Insufficient balance

  "Hey, husband, let's find a place to put these things away first," said Mo Yue, leading me to a corner. I then used the canvas bag to collect all the items one by one and sat down on the ground with a thud. I couldn't help but breathe heavily - I felt like shopping with Mo Yue was more exhausting than fighting a battle with Lie Feng.

  Mo Yue leaned over to help me massage the muscles on my shoulders, giggling and saying: "Husband, you've worked hard, don't blame others, girls just like these little things."

  I forced a smile and said: "It's not hard work, as long as you're happy, that's all that matters." But the truth is, it's just hard work.

  "Moon Road said: 'Let's find a place to stay first, and then rush tomorrow.'"

  Looking at her considerate appearance, my fatigue quietly dissipated. I smiled and said: "Later, I'll take you to eat some delicious food. You've come to Longshen, but haven't really enjoyed the local cuisine yet."

  Mo Yue's big eyes lit up and she said, "Good, good."

  I pulled her out of the alley, casually asked a passerby, and settled down in the most luxurious restaurant in the city. Anyway, I had plenty of money, and I would never let my woman suffer any grievances.

  Lying on the comfortable big bed in the restaurant, Mo Yue was resting her head on my shoulder, gently stroking my chest muscles, making me feel very comfortable. I joked: "Mo Yue, if you're teasing me, I'm afraid I won't be able to wait for dinner and will eat you first."

  Mò Yuè patted me and said, "I hate you."

  I flipped over and pinned her down, feeling her plump and resilient body, and threatened: "How, don't you believe me?"

  Mo Yue shot me a provocative glance, raised her head and bit my shoulder. I let out a pained cry, grabbed her face and kissed her heavily. Mo Yue reacted violently beneath me, instantly igniting my desire. A stormy night was inevitable.

  …………

  I looked at the faintly gasping lovely person in my arms, kissed her forehead and whispered: "Beautiful?"

  Mo Yue grunted in response, but didn't answer. The passion from earlier had apparently left her somewhat exhausted. I spoke softly: "Let's sleep for a bit before eating."

  Mo Yue's voice was almost inaudible, "Okay..."

  We slept all day and didn't wake up until nightfall.

  "Don't look, I'm going to put on clothes."

  I stared at her figure in a daze, "What can't be seen? Didn't you just... Ahh!" Mo Yue pinched me, causing me to cry out in pain and unable to continue speaking.

  She changed into a deep blue dress, cinched at the waist, showcasing her stunning figure, exuding an astonishing charm, and her long black hair fluttered behind her. "Moon, shall we discuss something?"

  Mo Yue looked at me in surprise and said, "What's wrong?"

  I chuckled and said, "Later when we go eat, I have a hat with a veil here, you wear it, or else the people around us won't be able to eat, your temptation is really too strong."

  Mo Yue's face turned red as she looked at the conical hat I pulled out of my bag: "Hate it, I won't wear it. Your hat is so ugly, are you still afraid of causing trouble? Who here can beat you up? Besides, I think the people here are all very nice, those uncles and aunts are all very kind and gentle, unlike our demon tribe, where everyone who sees me is always bowing and scraping, it's annoying."

  I thought to myself, in the demon clan, apart from a few people at the highest level, who would dare not to be humble and obedient to you? Otherwise, wouldn't they be slaughtered along with their entire family?

  I tried a few more times, but Mo Yue just wouldn't agree with my proposal. There was nothing I could do, so I had to give in to her.

  The restaurant's facilities are very complete, not only luxurious, but also everything is decorated with great attention to detail and taste. We sat in the dining hall and ordered many of their signature dishes. Mo Yue's fighting strength was surprisingly strong, and she didn't eat any less than me. Maybe it was because our appearance was too eye-catching, the people around us would often glance at us intentionally or unintentionally. As for this, Mo Yue had long been used to it and wasn't bothered by it at all.

  Just as we were about to finish eating, six people walked in from outside, all wearing the same attire, with a black simple armor over their warrior uniforms and a broadsword on their backs. The so-called simple armor was actually a special armor that only protected several important parts of the body. Looking at them, they must not be ordinary people, and there was a fierce aura emanating from their bodies. This is something that can only be obtained through trials by blood and fire.

