We'll be Seeing You

"Emodao!"

Botangca roared again as her hair went to wrap around Lai Mingjie's neck. Xu Rouguang was alarmed, but Lai Mingjie was still grinning down at the empress. The woman got up from her seat and glared straight at his eyes. Her deep green eyes shown and tried to warn the other from making jokes; however, even Lai Mingjie wished he was joking.

"...but... that's impossible..." Botangca brought a finger to her teeth to bite down. She then dislodged her hair from the demon king and paced towards the immortal general. The empress circled him and began inspecting his face rudely. She gasped at the side of his face and pulled him closer to her face. Her dark green continued to glow as she assessed the soul deep inside the immortal.

"...how?" She let go of his head and began examining his arms. "His soul is intact so I can't say it was ruptured by his escape. Normally..." Botangca stopped and looked up at the immortal's face. "What's your name now?"

"...Xu Rouguang..."

"Ah, it remains. So you weren't reborn as well." Her fingers then trailed down his chest seductively, Botangca regaining her normal self after realizing she wouldn't be killed for no reason. "This body... still the one imbued by the densest of heaven and earth essence. Mhm, I haven't tasted a general yet..."

"And you still won't." Lai Mingjie grabbed her by the arms and dragged her away. He then growled lowly as he watched her assume a seat at the couch. "Don't forget what I'm asking from you." He reached into his coat and waved a check. "Your 20 million is still waiting." He slapped it on the center table and left it there before sitting on the chair opposite hers. The demon king leaned back and spread his legs, asserting dominance.

The empress only twitched her face before reaching for the check. She needed to pay for her operations, and that was why she was willing to be Emodao's slave for a few years. She knew he would be dying again soon; she should better take advantage of his current bank account. Her leg turned to the side and crossed in a way that a great deal of her thigh would be seen through the slit.

After checking the details in the note, she stuffed in her bodice. Botangca huffed as she leaned an arm along the top of the couch. "Xu Rouguang, you must be confused. The difficulty and impossibility of rising from the Abyss must be something you cannot fathom. Let me start enlightening you then.

"Every creation had the possibility of earning a soul, and this soul is our ticket to new lives. Through being reincarnated, we could all live again and again. Human souls were normally stripped of their memories in every lifetime. We, demons, are not as lucky. The Goddess Nuwa had given most of us a chance to live again as lowly humans, hoping that we could repent and worship her name... enough for us to be granted a proper reincarnation. No memories, no awful realizations, no sins of the past... a clean slate.

"Of course, doing the opposite would grant us punishment. Sometimes, the demons with the gravest sins were sent to the Abyss... the void of existence. The souls sent there would vanish completely—never to be reborn again." Botangca hummed as she glanced at Lai Mingjie. "Shockingly, even though Emodao was the most infamous demon king of all times. He wasn't sent to the Abyss. Nuwa loves him badly."

"This isn't about me. Continue talking about the Abyss." Lai Mingjie waved his hand, ignoring the alarmed side glance of Xu Rouguang.

Botangca shrugged her shoulders as she chuckled teasingly. She then looked at Xu Rouguang again. "Only Nuwa can send souls to the Abyss so if you were sent there, you must have pissed her off. Then again, more and more demon kings get sent there as time went by. Their followers had begun looking for ways to drag souls back from the Abyss... and it seemed that it was indeed possible.

"However, it needed the help—or should I say intervention—from outside. The soul being summoned from the Abyss must be traded for an equal amount of their sins." The empress hummed, looking away from them. "So if a demon king is being revived, his followers must harvest the number of souls he had killed before. The man doing the ritual would take the soul's place in the Abyss.

"Needless to say, the soul is burned in the Abyss. They were all branded by the flames of eternal damnation, and I would see it if you have any." Her eyes cast on Lai Mingjie again. "Xu Rouguang's soul continued to be the one soaked in heaven and earth essence. It was his soul when he became an immortal. Emodao, I didn't find any branding; are you sure he did come from the Abyss?"

"I don't see any reason why Nuwa would lie to me." Lai Mingjie opted to yawn before closing his eyes. "So, did you find anything about any rituals carried out?"

Botangca twisted her lips. She then got up and went to Lai Mingjie, sitting on one of his thighs. "Emodao... if I could uncover a ritual, there's a big chance Nuwa had seen it happening. Of course, she would thwart it from happening. Since General Xu is home, it must have been successful." She then leaned against his chest. "If you really need me to find a ritual, I need more time." A hand of hers patted on her chest. "Am I still allowed to keep the check?"

Lai Mingjie laughed out before using a hand to gently urge her to get off. "Sure, sure, but I can't give you an entire year. You know how long I can only last."

A gleeful giggle came from the woman before she held Lai Mingjie's face, even nudging her nose against his cheek. "You're still the best... of course, only when you're Lai Mingjie who had tons of money. I really hope that in your next life, you'd either be another millionaire... or someone dead."

As if it was routine, Botangca was ready to kiss the demon king. Of course, it wasn't about intimacy; it was just a bonus. Her essence was akin to the bloodvein as the one growing it. That was her 'thank you' for the extension she was getting. She was paid a big amount to dig more information to Emodao's satisfaction, and she had to deliver to keep up with her reputation. However, as she inched closer, she caught something terrifying in her peripheral vision.

Xu Rouguang was giving her a death glare. The gut feeling of dying suddenly spiked, that one she had been feeling since she sat on his thigh. She moved her face a little to take a little peek at the immortal general. As if that was his cue that he was getting acknowledged... he smiled.

His eyes flashed with a murderous glint, but his lips curled into a devious smile. "I think we're going now. We'll be seeing you again, Miss Botangca."