After Being Struck By The Love Gu, I Reached A Happy Ending With My Frail Best Friend - Chapter 15

Caught completely off guard, Shen Fangzhou suddenly struck.

With crisp efficiency, she threw out a length of Demon-Binding Rope and tied the unprepared elder up so tightly that she could not move.

The Black Cat Elder was just about to lash out in fury when she discovered that she could not use even the slightest bit of her Nascent Soul cultivation.

Both shocked and frightened, she cried,

“W-what in the world is this? It can even restrain a Nascent Soul cultivator!”

Shen Fangzhou gave another cold snort and kicked the cat in the process of venting her anger, feeling that such a warm, familiar accent had been completely wasted on this person.

“Why are you asking me? You should be very familiar with the Demon-Binding Rope.”

“Isn’t the Demon-Binding Rope one of Princess Zhou Xu’s artifacts?”

The Black Cat Elder muttered to herself, then suddenly raised her head.

“Who exactly are you?”

Shen Fangzhou lifted her chin arrogantly.

“Haven’t you already guessed?”

“Sh-Shen Fangzhou and Xie Guiwan?!”

“No wonder. No wonder you concealed yourselves so thoroughly. So it was the Tianji Sect Master’s Dao talismans shielding your auras.”

The Black Cat Elder glared furiously at them.

“You’ve walked straight into a trap! You’re outrageously bold! Her Majesty will definitely throw both of you into the heavenly prison!”

“Neither of you will escape! And don’t even think about getting any information out of me!”

Shen Fangzhou casually flicked the Cangze Sword with one finger.

The Black Cat Elder humbly lowered her head.

“I’ll tell you everything.”

Xie Guiwan could not help laughing at the sight.

She was the first to ask,

“Where is Zhou Han currently?”

“Her Majesty has not returned yet. She should reach the Demon Palace in roughly half a day.”

“Good. Then tell me this.”

Shen Fangzhou dropped into a half-kneel and narrowed her eyes.

“Did Zhou Han go to Huizhou Pass in search of the missing half of the Crane Feather?”

The Black Cat Elder gritted her teeth.

“I can tell you, but you must never mention this matter in front of Her Majesty!”

“Agreed.”

“Her Majesty went to search for the Crane Feather, and also… to find someone.”

Shen Fangzhou immediately became alert.

“Who?”

“The other half of the Crane Feather was stolen.”

“Wasn’t the Crane Feather always in Zhou Han’s possession? Who could possibly contend with her?”

Shen Fangzhou questioned her carefully, completely failing to notice the sudden gravity in Xie Guiwan’s gaze beside her, as though she had thought of something.

“I truly don’t know that.”

The Black Cat Elder lowered her head sincerely.

“One of my close friends is Her Majesty’s physician. Even this was something I overheard by accident.”

“The Crane Feather concerns a secret of our race. Very few people know about it.”

Shen Fangzhou slid Cangze back into its sheath, but shook her head.

“You possess no loyalty toward outsiders, while treating your own relatives as bargaining chips.”

“The former does not necessarily make you despicable, since I threatened your life. But the latter is truly disgusting.”

Had Shen Fangzhou not been here, the victim would most likely have been that little black cat.

She had no desire to waste more words on the elder.

Without hesitation, she threw the woman into the cellar and added a complete package of immobilization, silencing, and spiritual isolation.

“Judging by the time, Zhou Han should reach the Demon Palace this afternoon.”

Once everything had settled and Shen Fangzhou confirmed the elder’s residence was secure, she calculated the timing and breathed a sigh of relief.

“The Immortal Alliance’s reinforcements will reach Huizhou Pass in another day.”

“With the city-protecting formation supporting them, it won’t matter much even if Zhou Han rushes back. Besides, the journey is long.”

Xie Guiwan nodded, roughly understanding Shen Fangzhou’s meaning.

“The siege of Huizhou Pass can now be resolved. Zhouzhou, what are you planning next?”

Shen Fangzhou hesitated for a moment.

“The most dangerous place is also the safest.”

“Sect Master, to be honest, I’m extremely curious about the Crane Feather.”

