for so long, be like this?
Yu Xinyi felt a headache and heartache that far outweighed the pain in her cheek.
Yu Lijing returned to her bedroom in a daze. The Demon Lord was long gone, and the large bedroom was empty and desolate.
She slumped into a chair, looking at her trembling right hand. How could she have hit her own son?
She really didn't mean to hit him, it's just that she couldn't control herself for a moment.
She clenched her teeth tightly; how could she not control herself?
Could it be that her delirium is getting worse?
She needs to finish dealing with the matters in the demon realm quickly, as she still needs to return to the forbidden area. Otherwise, in her delirious state, who knows what kind of trouble she might cause in the demon realm.
What exactly are the people from the realms of immortals and demons up to?
Yu Lijing pounded her head hard, trying to clear her mind.
However, no matter how hard she tried, it only made her head hurt and become more confused, and she showed no signs of waking up.
"Sis, are you asleep?" Yu Jinshuo's voice came through the door with a soft knock.
"Jin Shuo, come in, I'm not asleep," Yu Lijing said, clenching her trembling right hand into a fist and hiding it in her sleeve, not wanting Yu Jin Shuo to see it.
Yu Jinshuo came in and sat down opposite Yu Lijin in silence.
"What's wrong? You came all this way just to sit with me, didn't you?" Yu Lijing wanted to end the conversation quickly; she felt a little tired.
It's unclear whether it's because she's not used to the outside environment or because her mental state has worsened.
"Sister, there are some things you should talk to Xinyi about. Maybe he'll understand." Yu Jinshuo's words made Yu Lijing look up in surprise. She hadn't expected her brother to come over to say this.
Wasn't it about him inheriting the position of Demon Lord?
Yu Jinshuo noticed Yu Lijing's surprise and laughed, "Sister, do you think I'd compete with my own nephew for the Demon Lord's position?"
“I am very pleased with Xinyi’s current success as his uncle.” Yu Jinshuo sighed softly. “I used to think that Xinyi was not ambitious, but now I realize that this kid has the ability and the brain. More importantly, he has the demon realm in his heart.”
"Sister, isn't this your principle?" Yu Jinshuo said with a smile, "Xinyi is so outstanding, as his uncle, I will naturally do my best to assist him."
"I didn't expect you to be so magnanimous." Yu Lijing smiled with satisfaction. In fact, after learning about Yu Xinyi's strength, the scales in her heart had already tipped in favor of Yu Xinyi. She was still thinking about how to bring this up with Yu Jinshuo, but she didn't expect him to bring it up first.
"Sister, you underestimated your brother." Yu Jinshuo smiled, changing the subject; there was nothing more to discuss.
"Sister, for the sake of the future of the demon realm, you still need to explain the whole story to Xinyi."
Yu Lijin didn't speak, she just remained silent, then waved her hand: "What happened back then had nothing to do with him, and besides, I don't think I did anything wrong."
For the sake of the demon realm, seeking out the demon lord was an inevitable outcome.
As the demon lord at the time, doing so was the most correct choice she could make.
"You've been in the demon realm all this time, tell me about the situation in both the immortal and demon realms." Yu Lijing's only source of information now is Yu Jinshuo. Back then, she was afraid that she might suddenly become confused and give some instructions that would be detrimental to the demon realm, so she entrusted all her trusted confidants to the demon lord.
“Okay.” Yu Jinshuo recounted the recent events in both the immortal and demonic realms in detail, including the incident involving Liu Xinya and Qin Ming.
There was nothing to hide, and he even explained his connection with the Demon Realm.
"Why did you do that?" Yu Lijin didn't get angry immediately, but asked calmly.
"I want to take over the Demon Realm." Yu Jinshuo didn't hide his purpose. "The person who contacted me is King Jing's man. He wants to become the Demon Emperor. I contacted him to cause internal strife in the Demon Realm. Then, our Demon Realm can take advantage of the situation."
Yu Lijing didn't speak immediately, but thought for a moment and shook her head: "Jin Shuo, you're too impatient."
“The Three Realms have finally calmed down. At this time, everyone has almost recovered from their rest and recuperation. If you do this, it will cause a backlash.” Yu Lijing analyzed for Yu Jinshuo, and after speaking, she did not blame Yu Jinshuo.
"However, it doesn't matter now. The immortal and demon realms will also attack the demon realm. This war between the three realms is absolutely unavoidable."
For Yu Lijing, Qin Ming's incident was just a small ripple that could be easily turned over and wouldn't cause any real trouble.
"Jin Shuo, no matter what happened before, our goal now is to get through this. If the Three Realms really descend into chaos..." Yu Lijing paused, her voice trembling. She had experienced it before, and the chaotic and bloody scene was still deeply imprinted in her mind.
Even though she was delirious and forgot many things, the scene seemed to remain imprinted in her mind like a brand.
