Slump. That was Chen Ruiâs first impression of the New Moon City.
Not sure whether the other cities in the Demon Realm were like this. Including the palace, most of the buildings in New Moon City looked old. There were fewer shops and stalls to buy and sell. The demons he saw along the way were mostly ugly with worn clothes. The entire city was filled with a ruined, slump atmosphere.
Looking at the faces of the demons made Chen Rui felt scared. If his human identity was exposed, he would definitely be dead or worse, being eaten.
âHey! You, keep your waist straight; donât clasp your legs so tight; relax your shoulder!â Athenaâs voice interrupted Chen Ruiâs thoughts. âDespite you being a man, any child from the Wales Family is much stronger than you!â
Actually Chen Rui wanted to say that he was still a virgin, not a man in its true sense but his posture was indeed a bit strange at the moment, laid on the back of a tri-horned rhinos, both hands clasping the big, wide shell for fear of accidentally falling down and trampled into a patty by the beast.
âIâm sorry. Itâs my first time sitting on this big guy.â Chen Rui was initially thinking why didnât this world have anything like stirrups and saddle. As he was about to plagiarize the invention, he realized that Alice and the otherâs tri-horned rhino was fully equipped with supporting equipment â it turned out that itâs just a different treatment.
âYou didnât have to clasp so tight even for the first time! Relax!â Athena reprimanded.
Not sure whether little loli truly understood, she kindly convinced, âAthena, donât be so anxious. For the first time, of course, he will clamp tight.â
That sentence almost made Chen Rui fell from the tri-horned rhino. The demons along the way did notice his weirdness; they pointed at him and started gossiping. Fortunately, Chen Rui had worn a cloak, so his human identity was not revealed temporarily. Only the demons who were sensitive to smell was suspicious, but no one dared to approach with little princess and Athena there.
Upon arriving at the city gate, all four tri-horned rhinos were stopped.
âPrincess Alice, where are you going?â The one who stopped the tri-horned rhinos was an armored male demon; tall and muscular; red-skinned; two large curved horns on his head; pronounced facial features; emitting a murderous vibe; judging from his looks, he was a great demon.
âOh, itâs the sheriff, General Alan. You are inspecting personally today.â Alice smiled gently, âWe are heading to the blue lake.â
General Alan frowned. âThere were some incidents at the blue lake recently. I am worried that it was the sleeping poison dragon. Iâve sent scouts to investigate. Princess Alice should wait for us to confirm its safety before going there to play.â
âThe poisonous dragon has been sleeping for thousands of years. There is also the strongest Lock of Light and Dark from the Lord of Midnight Sun, so there shouldnât be any problem.â Alice pointed at Chen Rui. âAlso, Iâm not going out to play this time... This is Master Aldasâ new apprentice. The master asked me to take him to the blue lake to collect some herbs.â
Among the two branches of alchemy, if mechanics master gave people the feeling of ârespectâ, the potioneer would be âreverenceâ. People had more fear of the poison and its negative effect, but they ignored its curing and buffing effects.
The keywords of a potion master were usually mysterious; horrible and malicious; shouldnât provoke. Aldas was the representative of this kind of person. Horrible cries of experimental subjects often came from the lab. Even the guard of the palace dare not approach. They really didnât understand why did Her Royal Highness place such a dangerous character in the outer courtyard of the palace.
For such a mysterious and scary potion master to actually recruit an apprentice, Alan was curious as to what kind of demon was this new apprentice. With just two glances, his eyes suddenly became sharp; and at that moment, Alice let Chen Rui took off his cloak.
âThis is the human that we caught last time!â A soldier behind Alan screamed. Suddenly, all kinds of hostile eyes were concentrated on Chen Rui. He forced himself to keep a natural look, but his cold sweat couldnât help but flow down from his forehead.
