Courtship of Death Living in Harmony

Inside Taomuyuan, over there, just as he was preparing to deal with the large Pichen, feeling flustered and helpless about his own son, he hurried back and scolded with a mixture of disappointment and exasperation, "What is going on? Why are you crying?"

"Sob, sob, sob..." Pika wept as he complained to him, "Fa-Father, she hit me, and she even knocked out my tooth."

"Hmph, I hit you, so what?" The little dumpling stared at them with furious eyes, her heart blazing with rage. "You invaded the Ghost Clan and harmed my people—that alone is wrong! You deserved to be beaten!"

And to claim that her mother was dead made it even more wrong; she deserved an even harsher beating. Crying and crying, all he knew was how to cry. He was even weaker than a child, yet he had the nerve to come out and ambush people? Truly useless.

"Little Highness!" Pichen immediately shielded his son behind him, glaring at her with burning anger, and barked fiercely, "Our boss spared you, but that doesn't mean you have the right to beat my son."

"If it weren't out of respect for the former Demon King, today, we brothers would certainly have taken your life!"

The little dumpling let out a cold laugh, entirely unfazed by his arrogant threat. "Do you think I'm afraid of you? You'd better kill me right now, otherwise, the moment I make it back to the netherworld alive, I will report your crimes to my father and tear that so-called boss of yours into shreds! I'll throw that Third Prince of the Dragons straight down into the eighteenth level of hell for punishment!!"

"You dare show disrespect to our boss? I'll kill you!" Pichen raised the large axe in his hand and, with a ferocious expression, slashed down at her, looking entirely intent on cleaving her in two.

The little dumpling stared at him without blinking, not a trace of fear or retreat in her eyes, watching the massive axe descend.

"Little imp?!" Lu Qing, standing in the distance, saw this and felt his heart leap into his throat, roaring, "Get out of the way!"

"Pichen?!"

"Father?!"

"Swish—" The moment the axe fell, a biting wind whipped across the ground, stirring up fallen leaves and dust.

The little dumpling closed her eyes for a split second, feeling a surge of immense power welling up from her heart's origin, and called out, "Cangqiong!"

"Boom—!!"

The magnificent Cangqiong Sword swiftly materialized from the Qiankun pouch at her waist, blocking her path and intercepting the immense force of the descending axe.

"What?" Pichen looked at her in disbelief, never imagining that this little imp could summon a sharp sword.

Furthermore, judging by the power contained within this sharp blade, its might was not low at all—at the very least, it surpassed his own Sky-Searing Axe.

Taking advantage of his momentary stunned daze, the little dumpling tightly grasped the Cangqiong Sword, leaped into the air, and slashed fiercely at him. "How dare you lay a hand on your grand-aunt?!"

"You're courting death."

"Clang—!!"

"Swish—!!"

Pichen hurriedly raised his axe to block her attack.

Whether it was because the little dumpling's heart-origin power was too formidable or because the Cangqiong Sword was too powerful, with a single strike, his axe was cleaved cleanly in two, shattering into tiny fragments.

Lu Qing: "..."

Pika: "?!"

A crowd of demon beasts: "?"

Seeing that his axe was shattered and he was left without a magic artifact, the little dumpling realized this was the prime opportunity to attack him. Raising the Cangqiong Sword once more, she gave him no chance to react and immediately struck.

"Pfft—" Pichen took the full brunt of her attack. As he stumbled backward step by step, his strength finally failed him, and he collapsed heavily onto the ground, coughing up a mouthful of dark blood.

"Father?!" Pika had even forgotten to cry as he scrambled over in a panic, propping him up. "A-Are you alright?"

Taking advantage of their distraction, Lu Qing ran to the little dumpling's side, deeply worried. "Are you alright? Were you hurt?"

The little dumpling shook her head, gripped the Cangqiong Sword, and slowly walked toward the father and son.

Because the sharp sword was too long and heavy for her, she dragged it along the ground as she walked.

It should have been a comical sight of a tiny child dragging an oversized sword, but the child's expression was icy and calm, and the light radiating from the Cangqiong Sword was overwhelmingly powerful. The entire scene was both jarring and deeply striking, leaving everyone too terrified to utter a single sound.

"No..." Pika hurriedly blocked his father, dropping to his knees to plead for mercy. "Spare my father, he's already injured. Please, I beg you, spare him."

Oddly enough, he wasn't stuttering anymore.

The little dumpling chuckled softly, stopping right before the father and son. "If he hadn't been injured, do you think I'd be dead or alive right now?"