  Perhaps it was a coincidence, but after the six of them came in, they all looked at us without saying a word. When their eyes swept past Mo Yue, their faces all showed a look of surprise, but it only lasted for a moment before they found a large table and sat down on their own. One of them called over the waiter and ordered nearly ten servings of dishes, almost all of which were the cheapest options this restaurant had to offer. They should be struggling financially, so why did they come here?

  Mo Yue seemed to have noticed nothing unusual and continued eating with her head down. I also finished my meal and called out, "Waiter, the bill please."

  The waiter ran over and said: "Sir, that's a total of six gold coins and seven silver coins."

  I handed him 7 gold coins and said, "No need for change." The waiter left with a smile.

  At this time, the six warriors began to speak in a low voice. I slightly paid attention and heard one of them say: "How come our people haven't arrived yet? I heard that this time we're going to escort someone who is not ordinary at all. The employer is willing to pay 3000 gold coins for us to escort him to Stru Fortress. What do you think, what kind of thing could be worth spending such a large sum of money?"

  Another warrior said, "Deliver it to the fortress, what else can we do. It's just some important strategic materials, it's better for us not to know too much about them, let the captain and the other party negotiate. We just need to be responsible for escorting."

  The warrior who spoke earlier said, "That's also true. The captain is taking this matter very seriously and has almost all the first-class mercenaries in the team called over. Is it necessary? Isn't our Dragon God Empire always very peaceful?"

  The warrior sitting opposite him said, "It can't be said that way. What is peace? You all know what happened six months ago in White Smoke Mountain. I don't know how many people died. It's said that the legendary Guardian God of Light had to intervene to settle it down. Our Dragon God Empire can't be considered peaceful either. Under the drive of interests, anything can happen."

  "Yes, unexpectedly, that Guardian of Light has not died yet, probably almost 200 years old now. With him around, why hasn't our Dragon God Empire exterminated the two tribes of demons? If he's willing to take action, it'll be as easy as taking something from a pocket."

  "This is a matter for the higher-ups, it has nothing to do with us. The team leader still hasn't arrived, and it's already so late." Their food came one after another, what they ordered was much worse than ours. A few people just focused on eating and didn't say anything else.

  At this time, Mo Yue also finished the last dessert, patted her belly and said: "Husband, I'm full."

  Looking at her silly appearance, I really wanted to swallow her in one bite. Smiling, "So what do you want to do now? You've already slept for a whole afternoon, it's time to get some exercise, we can continue our journey tomorrow."

  Mo Yue leaned her elbows on the table, clasped her hands around her small face, and thought deeply.

  I'm in no hurry either, I just like watching her look so adorable.

  The door of the dining hall opened, and a sturdy man walked in. His attire was the same as that of the six people who had come in earlier, except that his armor was silver. Judging from his majestic and powerful appearance, he seemed to be quite skilled in martial arts.

  He and those who came earlier looked at me and Mo Yue as soon as they entered the door, and subconsciously praised: "What a beautiful little girl."

  I sat up straight, shooting two fierce glances at him. The big man's body trembled first, and he hurriedly collected his thoughts and stared back. Mò Yuè looked at our appearance, let out a "pu" sound, and burst out laughing. Hearing her laughter, I turned my head and asked: "What are you laughing at?"

  Moyue said in a low voice: "You guys look so interesting, just like a popular betting game in our demon clan."

  I was taken aback and asked: "What?"

  Mo Yue smiled even more brightly, her smile blooming like a flower branch, and as she laughed, she spat out two words: "Fighting cocks."

  I was truly defeated by her, looking at her with a helpless expression on my face.

  The big man who came later did not come over to make trouble as I had imagined, but instead walked towards the table where his companions were. The six people who arrived earlier stood up at the same time and respectfully said: "Captain."

  The big man waved his hand and said, "Everyone sit down." He sat down first, and even glanced over at us from the chair.

  Since he didn't come to look for trouble, I was happy to be idle and drank a mouthful of tea, asking Mo Yue: "Mo Yue, have you thought it through? What are we going to do in the end?"