Alan discovered the identity of Chen Rui earlier than the soldiers. He remembered when he reported to Princess Royal, Master Aldas was present. He asked to take the human being as an experimental subject and took him away. Now, a prisoner or a slave, had actually become the masterâs apprentice?
Alice introduced to Alan indifferently, âThis humanâs name is Chen Rui. Because of his talent in pharmaceutics, he is accepted as a formal apprentice by Master Aldas and is part of our New Moon City from now on. â
Athena added impatiently, âThis is what Alice and I heard from the master today ourselves. If you still have any doubts, you can ask Master Aldas directly!â
âAthena, sorry, I donât mean this, I...â
General Alanâs attitude toward Athena was a bit strange. Before he could finish talking, Athena interrupted coldly, âAlan, your interrogation should be over. Donât delay our time to gather herbs!â
Athenaâs blunt attitude made Alan feel helpless. He told Alice, âLittle Princess, just in case, I will send a troop of soldiers to protect you.â
Alice smiled and asked, âAre you worried that Athena canât protect me?â
Athena raised her elegant brows and her red eyes shone a sharp ray. Alan shook his head quickly and gave Chen Rui a cold gaze, âHuman! Donât try to escape or play tricks. Otherwise, I will crush all your bones.â
After Alan finished, he bowed toward little princess, indicating them to go through.
The four tri-horned rhinos left the city gate with a heavy footstep. Within Dark Moon City, the news that Master Aldas recruited a human apprentice spread quickly.
âActually, I think Alan isnât bad. His family status and yours are well-matched,â Alice giggled while looking at Athena. âIf he did not propose marriage to your dad directly without your permission, you might not dislike him that much.â
Athena said disdainfully, âI didnât like him from the beginning! This guy is timid and incompetent. Relying on the influence of the Karon Family to become a sheriff, only know how to bully the weak. He doesnât have any actual abilities.â
The âweakâ on the side understood. There was actually such gossip. No wonder the violent girl treated General Alan like an enemy.
âOur previously trip to the dark rainforest, it must be him that tattletale to the elder princess. I hate this kind of person,â Athena sneered, âStill trying to hit on me? Ask my sword first!â
âThatâs right, Athena is mine. No one can take it.â Little loli laughed. âLetâs speed up!â
The tri-horned rhinos began to accelerate. It was hard to believe that such rapid speed was from such a huge body. For Chen Rui, who has no supporting tools on the rhino, was undoubtedly a torment. He could only lay down tightly; he almost fell down several times. Athena trying to save troubles and changed her mount with him. Seeing the violent girl sitting on the rapid-moving giant rhinoâs back with ease, Chen Rui could only admit his incompetence.
As compared to Arthurâs memory of the sunny world above the ground, the Demon Realmâs environment was much worse. The light source came from the two âstarsâ in the sky. Although being called a âstarâ, but its light and heat was far lesser than the sun for the earth. Most of the time, it was covered by the clouds of smoke in the air. In the evening, they became âthe moonâ again, emitting a faint icy brilliance. The temperature difference between day and night was very large.
Along the way, huge pits formed by long-term corrosion could be seen. Unknown, dark and mysterious caves, together with the strange plants formed a dark yet beautiful landscape.
The blue lake covered a huge area; surrounded by mountains; the environment was particularly quiet; blue water; flourished lakeside plants and gorgeous flowers; like a paradise in the dark world.
However, Chen Rui quickly learned from Alice that the water of the lake was blue because a huge adult poison dragon was sleeping at the bottom of the lake. The venom from its body dyed the lake into blue color. There werenât any living things in the lake. The lush plants by the lake were mostly of highly toxic. There was also some kind of charming flower that was actually flesh-eating species. Its beautiful and attractive appearance came from the blood and flesh of the prey.
