Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 134 - 128 Ying Lingyun2

Chapter 134: 128 Ying Lingyun2

Demons lurking in the abnormal world transforming into beautiful women to approach talented individuals in mundane society wasn’t an uncommon occurrence in the recorded history of demon hunters. Especially so if the demon was a Fox Demon, then it hardly seemed worth making a fuss over.

Yet due to the rule that beings of the abnormal world couldn’t truly influence the running of mundane society, such demons, even if endowed with strong demonic powers, often couldn’t make more than a few ripples on the surface.

However, as a father, Zhu Ba couldn’t bear to see his daughter’s beloved entangled with a demon woman.

Even less so when, as the investigation unfolded, he discovered that the demon was no ordinary Fox Demon.

This Fox Demon, known in the past as "Silver Moon," was a powerful monster with strength far surpassing that of achieved level demon hunters. It was said that she had lived for hundreds of years, was extremely wicked by nature, and had caused countless disasters, devoured who knows how many humans, and killed countless Evil beings and Patrol members from Luo Mountain.

Half a century ago, she was ambushed and severely wounded by three hunters of Great Success Rank who specifically set a trap for her. Afterwards, she went into hiding and vanished without a trace.

"Great Success Rank demon hunters?" I took note of the unfamiliar term.

"The so-called Great Success Rank hunters are those who have reached a level above achieved level hunters. Hunters at this level are also known as ’Demon Hunters beyond Demon Hunters,’" Zhu Shi explained to me from the side.

This was a concept the Weirdo Maker had once mentioned... I asked, "What about Impermanence then?"

"Impermanence is yet another level higher than the Great Success Rank hunters. If the Great Success Rank hunters are the ’Super Demon Hunters’ among demon hunters, then Impermanence would be the ’Super Demon Hunter beyond Super Demon Hunters,’" Zhu Shi explained with a tongue-twisting phrase for some reason. It sounded like something out of an old-school battle manga featuring alien warriors.

"There are no more than twenty Great Success Rank demon hunters in total at Luo Mountain, but Silver Moon was so powerful that it took the clever tactics of three Great Success Rank hunters to completely overwhelm her, making her a Great Evil," Mr. Zhu sighed, continuing to recount the past to us.

At first, he didn’t realize the Fox Demon was Silver Moon; he simply thought it was a common Fox Demon infatuated with Ying Lingyun’s talent. Thus, he planned to confront Ying Lingyun and force him to sever ties with the Fox Demon.

However, during his investigation, he quickly discovered something else—that the Fox Demon was not just romantically involved with Ying Lingyun but also the woman who had raised him from childhood.

Indeed, Ying Lingyun was an orphan who had lost both parents and was later adopted and brought up by Silver Moon under a human guise. The irony was that not only others had been fooled by this disguise, but Ying Lingyun himself had also been kept in the dark. For a long time, he was unaware that the beautiful Fox Demon woman who came to seduce him was actually the same human woman who had raised him.

Demons do not have human moral concepts; many things that humans consider violations of ethical norms are simply natural to demons.

It wasn’t until Zhu Ba exposed the truth that Ying Lingyun suddenly woke up.

Although arrogant and conceited at that time, Ying Lingyun had sound values and conscience. Just as Changan, despite being a scion of affluence, had risked his life to take down the nightclub upon discovering its sinister truth, Ying Lingyun, once he realized that the Fox Demon Silver Moon was both the woman who raised him and a wicked demon that had eaten countless people, resolutely resisted her seduction and became irreconcilable with her.

Yet feelings are difficult to define clearly. By that time, Ying Lingyun had already developed deep emotions for the "Fox Demon woman" and even had many physical relationships with her. Even after realizing her true identity, he must have gone through indescribable inner turmoil. Moreover, although Silver Moon was centuries old, her appearance and figure were no different from a young girl still in school; standing next to Ying Lingyun, they looked like siblings, and often even Ying Lingyun himself likely had trouble seeing her as an elder.

On the other hand, Silver Moon’s doting on Ying Lingyun was extreme. Even after they became enemies, Silver Moon would still stand by Ying Lingyun as a friend, assisting him tirelessly. The conflicting developments left Ying Lingyun perplexed, and Silver Moon even seemed capable of imparting wisdom on his confusion, helping him out of his spiritual predicament.

Watching the man and demon "heating things up," Zhu Jiu, his childhood sweetheart, was at a loss. Zhu Ba, operating from behind the scenes, watched with habitual frustration, as if he wished he could remotely control his daughter and swiftly snatch her beloved away from the wiles of the fox spirit.

"Ah, no, that’s not it!" Zhu Shi exclaimed, his face blanched with shock, "Not... Grandpa, wait!"

Seeing himself interrupted again, Mr. Zhu wasn’t angry, merely puzzled, "Hmm? What is it?"

