Chapter 422

In the central-northeastern part of the Great Wilderness Forest.

The group evacuating from the northwestern ridge kept racing forward, piercing through layers of mist, until they finally reached a secluded valley here.

The humans and demons who had escaped from the worksite were all here, guarded by demon soldiers ordered to escort them; many were gasping for breath, utterly exhausted, and some had already fainted on the ground.

After all, they had been enslaved for days and had long lost all strength; their ability to climb the ridge and run all the way here had relied solely on a fierce will to survive.

But once the power fueled by that desire was spent, the body’s weakness naturally returned tenfold.

Thus, Ye Han and the others decided to rest here on the spot.

After all, with his father the emperor present, they no longer needed to fear pursuit by the Yizu loyalists; they still had time to rest.

“Distribute rations first, then treat the wounded.”

“Yes.”

The demon generals assigned to the task immediately moved into action, and the injured demon kings and divine generals were carried onto flat rock surfaces for treatment.

After this flurry of activity for some time, the entire scene gradually quieted down.

At this moment, Ye Han rose from before Divine General Chao Cang and turned to his sister: “How serious is Chao Cang’s injury?”

“The injury is severe, but not life-threatening. I can only stabilize his condition for now; we’ll need to treat him properly after we return.”

Ye Han nodded slightly, then turned back to his sister, recalling the image of her charging out with her spear—his brow furrowed: “When that human lured the Yizu away, why did you suddenly rush out to save him?”

Feng Yang, who was organizing her medicine chest, flinched slightly at the question: “That human was trapped in this dire situation because of us. I couldn’t just watch him die at the hands of the Yizu .”

“But if Father hadn’t appeared, you wouldn’t have saved him—you’d have died too. That was far too reckless.”

“I’m sorry for making my elder brother worry.”

Hearing his sister’s words, Ye Han found himself unable to scold her, yet he was puzzled: she was always so sharp-witted; surely on the ridge she must have realized she couldn’t save that human.

At this thought, Ye Han couldn’t help but turn his gaze toward the human sitting not far away.

In fact, apart from him, every other demon was staring at that human—divine generals, even demon kings—gazing without pause.

And the human seated beneath the ancient tree, despite now sitting utterly still, radiated an aura of boldness and ferocity that made him seem strangely mysterious and commanding.

“From holding the ridge with his three-foot blade, to feigning an attack and killing one of the Yizu officers, to taunting them into leaving—I’ve never seen anyone so fearless and courageous.”

“Indeed. Without him, we might not have held out until Father arrived.”

“Was the formation he used to guard the ridge a true array?”

“It was a modified array, similar to the one humans once used in the Ancient Sages’ Sacred Ground to block us.”

At that moment, Ye Han suddenly snapped back to awareness—he noticed his sister, carrying her medicine chest, walking steadily toward the human beneath the ancient tree.

Beneath the ancient tree, Ji You slowly opened his eyes at the sound and looked toward Feng Yang.

He noticed she had grown much thinner since their meeting in Shengjing; her already slender waist now looked impossibly delicate.

“Thank you, Princess, for saving me just now,” Ji You rose as he spoke.

“You were trapped because of our demons—how could I stand by and do nothing?”

Feng Yang placed her medicine chest on the ground, rummaged for a long while, then seemingly by chance, suddenly asked: “By the way, how is your arm doing?”

Ji You regarded her without expression: “What arm?”

“The injured arm.”

“I’ve never injured my arm.”

Feng Yang fell silent for a long moment, then slowly lifted her gaze: “What about before?”

Ji You replied calmly: “I don’t recall ever having injured it before either.”

“So… you never did…”

Hearing this, Feng Yang’s hand paused mid-reach for a vial, then sank into silence.

In truth, she had lied to her brother—she hadn’t rushed out solely because this man suffered due to their demons, and thus she had to save him.

The greater reason was that she had thought the man she loved had come back to life.

Ever since entering the Great Wilderness Forest and examining the corpses, Feng Yang had harbored doubts.

Because the wounds on those corpses resembled the sword cuts Ji You had left on the demon general Shu He during the Linya clans’ massacre of the human envoy.

But she knew Ji You’s sword art came from Lingjian Mountain; perhaps many others used the same style—maybe they shared the same lineage—so she had dismissed further thoughts.

Until the second time she saw him—from his sword strike, to his taunts, to his sudden sacrifice to draw away the Yizu —she had a hallucination: in an instant, the man before her became Ji You.

