Demon Emperor's Imperial Palace. The candlelight flickered, the red bed curtains swayed gently, and she wore a phoenix crown and ceremonial robes.
A crescent moon emerged from behind the clouds, yet the sky remained faintly illuminated. Dim light filtered through the narrow slits of the bamboo windows, casting its glow upon the person seated on the bed.
The Little Demon Empress had been sitting silently on the soft bed for some time already… Although, just like a hundred years ago, this was her grand night, her feelings now were entirely different. Back then, her heart had been as calm as still water. Her marriage to the Little Demon Emperor had been her fate as a woman of the Demon Emperor bloodline—or perhaps it could be said to have been her mission. Tonight, however, her heart was pounding fiercely, and she could not calm herself.
A hundred years ago, on her wedding night, her waiting had not been rewarded with the arrival of the Little Demon Emperor. Instead, she received news that he had gone to the distant Profound Sky Continent… and soon after, word came that he had perished there, completely altering her destiny.
Yet tonight, such a tragedy would not occur. This was also a new beginning for her life. Because a hundred years ago, her marriage had been for the sake of her clan. Today, however, it was partly for her clan and partly for herself.
She thought back to how everything had begun—and how utterly anticlimactic it had been.
There had been no grand encounter, no sublime destiny. They had seen each other naked. Literally. In a secluded lake, bathed in the same waters she had used for years to suppress the Golden Crow's flames. Out of pride, instinct, and duty, she had tried to kill him before even learning his name. He defeated her without wounding her, without humiliating her… he merely showed how absolute the gap between them truly was. He sealed her power as easily as one closes a fist, yet he did not touch a single strand of her hair with ill intent.
The hatred that should have been born there… never appeared.
She spent an entire week by his side, unable to use her powers but free to observe. During that time, he treated her with a gentleness she had never known, caring for her simply and directly, demanding nothing in return. And for the first time in a hundred years, she truly rested.
When the enemies who had killed her father and brother came for her, she was already prepared to die standing. He did not allow it. He protected her, helped her reach the Golden Crow's Ancestral Land, and because of that, she obtained the power needed to exact revenge on those traitors… All of it had only been possible because he had stood beside her.
The door opened gently, and Ren Zu stepped in slowly.
"Wife…" He called softly and said, "It is now official. We are truly husband and wife…"
"Mn…" The Little Demon Empress nodded, feeling her heart nearly leap into her throat. After all, her "husband" was simply breathtaking. Dressed in ceremonial robes, he looked even more beautiful—impossible to look away from.
His face was a masterpiece that would make any artist destroy their own brushes after seeing it, knowing they could never come close. Every feature seemed carved with cruel, almost inhuman precision. The symmetry was so absolute that the human eye struggled to process it, refusing to believe it was real. He did not merely have a beautiful face—he had a perfect one. The standard. The reference. Everything that came after would, by comparison, be an imperfect blur. The cruelest part was his dark eyes, which held a glow so deep it seemed to contain its own cosmos, as though thousands of constellations had been suffocated within them. They were not merely beautiful—they were dangerous. To look into them was to feel oneself seen to the very core, measured, understood… and yet still yearning to remain there, even knowing one might become lost. They were eyes that carried ages. Eyes that could make a king kneel or an assassin hesitate…
His long eyelashes cast elegant shadows over that gaze, a perfection so refined it was almost offensive.
His hair was another crime against logic—long, impeccably silky, with jet-black strands cascading down his back with the fluidity of the purest water, like living silk, like threads woven by the night itself. It was an absolute black, profound yet not lifeless: there was a silent luster to it, a breathing quality, as though each strand carried a fragment of power. Beneath the candlelight, the black grew more complex, revealing shades ordinary eyes could never perceive—subtle golden reflections like stardust and dark crimson glimmers like embers on the verge of awakening…
He wore luxurious robes in shades of gold; the fabric shimmered softly under the light as if woven from threads of sunlight. Every fold had been adjusted with extreme care, draping flawlessly over his body. At his waist was a golden jade belt whose polished surface reflected a discreet yet imposing gleam. Finally, atop his head rested an equally golden crown, intricately crafted with fine details that evoked authority and antiquity, all of it highlighting skin of an impossible tone—not pale, not tanned, but pure, as though natural light itself bent correctly around him. There were no visible pores, no imperfections, no marks. It was as if an ideal body had been crafted from the very concept of absolute beauty and then bathed in light. Even the touch—for those who had touched him—was described as unnaturally smooth, as though human skin had never been so perfect.
It was no wonder that on their wedding day, everyone had seemed utterly hypnotized by her husband. She had only managed to hold the spotlight for a brief moment before he appeared. The instant Ren Zu stepped into the ceremony, the entire atmosphere shifted. Even the most loyal servant assigned to conduct the wedding rites had seemed momentarily enchanted by him… as though he had fallen in love at first sight.
Ren Zu took a few steps forward, pulling the Little Demon Empress from her reverie.
He gazed at her in silence. The woman before him looked like a mystical fairy, so beautiful that for a moment she left him breathless. The words he had intended to say scattered in his throat, swallowed before they could even form.
Subconsciously, he felt that if he spoke, this ethereal, dreamlike scene might shatter like thin glass.
"You are beautiful…" he finally said, his voice low, soft, yet firm.
The Little Demon Empress turned her face away for a brief instant; a gentle warmth rose from her neck to her cheeks, lightly tinting her porcelain skin.
"Naturally…" she replied, trying to reclaim the dignified, indestructible tone of an empress, even though her heart was racing in a rhythm unworthy of her posture. "I am the Empress. Being beautiful is no surprise."
It was a subtle huff, almost a sigh. She looked at him for another second, her dark eyes reflecting the candles.
"And you…" she said softly, "…are worthy."
