Free Web NovelChapter 417: Chapter 347: At Most, a Taste of the Original Flavor
[Blood Offering]!
As the beast-headed, red-haired, horned, cloud-dragon-bodied demon "Bai Ze" inhaled the puppet with a gust, its stature also broke through the ten thousand mark, while Yan Qing had only used two [Blood Offering] cards.
After Bai Ze’s enhancement, the current [Blood Offering] effect increased to 200/200. Now, even the weakest puppet card must exceed 2000/2000 in stature, and with the double intake from the "Ascended Six Ears," the benefits Yan Qing gains from using [Blood Offering] have reached the point of numerical breakdown.
If placed in a game, Yan Qing’s opponents are no longer just demons but other players. The most important resources in the Demon Gathering Land are demons, and there are quite a few high-level demon teams, but they are scant compared to the vast number of players.
Initially, players still need to cooperate to deal with high-level demon teams. Once players finish off the Demon Gathering Land, what will happen next?
Finally, they can fight each other without reservation, my friend.
Yan Qing is very sure that defeating other players also has rewards, but there are only two players in the Demon Gathering Land, and the other one is his alternate account. He can’t just wait for Ye Si to come out and fight him, can he?
With the current puppet lineup, infinite battles are now possible. Even if "Qiongqi" and "Bai Ze" get hurt, a single intake of a puppet can immediately recover over 4000 in stature, making their health increase instead of decrease, which is the power of a snowball effect.
Under normal circumstances, this opportunity wouldn’t exist; other players would compete for creatures too. But all the resources of the Demon Gathering Land are his alone, akin to monopolizing all the minions and jungles in a MOBA game. It’s peculiar if he doesn’t grow immensely strong.
But at this developmental pace, can he defeat the Heavenly Demon of Transfiguration and Freedom? This is a world boss that usually requires a joint assault from all players in the Demon Gathering Land. Evaluating it as a Sixth-Turn Demon King would be an understatement since, apart from lacking existence-altering mechanisms, its attributes probably rival those of a Seventh-Turned Golden Core Immortal Monarch!
He still needs to accelerate!
"Yellow Dog, I want to eat yours!"
"If you want it, come and take it yourself."
In the cake shop, Yan Qing glanced at Murong Hui and handed her a puff.
It’s strange indeed. Although there are many shops in the Demon Gathering Land, most related to food are snack shops, dessert shops, and cake shops. There’s no hotpot or barbecue place, which are quite popular. But later, Yan Qing figured it out. Male players come here either to kill others or be killed, and after they finish, they go offline to play other games. No matter how well-decorated the in-game shops are, they can’t smell the aroma through the computer. Therefore, most who pay attention to the shop facilities are female players, and it’s natural that the game’s design would cater to them.
Having just finished off a team of Six Demon Fiends, although not yet hungry, the aroma of eggs wafting into their nostrils drew them into the cake shop.
Murong Hui opened her mouth wide, and Yan Qing stuffed the puff into it. She bit through the crispy outer layer, and the snow-white cream flowed out, making her eyes narrow with happiness. Yan Qing could almost see a tail wagging behind her.
"Delicious." Murong Hui pushed a piece of cake into his mouth: "This one is good too, try it."
Yan Qing took a bite and nodded, "The wife cake here is quite good."
"Wife cake?" Murong Hui looked at the half piece of cake in her hand with terror, "But, but, I didn’t taste any meat!"
Yan Qing almost burst out laughing: "A wife cake is a cake made by a wife, not one made out of a wife!"
"Why a wife? Can’t it be a young woman?"
"In other places, ’wife’ and ’husband’ mean ’wife’ and ’husband’, not ’old woman.’" Yan Qing patiently explained.
Murong Hui curiously tilted her head: "But why call your partner that? Don’t you mind calling each other old? ’Husband’ and ’wife’, it sounds like you’re aged before your time. We call them ’young bride’ or ’little lady.’
Yan Qing was stumped for a moment. After thinking, he replied, "But people do grow old, don’t they? Calling each other husband and wife from the start is like wishing that their relationship won’t fade as they grow old together."
Murong Hui nodded thoughtfully and suddenly clapped her hands, "I get it!"
She gave Yan Qing a hearty pat on the shoulder, her face sincere: "From now on, I’ll call you ’Old Dog!’"
Watching Yan Qing squeeze, pinch, and tug at Murong Hui’s cheeks, Ying Rushi rolled her eyes, thinking last night’s illusion was truly bizarre. The real Murong Hui would not be so obedient and considerate.
After she discerned that [Murong Hui] was an illusion, when she opened her eyes again, it was already time to switch to the night shift. Nothing like [Murong Hui] chatting ever happened; it was all an illusion from the start, like that unexpected moment of honesty with Thief’s House, it was all her wishful thinking, her yearning desire, her cowardice, and her craving.
A yellow beam of a dream on the pillow, reflecting in the red dust eye.
