Tome of Troubled Times
Chapter 822: Demons Can Be Cute Too

Chapter 822: Demons Can Be Cute Too

Piaomiao shot a sidelong glance at Zhao Changhe, finding it somehow odd that he was this clever. Everything about him, whether it be the way he looked or the way he fought, painted him clearly as a man accustomed only to brute force and deadly struggle.

Yet, the memories she had reluctantly gleaned from Yangyang told her otherwise; the man was indeed startlingly intelligent.

The hesitation came primarily from her reluctance to delve into Cui Yuanyang’s memories. Each contact brought forth a nauseating flood of affection, and she felt it capable of subtly shifting her own emotions over time.

At the mere thought, a wave of sudden irritation washed over Piaomiao. Without hesitation, she slammed a ferocious fist into Papiyas’ face.

Papiyas, who had just been about to speak, had his words shoved right back down his throat with this vicious blow. His ethereal form twisted grotesquely, but the Soul-Shackling Chain tightened mercilessly with each distortion, keeping him firmly bound.

Testing the waters with a rub of her knuckles, Piaomiao advanced.

A relentless cacophony of explosions echoed, mingling with haunting screams. Zhao Changhe dashed away at full speed, retreating several dozen li before finally stopping to peer back from beneath a shielding palm, his expression twisting oddly.

Piaomiao was clearly venting all the fury she had accumulated onto Papiyas, along with perhaps a touch of resentment for having been chained so long. Watching the earth split and mountains crumble from afar, Zhao Changhe judged that even his own incredibly tough body would never survive such an onslaught. Papiyas, though, proved worthy of having an undying body. Aside from his agonizing cries, his aura hardly diminished. Judging by appearances, Piaomiao still had plenty of time and stamina to vent.

Serves him right... The real Piaomiao is kind-hearted. Even when she kills, she makes it quick and clean. Torture isn’t her style. You’re the one who drove her to madness and corrupted her, so it’s only right that you get a taste of the consequences of your actions.

After a long, earth-shaking thrashing, Piaomiao returned, gripping a barely recognizable lump that had once been Papiyas and flinging it unceremoniously to the ground. “You finish him. I can’t kill him.”

Zhao Changhe studied the other party’s battered form. Papiyas had long since passed out. He was quiet for a moment before letting out a weary sigh. “I can’t kill him either.”

“Why not?” Piaomiao shot him a fierce glare. “According to the Ye sisters, you can even kill them. Why not this one?”

“Because my own inner demon was stirred up long ago,” Zhao Changhe admitted laboriously. “I’m doing my damnedest to suppress it. Can’t you see?”

Piaomiao truly had not noticed until now. Zhao Changhe’s complexion was flushed, his eyes a shade too bright and unsettlingly fixed on her...

Everyone had been playing a game of trickery and manipulation, and Zhao Changhe himself was not entirely unaffected. He had certainly underestimated Papiyas, assuming that once he had pierced through the illusion, the rest would be simple enough. With this bold plan in mind, he had dared to approach Papiyas directly, allowing his inner demons to be provoked head-on. Who else would have had the guts to gamble with Papiyas like this? Even Ye Wuming might have hesitated in his stead. Even if it was an act on the surface, raw desires inevitably seeped through unrestrained.

Yet without this dangerous gambit, how else could he have possibly chained Papiyas? It was a problem without a solution.

The real issue now was the nature of his stirred inner demon. It was raw desire, and one directed squarely at Piaomiao!

Reading Zhao Changhe’s expression, Piaomiao’s face shifted rapidly through shades of disbelief and outrage. “You dare call yourself number one on the Ranking of Heaven? Your mind and heart are riddled with flaws! They’re filled with weakness, dependency, and worse still, lust!”

Zhao Changhe struggled to keep his voice steady as he spoke, “Yet I won. And you’re the one who was corrupted.”

“You!” Piaomiao was genuinely tempted to kill him right then. Suddenly, her hand shot forward, gripping his throat tightly. “If you’re dead, this problem goes away!”

With difficulty, Zhao Changhe grasped her wrist. “But if I die, who will help you deal with Ye Wuming?”

“So that’s why you dared remove my chains?” Piaomiao sneered coldly. “What gives you the confidence I’d retain my sanity? How dare you expect it?”

“...I was even hoping you’d kiss me after I coaxed you a bit. Papiyas already acted out my desires and intentions, and you saw them.”

“You!”

“It’s already been laid bare, so why bother hiding it anymore?”

Piaomiao understood it was not Zhao Changhe suddenly deciding to be straightforward. He could easily have brushed it off as merely misleading Papiyas. That he dared speak so openly now was only because his inner demons had already grown uncontrollable, his desire irrepressibly clear.