  Mo Yue glanced at the group of mercenaries and transmitted a message to me: "Husband, I've thought of something. Since we have nothing better to do, earlier I heard them say that they seem to be escorting something. Let's listen in and see what it is. If it's something interesting, you can steal it and give it to me, okay?"

  It's unexpected that Mo Yue is still so sensitive to her surroundings while eating, this should have a great relationship with her greatly improved abilities. This girl really knows how to find trouble, but for me, this kind of thing doesn't matter, I also belong to the type of person who lacks a sense of justice and is used to doing things according to my own preferences. Nodding in agreement, "As long as Moon is happy, everything is fine. However, aren't you in a hurry to return to the Demon Clan?"

  Mo Yue pouted, transmitting a message: "Of course I'm anxious, but it's not urgent at this moment, is it? We still need to return to the Beastman Kingdom first, right? Father Emperor is already worried, so let's just play outside for a few more days. With you by my side, I'm really happy."

  I smiled slightly and said, "Since that's the case, everything will be up to you." In my eyes, there was only Mo Yue now. Perhaps a large part of my love for her was based on lust, but I truly liked her. From the beginning, I had been filled with remorse for what I did to her. No matter what she asked of me now, as long as it wasn't too excessive, I would do my best to satisfy her. I gave her a glance and focused on listening to the conversation of that group of mercenaries.

  A mercenary pointed at the remaining dishes on the table and said: "Captain, sorry about that, it's on us."

  "That team leader said: 'I'm also here for the first time, just heard from passersby that this is the most prominent place in the city, so I let you gather here. No wonder you guys are here. Besides, after completing this task, we can also get a certain income. Brothers, tomorrow morning, we will set off. This time, the escorted goods are very important. All the important members of our team have arrived, including the four great elders, me, the deputy team leader, and 10 of the highest-level magicians in our team, as well as you 30 first-class mercenaries. The others will arrive soon. You guys be careful, don't leak a word.'"

  Seeing the captain so serious, a mercenary said: "Captain, is this mission very difficult? Why have all our elites come. 3,000 gold coins are still needed to bother several elders."

  The team leader coughed and said seriously, "Brothers, you must not be careless. Since the employer is willing to pay so much money, he naturally has his reasons. Originally, I wanted to ask him what needed to be escorted according to the rules, but the employer increased the reward from 3,000 gold coins to 10,000 gold coins. The only requirement is that we cannot inquire about the contents of the escort."

  Several mercenaries lost their voices: "What? 10,000 gold coins." They had never seen so much money in their lives, and it was no wonder they were so shocked.

  The captain frowned and said, "Keep your voices down. 10,000 gold coins is a large sum for our Iron Shoulder Mercenary Corps. If this escort mission is successful, we can live a rich life for the whole year. So, I and the vice-captain have decided to take on this deal. After completing the task, each of you will receive 100 gold coins and a three-month vacation as a reward."

  Several mercenaries excitedly guaranteed the completion of the task.

  Upon hearing this, I flashed a faint smile at Mo Yue and said: "It seems that what they're escorting is indeed somewhat valuable, worth me taking action. If you like it, I'll give it to you; if it's military supplies, I'll return them to their owners. What do you think?"

  "Alright."

  A long whistle came from outside the restaurant, and the team leader stood up and said, "Let's go, others have arrived, pack up what you haven't finished eating."

  Several mercenaries gathered up the remaining food and hastily followed the captain out.

  I exchanged a glance with Mo Yue, and we waited until they all left the restaurant before following them out.

  As we exited the store, we found about thirty people wearing the same armor as before gathered on the side of the road. They were all riding tall horses and wore simple black armor. There were also ten mages wearing robes of various colors, who should be the strongest mages in their mercenary group, as mentioned by the leader. What caught my attention most was four people wearing deep blue armor, each with a cloak of the same color as their armor, making it impossible to see their faces. However, from the aura emanating from them, I could sense the danger lurking within. They should be the four elders. The only one missing was the vice-leader they mentioned.

  Seeing them riding on tall horses, I couldn't help but think of Hei Long. I turned my head to Mo Yue and said: "Mo Yue, is my Black Dragon still with you?"

