Chapter 41: I Am His Partner

Chapter 41: I Am His Partner

Feeling Yan Huaixuan's gaze on his head, Shen Lian paused. He reached up and touched his head.

He felt two furry things.

Shen Lian: "..."

If he wasn't mistaken, they were ears.

He casually drew a Water Mirror and saw that he indeed had a different face in the mirror, with blood-red eyes. But what stood out was the pair of cat ears sprouting from the top of his head.

Shen Lian took a deep breath. Regardless, he was a demon now.

He looked coldly at Yan Huaixuan. "You gonna eat that or not? If not, I'm tossing it."

The moment he finished speaking, Yan Huaixuan took the pill from him.

And swallowed it.

Shen Lian frowned. "You should change your hair!"

The silver was way too flashy.

And in the blink of an eye, Yan Huaixuan's appearance changed too.

Yan Huaixuan slowly opened his eyes, but something felt off. Before he could even figure out what was going on, he heard Shen Lian snort.

Yan Huaixuan looked over and saw that Shen Lian was now a head taller than him.

Ling Yun rubbed his nose. "Master, why'd you shrink?"

Once he'd had his fill of laughing, Shen Lian shut his mouth and looked at the youth beside him.

His face had indeed changed, his hair was now black, and his eyes were blood-red. But the catch was, Yan Huaixuan had shrunk a lot—he now looked about thirteen or fourteen.

Even so, the look on his face was as familiar as ever—cold and stiff, completely expressionless.

But since he looked like a kid now, it came off less cold and a little more cute.

Shen Lian froze for a second, then quickly looked away. "Find somewhere to land."

Yan Huaixuan nodded slightly.

Shen Lian suddenly frowned. "What about the demonic aura on us?"

He watched Yan Huaixuan casually draw a talisman and slap it onto Shen Lian.

Shen Lian instantly felt a layer of demonic energy settle over his skin.

Yan Huaixuan did the same, sticking a talisman on himself as well.

Now the two of them looked like full-blown demons.

Yan Huaixuan said, "It only lasts a day."

Forget a day—even just the time it takes to burn one incense stick would be enough.

The demons chasing them hadn't caught up yet, so Shen Lian figured they should find a place to hide fast.

Suddenly, he spotted a small town. He had no idea what was going on, but big crowds of mid-to-high-level demons were packed in the streets, and it was lively as hell.

Shen Lian said right away, "Yan Huaixuan, let's land. With this many demons around, they won't find us."

Yan Huaixuan shot him a look. "You sure?"

Shen Lian frowned. "What, you got a better idea?"

Yan Huaixuan didn't say anything else and brought Shen Lian down in an instant, landing right in the middle of the demon crowd.

Ling Yun, meanwhile, had a weird look on his face.

The second Shen Lian stepped in, he felt demonic energy surging everywhere—totally different from what he'd seen at the Tianheng Sect.

At the Tianheng Sect, everything was gorgeous, with buildings like celestial palaces. But the demon realm was way rougher—some places were just plain stone huts, and the demons wandering around were crude as hell.

Every single demon talked at an unbelievably loud volume.

Shen Lian's eardrums were ringing. His cultivation was still way too low, and before long, his face went pale and his head started pounding.

But it only lasted a few seconds before Shen Lian felt a gentle breeze brush through his head, and the thunderous voices around him died down a lot.

Shen Lian blinked, startled. He rubbed his temples.

What was going on?

Without thinking, he glanced at Yan Huaixuan, who was standing there with a stern face.

But he quickly shook that thought off.

Yan Huaixuan wouldn't help him. Yan Huaixuan would love to see him suffer.

Shen Lian went back to looking cold. Above them, the demons that had been chasing them earlier had caught up.

Shen Lian instantly held his breath.

Luckily, the demons didn't notice them and flew right past.

Shen Lian breathed a sigh of relief, but the next second, something felt off.

Shen Lian suddenly looked up and saw every demon around him staring at him with all sorts of expressions—some mocking, some pitying, some annoyed.

Shen Lian was totally lost.

On the platform surrounded by the demons stood a female demon with wolf ears. She was two meters tall, built and gorgeous, with a sharp, spirited face.

She looked at him and smiled. "You'll do."

Shen Lian was completely out of it. A horse-headed demon next to him shoved him. "Get up there! Tadanya's got her eye on you! I really don't get why a scrawny little bean sprout like you caught her attention."

Shen Lian froze. "I..."

Up on the platform, the wolf-eared demon Tadanya was getting impatient watching Shen Lian hesitate. "What're you stalling for? You coming up or not?"

The other demons started hollering too: "Yeah! Hurry it up! You going up or what?"

"Tadanya's the city lord's daughter. Her liking you is an honor."

Chen Xue paused. "I went and eavesdropped on the other demons. Turns out it's a custom—unmarried demons can come to this arena voluntarily. Whoever steps up can pick someone they like. If the person they pick is willing, they go spend the night together. If they're not willing, they fight. Win, and they can leave. Lose, and then..."

Shen Lian looked at Tadanya, whose cultivation was clearly far above his own, and his eye twitched sharply. No wonder Yan Huaixuan had asked earlier if he was really sure about coming down.

At that thought, Shen Lian immediately turned to Yan Huaixuan, only to catch the faintest hint of a smile tugging at the corner of Yan Huaixuan's lips. Though it was subtle, Shen Lian knew Yan Huaixuan was smiling!

That bastard knew all along and didn't even warn him.

Seeing everyone around staring at her, Tadanya's expression soured. She'd always had plenty of suitors, and nobody had ever dared turn her down. Just now, she'd spotted this little kitten in the crowd at a glance.

He wasn't her usual type, but she could play a different sort of game with him.

But the guy still wouldn't come up.

Just as her expression darkened and the guards started closing in on Shen Lian, Yan Huaixuan said calmly, "I'm his partner. I don't consent."

Hearing that, Shen Lian was taken aback.

Chen Xue quickly said, "If there's a partner and the partner doesn't consent, you can fight the person on the platform!"

Shen Lian: "?? Partners can participate together??"

Chen Xue rubbed his nose. "Ahem, demon folk are pretty open-minded—polygyny, polyandry, three husbands, two wives, they've got all sorts. They don't care about that stuff. Very few demons stick to one partner for life."

Shen Lian went quiet.

The others, looking at Yan Huaixuan who appeared to be only fifteen or sixteen, paused for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"You? You look like you haven't even grown your baby feathers yet—just hatched, huh?"

Shen Lian was also silent. Yan Huaixuan was clearly lying through his teeth.

But Yan Huaixuan just lifted his eyes and gave the mocking demon a look. The demon was instantly hurled backward, slamming hard into a building before coming to a stop.