Insufficient balance

  I nodded in satisfaction, re-shouldering my cloak: "What's your position in the city?"

  Xue Si wiped the sweat from his forehead: "My uncle is the lord of this city, and I hold the position of General Logistics Officer within the city."

  The Quartermaster General, this is a lucrative position. I put my hand on Ziyun's shoulder and said to him: "This position is not bad, you've also made a lot of money over the years, haven't you?"

  "I don't dare, I don't dare, I'm just a humble person, I'm only temporarily holding this position."

  "I said sternly, 'What do you not dare to do? You think you can hit me? What else don't you dare to do? Earlier, you scolded my friend and caused them spiritual damage. Give me some compensation! I'm not convenient with gold coins, get me 20 top-grade gems instead. You should know that our royal family has a way of identifying authenticity. If you try to deceive us, be careful with your head.'"

  Xiu Si said with a sad face: "Master, please spare my life, I don't have that much money. Otherwise, otherwise, I'll send you a few top-grade beauties, how about that?"

  I snorted in anger, saying: "Let me use what's left of you? Don't waste words, do you have it or not? Alright, if one is missing I'll chop off one arm, if two are missing I'll chop off both arms, if four are missing I'll chop off all four limbs, and if five are missing...” I looked at him with an evil gaze between his legs: "If you want to stay intact, do as I say. Get out of here, and if I don't receive the goods by tomorrow noon, I'll come to your mansion myself to take them. Hmph."

  Xu Si saw no room for maneuver and sat down on the ground with a sad face, rolling outwards with his subordinates.

  "Hold on."

  Xu Si knelt down about three meters away from him, his heart still racing with fear, and asked cautiously: "Sir, is there anything else?"

  I glared at him: "I'm here on a special mission from His Majesty, I don't want too many people to know about it, got it? Not even your uncle is allowed to know. And another thing, if you continue to harass the common people in the city, I'll have you and your uncle beheaded by order of His Majesty. The position of City Lord is coveted by many."

  "Little understand, little understand."

  "Understood, then get out." Watching them stumble and roll towards the gate, Ziyuan burst into loud laughter. I patted her back and said, "Alright, stop laughing, you'll choke later."

  Ziyan panted heavily, and it took her a while to calm down: "Ah Xiang, you might as well change your profession to being a bandit, the income must be good. I didn't expect your extortion skills to be so great. Look at their expressions, like turtles, it's killing me." She laughed again.

  Xue Si had already rolled out of the hotel by then. I turned around and said to the hotel owner, "Boss, my clothes are torn, let the tailor make me another one, and settle the bill together with you."

  The boss waved his hand repeatedly, saying: "No need, no need, it's an honor for us to serve the Fallen Angel Lord." Only then did I realize that all the partners and customers present were looking at me with reverence, and those who were eating stood up. The titles of Fallen Angel and Royal Family are indeed useful.

  I didn't force him: "Let's talk about this later, our meal hasn't been finished yet. Ask someone to send some more to our room. And if that stupid pig sends something over, just have it sent directly to me, I don't want to see his disgusting face again." Thinking of his neither male nor female voice, I couldn't help but feel a wave of nausea, fortunately today I didn't eat anything greasy. I dragged a smile back to the room with Ziyan, whose stomach was hurting from laughing.

  "Alright, stop laughing, too much laughter can cause wrinkles, or else I haven't even gone to pick you up yet and you'll already be old before your time." This sentence was still quite lethal, and Ziyuan immediately stopped her laughter. Although we had quickly taken care of that fat pig, I knew that the possibility of exposing our identities had also increased.

  I said to Ziyan, "Miss, think of a plan for me. What if that fat pig investigates my identity? What should I say? Should I say I'm the illegitimate son of the Demon Emperor?"

  Ziyan's eyes lit up and she said, "This is actually a good idea, let's just say that."

  "What? This is still a good idea."

