Chen Kuang's current body, strictly speaking, was not a genuine demon.
After all, what sustained his physical form was, in essence, still the cloth puppet crafted by Gantang. In other words, this body was closer in nature to a puppet automaton.
If someone were to break the Method of Demon Shedding, then this body would immediately collapse and disintegrate.
However, people who knew of this method were extremely rare, let alone those who could break it...
In fact, not even Chen Kuang himself knew how to undo it.
But mentally speaking, Chen Kuang had no psychological barrier to becoming a demon.
After all, with "Wujian Between" in his possession, he could rebuild a body nearly identical to his original at any time.
Just like Old Ape Head and Little Red, who were born of illusions yet were made into a fully tangible bodies.
It was just that doing so would consume a great deal of Wishforce. Until he figured out how to replenish the Wishforce of the Wujian Between, he thought it best not to use it unless absolutely necessary.
Because if he ever did, it would mean he was on the verge of utter annihilation.
Aside from the fundamental differences, however, this body was no different from that of a demon.
It could take human form, and it had a true form as well.
Throughout the day, Chen Kuang had appeared before others only in human form. But the Merfolk Clan differed from other demons in that their original forms were already half-human and half-fish.
The difference from a human was negligible.
In fact, the Merfolk, both male and female, were renowned for their beauty. To humans, who were naturally inclined toward appearances, they were instinctively likable...
In human folklore, Merfolk were often depicted in a positive and benevolent light.
When revealing his true form this time, Chen Kuang did not feel the need to fully transform. Just a partial change, exposing a few traits, was enough to let Liu Qingcheng understand.
After all, the agents from the Department of Shennong and the constables were still nearby. If he acted too boldly, he might raise their suspicions.
Liu Qingcheng's eyes gleamed with an unusual brilliance as she watched his transformation.
She was already exceptionally beautiful, cold and ethereal, with a kind of weary indifference. Only when she looked at Lian Mi did her features soften with genuine warmth.
But now, her gaze was vibrant and full of life, like a dried flower that had absorbed moisture and bloomed again, momentarily dazzling in its radiance.
She examined Chen Kuang, cold sweat beading on her forehead, yet she still kept her eyes wide open, as if needing to confirm what she was seeing.
Chen Kuang's bloodline came from the Dragon Mother's descendants.
If the record in the Illustrated Canon of the Dragon's Harmonious Offspring was accurate, and there was no reason to doubt that it was, then this made him equivalent to a great demon rivaling the Kunpeng.
Such a bloodline naturally carried oppressive majesty, and to ordinary humans, involuntary fear was a normal reaction.
Chen Kuang spread his hands and reverted to human form in the blink of an eye.
"Now will you tell me why?" he asked.
Liu Qingcheng snapped out of her daze and was silent for a moment. Then she said, "I..."
Her gaze flitted away, and she took a deep breath, as if mustering the courage to make a decision, before finally looking him in the eye and softly saying:
"I am... a half-demon."
Chen Kuang was startled.
A half-demon?
In other words, a hybrid of human and demon?
But he hadn't noticed anything. Or rather, he hadn't been able to tell.
In this world, demons did not emit a distinctive "demonic aura." To discern a demon, one needed sufficiently high cultivation, or to use specialized tools, like the Mirrorstone of the Department of Shennong.
A demon's human form was, in essence, a disguise. In theory, Chen Kuang's "Piercing Insight" should have seen through it.
Moreover, Liu Qingcheng herself possessed no cultivation at all.
Yet he had sensed nothing unusual...
Liu Qingcheng seemed to realize his confusion and gave a bitter smile:
"To be precise, I'm the child of a human and a half-demon. Not even a proper half-demon... You could say I'm just a..."
She lowered her head and said bitterly "...a mutt."
Her tone was layered with emotion. Chen Kuang could easily guess that someone must have called her that before.
In a place like the Yang Kingdom, where relations between humans and demons were tense, if not outright hostile, the fate of a half-demon was self-evident.
Chen Kuang narrowed his eyes slightly.
Yet Liu Qingcheng's public identity was that of a human, and not just any human, but one who shone brilliantly and prominently in the public eye.
Clearly, the forces behind Xuni Pavilion had thoroughly concealed and legitimized her background.
And this might also explain why Chen Kuang hadn't seen through it.
His "Piercing Insight" had its limits.
It could pierce illusions and disguises, but it could not reveal abnormalities that he himself had never thought to question.
