Trafford’s Trading Club

In the courtyard where light streamed down, blue birds flitted about, like an oil painting... or perhaps a cage.

"She" seemed to have just woken from a dream, leaning against a pillar in the courtyard's hall.

Beside her sat a black-haired youth in ornate clothing, while outside the courtyard, in the flower garden, a silver-haired girl seemed to be gathering flowers and weaving something.

Soft light fell upon the youth, like a layer of gauze.

The youth, who was looking down and reading a book, seemed to notice "her" awakening, and turned his gaze, as if to say something.

Unable to hear clearly, unable to see clearly... gradually drifting away.

...

The wind chimes on the windowsill swayed, and Ah Xi Ruo curled up, her gaze unfocused... She covered her face and sat up, staring at the swaying wind chimes for a long time before her consciousness finally rebooted.

"I had that dream again..."

Ever since she accidentally fell into that strange school and underwent some kind of concubine candidate assessment, she would occasionally have that hazy dream.

She stayed there for a long, long time, vaguely hearing slightly unrestrained laughter coming from downstairs... Ah Xi Ruo frowned.

It was almost two in the afternoon when Long Xi Ruo opened the door to the living room downstairs.

Little Saint... Little Saint was instantly knocked to the ground, convulsing all over, almost gone.

"Ignore him, he won't die!" Long Xi Ruo said unhappily, sitting down and kicking Sun Xiaosheng on the ground away, then glared at the others, "Just got back?"

The few who had been as quiet as cicadas in winter immediately sat upright and nodded obediently.

Long Xi Ruo hummed in acknowledgment and didn't say anything else.

Mo Xiaofei thought for a moment and said, "Master, I'll be staying for a while this time. I haven't been home much lately, my dad will be worried... It's a good time to stay here and take care of Sun Da Wang."

Ah Xi Ruo, who was about to nod, suddenly seemed to remember something, "No, you and Zhui Feng will leave [Qilin City] later and take a trip to Beijing for me. Find that old rascal [Fire Cloud Cthulhu]. You'll know what to do when you get there."

"Go to Beijing?" Mo Xiaofei couldn't help but pause.

"Unwilling?" Long Xi Ruo said indifferently.

Mo Xiaofei shook his head, "Okay, if it's not urgent, I'll leave tomorrow... If it's urgent, I'll go book tickets later."

"...Then tomorrow it is." Long Xi Ruo nodded.

—Xiaofei, don't blame me for not letting you spend more time with your family.

—Because... that guy is back.

Ah Xi Ruo knew better than anyone what Boss Luo's business was... She didn't even need to guess how Mo Xiaofei's power came to be.

This disciple of hers would eventually become the other party's [Prey].

Thinking like this, Ah Xi Ruo suddenly had a strange idea... Wasn't she, perhaps, feeding a demon with herself?

Emmmm...

...

The medical skills of the Divine Continent True Dragon are basically unmatched in the Divine Continent... This is not an exaggeration. At least, problems that seemed quite tricky to the old doctors of the Xuan Yuan clan were stabilized after Ah Xi Ruo concocted several special medicines and performed acupuncture at the pet hospital.

"Quit smoking, quit drinking, quit self-discipline. One dose of the small package of medicine a day, three doses of the large package of medicine a day, and this, take it back and soak in a bath every day for no less than an hour. Come back for a follow-up in two weeks, and you can get lost when you're okay!"

Little Saint's head was still buzzing. It was impossible to quit self-discipline. He didn't want to stay in this ghostly place any longer!

After taking the medicine, the bar boys, who had already heard the news, hurriedly took Little Saint away.

The safety of [Qilin City] is very guaranteed. All [Transcendent] and [Non-human] powers will not work—even transcendent poisons, curses, etc. Therefore, Mo Xiaofei did not stop Little Saint from leaving.

The Management Bureau will definitely arrange for people to protect him secretly, and Little Saint has a lot of manpower in his own bar.

"Then... Master, we'll take our leave too."

"Goodbye, Lord Long!"

Mo Xiaofei and Zhui Feng also went their separate ways, agreeing to meet at the airport tomorrow.

Ah Xi Ruo looked at the time and asked curiously, "Usually at this time, you're out feeding those stray cats, aren't you? Why didn't you go today?"

"I'll go later." The little butterfly demon said calmly, "Wasn't it necessary to entertain Xiaofei and the others?"

Ah Xi Ruo didn't suspect anything, nodded, and took off her doctor's coat, "I'm going out for a while."

...

Although she said she was going out for a while, Long Xi Ruo was just wandering aimlessly around the city... She didn't have a fixed destination either, just felt distracted and unable to stay in one place.

