Binding the Dragon for the Empress Chapter 136

You Are Free

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Mo Zun's expression was as resolute as he was when he drunkenly confessed his love to Ning Zhiyu. A long time ago, he had heard from his subordinates that it was fashionable for the human race to die for love, and that if they could not have each other, then they would die together and go to the underworld as lovebirds.

He had always scoffed at that kind of foolishness; they were not like that, demons seemed to have been born with a thin temperament, with an addiction to killing, and love was a rare thing for them, existing only among a few of the higher demons. Even if they had it, it would not be more important than their own lives.

When he was young, he happened to overhear a conversation between his father and mother. Ten thousand years ago, the first demon king married a human as his queen. The family probably carried the bloodline of that human, so there was always some kind of infatuation in their bones.

His father was devoted to his mother, and his two brothers were devoted to their wives, unlike the rest of the higher demons who had many concubines in their backyard.

Mo Zun originally thought that he was the only demon who had not inherited the affectionate nature, but he later realised that this was not the case; he simply had not yet met someone he truly loved, and if he did, he would lose his life.

Just like the elder brother who died defending his wife and daughter from a sword in the battle between the gods and demons ten thousand years ago.

They were a family after all.

“Okay, stab the demon blade in your hand into your own heart, and I will release him." After being slightly surprised, Yan Yuan smiled lightly.

He was not sure what kind of existence Ning Zhiyu was to Mo Zun, and he was gambling; gambling that Mo Zun liked Ning Zhiyu.

It was a strange thing in itself to have survived intact at the hands of a demon until now. Although Ning Zhiyu's hands and feet were bound by demonic chains when he saw him, each of the shackles that bound him was meticulously wrapped in cowhide, proving that Mo Zun did not want Ning Zhiyu to get hurt, not even with the slightest wound.

As it turned out, he had bet correctly.

Equally surprised was Ning Zhiyu, who was being held in Yan Yuan's arms with a dagger. He looked at Mo Zun's cold face and murmured softly, "It can't be... he can't possibly die for me..."

"Beware of deception..."

"No, he will." Yan Yuan observed Mo Zun's expression and spoke with certainty.

Several of the demon generals below who were tearing at the gods raised their heads and yelled anxiously at the Demon Lord, telling him not to get carried away, but they failed to stop him from slowly raising the demon blade in his hand as he whispered:

"Okay."

As if sensing its master's intentions, the demon blade buzzed and trembled uneasily. A black and red demonic aura wrapped around the half-curved blade, thickening and fading at times. Mo Zun looked at the demon blade in his hand for a moment and suddenly laughed.

The demon generals, entangled with the gods and unable to break away, could only roar frantically at the Demon Lord, intent on stopping their king from destroying himself for the sake of a human.

"King- don't-"

"He doesn't love you at all-!!!"

Whoever was roaring like this from below, Mo Zun heard it. He knew Ning Zhiyu did not love him, he knew it better than anyone.

Not only did his A'Ning not love him, he hated him.

According to reason, he shouldn't have to die for someone who didn't love him and would only treat him coldly, but the truth was that just seeing Ning Zhiyu being held with a knife to his neck and bleeding so much made him feel as if a knife had been stabbed into his own heart, and he was shaking with fear of even breathing.

That was even worse than letting him die himself.

His subordinates were right, he might be crazy. Or perhaps he has been infected with a curse called A'Ning, which is even more powerful than the demonic compulsion.

He didn't know when he had started to fall deeper and deeper into it. At first, he seemed to resent the fact that Ning Zhiyu treated everyone gently and politely, but when he saw him, he was like a stinking maggot in a cesspit. When had a demon ever been spat upon like this by anyone around him? The more he disliked him, the more he wanted to see the way Ning Zhiyu would smile at him.

But he had never liked anyone before, and he could not do such things as coaxing people, after all, as a demon lord, he had always been the one to be flattered by others.

However, he had devoted himself to learning from his subordinates about how to please people. He remembered that Ning Zhiyu liked to read books, so he went to the mortal world and bought a lot of them, along with four literary treasures. One day, when Ning Zhiyu was in a good mood, he might want to recite poetry and write a poem. He was afraid that if he gave them to Ning Zhiyu personally, they would be thrown out, so he asked his subordinates to send them to him every time.

The other party should not have sensed his feelings, or if he did, he still did not care about it. In fact, it was clear that it was the latter, but he did not want to think about it too much. Even though Ning Zhiyu's words were as vicious as they were, he was still delusional enough to think that one day this human would be moved by him.

Unfortunately, he was too stupid to learn how to really make him laugh until now.

The heart-rending roars of his subordinates were completely discarded from the world of the Demon Lord, and he raised his blood-coloured pupils to look at Ning Zhiyu, as usual, saying:

“A'Ning... teach me to write your name."

The voice was low and rustling, scattered in the wind.

Probably sensing something, Ning Zhiyu forgot to say any of those snide remarks, and stared blankly at Mo Zun with bewilderment between his brows.

Seeing that he didn't say anything, Mo Zun lowered his eyes and laughed a little.

"Look, I'm talking nonsense again."

"I know you don't like to hear it, but I still have to upset you... No wonder you loathe me so much."

"... I know that you are not doing well beside me, but I do not want to let you go, nor do I want you to die, so I can only keep you prisoner. I thought, you are so kind, even stepping on an ant would make you sad for a long time, maybe one day you will also be soft to me and A'Lie, and then our family can be happy."

