Chapter 40: It's time to show the real skills.
Judging by this fat man's posture, in a TV series he would be at least a top eunuch under a deposed king.
I wonder which unlucky guy offended his godson.
Huali's mind raced slightly, and she obediently followed the fat man to a mansion.
The Demon Realm is vast and sparsely populated, far less bustling than the cultivation world, but every courtyard along the way was decorated with great wealth.
"Go inside and bathe and change. Someone will come to call you tonight," the fat man warned in a low voice. "Don't get any funny ideas. See the peonies over there?"
The girls looked at each other, but no one said a word.
But Huali knew how to do this problem. She wanted to show off anyway, so she tentatively asked, "Are the disobedient ones buried underneath to become fertilizer?"
The fat man, whose line had been stolen, raised an eyebrow at Huali, "You're quite clever. I've asked this question at least a hundred times, and this is the first time someone has guessed it correctly."
Of course, a seasoned bookworm isn't something you can do for nothing.
Huali quickly smiled obsequiously: "Thank you for your praise, sir. If I ever truly rise from humble beginnings to become a phoenix, I will never forget your kindness."
The fat man gave Huali a deep look, then turned and left.
As soon as the fat man left, the head steward who was with him immediately covered his nose and directed, "The bathhouse is inside, go wash up quickly, you stink to death."
The girls scattered like birds, leaving only Huali standing motionless. The head steward asked displeasedly, "What's wrong with you?"
Huali already has a general plan for this journey.
She smiled obsequiously, fully embodying the art of sycophancy. "Sir, I'm new here and don't know the rules very well. You seem like a knowledgeable and important person; could you please give me some pointers?"
Hua Li secretly slipped him a mid-grade spirit stone and winked, "When I succeed, I will never forget your great kindness."
"Call me Steward Gao." He had been listening to the conversation between the woman and Steward Tian the whole time. Steward Tian was a favorite of the Demon King Soli; if this woman was favored by him, she definitely had a chance.
He might as well go along with it and do her a favor.
"Say what you want to ask."
Huali's eyes were filled with anticipation, just like An Xiaoniao's first time meeting Pang Ju. "What kind of women does the Demon King like? What kind don't he like?"
Although she had to find a way to get close to Soli upon entering the royal city, Huali had absolutely no intention of using her looks.
What a joke! Even holding hands is a work injury!
The safest way is to become a maid here. First, I can stay; second, I can protect myself; and third, I can avoid contact with high-ranking leaders and greatly reduce the chances of running into Wen Jin.
Since she has two months, she can use half of that time to gather intelligence, achieving three goals at once.
Huali was delighted; she was truly an ordinary little genius.
Seeing her so anxious, Chief Steward Gao's eyes flashed with contempt. He put on airs and said, "His Majesty certainly likes women who are beautiful and have alluring figures. In particular, their faces must be well-maintained and without the slightest flaw."
"Your skin looks firm and fair, and as for your figure... be careful not to hurt your face."
Karin, who felt inexplicably insulted: "..."
Small breasts are the current trend, okay?! What a tasteless thing to do!
"Thank you, Steward Gao," Huali bowed and scraped. "I'll go and get ready right away."
"Okay, go ahead."
*
Although this lustful king is no good, the royal city is full of good things.
The pool inside the house was actually a spring dug from underground, and the moment Huali soaked in it, she felt much more relaxed all over.
She had been so focused on observing others that she hadn't thought about herself at all. When she first saw the bronze mirror, she was startled, thinking it was some kind of beggar.
She was still wearing the same tattered clothes she had worn in Chenliu City, but thankfully the mud and dried bloodstains covered her exposed skin.
No wonder the fat man scrutinized her like an inspector; he couldn't tell unless he looked very closely.
The others, not wanting to linger, quickly went to their respective rooms to prepare after washing up. Karin, enjoying a blissful soak in the hot spring, took out her card and waved it; the wood-type card spun in the air before returning to her hand.
"What happened?"
