Heikou (Black Dragon Mouth)
Heicheng (Black Dragon City)
Censorate (Supervisory Court)
Yuling City (Jade City)
Jingui Town (Golden Turtle Town)
...
Lou Zhao kept his promise. The next day, he caught several long-haired rabbits for Yin Jixue. As for the sharp-tusked tapirs, it wasn't yet their spring mating season, so Yin Jixue told him to wait a while longer before hunting them.
The long-haired rabbits were mercilessly shorn as soon as they were caught, and Yin Jixue's thick woolen pants were now reserved in advance.
...
Today was Friday, the first week since the official opening of the bus route between Black Dragon City and Black Dragon Mouth.
The schoolchildren were on break, and Xiaoye was fortunate enough to be one of the selected few who could return home.
With a small cloth bag slung over her shoulder, she boarded the bus home with her grandmother.
No one was left in Xiaoye's home. She hadn't been back all winter, and though the house might no longer be standing, Black Dragon Mouth was still her home.
She leaned against her grandmother as the bus filled with fellow residents of Black Dragon Mouth. Though they weren't all familiar, their faces were recognizable.
The adults all knew Xiaoye and her grandmother. Xiaoye had taken first place in the school's hunting competition, and word had spread—she'd even been publicly praised in the city!
Of the six elderly, weak, women, and children selected to return home this time, the rest were laborers from outside the city. The bus could squeeze in up to sixty passengers if everyone sat on the floor.
The road was smooth, and the bus drove without a single bump. The driver even sped along, since there were rarely other vehicles on this route.
The scenery outside the window flashed by. Her grandmother patted her and said, "It's a long way. Close your eyes and rest—we'll be there when you wake up."
Xiaoye obediently shut her eyes.
Yin Jixue stood atop the palace walls, though the bus had long since departed. She lingered a while longer.
This was her first time at the highest point of the palace. The wind was fierce up here—if not for the wool sweater she wore underneath, she would've gone to see them off at the city gates.
From this vantage point, the palace was even larger than she'd imagined, especially the open spaces. She usually stayed in a small corner, never realizing how seamlessly the palace merged with the mountain range.
If the palace's vegetable garden was the Demon King's former little courtyard, then the adjoining mountains were practically his private backyard.
The demon beasts in the mountains wouldn't dare charge in—firstly, because of the barrier.
Low-level beasts that wandered in would be signing their death warrants. The palace guards and maids were no joke in terms of combat prowess—even the kitchen chefs could single-handedly take down a third-tier beast. As for high-level beasts, the barrier kept them out entirely. Touching it was like triggering a deafening burglar alarm.
Lou Zhao appeared abruptly after finishing his tasks:
"First time seeing the palace from up here?"
Yin Jixue: "I didn't realize it was this massive. There are so many places I've never been."
Lou Zhao: "It's just buildings. If they could be sold for money, they wouldn't have lasted this long."
Yin Jixue: "..."
If the palace halls could be moved, the previous Demon Kings would've probably sold them off long ago, huh?
That evening, the city held a bonfire party. Before heading out, Yin Jixue received her woolen pants—the outer layer was made from the rare fabric Lou Zhao had brought back. The thickness was comparable to winter leggings.
At last, she no longer had to layer silk pants endlessly.
Lou Zhao had no idea he was wearing the same "thermal pants" as Yin Jixue. Given his personality, if he found out, he'd probably blush and avoid her again.
Yin Jixue had considered asking him to switch out his thermal pants so she could reinforce them with an extra layer for durability and warmth. But since the Demon King wasn't bothered by the cold anyway, she dropped the idea.
After all, she couldn't very well hand his already-worn undergarments to the maids, and her sewing skills would just waste good fabric.
The sky hadn't fully darkened when a sound came from the horizon—the other demons Lou Zhao had left behind came back on their flying craft.
Perfect timing for a welcoming feast.
They'd brought back food supplies.
Dafu and Dagui, the two brothers, were meeting Her Majesty the Queen for the third time, and they were visibly excited.
"This time, we found 'white paste' and 'earth paste' for you—and we even got the location."
As it turned out, natural rubber was locally called "white paste" and came from the border between the Black Dragon and Black Tortoise clans. The low-level demons there used it as a strong adhesive to stick leaves onto their roofs.
"Earth paste" was clay, sourced from the same area as the rubber. It served as a staple food for the low-level demons.
Dafu had heard that some low-level demons who ate rubber died within days, but the clay was harmless—so rubber became a construction adhesive instead.
Yin Jixue felt complicated. Natural rubber wasn't poisonous, but it caused severe indigestion. If someone ate anything else during that time, they'd die from being unable to digest it.
Dafu and Dagui still stood waiting.
Yin Jixue instructed them, "You've worked hard. Rest for a bit and join the bonfire party later. If there's nothing urgent, we'll talk tomorrow."
Of course, there was nothing urgent—Lou Zhao had already reported everything.
Yin Jixue and Lou Zhao walked side by side to the bonfire party. Children ran around everywhere while adults gathered in groups. The laborers from outside the city usually worked alongside the locals in the mines, so they didn't feel out of place.
The children from outside the city attended school inside, so the divide between "insiders" and "outsiders" didn't exist for them. They'd never experienced the exclusion their elders had, so they saw moving into the city as perfectly normal.
And it should be that way. They carried the same identity cards—the city walls shouldn't divide them into hierarchies.
The identity cards were issued during the Black Dragon Clan's second population census, serving as uniform IDs for all. The only difference was the residential address at the bottom.
Meanwhile, those who came from Black Dragon Mouth for school or work still used the old Black Dragon City identity cards, making it easy to distinguish locals from outsiders.
Yin Jixue ensured equality between city residents and outsiders in every detail. Under this subtle influence, the original city dwellers no longer resisted outsiders entering.
Paji arrived late, pushing Litu's wheelchair. He was nervous, half-expecting the city guards to stop them at the gates.
But the soldiers merely checked his ID before letting him in.
He exhaled in relief.
Litu suddenly spoke: "You were nervous?"
Litu was currently lucid. His periods of clarity had been growing longer lately. Though he couldn't run or jump, he could walk for about ten minutes a day.
Back then, his injuries had been horrific—half his body had been torn to shreds. It was only thanks to Paji's treatment that he'd regrown the missing half.
Demons had strong regenerative abilities, but only if the wounds were treated and dressed with medicinal herbs to stop the bleeding. Leaving infected wounds to heal on their own was a gamble only the luckiest could survive.
Paji, ever the honest one, admitted, "First time in the city. Still getting used to it."
Parou Rou had been waiting at the gates for his father. This was his dad's first time in the city, and he was determined to show him around.
"Dad! Uncle Litu!" Parou Rou had met Litu when he went home last week and even had a brief chat with him. As the captain of the hunting team, Litu was practically his idol.
Litu smiled. "Rou Rou, you've grown taller."
"Really, Uncle Litu?!" Parou Rou's eyes sparkled—there was nothing he loved more than praise from his idol.