Zhao Changhe was now partially corrupted, halfway into darkness.

His breathing grew ragged. His grip on her wrist, once merely instinctual defense, began wandering unconsciously up her arm...

If this was poison, then surely it was the most terrifying aphrodisiac to ever exist. And it was one that consummation would not cure but only cause to grow even worse.

With a growl, Piaomiao hurled Zhao Changhe violently into the ground, shattering the earth beneath him. “Wake up!”

Yet she refrained from killing him.

Amidst the swirling dust, Zhao Changhe’s weak cough came, faintly tinged with amusement, “To think... you’d hold back even now...”

Piaomiao scoffed. “If you want death so badly, I’ll grant it!”

Gasping, Zhao Changhe struggled to speak, “Kill... Papiyas... his death is the true cure.”

Piaomiao said nothing.

She simply could not kill Papiyas.

Papiyas’s existence was too peculiar. Even when Zhao Changhe had shot Papiyas’s incarnation, Ye Jiuyou could only seize the treasure but failed to slay him. Piaomiao was similarly limited, as was Ye Jiuyou. Perhaps even Ye Wuming would fare no better. Such an extraordinary being was destined to be killed by Zhao Changhe himself, yet Zhao Changhe was now barely holding onto his own sanity...

“Bring him... Southeast, to Xiangyang... Perhaps the monks can cleanse him... Safety on the road is up to you now. Don’t trust too heavily in the chains. Papiyas is everywhere. Those chains bind only his main body, but there are others...”

Papiyas: “...”

“I can’t hold on for much longer. If this keeps up, I’m going to end up making a move on you.” Zhao Changhe managed a weary, final grin before decisively knocking himself out with a precise chop to his own neck, collapsing unconscious into the crater.

Piaomiao landed softly in the pit, staring down at the unconscious Zhao Changhe for a prolonged silence.

He actually dares to lose consciousness before me... He dares to entrust his very life to someone he knows is corrupted. Even worse, he knocked himself unconscious just to contain his own rampaging inner demon of desire.

At this moment, a bitter realization struck her. She had been utterly useless on this journey; she had done nothing but drag him down. Throughout their trials, she had behaved no better than a petulant child, harming Zhao Changhe instead of helping. Meanwhile, Zhao Changhe’s strength and cunning had shone brilliantly from beginning to end.

Memories from Cui Yuanyang’s past interlaced with the present, weaving an unbroken thread from the Profound Gate Realm all the way to the Profound Control Realm. He had never changed.

“Then this time... let me be the one to protect you.” Piaomiao gently lifted Zhao Changhe. After a brief hesitation, she hoisted him onto her back. She then reached down with one hand to seize Papiyas and took to the skies, swiftly heading southeast.

Papiyas discreetly opened an eye, attempting to weave another illusion to free himself. Zhao Changhe was right. The chain bound only his main body, yet he existed everywhere, impossible to fully restrain.

But before the trickery could fully manifest, a ruthless punch slammed into his forehead. “Hmph! I saw through your illusions from the very beginning. Don’t mistake me for Zhao Changhe. He may be willing to play around with you, but you’re damn mistaken if you think I am!”

Papiyas wanted to weep.

If you’d seen through it from the start, why didn’t you say a single word earlier? Was it fun being carried around like a helpless bride all this way?

Unfortunately for Papiyas, Piaomiao was not bluffing. No matter what cunning trick or illusion he conjured, none had the slightest effect. Any deceptive thought was immediately met with a merciless beating, completely crushing his resistance.

The vast mountains and rivers illuminated all evil. When Zhao Changhe wielded the Qinghe Mirror, even though it had just a fraction of this power, how many deceptions had it exposed? How much clearer then was Piaomiao herself able to see?

In fact, discerning illusions was a specialty of hers. Initially, she had stayed quiet to let Zhao Changhe grow. Later, as madness claimed her, she had become nothing but a hindrance. Now, fueled by simmering anger and a desire to prove herself, Piaomiao found no other outlet for her frustrations except beating up Papiyas.

The distant Snow Owl, discreetly trailing behind, swiftly abandoned any notions of rescue and turned back decisively. No sane person would challenge a maddened demon at the third layer of the Profound Control Realm.

Throughout their journey, the corrupted beings that were awakened by Papiyas were mercilessly cut down by Piaomiao alone, even while burdened with carrying Zhao Changhe on her back. Despite the setback, she remained second only to the enigmatic Ye Jiuyou.

Snow Owl paused thoughtfully before abruptly vanishing with a knowing smile.

