In the sixth year, Langmuir once told him the story of the Goddess of Light.
“Legend has it, when the Goddess of Light was still a mortal…”
“What, the Goddess of Light was once a mortal?”
“Yes.”
In his memory, Langmuir turned back, curved his eyes and smiled at him, “That’s what the original teachings say.”
At that time, they were preparing for another year’s royal court visit.
In the sixth year, the war subsided, the status of the Demon King Hun Yao was stable, and all the major tribes were loyal to the royal court. The cries under the butcher’s knife became less, and the cries of newborn babies in their mothers’ arms became more.
Not far away, several demon children under ten years old were shouting and running around, saying they were going to catch bell bugs.
The adult demons kicked them one by one, knocked the cubs down, and scolded them while tucking them under their arms. “Hey, you ignorant little devils! Ten years ago, little devils like you who ran around would have been caught and put in the pot…”
Langmuir was attracted and couldn’t help but laugh.
He was wearing a robe made of hemp, with his sleeves rolled up high and his hem also tied up, revealing his slender and strong legs. In his arms were newly chopped firewood, a bit heavy, he weighed it.
Hun Yao came over from behind, reached out and took the firewood from Langmuir’s arms. “And then?”
Langmuir: “…What are you doing, why are you even grabbing a slave’s things? Just now I wanted to chop wood, and you grabbed it.”
“You can’t carry it, you’ll definitely fall if you walk a few more steps.”
The Demon King raised his eyebrows unquestionably, poked Langmuir’s lower back with his scale tail, “Chopping wood, you don’t know how to do this either, I’ll teach you next time…continue your story.”
It was strange, the king was doing the slave’s work, and the slave was empty-handed, only needing to tell stories.
Langmuir had no choice but to clear his throat and continue.
–The legend says that before the Goddess of Light became a god, she was the smallest and most beautiful princess in the human kingdom, living in a magnificent castle, enjoying a luxurious life.
Until the night of her eighteenth birthday, the princess walked out of the castle, only to see the world filled with evil, everywhere was plunder and oppression, and the common people were living in dire straits.
She couldn’t help but shed tears, asking, “Ah, why is there so much darkness in the world?” And said, “I must not let this go on.”
Hun Yao: “Heh, like you!”
–After the princess was shaken, she sold all her jewelry and treasures, horses and carriages, trying to relieve the common people. However, the seemingly huge wealth invested in the people was just a drop in the bucket, and there was no sign of any change in the scene of suffering in front of her.
The princess couldn’t help but ask again in sadness, “Ah, why is the darkness in the world endless?” And said, “I must not let this go on.”
Those little demon cubs were also listening.
They imitated Langmuir’s tone and shouted, “Ah, why?” “Why——”
–Despite the desperate retention of her parents, the princess put on a cloth robe and left the castle.
She walked into the crowd, spreading teachings, praising goodness and nobility, and refuting brutality and meanness.
She walked barefoot on the dry land, thorns injured the soles of her feet, and where the blood flowed, flowers bloomed.
But there were too many evil people in the world, and the princess experienced deception, betrayal, and abandonment one after another, and was finally stabbed to death on the road of preaching by heretics.
In the end, at the moment of her dying, she complained to the boundless night in front of her.” Ah, why is the darkness in the world endless? I must not let this go on.”
After saying that, the princess died amidst the cries of her believers.
Hun Yao was greatly shocked. “Died?? Why are your human myths so tragic!”
Langmuir smiled at the Demon King and continued in a poetic tone.
“…The believers embalmed her holy body, wanting to bury her; as they were carrying the coffin towards the cemetery, the night came to an end, the first ray of sunlight shone on her face, flowers and grass sprouted around, springs gushed out, and she sat up, resurrected.”
“She went to heaven, to the highest place, and became the eternal omniscient and omnipotent light.”
“Her believers on earth pray to her, she hears all, she responds; she guides the lost wanderers onto the right path, and gives redemption to the devout and good.”
“—This is the story of the ‘Three Questions of the Goddess’ and the ‘Sunrise Becoming a God’.”
By the time Langmuir finished speaking, Hun Yao had already piled up the firewood into a high bonfire rack. The demons looked at their handsome king with adoring eyes, and the beautiful slave beside the king.