Ren Zu smiled faintly and said nothing more. He walked straight to the Little Demon Empress's side, gently lifted his hands to remove the pearl-studded golden phoenix crown she wore, fully revealing her beautiful jade-white face.
He raised a hand and touched her chin, sliding his fingers gently, as if confirming she was real—that all of this was real. The moment he did so, he sat beside her, one hand encircling her slender waist while the other tenderly caressed her face.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
With a gentleness that contrasted sharply with the power he possessed, Ren Zu leaned over her, guiding her softly until the Little Demon Empress's back touched the soft mattress of the ceremonial bed.
Their eyes remained locked—black abysses meeting without fear or retreat. Ren Zu took in every detail of that perfect face: the long eyelashes trembling slightly with each gentle blink, the cheeks still enhanced by a thin layer of makeup that caught the light like dew on lotus petals, and those lips painted a deep, inviting red like the Golden Crow flames she commanded. He did not hesitate. Leaning closer, he captured those sweet lips with his own, beginning a deep kiss—a dance of tongues that started shy and exploratory but quickly grew fierce, charged with passion long restrained.
His arms embraced her tightly, one around her slim waist, pulling her against his broad chest, while the other became lost in the silky strands of her hair.
The kiss deepened; their tongues intertwined, savoring each other's warmth, the faint taste of ceremonial herbs and something more primal that belonged only to them. For the first time in a life filled with duty and vengeance, the Little Demon Empress allowed herself to surrender. Her arms rose, wrapping around his neck, nails lightly digging into his nape as if anchoring herself to reality, while a low moan escaped her throat, muffled by the kiss.
Ren Zu felt her body instinctively arch against his, the fabric of their robes whispering like silk. He deepened the kiss further, his tongue tracing hers with gentle possessiveness, as if marking what was now his by right and mutual desire. Her heart beat wildly against his chest. He pulled back only enough to breathe, lips still brushing hers, half-lidded eyes blazing with a fire that rivaled the palace flames.
"My empress…" he murmured against her mouth, voice husky with emotion and desire. "You are mine… and I am yours. Forever…"
She blinked slowly, eyes shimmering with a vulnerability only he could see, before pulling him back into another kiss—more urgent, more ravenous. Ren Zu's hands slid along the sides of her ceremonial robe, untying each knot with the same patient calm that always made her shiver. With every loosened tie, flawless skin emerged beneath—white as jade and warm as the flames she ruled.
That alone was enough to make Ren Zu quicken his movements instinctively. He kissed her again with renewed intensity, lips brushing her cheeks, mouth, and neck with fervor. His hands explored the small, delicate body of his wife with the reverence of someone touching a sacred treasure…
"Ah… W-wait…"
A soft moan escaped the Little Demon Empress before she could stop it—a single sound that could shake even a saint's heart. Ren Zu felt his blood boil the instant he heard her trembling voice, while she herself seemed unable to believe she had let something so… suggestive slip out.
Her small hand flew up hastily, pressing against his lips as if to keep the entire world from hearing what she had just done. She pushed him gently, her face flushed to the point of glowing. Her normally cold, impenetrable eyes blinked in confusion, clouded and trembling, unsure where to settle. All of her imperial composure, all the icy demeanor that defined the supreme ruler… had vanished completely.
Looking away, she took a deep breath, trying to regain some control, before murmuring in a still-unsteady voice:
"Husband… I never asked this before. But your medical skills are so… exceptional. Is there… any way for me to conceive a child sooner?"
Ren Zu's heart trembled slightly. Yet soon after, the burning gleam returned to his eyes. He gazed at this Little Demon Empress—the same one who always surprised him, challenged him, and disarmed him with gestures and words she herself did not realize… She was so adorable sometimes…
"Something like that, of course, must follow the laws of nature," he answered with a calm smile full of intent. "Why would there be secret methods for it? The only way…"
He leaned closer, voice deep and warm:
"…is for us to work diligently every day as husband and wife."
His words fell like embers onto oil.
The Little Demon Empress's already-red face became a true inferno. She tried to maintain her imperial composure, but her lips trembled, betraying her completely.
"…Every day?"
The words came out as a thread, barely audible, laced with a mix of shame and something deeper. Indeed, this was a desire she had harbored for a long time. Had it not been for the countless responsibilities weighing on them both, they probably would have tried much earlier. Even so, despite their chaotic routine, they rarely failed to meet. Four or five nights a week without fail, they lost themselves in each other until dawn—long, intense nights that would exhaust any mortal couple…
Ren Zu did not answer with words.
He merely smiled and slid the hand resting on her waist a little lower, until it settled on the soft curve of her hip.
"Every day," he repeated huskily, lips brushing her ear. "Morning… noon… night… until you bear our pair of heirs…"
She shuddered completely.
A tremor that began at her lips and rippled down like a wave to her toes.
"You… shameless…"
She tried to scold him, but her voice broke midway, turning into a muffled moan when he lightly nipped her earlobe.
Ren Zu pulled back just enough to meet her eyes.
The phoenix crown already lay forgotten on the floor. The ceremonial gown, half-unfastened, hung from her shoulders like a promise about to be fulfilled.
"You want an heir, my empress?" His voice was low, almost a purr. "Then let me work diligently… right now."
Without waiting for a reply, he pulled her back to him, kissing her with a hunger that was no longer restrained.
His hands slid over her shoulders, pushing the remaining golden fabric downward until it fell like a cascade of light around her slender waist.
Her bare skin was finally revealed in its entirety beneath the flickering candlelight.
Silence followed…
Only the sound of ragged breaths, muffled moans, and the crackling of candles bore witness to how diligently the new Demon Lord "worked" to ensure the continuation of the Demon Emperor's bloodline.
Many times.
Many, many times.
Until dawn.
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