The crowd on the jade-paved street instantly parted, forming a wide circle. In the Central Continent, nobody wanted to be caught in the crossfire of an arrogant young master's temper tantrum.
Yan Shuo turned around lazily, his hand still firmly holding Tantai Zhi's to keep her from turning the city block into a crater.
Standing a few paces away was a young man dressed in impossibly loud, gold-threaded robes. He was holding a glowing jade folding fan, his chin tilted so high up it was a miracle he could see where he was walking. Behind him stood four burly bodyguards at the Late Foundation Establishment stage, looking incredibly smug.
"Are you deaf?" the golden-robed youth sneered, slapping his fan against his palm. "I told you to watch where you're standing! You bumped into the path of my—"
The youth's voice suddenly died in his throat.
His eyes had finally shifted from Yan Shuo's plain white robes to the woman standing next to him.
The young master's jaw practically hit the floor. The sunset-peach dress, the flawless porcelain skin, the majestic, world-toppling beauty—he had spent his entire life in the Golden Dragon City, swimming in wealth and jade beauties, but he had never seen a woman who looked like this.
Instantly, the arrogant annoyance on his face vanished, replaced by a greasy, incredibly confident smile.
"Well, well," the youth purred, snapping his fan open and taking a step forward, completely ignoring Yan Shuo. "It seems the heavens have blessed my eyes today. Fairy, I am Young Master Jin of the Golden Cauldron Pavilion. It is a tragedy to see a beauty of your caliber walking the streets with such a... plain-looking servant. Why don't you leave this bumpkin and come have tea in my private carriage?"
The four bodyguards behind him chuckled, puffing out their chests.
Yan Shuo didn't look angry. He just let out a long, deeply exhausted sigh.
Golden Cauldron Pavilion, Yan Shuo thought, rubbing his temples with his free hand. Probably a subsidiary of the Golden Dragon Pavilion. These rich kids really are all printed from the exact same mold.
Beside him, Tantai Zhi had gone perfectly, completely still.
She didn't scream. She didn't draw her sword. She just stared at Young Master Jin. The candied hawthorn berry in her mouth cracked as she slowly chewed it, the sound echoing loudly in the sudden, terrifying silence of the street.
A layer of white frost began to rapidly spread across the jade pavement, radiating outward from her silk slippers.
"Husband," Tantai Zhi whispered. Her voice was incredibly soft, yet it carried a demonic resonance that made the surrounding crowd instinctively take three steps back. "He called you a servant. And he asked me to get in his carriage."
"I heard him, Wife," Yan Shuo said calmly.
"Can I peel him?" she asked, her golden eyes completely devoid of human emotion. "Just a little bit? I'll be quick. I won't get any blood on my new dress."
Young Master Jin frowned, oblivious to the lethal danger he was in. "Husband? Fairy, surely you jest! You are married to this poor—"
Yan Shuo didn't let him finish the sentence.
He didn't want to deal with the city guards. He didn't want to ruin his relaxing vacation by explaining why his wife had turned a wealthy merchant's son into a bloody jigsaw puzzle in the middle of the street.
So, Yan Shuo stepped slightly in front of Tantai Zhi, blocking her view of the idiot.
He didn't summon his golden Qi. He didn't use a martial technique. He simply tapped into the deepest, darkest corner of his soul—the part of him that had slaughtered millions, conquered continents, and ruled the demonic path for a century.
Yan Shuo looked directly into Young Master Jin's eyes and released a single, concentrated drop of pure, unfiltered Demon Lord killing intent.
It was invisible, but the impact was absolute.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
The four burly Late Foundation Establishment bodyguards instantly collapsed to their knees, their eyes rolling back in their heads as they foamed at the mouth, completely knocked unconscious by the sheer psychological terror.
Young Master Jin froze. The greasy smile melted off his face.
To the rest of the street, Yan Shuo was just a fifteen-year-old boy looking calmly at a wealthy merchant.
But in Jin's mind, the bright afternoon sun had vanished. He was suddenly standing at the bottom of a pitch-black abyss, surrounded by mountains of rotting corpses, while a pair of massive, blood-red eyes stared down at him, calculating exactly how long it would take to tear his soul apart.
Jin's knees buckled. He dropped his expensive jade fan. It shattered on the pavement, but he didn't even notice. A large, embarrassing wet spot rapidly spread across the front of his gold-threaded robes.
"We are on a date," Yan Shuo said. His voice was mild, polite, and completely terrifying. "You are ruining the mood. Turn around and walk away."
Jin didn't hesitate for a microsecond.
He scrambled backward on his hands and knees, completely abandoning his unconscious bodyguards. He was sobbing wildly, tears and snot running down his face as he hauled himself up and sprinted down the street, screaming like he had just seen a ghost.
Yan Shuo watched him run away, completely satisfied. No blood, no city guards, no ruined dress. Efficiency was a beautiful thing.
