The White Demon King had his sights set on this very point; it was his opportunity.
However, such a venture was also incredibly dangerous. If the male’s Cultivation was insufficient, the Extremely Yin and Cold Qi within her body would instantly claim his life.
This woman’s pure Yin was not something just any man could survive taking, let alone enjoy.
The White Demon King, however, was not worried about this. He possessed the power of a Deep Mountain Demon King and could withstand the cold.
If he succeeded, he would obtain the Great Divine Technique: Great Elemental Ice Cold Power.
His Cultivation might even leap to the Rank Three Peak.
People with special constitutions were always a double-edged sword.
However, obtaining the pure Yin from a woman with this special constitution had two crucial requirements. First, she had to be an adult. Yet, historically, women who possessed the Taiyin Cold Body rarely lived past the age of ten, let alone reached adulthood.
Second, it could not be taken by force. It required her complete and willing cooperation; only when both parties were in harmony, like one drinking from a sweet spring, could they succeed.
It was because of these two points that the White Demon King had always treated Su Rushi with the utmost respect and gentleness. He intended to use his romantic charms to capture the young girl’s heart, believing that once he won a woman’s heart, her body would naturally fall into his grasp.
The White Demon King had lived for countless years and had spent time in human society. His transformed appearance was also quite handsome.
Capturing the heart of a young girl who had seen nothing of the world should have been laughably simple.
But over the past two years, the White Demon King found things taking an increasingly awkward turn. The young girl had come to see him as an older brother, with no other feelings whatsoever.
He had tried too hard, and their relationship had veered in the wrong emotional direction.
It was the classic "I wanted to talk about romance, but you started talking about family." This left the White Demon King in a very awkward position.
Today was the day of the great wedding, and also Su Rushi’s eighteenth birthday—her coming-of-age. The first condition was now met. As for the second, the White Demon King would have to test his luck.
If the girl truly refused to consummate the marriage, he could wait. He had already married her, after all. What was a little more time?
The main reason he was holding the wedding now was his fear that any further delay could lead to unforeseen problems. After all, if word of her Taiyin Cold Body were to spread, it would drive the other Demons into a frenzy.
By holding a grand wedding banquet now, the White Demon King was declaring to the entire Yaoling Mountain Range that this human woman was his, properly and publicly wed. Even if her special constitution were discovered in the future, he wouldn’t have to worry about others coveting her.
His main concern was that those two, the Yellow Demon King and the Gray Demon King, would try to steal her from him.
Now that they were officially married, with all the Demons of the Yaoling Mountain Range as witnesses, who would dare try to steal his wife?
It had to be said, the White Demon King had protected Su Rushi very well. Even after two years in the Yaoling Mountain Range, almost no one knew of her existence, let alone her special constitution.
...
In a room decorated in festive red, Su Rushi, dressed in bridal attire, had a large red veil placed over her head by the Crimson Rabbit Demon. The demon instructed, "Miss Rushi, the auspicious hour has arrived. The King must be on his way to receive you. Sit here quietly and don’t move. I’ll go out and see how far along the procession is."
"Oh, and Miss Rushi, don’t be mischievous. You can’t take off this red veil, or it’ll be bad luck. You humans are so particular about these things! I guess you could say this Little Demon is learning on the job."
From beneath the red veil, an anxious voice emerged. "I want to see my grandfather. I’m not going out otherwise. And I won’t get married! Not unless my grandfather comes here himself and tells me to marry Brother Bai."
"My dear lady, your grandfather is in the wedding procession! You’ll see him when it arrives."
With that, the Crimson Rabbit Demon walked out, shutting the door firmly behind it. ’At this point, it’s not as if she can just refuse to marry,’ it thought.
’She’s hit the jackpot and is still complaining. In the entire Azure Bamboo Forest, in the entire Yaoling Mountain Range, countless Female Demons would kill for the chance to marry the Deep Mountain Demon King.’
Su Rushi was, at heart, an obedient girl. Even when she was alone, she didn’t actually lift the red veil from her head. She simply lowered her head, her eyes downcast, her slender hands twisting the fabric of her dress, feeling utterly wronged.
’Why has it come to this? After today, I’ll have just become an adult... why am I becoming the wife of a Demon King?’
