Having cultivated myself into an immortal, all I want to do is raise female disciples.

Wang Xiaomo was startled and immediately realized that this was a message from a certain high-ranking official of the Demon Dynasty.

Even though the other party was not in front of him, Wang Xiaomo still knelt on one knee, bowed his head in submission, and respectfully replied in the same way through telepathy: "Demon General Xiaomo is here... What are your instructions, my lord?"

Meanwhile, deep in the shadows, a young man sat with his legs crossed, casually gazing at his snow-white fingers, his tone flippant yet intrigued: "Just now, I noticed an unexpected fluctuation in your emotions. What? Did killing those mortals bring you quite a bit of benefit?"

"That's not the reason either." Facing that person, she had no intention of resisting and immediately told him the whole story: "I just encountered someone who claimed to know me, and I was just a little curious."

"Oh? I know you?"

The young man seemed to find it very interesting, gently stroking the blue ring on his index finger with his right hand: "So, this must be someone you used to know. No wonder you lost your composure like this."

"Judging from your appearance, your old friend seems to be quite powerful."

"They fought two against one, their coordination was seamless... I was powerless to resist."

"It's alright."

The young man waved his hand, always very magnanimous towards Wang Xiaomo: "You can come back for now and bring me information about those two. You don't need to deal with them—you are the ace in the attack on Broken Wood City, and I don't want you to be affected by this."

"I understand."

At this point, Wang Xiaomo suddenly seemed to be in a daze, and her frosty lips parted slightly.

What came out of his mouth was a question that even Wang Xiaomo himself found strange.

"Am I still the same as before, killing on sight?"

"Hmm?" The young man frowned, clearly displeased with Wang Xiaomo's question: "Why ask this all of a sudden? Have you forgotten your identity as a demon general just because you met an old friend?"

"This subordinate dares not..."

"Then don't ask these pointless questions—there's only one answer."

"Understood..."

Wang Xiaomo slightly raised his head, his gaze falling on the girl in the distance who seemed to have already sensed that something was wrong.

She took a deep breath, and then a pitch-black, single-edged giant axe suddenly appeared between her palm and the void. A ghostly demonic aura slowly emanated from her body, and her eyes completely abandoned complex emotions, returning to their most primitive, lifeless appearance, like that of the dead.

The young man snorted coldly and said, "Hurry back. Kill whoever you see on the way, and bring back as much of their essence and blood as possible for me."

"Yes--"

Wang Xiaomo nodded slightly. At this moment, her face, which had been severely injured by Zhang Ruoxue, had recovered completely.

It was a face devoid of emotion; she was like a cold, lifeless machine, seemingly born solely for that young man and for the Demon Dynasty from the very beginning.

"I am willing to serve you, Lord Qu."

next moment.

A girl named Lu Yingqiu sensed a terrifying killing intent emanating from the dense forest.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Childhood sweethearts?"

at the same time.

After sending all the survivors from the village to Sansang City, it was already dark.

Almost inevitably, Zhang Ruoxue brought up the topic of Wang Xiaomo, and Gu Xingzhuo did not choose to hide it from her.

That being said, the information Gu Xingzhuo revealed really startled Zhang Ruoxue.

She had considered many possibilities: perhaps it was her former senior, or even Gu Xingzhuo's sister... or perhaps her daughter or even her mother!

Well, the daughter and mother's imaginations are a bit too wild... After all, Zhang Ruoxue had never heard of Gu Xingzhuo having a Daoist partner, and she knew absolutely nothing about Gu Xingzhuo's family.

For more than twenty years in the Great Wilderness Heavenly Flame Trial, the two of them only thought about how to survive and how to continue to become stronger. Zhang Ruoxue was also single-minded and basically never inquired about Gu Xingzhuo's background.

Instead, she told Gu Xingzhuo about her background and what she had experienced.

Walking through the dark forest of withered trees scorched by raging flames, Zhang Ruoxue's feet tread on soft, charred soil that reeked of demonic energy. She glanced at Gu Xingzhuo with a strange expression and said:

"How come I've never heard you mention having a childhood sweetheart before, senior brother?"

Gu Xingzhuo walked steadily, gazing at the emerging corners of Broken Wood City in the distance, and replied, "You've never asked me before, and I thought you might not be interested in it, so I didn't say anything."

"..."

Zhang Ruoxue scratched her head: "Then... that childhood sweetheart, is it yours, Senior Brother... or..."

—It's still Liu Xunkong's.

She didn't say those words aloud.

A chilly wind brushed against Zhang Ruoxue's temples, gently lifting her neat short hair. Perhaps because they were in a place ravaged by the Demon Dynasty, the dark clouds overhead obscured the original moonlight, making the journey seem somewhat gloomy.

She had never wanted to see Gu Xingzhuo and Liu Xunkong as the same person, even though Liu Xunkong was indeed Gu Xingzhuo's past life, she still didn't want to conflate the two.

