THE LEGEND OF SHENLI

CHAPTER 2

    Shen Li woke up early in the morning the next day. In the dawning light, she spied that man lying in front of the pond, pulling off bits of steamed bread to feed the fishes. He was so engrossed with the pondful of fish that he didn’t mind that his sleeves were trailing in the water. The glow illuminating the profile of his face made him seem somewhat celestial.

Celestial? A human like him?

Her memories of being tormented by him reared their head. Shen Li blinked hard, banishing the illusion and returning to vigilance.

Perhaps her gaze had been too intent, because Xing Yun abruptly turned his head to glance at her. “I’m Xing Yun,” he said lazily, as if he was making a point. Shen Li balked as Xing Yun dusted off his robes and stood up. He kneaded a numb leg while muttering, “Ah, time to drink medicine.” Then he hobbled into the house so clumsily that it was comical.

Shen Li was certain that something was wrong with her eyes before. How could this man have seemed celestial, when he was clearly just…completely ordinary.

Shen Li didn’t bother thinking further about a mere mortal. She racked her head for ways to get to her feet. She’d thought she wouldn’t be able to rise, judging from her condition yesterday. Yet to her pleasant surprise and despite yesterday’s torment, she’d recovered much faster than ever before!

Shen Li didn’t waste time brooding and immediately sent a wisp of energy to probe her body. She sighed in disappointment. As expected, it was impossible to recover her magical energy so quickly… But this was just as well. Pursuers from the Demon Realm wouldn’t be able to track her with her energy signature. But with the Demon Emperor’s domineering manner, her discovery was inevitable. If her magical energy wasn’t recovered by then…

“Cluckity cluck, come.”

Shen Li suddenly heard a voice call behind her. She whirled around to see a man in blue robes over sitting on some bluestone steps. He held out some white steamed bread. “Come eat.”

Shen Li harrumphed coldly inside. She turned away, but then she suddenly remembered the reason that she’d suffered such a violation yesterday was because of “not eating”. She stiffened, agonizing over it for quite a while, then finally gritted her teeth and stuck out her neck, stalking over to him grudgingly.

Smelling a faint medicinal aroma from his body, Shen Li paused to study Xing Yun. There was a light black stain on his lips and shadows under his eyes. He looked unhealthy.

That’s great! Shen Li thought to herself. This human had seen her at her worst. But his life was short, and he would forget everything after entering reincarnation. She could still be the same splendid, stainless Azure Sky King. She felt much better now. She extended her neck and pecked up a beakful of steamed bread. The chewy, tender texture was an eye-opening experience. This…this steamed bun is impossibly delicious!

Shen Li didn’t wait for him to respond and opened her beak wide, snatching the steamed bun and putting on the clean bluestone step to devour.

Demon kind weren’t like those immortals from Heaven, who didn’t need to eat and drink to live. They needed food, just like humans. But Shen Li loved rich foods. She’d never touched such abstemious fare, so getting her to eat steamed bread was truly a feat.

Shen Li pecked the crumbs clean as well, before looking up at Xing Yun. He sat beside her, resting a chin on one hand and gazing at her with gentle eyes and not quite a smile. These were actually normal eyes when looking at pets, but Shen Li was caught off guard by this ordinary expression. Her heart skipped a beat. She turned away uncomfortably.