Tian Feng was about to leave the morning after her strange discovery. Chen Li Li and Daiyu were sad to see her go since they had quickly become attached to her. They both hugged her with tears in their eyes.
"Sniff… we'll miss you, big sister Feng." Chen Li Li said from within Tian Feng's embrace.
"I'll miss you little girls as well. But don't worry, this isn't the last time we will meet." Tian Feng said with a chuckle, while patting their heads gently.
Liang Wu, seeing the tall woman being hugged by the two shorter young women, couldn't help laughing at what looked like a mother consoling her daughters to him.
Hearing him laughing, the three women each gave him a deadly glare. Even Daiyu didn't spare him.
"Ah, sorry. You three just looked so cute. I couldn't help it." He said, sweating under their intense looks.
When they heard him calling them cute, Chen Li Li and Daiyu blushed and hid their faces in Tian Feng's robes. Tian Feng laughed and gave Liang Wu a mysterious wink that he didn't know the meaning of.
After the three women shared a few more words of goodbye, Tian Feng whispered something in the two younger women's ears and pushed two books into their hands, before vanishing with a mischievous laugh that continued to echo through the forest after she had gone.
Liang Wu tried getting a look at what the book was, however Chen Li Li quickly scrambled to put both the books in her spatial pouch with a beet-red face. He could only catch a glimpse of the cover. It said something like: 'Demon God' and 'Spicy Image Book'
"What was that book?" He asked curiously, although he couldn't tell what those words meant. Judging by the looks on their faces, it was clearly something embarrassing.
"N-nothing!" they shouted in unison.
"Ah! I forgot to ask her something!" He cried out suddenly, when he was thinking of the book she'd given them.
"What did you need to ask me?" Her voice called out from behind him.
He turned around to see her sitting on a tree branch above him, eating some snacks. "You didn't leave?"
"Nope! I was hoping you'd see the book I gave them." She hopped down from the tree. "Would you like to know what I gave them?"
"Nooo!" both girls screamed.
"Okay, okay. Calm down, I won't tell him." She said to the two frantic girls, and turned back to Liang Wu. "So, what did you need to ask?"
"It's nothing important. I just wanted to know why that book was called 'The Story of the Demon God of Heavenly Slaughter'?" the title of the book confused him, as it seemed to have nothing to do with him.
She gave him a weird look, thinking he was joking with her. However, realizing he wasn't joking, her look turned to bewilderment. "Wait, you really don't know?"
"Know what?"
"That is what everyone calls you in the Immortal Continent. It began as the Demon God of Slaughter, but after you destroyed the Heavenly Will, you were renamed the Demon God of Heavenly Slaughter." She had always thought he knew what people had named him. "There is an explanation in the book I gave you about why people gave you those names."
"Hmm…" He retrieved the book and skimmed through it until he found a passage that introduced the first nickname: The Demon God Of Slaughter.
'On a stormy night, rain began to fall upon an endless battlefield. But this was no ordinary rain—it was blood pouring from the heavens in place of water.
A flash of lightning illuminated the dark landscape, revealing the grotesque scene below. The agonized screams of humans and beasts alike echoed across the field, only to be swallowed by the deafening roar of thunder. Bodies—shattered, broken—lay strewn in grotesque piles amidst twisted weapons and severed limbs.
And in the midst of this carnage, only one figure remained standing: the one who, after this carnage, would soon be known as the Demon God of Slaughter—Liang Wu!'
This was a scene from a distant past, one in which Liang Wu suffered from Qi Deviation. Becoming a demon consumed by slaughter.
Because of the long time he spent possessed by his inner demons, he could no longer remember what had happened to him during that time.
Reading this passage drug up some of his long forgotten memories, memories he wished had stayed buried.
"I'll be back in a moment." He said while calmly walking away, however his tightly clenched fist belied the tense emotions brewing beneath his calm facade.
—
By the time Liang Wu came back, Tian Feng had left again, for real this time, and the others were all ready to leave.
Chen Li Li and Daiyu occupied seats in the carriage, engaged in reading a book together. Che Fu was already sitting in the driver's seat, ready to leave as soon as Liang Wu came back.
Liang Wu gave Che Fu a curt nod and climbed into the carriage. The two girls were so absorbed in their reading that they failed to react in time when Liang Wu entered the carriage.
He looked down at the book in their hands. He could see a vivid drawing of a half nude man, who strangely resembled himself.
