Chapter Ninety-Two: Not So Great

“…So don’t burden yourself too much here. In this bugged game world, just eat when you’re hungry and enjoy yourself when you want to,” the system urged.

“Eat when I’m hungry and enjoy myself, huh?” Xu Nuo said helplessly. “That’s assuming there’s anything to eat at all.”

But the Demon Realm was a wasteland for foodies; there was nothing worth eating, and their entertainments were primitive at best.

“I’ve got it,” Xu Nuo brightened, turning to the system. “Tell me where that demon beauty is.”

007: “Host, what do you want with her? Planning to challenge them?”

Xu Nuo shook his head with a smile. “Of course not. Fighting and killing is so tiresome.”

—

The Heart’s Desire Pavilion stood in the bustling, flower-strewn quarter of the Demon Realm’s main city. Though called a “pavilion,” it was in truth an entire street—renowned as the most famous pleasure district in the Demon Realm. Within its walls were beauties of every kind: humans, demons, even spirits.

It was said that the women of Heart’s Desire could steal your soul with a glance, their charm so potent that one taste would leave you yearning and lost forever. Countless demons flocked there in droves.

But not just anyone could walk through those doors. For Xu Nuo, though, such obstacles were trivial; he simply knocked out a patron and stole his credentials.

Inside, the Heart’s Desire Pavilion was even more extravagant than without, as if the demons had poured all their artistic talent and craftsmanship into its construction. Xu Nuo, visiting such a place for the first time, looked on with keen interest.

On a high stage, women in light, gauzy robes danced gracefully, their every movement fluid as fish gliding through water, drawing hungry, wolfish stares from below. One dancer, in particular, seemed uneasy under such scrutiny. She never glanced at the audience, and after her dance ended, she tried to withdraw quickly.

But the crowd was not satisfied. They clamored for another dance, or shouted for something else.

“Miss Fang, wait.”

Amid the uproar, a warm, clear voice reached Fang Yu’s ears. She paused, her gaze following the sound, and saw a young man in red, masked, among the spectators.

The matron, beaming, took Fang Yu’s hand and led her to the red-clad youth. The matron had done this countless times, her tone practiced and smooth. Fang Yu, hearing the familiar words the matron always spoke to her sisters, nervously clenched her robe.

“There’s always a first time,” Fang Yu reminded herself.

She had no choice but to follow the matron’s arrangements and accompany the young master to a private room.

“This is your first time serving a guest. Do you remember all the rules I taught you?” The matron fussed, arranging for others to help Fang Yu wash and dress.

Fang Yu nodded. “I remember.”

“Don’t be like that Luo Guo girl—wooden and clueless! Such a waste of a pretty face and figure. Now she’s stuck singing ditties and barely has enough to eat. If no one requests her soon, she’ll be sent off to do chores,” the matron complained, half grumbling, half threatening.

Soon, Fang Yu was exquisitely dressed and sent to the guest’s chamber, her fate plain enough. She took a deep breath, consoling herself that at least her first guest was a clean, handsome young master.

Yet the moment she opened the door, something felt amiss. Before she could pinpoint what, the young man in red spoke—his voice as warm and gentle as before, nothing like the hungry tones of the audience below.

“Sit for a while,” he said.

With those words, much of Fang Yu’s tension melted away. She dared to look up at him. At the same time, Xu Nuo studied the future courtesan.

Her beauty was indeed exquisite—a look of innocence with an undercurrent of allure, skin like cream, and a graceful figure. The demon blood in her was evident in the fox ears atop her head. She was a special kind of demon—not bloodthirsty and warlike, but instinctively drawn to love and desire… and gifted with an almost bewitching charm, capable of ensnaring hearts. It wasn’t an exaggeration to call her enchanting.

Yet this beauty, who would one day entrance all who saw her, had not yet grown into her full seductive power.

How had Lu Chiyuan, that brat, managed to win such favor? Worst of all, in the original story, he only kept her to satisfy his carnal desires. Xu Nuo thought her skills were overpowered; later in the plot, aside from the male lead, everyone else could easily fall under her spell, their emotions entirely at her mercy. The author used this merely to highlight the hero’s strength and self-control.

What a waste.

007: “So are you planning to recruit this NPC as your follower?”

Xu Nuo snapped open his fan. “Having her by my side would certainly be pleasing to the eye, wouldn’t it?”

Fang Yu had steeled herself for what was to come, but the young master had no intention of taking advantage of her. Instead, he chatted as if they were old friends.

Xu Nuo had traveled far and wide, witnessed scenes Fang Yu could not even imagine, experienced things beyond her wildest dreams. Fang Yu listened, utterly captivated; it was the most novel and fascinating day of her life.

“At the southernmost edge, is there really endless snow, and months of daylight without night?” she asked, eyes shining.