For example, Chen Kuang had never realized that his convenient "senior brother" Wen Si's true form was the Kunpeng.
That was because he had once seen Wen Si in the eerie guise of a raincloak-wearing fisherman and had subconsciously assumed that to be his demon form, never questioning it further.
Who would have thought, that very appearance was itself an elaborate disguise...
Though this senior brother of his may have been a demon, he was also extremely shrewd.
And as for Liu Qingcheng, being the offspring of a half-demon and a human, it meant she possessed only one-quarter demon blood, not nearly enough to sustain an actual demon form.
The way she looked now was likely her true appearance. At most, she might retain a few physical traces of her demon heritage on certain parts of her body.
Normally, that would mean scales, feathers, ears, or perhaps... a tail?
Chen Kuang rubbed his chin, and his gaze subconsciously drifted toward Liu Qingcheng's back as he fell into thought.
Scales and feathers typically appeared in large patches across the skin, and ears would be especially difficult to hide.
This was also why half-demons faced even greater discrimination... To humans, it was like a glaring sign that said: "I am not one of you."
It was deeply disturbing.
From the current circumstances, it seemed the most likely possibility was a tail.
He made no attempt to hide where he was looking, and Liu Qingcheng naturally felt the weight of his gaze. If this had happened earlier, she would surely have been scornful and furious.
But now... perhaps because she had revealed her most disgraceful identity to him, though she was flushed with shame, she somehow felt something different in his eyes.
He... truly didn't see her as a freak.
Her mother had been right: demons were indeed far more accepting of half-demons, and more often than not, treated them as their kin.
Liu Qingcheng breathed a quiet sigh of relief and, astonishingly, turned around on her own. Biting her lip, she lifted the hem of her pale green outer robe.
"...Mmm."
Her voice was soft and casual as her slender hand raised the hem. The white inner garments clung to her body, moistened by sweat, faintly revealing the hue of her skin beneath.
The knot of her undergarment ribbon stretched across her delicate butterfly-shaped shoulder blades, almost entirely visible.
The bottom edge of her inner clothing was tucked into an emerald-green skirt. The fabric of the skirt was clearly expensive, smooth and supple, tracing the curves of her body, outlining a full silhouette.
At the center of the fabric was a slight dip, forming a shadow. But at that moment, it suddenly protruded in the shape of a small, flattened furball,nervously twitching from side to side beneath her skirt.
It was, unmistakably, a tail.
A rabbit tail.
Liu Qingcheng's voice still carried a trace of tremor, clearly revealing that this was no small humiliation for her.
"M-my mother carried the bloodline of a rabbit demon. I've only inherited... this one tiny trait."
Chen Kuang: "..."
What do you think demons are?
Just a different race, that's all, we've got everything else just like humans, thank you very much!
Chen Kuang was somewhat speechless.
Previously, hearing that little maid constantly speak of her "Mistress" this and "Mistress" that, forbidding this and forbidding that, he had thought this flower courtesan was some exceptionally cautious and measured person...
Who would have thought that the little maid was just copying her mistress!
Absolutely zero sense of subtlety.
"Ahem..."
Chen Kuang cleared his throat twice and said,
"That's enough, put it down. If you'd just told me, I would've known. There was no need to go so far."
Liu Qingcheng blinked in confusion. Caught off guard, she stammered:
"But... but the way you were acting just now, I thought... if I didn't show you, it would be impolite..."
So she thought revealing her true form was some kind of formal demon-to-demon etiquette?
Chen Kuang nearly laughed out loud but he spoke seriously:
"Didn't you think I was some shady scoundrel trying to trick young girls? Since you asked me a question, of course I had to give you some concrete proof. Otherwise, how could you believe me?"
In truth, when he had deliberately revealed his demonic form and released his pressure, it had also been with the intention of asserting dominance.
Who could have guessed Liu Qingcheng wouldn't pick up on that at all...
Then again, that was understandable. No matter how clever she was, she was still a mortal. She wouldn't be able to discern the difference between one kind of oppressive aura and another among cultivators.
To an ant, whether the barrier before it is made of paper or stone, it makes no difference.
Either way, it's just an endless wall it cannot climb.
Liu Qingcheng awkwardly adjusted her clothing, then sat on the chaise beside them with stiff movements and muttered a soft "Oh..."
She really did look like a schoolchild who'd just been scolded.
Chen Kuang studied her closely and asked again,
"You're looking for demons? Why?"
