Girl, There's Something Wrong With You - Chapter 9

As expected, tonight’s dreamscape included only Wang Wanrou and Cheng Jinyang.

The other girls, not being by his side, hadn’t logged in. Even the princess, who was sleeping right next to him, hadn’t connected for some reason.

The two of them stood in the dream version of Wujiang Town, where they noticed Cai Zhaoqin sitting idly on a chair outside a roadside shop.

“Just the two of you tonight?” she glanced over indifferently and asked casually, “Are you heading out for another hunt?”

“Let’s take a break for now,” Cheng Jinyang replied with an awkward smile.

Once inside the dream, he had tried activating the demonization connection mode, but only Wang Wanrou was drawn in.

With just the two of them, there was no way they could defeat a Mara, so the leveling-up plan had to be temporarily shelved.

Wang Wanrou gave Cheng Jinyang a look, signaling him to go and extract information.

Left with no choice, he mustered his courage, walked over, and called out, “Sister Cai,” before casually asking,
“How long have you been dead?”

Wang Wanrou looked at him in disbelief, her eyes wide. Fortunately, Cai Zhaoqin didn’t seem to mind and merely shook her head.
“I can’t quite remember. A few hundred years, maybe.”

“A few hundred years?” Cheng Jinyang exclaimed. “You don’t look it at all! You seem like a young lady in her twenties.”

Hearing this, Cai Zhaoqin couldn’t help but laugh. “For demons, age is merely a reflection of experience. You can’t tell by appearance.”

Cheng Jinyang continued to flatter her, much to Wang Wanrou’s annoyance.

She knew that her own beauty, while stunning, would only provoke jealousy in someone like Cai Zhaoqin. It wouldn’t earn her any goodwill. Thus, apart from urging Cheng Jinyang to gather information, there wasn’t much else she could do.

Once the atmosphere had warmed up a bit, Cheng Jinyang began probing for details about the demon world.

“Sister Cai, the other day I heard a rather strange tale…”

He recounted the peculiar story of the old Madam Luo with vivid detail. After listening, Cai Zhaoqin remarked,
“From what you described, her daughter must be a transformed demon. It’s rare for someone to retain a shred of clarity after the possession process.”

“Indeed,” Cheng Jinyang agreed. “But if she’s so devoted to her mother, why wouldn’t she take her in and care for her personally? Sending her back to the human world seems unnecessarily complicated, especially with all the risks of visiting her later.”

“You don’t understand,” Cai Zhaoqin sighed. “The paths of humans and demons are fundamentally different—it’s never that simple. In the human world, being discovered as a demon would mean being hunted down without respite. In the demon world, it’s survival of the fittest. There’s no concept of morality, and those who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals are everywhere.”

“As you said, if she’s lucky enough to wield a celestial flame and serve in the Heavenly Court, wouldn’t that make her life even more dangerous? Even a minor position like that of a Star General is bound to attract countless scheming demons. Taking her mother into her care might hasten their deaths rather than prevent them.”

Cheng Jinyang was alarmed by her words. Testing the waters, he asked, “Surely it’s not that bad? If the demon world is filled with constant uprisings and treachery, wouldn’t those in power have no peace at all? Is there no system or law to curb such behavior?”

“You don’t understand,” Cai Zhaoqin said, shaking her head. “There are no laws here—that’s a human invention.”

Cheng Jinyang was rendered speechless.

Recalling Wang Wanrou’s earlier analysis, he began to piece together the reasoning.

Laws, after all, rely on long-term enforcement through force to permeate society and constrain each individual.

However, in the demon world, the disparity in individual power is immense, and changes happen far too quickly. Today, someone might be a fifth grade under strict control, but by tomorrow, they could ascend to the third grade and punch out the person above them. With such occurrences being so frequent, everyone only believes in the supremacy of strength and shows no fear of punishment. How could laws ever take root in such an environment?

Even in the human world, if those at lower ranks vastly outmatched their superiors in strength, rebellion would only be a matter of time. The only difference is that humans develop power more slowly and have to consider many other factors, so their struggles are far less savage than those of demons. This allows for rules and regulations to constrain their behavior.

Pondering this, Cheng Jinyang found himself confused again. He couldn’t help but ask, “Sister Cai, if a lower-ranked demon kills someone above them, wouldn’t they then face retaliation from even higher-ranking demons? What’s the logic behind that?”

“It’s simple,” Cai Zhaoqin sneered. “No one cares about the lower-ranking demons killing each other. But the higher you go, the fewer there are. Since the upper ranks are small in number and everyone knows each other well, they naturally band together to form a barrier, keeping the lower-ranked demons from barging in with brute force.”

“The Great Emperor and the Celestial Lords form one circle. If a Celestial Officer kills a Celestial Lord, the Great Emperor will act to punish them. The Celestial Lords and the Celestial Officers form another circle. If a Star General seizes a Celestial Officer’s power, the Celestial Lords will step in to take them down. This kind of tiered protection keeps the lower ranks out and stabilizes everyone’s positions.”

“Is that so?” Cheng Jinyang said in astonishment.

It turned out that even in a strength-driven demon world, the vested interests still worked to restrict upward mobility. The only difference was that, due to the rapid power shifts among demons, the lower ranks often used brute force to smash through these barriers.

“Are these retaliations permanent?” he asked anxiously.

“Of course not. I’ve already said we don’t have laws like you humans do.” Cai Zhaoqin raised her eyebrows and explained, “Take the example of the Celestial Emperor pursuing a newly ascended Celestial Lord. If the Celestial Lord keeps running, escaping to the ends of the earth, do you think the Celestial Emperor will chase them forever? Usually, it’s just a symbolic pursuit to set an example for others, and then it’s over.”

“However,” she suddenly added with a sly smile, “if you’re worried about the fourth star of the Northern Dipper, her case is a bit special—it won’t be so easy for her to escape.”

“Why is that?” Cheng Jinyang frowned.

“Because, from what I’ve heard, the previous Northern Dipper Star Lord and Southern Dipper Star Lord were both close allies of the Ziwei Emperor during her rebellion. Their bond was said to be very deep,” Cai Zhaoqin said with a laugh. “After the Southern Dipper Star Lord left, the Ziwei Emperor was left with only the Northern Dipper as her closest friend. Now that even she’s been killed by her subordinate, do you think the Ziwei Emperor would just let it go?”

“What can be done, then?” Cheng Jinyang ignored Wang Wanrou’s presence and asked urgently, “Sister Cai, if someone were in Ye Ru’s position, could they escape the Ziwei Emperor’s pursuit?”

“Whether she can escape or not is hard to say.” Cai Zhaoqin heard him mention “Ye Ru” and realized they must know each other. She replied, “Staying in the Central Plains is definitely out of the question. If she can escape to the Vast Expanse, then she’ll be safe.”

“So, they’re heading north,” Cheng Jinyang said grimly.

“Correct. The route north is much shorter than going west,” Cai Zhaoqin said with a chuckle. “Once they enter the Vast Expanse, they’ll be in the territory of the Dongyin Emperor. Even if the Ziwei Emperor wants revenge for her dear friend, she won’t risk provoking a conflict with the Dongyin Emperor.”

“Demons, you see, rarely form genuine bonds,” she said with sudden melancholy. “The longer you live, the fainter your emotions become, and the less room you have in your heart for anyone but yourself.”