The stories he told were so wondrous—who knew a person could travel so far and see such varied sights?

The night wore on, and as dawn crept in, Fang Yu still found herself reluctant to part. After the young man left, she sat for a long while in a daze, until the matron bustled in with the maids, all smiles as they cleaned the room.

The familiar nagging and faces returned.

“How odd, did we go through that incense so quickly?” the matron said, displeased as she checked the censer. “Who was in charge of lighting it last night?”

Then Fang Yu realized what had felt off when she entered: the room had not been scented with passion incense, carefully blended to stir desire. If they had breathed it in, she and the guest would never have spent the night simply talking until dawn.

The matron’s annoyance did nothing to dampen her good mood, nor did it affect Fang Yu’s rising status—the guest who had chosen her was an important patron.

“Do you hear me? You should learn from Fang Yu! Why do you always look so sour? Who do you think you’re scowling at?” the matron’s scolding inevitably reached Fang Yu’s ears. She sighed, knowing that poor Luo Guo was being berated again.

“You two started at the same time. Look at Fang Yu, then look at yourself—what a waste of a pretty face. Can’t even smile at the guests?”

Fang Yu and Luo Guo had endured the early days together, so she understood the withdrawn girl a little. Hearing the matron’s increasingly harsh words, Fang Yu wanted to speak up for her.

But suddenly, Luo Guo looked up. Her hair obscured most of her face, but in her usually hollow, numb eyes, there was a flash of something sharp.

“Sister Fang, that guest you entertained last night—did he do anything to you?” Luo Guo asked, staring directly at Fang Yu.

The question was odd. The matron snapped, “Now you want to learn how to serve guests? Too late for that!”

Fang Yu instinctively sensed that Luo Guo was not asking about entertaining guests, but something else she couldn’t quite name.

Luo Guo, unfazed by the scolding, fell into deep thought, letting the others jeer and strike at her without protest.

—

The scene was like so many before, yet something in Fang Yu’s heart fluttered. Frightened, she hurried away.

—

Xu Nuo’s plan to win Fang Yu over had been going smoothly—until, on the third day, news broke that Heart’s Desire Pavilion had been bathed in blood. In a single night, over half its inhabitants were dead or wounded—shocking the entire Demon Realm.

To run such an establishment in the Demon Realm’s capital required either immense power or powerful backing. Heart’s Desire was home not only to fragile beauties, but also to fierce, brutal enforcers.

Its defenses were anything but weak.

Who could, in a single night, silently slaughter so many—not the tender courtesans, but the hardened fighters and management?

If such a grisly event happened in the human world or cultivation realm, panic would ensue. But in the Demon Realm, it was as if a drop of water had hit hot oil—chaos erupted.

Street brawls became rampant; most of Xu Nuo’s opponents in tournament matches now fought like lunatics. Heart’s Desire, after all, was secretly a property of the city’s ruling faction. Whoever had massacred it was clearly issuing a challenge, aiming to seize control of the city.

Xu Nuo felt she simply couldn’t keep up with the logic of these demons.

With Heart’s Desire closed, Xu Nuo had nowhere to go for amusement. But as a favored client, she could easily invite Fang Yu out. To her surprise, Fang Yu wasn’t alone this time—she brought along a shy, timid girl.

Fang Yu explained that Luo Guo had been frightened by recent events, and that this was a good chance for a change of scene.

Xu Nuo readily agreed.

Luo Guo—wasn’t she another legendary demon beauty? Xu Nuo’s interest was immediately piqued, and she looked over eagerly.

Luo Guo was painfully shy, head lowered, hair concealing most of her face. Even so, her delicate features marked her as a budding beauty.

The more Xu Nuo looked, the more inexplicably fond she grew of Luo Guo. There was something familiar about her—perhaps it was her shyness, so like that of her junior sister Yan back at Dongtian Sect.

She wondered how Yan was doing now, after all this time away.

Demon realm rivers were unlike those in the mortal world—dark, deep, choked with unknown aquatic plants. The bridges and boats along the banks were modeled after human construction.

Xu Nuo hired a boat for herself and the two beauties, inviting them to cruise and enjoy the scenery.

For girls from Heart’s Desire, outings were rare. For Fang Yu, it was her first time on a boat. Even if the sights were not as splendid as Xu Nuo’s stories, she was delighted and satisfied.

After days spent together, Fang Yu and Xu Nuo had grown familiar, chatting easily. Xu Nuo was approachable, making Fang Yu feel as if she were simply enjoying time with a friend.

Luo Guo, in contrast, remained withdrawn. Head bowed, face expressionless, her dark eyes watched Xu Nuo and Fang Yu’s easy conversation in silence.

Xu Nuo tried to tease her. “Miss Luo, what do you think of the water?”

Luo Guo pursed her lips. “It’s nothing special.”