Ning Zhiyu's brain was so sluggish from the freezing cold that he could barely find his voice: "Why should I be soft on you... It's all because you are self-absorbed, I hate you."

Mo Zun was silent for a moment: “En, you have no reason to be soft on me." He raised his head as he said: "Didn't you always say that you wanted me to die?"

"Finally, I can do what you want."

Ning Zhiyu didn't quite understand what Mo Zun wanted, and up until this moment, he still didn't think Mo Zun would die for him.

It was too absurd.

He must have some kind of scheme...

Amidst Ning Zhiyu's disordered thoughts, the blade in Mo Zun's hand was raised to a position flush with his heart. His eyes did not leave Ning Zhiyu's face for a moment, but the words from his mouth were for Yan Yuan to hear.

"At the cost of my soul's demise, I swear to the Heavenly Way... that I will die in exchange for my beloved wife's life. If you do not respect this oath, the nine heavenly thunderbolts will descend, the Way will perish, my body will be destroyed, and I will never be reborn."

At the same time his last word fell, the blade in Mo Zun's hand pierced his heart. Through the cold wind, Ning Zhiyu could hear a 'pfft' sound, his whole body was numb, and he stared dumbly at the demon, unable to react.

"King-!!!!" The demon soldiers and generals roared in despair.

Mo Zun's body trembled, and a lot of blood gushed out of his lips all at once, so much that it turned his handsome face very beautiful.

Mo Zun was originally a very distinguished person, and his appearance was by no means inferior to Yan Yuan's. Because Ning Zhiyu did not like him, and disliked him for being disgusting and vicious, he never looked at him directly.

But today, Mo Zun's behaviour was so unbelievable that Ning Zhiyu had to look at him more and was unable to take his eyes off him. He had always felt that demons were inhuman, so he had always despised him, but now he couldn't understand.

No matter how powerful a demon is, if they were to have their heart pierced by a demon blade, it would be impossible for them to live, and their unbelievable self-healing ability would become a mere illusion. More blood dripped from Mo Zun's mouth, and when he saw Ning Zhiyu staring at him like this, he couldn't help but smile at him in a breathless manner.

“A'Ning..."

"… A'Ning..."

He knew Ning Zhiyu wouldn't answer him, he just wanted to call out more; if he didn't, he would no longer have the chance.

He hadn't been able to learn how to write his lover's name in the end.

Because the person he loved wouldn't teach him.

"I know you hate me... but A'Lie was always born to you, you must not treat him too heartlessly."

"Being born a demon... was not his choice. If you are willing to teach him... perhaps, A'Lie can also grow up to be as humble as you..."

When he was pregnant, Ning Zhiyu was carrying twins in his womb. As a human, he could not bear such a large amount of demonic energy, and there was not enough nutrients to nourish the children, so there was only one left when he gave birth.

Mo Zun could not read or write, so he could not think of a meaningful name. On the day the child was born, the snow was falling and the wind was cold, so he was named A'Lie.

Ning Zhiyu knew all of this.

Soon after the birth of the child, he was sent to the cold palace. There was no one around him, but Mo Zun, who had disappeared for a long time, appeared out of nowhere. When he didn't want to talk, Mo Zun wouldn't say anything, he just stayed with him quietly and asked him if he wanted to go with him.

He didn't want to go, he just wanted to be left alone to die, but the demon was so annoying; bowl after bowl of medicine was poured down his throat, bringing him back from the brink of death.

From that moment on, Ning Zhiyu hated him, hated him for forcing him to live in such misery; how could he not hate him when the appearance of the Demon Lord had caused him to lose everything?

A little more than half a month after the baby was born, the snow stopped and the sun was shining in the late afternoon that day. Mo Zun carried him to a reclining chair in the courtyard to bask in the sun, and then took the swaddled child out and asked him: would it be alright if our child was called A'Lie?

At that time, Mo Zun seemed to be a little embarrassed to say such things. He couldn't possibly be bothered by it, as how would someone who was going to die care what a little bastard's name was? Although Mo Zun was gloomy, he didn't pester him further.

Ning Zhiyu felt strange, how could he remember those memories that had long since fallen into dust, so clearly that he could even remember all those days in vivid detail.

Mo Zun brought chicken soup to him to feed him, but he waved his hand and knocked it to the ground. Mo Zun wiped his face, but he turned his head away from him and told him to get lost, but not only did Mo Zun refuse to get lost, he was even slapped across the face for it. When Mo Zun coaxed him to drink the medicine, he did not want to drink it, so Mo Zun told him some interesting stories from the teahouse to amuse him. He cried as he listened to them, because Yan Yuan used to do the same thing to lull him to sleep when he was not well.

Ning Zhiyu suddenly understood that this demon might really like him, not just regarding him as a dispensable plaything, otherwise how could he be willing to die for him?

Mo Zun's body became transparent at a speed visible to the naked eye amidst the wailing of the demon soldiers and generals. Yan Yuan let go of Ning Zhiyu and they stood together in mid-air with an auspicious cloud under their feet.

“A'Ning... you are free."

It all happened so fast, so fast that Ning Zhiyu had no time to react, he didn't even have time to answer Mo Zun, to say those words that were enough to pierce the other side, before Mo Zun's body turned into a blood mist and scattered in all directions.

– His lover was gentle, but treated him cruelly and never offered him a smile.

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: January 10, 2023