Misleading the Young
After leaving the tailor shop, Xu Shulou noticed a store called "Big Eyes Preserved Fruits" not far away—perhaps owned by the same proprietor as the clothing shop. Despite their lingering wariness toward demon realm cuisine, curiosity got the better of them, and they decided to take a look.
Xu Shulou stepped in first, and the moment her eyes landed on the items displayed on the counter, she instinctively turned and covered her junior sister’s eyes.
Bai Roushuang blinked in confusion against her palm. "Senior Sister?"
"Trust me, don’t look."
Bai Roushuang nodded nervously. "Of course I trust you."
The two stiffly retreated from the shop before finally exchanging amused glances. Buying snacks in the demon realm felt like an adventure in itself.
Behind the preserved fruit shop wound a small, twisting river with clear water, where the occasional odd-looking fish with legs swam past.
Xu Shulou paused by the riverbank. "Shall we eat something?"
"Sure!" Bai Roushuang picked a spot with a decent view, spread out a blanket, and waited for her senior sister to retrieve their stored provisions.
Xu Shulou laid out two bowls of lamb noodle soup, a plate of crispy honey-glazed pastries, a few steamed buns, and small dishes of fragrant herbal flowers and dragon beard candy, carefully arranging the bowls and chopsticks. Even in the demon realm, meals were not to be taken lightly.
Bai Roushuang took a bite of the steamed bun, feeling as though she had finally escaped the shadow of the earthworm soup. Gazing blissfully at the clear river, she mused, "I wonder if this water is safe to drink?"
A kindly old demon woman washing clothes nearby glanced up at her. "Are you two outsiders? This is the Deafness River. Drinking its water will leave you deaf for seven days—definitely not safe."
"..." The fantastical customs of the demon realm, capable of producing such a river, left the two utterly awestruck.
To thank the old demon woman for her warning, they warmly invited her to join their meal. The woman cheerfully accepted, taking a bite of the dragon beard candy Xu Shulou offered. Her eyes widened in surprise. "This is delicious! What is it? How is it made?"
Bai Roushuang was even more astonished. So demons could actually appreciate real delicacies?
Xu Shulou handed over the last two boxes of dragon beard candy from her qiankun bracelet to the grateful old woman. "This is dragon beard candy, a delicacy from the mortal realm."
"The mortal realm has such things?" The old woman shook her head in disbelief. "Sweet, soft, and delicious. Then why do humans eat things like bile-drenched brain pudding instead?"
"..." How exactly was one supposed to explain that?
Fortunately, the old woman didn’t press further. Eager to share the treat with her family, she bid them farewell and went on her way.
After finishing their meal, the two packed up and continued their stroll through the streets.
Not far from the river stood a pawnshop called "The Limping Pawnshop." Bai Roushuang couldn’t help but worry that entering might cost them a foot.
But ever since she started selling fasting pills, she had grown more attuned to financial matters. Now, she couldn’t resist the urge to check out the prices in the demon realm.
They stepped inside, where a spider lounging by the entrance lazily glanced at them before lifting a leg to tug on a wind chime, alerting the shopkeeper to their arrival.
Bai Roushuang noticed the spider had only seven legs left and suddenly understood—limping indeed. The naming conventions of demon realm shops never failed to be both unexpected and oddly fitting.
Xu Shulou strode confidently into the inner shop without a second glance.
Bai Roushuang hurried after her and was pleasantly surprised to see the shopkeeper had the standard one head and two eyes—until he used one hand to write, another to grind ink, and a third to gesture at a chair. "Sit."
"Do you accept items from the cultivation world?" Xu Shulou asked.
"Of course. But if I find out they’re fake, I’ll take one of your legs and sell it here," the shopkeeper replied in a perfectly businesslike tone.
"..." Bai Roushuang ventured, "You sell... demon limbs here? What do buyers do with them? Eat them?"
The shopkeeper gave her a look of moral condemnation and loudly summoned a burly assistant. "Keep an eye on her. Don’t let her buy any demon body parts!"
Being judged on ethical grounds by a demon left Bai Roushuang sheepishly lowering her head.
The shopkeeper eyed them warily. "What brings you two here today?"
After a moment’s thought, Bai Roushuang produced a fasting pill. "Do you take these?"
The shopkeeper took it, examining it closely before his expression softened slightly. "A fasting pill from the cultivation world?"
"You know your goods," Bai Roushuang said, emphasizing, "I usually rely on these to stave off hunger"—hoping to distance herself from the "limb-eating deviant" image.
"So you have more?" the shopkeeper pressed.
Bai Roushuang played it cautious. "About ten."
"I’ll give you two hundred demon coins per pill. Sell them all to me?"
Unsure of the exchange rate, Bai Roushuang instinctively haggled. "Three hundred."
"Deal." The shopkeeper sealed it without hesitation.
That easy? She’d probably undersold them. But Bai Roushuang wasn’t too bothered—she could make more fasting pills anytime. She picked out a few of each flavor from her storage ring and handed them over.
The shopkeeper’s gaze lingered on her ring. "Selling that too?"
"You want this?" Bai Roushuang was surprised. Storage pouches and rings were considered low-tier spatial treasures in the cultivation world, with limited capacity. Only after reaching the Nascent Soul stage could one use a qiankun bracelet like Xu Shulou’s.
"Novelties from the cultivation world are always in demand."
From his casual tone, Bai Roushuang detected a hint of eagerness. Cultivation world goods must sell well here. "What’s your offer?"
"A thousand demon coins."
Bai Roushuang tread carefully. "How many demon coins does one spirit stone exchange for here?"
