Demon Immortal



"Ahem!" 

Duncan coughed trying to get rid of those distracting thoughts in his head. Leia stood before him obediently. She hadn't moved a single inch since they came here and her obedient posture was making it very hard for Duncan to form coherent thoughts at this moment.

"Ummm, Leia, I…" Duncan didn't know how to broach the subject that it was he who bought her off the slave market.

Hearing him acknowledge her name, Leia's heart skipped a beat. She nervously fidgeted anticipating his next words. Unfortunately, Duncan was also at a loss and was struggling to form the right words at this moment.

Taking a deep breath, Duncan took off his mask and let out a large sigh.

"Take off the mask first, let's get comfortable," Duncan decided to take the plunge directly instead of trying to ease into the subject.

Hearing his words, Leia felt as if a stone weighing in her heart had finally been removed. Seeing his unmasked face, Leia couldn't help but be surprised as well. Never did she think it would be this erstwhile teammate, whom she hadn't met in a year, to be the one to buy her. 

In a daze, Leia removed the mask and stood in front of Duncan apprehensively. She didn't know how to react at this moment. Duncan wasn't any better either. He desperately struggled to keep his roaming eyes away from her figure.

Looking around the room, he found a couple of futons in the corner. Duncan latched on to them like a drowning man grasping at straws. He went over and quickly brought the two futons for them both to sit.

Once seated, silence once more engulfed the duo. Duncan took this time to take out some normal wine he had in his storage ring and poured it down habitually, before realizing that giving a girl wine in the night might not be an appropriate thing to do. His movements paused as he realized how his actions may come across. 

Taking a deep breath, Duncan looked at Leia's reaction. Unfortunately, there were no emotions on her face. She looked blank and kept staring at her hands not willing to meet Duncan's eyes.

Duncan felt that things weren't going as per his earlier thoughts. He was clear that things were off to a bad start already. Deciding to take a gamble, Duncan retrieved the slave deed from his storage ring and presented it to her. 

"Ahem, Leia, I don't know what to say. But, I guess you are in the same situation as well. Anyway, here is your slave deed. You can tear it up. With this, you will be free," Duncan sighed not knowing how else to approach this awkward situation.

Hearing Duncan's words, Leia looked up quickly and verified that Duncan wasn't lying. Her slave deed was indeed presented to her. She didn't know how to react to Duncan's act of generosity. She felt as if she would cry at any moment now.

Seeing Leia only staring at the slave deed in shock, and not saying anything, Duncan didn't know how to proceed either. Looking at Leia's trembling shoulders, Duncan decisively pressed the slave deed in her hands. Once done, Duncan felt as if a huge burden had been lifted. 

Duncan immediately grabbed a cup of the wine he had poured and downed it completely trying to alleviate the awkwardness. The normal wine didn't do anything to him. His body constitution had become stronger and normal wines didn't induce any drunkenness to him at all.

The moment the slave deed was pressed into her hands, Leia shuddered. She had never thought that she would obtain her freedom this easily. Even when she knew that it was her acquaintance who had bought her, she didn't even dare to hope for such a thing. 

No one would be glad to part with a slave they have acquired. It should be known that slaves can be used for all kinds of work. Especially, female slaves like her who had been bought by male owners often ended up becoming their bed warmers. The collar on her neck was no joke. It made sure that the slave couldn't disobey their master.

So, even when she was bought by an acquaintance, the most she had hoped in the dark corner of her mind was to be treated fairly. Never did she expect to be handed her slave deed within mere hours of being bought.

Leia clutched the slave deed like a lifeline. She knew with this deed gone, she could start over and carry on with her life. This time, she wouldn't be naïve enough to put her trust in other people and end up in such a desperate situation. The lessons she had learned in the past few months were very impactful. 

Still, Leia didn't tear up the slave deed immediately. 

Her trembling hands calmed down and she looked up at her savior. Looking at Duncan, who was drinking cup after cup to relieve the awkwardness, a strange sense of fondness came over her at this moment.

It was clear to her that Duncan was still that brash dreamer who wanted to go through the entire day in a drunken haze. But, it was this man whom she hadn't had much interaction with apart from the times they spent as teammates that came to her aid when she most needed it.

Thinking about their time on the team, Leia's face became a little gloomy. Her downfall had begun from there as well. She should have been like Duncan and walked away from the team as soon as possible.

