Villainous Junior Chapter 52
Translated by Sylver (ko-fi)
Chapter 52: Moon Frost
Meng Chen hesitated for a moment, then slowly walked behind the man.
These past few days, he hadn't actively sought out this person because he didn't want to see his face. Seeing that face inevitably reminded him of the fact that Xue Lang was dead and gone.
Although rationally he understood that this demon before him was actually his lifesaver, emotionally he couldn't suppress the resentment in his heart.
It was this person who had occupied Xue Lang's body; if it weren't for him, perhaps Xue Lang wouldn't have disappeared.
A dense, stinging pain welled up in his heart again. He lowered his eyelids to conceal the emotions in his eyes and gently placed his hands on the man's shoulders.
The Demon Venerable's body stiffened almost imperceptibly.
The young man's fingers were somewhat cool. Even through a layer of clothing, it felt like a handful of early spring snow water sprinkled on his shoulders. At the same time, a pleasant, faint cold fragrance like orchid grass wafted from behind, lingering in the air, subtle yet penetrating straight to one's heart.
The Demon Venerable's throat moved, and suddenly his voice felt a bit dry.
Although Meng Chen disliked this usurper, he needed to have enough patience to lie low in order to find a way to bring Xue Lang back. He took a light breath and applied force with his hands, giving the man's shoulders a moderate massage. Then he felt the muscles under his fingers gradually tense and harden, while the ears of the man in front of him also took on a slight crimson hue.
Meng Chen's gaze inadvertently fell on that patch of red, then gradually froze. He stared unblinkingly for a moment, then suddenly reached out and brushed the man's red-hot ear with his cool fingers.
The man's body shuddered violently. The next moment, he jumped up, turned around, and glared at him fiercely. Now not only his ears but his entire face was red. "How dare you! Who gave you permission to touch me without my consent?!"
His current appearance bore no resemblance to the lofty, unfathomable Demon Venerable from before. Instead, he looked like a large wolf dog whose tail had been stepped on, bristling with fur and barking furiously while arching its body.
The familiar words and overly similar demeanor hit Meng Chen head-on, suddenly making him lose his composure. For a moment, he couldn't utter a single word.
...Why?
This shell should contain a completely unfamiliar soul, so why was it... so similar to Xue Lang?
Was it a coincidence, or was this evil spirit influenced by the body he inhabited, or perhaps by the remnant soul within the body?
At the thought that Xue Lang's soul might not have completely disappeared, Meng Chen's heart began to race wildly, his breathing becoming unsteady. In his excitement, he forgot to conceal his emotions, and his eyes even reddened slightly.
The Demon Venerable, however, was dumbfounded. He never imagined that his words would make the other person cry directly. He immediately became flustered. "Don't- don't cry! I didn't mean it like that!" He felt an impulse to hug the person in front of him, but after hesitating for a moment, he didn't dare. He could only reach out tentatively to grab one of the young man's sleeves, saying, "You can touch me! You can touch me however you want!"
Meng Chen lightly shook off his sleeve, turned his head away, and said hoarsely, "Who wants to touch you."
Although he knew the young man genuinely disliked him, the Demon Venerable still felt half his soul fly away at that seemingly coquettish remark. It was like downing a whole jar of ten-year-old wine in one go, or being struck from head to toe by nine heavenly thunderbolts during a lightning tribulation. His whole body felt a bit weak.
"...Fine, don't touch then." He tucked his hands into his sleeves, secretly observing the young man's expression. The other had adjusted quickly, already returning to that calm and unperturbed demeanor.
It was as if that earlier appearance - with reddened eyes, looking terribly wronged - had been an illusion.
Although he shouldn't, the Demon Venerable thought, that look just now was really cute.
It made one's heart ache, yet want to see it again...
He swallowed and ventured to ask. "It's very late. Do you want to—"
Meng Chen: "No."
Demon Venerable: "..."
I hadn't even finished speaking!!
He hadn't been thinking of anything untoward, just simply wanting to spend more time with the young man. But then he remembered that the other had come for his palace, not caring about him as a person. Feeling deflated, he had no choice but to dejectedly and reluctantly let the person go back.
——
The entire Xiuluo Palace realized that their Demon Venerable seemed to be serious about the beauty from Fangcao Palace.
He no longer shut himself in his room all day, but began to wander over to Fangcao Palace for no particular reason, making his presence known. At the same time, he sent his subordinates to search for all kinds of treasures, which were then sent to Fangcao Palace in bulk. The speed of his capitulation and his indulgent attitude left everyone dumbfounded, sighing that love was truly a magical thing.
The Demon Venerable couldn't care less what others said. So what if he had fallen in love with Meng Chen at first sight?
After all, he had already cultivated up to Tribulation Crossing, which showed he had focused single-mindedly on his career when young. Now that his career was fulfilled, it was time to pursue a romance.
Moreover, having unexpectedly come back to life after being dead for a thousand years, only to encounter someone who moved his heart - didn't this indicate a destiny bestowed by heaven?
As for memories of his past life, there was no rush to find them. The most important thing now was to win this person's heart first.
So on this day, a certain Demon Venerable visited Fangcao Palace again early in the morning.
Meng Chen didn't have the habit of sleeping in. He had already gotten up and tidied himself. At this moment, he was standing by the window, carefully watering a pot of flowers.
The Demon Venerable's gaze was drawn to that pot of flowers. He saw that the color of the flowers was a rare frosty white, with a layer of hazy light on the surface, so beautiful and exquisite that it took one's breath away. He walked over and asked curiously. "What kind of flower is this? I've never seen it before."