The two girls noticed him a second later and failed to try to hide the book. They accidentally ripped out a page with their wild flailing. The page was the exact one Liang Wu had seen a second ago.
He picked the page up as he asked. "What is this? Is this supposed to be me?"
"N-no, this is just an art book! Daiyu said she wanted to learn art so big sister Feng gave us this book!" Chen Li Li tried hurriedly to explain.
"I did? Oh! Yeah, I did!" Daiyu reacted a little slower.
"So why does this drawing resemble me?" He asked.
"Um… does it? I hadn't noticed. Maybe it's just a coincidence. Haha!" Chen Li Li laughed nervously, still trying to play off the book as an art book.
He was pretty sure he knew what the book really was—a lewd picture book. He had seen a few before, though never one of himself.
While leaning over towards them, he handed the ripped page back to the two girls. He placed his head between the two and whispered in their ears. "If you wanted to see it again, you could have just asked."
They didn't understand what he was saying at first, but when they did, they nearly passed out from the sheer embarrassment.
"Ahh! You shameless perverted bastard!" Chen Li Li shouted, pulling violently at Liang Wu's hair.
"Ow! Ow! Let go!" He jerked his head back, trying to get out of her grip, but that only served to hurt his head more. Grabbing at her hands, he attempted to pull them off his head.
The carriage hit a bump, throwing them off balance. In the chaos, they toppled over and crashed into Daiyu, who had been sitting quietly to the side, unsure how to react to the escalating mess in front of her. I should say something… Daiyu thought, frozen in place, but before she could move, they all fell into a heap of limbs.
Liang Wu found himself tangled between the two girls. His left hand landed on something soft and heavy, while his right rested on a smaller, soft mass. Instinctively, he gave both a squeeze, realizing too late what he'd grabbed.
Daiyu and Chen Li Li yelped in unison. What… just… happened?! Daiyu's mind stuttered. Her face turned scarlet as she registered where his hand was. She wanted to move, to speak, but her body wouldn't listen. Her heart raced with an unfamiliar mix of confusion and... was that excitement?
On the other hand, sheer mortification filled Chen Li Li. He did not just... Rage boiled within her, but she found her limbs tangled, leaving her unable to do much besides stammer in disbelief. How did it come to this?!
As they all struggled to untangle themselves, Daiyu's soft form pressed further against Liang Wu's left side, and Chen Li Li ended up leaning heavily on his right. Their faces, now close enough to touch, only heightened the tension.
Liang Wu tried turning his head away from Chen Li Li, but as he did, their lips brushed ever so slightly. His heart stuttered in his chest. Oh no. That was not supposed to happen. His mind flashed through every possible consequence before he frantically turned in the opposite direction.
Only this time, his lips met with Daiyu's. But unlike the brief accident with Chen Li Li, Daiyu didn't pull away. She leaned in, her lips soft and lingering, surprising them both.
Daiyu's mind had gone blank. There were no words, only the strange sensation of warmth spreading through her chest as she pressed her lips against his. Is this really happening? Her usual shy demeanor seemed to evaporate at that moment.
Liang Wu's thoughts raced, completely blindsided by her response. Why… isn't she pulling away?
Before he could even process the situation, Chen Li Li scrambled to her feet, glaring down at the pair, her face red with both anger and embarrassment. "W-what the hell are you two doing!?" she yelled, her voice snapping through the air.
The sudden outburst jolted Liang Wu and Daiyu from their trance, and they sprang apart, faces burning with a mixture of guilt and surprise. What just happened? Liang Wu thought, his mind still struggling to catch up.
Meanwhile, Daiyu sat up slowly, her face burning. Did I… really just kiss him? Her hands flew to her mouth in disbelief, her usual composure completely shattered. Chen Li Li's furious gaze bore into her, and all she could think was, How do I even explain that?
Chen Li Li's thoughts ran wild, completely out of her own control. Damn it! This girl keeps getting ahead of me! Before she knew what she was doing, she leaned down, grabbing Liang Wu by the collar and planted her lips on Liang Wu's.
She pulled back slowly, panting slightly from a mixture of exertion from the scuffle and having lost her breath to the kiss.
The three stared at each other in surprise. No one said a thing. Everything was silent except for their breathing.
Che Fu's voice broke the silence from the front of the carriage, his voice traveled through the thin walls of the carriage. "Is everything okay back there, young miss?"
"A-ah, e-everything is fine!" She shouted back. "We were just playing around!"