Even now, just thinking about it makes me feel like I can smell the blood from that day.
"I don't know if the demon realm can withstand it." Yu Lijing was worried about the demon realm, because it's not something that can recover from the wounds of war so quickly.
"Don't worry, sister, there's still the Demon God, isn't there?" Yu Jinshuo didn't care about the future of the Demon Realm. The Demon Realm had always had the Demon God as its protector, and he never thought that one day something big would happen to the Demon Realm.
"Nonsense." Upon hearing Yu Jinshuo's words, Yu Lijing immediately reprimanded him, "Does our demon realm only have one person to protect it? Moreover, for the demon realm, this is a great chaos in the three realms. Can he destroy both the immortal and demon realms at the same time by himself?"
She had heard about what happened a thousand years ago; the demon god had indeed displayed great power, but how could the situation then be compared to now?
Previously, the Three Realms were caught off guard, but now they are well-prepared.
What if they took precautions against the demon god during such a long period of time?
Or perhaps they have already found the weakness of the Demon God. In that case, if their Demon Realm relies solely on the Demon God, wouldn't that be tantamount to courting death?
"There's even less to worry about then," Yu Jinshuo said with a smile. "The demon army in the demon realm is quite powerful now, not to mention that Xinyi and I both have our own forces. With all the power in the demon realm combined, how could we possibly be afraid of the immortal and demon realms?"
“You’ve oversimplified the realms of immortals and demons.” Yu Lijin slowly shook her head. “You were too young during the great chaos that swept through the three realms a thousand years ago, and you had no idea what the inside story was.”
Yu Lijing felt uncomfortable thinking about the past, staring at Yu Jinshuo and reminiscing about what happened back then.
Yu Jinshuo felt a chill run down his spine at Yu Lijing's gaze. Why was his sister's gaze so strange?
She was clearly looking at him, yet it was as if she was looking beyond him at something else. Could it be that her madness had flared up again?
"Anyway, don't be too careless. Let's talk about it tomorrow. I'm tired." Yu Lijing took a while to come to her senses and gestured for Yu Jinshuo to leave.
"Okay, sister, you get some rest." Yu Jinshuo stood up, knowing that there was no point in talking about anything else tonight, and besides, he had achieved his main goal.
He wanted Yu Lijin to believe that he would not compete with Yu Xinyi for the position of Demon Lord.
The night passed uneventfully, seemingly peaceful, but countless people tossed and turned in their sleep.
The next day, after breakfast, Liu Lanyan and Mo Yun were strolling in the palace garden when they happened to see Su Hanhao hurrying past.
Su Hanhao looked up and saw Mo Yun. He immediately came over and bowed, saying, "Your Excellency."
Mo Yun nodded without saying anything. Except in front of Liu Lanyan, he was always aloof and detached from worldly affairs, like a cloud in the sky, forever untouchable and only to be looked up to.
"Lanyan, why did Wenxiu suddenly leave?" Su Hanhao finally saw Liu Lanyan and, disregarding the Demon God beside him, asked directly.
"My brother always enjoys cultivation. Seeing that I was alright, he went to cultivate again," Liu Lanyan said with a grin, then countered with a question that effectively shut down Su Hanhao's next words, "What, didn't my brother tell you?"
"He left in such a hurry, he didn't even tell me. That Wen Xiu, he made me worry for so many days." Su Hanhao complained angrily through gritted teeth.
Liu Lanyan laughed: "Alright, when you see your brother again, you'd better give him a good talking to. He really doesn't care about anything else when it comes to cultivation."
"No way, teach him a lesson? I can't beat him, I'd just get used on him instead." Su Hanhao waved his hand dramatically, "It's good that he's alright."
"Don't worry, my brother is fine," Liu Lanyan said with a smile.
Su Hanhao looked up at the sky and said hurriedly, "I have to hurry over there. My father is in the main hall. If I'm late, I'll get scolded again."
After saying his apologies to Mo Yun, Su Hanhao hurriedly left.
"Should we go over there too?" Liu Lanyan asked the Demon God, looking up. Things in the Demon Realm were getting more and more complicated, and they probably needed the Demon God to give them some advice.
Mo Yun smiled, lowered his head, and whispered in Liu Lanyan's ear, "We'll talk when they find us."
Such a nice time, of course it's more important to take a walk with Liu Lanyan.
Liu Lanyan blinked and stared at the Demon God. Mo Yun couldn't ignore her gaze, so he had no choice but to ask, "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing, it's just that you don't seem worried at all." Liu Lanyan sighed softly. She was worried to death, but he didn't seem to feel any urgency at all.
"It's no use being anxious now. Things are bound to happen, and they won't stop just because I'm anxious." Mo Yun said seriously, took Liu Lanyan's small hand, and said with great interest, "It seems that the palace has caught a colorful carp. Let's go take a look."