She could be considered a beauty, although a little unkempt, she still attracted a lot of attention... She didn't encounter any dramas of being harassed by local ruffians along the way.

The local ruffians had almost all been arrested, and even some guys with low social credit had been [politely] asked to leave [Qilin City] during this time.

Currently, the population of [Qilin City], in addition to the original local residents, all newcomers need to accumulate [Social Contribution Points] and enter the household with points.

Walking and walking, Ah Xi Ruo suddenly stopped... In an inconspicuous alley in a commercial street, an old pine wood door entered her sight.

Long Xi Ruo paused, looked at the photo on the door in surprise... frowned, and pushed the door open and walked in.

"Welcome, is there anything I can help you with, guest?"

Looking at the maid sister in black and white maid clothes who appeared in front of her, Long Xi Ruo couldn't help but narrow her eyes... She glared at the maid sister unhappily, her gaze subconsciously searching for something in the hall.

At this time, Boss Luo was sitting in a chair in the corner of the hall, flipping through a thread-bound book... The record player next to him was playing Schumann's [Dreaming].

"Miss Long, welcome." Boss Luo looked up and smiled slightly.

Ah Xi Ruo's eyes couldn't help but flatten into an inverted triangle, and she opened her mouth with a hint of trouble-making, "Just came back and can't wait to open a store, didn't 'eat enough' during this time out? Or are you so poor that you can't make ends meet?"

Boss Luo smiled slightly, put down the book, "In Miss Long's opinion, do I look like someone who doesn't do business properly?"

Long Xi Ruo glared unhappily.

Boss Luo moved his mind slightly, and a chair automatically pulled open, "Please sit down."

Ah Xi Ruo sat down carelessly, "I have important matters to discuss with your boss, those unimportant people should not get in the way, I like a quiet environment."

Based on the principle that the customer is God, the maid sister smiled and walked away.

It would be best if Miss Long really [bought] something before leaving.

...

...

The hall was quiet, after a moment of silence, Ah Xi Ruo crossed her arms and said with a scrutinizing gaze, "Can you tell me, what is the purpose of your return this time?"

Boss Luo asked curiously, "Return this time? Is Miss Long misunderstanding something? I was originally raised here, wasn't I?"

Ah, Xi Ruo was silent for a moment, then sighed and said, "You… you should be very clear about your own situation. It's one thing to go online with [Emerald Dream], but to appear in person… won't there really be any problems?"

"Is Miss Long concerned about me?" Boss Luo blinked.

—What a devil…

Ah, Xi Ruo was about to speak, but suddenly remembered what the little butterfly demon had been chattering in her ear recently about [Tsundere is outdated].

She hesitated slightly before whispering, "Are… are you alright now?"

"Don't worry, there won't be any problems in the short term." Boss Luo smiled slightly, "Thanks to your kind words, I've [eaten] my fill during this trip."

Ah, Xi Ruo's mind suddenly flashed with the image of that black-hearted maid, who seemed to have become much more charming, and she clicked her tongue, "Aren't you afraid of getting tired of it!"

Boss Luo looked at Long Xi Ruo with his chin propped up and smiled, "Is Miss Long trying to help me change my taste?"

—Damn it, he's flirting again…

Even though she knew that what the other party valued was clearly her Shenzhou True Dragon Soul, Ah, Xi Ruo's ears still burned… Thinking of that strange idea of feeding herself to the demon, she suddenly felt a little flustered.

If she just fed him enough… would he disappear from this world forever?

Could he… really be [fed] enough?

She exhaled and forced herself to suppress the strange thoughts in her heart, thought for a moment, and said, "Don't talk about those nonsense things. I'm not in the mood to argue with you today… [Emerald Dream], what exactly is going on?"

The Bureau had already discovered that there were many cases of living people entering [Emerald Dream]… Even those who had entered the game and never woke up had mostly been found and settled.

However, with the continuous in-depth investigation of [Emerald Dream], it was found that the number of [players] was seriously inconsistent with the number of discovered comatose patients… Those extra [players] seemed to appear out of thin air.

—Could it be [players] introduced from other worlds?

—Do parallel worlds exist outside of Earth…

The Bureau has opened many projects, and they are still researching and trying to prove more, and even trying to find ways to enter parallel time and space—all of this is based on unknown curiosity and fear.

But Long Xi Ruo knew for sure that they did exist. In the long history of Shenzhou, in the inherited memories of the Shenzhou True Dragon, there had been instances of [immortals] descending.

"I just opened up some more channels for entry." Boss Luo snapped his fingers and began to make Kung Fu tea, "Just like a second-tier game, there won't be only one server, will there?"