“Why don’t we disguise ourselves as the Black Cat Elder and enter the palace to investigate?”

“That suits me perfectly.”

Xie Guiwan nodded gently.

“If we do not enter the tiger’s den, how can we seize its cub?”

“We ought to learn what could have driven the Demon Lord to tear open the restrictions and travel to Huizhou.”

She spoke as though she knew nothing about any of it.

Having decided, Shen Fangzhou and Xie Guiwan slightly altered their Dao talismans.

One disguised herself as the Black Cat Elder, while the other became the elder’s personal guard.

The two fake cats swaggered openly out of the residence.

They even remembered to tell the guards that the elder had sensed an immortal opportunity and would be traveling far away, so the residence would refuse all visitors for the time being.

In this way, their preparations became airtight.

Even if someone noticed something wrong, Shen Fangzhou and Xie Guiwan would already be inside the Demon Palace—or long gone—by then.

Along the way, they exchanged many warm and friendly greetings with younger members of the demon race.

Shen Fangzhou, a Golden Core cultivator hiding beneath the shell of a Nascent Soul elder, felt not the slightest guilt.

She even stopped to express concern for the busy inspection teams and offer them guidance.

Her professionalism left the system dumbfounded.

It nearly forgot whether they were in the demon realm or at the Sword Pavilion’s Little Chongshan.

Although Yaodu was vast, the elders all lived relatively close together to respond quickly to the Demon Lord’s needs.

Before long, Shen Fangzhou and Xie Guiwan reached the base of the Demon Palace.

The turbulent waters of the River of Death rolled beneath a suspended stone bridge.

From towering, distant cliffs, immense waterfalls plunged downward.

Countless clouds of mist surged and collided as they rose into the air, faintly revealing one exquisite and extravagant corner of the Demon Palace.

The system whispered disdainfully,

“Zhou Han is so wasteful and extravagant.”

This time, Shen Fangzhou said nothing.

She had sensed an indescribably dangerous aura.

Zhou Han had not yet returned to the Demon Palace, so this oppressive presence could not belong to the demon race.

Shen Fangzhou and Xie Guiwan exchanged a glance.

Both saw the gravity in the other’s eyes.

The tacit understanding built through countless battles side by side allowed them to confirm one thing.

Something was probably hidden beneath the Demon Palace.

Neither hesitated any longer.

Borrowing the Black Cat Elder’s authority, Shen Fangzhou strode directly into the palace.

Before the two of them could familiarize themselves with the terrain, someone quickly emerged from the corridor on their right.

“Black Cat, you came at the perfect time.”

Long Can approached with a smile, dressed in a healer’s black robe.

She patted Shen Fangzhou on the shoulder.

“Her Highness is about to summon the elders of every tribe so the matter of the Ten Eternal Hatreds Formation can be properly arranged before Her Majesty returns.”

“Since you’re here, there’s no need for you to leave the Demon Palace this afternoon.”

Shen Fangzhou nodded repeatedly and began chatting with Long Can as though they were old friends.

At the same time, she discreetly sent Xie Guiwan a meaningful glance.

Xie Guiwan understood immediately.

While Long Can’s attention was occupied, she began collecting information about the Demon Palace.

She had cultivated on Kunlun Mountain since childhood and possessed a memory that was nearly photographic.

Long Can appeared on the surface to be an upright gentleman, but inside, she was extraordinarily fond of gossip.

Shen Fangzhou cooperated the entire way, attempting to create a flawless conversational combination attack.

“I’m telling you, Black Cat! That bastard from White Lion’s family is utterly shameless. White Lion has lived such an honorable life, so how did none of that pass on to her child?”

“And you! Stop pressuring your niece to marry. I think staying single is perfectly good. No pregnancy, no childbirth, lifelong peace!”

“Oh, and there’s more! The daughter of the Black Tiger Clan chief apparently keeps a little mountain sparrow as her lover. I heard they get extremely wild… What was it called again? Red eyes, waist grabbing, and ‘I’d give you my life’ literature!”

Shen Fangzhou exclaimed,

“Really? That actually happened?”

