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)
…
Yin Jixue asked with a frown, "Is it really okay for us not to go see the Qingluan Empress? I mean… she's an empress. Shouldn't we be opening the gates wide and sweeping the roads to welcome her?"
Lou Zhao looked utterly unbothered. "If she wants to sneak in under a false identity, then let her. If she wants to show herself, she will."
Of course, Lou Zhao could locate the Qingluan Empress if he wanted to. Demon Kings could sense each other's presence as long as they were within range.
But he didn't want to move. What could be better than staying here and enjoying a barbecue with his little wife?
Seeing the colorful fruit wines on the table, Yin Jixue took the initiative to explain, "These are low-alcohol fruit wines. Not like the ones we had last time. I promise you won't get drunk."
Lou Zhao felt a pang of disappointment.
Why not get drunk again…?
Last time, the kiss had been… quite enjoyable. He wouldn't mind another round.
If Yin Jixue knew what he was thinking, she might've already flung herself into his arms with zero hesitation.
But Yin Jixue was too shy for that. After all, if she were always the one being overly forward, it wouldn't seem proper.
Even though she woke up in his arms every single day, the two of them were the purest, most innocent married couple imaginable.
Other couples might lie under the covers and "chat," but these two? They got under the covers and went straight to sleep.
The main reason, probably, was Yin Jixue's fear that she'd lose control and turn into a beast.
So she resisted the urge to talk at night, rolled into bed, and closed her eyes as if her life depended on it—hypnotizing herself to sleep.
After the seafood feast, Yin Jixue needed someone to rub her belly to help with digestion. But she was fully content.
It did taste just like the seafood from her world—if not better.
She handed a few skewers of grilled seafood to Ruoshui and Feng Xiu, who were soon singing its praises.
Feng Xiu murmured, "So this is how it should be cooked. No wonder demons never liked sea beasts before. Turns out we just never found the right way to eat them."
Yin Jixue's mind sparked with an idea. "We could raise these things on a large scale. No need to fish them out of the sea every time. We could farm them in seawater–filled pools."
These seafood creatures weren't nearly as dangerous as the amphibious sea beasts—they were low-level monsters, totally manageable by the average demon.
Soon enough, a full proposal on seafood farming was sent to Black Dragon Bay via Black Dragon Express.
At the same time, huge news broke from just outside the city.
The rice and wheat had ripened—at the same time.
Even though harvest time was supposed to be a month away, somehow they were already mature!
When Yin Jixue and Lou Zhao personally rushed to the fields, they discovered that nearly all of the local demon folk had undergone atavism.
These demons once looked down upon, were now on the verge of becoming the first wave of pure-blooded demons.
The likely cause? The crops are grown on the scorched earth.
But no one had pinpointed it just yet. After all, only native Black Dragon City demons and those from Black Dragon Port working here had shown changes.
Traveling merchants? No visible difference.
Then Yin Jixue suddenly remembered—her system had a new search engine function after its last upgrade.
Maybe it could answer this mystery.
"System, is the atavism of Black Dragon City's demon folk related to the crops they've been eating?"
[There is a certain degree of correlation. Further exploration is required. Please continue your efforts, Host.]
Yin Jixue stared at the response, startled.
The system… was starting to sound a bit human.
In other words—it was getting closer to its final level.
But how could it be happening so quickly?
Though her Faith Power had been steadily increasing, she still had over half the progress bar left. Faith Power was what fueled the system's leveling, and even when she completed that massive amusement park project at Black Dragon Port, it had only pushed her up one level.
So how come she was already close to the last level?
The more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed. The system's progression felt increasingly unusual.
Still, it had never done her any harm—in fact, it had been quietly helping her all along. Sometimes she even wondered if this system was a cheat gifted by the heavens.
Since there was a connection, she'd just assume for now that the vegetables were the reason.
But what if those traveling merchants started eating large quantities of the local produce—what if they also underwent atavism?
That was a problem for future her.
Or better yet—let Lou Zhao deal with it.
With his fists.
When they arrived at the fields, the demon folk were using their newly learned agricultural knowledge to harvest the rice and wheat.
Thinking about how she was finally going to eat fragrant, fluffy rice, Yin Jixue tightly gripped Lou Zhao's hand.
"I've waited so long for this day. Rice is so good—I just know you'll love it."
Wheat could also be turned into all kinds of noodles and buns. Sure, sweet potato noodles were great, but she preferred rice and steamed buns.
As she watched the busy harvest, she eagerly described to Lou Zhao how amazing rice and buns were.
At this point, Lou Zhao sees rice and wheat in the field as actual bowls of rice and fluffy white buns.
Since they noticed the prince had arrived, the demon folk quickly brought over freshly harvested but still unhulled rice and wheat.
"Your Highness, would you like us to grind it fresh?"
Yin Jixue tried to stay calm, though her heart was bursting with joy.
"Yes—right now, please."
She wasn't a glutton…
But seriously—who could say no to rice?
As she watched the husks being removed and snow-white grains being revealed, Yin Jixue couldn't help but fling herself into Lou Zhao's arms.
"I'm just… so happy."
At that moment, she truly felt a sense of belonging among the demons.
Lou Zhao wrapped his arms around her. "Then I'm happy for you too."
Soon, the rice was sent off to the palace kitchens. Yin Jixue and Lou Zhao waited anxiously for their first meal of demon-grown rice.
The chefs had already prepared several hot dishes to go with the rice, and everything hit the table at once.
Maybe it was the rising steam, but Yin Jixue's eyes grew a little misty.
The hot rice hit her tongue, and at last—her soul felt at peace.
"Maybe it's because I got to taste rice again, but for the first time, I feel truly grounded."
Lou Zhao thought the rice was delicious too, but he couldn't fully understand her emotions.
"You didn't have this in the human world?"
Yin Jixue nodded. "We did—but rice wasn't the staple. They ate millet. It would be a long, long time before they discovered rice."
He figured it out.
The Queen was homesick.
Homesick for her previous life.
Yin Jixue caught on to his thoughts.
"I'm not homesick," she explained. "It's just… tasting rice gave me a kind of emotional closure. Like I finally completed something I'd always wanted. I don't know how to explain it. What I do know is—my home now is here, with the Demon Race."
Her words came out a bit jumbled. She was afraid Lou Zhao would think she wanted to return to the modern world. But there wasn't much to miss—except maybe how rice was hard to come by in the base camps after the apocalypse.
What she missed… was the peaceful time before the world ended.
She shoveled in another mouthful of rice. "I think the Demon Race is wonderful. From the moment I arrived, everyone welcomed me and supported me. We've grown together, step by step."
Lou Zhao felt a little regret. "If I hadn't left the Demon Realm back then, I could've been with you from the start."
He had missed the early days of her arrival.
But really, life wasn't about "what ifs."
If Lou Zhao had stayed, Yin Jixue might've been too afraid to reveal her system. She might never have dared to transform Black Dragon City the way she did.
So, in the end—it was all part of fate's plan.