Chapter 253: Singleness of Xiya
“Meow~ Grrr.”
In her arms, Liansi the cat let out a cute purring sound.
“Such a good cat.” Jima rubbed the nape of Liansi’s neck and pulled out some hand-pulled beef jerky from the bag at her waist, stuffing it into the plump cat’s mouth.
She found some seasoning on her fingers from the jerky and casually wiped it on Liansi’s fur, since cats always clean themselves anyway.
Closing the window to block out the outside’s fervent calls, Jima set the cat down and patted Liansi’s head as it lay on the bed, chewing on the jerky.
“Keep an eye on the house.”
The cat nodded.
Jima stretched and said, “Time to work again, how annoying. When can I just lie comfortably in bed and enjoy life?”
With that, she opened the entrance to the Dream Palace and stepped directly into her dreams.
She needed to make the most of this precious peaceful time before war to increase her chances of victory in future battles.
The curse plague had been spread, but due to the interference of the Mother of Beasts and the beastmen realizing the nature of Jima’s curse, its effects were not that significant, as the beastman war herds of over a thousand could be easily wiped out.
To win the war, a proper army was necessary for a direct confrontation.
So Jima aimed to stack the odds in her favor. The only thing she could do now was spend money—lots of money—buying various extraordinary materials to create “bottled magic potions” for different supernatural abilities.
While pondering, the storm eye-shaped entrance to the Dream Palace was ready.
Jima glanced at the entrance but didn’t hurry to step inside; instead, she opened the window to take a look at the direction of the Demon King’s extraordinary materials outside Le’an Port, then reluctantly closed the window.
The Demon King’s extraordinary materials always gave her a sense of closeness. Several times she felt an impulse to rush over and merge with it. Jima dreamed multiple times of acquiring the Demon King’s extraordinary materials, immediately gaining incredible power, and even upon waking, she still remembered that feeling of empowerment.
It was a joyful feeling, where all worries vanquished, and everyone submitted before her power, striving to satisfy their personal desires.
It was just like the One Ring from “The Lord of the Rings,” continuously tempting people; perhaps I should keep my distance from it.
With that thought, Jima stepped into the Dream Palace entry.
She wanted to once again check on her belongings.
Leaning back in a high-backed chair with her legs crossed, she watched as gold coins cascaded down from the second-floor terrace, the new and old coins intertwining and shimmering in the sunlight, forming a golden waterfall.
Jima closed her eyes in comfort, realizing that for an ordinary person to earn one gold coin, they would have to labor hard, with their backs to the sun, soaking their clothes with sweat, working for a month, just to exchange for a single gold coin.
Thinking about this made the succubus even happier; her tail swished back and forth, her mood brightened.
Much thanks goes to Xiya, who tirelessly worked for her, exchanging various spoils for gold coins. Without Xiya, her palace storeroom would likely be filled with heaps of foul-smelling beastman trophies.
At that moment, a barrel of weapons descended slowly along with the gold coins; the barrel contained magical weapons and some expensive extraordinary items, with “For Sale” written on its side.
“Xiya should turn all of these into shiny gold coins.” Jima was barefoot, wearing only tights, and stepped on the gold coins; the sensation tickled her feet. She walked step by step to the weapon barrel.
Just then, a clay pot fell gracefully.
Jima caught the pot, and on it was written: Light Sphere—Zena’s extraordinary ability.
This was the last of her “bottled magic potions.”
Fortunately, the Holy Hall now agreed to let her buy some light attribute extraordinary materials, but they came at a hefty price. After all, the Holy Hall itself was lacking, and many of these extraordinary materials originated from fallen Holy Hall supernatural beings.
Gold coins, gold coins, and more gold coins.
Jima lifted her foot and firmly stepped on the pile of coins, the edges of the coins tickling her soles.
“It’s time to turn all these spoils into gold coins.”
Marlin City.
The richest trade city in the empire, merchants from various trades formed guilds to protect their industry interests. For instance, blacksmiths needed a license from the blacksmith guild to set up shop and had to adhere to uniform pricing while buying designated iron ore from specific merchants.
They strictly controlled the supply of goods in the market to prevent an oversupply from lowering prices, thus harming the interests of all competing merchants.
However, in recent months, those oddity merchants had been struggling.
For some unknown reason, Xiya suddenly penetrated the trade and continuously sold various weapons, extraordinary items, and all sorts of beastman heads, even the head of a cyclops, causing a stir throughout half the city.
It was as if several beastman war herds in the forest had collectively thrown themselves into stones, leaving all their wealth to Xiya.
Undoubtedly, this disruption of market order and the reduction in prices harmed the interests of merchants significantly.
After spreading rumors, secretly hiring thugs to engage in vandalism, and even deploying commercial spies to no avail, they decided to be straightforward and invite Xiya to a meeting for open discussions.