Leia took a deep breath and banished those thoughts away. This wasn't the time for her to think about what-ifs. Looking at Duncan who was eyeing her sneakily Leia's lips couldn't help but twitch. It was clear that his eyes were straying to places that would have earned a bonk on his head a year ago.

Still, she couldn't help but find the entire thing funny. Duncan literally owned her as of this moment. The slave deed hadn't been torn up yet. He could do anything to her. There was no need for him to be eyeing her sneakily. 

However, it didn't look like such a thought even occurred to him. Even if he had taken some liberties before giving back her slave deed, Leia would have only had gratitude towards him in his heart. The graciousness he gave her was like a heavy mountain. 

This only showed her that Duncan never had the idea of owning her at all. His purchase of her was to set her free. Thinking of the exorbitant sum of money that was used to purchase her, Leia felt a little heavy. Moreover, those were spirit stones. Not gold!

Leia felt her breathing become heavy as she realized how much Duncan had actually spent to buy her deed. 2750 low-grade spirit stones were not some small amount. That's almost 3 million in gold. Just imagining that number was enough for her to become a little faint.

And he had just thrown it away as if it was nothing. 

Moreover, spirit stones were only used by cultivators. She was clear of the identity of the people who came to purchase her. This meant that Duncan had somehow become a cultivator as well. From the looks of it, he wasn't doing shabby as well. 

"Looks like you became a cultivator, just like you desired," Leia spoke hesitantly not knowing how else to start a conversation.

Duncan's lips twitched hearing that. It was true. He had indeed become a cultivator like he desired when he last met Leia. But, he would have been glad if the process didn't involve him almost losing his life several times. Moreover, he still didn't know if becoming a cultivator in such a way and being affiliated with the Heavenly Demon Sect was good. 

Right now, he was mostly going along with the flow. 

"Yes," Duncan smiled and nodded. "Compared to mine, your life looks like a storm has passed through. Anyway, you are free from now on. I hope you don't get caught into someone else's scheme again."

"Are you so confident that I didn't get into debt myself?" Leia asked with a little twitch of her lips.

"As if," Duncan snorted. "Leia, I have experienced stuff that people can barely even dream about in this past year. I have also come into contact with things like schemes and conspiracies. Some things I know will blow your mind away. Let's just say that I have good instincts and I know you wouldn't have ended up in such a situation by yourself."

"Hmmm," Leia hummed with a slight nod of her head. "I believe you. Unlike others, even drunk you never had the habit of exaggerating stuff."

"Heh, I was a fool then," Duncan shook his head. "I am still a fool now. Only, I have grown a lot more stronger. So I can afford to be somewhat foolish these days."

"I can see that," Leia mumbled. "It must have cost you a fortune to get my slave deed. I don't know how I will repay you for that."

"It was mostly an accident," Duncan waved his hands nonchalantly. "I ran into you being taken to the auction house by accident. Since I was near, I thought of buying you off. As for the amount, don't worry about it either. I will soon get a windfall."

Duncan smiled mysteriously as if he had a huge secret. Leia looked at him with hooded eyes. Duncan's nonchalance and his confident demeanor made it hard for her to disbelieve him. His mysterious smile even made her breath hitch a little.

Looking at Duncan who was sitting on the futon casually and drinking as if he hadn't done a major thing, Leia felt a little breathless. She realized that compared to his current status as a cultivator, what he did indeed may be something trivial to him. But, to her, it was entirely different.

She didn't know how she could repay him. She didn't know if it was even possible to repay him with her status as a mortal. But, she wanted to do something. Looking at him still taking sneaky glances at her, Leia's lips twitched. 

She knew that he was interested in him. Maybe, this would be a good way to repay him. She knew that this wouldn't be even worth one-hundredth of what he had given to her. But, she felt that she should at least give it a try.

Without speaking another word, Leia rose from her futon and approached Duncan. She watched him pause for a moment and become alert for a split second before relaxing. In that split second, a dangerous breath came from him that almost made her freeze. 

That dangerous breath was incredibly attractive to her. Combined with her earlier gratitude, all thoughts of backing away and coming off as too forward were shunned. Right now, she only had one thought in her mind. She wanted to pay him back in a small way that was possible for her.

Taking a deep breath, she put her hands on his shoulders and looked at his confused face. Looking directly into his eyes, she whispered softly to him.

"Let me pay you back for your generosity, master. This slave is yours to use."

To further accentuate her words, Leia leaned forward pressing her body into his.

*****

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