“It’s a pity, only the original teachings record the old affairs of the Goddess when she was a mortal. It was written in ancient text, in my former kingdom, fewer and fewer people could understand it.”
Langmuir said regretfully. “Now the temple no longer tells people about those. The subjects of the kingdom read more of the new teachings, which only have the story of the Goddess of Light dispelling the darkness and spreading teachings to the world after becoming an eternal existence…I still prefer the old scriptures a bit more.”
Hun Yao thought for a while, and still said, “This Goddess princess, is like you.”
Langmuir laughed, lightly touched his chest and said “disrespectful”, then said, “After all, I grew up under the teachings.”
“But now you have become the property of a demon, and you have grown scales yourself.”
Hun Yao pointed at him maliciously. “In case one day you are about to die, your god will definitely not save you, only I, this demon, will save you—okay, let’s go.”
In this way, the slave who only told stories and didn’t work was taken away by the Demon King again. They went to check the offerings at the food division ceremony, which was the last part of the evening.
Now Langmuir was no longer afraid of the bloody organs, but earnestly asked, “My King, can I also have a bite this time?”
Hun Yao: “Don’t be silly, if you can’t eat it and vomit it out, it’s my face that’s lost.”
Langmuir insisted. “No, I can already eat raw food.”
Hun Yao: “No, do you think this is something good?”
Langmuir had to give up. Hun Yao touched his head. “Be good, wait until the grand ceremony is over, I’ll roast it for you alone.”
Langmuir didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “…Isn’t it just a single bite to eat?”
It was late at night, and they went back to the palace.
Hun Yao deliberately wanted to make Langmuir happy, suddenly bent down from behind, and picked up the human.
Langmuir indeed laughed, pushed him but couldn’t push him away, so he obediently found a comfortable position in the Demon King’s arms and said, “I want to go to the barrier cliff to see my flowers.”
Hun Yao: “They won’t bloom.”
Langmuir: “Who knows?”
Hun Yao: “It’s too far.”
Langmuir: “If we ride a wildebeest now, we can come back before tomorrow morning.”
Now, the Demon King treated his slave better and better. As long as Langmuir asked him for anything, as long as it’s not too difficult, and it wouldn’t hurt the slave’s body, Hun Yao would agree with just a hum on his mouth.
He carried Langmuir to the stable, first put the human on his mount, and then untied the reins. After leading the wildebeest out for two steps, Hun Yao also got on the horse and sat behind Langmuir.
“Go.”
The wildebeest followed the path out of the royal court, and the Cliff Moon lit their way.
“My king, you say…”
Langmuir leaned in Hun Yao’s arms, letting the bone ornament on his chest jump. “Is it the god who needs people as believers, or people who need god as faith?”
“I don’t understand.” Hun Yao said casually.
In fact, he really liked riding with Langmuir. The human’s body was a circle smaller than the demon’s, and he held the reins from behind, and Langmuir was just right in the space between his arms. The Demon King’s possessiveness would be greatly satisfied at this time, even the boring journey of “going to see the flowers that are destined not to bloom” became enjoyable.
Hun Yao: “If you ask me, whether it’s a believer or a faith, it’s all a lie.”
“Is it?”
Langmuir looked up at the faint light of the Cliff Moon with a peaceful expression, stroking the mane of the wildebeest, “Actually, in the first few years after knowing the truth of the demons, I often thought, what does my many years of faith count as.”
“But it wasn’t until this year that I suddenly started to feel that even if the Goddess never descends, as long as faith can guide people in the right direction, it can’t be said to be a mistake.”
“Even if the god in the teachings is fake, but the words of exhortation to goodness spoken from the mouth of god are true. It was She who guided me here. No matter what the final…result is, I have no regrets.”
By the end, Hun Yao’s heart felt as if it had been gently touched.
He quietly looked at the slave’s expression, and there was a hint of lonely laughter in Langmuir’s eyes. So the Demon King’s heart was touched again, feeling a bit sour.
“Sounds nice,” the Demon King hummed, “Next, are you going to persuade me to believe in God?”
“I’m not that ignorant.” Langmuir said, “However, if the story of the Goddess can persuade you to be kind, I would be happy to recite the teachings from beginning to end for you, five times, ten times.”
“Langmuir, how many times have I told you, being kind in the abyss is not going to end well…”
The barrier cliff was not very close to the royal court. By the time they arrived, it was already late at night, and it was still desolate, with no sign of any flowers blooming.
