I Was Called A Demon

Naturally, their little swim couldn’t be as calm and simple as Bianca had wanted it after that line of thought, and she couldn’t help but spend more and more time pondering the nature of her other side.

It was a futile exercise, considering how many times she’d attempted this before, but it didn’t feel like she’d make much progress until she finally sorted it out. Was she just the side that she knew best from Orbis, both Demon Queen and not, or… the most harrowing option, and the one she was almost refusing to contemplate, was the Demon Queen speaking the truth earlier?

Perhaps she’d been pretending all along, resulting in the personality she had now. Maybe she just needed to discard the past and use the world as much as possible, take every advantage she had, carve out her little empire amidst all the sects and towns…

To say that it didn’t appeal to at least some part of her would mean lying. Who didn’t want to have some degree of power, to have some place where they were free, to have a say over how their lives went… All of it was a dream for plenty of people, so was Bianca so wrong to desire the same? Her other selves’ methods weren’t so outrageous for this world, and getting back was currently little more than a nice dream, so…

‘If only she was… more insane. Like, obvious psychopath that got off on killing people or something. I could dismiss her completely if she did that, but instead…’ Bianca sighed, floating with her back in the water, gazing up at the sky, ‘Rather, the other part of me isn’t so bad… Fuck, just give me something simple, something basic, that I don’t need to agonize over!’

She hadn’t tried to stop water from getting into her ears, so when she heard a faint ringing, she was almost convinced that it was some sign that she ought to get out of the water. However, the sound was oddly rhythmic and metallic, as though she was hearing a bell, so she got her head out of the water and looked.

Indeed, the sound wasn’t just within her imagination – or it might’ve been, but she could clearly see the faint outline of a ship in the distance.

The whole thing was surrounded by an aura she could see even all the way from here, an orange glow akin to the warm setting run shining from the ship where it came into contact with the water. It was amazing, as though the sun itself was flowing through the water and approaching them. At the current pace, it looked like it would draw close within ten or so minutes, so Bianca wasn’t going to keep swimming around and exposing her body to everyone when it eventually arrived.

“Pet, let’s come back to shore,” Bianca said, finding quickly that the others were doing the same, the continuous ringing slowly nearing as they got back to the sandy shore.

There, everyone grabbed their clothing and dressed up as quickly as they could. The water was fresh, devoid of the salt Bianca had experienced at the sea, so they didn’t need to wash themselves a second time, and she, at least, was able to not worry about that no matter what since her skin and hair remained neat and tidy regardless of her activities. She could already feel her hair returning to its typical state as she tied it up into a ponytail, her light blonde strands briefly causing her to think back to her earlier contemplation.

In however many months she’d been in this world, her body had already changed quite a bit, and if it kept going, she was quite confident that nobody would be able to recognise her as the woman that awoke in the middle of some forest, naked as the day she was born…

It was good that most of the people in that village hadn’t seen her in that state. If it had been someone other than Song Ming that found her, it would’ve gotten rather… awkward.

“I’m guessing I shouldn’t announce what I’ve got on me, right?” Bianca asked as she put on her shorts, containing her big ass within their snug embrace.

Naturally, she was referring to the Weave of the Senses, which was visible on her skin even with her full outfit on. The degree to which she exposed herself was intentional, but the decision had been made prior to the Weave coming into her possession, and from her understanding, the owner of the boat approaching them was powerful enough that Huang Su couldn’t just casually do as she liked around them.

Therefore, if she felt like contesting the Weave, they might end up in a rather difficult predicament that Bianca would very much prefer to avoid. She had no clue if her unusually tough skin could hold up against someone on the level of Huang Su trying to kill her, or perhaps forcefully remove the Weave from her, and she was very happy to avoid finding out for as long as possible.

“Obviously not. Just act as you know you should,” Xue Yaling said.

‘As I know as I should… I wonder if she intended to refer to my other self, but she’s not wrong either way,’ she considered, and turned within her mind, looking in the direction she imagined the Demon Queen to be, ‘Please be helpful, don’t… you know, don’t fuck me over.’

She almost felt bad for saying it, since the Demon Queen had yet to be the one to make the mistake. In fights, she acted reasonably and efficiently, even if she was too brutal at times, and out of combat, she had the exact level of confidence and self-assuredness that Bianca desperately needed. Acting like she was on top of the world at all times was a little much, but at the same time, it discouraged most people from messing with her.

She wasn’t lucky enough to get any kind of reply from her other self, so she just stood by and waited, watching the ship draw closer and closer.

Oddly, once the ship was close enough, the sound began to get quieter, and the only thing that Bianca was able to discover was that the sound was not being produced by any kind of bell, but instead by a gong that seemed to be at the very peak of the ship, atop the mast. A small figure was repeatedly striking it, but after a certain point the sound was completely gone.

As the ship drew towards the coast, slowing down, a different sound rung out, and this one was far more like the kind of gong she was accustomed to. A deep, bass-filled noise seemed like it shook the entire coast, though Bianca forced herself to stand tall and not rush to cover up her ears.

