Heilong-kou (Black Dragon-Mouth/Pass)
Heilong-cheng (Black Dragon-City)
Censorate (Supervisory Court)
Yuling City (Jade City)
Jingui Town (Golden Turtle Town)
Xuanwu City (Black tortoise City)
Qinglong (Azure Dragron)
...
Qing Yuan, who had just been bullied into retreat by a bunch of kids, had no idea that her joy was about to turn into misfortune.
At the gates of Black Dragon City, two demon women walking side by side drew plenty of attention. Yet, not a single traveling merchant dared to approach them.
Their instincts as demons warned them clearly—these two women were not to be trifled with.
Indeed, they were none other than the Empress of the Qingluan Clan and the Sixth Princess.
This time, they weren't traveling in any official capacity. Instead, they simply called each other "Elder Sister" and "Little Sister."
The Qingluan Empress wore a blank expression, but her breathtaking beauty made it hard for anyone to look away.
Inside, however, she was deeply irritated.
She had a fondness for beauty and detested anything that wasn't aesthetically pleasing.
For instance—these fat, round-eared merchants.
The Sixth Princess tugged at her arm and whispered,
"Elder Sister, we're almost at the front. Just hold on a little longer."
She knew her elder sister's fiery temper hadn't changed a bit.
Although they were both from the Qingluan Clan, the Empress had a pure bloodline from the Vermilion Bird. Of course, she had a quick temper and an explosive personality.
The line to enter the city was long, but it finally reached the two of them.
As Empress of the Qingluan Clan, she could alter her identity at will.
Currently, both she and the Sixth Princess were posing as collateral relatives of the Qingluan Clan—distantly related to the Empress. She had made herself her own "niece."
This identity, naturally, wasn't significant enough to be reported to the Demon Palace.
After a brief check of their documents, the guards let them through, handing over a city guidebook and a flyer for the upcoming Gourmet Festival, as per usual protocol.
The Empress handed all the materials to her sixth sister—she had no interest in reading. To put it bluntly, she was illiterate.
No sooner had they entered the city than a demon with horns growing from his head approached, asking if they needed a tour guide.
That was new.
The Empress casually tossed him a pearl, only to have it refused.
The male demon smiled politely, "In Black Dragon City, we use a special currency. What you offered must be in Black Dragon Coins."
The Empress's face immediately darkened. When had she ever been refused? Even a low-born demon dared to turn her down?
She felt a tug on her sleeve.
The Sixth Princess reminded her, "Elder Sister, it says right on the first page of this booklet—Black Dragon City only accepts Black Dragon Coins."
She swallowed her anger. "Lead the way," she ordered, then added coldly, "I'll pay you once we get there."
The male demon nodded eagerly, "Of course! Would you two prefer the public bus or a tricycle ride?"
The Sixth Princess smiled charmingly and asked in a sweet tone,
"What's a public bus? And what's a tricycle?"
But the male demon wasn't the least bit tempted, and answered seriously, "The public bus is that metal box over there—it's currently parked across the street. The tricycle is this vehicle right behind me—it lets visitors like you enjoy a scenic ride through Black Dragon City."
The Sixth Princess was tempted to try both, but seeing that the public bus was filling up with merchants who'd been in line ahead of them, she knew her sister would be disgusted.
She tugged her sister's arm, "Let's take the tricycle. We can pay you once we've exchanged for Black Dragon Coins."
The male demon grinned and rolled out the tricycle, helping the two tourists aboard.
His vocational training instructor had been right—now that Black Dragon City was welcoming more and more merchants, tourism would soon follow, and tricycle drivers would be in high demand.
It was his first day on the job, and already he'd picked up two exotic demon ladies.
Meanwhile, the "Rich and Noble" brothers had finally returned.
At the same time, the twenty demon citizens who had been undergoing temporary training in Black Dragon City were preparing to leave, carrying all sorts of vegetable and fruit seeds with them.
