"Shang, Ying." Nie Jiuque softly repeated the name.
It was the first time he had earnestly recited a girl’s name, and from then on, it was etched into his heart, never to be forgotten.
"What about you, what’s your name?" she casually asked in return.
"I... don’t have a name."
He suddenly didn’t want to tell her who he was.
Because even though there was no feud between the Immortal and Demon Realms, Nie Jiuque was famously notorious as the big demon, and his reputation was far from being as attractive as his face.
She might say she’s not afraid of the Demon Realm, but that doesn’t mean she’s free of reservations about the Demon Lord.
Even if she really was simple-minded, truly not one to blindly follow rumors, facing the Demon Lord would surely not be as easy and genuine as she was with him now.
"Hmph, if you don’t want to say, then don’t, but why lie and say you don’t have one, stingy." She pouted, clearly indicating she thought he was lying.
"Heh..." Nie Jiuque chuckled but didn’t offer an explanation.
"Fine, I told you my name, so it’s settled, you’re not allowed to tell anyone about me. If you don’t keep the secret, be careful, your nose might grow longer."
"Little girl, aren’t you too naive? You’ve even told me your name, if I wanted to expose you, wouldn’t it be easier?"
"You, you’re not keeping your word."
She glared at him angrily, her eyes wide with indignation.
"I just said, if you give me something in return, I will keep your secret." The hand on his knee, with its long, slender fingers, lightly tapped with rhythm, showing that under the mask his face was in a good mood.
"What do you want, then?!" Shang Ying asked, fuming.
She looked down and took a vicious bite of the Ziqiong Fruit, crunching loudly, as if venting her anger on it, imagining it as the man.
"Hmm..." Nie Jiuque actually pondered seriously.
"I haven’t thought of it yet, I’ll come find you for it later."
"You’re so annoying, plainly you all ate more and somehow it seems like I’m the biggest culprit." She said, biting large chunks out of the Ziqiong Fruit, as if eager to eliminate this "filth" quickly.
"Who’s fault is it that you were greedy and got involved, now you can’t shake it off even if you want to."
"Hmph, clearly you’re the one with bad intentions, deliberately dragging me down."
"It’s too late to be smart now, don’t be so gluttonous in the future, you’ll suffer."
"I don’t need you to tell me, I’ve already learned my lesson." ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel⚑fire.net
"Then shouldn’t you thank me?"
"You really know how to take advantage of others." She gave him a sidelong glance.
Then she stood up: "Alright, I’m leaving, come find me when you’ve decided what you want."
"Where do I find you?"
"You dare come to the Muyun Immortal Peak, dare to steal all the Ziqiong Fruits to feed these birds, and yet can’t find me?"
"If you really can’t find me, that’s your problem, and the deal will be void, you’re also not allowed to tell anyone about today."
Nie Jiuque watched her, his face under the mask full of an inherently charming smile.
This little girl is quite clever, indeed.
"If you deliberately hide from me, even with my skills, I can’t find you."
"Hmph, that’s your problem."
"Alright then, don’t be in a rush to leave, stay and chat with me, maybe if I’m in a good mood, I won’t trouble you."
"No way, today is the day the Ziqiong Tree bears fruit, soon the Empress will send Immortals to harvest them, you should leave quickly as well, if you’re seen, the Empress definitely won’t spare you."