Chapter 298: The dog planner updates too fast!

Night falls.

The bonfire burns.

Gnawing on a roasted corn cob, the sailor sitting on a wooden stump glanced at the "castle" not far away and finally couldn't help but speak.

"Boss..."

"Hmm." Captain Kaidesen, sitting beside him, wiped the dagger in his hand, responding perfunctorily, indicating for him to speak if he had something to say, or get lost if he didn't.

Having chopped wood all day, he was now so tired that his muscles ached, and he didn't want to say another word.

The sailor didn't dare to bother him, so he hurriedly spoke out the confusion in his heart.

"Is there... really a place called Deadwood Port?"

What kind of question is that...

If there were no Deadwood Port, could the fortress nearby, and the baron and Imperial soldiers they met during the day, be fake?

Kaidesen curled his lips, too lazy to ridicule the stupid question the kid asked, but didn't expect this stupid question to resonate among his other stupid subordinates.

"You noticed it too?" A sailor with a bushy beard raised his head and looked at the young sailor holding the corn cob in surprise, speaking quickly, "I felt something was wrong this afternoon... this place is too clean!"

"That's right!" Another sailor with freckles nodded in agreement, acting nervously, "I discovered it too... this place is clean to the point of being unreasonable! Not even a piece of broken tile or a worn-out boot; even if the storm was fierce, it couldn't have wiped away the traces of human life together, could it?"

Kaidesen's brow twitched.

This was indeed unusual.

Even if the local residents had evacuated to the nearby mountains in advance, they wouldn't have taken everything; there would always be things they couldn't take.

Kaidesen tried to find an explanation for this strange phenomenon, and at this moment, First Mate Headmaster Aiwen, who had been sitting not far from him, also joined the conversation.

"Hiss... now that you mention it, it really is a bit strange. I did see abandoned masts on the shore, but they don't look like they were caused by this storm; they look like they've been rotting for two months."

"Two months?" The bearded sailor was stunned, "Two months ago... was there a storm too?"

"Winter, this sea area is still very peaceful; storms aren't that common... of course, the situation here is special," Headmaster Aiwen paused for a while, smiling bitterly, "After all, I've never heard of another land in the Vast Ocean."

A commotion spread through the crowd, and a group of people looked at each other, exchanging suspicion and fear in each other's eyes.

"By the way..."

An elderly sailor with deep forehead wrinkles suddenly lowered his voice, swallowed his saliva with difficulty, and continued to speak.

"During the day, I seemed to see a few eerie shadows in the forest... they looked like humans, but didn't have the appearance of humans, and their feet didn't touch the ground; they were just floating like that. I wanted to go over and see clearly, but they seemed to have discovered me and disappeared directly..."

"You mean—ghosts?" The timid sailor immediately shrank his neck, his eyes widening like copper bells.

"Ghosts my ass!"

Kaidesen curled his lips in disdain, staring at the dishonest sailor and cursing loudly.

"Stop trying to scare people; with your cowardice, if you really saw a ghost, would you have been able to hold it until night before wetting your pants?"

This group of old oilers loved to scare newcomers the most.

Having dealt with them for a long time, Kaidesen had long since figured out their nature. He didn't believe a single word that came out of their mouths!

The sailor who had been scolded smiled awkwardly, reaching out to touch the back of his head. And those young sailors who had been scared earlier, although still afraid, couldn't help but laugh along.

The atmosphere of panic subsided slightly.

However, just then, the elderly sailor who hadn't spoken, and whose beard was even white, suddenly cleared his throat and said in a hoarse, low voice:

"You can't say that; Kaster might not have seen clearly, and was embarrassed to say so; we can't arbitrarily assume he's lying."

"That's right! I, I just didn't see clearly..." Seeing someone speaking for him, the sailor named Kaster hurriedly continued his words.

The old sailor glanced at him, then at Captain Kaidesen, and all the sailors looking at him, slowly continuing to speak.

"Speaking of ghosts, I have indeed encountered those fellows... of course, not here, nor in the forest back home."

Everyone went silent instantly, looking at the old sailor in unison.