Because of the illusion that she was accepted by her teammates, Yellow Dog, Black Wolf, and Red Snake suddenly appeared in the room, showing concern for her; because she didn’t like Murong Hui getting too close to Yan Qing, Murong Hui suddenly expressed that she would keep her distance from Yan Qing... all of this was just an illusion, a pipe dream. If she really believed it, seeing Murong Hui and Yan Qing still being close would surely make her cry her heart out.
Ying Rushi was able to see through it, not only because she vaguely sensed something was off but also because Yan Qing reminded her.
This guy, Yan Qing, would even bring up the perverted dogs Black Wolf and Red Snake in front of her, honest to the point of being shameless.
Even if he tried to fool her a bit, he still ended up saying things like, ’I’ll do my best to get you used to it,’ with a conviction that seemed to speak of a dream. If Ying Rushi hadn’t defected, she might have complained to Ying Le already.
This naturally wicked, perverted dog was beyond saving, but precisely because of that, he had no reason to lie. The pure-loving Yan Qing, who said ’I can only choose one’ to himself the night before, never existed.
She should have thought of it sooner: how could someone entangled with Black Wolf and Red Snake have such pure-hearted resolve? It was only because she wished the person she liked could be as faithful as she was that the illusion weaved this possibility.
The more beautiful her fantasy, the more she anticipated it; reality would just leave her disappointed and even despairing.
In the illusion, Yan Qing wanted to confess, would give up Black Wolf and Red Snake for lifelong monogamy. In reality, Yan Qing couldn’t even grasp her feelings, and wouldn’t say he chose only one in front of her. The only overlap between illusion and reality was... he would never let go of her hand.
With this precedent of illusory Yan Qing, seeing through the illusion of Murong Hui became logical. In fact, Ying Rushi hadn’t noticed anything wrong; everything in the illusion was based on her perception, so when it seemed too idyllic, too satisfying, she suddenly woke up—too happy, too fulfilling.
She didn’t deserve it.
Previously, she was deceived because she wanted and craved too much, so she accidentally fell into it. After initially establishing a relationship with Yan Qing last night, Ying Rushi felt her inner void was filled—though half with anger and grievance—like a starving beast that managed to satiate itself temporarily and naturally wouldn’t jump at bait anymore, her intelligence returning to its peak.
Besides that, there was one flaw that wasn’t really a flaw.
Ying Rushi glanced at Murong Hui, who was sticking closely to Yan Qing, chatting. In the illusion, most of the things [Murong Hui] said were false, except for one: Murong Hui probably did like Yan Qing.
Her affection was like that, always hanging around you, smelling your scent, actively seeking your attention, childish and fervent. Because of this, when Ying Rushi heard [Murong Hui] say she’d keep her distance from Yan Qing, she felt a slight tug on her heart.
While Murong Hui and Yan Qing’s close relationship certainly irritated her, letting Murong Hui stew in her own concessions saddened her even more. Before [Murong Hui] said it, she thought she hoped her sister would back off; after [Murong Hui] said it, she preferred her sister to compete with her. After all, with Yan Qing, at most, things might crack, but he wouldn’t be snatched away.
There was no mistake with the illusion; unfortunately, women are just too capricious.
However, Ying Rushi wasn’t too anxious; her sister, although talkative, was actually quite slow-witted. If she really realized her feelings went beyond friendship, she would already be blushing by now.
But Murong Hui may not be bright, Yan Qing, are you also clueless? The past was one thing, but after saying sweet words to me last night, don’t you think you should be more proactive in keeping your distance from Murong Hui? I’m watching!
Ying Rushi stared straight at Yan Qing, conveying moral pressure with her gaze. When Murong Hui went to get cake, Yan Qing noticed Ying Rushi’s displeased look, checked that Murong Hui wasn’t watching, then wiped the cake from Ying Rushi’s mouth with his finger and ate it.
He glanced at Murong Hui again, squeezed Ying Rushi’s hand, and when Murong Hui returned, he acted as if nothing had happened, occasionally winking at Ying Rushi, making it feel illicit and thrilling.
Ying Rushi tried hard to glare fiercely, but her lips curled up despite herself, and she gave him a side eye and turned her head.
I really don’t deserve sweet love, at most, I can only taste this dog’s original flavor.
"Isn’t it not far from the other Eight Demons around here?" Yan Qing asked.
"We’ll be there soon, but should we fight now?" Murong Hui asked, "Or should we grow a bit more?"
Yan Qing shook his head. Although attacking later would be safer, getting rewards sooner would speed up growth, and right now, he was running out of time.
En route, they passed a doll-catching machine called the Puppet Cage. Murong Hui grabbed at it and won a Third-Turn Puppet Card, noticing Ying Rushi’s interest. Yan Qing then took out the Puppet Cards for them to play with. The Puppet Cards averaged a lower turn count, but with the 2400/2400 blood sacrifice bonus, any turn count was nearly the same.
Two moments later, they arrived at a grand plaza where a gigantic White-haired Lion Demon bathed in the fountain. It wore a Beast Bone Mask, its two fangs protruded from its mouth, and even seated, it reached a height of over ten zhang. Beside it stood a massive spear, towering and imposing.
With its long breaths, heat steamed off its body, turning the fountain water into mist.
One of the Eight Demons, White Lion King!