They were reluctant to part ways, but they knew their responsibility—this journey was about learning, to help their cities catch up with Black Dragon City's development.
Now that they had Black Dragon Express, shipping things back home had become fast and easy. Although the Black Dragon Clan's roads were still under construction, it was only a matter of time before all five cities would be connected. Travel would become far more convenient.
The Rich and Noble brothers' final stop was Black Dragon Bay. Thanks to a real-time image transmission device, Yin Jixue was able to witness the Demon Race's ocean for the first time.
The coastal regions of the demon realm weren't particularly safe—amphibious beasts often came ashore to wreck houses.
Although the homes were just wooden huts, rebuilding them each time still took effort.
Living too far inland wasn't safer either, as beasts occasionally roamed in, keeping locals constantly on guard.
Currently, most of the residents at Black Dragon Bay are living together on small islands, without any hierarchical division. They banded together to survive.
The vegetable fields on the island covered about a hundred acres, with over two thousand demons cultivating them. If they wanted to fully utilize the land, things would get tight.
After the beasts left, some seafood still clung to their bodies and would fall off onto the shore—braver residents would scavenge them for an extra meal.
Through her image transmission system, Yin Jixue spotted oysters, king crabs, and sea creatures resembling giant lobsters.
These weren't modern seafood species, of course—but unique to the demon world, and freakishly large.
Just the king crab was the size of her sports car—about four meters long.
Not to mention the enormous lobsters and oysters.
If she hadn't used her system to scan and identify them, she wouldn't have believed oysters could be the size of a soccer ball or lobsters, the length of a three-story building.
She had to admit—she was drooling.
So she sent a request to Black Dragon Express, who delivered back 20 patties of fresh seafood.
Getting whole specimens was unrealistic—only a demon king with a storage space could manage that.
But 20 catties was plenty.
It had been ages since Yin Jixue had seafood. She'd nearly forgotten what it tasted like.
Feng Xiu caught a whiff and instinctively backed away, trying to dissuade her: "That beast meat won't taste good—it's got a strong smell."
Yin Jixue grinned, "You ate it raw, didn't you?"
Feng Xiu chuckled, "We used to live in the sea in our true forms. It was easier to just eat like that. Among sea beasts, fish taste the best."
"These two kinds, though, can have the smell removed and taste delicious."
Especially the giant squid.
Slurp.
Because there was so much meat, Yin Jixue decided to grill it in the royal palace.
Seafood and barbecue—what a perfect combo, especially with fruit wine.
She had just been wondering when Lou Zhao would be back, and then—bam—turned around and crashed right into his arms.
"Couldn't you say something before showing up out of nowhere? Trying to scare me on purpose?" she said with mock annoyance.
Lou Zhao took the squid from her hands and swiftly sliced it into strips, placing them neatly on a plate. All that was left was to brush on the marinade and put them on the grill.
Of course, palace maids were already tending to the grill. Lou Zhao pulled her aside and sat down with her: "The Qingluan Empress is here. She didn't come to find you?"
"Nope, no one reported anything either. Are you sure it was her?"
Lou Zhao shook his head. "Definitely. I caught a heavy bird scent—it has to be her."
Yin Jixue laughed, half amused and half exasperated. What kind of description was that? If the Empress heard that, wouldn't she beat him up?
"She didn't come over. She's probably using a hidden identity. Or maybe it's Qing Yuan?"
"Qing Yuan's not good enough," Lou Zhao said flatly. "The Qingluan Clan's true lineage is the Vermilion Bird. You'd know it's her the moment you got near—she radiates intense heat."
Yin Jixue grinned, "Then does that mean you're from the Azure Dragon bloodline?"
Lou Zhao looked surprised. "Did that old guy tell you?"
Of course not.
Weren't the Four Sacred Beasts just Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise?
They already had Black Tortoise and Vermilion Birds. Lou Zhao could only be the Azure Dragon.
She smiled brightly, "Just a guess. Didn't think I'd be right."