  "Listen, Ah Xiang," Zi Yan said with a smile. "The demon royal family has very strong views on bloodlines, or else the entire demon clan wouldn't be so clearly divided into classes. You can really say you're the Demon Emperor's illegitimate child, born to him and some woman outside. Women who aren't from the royal family can't marry the Demon Emperor and enter the palace; they call it 'maintaining orthodoxy'. That way, as long as the Demon Emperor himself doesn't come, no one will know your identity, and who would dare ask how many illegitimate children the Demon Emperor has outside? Being able to transform into a Fallen Angel is the best proof of your identity. You also know that only royals can cultivate it; someone with half-royal blood like you can only have the Demon Emperor himself teach you the Fallen Angel technique."

  After hearing Ziyan's words, I realized: "This trick of yours is really vicious, but it also found me another father."

  Ziyan gave me a white eye and said, "Does the Demon Emperor still wrong you? It's decided like this." What we didn't expect was that this hasty decision actually helped us avoid a great disaster.

  The night was deep, and there were only a few dim lights in the city. I stood with Ziyan on the rooftop balcony of the inn, gazing up at the twinkling stars in the sky.

  "Axiong, you said the stars in the sky are countless, they're so beautiful, shining, shining like diamonds."

  I wrapped my arms around her from behind and smiled, saying: "Even our talented woman doesn't know how many stars there are, how would this shallow and ignorant commoner like me know?"

  Yi An squeezed into my arms and said, "I don't like it when you talk about yourself like that, mine... is the best."

  I teased her, saying "What's yours?" Ziyan didn't respond, and I didn't press the issue. We just stood there quietly in the gentle night breeze, enjoying the bright moonlight and silently counting the stars in the sky.

  "It's too late, let's go back and rest." Only after I finished speaking did I realize that my words were somewhat ambiguous.

  Ziyan seemed to be unaware, and said lightly: "I don't want to go back, can I stay a little longer? It's so comfortable watching the stars with you. Next time, who knows when it will be. In your arms, I feel warm and safe."

  "Warmth is certain, but safety can't be guaranteed. Compared to those masters, I'm still far behind. Although I can transform into a fallen angel, it's just the beginning. If that girl hadn't been training for too short a time, we might have already become a couple in hell."

  "Don't say that, okay? Saying that in such a elegant environment will ruin the atmosphere."

  "Oh? When did Miss Ziyan, who used to worship power so much, become someone who doesn't like talking about these things? This isn't like you!"

  Ziyan turned her head, stared at me and said angrily: "So, do you like my current appearance or my previous one?"

  I hastily accompanied a smile and said: "Of course, both of us like it. You are the first beauty in the college. Who would you like if not you? It's really late, let's set off tomorrow when we receive those things."

  Ziyan chuckled and said, "Thinking of that fat guy being played by you like that makes me want to laugh. Twenty top-grade gems, you've really made him spend a fortune this time."

  "I said indifferently: 'It's just twenty gems, must he be so troubled? I still left him some leeway.'"

  Ziyan grasped the large hand wrapped around her waist and said, "It's not as simple as you think. Do you think this is in your Beastman Kingdom or Dragon God? The Demon Clan is a place where precious gems are abundant, and even an ordinary gemstone here would be considered top-grade in the Dragon God realm. And what they consider top-grade here... I'm really looking forward to seeing what he'll bring tomorrow after being scared by you today."

  I smiled and said, "This is no longer something I need to worry about. The air here is so comfortable, I like this cool feeling."

  "I'm the same, as long as I can be with you, anywhere will feel comfortable." To avoid being blown away again, I suppressed my urge to kiss her and held her tightly.

  "Easy does it, I'm about to break a bone!" Her words startled me and I quickly loosened my grip.

  Ziyan smiled and said: "Fool, although it hurts a bit, when you hugged me just now, I felt very fulfilled, as if I completely possessed you."

  "Go back, dear, it's late at night, and we still have a long way to go tomorrow." This time Ziyan didn't say anything, and obediently let me carry her back to the room.

  The big bed in the room of course belongs to her, poor me can only compromise on the sofa outside, fortunately the sofa here is still not bad, it's big and soft, so be it.