"Let me summarize first..." Zhu Shi organized his thoughts and then, with a somewhat strange expression, said, "So in my dad’s eyes, this demon woman that he’s in an ambiguous relationship with is at once his mother, his lover, his friend, his arch-enemy, and his life mentor, and also someone he’s frequently physically involved with. Sometimes she helps him at critical moments, sometimes she deceives him with acting and lies, but overall, she’s always loving him?"

"Hmm..." Upon hearing this, Mr. Zhu pondered for a moment before nodding, "That’s pretty much it."

Zhu Shi clutched his head and yelled, "Isn’t that invincible? How is my mom, who’s just the girl next door, supposed to compete with such a two-dimensional character!?"

"How can you speak of your own mother like that! And what nonsense are you spouting?" Mr. Zhu was furious, "That witch violated human decency, attacking the child she raised, committed numerous atrocities, devoured countless people, repeatedly engaged in deceit, and never uttered a single truth. Who would choose such a woman? It must have been the same for Ying Lingyun back then. It was one thing not to know the truth, but once he knew, how could he possibly develop romantic feelings for someone who isn’t even human?"

"By contrast, my daughter was his childhood sweetheart, his girl next door, who devoted her genuine heart to the man she loved. Her affection was deep and it was all aboveboard—how could she lose? There’s no reason she would."

Zhu Shi retorted, "No, no, no, there’s no way that can win..."

"Humph... You and your mother are just alike, murmuring privately that you can’t win, it’s intolerable to watch. In the end, it took both carrot and stick from me to do some ideological work on her and finally muster the courage to confess..." Mr. Zhu shook his head, then let out a deep sigh, "Ah, but I was also at fault, deeply so... If I had known what Ying Lingyun would become, I never should have entrusted my daughter to him."

In fact, Zhu Ba wasn’t entirely supportive of his daughter at that time.

On one hand, he believed that it was normal for talented men to attract admirers. Although Ying Lingyun’s situation was much more complex, as long as the son-in-law took the initiative to cut off those ties and become properly focused after establishing his career, he would forgive and forget. Moreover, he was now resolved to learning from past pains and wanted to support his daughter’s free will as much as possible.

On the other hand, seeing Ying Lingyun sinking deeper and deeper into his involvement with the Fox Demon, Zhu Ba truly considered giving up on him.

However, in the end, Ying Lingyun chose the difficult path of breaking ties with Silver Moon.

The reason was simple, no matter how friendly Silver Moon appeared, she was ultimately a Great Evil.

In order to heal the wounds inflicted by an ambush from three Super Demon Hunters, Silver Moon had secretly planned a massive slaughter to collect a vast number of human souls to restore her former strength. Ying Lingyun, with his sense of justice, naturally could not condone such actions. He stood with Zhu Jiu against Silver Moon, vowing to thwart the terrifying scheme of his foster mother.

When it came to her very foundation in this world, even if the opponent was Ying Lingyun, Silver Moon had no intention of showing mercy anymore, and a life-and-death struggle between them was inevitable.

This was a story full of twists and turns. Ying Lingyun, as a mortal, delved into the abnormal world. With his wits and the Magic Treasure "Moon in Water" gifted by Silver Moon, capable of copying supernatural powers, he negotiated between countless demon hunters and monstrous entities. His only partner was Zhu Jiu, and one wrong step meant death. His enemies were monsters of Great Success Rank, possessing Extraordinary Power capable of destroying the systems of great nations.

This was no longer a hero challenging a demon lord, but an ant taking on humanity. No one believed he could succeed.

Yet, at the end of this incredible adventure, he unbelievably accomplished this feat, slaying the Great Demon Silver Moon with courage and wisdom that defied belief.

Afterward, like a hero who defeats the demon lord and returns to a peaceful life, he left the abnormal world behind and resumed his life as a politician in ordinary society. After all, he did not possess the talent of a demon hunter. Despite his feat of defeating Silver Moon, he was not meant for the abnormal world. Zhu Ba stopped opposing his daughter’s marriage, welcoming him as a son-in-law into the Zhu family.

Some time later, Zhu Shi, who was still called Zhu Jiuxing at that time, was born, and everything seemed to be getting back on track.

If this were a fairy tale, perhaps it would end with "The prince and princess lived happily ever after," but reality persisted beyond this point.

When Zhu Jiuxing was four years old, the Zhu family found evidence of a child named Changan outside of the marriage, an offspring from Ying Lingyun’s past accidental relationship with Silver Moon.

Upon discovering Changan’s existence, Zhu Ba was thunderously furious. But after the anger, what could he do? Could he demand Ying Lingyun apologize for his infidelity? The man had even risked an almost certain death to kill the object of his affair; how could he be asked to apologize for that?

Even Zhu Jiu forgave Ying Lingyun, and even generously allowed Changan to enter the Zhu family and be a part of their lives.

But the matter didn’t end there. Whether it was because he cherished what he lost, or because killing someone important had driven him into madness, Ying Lingyun began researching ways to resurrect Silver Moon.