* * *

Xiangyang.

Yuan Cheng, Yuan Xing, and others sat reverently around an ancient Vajra Buddha, palms together in solemn meditation, absorbed in profound teachings. Buddhist chants softly hummed, cultivating a serene atmosphere.

“All conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, shadows; like dew, like lightning flashes, they must be perceived thus...”

Midway through the chant, the ancient Buddha’s eyes snapped wide in alarm, stunned to his core. “What dense, demonic intent! At least three demons approach! Quickly form the Great Luohan Arra—”

Before the word “array” fully left his lips, the monks’ vision blurred, and a young-looking, doll-faced beauty brimming with demonic qi appeared abruptly before them.

On her back, the young lady carried a heavily wounded man, bloodied and battered, exuding such potent desire that even unconscious, it threatened to shake the monks’ tranquil composure.

The pair looked entirely disproportionate, as if a rabbit struggled beneath the bulk of a grizzly bear that nearly obscured her entirely. Only her round face peeked out above his massive frame. The scene might have been adorable had it not been shrouded in such overwhelming demonic qi, creating a surreal, disturbing contradiction.

Yet the thing truly terrifying to the monks was not this peculiar duo but the chained parcel the girl casually held in her left hand. The aura radiating from it chilled them to the bone, an instinctive recognition of their ultimate nemesis.

“Pa... Papiyas?” stammered the ancient Buddha, utterly dumbfounded.

The fearsome Heavenly Demon Papiyas is actually casually dangling like a clay jug... just who are these two?

The girl snarled fiercely, “Forming an array? Are you courting death?”

The ancient Buddha found himself stuttering. “And who, who might you be, great demon god? Why have I never seen you before?”

This presence was utterly terrifying. Even in the ancient era, an era filled with demon gods, beings of her caliber were fewer than the fingers on one hand.

Only now did Yuan Cheng recover enough composure to cry out in surprise, “King Zhao! Lady Cui—I mean, King Zhao’s consort! Why are you two here?”

The ancient Buddha’s jaw dropped.

You’re calling this terrifying demoness King Zhao’s consort? Ah, yes... she’s succumbed to madness; this isn’t her true self. But since when did King Zhao’s consort possess such overwhelming cultivation? How could King Zhao possibly rank first in the Ranking of Heaven if his wife is this strong?

“Since you recognize us, get to work. Purify him quickly.” With a casual toss, Piaomiao discarded the chained parcel like the piece of trash it was, then carefully laid Zhao Changhe flat. “If you fail to cleanse him, you’ll all join him in death!”

She had not refuted the title of King Zhao’s consort.

Had Zhao Changhe been awake, his inner demons would surely have intensified. Even in her madness, Piaomiao had not objected to the title! The normal Piaomiao probably would not have objected either, but for the corrupted Piaomiao to silently accept it, Zhao Changhe might just have a reason to feel proud...

Unfortunately, Zhao Changhe remained unconscious, while the monks were genuinely terrified.

You casually tossed Papiyas into our temple like a bag of trash! That’s really Papiyas, right?

No, wait, did you just say that Papiyas isn’t important? The priority is purifying King Zhao?

The ancient Buddha could no longer sit steadily upon his lotus seat. Hesitantly approaching Zhao Changhe, he briefly examined him before speaking with a complicated expression, “This... an inner demon? Such overwhelming desire... even if it was provoked by Papiyas, there had to be a catalyst. Since you’re already husband and wife, is this truly necessary?”

Even unconscious, Zhao Changhe was uncomfortably aroused, emanating a presence potent enough that his bathwater could likely brew a wagonload of aphrodisiacs. Truly befitting of the top-ranking figure on the Ranking of Heaven—he was extraordinary even in this aspect.

“...” Piaomiao glared coldly. “Enough nonsense. Can you cleanse him or not?”

The ancient Buddha shot her a careful glance, inwardly noting that Zhao Changhe was unconscious, and without a woman nearby, the lust demon could not do much anyway. Forget about him, you are the one who’s worrying me right now. You’re radiating bitterness and hostility, and you’re corrupted to the bone. What force is even making you stay calm here instead of slaughtering us outright?

Of course, he dared not say any of this aloud before this intimidating young lady. Instead, he replied swiftly, “Regarding your issue, we can suppress it temporarily by forming an array. However, for complete removal, we must address the root cause alongside our purification rituals.”

“Root cause?”

“If the queen consort harbors unresolved hatred, then it must be avenged; if King Zhao harbors unattainable desires, then fulfillment is the cure.”