‘Just in case, it would be best not to present a weak side to anyone on this thing… and this thing is enormous,’ she thought, having to look up to see the top.

If she had to guess, she’d say that the whole thing was tall enough to fit ten or so floors above the water, as though it wasn’t a ship but a sunken block of flats that coasted along the water. Going off the number of windows on the side, there were at least eight or so floors to the vessel itself above the water, and perhaps more beneath, and the whole ship was akin to a cruise liner.

‘Uh… I’ll speak up since I’m playing the leader here, but if there’s any details I don’t know, please tell me quickly,’ Bianca reached out her mental energy to both Xue Yaling and Huang Su, expecting the most helpful advice from the latter.

The kitsune didn’t return a reply, merely nodding subtly, but Huang Su strengthened the connection with energy of her own and responded, ‘Don’t worry, Bianca, the smoother this goes, the better it will be for the both of us. I’ll assist you in case you need any help, and even attempt to amplify your aura if there appears to be some kind of conflict.’

She had already changed her appearance to have dark hair, wearing a veil and otherwise presenting herself in as different a manner as possible, but Bianca could still see the aura coming from her body, marking her as a genuine expert in the sixth realm. Those aboard the ship would no doubt be able to do the same, so as long as she didn’t needlessly incite any aggression, things were bound to go well.

The ship stopped before them, as close to the shore as it seemed able to get before the sandy floor prevented further travel. Although the orange, sun-like glow from the base of the vessel faded, it was still visibly there, affecting the water in some way.

For a minute or two, the ship was just there, floating in the water, but a sudden surge of motion up top disrupted the peace. A large carpet unfurled from the top and flew out, slowly descending in a gradual ramp of soft crimson.

‘A literal red carpet for the guests… As if it wasn’t obvious enough that I’m not the first one from Orbis, unless it’s just coincidental,’ Bianca thought, assuming a more serious stance as she mimicked her typical Demon Queen demeanour.

The red carpet’s end landed right in front of them, and at the top, a few figures appeared. Most looked to be crew of the ship, but one stood out the most – a tall woman with long legs that stepped onto the edge of the ship with one foot, looking down on them from above with grey eyes that contained a vibrant blue glow in place of pupils.

She had long, dark hair tied in a ponytail, and was dressed in a few layers of tight clothing that allowed her body to be seen rather clearly. Indeed, she was quite fit, with a firm yet wonderfully big ass that would certainly fill Bianca’s hands if she ever got to grab it, and her chest was on the larger side, though Bianca had the feeling that Xue Yaling slightly oversold that part of her appearance. All in all, this woman was gorgeous, but more importantly, she was undoubtedly the captain of the ship.

“You seem to have been expecting me, and I see a few familiar faces, so I assume you lot know how this works. You pay the fee, you get to go wherever you want quickly. You don’t, and you’re on the ship until I decide to bring you where you want to go – or until you get tired and step off on one of the other stops,” this woman, the captain, proclaimed quietly, but clearly enough that her voice felt far closer.

Her tone was proud, and from afar the aura of someone high in the fifth realm was obvious from her. Notably, though, it was distinct from the one that wreathed the ship, so either she wasn’t the one controlling it, or the ship itself was able to grasp and control energy, which would make it some kind of high value artefact.

The energy she used was rather unique, as aside from a bluish and silvery colour, Bianca couldn’t quite place what she was looking at. The more she looked at it, the more her thoughts seemed to go anywhere else, to memories of things long gone, to her past on Orbis, and all kinds of experiences that she had throughout her life. Each time she forced her focus back, the same drift began all over again, until she eventually gave up on looking in too deeply. All that she managed to conclude was that there was a certain ‘metallic’ property to the energy, but even she wasn’t sure what she meant by that.

‘The fee doesn’t have to be paid right away. Delay until we’re on the ship and see which direction we go into,’ Huang Su’s words entered her mind, so she stopped trying to peer into the woman’s energy and stepped up to the red carpet.

“We’ll discuss that once we’re aboard. You’ve got no problem with that, correct?”

“Hah, not at all. Glad you were told the details in advance, spares me a lot of time explaining,” the woman smiled, although her expression lacked a certain warmth that Bianca couldn’t quite identify, “Welcome to my Dawntreader. I am Li Wusu, it’s captain, and for those of you who may not have been told, I have a very simple rule on this ship – no conflicts or fights that can damage the hull. If you want to brawl, I’ve got a few cabins for it, or you can get off and do it on a beach somewhere. Understood?”

“We’re not here to make trouble, I can promise that much,” Bianca responded coldly, stepping onto the red carpet.

“Hm… If you were able to promise more, I’d be concerned, so I’ll take it.”

The woman shrugged and removed her foot from the side of the ship, waving the others – presumably members of the crew – away so that they didn’t block the way up. Taking that as a good sign, Bianca began her ascent, finding her feet sticking to the carpet comfortably, ensuring that she couldn’t slip off the ramp despite the fact that it should’ve been rather smooth and difficult to keep her grip on.

