Venerable Demon King & The Doting Immortal (QT) novel Chapter 17

Chapter 17: The northern demon realm

These righteous sects were too busy with other things and didn't care for such a small town and poor villages. The people there were so poor that they couldn't afford to hire immortal sects to help them especially when it happened every year thus they had no choice but to evacuate. This was why Xiang Yu was here, lying in a tree in the middle of the night. _{frёeweɓηovel.coɱ}

His expression was calm but his heart was racing. It was a mix of anticipation and fear. Tonight, he would finally face his father, the demon king of the northern realm. His father had abandoned him and chose to take his twin sister. He wasn't naive enough to think that his father would be happy to see him and accept him right away but there was still a glimmer of hope buried deep inside his heart. Maybe he won't be like his mother. Maybe he would hug him and call him son.

Closing his eyes, Xiang Yu listened to the forest. Soon the still forest awakened. Leaves rustled, and the thick underbrush quivered. Demons approached their footsteps like death's whisper. He waited his muscles tense and his senses sharp. He couldn't attack a group of demons but he could isolate one and use it to get to the northern realm.

The sounds of rustling leaves and snapping twigs soon died down. Xiang Yu felt something hovering above him. His lips curved into a wicked smile before his eyes snapped open. There, above him, perched on a large branch was a small demon, a scout, perhaps. Its eyes glowed with malice, and its twisted features bore the mark of its lineage.

Xiang Yu's red eyes met the demon's, and for a moment, they hung suspended in time. The creature sensed the threat emanating from him and showed its sharp teeth while backing away.

With lightning speed his hand shot out, fingers closing around its throat. The demon struggled, claws scraping against Xiang Yu's skin, but he held firm. He jumped down from the tree, landing silently on the ground. This was good. He didn't have to go find one. It fell right into his lap.

"You are not the first demon I have killed," Xiang Yu whispered, his voice cold as the night. "You have two choices. One, I squeeze your throat till your eyes pop out or two, you take me to the northern realm."

The demon's eyes widened, fear replacing malice. It didn't move or speak for a very long time just staring at him like he was an idiot with a death wish. Xiang Yu smiled coldly and tightened his grip. The creature gasped, its life force slipping away. "Le-let me go. I will ta... take you," it choked out.

"Good," said Xiang Yu as he loosened his grip. The demon's scaled skin rippled with disgust having discovered that he was a half-blood abomination. Its eyes, slit and yellow, showed both disdain and fear. Xiang Yu's red eyes bore into the creature making it tremble subconsciously. With a bang, he dropped it to the ground and it yelped in pain.

It rolled up from the ground and pointed at him seeming emboldened. "You want passage to the demon realm," the demon hissed, its voice like gravel. "Why should I help you, mongrel?" It was about to run away and disappear in the thick underbrush but Xiang Yu ruthlessly stepped on its tail causing it to let out a piercing cry. The force of the impact sent the creature sprawling backwards, its tail almost torn off its body.