"I was young then, not on this ship, but on another ship. The captain was a carpenter from the Luo De Kingdom who didn't know how he ended up driving a cargo ship."

"In short, his navigation skills were even worse than our current boss... we were lost at sea at the time, the wind and waves were huge, and we were about to be buried in the fish's belly. Just then, the sea fog suddenly dispersed, and we saw a bustling port!"

"It was brightly lit, with taverns, and beautiful girls inviting us in for a rest... we were so excited, we immediately docked the ship to replenish supplies and rested for a night."

The old sailor deliberately paused for a moment, glancing around, and everyone held their breath.

"When I woke up the next day... heh, here comes the fun part. The beauty the captain was holding turned into a corpse! The whole port was full of shriveled corpses and dilapidated houses; where was there any port? That place was simply a graveyard!"

The sailors gasped in horror.

The old sailor struck while the iron was hot and continued.

"We started vomiting... vomiting everything we had eaten yesterday. There were rusted copper coins, chewed-up boots, and... blood-stained daggers. The brother who vomited a dagger didn't survive, but I was lucky; I only ate a dead fish and had a bad stomach for a few days."

"We jumped on the ship and escaped... later I heard that as long as you go to that ghost port once, you will never be able to get out, and will be trapped in eternal fog forever..."

In the silent night, only the bonfire crackled.

Some timid fellows were already trembling with fear, their hands and feet cold.

Just then, a smarter sailor suddenly thought of something, trembling, and said: "Then how did you get out?"

The old sailor was silent for a long time, then suddenly said eerily.

"How do you know I got out?"

The scene was dead silent.

Seeming to notice the stiffness of the atmosphere and the unkindness in everyone's eyes, the old sailor suddenly laughed loudly, hastily ending this unfunny joke.

"I'm joking! Don't take it seriously!"

Although the old sailor himself said it was a joke, the crowd was still scared to death, looking at everyone as if they were ghosts.

Kaidesen finally couldn't take it anymore, stood up, and scolded angrily: "Stop talking nonsense, go to sleep! Whoever dares to tell ghost stories again, I'll send him to explore the lizardmen's territory tomorrow!"

The crowd dispersed in a rush, rolling off to sleep.

Having driven away the sailors, Kaidesen returned to sit by the bonfire, looking at the crackling flames, but his heart could not calm down for a long time.

He certainly didn't believe in ghost stories.

But this port... was indeed too clean.

Clean to the point that it was as if no one had ever lived here.

Recalling the various things that happened after he met the Baron of Deadwood Port, Kaidesen couldn't help but feel uneasy in his heart.

How could anyone live in such an eerie place?

And it disappeared as soon as night fell.

And—

Why did that fellow resist living with them so much?

Just then, he suddenly felt a pair of eyes looking at himself.

He turned his head abruptly, but the forest behind him was empty, and under the pitch-black night sky, there was only the rustling of insects.

"... Illusion?"

He muttered, stood up from the ground, walked stiffly toward the tent, and comforted himself in his heart not to think too much, and prayed piously.

Saint Saint Xisi above...

If you can really hear my prayers, please don't let your loyal believer be trapped in this shadow-entangled port.

At this very moment, Kaidesen didn't notice that there were indeed eyes looking at them in the forest—and not just one pair.

"... Good fellow, new NPC?"

"Looking at the flag, is it the Empire's?"

"6666! The expansion pack is updating again."

"It hasn't been two months, right? Has it been two months?"

"The dog planner updates too fast!"

Hell, Demon Capital, Padirichi family manor.

A carriage pulled by a pegasus slowly drove into the iron gate covered in vines, along the obsidian-paved driveway to the manor's main building.

Not long after the three got off, a clack-clack-clack sound of high heels came from the steps. Luo Yan looked up and saw Lady Seruina Padirichi standing on the steps, smiling and welcoming them.

As always, Lady Seruina was as beautiful as ever, her dignified, elegant, and beautiful appearance like a marble statue that would never fade. A head of fluffy, soft pink long hair hung over her slender waist, like a cloud of roses surrounding her.

Although she was already a wife and mother, her every move still carried a passionate and unrestrained charm, making people unforgettable at first sight.