Thus, she ascended, the others followed, and Bianca found herself wishing for a pair of high heels all of a sudden. Considering how she was walking, it was almost as though she was on some catwalk, presenting herself to a crowd – although the latter part was a lot more true than she might’ve intended. There were numerous windows on the side of the ship, and numerous threads of spiritual perception reaching out to peer at her.

Considering just how many people saw her, Bianca felt it was all the more important to keep up appearances. She straightened out her back and walked more elegantly, letting out some more of her aura on purpose, instantly warding off a small chunk of the spiritual perception threads. The rest were not dissuaded, although most of the ones that remained withdrew a little further, not looking as closely.

She ascended onto the vessel and took the step down from the crimson carpet, settling her feet onto the wooden floor, and quietly looked around with her spiritual perception. The sheer scale of the ship was absolutely incredible, as though she was standing in a small town compressed into a single vessel, with enormous masts and sails and cabins and whatever else – Bianca wasn’t the biggest ‘ship’ person around, so she didn’t know most of the terminology, but she was certainly impressed nonetheless.

“You two… Xue Yaling and Chang Shuang at once. I’m curious how you ended up meeting up,” Li Wusu said as the kitsune and Sect Master came aboard, eyeing them up, “I won’t ask you to talk, but… are you following this woman?”

“What does it look like?” Bianca spoke up in their stead, although she could tell that they would be able to reply on their own if she didn’t interrupt, “I didn’t realise it was so complicated to understand.”

“Hm, a cheeky one… I was merely surprised, especially when it comes to Chang Shuang,” the captain shrugged, “A fifth realm under a third realm cultivator is unusual, you must understand that, right? I didn’t get your name, by the way.”

“Bianca,” she responded, and let herself slip deeper into the Demon Queen persona, “And do I need to prove myself to you? I think I’ve done enough of that already.”

She let out enough aura to flood the top of the ship, a crimson mist that seemed to dye the world with its sheer quantity. The quality, too, appeared rather immense, as she managed to bring a frown onto the ship captain’s face – she looked like she nearly took a step back on reflex, but kept her composure and stood her ground.

“With that kind of killing intent, I can imagine how you’ve earned those qualifications… Very well, I won’t waste more of your time. Make your mind up on the fare and see me up here, until then, you’re free to take any of the rooms that are currently unoccupied below deck.”

She turned away and walked off, though in the time Bianca got to look at her face up close, she was able to confirm a few more details. The captain’s face was marked by a set of scars that resembled the clawing of some wild animal, and considering that they had yet to heal, they must’ve been left by something significant, same as with Song Ming’s scar.

‘Still, she didn’t seem especially aggressive, even after I essentially threatened her, and she didn’t seem to want money, so… what exactly is she getting from this? I doubt this is just charity by someone that would be considered a powerful individual anywhere in the world…’ Bianca pondered, though she didn’t immediately attempt to uncover the whole truth and instead found the way downstairs, into the rest of the ship, striding towards it confidently, as though this place belonged to her.

Considering how the captain had reacted to her, she might as well be in charge for this moment, although she knew for a fact that this wouldn’t last long. At best, Li Wusu was just inordinately sensitive to the demonic undercurrent of Bianca’s energy – although calling it an undercurrent was also a stretch – and if a conflict was to arise, she’d be able to overcome that wariness with ease.

Her cultivation was in the fifth realm, and while this made her significantly weaker than Huang Su on the surface, the captain also had the support of her crew, the ship itself, and likely plenty of people on the ship that would be more than glad to assist the captain in the hopes of earning her favour.

Therefore, Bianca wasn’t going to try and take over the ship… and, of course, she didn’t want to start a fight, or have to kill anyone. Obviously.

As she strode towards the back of the ship, where the door to the stairs and the decks below was, she was suddenly struck with the urge to approach the edge and look over it, and so she did. The ship had already started to move away from the shore, and thus she got to see the distant terrain drift away slowly but surely, the motion accelerating as the ship’s sails picked up wind.

The sandy shores became distant, the trees of the forests blurred into meaningless green, and the vague hints of villages and buildings in the distance faded entirely from Bianca’s vision.

This journey was bound to take her furthest from the place she began, back in Yi Village, and it was likely one that would finally take her somewhere that she’d be able to bloom and grow. To take some part of the world for herself, to establish herself, to make herself – to make the Demon Queen – known and… perhaps even feared.

She wasn’t sure yet, and she didn’t know exactly what she wanted. However, something about this moment, as she stood upon the ship and watched, told her that she might realise a few things about herself during the journey to her new sect grounds. She just hoped that they’d all turn out to be positive, but in the event that they were not… well, she’d figure that out once she got there. She doubted she was as awful as the Demon Queen side, so the revelations were bound to be ones that she could handle… a few of the ones she’d already experienced weren’t so bad, like those on her kinks and fetishes, so surely everything else would go well.

Surely…

“Mistress, we should proceed. The cabins can be sparse at the best of days,” Huang Su said behind her, forcing her out of her thoughts.

“Indeed. Let us go,” she nodded, and returned onto her proper path, the others following behind her.