Chapter 71: Kaan Tung's Secret

The next day was bright and clear with warm sunlight. I got out of bed and headed downstairs to open the shop. Standing at the top of the stairs, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath; the sweet aroma of the candy house brought a touch of warmth to my cold limbs.

Nearby, Alastor opened his door and walked out.

"Good morning, Alastor," I greeted him with a smile.

"Morning." Without looking at me, Alastor went straight to open the main door.

What kind of attitude is that?

A little while later, Little Mountain, Orlando, and Usan all got up.

However, the atmosphere in the candy house was frozen to the extreme—colder than the North Pole. Their punishment for my reckless behavior was apparently not over yet...

I watched the group of them bustling about in front of me; not a single one of them bothered to acknowledge me. They all treated me as if I were invisible.

Business at the candy house was surprisingly good and quite lively. At exactly ten o'clock, Yang Weisheng slowly made his way downstairs and took his usual seat by the window.

Before I could even move, Orlando had already served him coffee with a beaming smile.

"Good morning, Little Yang." Alastor, surrounded by a group of female customers, turned back to offer a greeting with a laugh.

I was being completely ignored...

Sitting dejectedly behind the counter, I rested my chin on my hand and stared blankly. A mutiny—this was a collective mutiny. Since when did their relationship become so good? To think they would collectively defect to that Great Demon King, Yang Weisheng...

Ding-dong... The wind chimes at the door let out a crisp sound.

A stir went through the girls in the shop. I didn't even need to look up to know who it was. Besides Li—who was wearing Morven’s skin—who else could cause such a reaction among the female clientele?

"Oh... my poor Aurora," Li’s mocking voice rang out in my ear.

I looked up to see Li, dressed in a dark red trench coat, leaning against the counter with effortless grace and charm, winking at me.

"Eh? It seems Aurora isn't very popular here... Why not come to my bar? I'll give you a raise!" Li smiled, adding fuel to the fire.

The moment he said this, the surrounding air instantly dropped several degrees in temperature. I cautiously looked up and found Yang Weisheng, Alastor, Little Mountain, Usan, and Orlando all glaring at me with extremely resentful eyes.

I sighed.

Immediately resigning myself to my fate, I mixed a drink as fast as possible and shoved it into his hand to plug his big mouth, lest he cause more trouble and provoke the crowd's wrath.

By noon, business at the candy house remained exceptionally busy. Thanks to Li’s banter and distractions, Alastor and the others finally decided to forgive me.

Just as I was mixing my seventh "Flaming Pyre," Orlando—who was sitting nearby licking a lollipop—suddenly fell asleep, his tiny body collapsing onto the table. I leaned in to check on him, and my expression changed slightly.

"Ah, what happened to him!" a young girl nearby cried out in surprise.

I let out a forced laugh, dropped the shaker in my hand, and scooped Orlando up. "It’s nothing, nothing. This kid stayed up too late playing video games yesterday..." As I spoke, I carried him and ran upstairs.

Laying him on the bed, I frowned. His body was nearly transparent; this clearly wasn't just because he had fallen asleep.

But what exactly was wrong with him!

Just as I leaned in to take a closer look, he suddenly opened his eyes, giving me a fright.

"Something happened in the Demon Realm."

That was the first thing Orlando said to me upon opening his eyes.

"I just sensed a distress signal from the elves in the Demon Realm." He looked at me, his small face slightly pale.

"Your Majesty, you will return, won't you?" Little Mountain suddenly poked his head in, looking at me with an expression of great anticipation.

My mouth twitched slightly. Under such a fervent gaze, could I really say no?

Stiffening my neck, I nodded.

Under Little Mountain’s eager gaze, I marched down the stairs back to the main hall with an air of "valiant" determination.

My courage deflated the moment my eyes landed on Yang Weisheng, who was sitting at the bar by the window.

Probably noticing my overly intense gaze, he turned slightly to look at me.

"What is it?" he asked.

I braced myself and walked forward. "News came from the Demon Realm saying..."

"I know." He nodded.

"So I have to..." I continued.

"Okay." He nodded again.

"And you?" I looked at him suspiciously. Did he really know what I was talking about?

"I'm going with you," he interjected.

My eyes widened in disbelief, and then, overcome with joy, I lunged forward and gave him a big hug. "You're the best!"