Ao Bai jumped out of the Qiankun bag and rushed into the hot spring pool. "The demonic energy here is too strong, and the wood-type cards are being interfered with. They can only sense the Child of Destiny but cannot find it accurately. You, the host, still need to investigate one by one and try to narrow down the area so that the cards can sense it."
Huali, who had originally planned to use cards to avoid being targeted, was speechless.
She put away the wood-type card and turned to look at the SSR earth-type card. "I haven't had a chance to ask what my ultimate skill will be after the card is upgraded?"
Mentioning this Ao Bai makes him excited. He meows and shouts, "SSR card skill activated: The Eight Desolations End, the Breath of Earth Regenerates."
"With the power to control the entire terrain, one can freely manipulate the terrain within a ten-foot radius and simultaneously attack one or more enemies."
Area-of-effect (AoE) skills? That's interesting.
A picture instantly appeared in Karin's mind.
At the critical moment on the battlefield, she suddenly appeared and raised her hand with unfathomable skill. Instantly, the ground shook and countless rock spikes fell down, and the enemy fell in droves.
Karin covered her face and screamed, "That's so cool!"
"The Breath of Earth Regeneration is a top-tier earth-elemental shield for defense. Its barrier form is self-controlled and can also block interference. It can withstand attacks from Nascent Soul cultivators."
Doraemon's flag to chase people away? Karin blinked, her fingers parted. "What if I turned into transparent armor and wore it?"
Ao Bai nodded, "Okay."
OK, this is a sure thing! Now we need to figure out how to keep them here.
How can I ensure that my flowers are not selected but kept, without ending up as fertilizer?
Ao Bai could tell from his host's darting eyes that she was up to no good, so he quickly reminded her, "Demons are good at disguise, and any talisman is very easy to see through. Host, you'd better not try it lightly."
Thinking back to the way the fat man examined her, a lightbulb went off in Huali's mind.
Since we can't use magic, let's use some evil magic to shock them!
She quickly rummaged through her Qiankun bag and pulled out the bottles and jars she had bought back in Fufeng City when she was preparing to sell "Buddhist disciples' special products." She raised an eyebrow at Ao Bai and said, "Today I'll show you my talent for makeup and my acting skills as an award-winning actress!"
Ao Bai opened his cat-like eyes wide and saw Hua Li take out a sticky, gelatinous substance and stick it on her left cheek. She then drew and painted on it, and in no time, a bloody wound appeared with the skin torn open.
"Is this a special effects makeup artist?"
"I learned from someone for a while during my summer job. How was it? Was it realistic?"
Her once beautiful face was now like a torn painting, half delicate and half demonic, enough to stop a child's night crying.
Seeing Ao Bai's expression, Hua Li knew that her special effects were very successful. She took out a dagger, cut her palm, and dripped blood onto the wound. Then she used a wood-type card to heal her palm.
By the time all this was done, it was already dark.
Chief Steward Gao returned and gestured for his servants to knock on the door. "It's time. The King invites you. Let's go."
The doors were opened one by one, and the young girls, dressed in bright red flowers and green willows, showed varying expressions: some were apprehensive, some were ambitious, and some were still secretly shedding tears, but without exception, they were all top-notch beauties.
Chief Steward Gao nodded in satisfaction; these new arrivals would be enough for the King to play with for a while.
He looked them over one by one, only to find one person was missing. "Weren't there twelve? Who's missing?"
The demon soldiers on guard immediately knelt down, saying, "We've been here the whole time; no one has come out."
"Trying to run away?" Steward Gao sneered and was about to step forward when he saw Huali hopping out of the room with a glass vase full of peonies.
She turned slightly to the crowd, holding the peony high with an innocent and dreamy expression: "...Come and see, I'm going to tuck it into my hair for the Demon King's party..."
Before she could finish speaking, she tripped, the bottle shattered instantly, and she landed face-first on the glass shards.
Amidst the chaos of war, only Huali's painful wailing could be heard: "Ahhh! My face!!"
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