The power of the dragon was quite horrifying, especially the rare dragons who were poisonous. A slight move could extinct a cityâs population, so no one dared to provoke it easily. This poisonous dragon had been sleeping in the lake for thousands of years. Four hundred years ago, the Dark Moonâs territory had a civil war. When the strongest man of the Demon Realm, the Lord of Midnight Sun led the army and passed by the blue lake, he did not dare to wake the poisonous dragon. In order to let it continue to sleep, he deliberately set a seal of .
âThere is a law in the Demon Realm where the prettier things are often more dangerous.â
Chen Rui agreed with Aliceâs words in his thought. He added another sentence in his heart. The same is true for female demons.
Super cute little princess; essence-sucking succubus; heroic swordswoman; which of them isnât dangerous?
After all, the sleeping dragon in the lake was not just a display. Athena did not dare to get too close with the little princess. She carefully chose a safer mountain top that has a great view of the wide lake.
âI havenât been to the blue lake for a long time. Athena, do remember the last time?â Alice suggested with great enthusiasm, âSince weâre here, letâs have another picnic.â
Athena hesitated a little, âDidnât Alan mention there is something strange at the blue lake recently? Letâs just pick the fruits and return soon.â
âDid you really believe in what that timid Alan said?â Alice shook her head in disapproval. âIf you invited him to come, he would immediately say that the poison dragon has been wiped out, and the blue lake is safer than his familyâs bathroom.â
âI wonât invite that kind of hateful guy!â Athena snorted and agreed with Alice. âOK then, Kia will pick some Jade Dragonfruit. Iâll go hunt some preys. Hey, human, you and Alice can decorate the place.â
Actually, Chen Rui wanted to try using the poisonous flowers to increase the progress of the Super System; but considering the horrible cannibalistic flower and the dragon in the lake, he immediately gives up on this idea.
After Kia and Athena left, Alice commanded Chen Rui to get busy. The bracelet on her wrist was a space device that could store items, but the quality shouldnât be very high as the space inside was not big enough. It was fully loaded by little loli. As a result, as soon as the space entrance was opened; a bunch of things fell out, followed by a whole lot more.
Chen Rui had to help her to clean up and he accidentally âpicked upâ a pile of bras. Some of them were actually large-sized with laces. Chen Rui was astounded. His first reaction was that the world already had this stuff; the second reaction was that this size did not match the underdeveloped part of little loli. Could Alice be some sort of legendary âfetishâ?
Under Aliceâs murderous gaze, Chen Rui pretended not to see the pile of things and went back to clean up other objects. When he turned around, the pile of things had disappeared.
The items in Aliceâs storage space were complete. Soon, the full set of picnic utensils was tidied up. It seemed that this little loli was ready to play at any time.
At this moment, Athena and Kia had not returned. Noticed no one was around, Alice walked toward Chen Rui step by step. Chen Rui was nervous for a moment and asked, âLittle Princess, is there anything?â
âThe story isnât like thatâ Alice said with a weird smile. âYou should say. Donât come over, Iâll call someone if you get any closer! Then I will say, even if you scream until you lose your voice, no one will come to save you!â
Chen Rui was speechless and rolled his eyes. He then asked, âThen when I called âlose your voice; lose your voiceâ and the guy named âno oneâ will come to save me?â
Alice looked surprised. âIt turns out that the human world also has the book âDemon King and Princessâ.â
Chen Rui smiled incomprehensibly but didnât respond. It seemed that many things were similar, regardless of realm or race.
Yet he couldnât smile afterward because Alice said, âTell me a good story. Just like the primeval age previously. Something with a rich imagination.â
Chen Rui heart was beating fast and argued, âThat wasnât a story, but an actual incident! If I didnât inherit the thoughts of Master Wukong, how can I make Huarong Dao and burr puzzle?â
âIâll tell you a secret, even Athena doesnât know,â Alice said in a mysterious voice. âWhen I first met you, I had just awakened one of Luciferâs unique talent called , and... I accidentally tested on you.â
Chen Ruiâs was shocked and he couldnât speak for a while.
Accidentally your ass!