I Was Called A Demon

Bianca had completely lost track of time, so she wasn’t sure how long she’s been in this world, but she did still remember the first days here with perfect clarity. Awakening in a strange place, subconsciously rejecting the possibility of the supernatural until people started walking over a massive bridge of energy…

She remembered it well, and so going back to the mountains where all this began made her feel a mixture of emotions, all so closely tied together that she could hardly identify any singular one from among them. The only fortunate thing was that she would be unlikely to run into some of the villagers from Xi Village, as that would otherwise certainly cause some problems for her and Song Ming. Whether they’d be friendly, or as hostile as the day she left…

Still, their goal was somewhere between Xi Village and Jia Town, so there was no need to go into Xi Village directly. As long as they didn’t make themselves known to the factions there, they may be safe. Hopefully.

Long before they were on the mountains themselves, the mountains came into view, and Bianca couldn’t help but pause and gaze upon them, inevitably staring in the direction where she had first awakened. She barely knew the exact spot where she was found, nor could she see the village past the mountain, but with feeling alone, she was relatively confident that she was within a degree or two of the correct place.

Somehow, even that felt like that a whole other world or life, where life felt... simpler, at least at first. She didn’t need to worry about her corruption, nor about the potential threats of the Exarch and so on… good times.

At least, they certainly felt good in hindsight. Perhaps it was just nostalgia.

The fact was, as long as she got through the current troubles, and somehow either overcame the Exarch, or managed to avoid aggression from it, she would have an extremely comfortable and pleasant life. Numerous women ready to throw themselves at her, either in their current states or with a bit more corruption tainting their minds, an actual cock to use to satisfy herself in whichever ways she wished, and the potential for eventually attaining near limitless power through cultivation…

What more could a woman want?

“Mistress? Those mountains…” Huang Su began, though interrupted herself as she glanced towards the dragon.

“Yes, it’s where I woke up. It’s fine, Shiyi will be staying with us for a while, she might as well know.”

“Woke up?”

“Yeah, without memory or anything. Up in Xi Village, if you know the place.”

“I do, of course. One of the villages that the sects pilfer young from. I can already imagine the chaos someone like you would’ve caused there.”

“When I say anything, I meant without a cultivation, either.”

“… Impressive. To attain the fourth realm in under a year is an accomplishment unto itself, Mistress,” the dragon seemed genuine in her praise.

“How do you know that?”

“I did see the various wanted posters the sects had put out. They stated you to be in the first or second realm, so unless they were so incompetent as to misjudge you by two realms, that would still mean that you had less than a year to cultivate to the Active Core realm. For humans, that is.”

“… Technically, it was only about a year from no cultivation at all, to now.”

“Oh, is that so? Then you’re even more capable than most, well done.”

“What is this about?”

“Hm?”

“The compliments feel wrong, especially from someone that is still walking around naked.”

“You haven’t given me anything to wear, Mistress, so what else am I supposed to do? Surely you don’t intend to sneak into a place with a full-sized dragon at your side?”

“You’re missing the point on purpose, aren’t you?”

“I think you do not understand my nature, Mistress. While I do think that you are acting improperly in your position as victor, at the same time, I allowed this to happen. I have no reason to hold back from compliments that you have earned with your abilities… or are you so used to people despising you that you believe any praise must be false, or done with some other intent in mind?”

“…” Bianca couldn’t really answer that, but the dragon wasn’t entirely wrong.

A lot of her time was spent around Xue Yaling, who rarely praised her without some secondary purpose, and then there were all those that feared her for her energy, who looked at her with suspicion and believed her to be some monster… and she wasn’t exactly helping that view nowadays.

“Regardless, it matters not. I have no reason to lie to you about these matters, especially not when I have already shared the truth regarding Kong Xiao Long, and my own plans. I have no reason to lie or deceive you at this point… and to be frank, being a dragon comes with a lot of pride, especially when you’ve been around for five hundred thousand years, like I have. Toying around with youngsters like you is beneath me.”

“As if…” Huang Su muttered under her breath, though everyone still heard her.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I may be young, but I have still heard plenty of stories regarding your activities. Tricking my mother into a ritual where you-”

“Do not besmirch my honour in this manner! Your mother was the one to insist on it, and I had no reason to refuse a beautiful woman like her!”

“… Should I be hearing this?”

“Probably not.”

“No!” Long Shiyi and Huang Su replied at once, glaring at one another for a moment before looking away.

The two of them clearly had more of a history than it might’ve seemed, or at least Huang Su’s parents did… but that was none of Bianca’s business. She would happily make it her business if she got bored and wanted some gossip to entertain herself with, but as is, they had bigger fish to fry, more important things to focus on.

Specifically, finding some method of ascending to the peaks of the mountains, which were, in her words, ‘tall as fuck’. Last time, when she was descending them, she just found a route down that worked well enough, but trying to seek out a route up in the same fashion would leave them exposed to the sects sitting at the peaks. So, they’d either have to climb, or…

“Why are you staring at me, Mistress?”

“… Well, do you see anyone else that can casually fly up there?”

“For one, remember what I said about a full-sized dragon being rather obvious? Two, I… can’t actually do that right now.”

“Why not, aren’t you a dragon?”

“Yes, but I am severely weakened, and only able to persist in this form, in this realm, because of your energy. Once I reach the sixth realm again, I should be able to switch forms easily, but until then… I am stuck like this.”

“You say it as though it’s a bad thing…” Song Ming said softly, and once all eyes landed on her, she got louder, “I wish I was able to walk around like that for Mistress, naked and bare to the world save for a cage that proves her ownership of me!”

“You have plenty of that already, girl. Have you seen yourself recently?”

