Heilong-kou (Black Dragon-Mouth/Pass)
Heilong-cheng (Black Dragon-City)
Censorate (Supervisory Court)
Yuling City (Jade City)
Jingui Town (Golden Turtle Town)
Xuanwu City (Black tortoise City)
…
Yan Ye lifted his chin proudly. "I've got strength—I am Her Highness's weapon!"
Lian Ze puffed out his bun-like cheeks. "You're just a sidekick—and one who can't even recognize all his characters!"
Yan Ye tossed his pencil aside. He wasn't writing anymore.
Lian Ze leaned in, ready to twist the knife a little deeper.
"See? You don't even like hearing it. Then why won't you study properly? If you worked hard, who'd dare look down on you?"
Yan Ye shot him a fierce glare, then reluctantly picked up his pencil again and began scratching out his homework in crooked handwriting.
Lian Ze patted his shoulder approvingly. "See? That's better. I got it all down after one try—you'll get it quick, too."
…
When Yin Jixue received the news, Gousheng and Lian Rui had already become Old Demon's students.
She was a little worried. They were still just kids—wasn't it too early for them to jump straight into advanced courses and academic research?
A message came back from Old Demon reassuring her that everything was under control.
Meanwhile, Lou Zhao's battery project had made some progress—just a little. But at least it could now conduct electricity.
Yin Jixue could sense his joy each day. And it was strange—she didn't just read it from his face or emotions. She could feel his moods directly, from the heart.
She asked Lou Zhao about it, but he wouldn't say a word.
Just then, Lina arrived at the palace again, this time bringing fruit wines she had brewed.
All of the wines were neatly bottled in glass with wooden corks.
There was no denying that these semi-atavistic demons were growing more clever by the day.
Ever since discovering that demonic traits were a form of ancestral reversion, the status of demons living outside the city had risen dramatically.
Features they once hid—like pointed ears or claws—had become in-demand characteristics.
Atavistic demons who walked the streets showing off such traits were now treated like minor celebrities.
"Your Highness, this batch contains ten varieties. Should I arrange a tasting again?"
Last time, Her Highness and the Demon King had come to her tavern together to try the wine. Lina had stepped out briefly to fetch another barrel, and by the time she returned, both royals were already drunk—and the Demon King had carried Her Highness back to the palace.
To say she wasn't disappointed would be a lie. Her Highness had only tasted one of her wines when she'd crafted so many.
Yin Jixue looked at the clear, glimmering bottles of fruit wine and couldn't help recalling that hazy, boozy afternoon.
"Leave these for me," she said. "I'll have a glass before bed—it's good for the body."
She'd heard red wine was good before sleep, so fruit wine should be similar… right?
Lina lit up with joy. "Thank you, Your Highness! May I keep bringing my wines to the palace in the future?"
Yin Jixue praised, "Of course. No need to bring too much—just keep them in these pretty bottles. Your design is quite elegant."
The bottles were transparent glass, filled straight from the barrels without sediment. The fruit wines were soft, macaron-like colors.
Normally, such wines would be cloudy, but these had a jewel-like clarity.
But with the OP seeds granted by the system, even simple vegetables turned vibrant green in the pan—almost like they'd been dyed.
From what she could see, there were: blush-pink peach wine, rose-red strawberry wine, light green kiwi wine, rich purple grape wine, pale yellow pear wine, bright yellow pineapple wine, and soft pink cherry wine.
Yin Jixue suspected that brewing wine in the Black Dragon Clan didn't even require real technique. Just toss some fruit in a barrel, add spring water, seal it—and voilà, wine.
And in fact, she was right.
When Lina first began brewing, she'd expected many failures. But all she did was seal the fruit with spring water—and by the third day, it already gave off a gentle, wine-like fragrance.
Within half a month, it had fully transformed. She didn't even realize it was wine at first—just that it was tasty, made her feel warm all over, and didn't upset her stomach. So she invited Her Highness to try it.
When the Demon King and Her Highness got drunk, she finally realized she'd done it—she'd made wine.
"How much more do you have?" Yin Jixue asked.
Lina lowered her head. "Two large barrels of each type. If Your Highness needs more, I can brew new batches. After three days, the fragrance starts to appear."
A subtle fragrance?
Did that mean it was low-alcohol?
She pondered for a moment. "How about this—brew new batches of these, and bring me some after three days. I want to try them when they're still lightly fermented."
As expected, her hunch was spot-on. The three-day brew was just right—this was the kind of mellow fruit wine she liked. Something even kids could sip without trouble—that was true fruit wine!
She smiled. "Your tavern must be getting crowded these days, no?"
"I'm planning to host a Culinary Exchange Festival here in Black Dragon City. You'll be in charge of all the beverages. How many helpers do you need?"
Lina's eyes sparkled with pride and excitement. "Just two. Preferably strong ones who can lift the barrels."
The festival was meant to showcase Black Dragon City's cuisine and wine. Every local demon would be allowed to set up a stall.
Yin Jixue chuckled. "Two? Easy. I'll also assign you a driver and a transport truck. They'll handle the delivery of the barrels."
The first Black Dragon City Culinary Exchange Festival was now in full preparation.
Tickets cost just two Black Dragon Coins, and all food and drink inside was completely free.
To be honest, two coins were a bit pricey—but the out-of-town merchants didn't know that.
Upon entering the city, they exchanged currency without learning the value—and, curious to join the fun, they bought tickets.
All you can eat, after all. Even if it was just to fill up, they figured it was worth the price.
The venue stretched along the street leading directly to the Censorate Court. Both ends of the road were sealed off, with only one entrance and one exit. Entry was ticketed.
The entire three-kilometer street had been marked with stall boundaries. Numbers were painted on the ground, and vendors would draw lots for their assigned space.
No hijacking of others' stalls was allowed—unless two parties agreed to combine and submitted an application beforehand.
The street ended in the Censorate Court's plaza, where there would be live performances and a projection screen playing continuous entertainment.
Back in the palace, Yin Jixue was overseeing the maids' dance rehearsal.
One of the programs was a dance performance. Due to the lack of female demons available, she had borrowed maids from the palace.
Thankfully, they weren't resistant at all—in fact, many were quite enthusiastic.
The chosen dance was the Flying Celestial Dance. When she saw the maids' graceful movements, it immediately came to mind.
There wasn't enough time to rehearse the rest of the performances, so three schoolteachers were assigned as emergency stage managers.
She also asked the mechanical factory to pause their regular work and help build several important pieces.
First was the patrol vehicles for street monitoring. Then, amusement rides like carousels and bumper cars.
The whole plaza would be fully utilized—for eating, drinking, playing, and fun. The goal was to leave a deep impression on visiting merchants.
And to promote Black Dragon City itself.
That day, the city's patrol soldiers took on a new task: distributing flyers to demons on the street.
[Black Dragon City's First Culinary Exchange Festival! Dozens of foods and wines—free to enjoy! Mysterious heavenly brews revealed—don't miss it!]