  Early in the morning, I went to the rooftop to practice the Tianmo Jue, exercised my muscles and bones a bit, and when I came back, the hotel staff had already delivered breakfast. Our Miss Ziyan was eating without any politeness.

  "Is it delicious? You're eating with such relish."

  Ziyan was stuffing something into her mouth while saying, "Of course it's delicious, the flavor is great, you should come and have some too." Just as I sat down to dine with Ziyan, there was a sudden knock at the door.

  "You eat first, I'll go take a look." After instructing Ziyan, I walked towards the gate. As soon as I opened the gate, the first thing I saw was Huxley's plump face full of hypocritical smiles, holding an exquisite box in his hand.

  I frowned and said, "I remember telling the innkeeper that I didn't want to see you again." Huester smiled and said, "Sir, it's like this, coincidentally there are two gentlemen of your clan who are guests at my uncle's place, when they heard you were here, they asked me to bring you over for a visit."

  I was secretly shocked and no longer had the heart to blame him for revealing my whereabouts, so I quietly asked: "Oh, who is it? Where are they?"

  Hurst stepped aside, revealing two slightly built, slender middle-aged men behind him. The two men looked very similar and should be twins, but they were easily recognizable because the one on the left always had a smile on his face, while the one on the right was stern-faced. When they saw me, their eyes simultaneously shot out an intimidating gleam. The man on the left said, "Aren't you going to invite us in?"

  What's meant to come will always come, these two people don't look easy to deal with. I said in a low voice: "Please enter."

  I turned around and walked back to the house, making a face at Ziyan who was still eating. The three of them followed me in single file, one of the twins closing the door behind him with a bang.

  I frowned at them: "Who are you two?"

  The person who spoke to me earlier smiled slightly and said, "Since you are a fallen angel, how can you not recognize us? Our identity is the same as yours. Our father is the commander of the imperial guard, the only member of the royal family besides the emperor to have reached the rank of four-winged fallen angel. My brother and I are also members of the Fallen Angel Legion. In terms of seniority, the emperor is our uncle. My name is Guy Cloud Lucifer, and this is my younger brother, Guy Wind Lucifer. I thought it was one of our brothers here, but unexpectedly... someone from our legion dared to impersonate a fallen angel! Tell me, who are you and why did you impersonate a fallen angel?"

  I sneered and said, "What makes you say I'm an impostor?"

  "Lucifer snorted and said, 'Isn't it enough that we brothers have never seen you before? Our fallen angel legion, apart from Your Majesty and Father, only has thirty-eight people in total. I can even recite their names one by one, but this so-called Ray Lucifer is someone we've never heard of, isn't that enough?'"

  "This is certainly not enough. Just by your eyes, you say I'm an imposter. Then I can also say that I haven't seen you before, and you are also imposters."

  The brothers' faces sank, and the collars of their clothes fluttered without wind. The powerful aura locked me in tightly. Ziyan hid to one side, knowing that if she intervened at this moment, not only would she be unable to help, but she would also create more trouble. I concentrated on gathering dark magic to counteract the pressure they brought upon me, while secretly thinking that if they were both fallen angels, judging from the aura they displayed, even taking on one of them would be uncertain, let alone two. Twins usually have a telepathic connection and are skilled at coordinated attacks; if we clashed head-on, I would definitely be at a disadvantage.

  I recalled my icy demeanor, smiled faintly and said: "You two don't need to rush into action just yet. Watch as the darkness gathers souls, falling is freedom, awaken now, endless demonic power sleeping in my blood." To be more persuasive, I transformed once again.

  The brothers looked at me in shock as I completely transformed into a fallen angel. After transforming, I instantly suppressed their momentum.

  I beckoned, and Mo Ming flew onto my hand, assuming a posture that was ready to attack at any moment. The difference before and after transformation was enormous, the intense dark magic emanating from my body sent smaller objects in the room flying about wildly. Under immense pressure, the Gu Yun brothers simultaneously chose to transform.

