Shi Sheng didn’t know Lu Ruo and her system had already deduced that she had a space.
Right now, Shi Sheng was gripping Xiao He’s lower jaw. She asked the latter with a smile, “I’ll give you one more chance: who ordered you?”
Having just been tortured, Xiao He was in so much pain that she nearly blacked out. Now adding to the fact that Shi Sheng had a grip around her neck, her face was flushed through and it was hard to breathe.
In Xiao He’s blurred vision, the woman strangling her had a brilliant smile and calm eyes that reflected her current sorry state.
When Xiao He met Shi Sheng’s gaze, she felt as if she was perched on a cliff, her back to a bottomless abyss that she’d fall into if she wasn’t careful.
Shi Sheng was surrounded by imperial guards but treated them like air, completely unafraid that they’d charge forward and give her a fatal blow.
‘Isn’t she afraid of death?’ This thought popped up in Xiao He’s mind, though she was soon unable to continue pondering this. She opened her mouth like a fish out of water and struggled for breath.
The oxygen in her lungs started to diminish.
“Don’t worry. If you die, I’ll definitely get your baby brother to accompany you down there.” Shi Sheng leaned in and spoke maliciously.
“N-no…” ‘He’s my only family—I can’t let him die. But why does everyone use him to threaten me? All I wanted was to live a happy life, why is it so hard?’
“Because he’s your weakness.” Shi Sheng relaxed her grip, allowing Xiao He to breathe. “Which is why they can easily manipulate your fate.”
“Aren’t…” ‘…you the same?’
“Nope.” Shi Sheng’s eyes curved up in a smile. “I got nothing to lose compared to them, so why should I be scared? I’m neither afraid of dying nor that they’ll oppose me.”
‘But…your clan!’
“I don’t care about them.” Shi Sheng seemed to know what Xiao He was thinking. She didn’t care about them, so it was none of her business whether they lived or died.
“Will…you save my brother?” Xiao He squeezed out.
“Nope.”
Despair appeared in Xiao He’s eyes.
“Because he’s already dead.” Shi Sheng started spouting bullshit.
Xiao He’s eyes widened. “You’re lying… How would you know?”
“I’m a Zhuang.”
The last of the colour left Xiao He’s face.
“Want revenge?” Shi Sheng laughed lightly, appearing for all the world like a demon that had crawled out from hell, tempting those who stood on the edge to fall into the abyss. “If so, tell me who ordered you.”
Xiao He panted and struggled to turn and look towards Shu Fei.
“Your Majesty, Yun Jie Yu’s conduct is treasonous! What are you waiting for?” Shu Fei spoke with righteous indignation.
Shi Sheng’s arrogant, dismissive attitude had indeed angered Yuwen Xun. “Seize her!”
The imperial guards immediately obeyed and charged towards her. Shi Sheng took a strange rock from her space and squeezed it gently, whereupon an invisible force was generated.
‘I don’t have my sword with me… What kind of idiot would fight those guys with this shitty body?’
The imperial guards all ended up crashing into the invisible barrier, causing them to turn dizzy.
They had no idea what was going on. When they reached out a hand, they couldn’t feel any obstruction. But when they tried to charge forward once more, they experienced the same result as before.
Now they were completely stupefied. ‘What is this?’
“Devil…” Someone shouted, “A devil!”
In these kinds of ancient settings, devils were extremely terrifying for the people believed in gods and feared devils and ghosts.
The imperial guards scrambled back, looking at Shi Sheng fearfully as if she wasn’t a beautiful young woman, but an abomination with three heads, six arms, green face and fangs.
Shi Sheng rolled her eyes. ‘Devil your grandpa! What kind of devil looks as good as me?’
“Sir Ming, come over quick!” Someone beckoned Ming Jin over. ‘This Yun Jie Yu is too abnormal!’
Ming Jin examined Shi Sheng, his gentle gaze landing on her hand. He saw her take something out just now. But since it was too small, her hand completely covered it so he couldn’t tell what it was.
Shi Sheng felt like she was being put through an intrusive scanner. As a result, she glared angrily at the culprit. “What’re you looking at?”
Ming Jin blinked and shrugged, speaking with a smile, “She’s about to suffocate.”
Shi Sheng lowered her head to look. Due to not paying attention, she’d used too much force in her grip. Xiao He’s face was already starting to turn blue, as if she could croak at any moment.
Since no one could come inside the barrier, Shi Sheng simply released Xiao He.
The latter quickly breathed, filling her lungs with much needed oxygen, calming down once she’d done so.
Perhaps because she had been teetering on the edge of death, Xiao He actually didn’t show any fear from Shi Sheng being referred to as a devil, instead glaring fiercely at Shu Fei.
“It was Shu Fei.” Xiao He spoke through gritted teeth. “She planned all of this. This time, I’m telling the truth. Let heaven strike me down with lightning if I’m not!”
Shi Sheng looked at Shu Fei.
But everyone on that side had already been scared out of their wits by “Devil” Sheng—how could they pay any attention to what had been said?
As someone who’d undergone a scientific education and upbringing, Lu Ruo really wanted to say that there were no such things as devils. But upon further thought, she swallowed back her words.
Since transmigration existed, it seemed like devils and whatnot existing wasn’t too far-fetched.
“I say…” Shi Sheng raised her chin.
“Devil, don’t you come over here!” De-gonggong stood in front of Yuwen Xun, as if he would fight to his dying breath to protect the latter from Shi Sheng.
Shi Sheng, “…” ‘Where’s my(lz) sword?’
Yuwen Xun examined Shi Sheng all the while. He didn’t appear afraid, but his gaze certainly wasn’t friendly.
‘Oh fuck! What’s this ML planning now?’
“Shu Fei.” Shi Sheng turned to look at her.
Shu Fei’s body quivered. She clutched Yuwen Xun’s sleeve and attempted to hide behind him.
Shu Fei was deathly pale, abject terror in her eyes as she shook her head whilst muttering, “It wasn’t me… Don’t come after me…”
“You dare to deny it!” Shi Sheng raised a brow. “Your maid has already confessed!”
“I didn’t, no… It wasn’t me… S-s-she’s…lying.” Shu Fei stammered incoherently.
“You mean to say I’m wronging you?” Shi Sheng’s expression turned serious.
Shu Fei clutched Yuwen Xun’s sleeve. “Your Majesty, Your Majesty, she’s a devil! A devil! Quickly kill her!”
“How dare you call this great deity[1] a devil?!” Shi Sheng suddenly shouted.
[……] ‘Host is about to show off again…’
Shu Fei was scared into trembling by Shi Sheng’s shout. A puddle of liquid actually started to pool beneath her extravagant garments, causing a stench to waft in the air.
“Go get Master Xu Kong.” Yuwen Xun calmly ordered De-gonggong.
The latter was rather afraid. After all, devils were all rumoured to consume human flesh.
He carefully inched towards the outside. Seeing that Shi Sheng showed no sign of stopping him, he ran out of the chamber using the fastest speed in his life.
By the time he left the hall, he had nearly collapsed from fear. ‘Devil! A devil! I have to find Master Xu Kong! Master Xu Kong…’
De-gonggong pulled himself together and then took off like he was participating in a hundred meter sprint.
The imperial clan would usually keep a few priests around to ward against supernatural threats. It was clear that the “Master Xu Kong” being referred to here was one of them.
[1] Yes from this point onwards, Shi Sheng refers to herself as “this great deity/immortal”. This is a one off thing (pretty much only in this arc as far as I recall) so I won’t do the abbreviations.