Piaomiao frowned. “If he indulges in this state, he will only sink further into corruption. That’s exactly what Papiyas wants. Do you monks even know what you’re talking about?”

Yet, the ancient Buddha sounded confident, “That’s because you’ve never had our help. If we suppress his inner demon first, fulfilling his unresolved desires afterward will naturally resolve the issue.”

Annoyed, Piaomiao retorted, “Since you’re so confident, suppress it first. We can worry about the rest later.”

“Then... Do forgive us, queen consort.” The ancient Buddha sat cross-legged in front of them, signaling the monks to form a formation around him. Their murmured chants soon filled the air as dazzling golden scriptures appeared, slowly swirling around Zhao Changhe and Piaomiao.

Instinctively, Piaomiao unleashed a palm strike, protesting sharply, “Purify him, not me!”

That single palm resonated like the pressure of heaven and earth simultaneously closing in, instantly enveloping everyone within the hall.

Bang!

The monks flew through the air like scattered leaves. The ancient Buddha, regarded as the temple’s ultimate hope, could not withstand even half the strike’s power. He crashed into a pillar, nearly collapsing the entire hall.

Suddenly, Zhao Changhe opened his eyes, grasping Piaomiao’s wrist weakly. “Don’t hurt them...”

Though the grip was feeble, Piaomiao allowed herself to be restrained momentarily before pulling away again. “Let go! I didn’t even use much strength! They’re just too weak!”

“Piaomiao!” The ancient Buddha gasped in shock, recognition dawning. “You’re Piaomiao! Why have you fallen to corruption? This is impossible!”

He had one more shocking thought, but he had the wisdom to keep that one to himself. Does this mean Zhao Changhe’s overwhelming lust was provoked by Piaomiao? Could someone truly harbor such desires toward the god of the mountains and rivers, the god of the land?

Zhao Changhe smiled faintly. “Nothing is impossible... Forgive us for harming your masters. I sincerely apologize on behalf of my wife. Please, help suppress and purify us first. We’ll handle her reluctance later; just focus on me for now.”

“But she...”

“So what if she’s a demon now? Demons can be cute too. The Four Idols Cult is a demonic cult as well, yet nobody demands that they be purified. It’s fine.”

The ancient Buddha: “...”

Piaomiao: “...”

Exchanging glances, the monks cautiously reassembled. They sensed something unusual. This was indeed a demon filled with bitter resentment, capable of massacring entire cities without blinking. Such a being would typically have no patience for conversation. Yet, the palm strike earlier had clearly been restrained; none of the monks had sustained actual injuries, only embarrassment.

Is it because Piaomiao’s inherently kind-hearted nature allowed her to maintain control, even in corruption? Or perhaps because her husband’s presence restrained her, just as King Zhao had restrained the Four Idols Cult?

Well, such powerful beings’ affairs aren’t for us to comment on. It’s best to just do our duties as monks.

They quickly reformed the array, carefully focusing only on Zhao Changhe this time.

Golden scriptures gently enveloped Zhao Changhe while chanting droned around him. Soon, he sank back into deep slumber, his expression noticeably calmer. The overwhelming lust emanating from him finally subdued.

Observing the transformation, Piaomiao finally exhaled in relief. “It seems Zhao Changhe was right to seek your help. Then, regarding Papiyas, do you have any way to deal with him?”

The ancient Buddha replied carefully, “We can temporarily seal and suppress him. However, permanently dealing with him requires further thought. Actually, revered god, you yorself possess extraordinary purification abilities. It’s just that your state of corruption prevents you from exercising them. If you are willing...”

Piaomiao stood silent for a moment, then lifted Zhao Changhe into her arms once more. “Provide us a guest courtyard first. Let him recover before we discuss anything further.”

A monk hurried forward to lead the way. Zhao Changhe rested comfortably in Piaomiao’s arms, looking up intently at her adorably fierce expression.

Could it be that any demon, no matter how terrifying, would look cute if they wear Yangyang’s innocent face?

He wondered silently what expression Piaomiao’s original face deep within her spiritual sea wore right now. Was it still filled with bitterness and resentment, or had something softened it? He doubted it was the same as before.

Piaomiao tried her best to maintain an expressionless face, saying quietly, “You protected me in the beginning. Now, I’m protecting you. We’re even. Keep staring, and I’ll gouge your eyes out. I mean what I say.”

Zhao Changhe smiled lightly, finally speaking, “Even if you gouge my eyes out, my Eternal Blood Demon Body combined with the Rejuvenation Art will eventually regenerate them. It’s just more troublesome than other injuries.”

“Are you encouraging me to gouge them out?”

“No, it’s just impossible for me not to look at you.”