Entangled with a Gloomy Creep in an Explicit Novel - Chapter 16

Zhao Fuzhou squatted down to help her change her shoes, saying that wearing that pair for too long would blister her feet.

In reality, Jin Yongyi was not a picky person. To save money, she had bought canvas shoes for thirty yuan from Pinxixi that could last through two years. Blistered feet were nothing; she had her own ways of dealing with it.

Seeming to sense that her mood was not as happy as when she was buying clothes, Zhao Fuzhou led her up by the hand and motioned for her to look behind them.

She saw several women following behind them, each holding two pairs of exquisitely crafted shoes in their hands.

“They can be worn to match your clothes. Once you grow tired of them, you can simply throw them away,” Zhao Fuzhou whispered near her ear, stuffing something else into her hand. “I do not understand these things very well. If you encounter any that catch your eye, just buy them yourself.”

Jin Yongyi looked down to see a thick stack of silver banknotes, and she was thoroughly shocked.

She did not have much concept of the currency, but calculating from how five or six banknotes in the clothing shop could buy out everything just now, the money in her hand right now was enough to open ten luxurious clothing shops.

Oh heavens! Why could the real world not grant her a generous boss like this?

Mu Qingfeng stood silently to the side the entire time. He did not feel that he had lost face. Although the pair of embroidered shoes he bought could not compare to those bought by Zhao Fuzhou, they had already used up all the money on his person. At least Jin Yongyi had been very happy when she received them, so he was satisfied.

He looked toward Jin Yongyi, a smile unconsciously leaping onto the corners of his mouth. Zhao Fuzhou, who was standing by her side, happened to look over right at that moment, suddenly locking eyes with him.

He then saw Zhao Fuzhou holding the embroidered shoes, which now looked dull and completely overshadowed, and tossing them into the trash pile at the street corner without saving any face.

After that, he coldly took out a handkerchief, meticulously wiped both of his hands, and discarded it in the exact same manner.

Mu Qingfeng instantly felt a wave of disappointment, yet he could not say anything, walking over silently to help pack up the new shoes.

Jin Yongyi had all of her attention on that stack of banknotes. Her eyes darted around, and she quickly stuffed the banknotes into her pouch, baring her teeth in a wide grin as she asked, “What are we going to buy next?”

“Come with me to a certain place.”

Jin Yongyi sweetly said yes, turning back to call out, “Mu…”

Before she could even finish calling his name, Zhao Fuzhou blocked her view, taking her hand without allowing any argument, and said, “The terrain of the Night Realm is complicated. If Yiyi is not familiar with it, it is better to follow me closely.”

“Hey!”

Zhao Fuzhou walked at a fast pace, and Jin Yongyi had to jog just to keep herself from flying off like a loose kite.

At least her commotion caught the attention of Mu Qingfeng. He hurriedly placed the packed shoes at the entrance of the clothing shop and rushed to catch up.

Not knowing where they were going, Zhao Fuzhou led her through seven turns and eight bends, which had long since made her dizzy. They happened to pass by the Yangguang Hall, and when she saw white seals pasted on the main gates, she could not help but ask out loud in confusion.

Mu Qingfeng, who had already caught up and was panting heavily, explained to her, “Miss Jin might not know this, but you can do anything in the Night Realm except for murder, arson, robbery, and pillaging.”

Most of the people who settled and made a living in the Night Realm were individuals who were not accepted by the outside world. The Master of the Night Realm gave these people a paradise separated from the world, so he naturally would not allow any possibility that could shatter this peace.

“Once an evil deed occurs, the Master of the Night Realm will kill the perpetrator.”

Hearing Mu Qingfeng’s explanation, Jin Yongyi nodded her head in agreement. This was pretty much the same as their law-abiding society, except that the method of handling it was much more direct and violent.

“This Master of the Night Realm is truly fast, wiping out the entire Yangguang Hall in just half a day. If I were a low-level lackey of the Yangguang Hall, I would have fled overnight; the intelligence of bad guys is truly lacking,” she lamented.

Hearing those words, Mu Qingfeng glanced at Zhao Fuzhou. Eradicating the Yangguang Hall was entirely the masterpiece of Brother Zhao. It seemed that because the people Brother Zhao killed were those who deserved to die anyway, the Master of the Night Realm did not cause trouble for him even though he broke the taboo.

He fell silent for a moment, rubbing his fingers together, and said, “That is not it. Everyone who enters the Night Realm establishes a blood covenant with the Master of the Night Realm; even at the edges of the earth, there is nowhere to escape.”

Jin Yongyi suddenly shuddered as a sharp pain pricked her fingertip. Just as she was about to ask something, the person in front of her suddenly stopped walking.

“We have arrived.”

Following the direction of Zhao Fuzhou’s gaze, a hollowed-out wall stood in the middle of the road, measuring about ten meters high. Spheres of various colors floated within each open space. The overall appearance looked very much like a giant version of a bulletin board.

