His Demoness

53 ⚔️ Not a Weapon

Shortly after their conversation, Lanying's son, Jiang Ming, returned home. He was a sixteen-year-old boy who resembled his father in appearance. When his mother introduced him to them and explained their identities, he couldn't seem to believe that she was speaking the truth.

He observed Xiaoyu with a look of disbelief "My...aunt? But that's impossible! She looks barely older than me!"

"She's almost eighteen now," Lanying corrected him. "But yes, the reason she hasn't aged is because she slept for twenty years. She may be my real sister, but she has to act as my niece if she's staying with us."

"In other words..." he mumbled blankly, "I've a cousin now."

He continued studying her face longer than necessary, which only seemed to irritate Zhijian even further. He blew out an annoyed breath and rapped on the table twice.

"Hey," he said, "Keep your eyes elsewhere."

Jiang Ming blinked a few times. "What? It's not wrong to stare at a pretty girl. Our village is lacking them."

Lanying smacked the back of his head and he yelped in surprise, rubbing at the sore spot. "She's not just a girl," she scolded him lightly. "She's your relative, have some respect."

"Fine, fine. I get it! I'm definitely not going to make any moves on her since she's my aunt." He gave a hurtful pout before dropping his voice to a low mumble. "But I can't say for certain what the other guys in the village would think of her."

Zhijian stiffened in his seat. "Tell your friends to stay away if they don't want to end up dead."

"Huh." Jiang Ming exclaimed, his eyes darting between him and Xiaoyu before understanding crossed his face. "Oh, I get it now. She's taken."

"That's right," Zhijian said dryly. "Convey my message to them."

"Fine, but you can't go around hurting my friends. I mean it! I'm not losing them because of you!"

"I'm not promising anything."

They glared at each other, neither of them refusing to back down first.

Lanying clapped once lightly to break the tension. "Alright, boys. I'm going to prepare dinner and I need help with moving those wooden logs outside into the kitchen. Who wants to help me?"

Exchanging a look of challenge that only they understood, Zhijian and Jiang Ming stood up quickly and rushed out of the house, leaving the rest to chuckle at them. For some reason, their small disagreement turned into a competition, as if they were trying to prove who was better and stronger.

Amused, Lanying shook her head at them. "Boys They never grow up, do they?" With a thoughtful look, she glanced at Xiaoyu. "So, you guys are officially together?"

A faint blush bloomed across her cheeks. "Yes."

"He's a little rough around the edges...but he's rather protective of you that it's kind of cute," her sister remarked happily. "I'll happily give you my approval. I'm curious though, how did you meet him and how did he end up becoming your bodyguard? How did you guys manage to find us?"

Her questions instigated Xiaoyu to explain their situation from the very beginning; encountering Zhijian on the Demoness Island, her captive in the Xu clan and Jiang clan, the Puppet Curse and how they had escaped from the hands of Leader Jiang.

When she was done, Lanying slammed a fist on the table, bristling with rage.

"That scum!" she snapped. "His father was horrid enough but his son has clearly learnt no better from him. How dare he abduct you and try to control you for your powers? How much more blood must he spill before he's satisfied?"