She felt so wronged, incredibly wronged. Glistening tears welled in her eyes, threatening to spill over. She just wanted her grandfather to take her home.
In the silent room, only the sound of Su Rushi’s soft sobs could be heard.
Suddenly, the space in a corner of the room rippled, and a handsome young man with a gentle smile appeared out of thin air. He saw the bride sitting before the vanity. The large red veil completely concealed her face, adding an air of mystery that made one want to lift the festive cloth from her head.
’My love is a peerless hero. One day, he’ll ride a seven-colored cloud to come for me. I guessed the beginning right, but I couldn’t guess the ending.’
As he watched the veiled bride sitting demurely, that line inexplicably surfaced in Tu Xiao’an’s mind.
A faint smile played on his lips as another voice echoed in his mind: ’Xiaoleng, take me away from here!’
The sound of choked sobs from beneath the red veil reached his ears. The girl felt wronged; she was crying. Tu Xiao’an couldn’t help but wonder, ’Am I too late?’
He stretched out a hand and gave a gentle wave toward the seated bride. A gust of wind suddenly swept through the still room, lifting the large red veil.
Su Rushi, who had been full of grievances, was startled. As she looked up, her eyes widened and she stared blankly ahead. A delicate little snake was there, holding its head high to face her.
After a long moment, she snapped out of it. Scarcely believing her eyes, she rubbed them, but the delicate little snake was still there, real as could be.
"Oh... Xiaoleng!"
The seated bride seemed to teleport, appearing in an instant before the delicate little snake. She scooped it up, her beautiful eyes shining with brilliant light.
"Xiaoleng, is it really you? You’re finally here! You’re terrible, making me wait so long."
Seeing this little snake, Su Rushi, who had been on the verge of despair, grew inexplicably excited, as if she had just seen a glimmer of dawn.
It was strange. It was just a tiny snake, could it really get her out of here? Whether out of pure naivety or something else, she simply believed it could.
"Girl, long time no see. Did you miss me?"
The delicate little snake cupped in her hands opened its mouth and actually spoke.
Hearing this, Su Rushi’s delicate frame trembled, and her surprise turned to delight. "Xiaoleng, you can talk now! That’s wonderful!"
Having lived in the Yaoling Mountain Range for so long, Su Rushi was no longer surprised by talking animals, but her own pet snake had never spoken before.
’Wait,’ she thought, suddenly recalling the time Xiaoleng had transformed into a giant beast. ’Xiaoleng must have gotten stronger, and that’s why he can talk now. Yes, that has to be it.’
The delicate little snake rolled its eyes. ’I could always talk, you know.’
It was just that back then, Tu Xiao’an hadn’t wanted to give the girl any strange ideas or frighten her, so he had chosen to play the part of a mute snake.
"Xiaoleng, are you here to take me away?" Su Rushi quickly processed the fact that Pi Pi Snake could talk and asked excitedly.
The delicate little snake in her palm replied, "No, I’m here for the wedding banquet. Congratulations on your marriage."
At his words, Su Rushi puffed out her cheeks in a mock pout and gave him a light rap on the head. "I don’t want to get married! I don’t, I don’t! Answer me again!"
’The dignified, newly promoted Snake King of the Snake Race, who struck fear into the hearts of countless Great Demons from numerous races, was now being treated so brazenly by this girl.’
"What?"
"Xiaoleng, are you here to take me away?" Su Rushi asked again excitedly.
Tu Xiao’an felt his brow darken in exasperation. This girl was still so childish. "Yes," he said helplessly. "I’m here to crash the wedding. To snatch you away."
"Mhm! As long as you can get me out of here, I’ll agree to anything!" A sweet, satisfied smile graced Su Rushi’s exquisite, snow-white face, which seemed to glow with a faint, silvery light.
Tu Xiao’an, in his delicate snake form, felt as if he’d been turned to stone. He was mesmerized. ’She’s so beautiful in her bridal dress... They say a bride is the most beautiful woman in the world, and it’s really true.’
’A stunning glimpse at first meeting, an ephemeral dream—that was you. An unexpected reunion, a long-awaited "are you well?"—that was also you.’
Beneath the Purple Bamboo Forest, Tu Xiao’an had been grievously injured, and it was this innocent, guileless girl who had found him and taken him home.
And that one act of kindness had felt as unreal as a dream.