A banner was planted on the left side of the wall. On it were written three large words: Reward Bounty List. Beneath it followed a string of names and a dazzling array of numbers.

“I need to find her,” Zhao Fuzhou suddenly spoke up, his fingertip pointing toward a certain name on the Reward Bounty List.

The wind blew loudly, causing the banner to roll up, and Jin Yongyi happened to see his finger aiming right at the words Demon Emperor.

It appeared that this was the purpose of Zhao Fuzhou coming to the Night Realm.

“Good! You have great ambition!” Jin Yongyi shouted loudly, waving her fist. “I believe you can definitely find him and defeat him! No matter how bitter or difficult it gets, I, Mu Qingfeng and I will accompany you!”

The atmosphere that she thought would be explosive instantly fell completely silent.

Zhao Fuzhou pulled back his hand, gave her a flat look, and then took a step forward.

Jin Yongyi felt slightly awkward. She nudged Mu Qingfeng with her elbow and asked, “But what kind of extraordinary person is this Master of the Demon Hunting Hall anyway, to be ranked first on the bounty list? He attracts more hatred than even the Demon Emperor.”

This bounty amount was enough to buy an entire country!

“Probably because the Demon Emperor has not emerged into the world yet? However, I do not know much about the Master of the Demon Hunting Hall either. Information regarding this person is the most expensive. The money I earned in the Night Realm over these years was only enough for me to gather a tiny bit of information regarding my older sister and the Demon Hunting Hall,” Mu Qingfeng paused, then added, “Right, you probably do not know this yet. A hundred meters east of the entrance of the Night Realm, there is a pawnshop, which is actually an information exchange market. Whatever you want to know, you can go there, as long as you have enough silver to trade.”

“The information traded must be true, and a bounty accepted must be completed. This is also an unwritten rule of the Night Realm. If there are people who spread rumors, forge information, or accept bounties recklessly,” Mu Qingfeng made a slicing motion across his neck.

Jin Yongyi patted his shoulder, saying, “It is fine. As long as you work properly under Zhao Fuzhou, he will not treat you poorly. I am telling you, he is incredibly rich. A tiny bit slipping from the gaps of his fingers would be enough for you to buy all the information in the exchange market; trust me, you absolutely cannot go wrong!”

“Is that truly the case?!” Mu Qingfeng had seen the way Zhao Fuzhou spent money like water, so he knew she was not lying to him. He looked toward Zhao Fuzhou with hope in his eyes, but suddenly cried out in alarm, “Wait, Brother Zhao, that is a high-level bounty!”

Zhao Fuzhou flew upward and took out the only red reward bounty order on the entire wall. After dropping back to the ground, he replied casually, “What of it?”

“Nothing, it is just that the targets of high-level bounties are not easy to deal with. I am worried…”

“I am out of money,” Zhao Fuzhou interrupted him with a smile, his tone bearing a bizarre sort of friendliness. “To treat Brother Mu, I have spent all of my money. High-level bounties give a lot of rewards; could it be that Brother Mu is afraid?”

Jin Yongyi, who had a stack of silver banknotes stuffed in her pouch, instantly straightened her back, her eyes rolling around.

“Since it is Brother Zhao’s decision, I have absolutely no objections. It is just that Miss Jin has just gone through a disaster and suffered quite a scare; I am worried she might fall into danger again.”

The expression on Zhao Fuzhou’s face froze for a split second. He pulled Jin Yongyi by the wrist and said with a strange smile, “Yongyi and I have known each other for a long time. I will naturally look after her safety first, so you do not need to trouble yourself.”

“Yes, that is right! How can we only spend money without earning any!” Jin Yongyi took the opportunity to climb onto Zhao Fuzhou’s arm, smoothing things over as she said, “Do not worry about it! He is super, super powerful! Never mind a high-level bounty, even if the Demon Emperor were right in front of him, it would just be a matter of two swift slashes of his sword.”

Mu Qingfeng’s brow furrowed so tightly that it could crush a fly. Although Brother Zhao did not even deign to use a sword when he slaughtered the Yangguang Hall, the people in the Yangguang Hall were human after all; how could they be compared to the demon race?

He truly could not set his mind at ease, saying, “Fine. But if we truly encounter a danger that we cannot resist, I will risk my life to ensure your safety!”

There was still some time before midnight. They wandered around the Night Realm eating and drinking. Whenever Zhao Fuzhou saw something suitable for Jin Yongyi, he would buy it without hesitation, acting as if the person who said he had no money a moment ago was not him. Under Mu Qingfeng’s confused and speechless gaze, he finally stopped his shopping spree just fifteen minutes before midnight.

Facing the mountain-like pile of luggage, Jin Yongyi looked at Mu Qingfeng with eyes full of pity.

Even if Squidward’s entire family came, they would not be able to move all of this.