  Three fallen angels appeared in the room at the same time. Judging from their appearance, they should have been able to transform for a long time, and their mastery of transformation was obviously stronger than mine, and their speed was also faster. But everyone has the same source of power, and after transforming, I didn't feel any pressure at all.

  Zi Yan and that fat pig weren't so lucky, under the powerful dark magic of the three of us, both were stuck to the wall.

  I waved my hand and pushed them out of the door, and on the closed door, a big round hole was knocked out by the fat pig's body, and Ziyan would not be hurt at all.

  The ancient wind, Lucifer, who had not spoken for a long time, finally spoke up: "I didn't think you could actually transform into a fallen angel. This means you shouldn't be an imposter, right? Are you perhaps a newly transformed member of the imperial family? But I haven't heard of anyone named Lei Lucifer in the imperial family..."

  I gave a wicked smile and said, "Since both of you brothers can transform, then we're not outsiders to each other. Alright, I'll show you something." As I spoke, I casually handed over Mo Ming, and this action of mine immediately put them at ease.

  Gǔ yún was taken aback, carefully taking the Mò míng sword. Suddenly, Gǔ yún exclaimed: "This... this is the Zhū shén jiàn - Mò míng! How did it end up in your hands? This sword has been missing for ages! I've only seen it in ancient texts." After finishing speaking, he lovingly stroked the Mò míng, his eyes revealing a greedy glint.

  "Exterminating God Sword? What does it mean, isn't it one of the seven great famous swords? I was just showing it to them because Master Zhuang said this sword is from the Demon Clan. I smiled slightly and said: "That's right, it's indeed this sword, it's a personal gift from His Majesty, but I still can't bring out its true power."

  I said this because I was worried that they would ask me about the effect of this sword, and also to avoid the trouble of their further questioning. Gu Yun looked at me in surprise and said: "Your Majesty will not give you this sword, it is impossible. If this sword were in His Majesty's hands, he would have given it to his legitimate successor. You can't use it now, to fully exert its power, you must practice the Tianmo Jue to the ninth level and transform into a six-winged fallen angel. It's ridiculous that humans classify it as one of the seven great swords, but they don't know that it was originally the magic sword of the demon god."

  It's clear that Mo Ming has given these two brothers a huge shock, and Gu Yun is already somewhat discomposed. "Are you done looking? Can I have it back?"

  The cautious general withdrew the sword in his hand and said, "I can return it to you, but you must tell me why His Majesty would bestow this sword upon you."

  The two brothers' expressions were quite interesting, as if they had an unspoken understanding that neither of them would mention the sword again, and their previous animosity was gone.

  I pretended to sigh and said, "Do you really want me to say it?"

  "Of course."

  "Alright, since that's the case, I want you to swear an oath that you absolutely cannot spread what I said today. Otherwise, if His Majesty finds out and blames me, even your fathers won't be able to protect you."

  The Gu brothers looked at each other and said in unison: "I, Gu Yun (Gu Feng), Lucifer, swear before the great Demon God that if I reveal anything that Lei Lucifer told us today, may I be possessed by ten thousand demons, have my soul sucked out and die."

  "This is probably the most powerful curse of the demon clan. In order to make them believe what I say next, I have to do enough surface work, so that they can be more convinced. I nodded satisfactorily and said: "Let's lift the transformation first, no need to fight, it's too tiring, my junior has only cultivated the Tianmo Jue to the fourth layer."

  It was actually me who was struggling to hold on, and I had no choice but to say so. After saying that, I immediately changed back, and unfortunately my new clothes were torn again.

  The two of them saw me return to normal and naturally came back as well, their trust in me increasing all the while. I gestured for them to sit down, and sat down on the sofa myself, calling out towards the outside: "You can come in."

  Hurst, Fei Zhen and Zi Yan heard my voice and walked in one after another. Hurst's nose was bleeding, his clothes were torn in many places, his hair was disheveled, and he looked extremely wretched. When he saw the three of us sitting together unharmed, he knew something was wrong.