  Mo Yue nodded and said: "In the imperial palace stables, he was quite fierce at first, but later I tamed him."

  I was stunned for a moment and said: "You've subdued the Black Dragon, that's impressive."

  "That's right, she's a beauty, after all. It's only natural that the Black Dragon would be smitten. Back in the palace, I personally fed it every day and took it for walks. At first, I was afraid you'd take it back, so I didn't dare bring it out. When we return to our demon clan, I'll give it back to you."

  I nodded and said: "Good. The black dragon is my closest partner, I miss it so much. After you took it away from me back then, I felt uncomfortable for a long time."

  Mo Yue leaned on me and said: "You don't have to feel bad now, they all belong to you."

  I bowed my head and kissed her forehead, saying: "Of course, huh? Look, they've left. They should be looking for a place to stay. This is just a restaurant, this group of poor mercenaries probably can't afford it so they chose somewhere else." At this time, the group of mercenaries had quietly moved forward along the street, their formation was neat and tidy, the magician and the four elders were in the center, the captain led ten first-class mercenaries at the front, and the remaining 20 first-class mercenaries followed behind to protect them, just one look and you could tell they were well-trained.

  Mo Yue snorted and smiled, "Yes, this group of people is indeed a poor mercenary. There's an unwritten rule among mercenaries that when escorting goods, one must know the value and origin of the goods. Since they're willing to break this rule, it's definitely because of economic pressure that they'd choose to take risks. Because any goods that don't have a clear origin are probably not legitimate."

  The first time I discovered Mo Yue's wise side, she analyzed things and was right on the money, with a glint of wisdom in her eyes. I asked in puzzlement: "How do you know so much about mercenaries?"

  Moyue left my side and stared into the distance, saying: "Hurry up and catch up with them, they've already gone far. I'll tell you as we walk." As she spoke, she sprang out lightly, and I followed easily by her side, saying: "Moon, your skirt is not convenient for moving around, find a place to change into night-traveling clothes."

  Mo Yue nodded and said, "Let's confirm their destination first." Seeing Mo Yue's excited expression, I couldn't help but feel a thrill. We kept a distance of about 100 meters from the mercenary group in front of us, carefully following them. With our skills, they had no way of detecting us.

  We followed the Ironshoulder Mercenary Group for nearly an hour before they finally settled down in a small, unassuming inn inside the West City Gate. The small inn was probably already fully booked by them, as it seemed to be at its maximum capacity with these people.

  I kissed Mo Yue once and pointed upwards. Mo Yue smiled knowingly, I wrapped my arms around her waist, took a light leap, and floated onto the roof of a house next to the inn. I pulled Mo Yue down to look into the courtyard of the small inn, at this time, the people from the Iron Shoulder Mercenary Corps had all entered the courtyard, and the people from the inn closed the gate. Three middle-aged men walked out of the inn, they approached the leader of the Iron Shoulder Mercenary Corps, the man in white clothes said politely: "You are Commander Li, I have long admired your great name." The middle-aged man on his left, dressed as a magician, stepped forward and said to Commander Li: "Commander, this is the employer." It seems that he should be the vice commander of the mercenary corps, originally a magician.

  Mo Yue whispered to me: "Husband, I know that man in white."

  I exclaimed in surprise: "Do you know him?"

  "He is one of our demon clan's people, a member of the Fallen Angel Legion. In terms of generation, he should still be my cousin, named Soshun Lucifa."

  "I said: 'In that case, it seems your father sent him on a mission, let's not interfere with their plans.'"

  Mo Yue shook his head and said, "He's from Su Cha's side, seems to be his nephew, has always been at odds with us. Why did Su Cha send him to the Dragon God Empire? The person on his right I haven't seen before, but should also be one of our demon clan."

  After hearing Mo Yue's words, I secretly thought that the Tie Jian Mercenary Group wasn't worth it, and had actually helped foreigners for the sake of profit. Looking at their appearance, they probably still didn't know the identity of their opponents.

  At this time, Captain Li politely said: "Hello, I have brought all the elite from the regiment, and we will definitely complete the task you entrusted to us."

