Mistaking My Master for a Stand-In? The Demon Lord Knelt Until His Knees Shattered

Demon Lord Qin Hongzhou was invited to the Demon Emperor’s ceremony, but at the demon market, a fool caught his eye. So alike. Too alike! That face was identical to his master’s, the man he had buried deep in his heart, revered as a god, and loved without hope. But ten thousand years ago, his master had exhausted his cultivation and perished on the outer battlefield while protecting all living beings. Qin Hongzhou closed his eyes and forced himself to turn away. Then a grime-covered hand gently tugged at his robe. A hoarse, soft voice drifted into his ear: “Save me.” As if possessed, he stepped in. He brought the foolish, helpless person who could do nothing but rely on him back to his heavily guarded Demon Palace. At first, he only stole the occasional glance, using that face to reminisce about the past. But longing and delusion grew like weeds until, at last, the strings of his reason snapped. He gave this person fine clothes and lavish meals, and even the most exquisite cage. As he gazed into those trusting, bewildered eyes, Qin Hongzhou felt both a twisted pleasure and an even deeper emptiness. In the end, this person was only an imitation. He indulged himself more and more, taking the thousand years of obsession and pain he had nowhere to vent and inflicting them all the more cruelly on this “substitute.” Until one day, as he approached as usual, he met a pair of icy, clear, piercing eyes. The person on the bed gave a cold snort, and frost descended from the heavens. “You traitorous disciple.” The blood in Qin Hongzhou’s body froze instantly. With a thud, he dropped straight to his knees, the impact loud and clear. “Master... Master...” The man slowly rose. Though dressed in a loose robe, he had already regained his air of dominion over all living beings. He walked over to the kneeling Demon Lord, lifted that pale, handsome face with a fingertip, and studied him with a complicated gaze. “I hear you took me for a substitute and treated me quite well?”