  As expected, as soon as he came in, I coldly snorted: "When I said something, it was nonsense, right? Good!"

  Xiu Si Te, trembling with fear, knelt down on the ground, holding out the box in his hands, and begged: "Sir, sir, I've already prepared everything you wanted, it's cost me my entire fortune, please spare my life."

  Gu Yun said, "Younger brother, this person's uncle still has some connection with us. For my sake, spare him." These two brothers became more and more polite to me. Although they still had some doubts about me, my transformation and Mo Ming both proved to them that I was not their enemy.

  I gave him a glance and said lightly, "Since my brother pleaded for you, I'll spare your life today. However, you this fat pig, remember me, if you offend me again, I'll roast you whole. Put down the stuff and get out."

  As I watched Xie Yu roll out like a ball, I signaled to Zi Yan to close the door. In fact, it didn't have much effect, since there was a big hole in the door anyway. I picked up the box and said to Gu Yun brothers: "You two elder brothers choose some, this is the money that pig owes me for clothes."

  Gu Feng said: "Never mind, please tell me your relationship with His Majesty quickly, we still have things to attend to."

  On the surface, Gu Feng seems much more serious than Gu Yun. It's as if everything is under his control, but in terms of their inner thoughts, it's likely that he is actually deeper. In their opinion, how much money can a set of clothes be worth? They are all figures who can command the winds and rains in the demon clan, so why would they care about these things?

  I casually tossed the box to Ziyan and introduced her as "This is my fiancée, she knows everything about me, so there's no need to be polite."

  I composed myself and said seriously, "You two brothers must remember the oath you just made. Don't laugh at me, but I am actually a private son of His Majesty." This sentence instantly caused the two to look at each other in dismay, both revealing an incredulous expression, thinking that the Demon Emperor was usually a strict person.

  "To be honest, Your Majesty is the person I hate the most." Another heavy bombshell dropped in front of them, and upon hearing this sentence, the expressions of the two immediately changed from shock to anger.

  I continued, "But he is also the person I admire most." The expressions of Gu Yun brothers finally eased up, their emotions changing with every word I said, looking very interesting. Zi Yan gave me an encouraging glance, apparently wanting me to continue making it up.

  A look of bewilderment flashed in my eyes: "I hate him because his momentary lust towards my mother ruined her whole life. Although Mother has no complaints, I cannot forgive him. My mother is not a member of the royal family, so why can't she be by his side? It's precisely because he felt guilty towards Mother that he gave me Mo Ming, and even had the nerve to call it 'compensation'."

  Gong Yun's expression had clearly been affected by my words, and with a solemn face, he handed the Mo Ming back to me, consoling me: "These are all rules set by our ancestors, you can't blame Your Majesty, if it were another royal family, they might have done even worse."

  I took over Mo Ming's cold hum and followed his words, saying: "What the hell is this damn rule, it's these broken rules that ruined my warm home." As I said this, I couldn't help but think of my own mother. Although she didn't love me, take care of me, or care about me, my mother's life was indeed very bitter, being forcibly taken back to the Beastman tribe by my father and separated from the one she loved most. I really shouldn't hate her: "He is the ruler of a country, the king of a race, but he can't break these unreasonable rules and give my mother a name, you say, how can I not hate him?"

  As for this question, the two brothers dared not answer. The elder brother cleared his throat and changed the subject, saying: "Then what do you admire about His Majesty?"

  I let out a sigh and said, "Your Majesty has governed the Demon Clan with great order and his powers are unparalleled throughout history. As his son, I naturally admire him and am proud to have such a father. However, my identity is not something that can be revealed in public, which is also why I had you swear an oath of secrecy. When I was six years old, Father brought the handwritten copy of the Heavenly Demon Scripture to show us and taught me some techniques. From then on, I vowed to become a strong person, an unparalleled strong person, and I must not bring shame to my father. Finally, several months ago, I successfully broke through to the third layer and transformed into a Fallen Angel. Father somehow found out about this news and personally came to congratulate me, and also assigned a secret mission to me, which is why I am here today. As for this mission, it's still not something I can tell you about for now. His Majesty said that this is currently the highest confidential matter. All I can say is that my destination is in the Dragon God Empire."

