Chapter 380: Her Loyalty Has Yet to Find Its Destination

"Tell me, what is your reason for doing this?"

After closing the distance several times, Cang Lan was already pressed nearly against Ren Yidao's body; he could clearly feel the warm temperature radiating from her.

Midnight, a lone man, a lone woman, a bedchamber... look at that, what excellent vocabulary; who would have thought that in this scenario, what was actually being staged was a scene of forcing the palace.

"So, you ran over in the middle of the night, forced your way into my residence, knocked over my guards, snuck into my bedchamber, and in the end, it was just to ask for a reason? Or rather, just to want a truth?"

"That's right."

Ren Yidao looked at Cang Lan's earnest gaze, which was as firm as if she were submitting an application to join the party, helplessly raised a hand to rub his brow, and sighed.

"Sigh..."

He sighed and muttered, "Waking me up in the middle of the night, I was wondering what you wanted to do, honestly."

Ren Yidao looked up with a bitter smile, gave Cang Lan a helpless grin, and asked, "You actually just want to ask, after I've done so much, how I will ultimately treat the Demon Race, right?"

"Yes!"

Cang Lan nodded silently; in recent days, this question had been troubling her, making her feel as if she were constantly shrouded in fog.

She felt lost.

The man before her was of the Human Race, an enemy she should have been wary of.

Yet, in her heart, through their time spent together day and night, beyond her vigilance, some superfluous emotions had emerged.

Admiration? Perhaps that is not quite accurate; it should be called adoration.

Ren Yidao's strength, the unbridled, wild charm he possessed, and that demonic nature of his that she could not discern, were all deeply attracting her, causing her to instinctively fall into a state of infatuation.

Most animals admire strength, and the Demon Race is no exception; they have a natural filter bonus when it comes to the strong.

Especially after being in contact for a long time, Cang Lan could smell a faint, alluring scent from Ren Yidao.

That scent was one she had once smelled on the High Priest, and had also experienced for a fleeting moment on the Demon Moon; for Cang Lan, it held an irresistible, immense attraction.

That was the pure Moon Essence Breath; for the Silver Moon Wolf, this was an indispensable resource for their tribe to reach the status of Moon-Chasing Wolf.

A more critical point was that the relationship between them was not bad; there was no unresolvable hatred between them, and Ren Yidao could be described as approachable in his daily life.

With many factors added together, Cang Lan could find almost no reason to resist this instinct, relying only on her final shred of reason to keep herself from becoming a slave beneath his feet.

This final shred of reason was the deepest bottom line in her heart—the Demon Race.

The safety of the Demon Race was her bottom line.

If the other party touched this bottom line, no matter how infatuated she was, Cang Lan would force herself to wake up from this emotion.

Although the Moon-Chasing Wolf and the Moon-Swallowing Dog were almost opposites in many places, there was one point where the two tribes were similar.

Loyalty.

They were extremely loyal, viewing the "Moon" they pursued as their sovereign, serving only one master in their lifetime, with absolutely no betrayal.

And as their descendants, the Silver Moon Wolf and the Black Moon Dog were the same; from the moment they were born, they were searching for the sovereign they would serve.

In an era where the "Moon" did not appear, they would temporarily entrust this loyalty to the Demon Emperor, working loyally for the sake of the Demon Race.

But when the "Moon" appeared, they would gather once again beneath the "Moon."

Before this, Cang Lan had no sovereign.

Although she was loyal to the Demon Race and served as a guard under Shuo, she had not made a true vow of allegiance.

Her loyalty had yet to find its destination.

However, Cang Lan had an intuition from the depths of her soul that she might have waited for her own "Moon."

It was just that there was one final worry in the depths of her heart: what if this bright moon would not shine upon the Demon Race?

Then, when the two sides came into conflict...

Where would she go?

Every time she thought of this, Cang Lan felt a panic that made her unable to eat or sleep, especially as the impulse in her heart became clearer, the more she suffered.

Until today, after Cang Lan learned of what had happened in Demon Emperor City, she could no longer suppress the unease in her heart; even though the timing was wrong, she could not endure it any longer and took the initiative to come find him at this hour, just to get an answer from his mouth.

Either Ren Yidao intended to subdue demons and eliminate devils, in which case the bond between them would be severed and they would move toward complete opposition.

Or, Ren Yidao was actually saving the Demon Race, in which case she would offer her loyalty with peace of mind.

Even if the latter answer were a lie, she would pretend not to know and continue to play deaf and dumb...

