Dinner was ordinary, not much better than the food in West Asia, but Ange ate with great relish. She had heard that some wealthy and powerful demons would go to the demon race to exchange for fine seasonings or food, but for most demons, those things were beyond their means.
If asked what her biggest impression of the Demon Clan was, An Ge would probably say "poor"!
Of course, perhaps it was because her place was so remote and impoverished that she felt this way. From Quartz's words, we can infer that even in town, some seemingly ordinary things can fetch exorbitant prices.
The land of the demons is simply too barren. The rulers are focused on expanding their territory and do not pay much attention to production and development.
Although this was just her guess, combined with Lu Yan's previous words, An Ge felt that her guess might not be too far off from the truth.
After a few more days of rest, An Ge was finally able to try releasing some spiritual energy. She squatted on the ground and carefully channeled her spiritual energy into an apricot tree in the courtyard.
The fruit trees, long affected by magic, did not grow lushly. As soon as they sensed the influx of spiritual energy, their entire trunks swayed happily. An Ge smiled as she watched the trees slowly sway their branches and leaves.
Then, in a moment of excitement, the spiritual energy he output surged, causing the entire tree to grow much taller, bloom, and bear fruit in the blink of an eye.
An Ge looked at the tree full of fruit and was speechless. Fortunately, she stopped in time, otherwise the tree would have been overwhelmed by her spiritual power. It seems that she will need some time to stabilize her control over spiritual power.
She regretfully withdrew her hand and was about to meditate to recover when she saw Shi Ying rushing over. He was so excited that beads of sweat were still on his forehead.
"Quickly hide inside. This time, the demon soldiers have come to collect taxes in person." As he spoke, Shi Ying pushed An Ge into the house, not even noticing the change in the trees.
"Why would demon soldiers suddenly come to our door? Didn't you say you used to go to town to hand them in yourself?"
"Who knows? Anyway, it's not a good thing. Luckily, I prepared everything in advance. Don't worry about it. Just don't show your face."
An Ge obeyed and hid in her room, trying her best to conceal her presence. Unlike ordinary demons, these demon soldiers were not so friendly to humans. Although her true identity was that of a spirit, both she and those around her treated her as a human.
A moment later, An Ge heard the commotion outside. She raised an eyebrow in surprise. Normally, it wouldn't be possible to collect taxes door-to-door. This time, they came directly to her door, which probably wasn't so simple.
Several demon soldiers looked at Quartz with amazement in their eyes, then exchanged glances, clearly seeing satisfaction in each other's eyes.
Shi Ying felt a little flustered, but put on a fawning smile. "My lords, this is our tax." After saying that, he handed over the magic stones.
The demon soldier took the magic stone and weighed it in his hand. "Is it just the two of you at home?"
"Yes, sir."
"Very good, your good days are about to begin. By order of the First Prince, a selection of candidates will be held for the entire clan. Dress yourselves up nicely, we will come back in three days."
Quartz was shocked. "What talent show? What does that have to do with me?"
"This is great news, something others would kill for. The notice will be issued soon, and you'll find out then. With your qualifications, there's a good chance you'll catch the eye of some big shot, so don't forget about your brothers then."
Shi Jun shouted excitedly, "My sister isn't going!"
"This isn't something you can decide. Remember, we'll be back in three days. Don't even think about running away. If you do, we'll wipe out the entire village." The group had intended to attack Shi Jun, but considering he might be favored by a powerful figure in the future, they could only suppress their anger. After uttering these harsh words, they turned and left.
Quartz seemed to have lost all his energy. Thinking of the miserable days to come, he couldn't help but squat down and cry.
An Ge was completely confused while listening in the room. As soon as the demon soldiers left, she quickly ran out.
"Sister Yingzi, are you alright? What's this talent show all about?" She had only ever heard of emperors in the human realm having talent shows, so why was the demon realm doing this too?
Looking at An Ge's concerned gaze, Shi Ying felt even more aggrieved for some reason. Although An Ge looked younger than her, she had become more dependent on An Ge after spending time together.
She explained the whole situation, her eyes filled with despair, "The villagers have been kind to us, and I can't run away for their sake. I know this is wrong, but if I get arrested, An Ge, could you please help Xiao Jun more and wait until he can live on his own before you leave, okay?"
Shi Jun cried loudly, "No, I want to stay with my sister."
An endless sadness filled the courtyard, and it took An Ge a while to understand what had happened.
Since the eldest prince assumed power in the demon realm, he has frequently searched for beautiful witches, and this has become increasingly common in recent years. The entire process is similar to the human selection process, but it is much more rigorous. Almost any unmarried witch with some beauty and not much power is included in the candidate list.
However, this village was too remote, and normally no one would expand the selection process to such small villages. But, looking at Shi Ying's increasingly outstanding appearance, An Ge understood that Shi Ying must have attracted someone's attention, which was why the demon soldiers came knocking on her door.
During her time in the Demon Realm, An Ge only heard from the First Prince and rarely heard from the Demon King. It was said that the Demon King was unwell, and the First Prince was now in charge of the Demon Realm.
"We still have three days. Let's think of something else. Don't worry, Xiaojun, with your sister An here, she'll be fine."
Shi Jun looked at An Ge with hopeful eyes, choking back tears, and asked, "Really, really?"
"Of course! I never lie."
Shi Ying calmed down and his expression returned to normal. "An Bu Ge, you must hide well now and don't wander around the village recently. I will tell the village chief that you have left. With your appearance, if you are discovered, you will definitely not be able to escape."
"Why would I leave? I can't stand the trick of abducting women. I'm going to take care of this."
"How are you going to manage them? Those demon soldiers are at least third-class demon soldiers; we can't beat them."
The demon race's strength is divided into demon soldiers, demon generals, demon commanders, demon lords, and demon kings, with each level further divided into nine tiers. Like in the human realm, not every demon possesses magical power; ordinary demons, aside from their unusual appearance, are no different from mortals.
The demon race has no rule against demon cultivators attacking ordinary demons; laws are practically nonexistent, and everything is decided by strength. This is why even a third-rank demon soldier can boss around an entire village.
Because if they disobeyed orders, even if the demon soldiers slaughtered the entire village, no demon would say anything.
In An Ge's view, the survival of ordinary demons in the demon realm is almost the same as that of slaves. For most ordinary demons, being noticed by a powerful figure might be a good option.
Clearly, Quartz doesn't think so.
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