  Satisfied, he said: "Alright then, Captain Li, let's go in and talk."

  A group of people from the Iron Shoulder Mercenary Corps entered the inn one after another. I said to Mo Yue, "Mo Er, let's go back first. Since they are your father's enemies, we'll follow them tomorrow and see what they're up to. If it's detrimental to your father, we'll take care of them, and that can be considered a gift from me to your esteemed father."

  Mo Yue kissed me on the cheek and smiled: "Husband, you're really great. Now let's go back and tidy up, then sneak back to wait for them to set off."

  Then, Mo Yue and I quietly returned to our own inn, packed up our things, sat for three hours, adjusted our state to the best, put on night-traveling clothes, left the room fee on the table in the room, and floated out of the room. When we came back to the small hotel again, it had become very quiet here. The mercenaries should have all rested.

  I carried Mo Yue onto the rooftop of a small inn, lay down, and had her rest her head on my shoulder. I whispered, "Let's wait for them here, Mo Yue, are you cold?"

  Mo Yue gently shook her head and said, "It's so comfortable lying here."

  I gazed up at the sky, today's weather is great, not a cloud in sight, the starlight and moonlight in the sky are exceptionally clear. In an instant, I felt particularly small, as if this vast expanse of starry light contained some profound truth. I said softly: "Moon, look, the stars in the sky are so beautiful."

  Mo Yue raised her head and said, "Yes, when I was young, I often sat alone by the window counting stars. They seemed to be very far away from us. After I could transform into a fallen angel, I once flew towards a bright star, but as I flew higher and higher, I gradually couldn't breathe, and it still only shone with just that little bit of light."

  I smiled and said: "Silly girl, the stars and moon are distant and unattainable. How can we reach them? Close your eyes and rest for a while."

  Mo Yue's gentle voice responded with a soft "en", closed her eyes, and slowly entered the realm of dreams. In this peaceful atmosphere, I also fell asleep unknowingly, but my consciousness remained vigilant.

  …………

  At dawn, I was woken up by the chaotic noise below. Mo Yue was still asleep, with a faint layer of dark mist emanating from her body surface. I knew this was the Dark Magic within her helping to keep her warm. Sneaking a peek downwards, I saw that the Iron Shoulder Mercenary Group had already begun to stir, packing their horses and loading some essential items for long-distance travel onto them. Except for the sound of footsteps and goods being moved, none of them made any noise. Seeing how cautious they were, I couldn't help but secretly laugh. In the courtyard, there were two large carriages pulled by four horses each, which should be for the mages to ride in.

  I wrapped my arms around Mo Yue, gently kissing her lips and pinching her adorable little nose with one hand, making it hard for her to breathe. At first, she didn't react much, but after a while, due to lack of oxygen, she shook her body, trying to shake me off. Afraid of suffocating her, I loosened my grip and stuck to her face: "Little lazy worm, get up quickly, they're leaving."

  Mo Yue took two deep breaths, opened her blurry eyes, wrinkled her nose, and punched me, transmitting a message: "Hate you, why did you pinch my nose, trying to suffocate me?"

  I smiled and said: "I'm afraid you won't wake up, look, they're leaving."

  The commander and deputy commander of the Iron Shoulder Mercenary Corps, along with Su Shun, walked out. Su Shun carefully held a brocade box in his hands, which was likely the item they were supposed to escort. Commander Li said, "Mr. Su, let's get on the first horse carriage." Su Shun nodded and got on the first horse carriage with his attendants. Then, Commander Li exchanged a glance with his deputy, who nodded slightly. The deputy commander led two magicians into the carriage, while Commander Li had the remaining magicians board another carriage. He then mounted his horse and ordered in a low voice, "Let's move out of the city."

  They left the inn, maintaining their formation as they moved towards the city gate. Li led the way with ten men at the front, a carriage on either side with an elder and ten first-class mercenaries guarding it, followed by two elders bringing up the rear, advancing in an orderly manner.

  I pulled Mo Yue, and from the mustard seed bag, I took out a cloak and put it on her head. Since Su Shun had seen her before, even though Mo Yue was somewhat unwilling, she still obeyed. We each wore an ordinary outer garment to cover up our night-traveling clothes, and followed closely behind their group as we left the city.