  After finishing, I stole a glance at them and found that both of them had fallen into deep thought. From the moment they came in, they had been played around by me like pawns on a chessboard. As for my words, it was impossible not to believe them. The story just now was basically fabricated based on the actual situation, extremely convincing.

  Gu Yun said, "Since the prince is His Majesty's own flesh and blood, we have no reason to suspect anything. This time, we are going to reinforce the front line. I heard that the princess had an accident a few days ago and was seriously injured. His Majesty asked us to go take a look. Do you want to go? After all, she is your sister."

  I shook my head and said, "I'm not going. This trip's mission is very important, I don't want to be delayed by other things. Little sister? She probably won't recognize me as her brother. She comes from a legitimate family, while I'm just an illegitimate child, how can I compare?"

  I secretly laughed to myself, probably this so-called sister was indeed heavily injured by this fake brother. The serious Gu Feng patted my shoulder and said: "Don't say that, as long as you have the ability, brother, you will definitely have a way out. Since you have a task at hand, we won't force you, but since we're on the same path, let's walk together."

  "This request is very reasonable, I couldn't refuse, and happily said: 'Of course, as a younger brother who grew up in the mountains, being able to ask for advice from both of you elder brothers is my good fortune.'"

  "Don't be polite, ask us anything you're unsure about. It's getting late, my brother and I will take our leave first. We'll meet you at the East City Gate at noon." With that, the Gu brothers stood up.

  I saw them off to the hotel entrance, watching their backs disappear before letting out a sigh of relief. Ziyan patted my back and said, "What a close call."

  I nodded and said, "Yes, if you hadn't fixed my identity beforehand, I might have been killed on the spot today. Let alone two, I wouldn't even be sure about one." As I spoke, I recalled the Blood Red Angel transformation when I killed White Heaven back then. If I could smoothly transform into it, perhaps I would have a chance to fight back. But that was something that couldn't be relied upon. "However, they did tell me some good news - Mu Rong is actually the Exterminating God Sword."

  Ziyan smiled and said: "What's so great about the Zhēnshén Sword? Isn't there also the Mièmó Sword that counters it?"

  "What's a Demon-Slaying Sword?" I asked. After asking this question, I found Ziyan covering her mouth and standing still on the spot, without answering my question.

  "Ziyan, what's wrong with you?"

  She woke up from her daze after hearing my call and muttered: "Just now, what did I just say?"

  I furrowed my brow and said, "What's wrong with you? What kind of foolishness is this? You just said that the Exterminating God Sword was something special, didn't you also say that there was a Demon-Extinguishing Sword that countered it? I'm asking you what the Demon-Extinguishing Sword is."

  Ziyan shook her head and said, "I don't know what it is either. After hearing you say that sentence just now, a voice suddenly surged up from the bottom of my heart, and then I blurted it out. Mie Mo Sword, Mie Mo Sword, what is that?"

  Looking at her dazed expression, I couldn't bear to ask any more questions and put my arm around her shoulder, saying: "Let's go back first." Back in the room, Ziyuan had already come to and said to me: "What do you plan to do? Are you really going to leave with them? If not, let's sneak away. Otherwise, if we're caught, we'll be done for."

  I shook my head and said, "No way, we still have to go with them. Firstly, we can learn more about the situation of the demon clan; secondly, if we run away, they will think that we are impersonating nobles. In that case, relying on their power, they will definitely be able to gather a large group of people to hunt us down, and the situation will become even more unfavorable for us. Now there may be people monitoring us outside, so I think it's better to go with them and just be cautious."

  Ziyan smiled and said: "Ah Xiang, I think you've become much more mature than before, and you're also more thorough in considering problems. You're right, I'll listen to you, so I'll go pack my things first."

  I touched my face and thought helplessly, have I really matured? I'm only seventeen years old, isn't it premature aging?