Pika froze, staring at her with a dazed gaze, unshed tears welling in his eyes. It was obvious he was forcing himself not to show fear.

After all, this was his first time encountering such a situation.

Because they usually outnumbered others and operated within the Demon Realm, there was nothing they wanted to do that they couldn't accomplish.

That was precisely why, despite being so young and uninitiated, he had dared to follow his father out on a trial by experience.

Not a single past mission had ever gone unfinished; this was the first time they had not only failed, but suffered a crushing defeat.

And their opponent was a little imp who looked even younger than him—so small she couldn't even properly lift the long sword in her hand.

Right now, with just a flick of her hand, she could kill his father.

Yet just moments ago, his father had indeed harbored the intent to kill her and had acted upon it.

His father probably never guessed that the little imp before him would be so formidable, capable not only of dodging the Sky-Searing Axe but also lifting a long sword to strike back and potentially kill him.

When he was begging her for mercy, he hadn't stopped his father from trying to kill her; how could he now demand that she spare his father?

Lu Qing stood firmly on the little dumpling's side as well. He shuddered to think what would have happened if she hadn't summoned the Cangqiong Sword; she would likely have long since perished beneath that axe.

Indignant on her behalf, he protested, "Little Highness is right, you were the ones who struck first! Even if Little Highness killed you, it's nothing less than what you deserve!"

Pika bowed his head deeply, sobbing softly, "It, it is my father's fault. I be… I beg you, spare my father, give him a chance to reform. I, I can take the punishment in his place..."

"Pika!" Pichen suddenly propped himself up, pulling his son backward with a burst of strength, his eyes burning red as he roared, "I don't need you taking any punishment! A real man bears the consequences of his own actions!!"

"If you want to kill someone, kill me, and let my son go."

"Ha," Lu Qing scoffed coldly, holding him in utter contempt.

So your son is a precious child, is he? Well, the little imp happens to be someone else's daughter as well.

Fortunately, the Lord of Hell wasn't here; otherwise, he would undoubtedly have torn these two father and son into a thousand pieces for daring to bully his little girl. They truly must have grown tired of living.

Over on the other side, the group of demon beasts approached, led by Kuteng, who walked up silently and stopped behind the father and son.

The little dumpling cast a sidelong glance at them, her voice cold. "What, thinking of ganging up on us?"

Kuteng spoke up. "Little Highness, spare Pichen, and we will also spare the Ghost Clan elders behind you."

"Boss?!" The group of demon beasts behind him grew anxious. "We can't let him off."

"That's right, Boss, if we let him go, how are we supposed to report back?"

"Exactly, Boss, that Third Prince of the Dragons is pressing us hard, we don't want to lose any more brothers."

"That's right, Boss, we can't let him go!!"

"We can't let him go!!"

The little dumpling swept a cold, piercing gaze across them, exerting silent pressure on the most vocal ones among the group.

They instantly lowered their heads, not daring to speak another word.

"You want to report back, and I can understand that, but if you want to kill people, I cannot permit it."

"If you want me to spare him, it's simple: leave a written blood oath swearing never to invade the Ghost Clan again."

"What?!" The group of demon beasts bristled. "Why should we?"

Even without the pressure from the Third Prince of the Dragons, they still had the former Demon King's command hanging over their heads.

Besides, their Demon Realm had long been displeased with the Ghost Clan.

Who told the ghosts to constantly occupy the places where demons practiced their arts and elevated their spiritual powers?

Especially this sacred land, brimming with spiritual energy where even the flowing mountain springs carried spiritual power—they were certainly not going to surrender it.

The little dumpling's gaze sharpened, her aura instantly turning fierce and oppressive. "What, you still want to invade my clan and slaughter my people?"

"Little Highness," Kuteng stepped forward, his expression grave and unyielding. "We can leave a written blood oath, but it would only be a temporary concession, because—"

His voice paused, but both the little dumpling and Lu Qing beside her understood precisely what he was about to say.

And indeed, it was as expected.

"We have orders from above, and as members of the Demon Clan, we have no choice but to obey."

They were in a difficult position as well.

They merely wanted to carve out a place of status for themselves within the Demon Realm.

Yet in these four realms and eight wastes, status had to be carved out in blood and battle.

The little dumpling immediately withdrew the Cangqiong Sword, stashing it back into her Qiankun pouch, and dusted off her tiny hands. "Simple."

"Isn't it just an order from the Third Prince of the Dragons?"

"Tonight, I will make him rescind this secret decree and let the Demon Clan and the Ghost Clan..."

"...live in peace."