What If He Can Read the Demon Script?

Morning in the Demon Abyss arrived as promised, and as usual, the slums welcomed back a large crowd of vagrants.

The young girl, Bai Gan, also got out of bed. Just like any other day, she picked up her vegetable basket and headed out.

She walked through the streets and alleys, seemingly oblivious, yet her brow was furrowed in an inadvertent frown.

The surveillance from the shadows remained, but for some reason, there were far more people than yesterday. Among them were no shortage of existences at the seventh and eighth stages.

One had to know that even in the Nether Capital of the Demon Abyss, experts of the seventh and eighth stages were not exactly common.

If they were not a marquess, they were a king.

With such a massive movement, had the heavenly demon race finally lost their patience?

......

Inside the Inner City of the Nether Capital, within Jin Qing's estate, the divine son of the Qing family, Qingmu, arrived silently by the poolside.

As was her custom, Jin Qing was feeding the fish, looking relaxed and elegant.

"Your Eminence."

Jin Qing asked, knowing full well why he was there, "Qingmu, why have you come?"

Qingmu lowered his gaze and grit his teeth. After a moment of internal struggle, he finally spoke. "I received news. They are about to act."

Jin Qing gave an "oh" and glanced at him from the corner of her eye. After scrutinizing him for a few moments, she said nonchalantly, "Who exactly?"

"Everyone except the Crimson Demon," Qingmu said.

Jin Qing was not surprised by this, as if the Crimson Demon's refusal to participate was already within her expectations. She merely teased with interest, "Does that mean your father is also involved?"

Qingmu kept his head down. "Yes."

Jin Qing scattered a handful of fish food into the water and asked with a smile, "Then aren't you afraid your father will blame you for coming here to tell me?"

Qingmu thought about it and confessed honestly, "To be honest, Your Eminence, coming here to tell you was my father's idea."

"Haha..." Jin Qing burst into laughter, shaking her head helplessly. "What others say is true. Your father, the Azure Demon, really is the smartest person in the entire Demon Abyss. He offends neither side, leaving an escape route with both."

Qingmu did not deny it, choosing to remain silent.

This was far from the first time his father had acted this way.

The Qing family.

In the Nether Capital, they ranked among the top in both strength and status. His father, as the clan leader, usually appeared honest and straightforward, but in reality, he was more slippery than anyone.

Ordinary people did not know, but as his son, he knew all too well.

Take the matter of the Nether Gate for instance. He unconditionally supported the High Priest in opening the Nether Gate, yet he secretly instructed another demon god of the Qing family—the Water Demon—to observe from the sidelines and even lean toward supporting the Crimson Demon.

This way, regardless of who won, the Qing family would be preserved, allowing them to advance or retreat at will.

Of course.

The Qing family was not the only one acting this way; the Lan family was the same.

As one of the three families that simultaneously possessed two demon gods, only those two from the Huang family had always been of one heart and mind, advancing and retreating together without leaving themselves any way out.

Power struggles were never resolved overnight, nor were they one-sided.

There were no eternal friends, only eternal interests—this was extremely applicable in the Demon Abyss.

Loyalty did not exist for an individual, but for the interests of the group.

Behind every choice and stance were repeated weighings of pros and cons.

The demon gods lived for a very long time and saw through things more clearly and rationally. However, this time, the High Priest had touched upon the interests of the entire heavenly demon race. Thus, they had set aside their prejudices and gathered together in an unprecedented manner, isolating only the two priests.

Everyone in the Demon Abyss knew that the High and Low Priests were the only two among the heavenly demon race who had no families or relatives, and they were also two of the demon gods.

In fact.

The reason the heavenly demon race was willing to support the two of them as the High and Low Priests to take charge of the Nether Hall was, to some extent, based on this very reason.

First, they were strong enough.

Second, they had no families, so there was no need to worry about them using their power for personal gain or creating a situation where one family dominated all.

Finally, it was for the benefit of the other demons in the Demon Abyss.

The earthly demon race, the mortal demon race, and the fourth and fifth-class demons were more willing to see the Demon Abyss governed by two such demon gods who had no families or industries.

Jin Qing set down the fish food and paced back into the courtyard before taking a seat. She took a sip of tea, glanced at the green-haired demon, and asked out of the blue, "I want to know, what do you think?"

Qingmu looked up, but he hesitated, looking very conflicted.

"Between us, just speak the truth," Jin Qing said.

Qingmu responded ambiguously, "As a member of the heavenly demon race, I think they aren't wrong. As a member of the demon race, I firmly believe the High Priest is right."

Jin Qing narrowed her eyes slightly and gave her evaluation. "You are very much like your father."

Qingmu did not defend himself, merely asking, "Is there anything you need me to do for you?"

Jin Qing held her teacup, blowing gently on it, and said lazily, "No."

Qingmu knit his brows.

Jin Qing took a small sip of tea and said calmly, "You may leave."

Qingmu wanted to say something more, but the words reached his lips only to be swallowed back down. He gave a respectful bow and calmly retreated.

At this point, he could only wait and see. On one side were his kin, and on the other was the greater cause.

On one side was his father, and on the other was the High Priest he had sworn to serve.

Caught in the middle, he was inherently in a difficult position and found it hard to choose.

......

Just as Qingmu left, Jin Qing whispered in the courtyard, "Come out."

A second later, Jin Yu, the golden-eyed Low Priest, appeared in the courtyard.

She glanced in the direction of the gate, sat on the table, poured herself a cup of water, and couldn't help but complain, "The people of the Qing family really are interesting."

Jin Qing said dismissively, "It's all for self-preservation. It's human nature. Being smart isn't a bad thing. It's always better to use smart people for tasks than stupid ones, isn't it?"

The Small Priest pouted. "I can't out-argue you. If you say so, Sister, then so be it."

Jin Qing glanced at her indifferently and asked directly, "Why aren't you staying in the Nether Hall instead of running over here?"

The Small Priest drained her tea in one gulp and asked instead of answering, "I heard that kid is practicing the Nether Fire Secret Art. Is that for real?"

"Yes, that's indeed the case," Jin Qing said candidly.

The Small Priest became interested and pressed further, "Did he succeed?"

"What do you think?"

The Small Priest changed her way of asking. "Then, do you think he can succeed, Sister?"

Jin Qing stared at the Small Priest with interest and smiled. "If I said yes, would you believe me?"

The Small Priest rolled her eyes and blurted out, "No."

Jin Qing rolled her eyes back at her. "Then why even ask?"

The Small Priest stuck out her tongue secretly and said somewhat coyly, "You don't really think he can succeed, do you, Sister?"

"Mm-hm!"

"On what grounds?"

Jin Qing asked back, "And on what grounds do you think he can't?"

The Small Priest didn't even bother to answer. On what grounds?

She clicked her tongue and complained, "On what grounds? Since the Demon Lord, no one else has been able to master that thing. What does he have to master it with?"

Jin Qing knit her brows. "Just because he's a third-class demon?"

The Small Priest denied it. "I didn't say that."

Jin Qing's tone grew more serious as she said word by word, "Then what if I told you he can read the demon script on it?"