Hun Yao held Langmuir and walked step by step to the highest point.
“Disappointed again, are you satisfied now?”
Hun Yao found a clean place to put Langmuir down, and then took off his cloak that he was wearing outside and wrapped it around Langmuir.
Langmuir did not refuse, but suddenly looked up, looking seriously at Hun Yao. “My King, have you ever suffered because of being kind?”
Hun Yao immediately showed a feigned angry expression of being insulted. “Nonsense, how could I suffer such a stupid loss?”
Langmuir determined. “Definitely have.”
Hun Yao: “Evidence?”
Langmuir: “Even now, my King speaks harshly, but always treats the people who are loyal to the royal court very well.”
Hun Yao was both angry and amused, thinking: What kind of evidence is this?
Langmuir was also a cunning guy, usually hating to beat around the bush to say he was cruel, blocking him from killing prisoners every day, and now wanting to hear his “kind-hearted loss” embarrassing story, he started to praise him again.
But the cunning of the slave had just begun.
“Do you?” Langmuir leaned over, sat on his lap, raised his head and kissed his lips. That soft arm circled his waist, lightly stroking the root of his scaly tail, “Definitely have.”
Hun Yao’s eyes twitched, and almost instantly he was aroused – the little clam shell of the past had become a charming sea monster, holding him tightly.
In the blink of an eye, the cloak that he had just put on himself was pulled down, and Hun Yao pinched Langmuir’s leg and pressed the human on the cliff.
“Be gentle.” Langmuir said softly, bumping his waist with his knee, “Merging on the cliff, it will hurt.”
…..
A boring night turned into a pleasant one, which was definitely a pleasant surprise.
The Demon King had learned to be gentle. The temper that he used to have, where he would tie Langmuir up and do it until he passed out and then woke up, could now be gentle as a drizzle.
He was also afraid that the delicate skin of the human would be rubbed raw, so after doing it once, he let Langmuir sit on top. The slave had always disliked this position, finding it tiring, but tonight he had other desires, so he had to reluctantly cooperate. But after doing it once, he didn’t want to continue anymore.
Hun Yao kissed him, held the human full in his arms, and rewarded him by telling him a story.
“The signs of my bloodline awakening appeared very early. At that time, I was young and felt that I was the king of all the demons in the abyss, born to protect my people—if this can also be considered as being kind.”
Langmuir gently calmed his breath after fatigue, his head resting on Hun Yao’s arm, his eyes very clear.
Hun Yao thought for a while, and then said, “Thirteen years ago, the year you shot off my right horn, I saved an inferior demon.”
“At that time, Watie was leading a group of troops to hunt me down. That guy accidentally broke in and was scared silly by the scene of arrows and demonic breath flying around. I pulled him and ran with him… It’s not really being kind, just felt that I couldn’t just watch a passing clansman get into trouble because of me, and then…”
Langmuir: “And then?”
“…”
Hun Yao paused, a cloud rising in his eyes. When he spoke again, his voice was suppressed, “Then, one night, he disappeared.”
“The next morning, when I was awakened by the sound of the horse’s hooves, I saw Watie’s troops surrounding me.”
Langmuir’s breathing noticeably trembled.
“A total of four arrows hit me.” Hun Yao lowered his voice, he pulled the human’s palm, “One of them was a bow opened by Watie himself, containing his demonic breath.”
“From here…”
He put Langmuir’s hand on his chest, sharing the most unbearable scar from the past. “It went straight through.”
“At that time, as soon as I turned my head, I first saw a blood-stained arrow nailed to the rock behind me.”
“Then my vision slowly tilted, and then I realized that I was falling…That was the closest moment to death for me.”
Langmuir’s fingertips touched the scales on the Demon King’s chest, unconsciously trembling.
His Adam’s apple moved, as if chewing on unbearable bitterness. It took a long time before he managed to speak, “So, your old injury…”
“Yes, it was that time.”
Hun Yao lowered his eyes and slowly said, “Since then, I can no longer recklessly squander my demonic breath. Once I overuse it, I will be backlashed.”
“Until today, I still don’t know where that inferior demon went… Did he betray me? Did he leave me and run away? Did he go out to find food at night and was taken away by a demon beast? I don’t know, it’s just that he promised to help me keep watch, but he disappeared.”