He turned back to Tantai Zhi, immediately switching his terrifying aura off and replacing it with a warm, doting smile.
"See, Wife? No peeling required," Yan Shuo chuckled, gently tapping her nose. "The local wildlife gets scared easily. Come on, let's go find that tea house."
Tantai Zhi's murderous frost instantly evaporated. She stared at Yan Shuo, her cheeks flushing a bright, brilliant pink. To her, seeing her husband step in front of her to effortlessly scare away a bad man was the absolute peak of romance.
"Husband is so manly," she swooned, tightly hugging his arm and resting her head against his shoulder. "You protected me."
Yan Shuo internally sweated. I protected the idiot from you, you mean.
"Of course I did," Yan Shuo lied smoothly, patting her hair. Just keep treating her like a clingy kid who happens to be a nuclear bomb, he reminded himself. It makes the soft rice much easier to swallow.
---
The rest of the afternoon went perfectly.
Yan Shuo rented a private room at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, the highest-rated restaurant in the city. He ordered a massive feast of spiritual delicacies—roasted spirit pheasant, jade-bamboo soup, and honey-glazed lotus roots.
Tantai Zhi barely touched her own food. She spent the entire meal happily picking the best pieces of meat from her plate and feeding them directly to Yan Shuo with her chopsticks.
Yan Shuo accepted the VIP treatment gracefully. He chewed the premium spirit meat, calculating how much this meal would have cost him in his past life, and decided that being a shameless kept man was the greatest career choice he had ever made.
By the time they left the restaurant, the sun had set, and the true beauty of the Golden Dragon City revealed itself.
The massive, winding rivers that cut through the city began to glow with a soft, ethereal blue light. Thousands of floating paper lanterns were released into the sky, reflecting off the water and bathing the city in a warm, romantic glow.
Yan Shuo led Tantai Zhi down to the riverbank.
He tossed a mid-grade spirit stone to a local boatman and rented a small, beautifully carved wooden pleasure boat. The boat had a curved roof, a small tea table in the center, and plush silk cushions.
Yan Shuo stepped onto the boat first, then turned and offered his hand to Tantai Zhi.
She took it, her golden eyes wide and mesmerized by the glowing blue water and the floating lanterns. She stepped lightly onto the boat, her peach-colored dress flowing beautifully around her.
As the boatman gently pushed them off the dock, Yan Shuo sat down on the cushions and leaned back. He poured two cups of warm tea, handing one to her.
Tantai Zhi didn't sit across from him. She sat right next to him, pressing her side flush against his, and rested her head perfectly in the crook of his neck.
The boat drifted slowly down the glowing river. The noise of the bustling city became a soft, distant hum, replaced by the gentle lapping of the water against the wooden hull.
It was incredibly peaceful.
Yan Shuo took a sip of his tea, looking out at the glowing blue river. For a moment, his pragmatic, calculating Demon Lord brain actually quieted down.
In his past life, he had never done anything like this. He had spent his evenings meditating, healing from stab wounds, or plotting how to murder the next sect leader. He had never sat on a boat just to look at the lights. He had never had someone lean against him without worrying they were going to slip a poisoned dagger into his ribs.
He looked down at the woman resting against his shoulder.
She was humming again. That same, terrible, hilariously off-key tune from a century ago.
She really is just the little beggar girl, Yan Shuo thought. The awkwardness he felt earlier in the day began to fade, replaced by a strange, comfortable acceptance. She grew up, became the strongest person in the world, and decided to spend all her time peeling grapes for me.
It was completely absurd. But it was also... nice.
Yan Shuo set his teacup down. He didn't just awkwardly pat her head this time. He wrapped his arm fully around her shoulders, pulling her a little closer to keep the cool night breeze off her silk dress.
Tantai Zhi stopped humming. Her breath hitched slightly. She looked up at him, her golden eyes reflecting the soft blue light of the river.
"Husband?" she whispered, her voice incredibly soft. "Are you enjoying our date?"
Yan Shuo looked at her flawless face, then out at the peaceful, glowing city. He didn't have to fight for survival anymore. He had endless wealth, a perfectly repaired foundation, and a wife who would quite literally tear the sky apart if he asked her to.
"Yes, Wife," Yan Shuo smiled. It wasn't his fake, polite smile, or his dark, dangerous Demon Lord smile. It was just a genuine, relaxed smile. "I'm enjoying it very much."
Tantai Zhi beamed, her eyes curving into happy crescents. She snuggled deeper into his embrace, closing her eyes.
"Good," she murmured sleepily. "Because tomorrow, I'm going to buy you everything in the Golden Dragon Pavilion."
Yan Shuo chuckled, resting his chin on her soft black hair as the boat drifted under a bridge.
No need for you to buy it, Wife, Yan Shuo thought lazily, closing his own eyes. Tomorrow, I'm going to show this city exactly how a Demon Lord goes shopping.