Ah, Xi Ruo raised an eyebrow, "So, [Azure World] is indeed a real parallel space-time… You transformed an entire world to use as a map?"

She had long suspected it, even been certain… She was only here for the other party's personal admission.

Boss Luo suddenly said, "Miss Long, would you like to see the world of [Azure] for yourself… not as a [player]?"

"Huh?"

"Come."

Boss Luo suddenly stretched out his palm.

Ah, Xi Ruo was stunned for a moment, hesitated, and finally tentatively placed her palm in the other party's palm… Simply stacked together.

The next moment.

The galaxy reversed, and time and space changed.

…

The wind roars here.

The boundless primeval forest connects the sky and the earth, as if covering the entire earth. The sky is clear, and the earth is verdant. Even Long Xi Ruo, who possesses the long memory of a True Dragon, has never seen such a magnificent primeval scene.

She subconsciously took a deep breath. The rich spiritual energy entered her body, and the cells all over her body felt like they were bathed in sweet rain, giving her a sense of comfort.

"This is… [Azure·Demon Realm]?" Long Xi Ruo was shocked.

When descending as a [player], she could not feel the existence of spiritual energy… And apart from the rich spiritual energy all around, the tens of thousands of demon auras, strong and weak, that emanated from the primeval forest at all times, seemed to corroborate something.

Boss Luo said, "Miss Long, how does the environment here compare to Shenzhou?"

Ah, Xi Ruo sighed, "This kind of environment is probably only comparable to the ancient times of Shenzhou… Even with the spiritual energy revival of Shenzhou this time, the depths of the Shenzhou Dragon Vein are still a bit lacking."

"There's no need to be modest. As time goes by, the spiritual energy concentration of the Shenzhou Dragon Vein will also increase." Boss Luo shook his head and said, "Moreover, the world where Shenzhou is located actually has some advantages that other worlds don't have."

"What advantages?" Ah, Xi Ruo couldn't help but be stunned.

Boss Luo looked at her very seriously, "I found that the probability of the world where Shenzhou is located nurturing [True Souls] is much higher than in many worlds… Even [Azure], a golden world that has already been promoted, is actually somewhat inferior in this regard."

"What do you mean?" Long Xi Ruo couldn't help but open her mouth.

Boss Luo thought for a moment and said, "To put it simply, if we compare it to a gold mine… the ore content of the world where Shenzhou is located is much richer. And this rich content may be man-made."

"Man-made…" Long Xi Ruo frowned, then looked at Boss Luo strangely, "Silently transforming the environment of the entire world, subtly influencing the souls of all living beings… Isn't this a method that only you possess?"

"Not necessarily." Boss Luo shook his head, "The void is very large, and there are many people who possess this method. Moreover, this special characteristic of the Shenzhou world was not achieved overnight… It's more like what Miss Long said, a gradual result. Silently nourishing things, using a long time to complete this feast of soul transformation."

Ah, Xi Ruo suspiciously said, "What, can't even you find the answer to this kind of thing?"

"It's no fun if you know the answer right away." Boss Luo smiled indifferently, "I always have to find something to do."

"So, you came back this time to find out the truth about this matter?"

"I'll just go with the flow." Boss Luo chuckled, "Even if I can't find the answer this time, it doesn't matter, because as long as I see Miss Long again, I'll be very satisfied."

"!!!!!!!"

…

Ah, Xi Ruo almost couldn't hold on and wanted to feed herself to the demon, offering herself up.

Bang.

The pine door was still shaking.

"Oh dear, is Miss Long leaving so soon?" The maid sister looked surprised.

Boss Luo moved his mind slightly, and the shaking pine door gradually disappeared… In the alley of the commercial street, the existence of this door could no longer be found.

…

Huff…

Hot breath was constantly exhaled. Long Xi Ruo covered her eyes with her hands and slumped in the back seat of the taxi… like a feverish patient.

Body… so hot…

What's going on…

"…Miss, are you feeling unwell? Should I take you to the hospital?" The old driver kindly said, "Hey, miss, you can't get out of the car here… Miss?"

Ah, Xi Ruo pushed open the car door and staggered away directly from the middle of the road.

So hot…

She didn't know how she walked outside the suburbs, out of the confinement of [Qilin City]… Suddenly, a earth-shattering dragon roar sounded, and the wind and clouds changed.

The True Dragon of Shenzhou manifested the God of True Dragon, instantly crossing mountains and rivers, and crashed into the ancient Kunlun… The secret realm opened, and Long Xi Ruo fell into the pool of the True Dragon inheritance land.