Zhao Fuzhou crossed his arms and stared at Mu Qingfeng from the side. After a good while, he let out a soft chuckle, turned around, and left. A moment later, over a dozen carriages drove over grandly from the end of the main street.

After loading all the luggage onto the carriages, Jin Yongyi accidentally saw Mu Qingfeng rubbing his temples and letting out a deep sigh. She thought to herself that it was only his first day on the job and he was already exhausted; what if he did not want to do it anymore? She was extremely worried, and just as she wanted to go up to give him some psychological counseling, before she could even step out, she was brought onto the leading carriage by Zhao Fuzhou.

They traveled by carriage for less than a day before arriving at Dingyuan City. It was inconvenient for a large convoy of carriages to flaunt through the streets, so they stopped outside the city, placing the luggage in an inn.

They did not even need to pack the luggage themselves. Zhao Fuzhou gave the servants a large amount of silver, and everything was taken care of. Jin Yongyi had slept comfortably on the carriage, and feeling hungry, she went into the city to forage for food.

As the lanterns were lit, beautiful scenery appeared everywhere in Dingyuan City.

In modern terms, the entertainment industry here was developed very well. Acrobatic performances and opera tours were everywhere, and the people on the streets were bumping shoulders.

Jin Yongyi bought a meat burger, eating it as she walked. Mu Qingfeng walked by her side, his arm stretched straight out to help her avoid accidental bumps from passersby.

She did not notice these actions, her mouth glossy with oil from eating, and she did not forget to advise the newcomer as an experienced person, saying, “You must know that you absolutely cannot touch gambling, alcohol abuse, or drugs; if you get involved with even one, your life will be completely ruined! Look, you left a bad impression on the boss from the very beginning, so you must quickly transform your image!”

“I already told you that I did not gamble. Someone lied to me saying I could make big money, which is why I went. I only realized something was wrong after comparing two rounds and understanding the rules clearly; did I not meet you right after escaping?” Mu Qingfeng felt very wronged.

Jin Yongyi turned her head to stare at his face, saying earnestly, “Well, that is true. You are indeed quite handsome; no wonder that psychotic hall master took a fancy to you. Do not worry, you will be a bit safer staying by Zhao Fuzhou’s side in the future.”

After all, Zhao Fuzhou’s face was even more dazzling.

Jin Yongyi smiled widely and quickly caught up with Zhao Fuzhou, who was clearing the path ahead.

“This is the place.”

The group of three stopped their footsteps. Jin Yongyi looked over at the sound, and before her stood a four-story building. Many lightly dressed girls were laughing and calling out on the second-floor balcony, and there were countless male guests entering and leaving the entrance.

“A brothel?”

Zhao Fuzhou gave an affirmative sound. The reward bounty order spun around in the air before vanishing into his hand. From beginning to end, except for him, nobody knew the contents of the bounty order.

Jin Yongyi was not curious either; anyway, she could leave after doing three more missions. Calculating happily in her heart, she ate the last bite of the meat burger, naturally handing the greasy paper bag to Mu Qingfeng.

However, he did not take it.

Jin Yongyi looked at him in confusion, only to see his eyes wide open, staring blankly toward the direction of the second floor.

Exclamations of admiration gradually echoed all around them.

“So beautiful.”

“Who is she? Is she a courtesan here?”

“Probably? Otherwise, why would a woman appear here? However, she does not look like one at all.”

From her peripheral vision, Jin Yongyi noticed that Zhao Fuzhou was also looking up with his eyes slightly narrowed, the corners of his mouth curving into an expression she had never seen before.

She quickly looked toward the point where both of their gazes converged.

In the center of the second-floor balcony stood a woman dressed in red. The upper half of her body leaned against the railing as she coldly swept her gaze across every face looking at her. After a brief moment, she curled her lips into a smile and tossed the handkerchief in her hand into the air.

The handkerchief fluttered and drifted lazily toward the spot where the three of them stood.

Alarm bells rang wildly in Jin Yongyi’s heart. Looking at Zhao Fuzhou and then at Mu Qingfeng, both of them were staring fixedly at that woman as if they were possessed.

A thought instantly surfaced in her mind: could it be that the heroine of this novel has finally appeared?

Although male-oriented novels only had the male lead as the single supreme protagonist, generally speaking, all female characters in the story belonged to the male lead. The first female character to appear who needed to be rescued by the male lead was what she referred to as the heroine.

Of course, she was an exception; after all, she had a clear job description, which was being the male lead’s lackey.

Looking at the venue before her and the woman who was clearly not on the same level as the others, Jin Yongyi was absolutely certain that she had to be the heroine without a doubt.

But what on earth was Mu Qingfeng doing, staring at her with such longing eyes as well?

Jin Yongyi looked up once more, her vision obscured by a blur of red, followed closely by a refreshing, soul-penetrating fragrance.