She just wanted a truth.

As for the veracity of this truth, that was not important.

Ren Yidao did not know of the changes in Cang Lan's heart, but he could perceive a little of it, understanding that the answer at this moment was critical and could not be brushed off casually as before.

He restrained his smile, thought for a moment, and spoke softly:

"Rest assured, I will not harm the Demon Race; on the contrary, everything I do is to ensure the Demon Race can have a better future; you will have to thank me when the time comes."

"On this point, even to the Demon Emperor, I can swear it."

Although the benefits this brought to the Demon Race were, to Ren Yidao, merely a byproduct outside of his amusement.

Whoosh!

Cang Lan let out a long sigh of relief, her entire body relaxing.

She had not mentioned the torment in her heart to anyone, not even her father, and it had been pressing down on her until she could barely breathe.

And now, the dust had finally settled; she could completely set her heart at ease and offer her loyalty.

"This is enough..."

That's great.

But before Cang Lan could fully let out that breath, she heard a soft chuckle.

Hehe.

"Is this enough?"

"Why do I feel that it is not enough?"

Whoosh—

"What..."

A silver light streaked through the dark room; Cang Lan's consciousness barely reacted to what was happening, but her body had no time to dodge at all.

They were too close.

!!!

In an instant, that silver light transformed into a slender palm, gently pressing against Cang Lan's delicate neck, instantly clamping down tightly and pinning her directly onto the bed.

Bang!!!

The light garment Ren Yidao was wearing on his upper body was blown away during this process, revealing his well-built chest and arms, and a grim Demon Fox Totem emerged on the left arm pinning Cang Lan down.

He expressionlessly pressed Cang Lan heavily onto the bed, looking down at her wide-eyed gaze from above.

"What if this is my answer?"

Cang Lan wanted to struggle, but a terrifying aura surged from Ren Yidao's arm, causing the boiling, gushing bloodline within her to instantly calm down and tremble uncontrollably.

Mmph!!?

"If I were to say that I actually intend to act against the Demon Race for the sake of the Human Race, what kind of reaction would you have?"

Ren Yidao sneered, his right hand brushing his loose hair behind his head, his glowing eyes filled with mockery.

"Would you break off all relations with me? Or view me as a sworn enemy? Do you think... if it really came to that moment, I would let a threat like you exist?"

"Then, what should I do?"

What to do?

Cang Lan's heart sank to the bottom; she naturally knew the optimal answer for Ren Yidao.

Kill me...

As long as he killed her, she would have no way to pass on the truth, and no one would know what happened here.

Although Ren Yidao would be viewed as a sworn enemy by the Silver Moon Wolf Clan, this did not count for much given his status as Crown Prince; there were plenty of people willing to block the Silver Moon Wolf Clan's retaliation for him.

There was even the worst-case scenario: she would become a traitor who was executed on the spot for a failed assassination attempt!

Yes, her actions tonight were indeed very abnormal, and she had also knocked out the gatekeeper Gui Yan; it could completely be interpreted as having malicious intent.

When that time came, the clan would not only fail to seek justice for her, but would even pay a certain price because of her.

He is not my moon.

Or perhaps, he is the moon, but he will not shine upon me...

But... but!

Is he really not?

The emotions in Cang Lan's eyes were complex to the extreme; finally, she slowly stopped struggling, and crystalline liquid gathered at the corners of her eyes.

Watching her like this, Ren Yidao shook his head and commented indifferently: "What a disobedient bad child."

Ren Yidao looked down at Cang Lan, whose gaze was gradually dimming; the expression on his face was exceptionally gentle, and he shook his head as if somewhat helpless, saying softly:

"First of all, I don't like being threatened."

Pressure.

If Ren Yidao had once given her immense pressure, then the current him made Cang Lan feel despair.

He had become stronger than before, and more brutal.

"Secondly, never risk your life to test others when you have no certainty of self-preservation."

"Do you understand?"

Ren Yidao gently loosened his hand, letting Cang Lan lie on the bed breathing painfully, and made no further moves.

He lowered his head, squinting at his fair, slender hands, as if seeing the bloodstains soaked into them.

That was an illusion.

He had seemed fierce just now, but in fact, he hadn't used much force; not even a mark would be left on Cang Lan's neck. It was all due to a special aura mixed with the Demon God and his own bloodline.

He was also not a bloodthirsty person; over these years, he hadn't stained his hands with the blood of too many people.