Because if you really want to count, Liu Xunkong was her lover—no, Qu Wenxue's lover before she lost her memory, while Gu Xingzhuo was Zhang Ruoxue's senior brother.

The strange relationships between past and present lives often leave Zhang Ruoxue's mind unable to process them.

Gu Xingzhuo could naturally see Zhang Ruoxue's doubts. He rarely curled the corners of his mouth, and a smile spread across his handsome face: "She is mine, she is my childhood sweetheart, Gu Xingzhuo's childhood sweetheart."

It was just very quick.

The smile on Gu Xingzhuo's lips vanished.

"But her appearance here... was quite unexpected."

"Because she sided with the Demon Dynasty?"

"Do not--"

Gu Xingzhu shook his head and, under Zhang Ruoxue's astonished gaze, revealed the reason for his shock.

"Because of my childhood sweetheart, Wang Xiaomo, she..."

"He has been dead for many years."

……

For a moment, the two were speechless.

Their steps never stopped, and they just kept walking. Although they clearly had a destination, their steps seemed aimless, and they walked very slowly and lightly.

A look of surprise flashed in her azure eyes as she stared intently at Gu Xingzhuo—clearly, her senior brother was not joking.

Is Wang Xiaomo dead?

If that's the case, then what about Wang Xiaomo that they saw earlier...?

As Zhang Ruoxue considered a possibility, Gu Xingzhuo, who was quite in sync with her, spoke up:

"She must have been resurrected using the Corpse Puppet Technique... Perhaps it was an accident, or perhaps it was deliberate. Her memories should have been erased at the same time she was resurrected as a puppet."

Qianxun Novel Free Transfer Group 255595300 "That's why she doesn't recognize you, Senior Brother..."

"I can't think of any other possibility, though of course it's also possible... that she really has forgotten me."

"They're clearly childhood sweethearts?"

Zhang Ruoxue's question remained unanswered.

Suddenly, Gu Xingzhuo stopped in his tracks, stood in the biting cold wind, turned around, and looked slightly disappointed.

He bit his lower lip lightly, a hint of bitterness creeping onto his cheeks. He stared directly at Zhang Ruoxue, as if questioning her: "Will you remember a childhood sweetheart who has already died for decades?"

……

“…What do you mean?” Zhang Ruoxue didn’t understand.

Faced with Zhang Ruoxue's confusion, Gu Xingzhuo opened his mouth slightly, but swallowed back the words that were about to come out.

He reorganized his thoughts, turned his back, and said calmly, "It's a very boring story... there's no point in telling it."

That was indeed a past that Gu Xingzhuo was unwilling to recall.

He turned to the side, his gaze fixed on Zhang Ruoxue. Looking into his junior sister's determined eyes, he hesitated for a few seconds—clearly, Zhang Ruoxue didn't care whether the story was interesting or not; she simply wanted to understand Gu Xingzhuo.

Upon realizing this, Gu Xingzhuo couldn't help but sigh.

"It's getting late, and we're still quite a distance from Broken Wood City. Let's stop here for the night, rest, and... talk to you while we talk."

"it is good."

Zhang Ruoxue nodded, and then the two began to collect branches and twigs that could still be ignited from the surrounding area, piled them together, and then Zhang Ruoxue carefully poured spiritual energy into the magic weapon arm armor to ignite a fire.

After a short while, a spot of light, though not very bright, gradually emerged in the deadwood forest, but it seemed exceptionally warm.

Zhang Ruoxue and Gu Xingzhuo sat facing each other, gazing at the firelight and feeling the slight warmth in the cold night.

Gu Xingzhuo glanced at Zhang Ruoxue, who was sitting on a sturdy tree trunk, holding a gourd of wine in her hand, and was about to take a sip. After pondering for a while, he stared at the campfire in a daze.

"Actually, Wang Xiaomo... was not only my childhood sweetheart."

"Still my love."

puff--

A sudden remark caused Zhang Ruoxue to spit out a mouthful of wine onto the flames.

"What? My lover?!"

Zhang Ruoxue blinked blankly.

What's going on? I suddenly have a sister-in-law?

10. Ink dyeing line

That year, in the cold fishing village, the Wang family celebrated a joyous day.

Outside the window, snowflakes drifted down like goose feathers, and the cold wind pounded against the door. Inside, however, it was very warm. The whole family of ten sat around the bed. One of the middle-aged men was wrapped in four or five layers of padded clothes, breathing out warm air. His rough old face was flushed with excitement.

He rubbed his hands together expectantly, looking nervously at his wife who was covered in sweat, her face slightly pale but still breathing a sigh of relief. He then turned his gaze to the midwife beside him who was gently wiping the newborn baby.

The whole family gathered around, and the children's eyes were clearly shining with excitement.

Old Wang swallowed hard, shrank back, and asked timidly and nervously:

Is it a boy... or a girl?

He has asked this question several times already.