Chapter 7: Cockroach-Like Tenacity

Bai Mingliu didn’t care about stepping into the darkness.

He just kept moving forward.

Even as a demon with good night vision, in a place without lights, he couldn’t help touching his head: “Huh? Why’s it so dark?”

He reached into his pocket for a glowing crystal.

Suddenly, someone hit his head with a stick.

The blow felt like someone stepping on a cockroach.

It hurt a bit but caused no real damage.

Another person was behind him.

Seeing he didn’t pass out, they hit him again.

Taking the second blow, Bai Mingliu shouted: “Hey, who’s behind me? You dare hit the second demon prince’s head?”

The scholar leading him had vanished somewhere.

Bai Mingliu looked around.

The scholar suddenly appeared beside him, staring intensely, face unnervingly close.

The scene was so creepy it made Bai Mingliu clutch his pounding heart.

Without warning, the scholar splashed purple potion on him.

Bai Mingliu’s eyelids grew heavy.

A wave of drowsiness hit, and he yawned.

Desperate to stay awake, he mumbled: “You… you’re a pharmacist…”

The scholar, holding the empty bottle, smirked: “Yes, one who makes poisons. You want an antidote? Sure, hand over your identity.”

As Bai Mingliu collapsed, the scholar crouched, rummaging through his things.

Bai Mingliu wasn’t fully asleep, eyes half-open, struggling to stay conscious.

The scholar didn’t care, searching his body.

Soon, he found Bai Mingliu’s system ID, laughing gleefully.

He didn’t notice someone else creeping closer.

That person seized the moment, tossing strange powder at him.

The powder made the scholar choke.

In that moment, the newcomer snatched the ID and grabbed Bai Mingliu’s foot.

Holding the ID in one hand, they dragged Bai Mingliu to a safer spot, out of sight.

The scholar, affected by the powder, had red eyes and claw-like hands: “Powder… give me more… give me the powder!”

“Hmph, a veteran dealer, and your addiction kicks in that fast?”

The newcomer ignored him, watching quietly.

The scholar, in a drug-fueled frenzy, lunged at anything, scratching wildly.

He tried to bite an object.

The newcomer, unimpressed by Bai Mingliu’s ID, tossed it onto him.

Then they dragged him down another path.

Bai Mingliu hadn’t been gone long before being dragged back.

Several delivery robots arrived, marked with dark world script, meant for package delivery.

They carried Zixueta’s requested materials.

Du Yinpan saw them and said happily: “Materials are here!”

His companion was still loading materials onto the robots.

This was the last one.

Zixueta waited for it to arrive before checking her materials.

She hadn’t touched the juice, let alone the desserts sent later.

Zixueta inspected the materials carefully.

Each item was checked thoroughly—high quality, fresh.

After confirming, she asked Du Yinpan: “Where do I make what you want?”

Du Yinpan downed his drink in one gulp, exhaling: “Make a few batches here first, then do as you like. Come back anytime.”

Zixueta thought, then said: “Fine.”

She listed needed equipment on the system.

Du Yinpan had someone fetch it.

Soon, her equipment arrived.

Zixueta started making medicine, not poison.

The medicine’s fragrance was so strong it roused Bai Mingliu slightly.

The delivery robots left immediately after dropping off the items.

By the time Bai Mingliu woke, they were gone.

Du Yinpan knew a bit about drug-making and questioned: “Why’s it so fragrant? Other drugs don’t smell like this.”

Zixueta calmly explained: “I added a scent-enhancing ingredient. It helps absorb the herbs’ components.”

Her answer dispelled his doubts; her process looked familiar.

He waited.

After a short while, Zixueta finished the medicine.

She handed it to Du Yinpan.

He sniffed it carefully, feeling refreshed: “So fragrant.”

Du Yinpan was satisfied.

Zixueta’s lips curved slightly.

She’d used black Life Like Summer Flowers for the antidote.

Clearly, this man wasn’t short on money.

Besides Life Like Summer Flowers, she’d acquired non-medicinal items.

Black Life Like Summer Flowers was finicky.

Its seeds needed soaking in blue juice from its petals.

It grew slowly, with low yield.

Its pollen countered Death’s Kiss’s toxicity.

White Day’s Afterglow, similar to Death’s Kiss, boosted vampire strength temporarily but left them weak.

It had a short cycle, slow growth, and moderate yield.

For blood race nobles, it was a luxury; its pollen turned corpses to ash.

Black Moon’s Sigh grew commonly in demon territory, called ‘Night Glow’ or ‘Most Beautiful Flower.’

It glowed under a blue moon, non-toxic, but mixed with Death’s Kiss, it became poison.

All these required Du Yinpan to spend heavily.

He didn’t care, so Zixueta said bluntly:

“I’ll make a few more for your friends. You pack the rest—it’ll last a while. This is my special scented ‘drug,’ better than what’s sold outside. I’ll make more at home. Message me if you need more.”

Du Yinpan, sniffing the ‘drug,’ said: “Got delivery robots at home? I can give you private ones for easier transport.”

Zixueta replied: “No need. I can use my system to send them.”

She used magic to distribute the medicine.

It leaped into the hands of those nearby.

She made plenty, leaving extra in the bottles.

Bai Mingliu lay there, ignored.

She said: “I’m going home. Contact me if you need me.”

Du Yinpan let her leave.

She didn’t glance at Bai Mingliu.

Bai Mingliu watched her, noticing something odd about her shadow—twisted, strange…