"Oh my, my cute little Miss Mi Ya is finally back—! You've worked hard!"

She lifted her skirt, walked down the steps quickly, hugged her embarrassed daughter, pecked her forehead affectionately, and then looked at Luo Yan beside her with a smile.

"Long time no see, Mr. Luo Yan; my daughter has been under your care."

"Not at all; it's been me who has been under your daughter's care, causing her quite a bit of trouble," Luo Yan nodded politely, then said kindly, "Coming to your mansion uninvited today, I hope I haven't caused you any trouble."

Miss Mi Ya's cheeks were slightly hot, and she glanced at this fellow who was telling lies with his eyes open, but her heart was filled with sweetness.

Yige looked at Luo Yan's ease in front of Lady Seruina with admiration, his admiration for him even more overflowing.

As expected of Senior Luo Yan—a man who could survive in a place like the Demon King Academy where demons gathered!

Even in the face of the terrifying Lady Seruina, he could remain calm and not retreat!

Sure enough—

There was still a lot for him to learn!

Because his father always told him bad things about Lady Seruina, he had been terrified of this Padirichi family since he was a child.

And after entering the Demon King Academy, he was tragically assigned to the same class as Miss Mi Ya, which deepened his stereotypical impression of that Lady Seruina he had never met.

The young Miss Padirichi was already so scary; wouldn't the older one eat people?

This was too terrifying!

Looking at the polite Luo Yan, Lady Seruina's smile became even brighter, and the more she looked, the more she appreciated him in her heart.

That was the instinct inherited by the Padirichi family—

She could see at a glance the uniqueness in him, and the special talents that other demons didn't have.

"Not at all, I wish you would come as a guest often; when you aren't here, Miss Mi Ya is always talking about you."

"Mom!" Miss Mi Ya called out anxiously, hurriedly interrupting Lady Seruina's continued exposure of her embarrassing stories, then hurriedly looked at Luo Yan and said.

"Don't, don't misunderstand; I just... because you often cause me trouble, so occasionally when I'm tired, I might complain a sentence or two, no, no other meaning... of, of course, it doesn't mean I dislike you either."

Luo Yan looked at the flustered Miss Mi Ya with concern, smiled, and said nothing. However, Miss Mi Ya seemed to have misunderstood, and the crimson on her face became even more intense.

Lady Seruina smiled and appreciated her daughter's cute expression, her gaze passing between the two young people.

However, just when the atmosphere was harmonious, she suddenly noticed a "discordant" figure behind them.

That was Yige holding the suitcase.

He had tried very hard to lower his presence, but was still spotted by a certain "cunning" old fox.

Lady Seruina's eyes narrowed slightly, and her smile became a bit meaningful.

"... Who is this?"

"My name is Yige, a classmate of Senior Luo Yan and Senior Miss Mi Ya... nice to meet you, Lady Padirichi, hello," Yige bowed slightly, and although his body was as tense as steel, he still tried to remain polite and decent.

"Oh~ a classmate."

Lady Seruina's mouth still hung with a smile, but her gaze had already quietly measured him three times, making Yige feel cold in his heart, his shoulders trembling slightly.

"Is... is there a problem, Lady Seruina!" Yige stood at attention nervously, just like when he was in the military camp.

Lady Seruina stared at him for a while, then suddenly smiled.

"No problem... hee hee hee, this young man is so cute; don't stand at the door, come in, I'll have the servants prepare a few more sets of tableware."

Yige breathed a sigh of relief, but still couldn't relax his vigilance, following behind Luo Yan, his body shrinking even smaller.

The group entered the manor, came to the reception room, and Seruina took the opportunity to let the servants prepare tea and snacks, taking the opportunity to quietly pull her daughter to the corridor next to the reception room.

"Mom? What are you doing..." Miss Mi Ya looked at Lady Seruina, who seemed to have something to say, in confusion, but always felt that she couldn't say anything good.

It wasn't that her filial piety had deteriorated; it was mainly that she knew her mother too well—ever since she was born, this fellow hadn't been serious for a day, so much so that she had been led astray.

"Mom has something to tell you," Seruina lowered her voice, glanced cautiously at the living room direction, and said seriously and concisely, "Be careful of that Yige."