Meng Chen: "I don't know either."
He had never known the variety or name of this flower. Later, he had asked Xue Lang, but Xue Lang had hemmed and hawed, unwilling to tell him. Once, he had even made a special trip to the flower market, but hadn't found any similar types of flowers.
Where Xue Lang had gotten this flower from remained a mystery.
The Demon Venerable looked at the flower and then at the person, noticing that when Meng Chen gazed at this little white flower, his eyes were exceptionally gentle, as if he cherished it very much.
His heart suddenly skipped a beat, but he pretended to ask casually. "Did you grow it yourself, or did someone give it to you?"
Meng Chen didn't answer. After watering the plant, he extended his finger and gently touched the frost-white, delicate flower petals.
The Demon Venerable's internal alarm bells went off.
Judging by this reaction, it was definitely given by someone else, no doubt about it.
The key question was, what kind of relationship would involve giving each other flowers?
Could it be an old flame?!
His face immediately darkened. He wanted to get to the bottom of it but was afraid of upsetting the other party. He could only glare gloomily at that small white flower and mutter through gritted teeth. "It's just a flower, isn't it? You just wait."
So that afternoon, everyone in the Xiuluo Palace watched wide-eyed as their tall and imposing Demon Venerable shouldered a hoe and came to the back garden, beginning to till the fallow ground.
The servants gathered in a panic, whispering among themselves:
"What's going on? What is the Venerable doing?!"
"If I'm not mistaken, he's hoeing the ground."
"Obviously! I mean, why is he personally hoeing the ground???"
"Perhaps he's been driven mad by love and needs to cool off."
The Demon Venerable himself wasn't driven mad by love at all. On the contrary, he felt very clear-headed.
The most important thing in pursuing someone was to be sincere. Although with one command he could have his subordinates bring all the rare flowers and plants in the world, he felt that wasn't enough.
Only flowers grown by his own hands would best demonstrate his sincerity.
Behind the Xiuluo Palace was a large flower bed, which should have been used for growing flowers in the past, but had long since been abandoned. He personally turned over the soil in the flower bed, repaired the surrounding fence, and then called for Qing Hao.
"I plan to give flowers to Meng Chen," he said straightforwardly. "Do you know what flowers are the most precious, the highest class, and best able to show sincerity?"
Qing Hao was happy to be his lord's love advisor. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Seven-colored violets, morning glories, and beauty jade are all very nice. This subordinate has them all and can have them sent to Your Lordship immediately."
He paused, then smiled and said, "But speaking of which, the flower that best meets Your Lordship's criteria is actually one called 'Moon Frost'."
The Demon Venerable caught his meaning. "Is this flower very rare?"
"No, Moon Frost flower seeds are very common in the demon realm. Every flower shop sells them because legend has it that our demon realm was the original source of this flower," said Qing Hao. "The problem is, this flower is difficult to bloom."
The Demon Venerable frowned. "Difficult to bloom?"
"Yes. Legend has it that the Moon Frost flower is the purest and most beautiful flower in the world, but only those with the utmost sincerity can make it bloom," Qing Hao sighed. "So many couples in the world, who knows how many have tried to prove their love with this flower, only to end up in an embarrassing situation. Of course, there are those who can make the Moon Frost flower bloom, but they are truly rare, extremely rare."
He glanced at the Demon Venerable's expression, guessing that his interest in that beauty was probably just a passing fancy, without much true feeling involved. There was no need to put himself in an awkward position with the Moon Frost flower, so he said considerately, "Actually, the beauty jade looks very nice. Why don't you just give that?"
The Demon Venerable pondered for a moment, then said, "Go buy me a bag of Moon Frost flower seeds."
Qing Hao: "..."
"I don't believe it," the man snorted with a laugh, full of confidence, "that I can't make it bloom!"
****
Meng Chen noticed that a certain someone had stopped hovering around him in recent days.
Perhaps he had grown tired of it, he thought indifferently.
After all, that person wasn't Xue Lang, but the high and mighty lord of the demon realm. He could have anything he wanted, so how could he repeatedly lower himself to seek Meng Chen's approval?
He rested his chin on his left hand, lowered his gaze, and languidly turned a page of his book.
With a "bang", the palace doors were suddenly pushed open forcefully. Before Meng Chen could turn around, someone grabbed his hand and eagerly dragged him outside.
"Come, come," the man's robe still had scattered bits of soil on the edges, and there was even a black streak across his face, but he didn't bother to clean it off. He just excitedly said, "I have something good to show you!!"
Meng Chen couldn't shake him off and could only helplessly follow the other person as they ran outside.
He thought this big demon had collected some rare treasure again and was about to say he wasn't interested, but he had already been pulled to a large flower bed and saw the flowers planted inside.
His gaze instantly froze.
In the flower bed, which was nearly half the size of a courtyard, it was full of frost-white flowers, roughly counting, there were almost a hundred blooms. They were densely packed together, with all their petals fully opened, shimmering with a silvery-white light. It looked like a flowing Milky Way, or like moonlight scattered across the ground, so beautiful that one couldn't take their eyes off it.
Meng Chen was completely stunned.
These flowers were exactly the same as the little white flower in the small clay pot.
"Did you see?" The Demon Venerable raised the corners of his mouth high beside him, proudly showing off like a child with a strong desire to win. "That person only gave you one flower, but I've given you one hundred and ninety-nine."
"Am I not better than him?"