“Yes, my eyes have turned nearly completely red, my body has grown, even my energy has been changed by Mistress… but I wish it would go even further!”

Long Shiyi looked at her like she was mad, though there was a hint of pity within her gaze. Perhaps she figured that Song Ming gained her obsession purely through corruption, perhaps she would look at her the same even if it was a totally consensual change… but in either case, it only took her a moment to realise that she would end up facing the same fate, if given enough time.

She may be a dragon, and a powerful one even in her significantly weakened state, but Bianca’s energy had already nested deep within her, and changed her enough that she was able to remain in the peak of the fifth realm.

In time, perhaps her eyes, too, would change, or maybe it would be her hair, like the streak of white in Huang Su’s hair, or maybe it would be her energy, the metallic light changing to be darker, eerie, crackling with fury… Bianca had no clue how her energy would progress this time around, but with plentiful experience in the matter, she knew full well that it would, and the dragon knew as well.

For a moment, there was a spark of rebellion within her gaze, the temptation to escape – not that it would be difficult for her, even without her draconic form, she was bound to have skills and means to evade capture from the only powerful one in their group – but then they faded, and she remained there, standing still, doing nothing, submitting to her fate.

Bianca was tempted to ask her for her thoughts, to figure out what convinced her, but… it was best not to push her luck. If she made her consider the matter for any longer, she might lose the chance to completely corrupt the dragon in the future, and that would be a massive shame.

“Well, regardless, we’ve gotten off topic. How do we get up there?”

“I can use my skill to get us some of the way up, but with an additional person to transport, reaching all the way up will be challenging. Besides, we do not know which part of the Fangs we are searching for, right?”

“Not… exactly. Just a general spot, at best. I’d have to look at the world from above, but as is, I’m pretty sure the mountains I saw in the dream were… well, dream-like. Not quite the real thing.”

“A shame, though to be expected. A dream, in the end, is but a dream, though the fact that you believe the rest of it to be true is… anyway,” the kitsune rolled her eyes, “So, what will we do?”

“Hah… wait, wouldn’t using Huang Su’s skill also bring about a lot of attention?”

“It would.”

“Shit, so is the only option we have left just… climbing up?”

“… Actually, I do have an idea,” the kitsune gestured broadly north-east, “My old temple is not far from here, and if they occupied it again… chances are that certain useful materials may have been added, such as maps of the local area. The sects enjoy keeping track of the local environment, of routes that people might take to approach them, or that regular people could take to arrive at their gates for one reason or another…”

Long Shiyi spoke up, “The so-called Ghostflame Temple?”

“That’s right.”

“That’s not the original name, is it?”

“… Honestly, I didn’t ask, I just liked the sound of my name for it.”

“In either case, Ghostflame or not, that place should have useful maps for us to use?” Bianca asked, and upon receiving a nod, she proceeded, “In that case, let us head in that direction. It might cause us to catch the attention of the sects in the process, but if we can find a spot that might seem close to what I had seen, then we might be able to just go straight there and get out before we get some massive chase after us.”

“If it’s anything like the time I occupied it, chances are we won’t even find anyone there. It should be fine.”

“I’m getting the feeling that our luck won’t allow it to be fine.”

“Luck? Funny you should mention that, there’s an aura around you.”

“Aura?”

“Correct. It’s faint, and indirect, but there’s the influence of some skill, technique or artefact upon you. The archetype is unknown to me, but I recognise it, as someone with that archetype broke through with a tribulation not far outside my camp, on the day we first met, Mistress.”

“The fuck? That lightning was also the result of that same person?”

“Indeed.”

“Well, what a coincidence… or, if it’s the result of someone specific, it can’t really be called that, can it? Does that mean they’re in the eighth or ninth realms?”

“Oh, no, not at all. I sensed them to be at the third realm during our first meeting, so chances are that they’re in the fourth realm at the highest.”

“Wouldn’t that be quite fast?”

“Yes, but if you are capable of it, then I am sure the one wielding luck itself may be, too,” the dragon shrugged, “Though, naturally, what she wields is not the very fundamental concept of luck, as otherwise she would be impossible to defeat. Imagine someone that can simply will all possibility to bend in their favour, anything and everything that isn’t absolute and certain being at their control… that is the realm of the heavens, not a third realm child.”

“Child?”

“Most humans might as well be, considering your youth-”

“But not my mother, right?”

“If you want, false phoenix, I will go into explicit detail on every single thing I did with your mother, and trust me, even in my current state, you won’t be able to stop me!”

“Hmph, fine…”

“Then stop bringing the subject up, how do you expect me to hold back when you keep reminding me?”

‘Hm…’ Bianca reached out to the dragon with a strand of energy, ‘Hey, could I hear that story sometime?’

‘Sure, why not. Make sure to tease the false phoenix about it some time.’

“Okay, okay, everyone, let’s not start arguing. Xue Yaling, you know the right way to go, no?”

“I do, I’m just enjoying the show.”

“Enjoy it while we’re walking, it feels like we can get stuck here for hours if those two are left to bicker for long enough.”

Huang Su protested, “We’re not-”

“Mistress, it’s entirely on her, there’s no reason to-”

“Shut it, both of you. Seriously, I thought you were both grown adults, not kids… and I’m saying that, one of the youngest fourth realm cultivators out there.”

“Just try living for hundreds of thousands of years being a serious, focused woman. You’ll go mad long before you get a tenth of the way through,” Long Shiyi said, shrugging, “Genuinely, just imagine it for a moment, you’ll understand what I mean.”

“Nah, I… I think I can imagine it already. Anyway, let’s just get out of here, I have a feeling that some strangers standing about discussing who fucked whom-”

“She deceived my mother!”

“She was fucking begging for it!”

“… hah, this is going to be a long trip, isn’t it…”