Be careful... of Yige?

Miss Mi Ya stared at her in a daze, not having recovered for a long time, and only after a long while did she say with a bitter laugh.

"Yige? That fellow? Why should I be on guard against him..."

Isn't he just a passerby?

Just an old classmate who just came back from the front lines, and inviting him for a meal.

She hadn't been narrow-minded enough to "think in that direction just because Luo Yan said a few more words to someone"... not to mention he was a man.

However, just at this moment, she suddenly realized something, and her face turned red.

"No, nothing... and... Luo Yan and I don't have anything..."

This rebuttal came too late, so much so that there was no confidence at all. Her right shoe tip rubbed against her left shoe heel, and her voice became smaller and smaller, until it was almost inaudible at the end.

If it were usual, Lady Seruina would probably be grinning and pinching the soft flesh on her waist, but today, for some reason, a different seriousness appeared on that face.

"Miss Mi Ya, being too indecisive won't do! In this world where demons aren't like demons and goblins aren't like goblins—good men are as rare as endangered animals; if you can't grasp it, and one day let that group of bad guys from the Meiluxinei family 'eat' him, you'll be crying by then."

There can be no mistake—

That fellow is absolutely a child of the Meiluxinei family!

It's no use hiding the surname!

The "hatred" between the Padirichi family and the Meiluxinei family flows in the blood; this concerns the dignity of succubi!

She could clearly feel that since that child came in, even the air in the manor had become smelly.

Without a doubt—

This is a big game of chess played by the Meiluxinei family!

Can't afford to lose, so pass the hatred to the next generation!

As the true master of the Padirichi family, she absolutely could not sit idly by and watch such a thing happen!

Seruina was filled with evil intentions, a pair of fox eyes full of gloom.

"The women of the Padirichi family can lose to anyone, but they cannot lose to the men of the Meiluxinei family... Miss Mi Ya, you are still young and don't understand the mission on your shoulders. Instead of letting him be eaten dry by the bastards of the Meiluxinei family, it would be better for Mom to—"

"Meiluxinei? What is that—wait, what are you going to do for me?!" Miss Mi Ya heard the end, stunned, and flew into a rage, jumping up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"Of course, it's to give you advice... what did you think it was? Hee hee—" Seruina covered her mouth and laughed, playfully sticking out her tongue, "Alright, alright, just kidding, how could your dear mother compete with you for toys? Don't worry, I love your father very, very much."

"Is, is there any joking about this kind of thing!?" Miss Mi Ya chewed her lips, looking like she was about to cry from anger.

"But if I didn't say that, you would use 'I have nothing to do with him' to brush me off, wouldn't you?"

Lady Seruina smiled slightly, her index finger resting on Miss Mi Ya's chest.

Looking at her daughter who was suddenly choked and unable to speak, she said with sparkling eyes.

"Miss Mi Ya... Mom actually doesn't care about the Meiluxinei family at all; the past is already past, and even if it comes again, I will definitely be the winner."

"The reason I said those... provocative words just now, of course, wasn't just to make fun of you, but to make you understand one thing—you'd better be a little more honest with your own heart, otherwise you'll regret it sooner or later."

Of course not just... so making fun was also one of the purposes?

Miss Mi Ya's lips trembled, but she had no strength to complain, her gaze drifting to her toes, muttering.

"I... what's the use of me being honest, I can't influence his choice."

"Not necessarily; I feel he has a good impression of you. And, unlike those who approach your father or approach me purely for the sake of it, he neither deliberately distanced himself to avoid suspicion nor deliberately flattered or relied on our power... this is actually a very mature performance; he is trying to become an ally of the Padirichi family. It's no surprise you appreciate him; even I have to admit that he is a good fellow."

Seruina's gaze turned, her index finger resting on her lips, smiling.

"How about..."

"How about what! You, you, don't give me bad ideas! I, I will do it myself! I'm about to do it! I'm already doing it!" Miss Mi Ya was truly panicked, hurriedly interrupting the nonsense by Seruina's lips, wishing she could pounce and block that mouth.