But it wasn't just an illusion either.

At least in one moment just now, before the tears appeared in the corners of Cang Lan's eyes, his killing intent had been genuine for a moment.

Although that killing intent only existed for an instant before being erased, it still made Ren Yidao vigilant.

His state was not right.

"I have been unable to control my killing intent recently; be obedient and don't provoke me at a time like this."

"I don't want a beauty like you to die by my hands."

Placing the semi-conscious Cang Lan onto the huge bed, Ren Yidao sat by the bedside and raised his hand to gently brush her cheek with the back of his finger.

"That would be such a pity; how about..."

The movement of Ren Yidao's hand paused, his eyes gradually widened, and he drew a cold breath.

"Hiss!"

Damn it.

What was I just thinking of doing?

I wanted to... do it?

Well, what I wanted to do isn't actually the big problem.

But the key is, this occasion—is it appropriate?

It's not appropriate at all!

The heroine, half-conscious, and she was even knocked out by my own hands...

Doesn't this make it look like I did it on purpose?

Not appropriate.

Highly inappropriate!

How could I, Huhu, be such a lustful, sex-starved ghost?

Am I that kind of person!!?

"Looks like I really am hungry!"

Ren Yidao withdrew his hand, knocked on the bridge of his nose, and shook his head vigorously, trying to shake the lascivious thoughts out of his mind.

"Mating, what are you thinking about all day long."

One cannot listen to or believe in Demon Race nature entirely; one must take its essence and discard its dross.

"Hiss, 'take its essence,' that sounds quite lewd..."

Separating Demon Race nature from human nature has its benefits, but it also has some drawbacks.

Ren Yidao has become more pure.

A pure human, a pure demon.

How to balance these two parts is not difficult for him, but it still requires a little bit of time.

Moreover, among the Demon Race, he still needs this pure Demon Race nature to get more of the Demon Race to stand on the side of their Crown Prince.

"But I have to say, this thing called Demon Race nature is truly wild!"

Just like the unofficial histories in the streets, don't worry about whether things like "Sun Shangxiang was impersonated by Sima Yi!" are true or not, just ask yourself if it's wild!

Ren Yidao sighed and was about to get up to leave the bed to Cang Lan and go to the guest room to continue his nap, but just as he was about to rise, his wrist was grabbed.

"It really is too wild, I almost made a mistake... hmm?"

He turned his head and found that the awakened Cang Lan was grabbing his wrist and trying to force herself up, but after trying several times, she weakly collapsed again.

"Cough, cough!"

But even so, Cang Lan still stared fixedly at Ren Yidao and asked hoarsely again: "Answer, me! Do you intend to harm, the Demon Race?"

Ren Yidao blinked as he looked at Cang Lan's desperate appearance, feeling somewhat amused.

He first freed his wrist from Cang Lan's hand, then simply turned his body back, raised his finger to tap her between the eyebrows, pressed her directly back onto the bed, and asked amusedly:

"I say, you risked angering me, made such a scene for so long, and almost lost your life, yet even now, you still want to ask this?"

Pinned to the bed, Cang Lan still tried hard to lift her head and nodded stubbornly.

"... Mm."

She still wanted to get an answer.

"You child are truly stubborn!"

What breed of stubborn little dog are you?

Ren Yidao sighed in resignation and said helplessly:

"Rest assured, I truly have no malice toward the Demon Race; on this point, I did not lie to you."

"Even if one day you decide to break with me, unless you commit a grave error, I would not bear to kill you."

He raised his hand to rub the top of Cang Lan's head and the tips of her ears, asking as if coaxing a child:

"Are you satisfied now that I've said this?"

Cang Lan stared blankly at Ren Yidao, wanting to get an answer from his eyes.

After a long while, she didn't know what she saw, but she suddenly chuckled and nodded, whispering:

"Mm, that is enough..."

He is the moon.

He is my moon.

After saying this, Cang Lan seemed to have completely set her mind at ease and weakly closed her eyes.

There was no more sound.

"..."

Ren Yidao hesitated for a moment, then slowly placed his finger under her nose to feel for breath.

Still alive.

"Scared me, I thought you were planning to die on my bed..."

"But, now that you've fallen asleep like this, what do you expect me to do?"

Oh no.

She has become Huaimin, and I have become Dongpo!

"Hey—"

"Are you asleep?"

"Get up quickly, come! Let's go for a walk in the courtyard together!"

I felt terrible all day yesterday, dizzy the whole time...