"Mid-grade spirit stones trade one-to-one. Whether you want to exchange spirit stones for demon coins or vice versa, I can accommodate." Since other shops also offered exchanges, the shopkeeper had no reason to lie.
A storage pouch cost only two hundred mid-grade spirit stones in the cultivation world—here, it was five times the price, without bargaining.
Regretfully, Bai Roushuang shook her head. "I only have this one on me, so I’ll keep it."
Xu Shulou casually pulled two more from her qiankun bracelet. "You can pawn mine."
The shopkeeper eagerly took them with his three hands, inspecting them closely. "Excellent!"
Xu Shulou then retrieved a few hairpins and silk flowers she’d bought in the mortal realm but never worn. "Do you take these?"
"We do," the shopkeeper said quickly. "They won’t fetch as much as cultivation treasures, but these are well-crafted. I can resell them easily. How about a thousand demon coins for the lot?"
It seems even the demon race has decent taste—they could still recognize that this silk flower was well-crafted, Bai Roushuang couldn’t help but think.
After receiving Xu Shulou’s approval, the shopkeeper readily handed over the demon coins: "If you ladies ever have more goods from the cultivation realm or the mortal world, be sure to bring them to me. I’ll pay you a price one point higher than the market rate."
"Deal."
Xu Shulou’s Qiankun Bracelet actually held many more odd and miscellaneous items, but since she wasn’t short on spirit stones and understood the wisdom of not flaunting wealth, she didn’t take advantage of the offer. Once she had enough demon coins for herself and her junior sister to splurge, she stopped.
Though she hadn’t yet found anything worth splurging on, at least these coins could buy them hundreds of bowls of worm soup.
Pocketing the coins, the two bid farewell and left. At the doorway, Bai Roushuang couldn’t resist sighing, "I wonder if anyone dares to run a cross-border smuggling business between the two realms. The profits would be enormous."
"Anyone with the guts and connections to travel between the realms could amass a fortune," Xu Shulou agreed with a nod. "Here, they could also stock up on demon realm specialties to sell back in the cultivation world."
"Selling cultivation realm goods here is one thing," Bai Roushuang worried, "but wouldn’t demon realm items be too… avant-garde for cultivators?"
"That remains to be explored," Xu Shulou mused. "For example, that River of Deafness we saw earlier—we could bottle its water and sell it to mortal scholars burning the midnight oil. They could study in peace even in the noisiest places, completely undisturbed."
"...Senior Sister, you’re a business genius."
Xu Shulou chuckled and shook her head. "Just an idea. Being completely deaf to all sound is still a bit dangerous. Though we could bring some back for Sixth Junior Brother to see if he can refine it into a pill. If not, no harm done."
———
Xu Shulou’s undercover days came to an end on an utterly ordinary afternoon. The sky was sunless, yet her mood was a mix of brightness and melancholy.
An unexpected guest waited for her not far from the pawnshop, politely cupping his hands in greeting. "Miss Xu—or is it Miss Xu Shu? I’m not entirely familiar with the naming conventions of cultivators."
"...Just Xu," Xu Shulou replied, surprised to have her identity exposed so abruptly. "Though ‘Xu Shu’ as a compound surname does have a nice ring to it."
"Ah, Miss Xu," the visitor introduced himself. "I am a demon attendant of the demon realm."
Bai Roushuang whispered to her senior sister, "Demon attendant? What’s that?"
"A demon’s bodyguard?" Xu Shulou interpreted it literally.
"..."
The demon attendant continued, "Miss Xu, Miss Bai, your presence in the city has caused quite a stir. Our Demon Lord has heard of it and requests your audience at his palace."
Xu Shulou blinked. "People are panicking? Because of me? Why?"
"..." The demon attendant gave her a silent look that said everything.
Bai Roushuang tensed. "What if we refuse?"
The attendant gazed at her mournfully. "Then… would you kill me?"
I was about to ask the same thing… Bai Roushuang, robbed of her line, fell speechless.
The attendant hung his head. "My great-great-grandmother was just born today. I have elders above me and youngsters below me. Please, ladies, show mercy."
"..." The demon race seemed to have a rather flexible family tree.
When they didn’t respond, the attendant grew even more cautious. "What do you ladies say?"
Xu Shulou exchanged a glance with her junior sister. Knowing they couldn’t avoid this on the demons’ turf, she nodded. "Very well, we’ll accompany you."
The attendant relaxed as if granted a pardon and led the way, bringing them to an imposing palace. Above its gates loomed three menacing characters: "Gate of Ghosts."
Gate of Ghosts? Bai Roushuang sucked in a sharp breath and clutched Xu Shulou’s sleeve.
Noticing her stare, the attendant explained, "The Demon Lord once heard a mortal poem that said, ‘Even heroes cannot pass the Gate of Ghosts.’ Hence, he named his residence after it."
He spoke so matter-of-factly that Bai Roushuang didn’t immediately catch the error. After a long pause, she corrected him, "It’s ‘Even heroes cannot pass the Beauty’s Gate.’"
"Beauty’s Gate?" The attendant looked utterly baffled. "Why? Is a beauty more terrifying than ghosts?"
"Well…" Bai Roushuang faltered.
Eager to learn, the attendant pressed on, "Or is the cultivation world’s definition of ‘beauty’ different from ours?"
"Should be about the same?" Bai Roushuang was starting to doubt herself. She pointed at Xu Shulou. "For example, my senior sister here is a great beauty."
"Ah, I see." The attendant straightened with newfound respect. "So, in your terms, a ‘beauty’ refers to a woman who is exceptionally terrifying and lethal."
"..."
The attendant sighed in admiration. "One truly learns something new every day."
"..." Bai Roushuang clamped her mouth shut, afraid of further misleading the poor demon.