  The Iron Shoulders Mercenary Group advanced with great caution, often sending out a few people to scout ahead. With two horse-drawn carriages in tow, they didn't move quickly, covering less than three hundred miles in one day's time. Without any cities or villages nearby, they camped out in a dense forest.

  I stood with Mo Yue on an ancient tree that pierced the sky, gazing through the swaying shadows of the trees at their temporary campsite. The mercenaries seemed to have grown accustomed to this outdoor life; some were setting up tents while others were starting a fire to cook dinner. Several leaders from the group and Su Shun had already gathered around the bonfire, chatting about something. Due to the distance being too far, their voices were low, and I couldn't quite make out what they were saying.

  Mo Yue suddenly patted me and transmitted a message: "There is an energy fluctuation nearby."

  I was startled in my heart, and a layer of dark energy barrier enveloped me and Mo Yue, feeling the breath around us. Indeed, as Mo Yue said, there were several unknown creatures moving around, their breath was very strange, as if they had merged with the forest, if not for our extraordinary strength, it would be really hard to detect. I exerted my eyesight to look around, but didn't find anything unusual, could only rely on intuition to sense their position, they were all moving in the direction of the Iron Shoulder Mercenary Corps, and finally stopped at the periphery of the mercenary corps to spy.

  I transmitted a sound to Mo Yue and said, "It seems that the mercenary group is in trouble."

  Mo Yue Dao said: "The people who came are very strange, their hidden skills are really powerful, but their strength is not strong, why is that?"

  I shook my head and said, "Let's keep watching."

  Contrary to our expectations, those sneaky experts didn't take any further action and just lingered around the mercenary group for about an hour before quietly leaving. The second half of the night was very quiet, with nothing else happening except for some patrol personnel in the mercenary group walking back and forth along the edge of their campsite, making rustling sounds.

  One night without incident, on the second morning, the Iron Shoulders Mercenary Group continued their journey, maintaining the same formation as yesterday and heading in the direction of Struwald Fortress. Today, they chose a small path, which although rougher according to the map, was much shorter and also very secluded.

  "It's almost noon, and Mo Yue pouted: 'It's so boring, why is it so quiet.'"

  I smiled and said, "It's probably not that simple. Since someone has come to spy on us, they must have some action in mind. Anyway, the direction is all the same, let's just keep watching. If nothing happens after two more days, we'll take action and snatch that brocade box away, making your uncle anxious."

  As we were talking, the mercenary group in front of us suddenly changed, a blue-green light appeared, and a large number of water balls, ice pellets, and icicles fell from the sky, rushing towards them. I was overjoyed and said, "It's here, let's go take a look."

  I and Mo Yue caught up with the mercenary group in front of us, hiding on the side of the road. As we got closer, we saw that the attacks were coming from the forest ahead, although they were low-level magic, but had a considerable power. These mercenaries all had quite good strength and could temporarily resist. The magician sitting in the second carriage had already started to counterattack. The deputy captain emerged from the first carriage, constantly chanting spells, and a red defensive barrier appeared in front of the mercenary group, instantly dissolving most of the attacks. I really underestimated him, with his demonstrated ability, he should be at least a lower-ranking magic guide. The captain also showed exceptionally strong strength, the broadsword in his hand emitting an orange-yellow glow, standing majestically at the forefront, shouting: "Our Iron Shoulder Mercenary Group has not provoked your side, why are you attacking us? Come out and talk."

  The water-based magic attack suddenly stopped, and a delicate voice sounded, "Not bad, you haven't provoked us. As long as you hand over the Heart of Water, you can leave."

  Li Tuanzhang was taken aback and asked: "Shui Zhixin, what is that?"

  In the woods, a flash of blue light appeared, and in front of the mercenary group, more than twenty creatures with entirely indigo bodies emerged. They looked similar to humans but were slightly shorter, with pointed ears and thin wings like cicada wings. Their entire body was covered in different shades of blue, including their eyes, hair, and skin. Captain Li exclaimed: "The Elf Tribe."