With this Great Demon King backing us up, everything would be much easier to handle.

Yang Weisheng stiffened, then let out a light cough and acted as if nothing had happened, continuing to add sugar to his coffee.

I stared at him wide-eyed as he added the sugar.

"Boss..." I started.

He acted as if he hadn't heard me.

"Boss..." I persisted.

He continued to ignore me.

"Boss..."

"What?" He finally snapped out of it, frowning slightly as he looked at me.

"Your sugar..." I pointed at the coffee cup in front of him. I had been counting; he had already dropped nine sugar cubes into it.

Yang Weisheng looked down for a moment, then calmly downed the coffee in one gulp before looking back at me. "Is there a problem?"

I shook my head. "No, no problem. Boss, you are very powerful..."

Having settled things with Yang Weisheng, I reported to Alastor. The Candy House was to be temporarily closed as the whole group prepared to storm back to the Demon Realm to see exactly what had happened.

Li, belonging to the Sabbat, politely withdrew from the meeting.

With everything ready, I cleared my throat and looked at Usan. "Usan, regarding your family situation..."

Usan’s eyebrow twitched as he looked down at the delicate hands clutching the corner of his coat.

"Let go."

"No." Kaan Tung shook her head, her eyes tearful.

"Let go!" Usan began to grind his teeth.

"I won't!" Kaan Tung shook her head. "I want to go with you!"

"That is the Demon Realm! The Demon Realm! It’s not a tourist destination! We aren't going for sightseeing! We’re going back because something happened there!" The veins on Usan’s forehead were throbbing, making his expression look quite fierce.

Unfortunately, our Miss Tung didn't fall for it and remained stubborn. "I’m going! I can help!"

"You? Go and serve as someone's lunch?" Usan looked at her with disdain.

"You underestimate me too much!" Kaan Tung stomped her foot, pouting.

"Underestimate you? I know you're strong, but if the opponent is a demonic monster, what could you possibly do?" Usan continued his scoffing.

Miss Tung got angry.

She was truly angry.

Because... out of nowhere, her delicate hand flicked out a talisman. Furthermore, a burst of fire erupted from that talisman, and more importantly... that burst of fire left a charred black patch on Usan’s handsome face...

Caw caw caw... A flock of crows seemed to fly by in the silence.

Including myself, everyone’s focus was now fixed on Kaan Tung.

"Who exactly are you?" Usan wiped his face, glaring at Kaan Tung with a sinister tone.

"I am Kaan Tung!" Kaan Tung answered obediently. She seemed frightened by his darkened expression, nearly standing at attention to salute.

"You are no ordinary human." Narrowing his eyes, Usan looked at her and roared.

"I... I..." Knowing she was in the wrong, Kaan Tung lowered her head.

"Damn it, you dared to lie to me!" Usan went into a rage.

"I didn't!" Kaan Tung hurriedly defended herself.

"That time you were injured by the monster—was that also just an act for me?" Usan seemed truly furious.

As proud as the wolf tribe is—and this guy being a Wolf King—his pride was naturally on another level. Finding out he had been deceived, it was no wonder he was livid.

Looking at Kaan Tung’s move just now, it was clearly extraordinary; she was obviously no common human. Yet, she indeed harbored no ill will.

"I am a descendant of the Exorcist clan..." Kaan Tung answered in a tiny voice.

An exorcist falling in love with a demon?

It’s that same old cliché story again; it's almost painful to hear.

"What did you say?" Usan gripped his bow, gritting his teeth. "You’re an exorcist?"

"I mean no harm! I really want to help you! Let me accompany you to the Demon Realm. I’ve calculated that this trip is dangerous for you, and I can help!" Her slender hand gently took Usan’s large hand, her eyes brimming with tears.

"You can tell fortunes?" I was somewhat surprised.

"I can perform crystal ball divination," Kaan Tung said with her head down.

"Let her come along," I said after a moment’s thought.

"Impossible!" Usan shouted in opposition. "What if she has ulterior motives!"

Hearing this, Kaan Tung’s face turned pale.

"You don't trust her?" I looked at Usan.

"She lied to me from the very beginning."

"You don't trust her?" I asked the same question again.

Usan glared at me.

"Don't wait until you lose something to understand how to cherish it," I looked at him and spoke softly.