Chapter 135: Who Is Worthy of One's Life

"Heh..." He chuckled softly upon hearing this, his eyelids drooping slightly, his tone carrying a playful edge. "Did I not tell you, Lady Yuge, that the reason I am helping you is because I intend to gain something from you? Therefore, you really shouldn't be so moved right now, lest one day I do something that lets you down, causing you sadness and grief."

"Do something to let me down?" I murmured, a sudden realization dawning on me. My eyes widened in disbelief as I stared at him and exclaimed, "Don't tell me—are you a sodomite? You, you, you—you want to snatch Zi Lian away from me!"

No sooner had the words left my lips than his jade-like face clouded over, looking as somber as if he were about to explode in anger. He lowered his voice and said, "I have no such peculiar interests."

"Heh... as long as it's not that, I'm relieved," I said, letting go of my anxiety. "I feel that I would only be angry with you if you tried to snatch Zi Lian away. To me, nothing is as precious as he is, and I don't possess anything else of value. Putai, if there is something you want from me that you consider valuable, you can tell me without worry. As long as it is something I can provide, I will certainly give it to you."

I thought I had phrased it perfectly, but to my surprise, his expression grew even more solemn. A long silence filled the room before he spoke slowly: "Let us set that aside for now. Since you asked me here because you wish to make contact with the Demon Realm, have you prepared yourself to return?"

"No," I shook my head. "I don't want to go back to the Demon Realm yet."

"I see." He nodded slightly and continued, "Since you do not wish to return, nothing that happens here on Mount Lingyun can be known by any schemers within the Demon Realm. Tell me, do you have anyone in the Demon Realm you can trust?"

"Someone I can trust?" I looked up at him. "What kind of person do you mean by that?"

Putai fanned himself, walked slowly to the table, and poured a cup of tea. He gently removed the lid to let the steam escape, then looked toward me, his eyes as deep and calm as water. He seemed a bit more serious than usual.

"Someone you believe in implicitly, to whom you could entrust your life," he said slowly. "Someone you trust would never defy your words, who values your safety more than their own life, and who would rather die than betray you. That is a person you can trust."

Hearing this, I seemed to understand. I nodded at him and said, "Xiao Yao. My personal maid, Xiao Yao."

"Your personal maid?" Putai’s expression turned to one of disbelief. He set his teacup down and sighed. "As a princess of the Demon Realm, why is the person you trust implicitly just a lowly palace maid, rather than some powerful protector or demon lord?"

His words surprised me. "Is there a problem with my trusted person being a maid?"

"That she is a maid is not the issue," Putai said, shaking his head slowly. He took another small sip of tea, then looked at me with a troubled expression. "The problem is that you have asked her to find someone in the Demon Realm—specifically, Fengqiao Yexue, who fell into darkness three thousand years ago because of love. Three millennia have passed, and there is little news of him in the six realms. He is likely hiding in some corner of the Demon Realm, deliberately avoiding detection. Your trusted maid, Xiao Yao, has no status in the Demon Realm. If she is tasked with finding him, it will likely consume much time and effort. Setting aside the outcome, even if she were incredibly lucky and actually found him, what certainty do you have that Fengqiao Yexue would believe her words and agree to come to Mount Lingyun to meet Fengshi Liuying? You must understand, ever since he entered the Demon Realm, Mount Lingyun and the entire Immortal Realm have viewed his fall from grace for a mortal woman as a disgrace, and they are constantly plotting how to eliminate him."

"This..."

Putai made a valid point. If I went to all the trouble of having Xiao Yao find him, only for him to refuse to believe her or decline to come to Mount Lingyun, my efforts would have been in vain.