Heilong-kou (Black Dragon-Mouth/Pass)
Heilong-cheng (Black Dragon-City)
Heilong-yuan(Black Dragon Wall)
Heilong Bay (Black Dragon Bay)
Heilong Ridge (Black Dragon Ridge)
Censorate (Supervisory Court)
Yuling City (Jade City)
Jingui Town (Golden Turtle Town)
Xuanwu City (Black tortoise City)
Qinglong (Azure Dragron)
...
These few shadow guards had grown up alongside the Crown Prince. Of course, while the Crown Prince was studying, they were undergoing intense training—only those handpicked by him were allowed to enter the palace.
And since Yin Jixue was the Crown Prince's elder sister, she naturally had met them and could be considered acquainted.
Recently, there had been word in the city that a few humans had arrived—no less, from the Queen's homeland. They were her subordinates from the human realm.
The demons in the city were curious about humans. Would they be as beautiful as Her Majesty the Queen?
Long Da and the others were arranged to stay in the Demon Palace. It only took them a day to go from uneasy to completely relaxed.
Mainly because the Princess was incredibly popular among the demon race!
They had imagined that the Princess must be suffering greatly in the demon realm—surely nothing could compare to the comfort and splendor of life in the human imperial palace.
It wasn't that they wanted her to suffer; it was just that those savages had claimed the Black Dragon Tribe was the poorest of all, that the demons here were exceptionally vicious, and might even eat people—which made them deeply worried for her safety.
Who would've thought those bastards were lying? If this was what "poverty" looked like for the Black Dragon Tribe, then how damn rich must the Xuanwu Tribe be!?
They even asked around—turns out Black Dragon City was the most popular place in the entire demon realm, and also the busiest hub for trade.
Those barbarians had better not show up in Black Dragon City, or don't blame them for using their status to crush them.
That night, the Demon King returned.
The shadow guards broke out in cold sweat. Their hairs stood on end. Though the Demon King hadn't spoken a single word, his aura alone suppressed them utterly.
They had never felt fear like this before. So this... was what true power felt like?
The guards worried in their hearts—how could the Princess be happy, married to such an overwhelmingly powerful being?
"If you're people of the Queen's homeland, I'll bestow each of you with a wisp of demonic aura. From now on, no demon will dare harm you while you're in the demon realm."
The shadow guards were stunned—this Demon King was so magnanimous!
Those barbarians lied to them again!
"Many thanks for your grace, Your Majesty!"
They instinctively dropped to their knees—after all, kneeling to rulers was second nature for those raised in the human realm. It was just the Demon King this time.
But with a mere raise of his hand, they froze in place mid-kneel.
"Our people do not kneel. If you truly wish to express your gratitude, then pass the message to the Queen." There was no need for a few humans to kneel to him.
Only personal guards like Tengshe had that privilege.
The shadow guards got metaphorically slapped again.
They had assumed that with his oppressive aura, the Princess must be barely putting on a brave face under his tyranny. Who would've thought this Demon King treated her with such respect?
For reasons they couldn't quite explain, the guards felt a bit envious. They hoped the Demon King would truly cherish the Princess. Little did they know, this feeling had a modern name—eating dog food.
All of them screamed internally: Barbarians, come out and take your beating!
Apart from pointing them in the right direction, those savages gave nothing but false intel.
First of all, the Black Dragon Tribe wasn't poor. Second, the Demon King wasn't even remotely brutal. And lastly, not only did the demons not eat humans, they even ate better than humans!
Thanks to the demonic aura protecting them, they could now eat anything in Black Dragon City without fear.
Back when Yin Jixue first married into the Black Dragon Tribe, Tengshe had transferred his demonic aura to her, allowing her to safely consume demon food even before the Demon King returned—so she wouldn't starve.
At that moment, Long Er was munching a fried chicken drumstick with his left hand, milk tea in his right, cheeks stuffed to bursting.
"Boss, what did the Demon King mean by that? Is he letting us stay here in the demon realm?"
Long Da took a bite of a fried chicken cutlet, pondered, and said, "I'm not sure. Let's wait and see. Next time we see the Princess, we'll ask."
Why wait until next time instead of seeing her right away? Of course, it was because Black Dragon City had too much good food. They needed to eat more while they had the chance.
Long Er and the others had already received medical treatment in Black Dragon City.
He had initially felt better after eating a certain peach, thinking it was healing him. In reality, the demonic aura in the food merely suppressed the pain—it didn't heal his wounds. It was like being given a giant painkiller.
His real treatment came after he arrived in Black Dragon City. The healer, a demon physician, had simply pressed around on his chest a few times—and Long Er felt his bones snap back into place.
Truth be told, he didn't really want to leave. But since they were sent by His Majesty, they had to return eventually.
Yin Jixue had already written to her younger brother. First, she reassured him that she was safe, eating well, and simply a little busy.
Then she scolded him for his rashness.
Long Da and the others had followed him loyally since childhood. They were utterly devoted. And yet he had thrown them away so carelessly. Had he not considered what would've happened if they hadn't bumped into a Black Dragon driver?
For someone as prideful as her brother, the more she scolded him, the more he felt that Yin Jixue cared about him.
Yin Jixue had originally assumed her brother was just a rebellious youth. Only after hearing the shadow guards' stories did she realize how ridiculous his internal fantasies were.
This brat hadn't been close to her as a child and yet had somehow imagined a deep, loving sibling bond all along.
If he'd just shown any warmth, she wouldn't have missed it.
Still, better late than never. After all, her natal family was no slouch either—she came from the human imperial family. Her brother was the Emperor, perfectly well-matched with the Demon King.
At the end of the letter, Yin Jixue "punished" her brother's rash decision by temporarily keeping the shadow guards. She'd send them back once she was in a better mood.
Black Dragon Express was fast—it arrived at the Yin Dynasty palace the very next day.
This time, her gifts included a cosmetics gift set and the cement production method.
The gift set had more than just toiletries and perfume—it also included a newly developed lipstick line from the daily chemical plant.
The lipsticks came in three colors: light pink, classic red, and deep crimson. There were also green and purple shades, but Yin Jixue had filtered those out as too eccentric. She kindly suggested that the factory focus on more "normal" colors—there were already countless shades just within the red spectrum. She told them to drop the rainbow-colored lipstick idea altogether.
But within days, the factory sent over rainbow-colored eyeshadow instead.
Seeing the factory's obsession with color, Yin Jixue relented. If they could sell them, they could keep making them.
Truly, she was still an outsider.
The local demons were bound to follow trends and use whatever lipstick Yin Jixue wore.
But the foreign merchants especially loved colorful products. The lipsticks and eyeshadows were so limited in quantity that they were snatched up as soon as they hit the shelves.
Even the experts in hunger marketing were stunned.
Yin Jixue realized she'd been too conservative. The demon race had a truly diverse and uninhibited sense of beauty. She decided not to limit the factory's imagination anymore.
Just as Black Dragon Express departed, a large human-shaped pendant latched onto her back.
The Demon King, who had struck fear into the shadow guards' hearts, now transformed into a clingy mess.
"You haven't paid attention to me for two whole minutes. Have you fallen out of love?"
Yin Jixue gave him a perfunctory kiss. "Finished tightening the bolts at the factory?"
"Piece of cake. Had to step in myself, of course."
The mechanical factory had produced a half-finished airplane, but without an engine installed, no one could move it. In the end, they had to ask the Demon King to lend a hand.
Louzhao was exasperated by their incompetence—but he still helped out, and even tightened the bolts himself.