In the majestic and imposing great hall, Shuang’er sat upright on the central throne, dressed in splendid clothes. Su Mo stood off to the side, feeling a bit nervous.
That’s because dozens of people were standing below, all women with silver hair and purple eyes. Their gazes were all fixed on Su Mo, curious about the background of this young lady who could stand beside their king.
“Everyone, settle down. Don’t startle my beloved consort.” Shuang’er crossed her legs, her eyes narrowing slightly. Her overwhelming aura made all the members of the Heavenly Demon Clan in the hall bow their heads.
Beloved consort? What the heck is that?
Su Mo’s face darkened, looking utterly unwilling.
But Shuang’er didn’t care about that. She pulled him to sit beside her on the throne and gently patted his cheek. “If you want to stay alive, just behave. If you really piss me off, I’ll just send Hong to Earth to grab another one.”
Su Mo knew better than to suffer unnecessary losses. He could only submit for the time being, sitting like a mute melon as Shuang’er put her arm around him.
He also just noticed that the aura Shuang’er emitted was even stronger than Nangong Xuan’s, probably at the peak of A-level.
If someone like her went to Earth, it would be a disaster for humanity.
He had already basically guessed that the Heavenly Demon Clan couldn’t directly descend to Earth in their original forms due to certain restrictions. So they used soul-swapping methods to obtain human bodies, thereby gaining recognition from Earth’s rules.
For example, Hong had probably used this method to enter the human world.
Thinking of this, Su Mo began to wonder: Why are so many otherworldly beings descending on Earth? Is there something on Earth that attracts them?
If possible, he thought he might start with this Heavenly Demon King to see if he could pry out some useful information.
“Rise, my subjects. The reason I called you here today is to announce that Chiye will henceforth be my royal consort. From now on, seeing her is seeing me, and you shall all bow to her.” Shuang’er paused, her gaze sweeping over all the clan members present. “Does everyone understand?”
“Yes!”
For the next half hour or so, Su Mo listened to them line up and greet him. When it was Hong’s turn, although she was extremely reluctant, she still respectfully said, “Greetings, Royal Consort.”
Su Mo grunted a reluctant “Mm.”
Actually, the neighbors and villagers he’d seen earlier weren’t ordinary clan members at all. They were all beings qualified to be in this hall. The old woman was even the High Priestess of the Heavenly Demon Clan, second only to the king, and exempt from bowing even to the king.
Yet she bowed slightly to Su Mo. “I apologize for my earlier rudeness. Please forgive me, Royal Consort.”
Su Mo didn’t really want to respond, but seeing the old woman remain slightly bowed and motionless, he could only grunt an “Mm.”
“Thank you, Royal Consort.”
Witnessed by all the ministers, Su Mo became the legitimate royal consort of the Heavenly Demon Clan. Although he had no idea what this Heavenly Demon King Shuang’er was up to, in order to obtain the secret method for swapping souls and to uncover their true purpose for descending on Earth, Su Mo decided to endure this humiliation.
She’s just a woman. What’s the worst she could do to me?
…
The Heavenly Demon Realm was vast, but only a tiny portion was suitable for living. The Heavenly Demon Clan called this place Heavenly Demon City, their only habitat. Tens of thousands of clan members were all crammed into this small city.
Beyond this lay dangerous, wild lands filled not only with ferocious beasts but also extremely terrifying extreme weather. No one could survive out there.
According to their recorded history, the Heavenly Demon Clan had always lived in this dangerous world. Their race had no males, only females. Reproduction was done entirely by hand—cultivating essence blood.
However, when each successive High Priestess inherited their position, they would receive a fragment of memory: a memory of a place called the Ancestral Land, an environment a hundred times better than the Heavenly Demon Realm.
So they began searching for ways to find the Ancestral Land, giving rise to a specialized profession—the Path Seekers.
Through the efforts of generations of Path Seekers, they finally found the legendary Ancestral Land twenty years ago, which was Earth. But due to the suppression of Earth’s rules, they had to put their plans on hold—until a divine scroll appeared…
Su Mo put down the book in his hand and rubbed his sore eyes. Immediately, a serving girl walked over to massage his shoulders.
