What's so scary about it?
He always thought that he was already in the underworld while he was still alive.
Finally, when his body stopped moving, Qin Ming still didn't move, completely resigned to his fate and waiting for what would happen next, not caring at all.
"Why bother?" The soft voice made Qin Ming's body tremble. He opened his eyes in disbelief, stared at the woman not far in front of him, and exclaimed, "Liu Lanyan."
Yes, he was quite certain that the person in front of him was Liu Lanyan, whom he had met several times.
Why is that? Why is she here?
Wasn't he dead?
Don't tell him that Liu Lanyan is dead too.
"How did you get here?" Qin Ming stared at Liu Lanyan nervously, then thought that he was already dead, so what was there to be nervous about?
He slowly relaxed, silently mocking his own reaction. He was so brainless; he had actually forgotten that he was a dead man.
"I need to discuss a collaboration with you," Liu Lanyan said, downplaying the issue.
"Cooperation?" Qin Ming scoffed. "What's the point of cooperating with a dead man?"
"I want to know the King of Jing's plans." Liu Lanyan's straightforward question made Qin Mingmei frown, then he laughed loudly, "Liu Lanyan, you're not simple, you even know about the King of Jing."
Liu Lanyan smiled and said, "Prince Jing is one of the three most powerful princes under the Demon Emperor. It's hard not to know him."
"Knowing the title of the Demon King isn't difficult; what's difficult is that you actually know this matter is related to the King of Jing." Qin Ming sized up Liu Lanyan. "I was indeed careless; I should have eliminated you first."
After saying that, without waiting for Liu Lanyan to speak, Qin Ming continued, "But even if I wanted to get rid of you, I'm afraid I wouldn't have the strength."
Liu Lanyan smiled and didn't say anything more.
"Liu Lanyan, don't even think about it. I will never betray you." Qin Ming didn't say who he was going to betray, but just said it ambiguously.
After staring at Qin Ming in silence for a long time, Liu Lanyan nodded: "I understand."
Liu Lanyan's easy surrender surprised Qin Ming: "Can I leave now?"
"Mm." Liu Lanyan nodded.
Qin Ming turned to leave, but just before he was about to go, he couldn't help but turn back and ask, "Liu Lanyan, what exactly are you doing this for?"
"What?" Lost in her own thoughts, Liu Lanyan didn't pay much attention to Qin Ming's question and subconsciously asked back.
“Resisting the power of the underworld to communicate with the soul must be a lot of work. You came to me, so you should know the answer now,” Qin Ming asked Liu Lanyan.
He didn't have the ability to intervene in the power of the underworld. As a cultivator himself, he also knew that getting involved was not a simple matter.
Moreover, the two of them have always been adversaries, so is it necessary to ask for his answer?
It's so obvious.
Therefore, he didn't understand.
Why would Liu Lanyan expend so much energy asking an answer that would never be answered?
"Lord." Having understood Qin Ming's question, Liu Lanyan said the two words that had been lingering in her mind with certainty.
Qin Ming stared blankly at Liu Lanyan without saying a word, listening to her continue.
“The Lord protects the Demon Realm, and the Demon Realm will attack it sooner or later. I don’t know when that day will come, but knowing the situation of the Demon Realm sooner will allow us to prepare earlier,” Liu Lanyan said with a smile. “Don’t tell me that the Demon Realm has never intended to attack the Demon Realm.”
"Yes." Qin Ming was quite frank about this. Anyone with a bit of status in the Demon Realm or Monster Realm could think of this.
Currently, there has been no major conflict between the demon and monster realms; it's merely the calm before the storm.
Both sides are making preparations.
The Demon Realm is waiting for the perfect opportunity to deal with the Monster Realm.
As for the demon realm, the Lord has probably already made preparations and is waiting for the demon realm's attack.
This is something that is tacitly understood between the demon and monster realms. Neither he nor Liu Lanyan are stupid, so they naturally understand this principle and have no reason to pretend to be stupid.
“Therefore, I need to investigate the matter of the Demon Realm.” At this moment, Liu Lanyan did not hide anything from Qin Ming and openly admitted, “My forces are not in the Demon Realm, and I have only investigated the general situation of the Demon Realm. If I want to understand it in depth, I need to find a better breakthrough point.”
"You found out that the Prince of Jing was involved in this matter after just a rough investigation..." Qin Ming chuckled coldly, "Liu Lanyan, I really underestimated you."
"I can't show all my abilities at once; I always need to have some backup plans to save my life," Liu Lanyan said with a casual shrug and a smile, not taking Qin Ming's words, which sounded like both praise and sarcasm, to heart. "Besides, who doesn't only show one side of themselves?"
As she spoke, Liu Lanyan gave Qin Ming a meaningful look.
Qin Ming acquiesced without refuting.
He always maintained a rough disguise, which made the enemy underestimate him, thinking that he was a careless person who only knew how to use force.
"This is normal," Liu Lanyan said casually. "You should leave now; it's not good to stay any longer."
If a soul leaves its body and does not return to the underworld for an extended period, it is very likely to become a wandering spirit.
Over time, the memories in the soul will disappear, and it will become a wandering spirit with power. If it is seen by someone with ulterior motives, and they collect it and refine it into power, then it will not even have the chance to be reincarnated.