Liu Qingcheng lowered her head.
"I am a demon... I don't want to stay here, to be imprisoned, to be treated like a toy."
She looked up at Chen Kuang, eyes full of hope.
"Can you take me away from here? I want to live as a demon."
So that's what this was... But unfortunately, she had found the wrong person.
Chen Kuang was a demon, but also not a demon.
Aside from Wen Si, he didn't know any other demons at all.
Chen Kuang replied calmly and flatly:
"I'm sorry. I'm not capable of that."
"I'm not a local demon of the Yang Kingdom, just passing through. Even if I took you away, would you follow me as a wanderer? That's not the kind of life you're really longing for."
He paused for a moment and continued:
"Besides, you're the famed flower courtesan of Xuni Pavilion. Everyone in the Yang Kingdom knows your name. If I were to abduct you, the ruckus it would cause might be bigger than stealing imperial silver."
"Why should I risk so much just to help you escape?"
Perhaps Chen Kuang's reaction didn't match her expectations, because Liu Qingcheng grew a bit anxious and said:
"But I helped you too... You stole the official silver, if I hadn't hidden it for you, you would've been caught by those constables already..."
Apparently, she believed Chen Kuang was the demon who had stolen the imperial silver.
Chen Kuang chuckled and shook his head.
"I'm not the one who stole the silver. It was someone else... or rather, another demon who happened to flee here and shoved the silver under my bed."
"The one those constables are after isn't me. And even if they had noticed something, I had a way to evade them."
Previously, inside the illusion realm, Chen Kuang had drawn a passive ability that was rather awkward and impractical at the time.
["You Can't See Me" You can sense and evade others' awareness, making yourself more difficult to perceive.]
Back then, surrounded by so many people, even if he hid himself, it wouldn't have mattered.
So long as someone could track Chu Wenruo and her Daughter, they could also track him.
And the enemies they were facing were far too powerful. Once combat began, everything was blasted indiscriminately, if they couldn't find him, they'd just overturn the entire table.
That's why the passive felt useless back then...
But now, with him traveling alone, evading some constables' detection was perfectly manageable.
The reason he had followed Liu Qingcheng into her room wasn't to hide, but simply to see what she was up to.
Liu Qingcheng fell silent, quickly realizing what had actually happened.
The demon who stole the silver had likely panicked and decided to stash it in multiple locations, planning to retrieve it after the heat died down.
What they hadn't counted on... was that Chen Kuang was also a demon.
Her gaze dimmed, and she gave a bitter smile.
"I see... So I was just being unnecessary."
Chen Kuang asked: "You just want to leave Xuni Pavilion, don't you? Can't you redeem yourself? With the money you've earned, you probably have more than a commoner could ever count."
Liu Qingcheng replied: "I used to think so..."
That was also the promise she had made to Lian Mi.
One day, she would take Lian Mi and leave Xuni Pavilion. They would find a quiet place where no one knew them, open a small shop, sell buns, and live a simple life.
But later, she realized that dream was impossible.
Xuni Pavilion would never let her go. Even if she gathered enough money, they still wouldn't release her.
Because the Prince of Jingnan had already claimed her as one of his concubines. The reason they were still allowing her freedom now was nothing more than the indulgence of someone toying with a pet.
Her so-called freedom was just a square patch of painted sky.
When the trainer's patience wore thin, the leash would be pulled taut in an instant, choking her neck and dragging her back.
Chen Kuang shook his head and said:
"If you want to live as a demon, it's best give up on that idea now... Those demons are living even worse than you."
He stated bluntly: "You just want someone to take you away. You probably don't even see demons as true kin. Even if you lived among them, you still wouldn't be able to adapt."
"Give it a little time, and you'll be begging someone else to save you from that cage as well."
That was pure, undisguised mockery.
Liu Qingcheng's face burned. She bit her lip stubbornly.
"How do you know what I really want? My mother was a half-demon, a prostitute here in Xuni Pavilion. She didn't even know who my father was. All her life, she wanted to escape. In the end, they broke her limbs, threw her into a beggars' den, and she... she..."
Her voice cracked as her eyes welled up with tears.
Wait seriously?
All he did was tease her a little for assigning him chores and she's bringing up things like that and crying now?
Chen Kuang glanced at the dazzling lights outside and sighed with a smile.
"In that case..."
"I may not be able to help you, but someone else might be able to take you to see how the demons of Zangfeng Prefecture really live."