“Royal Consort, please rest. You’ve been working day and night. If you harm your health, the King will be heartbroken,” one of the serving girls reminded him.
Su Mo took a sip of fragrant tea and said calmly, “It’s fine.”
With that, he started flipping through books again. Seeing this, the two serving girls had no choice but to back out of the room.
“Our Royal Consort is truly virtuous. To help our people escape their plight, she hasn’t slept a wink in seven days and seven nights.”
“Exactly. Our King has never taken a consort before, and the first one is an outsider. At first, the ministers were all against it, but now they’re as silent as mutes.”
“Shh, do you want to die? If they heard you… Your Majesty, you’re here!”
“Both of you withdraw. I’ll see the Royal Consort myself.” Shuang’er dismissed the servants and pushed the door open. The sight of Su Mo huddled over the desk, studying hard, met her eyes.
“I didn’t expect you to be so diligent, even eating in the scripture library. I underestimated your willpower.”
“What choice do I have? I don’t want someone else occupying my body while my soul is locked away like a prisoner,” Su Mo said, flipping a page and yawning. In his ancient-style clothes, he had quite the air of a refined lady while reading.
A flicker of reluctance flashed deep in Shuang’er’s eyes, then she joked, “You’re not really willing to help us get to the Ancestral Land, are you? You’re not trying to trick us, are you?”
“These are your books. I’m just responsible for finding methods and reasoning. To stay alive, I’m not going to do anything stupid,” Su Mo said coldly.
Shuang’er stared at his figure, painstakingly flipping through the books, but her mind was on the soul form she had seen earlier. She unconsciously felt a bit nervous.
She lingered for a while, as if she had something to say but was still thinking about how to start.
Su Mo looked up and happened to meet her slightly flustered gaze. “Is there something else?”
“Mm… I want to give you something.” She finally made up her mind and placed a rectangular wooden box in front of him.
Seeing this, Su Mo put down his book and opened the box. “If you’re giving me something, just give it. Why wrap it up so tightly?”
He took out the contents of the wooden box. It was a painting. Just as he was about to unroll it, he caught a glimpse of this king blushing slightly out of the corner of his eye, her lips pressed tightly together, her hands unconsciously clutching the hem of her clothes.
Su Mo’s movement to unroll the painting paused. He started to worry. You’re the Heavenly Demon King! Acting all shy like a young girl—what’s that about? Don’t tell me you like me?
He sucked in a cold breath. He was in a female body right now! Wouldn’t that mean she liked women?
He had thought her making him the royal consort was just for show, but it turned out to be her true feelings. First a gift, what would come next?
Su Mo was stunned for a moment, then said awkwardly, “Maybe… let’s forget it.”
He put the painting back into the box and closed the lid.
Shuang’er looked like someone had dumped a bucket of cold water on her. Her excited mood evaporated completely. “I painted this portrait of you with my own hands!”
Su Mo thought to himself, The more heartfelt you are, the less I can accept it. What if I give you the illusion that ‘I like you too,’ and in the end it’s just unrequited love on your part? Then I’d be nothing but a jerk who plays with people’s feelings, wouldn’t I?
No, he couldn’t do that.
He cleared his throat softly and put the wooden box back into Shuang’er’s hands. “I appreciate the sentime— WHOA!”
The moment the wooden box touched Shuang’er’s finger, it suddenly burst into dust with a bang! Su Mo was so startled he stumbled and nearly fell to the ground, thinking she had flown into a rage out of humiliation and was going to kill him.
Shuang’er’s chest heaved violently. She shot Su Mo a fierce glare and stormed out, slamming the door behind her.
Su Mo touched his own face. “Such a violent—”
Before he could even finish his complaint, Shuang’er came back into the room, her eyes red. “The books were right! There’s not a single good man among you!”
With that, she stormed out again, slamming the door. This time, the door panels and the entire wall the door was mounted on all crumbled into ruins.
Su Mo was completely dumbfounded. “Did she just say… ‘man’?”
