His Demoness

38 ⚔️ Spoken Lies

He thought that he would never see her again.

He was reminded of the first time he had met her in his dream. How she had laid in the frozen waters, deep in slumber.

This time, she was sleeping again. Her face was pale and tranquil as the moon, her hands folded on top of her abdomen. Devoid of any emotion, she looked almost child-like. Her beauty was so surreal that he couldn't seem to tear his gaze away.

How was this possible? Didn't the Jiang clan announce the death of the Demoness?

And yet, they had deceived everyone with their lie. But for what purpose?

As Jiang Ziyi began pushing her brother out of the room, Zhijian retreated and hid behind a wall. When they left, he took the chance to slip into the room that Xiaoyu was in.

He approached her slowly. She was lying so still that he was beginning to think that she might be dead. It was only when her chest rose and fell slightly with each breath did his worst fear dissipate.

He hesitated briefly. When he reached for her hands, he realised that they were cold to the touch. A lock of her raven hair had fallen out of place and he gently tucked it behind her ear. His hand lingered there for a moment before moving to her chin, the back of his fingers trailing along her jaw lightly.

Never before had he touched her like this, especially with such gentleness.

It was awkward, but somehow, it felt right.

As he watched her sleeping form, a surge of anger rose within him.

The Jiang clan was never honest from the very beginning. From what Jiang Ziyi had mentioned earlier, they had sedated her and put her in such a cold, dark place. Whatever they were planning to do was definitely something more than just punishing the Demoness for her crime. By keeping her alive, they wanted to use her for whatever evil motive they harboured.

And just like everybody else, Zhijian bought their story. Now, he could only blame himself for being a fool.

To see her in such a frail state horrified him beyond words. This place was far worse than her being locked up in the dungeon. It was hell.

She was alive, but barely living.

At this moment, he only had one thought on his mind; to get her out of this dreadful place.

With a sense of urgency, he slipped one arm around her shoulders and the other beneath her legs. When he lifted her body off the bed, something cold pressed against his throat.

A warning voice came from behind. "I suggest that you put her down, unless you wish to meet your death."

Whilst he had been so swept up in his emotions and thoughts of bringing Xiaoyu out of this place, he failed to notice Jiang Ziyi's presence when she entered the room.

She stepped into his sight, her cold, hard eyes trained on him. Finding a stranger lurking in their catacomb posed a problem. What was worse was that he had stumbled upon the secret that the Jiang clan was so desperately hiding from everyone.

"Don't make me repeat myself," she hissed. "I don't crack jokes often."

When she exerted a slight pressure on the dagger against his throat, Zhijian did as he was told.

He placed Xiaoyu back on the bed, but made no attempt to leave her side. His stubbornness only made Jiang Ziyi narrow her eyes in disapproval.

"Step away from her," she ordered.

"No."

She gritted her teeth in annoyance. "Listen to me. I'm advising you not to do anything you might regret later on. If you wish to stay alive, you have to forget everything that you have seen here today and leave."