Long Can: “Blah, blah, blah…”

Shen Fangzhou: “Heavens, how thrilling!”

Long Can: “Blah, blah, blah…”

Shen Fangzhou said with solemn righteousness,

“No, that is far too… much!”

Every sentence she spoke was forceful and morally upright, prompting Long Can to shout that she was absolutely right before continuing to pour out every piece of demon-race gossip she knew.

Seeing Shen Fangzhou behave with such awe-inspiring righteousness, Xie Guiwan found time amid her work to glance up at her.

Shen Fangzhou was enthusiastically playing the perfect audience member.

The moment she noticed Xie Guiwan looking, however, her face immediately blossomed into a brilliant smile.

She even winked and made a small gesture, mouthing as though asking for praise.

Xie Guiwan immediately lowered her head so no one else could see the smile spreading across her lips.

They soon reached the main hall.

Upon seeing many of her colleagues, Long Can immediately fell silent to preserve her dignity.

Even so, she could not resist sighing.

“Ah, I wonder when Her Majesty will finally be willing to interact with more members of the demon race.”

“She cares far too deeply about that person.”

That person?

Shen Fangzhou immediately pricked up her ears.

Her conversation with Long Can had already allowed her to infer the demon realm’s general situation.

Demon Lord Zhou Han possessed unrivaled prestige in this world.

And if she had someone she could never forget…

Perhaps sensing Shen Fangzhou’s question—or simply because Shen Fangzhou had stopped responding—Long Can continued speaking on her own.

“I’ve never had a master, Black Cat, so tell me.”

“Can the bond between master and disciple truly become so deep that someone remembers it for a thousand years?”

“Her Majesty’s master?”

Shen Fangzhou pretended not to remember.

Long Can let out an exasperated sound.

“You forgot? Fuhe, the first ruler of our demon realm a thousand years ago.”

Fuhe…

The name exploded in Shen Fangzhou’s mind like a thunderclap.

She nearly summoned the system at once.

She remembered now!

The Heavens Where Cranes Soar had mentioned that a thousand years ago, three quasi-immortals on the verge of ascension appeared beneath heaven and earth.

They were the founding ancestor of the Sword Pavilion, the first master of the Tianji Sect, and the demon ruler Fuhe.

At that time, the Three Realms had been friendly with one another.

Everyone eagerly wondered which of the three would become the foremost immortal beneath heaven.

But an unexpected uprising later erupted.

For unknown reasons, it ignited the war between immortals and demons, and all three vanished.

Some said they had all ascended.

Others said they had all died.

The truth remained unknown.

But if Fuhe had given the Crane Feather to the Sword Pavilion’s founding ancestor, and the Sword Pavilion later returned it to Zhou Han, then Zhou Han’s attitude toward it made perfect sense.

But a single Crane Feather…

Shen Fangzhou remembered the terrifying aura concealed beneath the Demon Palace, and an unbelievable possibility arose in her mind.

Could Fuhe’s corpse be buried beneath the Demon Palace?

Could the Crane Feather contain the secret to reviving the demon emperor?

Perhaps when her master Qi Yu and Xie Guiwan reached the Demon Palace, they discovered Zhou Han’s plan.

If it required countless sacrifices, that might be why they drew their swords against her.

Shen Fangzhou was still frowning when bells suddenly rang throughout the surrounding area, abruptly dragging her back to reality.

She composed herself and exchanged a glance with Xie Guiwan, who stood hidden behind her.

Then she settled her breathing and restrained her presence, refusing to reveal the slightest flaw.

A familiar figure stepped into the golden hall.

Zhou Xu stood at the head of the chamber with a livid expression, sweeping a majestic gaze across the gathered elders.

But the instant her eyes passed over Shen Fangzhou, she frowned.

“Black Cat Elder.”

Zhou Xu spoke flatly.

Immediately, Shen Fangzhou felt a gaze lock onto her with burning intensity, as though it could pierce straight through her disguise.

She suppressed the violently pounding heart in her chest and calmly stepped forward.

“This subordinate is present.”