"You haven't answered my question yet." At this moment, Qin Ming didn't know what he was stubbornly clinging to. It was as if, even after death, there was still a persistent desire in his heart to explore.
Of course, it's less about persistence and more about resentment.
Ultimately, I was unwilling to accept it. I had given so much, and in the end, even death hadn't brought me even the slightest bit of satisfaction...
like?
pity?
gratitude?
At this point, Qin Ming no longer knew what he wanted to get from Liu Xinya.
He just felt a sense of resentment in his heart, like the claws of a wild cat scratching at his heart.
Just as Qin Ming was still struggling with his decision, Liu Lanyan said to herself, "You can die for the person you love, and of course I will do things for the person I care about."
"You don't love him?" Qin Ming's first reaction after hearing Liu Lanyan's words was to understand the ambiguous meaning behind them.
What does it mean to care?
Liu Lanyan slowly shook her head: "Love is no longer enough to describe the relationship between me and the Lord."
During their time together, Liu Lanyan discovered many astonishing things.
For example, her compatibility with the Lord was astonishing, both in terms of lifestyle and taste.
For some reason, she sometimes had a strange idea that they were working together.
Well, or rather, using the word "cooperation" isn't quite accurate.
She's certain there are things she doesn't particularly like to eat, but she still likes them. It's a strange feeling, or rather, it's hard to describe.
It's like she doesn't like the taste of a certain dish, but she still likes to eat it.
This sounds strange, but upon closer reflection, it becomes understandable. She doesn't like certain things, but she comes to like them because of someone else.
Or rather, that thing is something someone likes, so because she loves it, she also likes it.
This discovery is not scary. Liu Lanyan had strange feelings before she met the Venerable Lord, but she did not deliberately investigate or adjust them. They were just small details in her daily life. Why should she care about them?
However, after meeting the Lord, especially after they ate and lived together, sharing meals and lodging in the Wuchen Palace, she gradually began to sense that something was amiss.
Through gradual experimentation, it was discovered that the foods she liked but disliked were precisely what the demon god preferred.
She was really shocked when she first learned of this discovery, and that feeling is still fresh in her memory.
This is truly unbelievable!
However, after a while, she got used to it.
This confirmed one thing: she had definitely had a very deep relationship with the Lord in the past.
She no longer needed to think before doing anything for the Lord; it was all out of instinct.
Therefore, she felt that the simple word "love" was absolutely insufficient to describe their relationship.
"So he's also a mentally challenged person." Qin Ming laughed, a smile that was a mixture of relief at seeing a fellow human being and bitterness.
“You are luckier than me, at least the Lord loves you very much.” Qin Ming thought of Liu Xinya, who had used him to the very end, and the place in his heart where Liu Xinya had hurt him throbbed faintly.
There was really no need for that final blow; his heart was already dying from the daily torment.
"When I met Liu Xinya, I was just a minor officer in the army. At that time, I don't know why, but Liu Xinya fell in love with me." This was the first time Qin Ming had revealed his true feelings to an outsider, who was also an enemy.
Perhaps he was suppressing his emotions too much; if he didn't speak out, he would really suffer the pain all over again.
"Back then, she wasn't the Grand Elder's daughter, just a relative. And that's how we got together, and she came to the Demon Realm with me." Qin Ming recalled everything from back then, as vividly as if it had happened yesterday.
“I didn’t think too much at the time. She was beautiful, and I fell for her at first sight. She said she would go wherever I was; she said she hoped I could improve, so I worked hard to climb the ranks; she said I should follow the right master, so I joined the ranks of the King of Jing…”
Qin Ming's face grew increasingly somber as he spoke.
All of this was said by Liu Xinya, and he was doing it.
After he died, he heard Liu Xinya's words and realized that their meeting was just a scheme by Liu Xinya.
If it weren't him, it would probably be some other leader of the demon realm.
She didn't want to follow him to the Demon Realm; she wanted to escape her awkward identity in the Demon Realm. She didn't want to be trampled underfoot by her own relatives.
She didn't want him to improve; she just wanted her husband to be a capable man. As for who her husband was, she probably wouldn't care.
Whether it was Liu Xinya's subtle suggestion of joining the King of Jing's side or not, it's likely that she was already working for the King of Jing.
He was nothing more than a pawn in her game, whom she conveniently introduced to Elder Li.
It was all a setup, but he was the only one who got caught up in it.
Should I say I was too stupid or that Liu Xinya was too smart?
He doesn't know, and doesn't want to know, how can you possibly say who's right and who's wrong in this kind of thing?
"Take my advice. If the Lord doesn't mean it that way, you should withdraw as soon as possible." Qin Ming would never have imagined that one day he would be so open and honest with his enemy.
"You should understand that this kind of thing can't be done just by thinking about it," Liu Lanyan said with a helpless smile.
"Yes." Qin Ming nodded. Wasn't he the best example?
Even after losing his life, he remained stubbornly unrepentant.
“I’m different from you.” Liu Lanyan raised an eyebrow slightly. “I have a bad temper. If the Lord dares to wrong me, hmph…”
Liu Lanyan chuckled twice and said coldly, "If he dares to wrong me, I'll make him regret it."