The sound of birds chirping echoed in my ears, and the voices of the people in the crowded inn could be heard in my room.
"Wake up, Your Highness, it's time to go," Luli said as I turned around and saw her packing our things.
That girl doesn't forget things; she's so eager to go back to the demon realm, but I don't want to go back there, I thought sadly, covering my face with the duvet.
"Wake up, please, or the general will storm the human world before we know it," she said, uncovering the duvet and revealing my face.
"Let's explore the capital city once more before going back, and we shouldn't miss the delicacies too," I said with a bright smile, to which she agreed after much persuasion.
Luli helped me with my bath and dressed me up in a beautiful blue robe, accompanied by some light jewelry to match, and soon we were out exploring the city.
"We should buy this too," I said, pointing at a beautiful lantern.
"We've bought enough, Your Highness," she said sadly, struggling to carry the things with her.
"What's going on over there, actually?" I asked, confused, as I dragged Luli along with me to the place.
A group of people could be seen gathered as a man dressed in a blue robe glued a piece of paper on the wall.
"The Mount Hua sect is recruiting disciples," the first man read with happiness.
"We can finally cultivate and become better humans," another man said.
"What are they cultivating?" I asked a woman who was staring intently at the paper.
"They're cultivating to become immortal. People who cultivate become respected; they protect the weak ones and bring justice to the weak," she explained.
"Isn't that the sect we had a fight with before?" I whispered in Luli's ear.
"Yes, the Mount Hua sect. They slay demons while demons slay them too," Luli said, while the people nodded.
"I can join then!" I screamed excitedly.
"What! I don't advise a lady like you to join. You look noble; you might be killed in the first round," a man said with a worried expression.
"Yes, the missions you have to take in order to qualify as a disciple are quite hard. You wouldn't be able to make it," another man said.
"Why are you joining the contest? You're the almighty demon queen," Luli whispered into my ear.
Demon queen my foot, wait till you find out I'm not your demon queen, then you'll see how useless I am. I better grab this opportunity and cultivate myself. Moreover, my biggest enemy is there, and I know he has a lot of power in this novel world. I can only cultivate and become powerful like him. Only then would we be equal and fight against each other, I thought, biting my nails in desperation.
"It's better to get closer to your enemy than to be far away. I can only know what the Mount Hua sect is planning by joining this contest," I whispered in Luli's ear, making her look at me in confusion.
"But... but..." she stammered, not knowing what to say.
"I'm joining this contest, and I'm gonna win," I said as I watched Luli nod her head in disbelief.
"Poor girl, she just wants to waste her life for nothing," said a man, looking at me with a face full of pity.
I ripped one of the papers off and left the scene with Luli.
Luli and I were soon back at the inn and settled in the restaurant. "I'll take the goods upstairs and join you later," she said, leaving me all alone at the restaurant downstairs as she made her way up the stairs to our room.
"Waiter! Serve me more chicken," I said with a mouthful of chicken soup.
"Here you go, lady," said the waiter as he served the dish on my table.
A woman and the restaurant owner seemed to be having a misunderstanding, which made him push the woman in a moment of annoyance.
"What the hell!" I yelled angrily, wanting to help the woman but pausing at the sight of a man who kicked the restaurant owner, making him fall flat on the floor.
"How dare you!" Yelled the restaurant owner angrily as he tried to stand up from the floor.
"And how dare you lay your hands on her," the man said, giving him another taste of his fist and sending him back to the ground.
"What do you want, mister?" Asked the restaurant owner as he winced in pain.
"I want to teach you a lesson so that you won't raise your hands on a woman," said the man.
"But she owes me, young master," replied the restaurant owner.
"And so? How much is it?" He asked, holding a sack full of silver.
"Fifty silver," said the restaurant owner.
"It's just ten silver, he's lying," said the woman, with tears rolling down her cheek.
"Will you shut up, you crazy wench!" Yelled the restaurant owner, pushing the woman, who was rescued by a lady who appeared out of nowhere.
"You still have the courage to beat her again!" Yelled the man as he rushed to give the restaurant owner another taste of his fist.
"Take your damn silver and never assault this young woman again," said the man, throwing pieces of silver to the restaurant owner, who picked them all up.
"Thank you, young master," said the restaurant owner to the man, who finally turned to my side, revealing his face.
Zhang Han!! What is he doing here, I thought, as I stormed over to his table in anger.
"You bastard!" I yelled, and he raised his brow at me.
"Are you talking to me, young lady?" he asked, with a face full of a thousand questions.
"How dare you sleep with me and also my friend," I blurted out. Damn! What the hell did I just say? People inside the restaurant were already whispering and talking negatively about him.
"What a bad man? And he looks gentle and innocent, meanwhile he's a pervert."
"He just saved a woman now, so it was just a pretense."
"Men like him are the reason other men are shamed."
Zhang Han's face could be seen boiling with anger like a red pepper, and I only wished the ground could just open and swallow me.