Even her tail had reacted before her mind could catch up—it had begun to twitch, and that was why she had rushed out.

Ever since learning of Ji You’s death, she had carried regret; in that moment, seeing him again, the only thought in this demon princess’s heart was that she could not let him die again.

She had kept her promise—but faced with a completely unfamiliar face, her uncertainty outweighed her certainty, which was why she asked about his arm.

Because only the two of them knew about the arm incident in the Demon Emperor’s City in the Snowlands.

What she hadn’t expected was that he claimed his arm had never been injured.

Seeing her eyes gradually dim, Ji You felt a sudden tightness in his chest; after a long pause, he couldn’t help but ask: “Princess, why did you save me just now?”

“Because you saved our people—and also… because you resemble someone I love.”

“A human like you?”

Feng Yang, crouched before the medicine chest, nodded gently: “Yes. He was the first human I ever met. It’s laughable, but I only saw him three times.”

Ji You studied her beautiful vertical pupils: “Only three meetings and you fell in love? He must have been a handsome man—unlike me.”

“No.”

“???”

Feng Yang gazed nostalgically at the night ahead: “Our demons and humans have different aesthetics—we prefer ruggedness. But he looked more like a scholar.”

Ji You was stunned: “And you still liked him?”

“At first I just thought he suited my taste, then I gradually became interested in everything about him. Our Snowlands are blanketed in snow all year—it’s rather dull. So, taking advantage of our trade with humans, I began inquiring about them. During that time, I heard many stories about him—how he saved countless lives, how formidable he was. That’s when my true affection began.”

Feng Yang’s voice was soft, her gaze fixed on the darkness ahead—as if she weren’t speaking to him, but to someone else—unburdening her heart entirely.

But she omitted one thing—the reason being she herself didn’t fully understand it.

That thing was about her tail: a demon woman’s tail is visible only to her husband. She never imagined this human would dare to ask to see it.

Worse still, she had let him see it—even through her clothes.

“And later, when you met again—did you tell him how you felt?”

Feng Yang snapped back to reality, her eyelashes trembling: “My greatest regret is that I never told him. He probably never knew I loved him—in his mind, I was merely a demon princess who liked healing.”

“You didn’t tell him because of the relationship between humans and demons?” Ji You asked softly.

“Our clans need the lands of the Nine Provinces—we must oppose humans. I am a demon princess, representing the Demon Emperor’s lineage. Though I hate war, I cannot love a human.”

“I see.”

Feng Yang turned to face him: “Do you have any injuries needing treatment?”

Ji You was made of mud—he’d be exposed at the slightest touch. At her question, he immediately shook his head: “I’m fine. I haven’t been injured. Thank you for your concern.”

“In that case, I won’t disturb you further. Goodbye.”

“Princess, take care.”

Feng Yang glanced at his tightly buttoned collar, then said nothing. She shouldered her medicine chest and walked quietly into the night, step by step.

Beneath the ancient tree, Ji You silently watched her retreating figure.

In truth, when he first met her in Shengjing, he too had been puzzled—why, after only one meeting and years apart, had she still loved him?

Only now did he understand the full course of her heart.

A beauty’s curse—truly devastating.

Thinking of this, Ji You couldn’t help but picture her standing before him with spear in hand, trembling all over yet refusing to retreat a single step.

Had he been someone else, he would have fallen in love with this brave woman then—and upon learning she already loved another, his heart would have shattered in sorrow.

Taking a deep breath, Ji You slipped quietly away from the ancient tree, following the sound of flowing water into the darkness.

At this moment, Feng Yang had already sat down at the demons’ temporary resting place. Ye Han was chatting with four other young clan leaders. Seeing his sister return, he reached out to take her medicine chest: “How is that human’s condition?”

“He says he isn’t injured.”

“Not injured?”

Ye Han blinked in surprise: “On the ridge, I clearly felt a surge of energy strike him.”

Feng Yang fell silent for a long while, then felt the sway of her tail behind her skirt and grew momentarily dazed.

At that moment, a cry of anguish echoed through the valley.

The young demon princess snapped back to attention, rose, and shouldered her medicine chest: “I’ll go check if any humans need treatment.”

Since they had agreed to ally with the humans and the humans had shown genuine sincerity, Ye Han did not stop his sister’s intention—he called two of his guards to accompany her.