As an Amethyst-tier powerhouse, the experienced Lady Seruina would naturally not be caught by a mere Silver-tier succubus.

She laughed, nimbly dodging her daughter's hand, and her figure flickered to the other side of the corridor—next to the archway leading to the garden.

"Then I'll look forward to your performance."

"If you can keep him overnight, I'll believe what you said is true."

After speaking, she left the blushing Miss Mi Ya behind, disappearing into the vast corridor along with that unserious laughter.

On the other side.

In the reception room.

Luo Yan sat on the soft sofa, calmly drinking tea while listening to Yige talk about his military life on the front lines.

"... The environment of the Central Fortress was particularly harsh; in the uninhabited desert, it blew wind all year round, and the nearest water source was on a mountain dozens of miles away; I even suspected that the Empire didn't take that place, but simply didn't

It was evident that a year of military life had indeed changed him quite a bit; at the very least, it had made him more confident than before.

As for masculine charm...

Luo Yan couldn't really tell, though perhaps it was there.

As he spoke, the pride in Yige's eyes grew increasingly dazzling, but he soon lowered his head with an embarrassed smile and added in a low voice.

"Of course, compared to you, my achievements are nothing... I often hear of your glorious deeds in the Demon Capital even on the front lines."

Luo Yan raised his eyebrows in some surprise.

"My reputation has reached the front lines?"

"Of course!"

Speaking of this, Yige's eyes lit up, and he nodded earnestly, continuing.

"Everyone on the front lines is talking about how formidable the Demon King of Lei Ming County is—not only did you get justice for the brothers who were defeated at Sardo Port, but you also cleared out the rot within the army! They also say you are the God-Chosen One selected by the Demon God to eliminate scoundrels like Zakro Dragon who break the law for personal gain!"

Breaking the law for personal gain, huh...

It seems the Ministry of Truth pinned quite a serious charge on that guy.

Luo Yan hadn't paid much attention to the aftermath of that affair; for one, he had quickly been pulled into the affairs of the Janna Continent, and for another, charges placed on a dead man really weren't that important.

However, Yige had misunderstood the composure on Luo Yan's face—that ease with which he could make an opponent vanish in the midst of conversation was simply too perfect a match for his fantasy of a powerhouse!

"... Speaking of which, there is one thing I must apologize to you for."

"What?"

"That... well, I'm a newcomer, so everyone looks down on me. They always cause trouble for me, steal my clothes, and play tricks on me during training..."

Yige subconsciously squeezed his knees together, looked to the side with a flushed face, and said nervously.

"Later, I just said... that you are my buddy. Ever since then, they haven't dared to bully me, and they even made me their big brother, saying they'd follow me from now on."

Luo Yan was speechless for a moment, stunned for a long time before saying with a wry smile.

"Just, this matter... alright, I don't think you need to apologize. You weren't lying, were you?"

Yige raised his head, and a light of gratitude shone in his clear eyes.

Just as he was about to express his thanks, the door to the reception room was gently pushed open, and Mia, who had disappeared earlier, walked in with a face flushed red.

Luo Yan looked at her and asked with casual concern.

"Why were you gone so long?"

Mia stammered, looking around with a guilty conscience.

"Ah... that, it's nothing. My mom was just... worried about me... she pulled me aside to ask a few questions..."

As she said this, her voice gradually grew quieter, but then, as if she had made some kind of resolution, she raised her volume as if she were going all out.

"Tonight! You... stay, stay the night?"

The air went quiet for a few seconds.

Luo Yan held his teacup, unable to react for a moment, maintaining a polite smile while actually being stunned for a while.

Yige, sitting to the side, widened his eyes in astonishment, looking at Mia, whose face was as red as a lightbulb; he couldn't reconcile that shy face with the arrogant and domineering image he had in his mind.

What is going on?!

He subconsciously looked at Luo Yan, whose face still wore that same light and breezy smile, unchanged from a moment ago.

Yige's gaze gradually shifted from astonishment to worship.

To be able to tame even the evil dragon of the Partridge family like this...

He is truly the toughest graduate of the Demon King Academy in recent years—Senior Luo Yan, the Demon King of Lei Ming County!

(End of chapter)