“As long as you pay one-fifth of your profits annually, we will accept you into the guild and issue a business license.”
“At the same time, you will need to announce a temporary halt on oddities. Once market prices return to their previous levels, we will notify you to resume sales.”
“In the long run, this benefits us all.”
The tall and flat-chested Miss Xiya sat in a chair. In the marketplace, she resembled a general, an indomitable warrior; when her lips parted slightly, she uttered a single word:
“No, I’m sorry. For the time being, I must make enough profits.”
The surface was tapped by dissatisfied merchants:
“Mr. Xiya, or rather, Miss. I don’t know who you are serving behind the scenes, but don’t think that just because you’re backed by Caslan—the one who profited through his daughter—you can act at will.”
Hearing “Mr. Xiya,” Miss Xiya’s back muscles tensed, and her gaze became more chilling. Recently, rumors circulated in Marlin City that Miss Xiya was originally a man, and many believed it.
Xiya had heard that apart from the conclusion being correct, everything else was just wild speculation.
The merchant in charge of negotiations continued: “The Sigma Church has found that the weapons you sell are filled with the stench of demonic corruption, adorned with the insignias of evil gods.”
“These have been purified and recognized by the Church.”
“However, a devoted and competent witch hunter has caught wind of your scheme; he suspects you are harboring heretical items and consorting with demons.”
This was a trump card. No one wanted to involve witch hunters in the conflict; on one hand, witch hunters lack “donations,” thus making extravagant demands, and both sides needed to provide sufficient donations to get on their good side.
On the other hand, witch hunters are thorough; should they uncover anything, it would be disastrous. They do not hold back when burning heretics.
“That must be a misunderstanding. I am loyal to the empire, believe in Sigma, and have no dealings with demons.” Xiya said, “If there needs to be an investigation, let it be; at the same time, I will report this guild as I suspect you have heretical items hidden in your cellar, so check everything thoroughly.”
The merchants stood up in unison:
“You! You think we’re afraid of you?”
“Kid, you’re too young. When I was your age, I fought my way through the merchants’ association with a hammer, nearly losing my life, yet I never compromised; who do you think you are?”
“We’ll see! Half-breed!”
As the atmosphere reached a tense peak.
Suddenly, the door burst open, and the succubus Jima entered the room, captivating everyone with her extraordinary charm as they gazed at her face.
The dark-haired succubus smiled slightly and said, “What’s with all the shouting?”
With that, she blinked her eyes, “Can’t we just have a nice conversation?”
The tense atmosphere in the room dissipated immediately.
The merchants all flashed friendly smiles at Jima; even the elderly merchants felt a youthful thrill, love welling up from their hearts. Now all they thought about was how to please the black-haired girl before them, each feeling as awkward as a virgin encountering a goddess.
The meeting ended smoothly in a friendly atmosphere.
Both sides reached an agreement to maintain the status quo; Xiya could sell as much as she wanted. Free competition benefits everyone.
Just as everyone was enjoying the harmonious atmosphere.
A talisman around an old man’s neck suddenly brightened, his murky eyes became clear, he looked at the contract on the table in disbelief, then raised his head to look at the beautiful dark-haired succubus and asked:
“May I ask who you are?”
“Me?” Jima smiled, revealing a tiny fang, resting her hand on Xiya’s shoulder. “I’m Xiya’s older sister.”
The old man removed his hat and politely bowed: “It’s an honor to meet you.”
They collected the contract and left obediently, no one questioning it, at least no one dared to challenge it openly.
“Thank you for your help.”
Jima patted Xiya’s shoulder and said, “Just keep doing well. One day, you’ll be able to command respect, even without makeup or dressing up, just casually and easily making mortals listen.”
At that moment, a servant walked in and whispered to Xiya that a guest had arrived.
Xiya said, “Let him come in directly.”
Before long, a young banker entered. Jima realized he looked familiar; wasn’t that Xiya’s boyfriend? He had even borrowed money from her, with George’s two armors as collateral.
“Xiya, my dear, I need to talk to you about something.”
“Talk here; she’s not an outsider.” Xiya wrinkled her little nose and said, “I’m not your dear.”
“Sorry, Xiya; I shouldn’t have believed the rumors.” He said, “Can you extend a few more days?”
“Your father likes to gamble in the stock market, that’s his mistake.” Xiya said, “And I never pay for other people’s mistakes; please leave.”
“You are such a heartless woman!”
The young banker slammed the door and left.
Watching his retreating figure, Xiya’s tense expression relaxed, revealing sadness.
“What’s wrong? Are you breaking up so soon?”
“Recently there’s a rumor saying I was once a man. I was honest with him, and he looked at me in disgust, then later I told him it was a test.”
Xiya forced a smile: “I used the power you gave me to set a trap… Surely, someone like me, a half-breed, has a vile heart and can’t find love.”
“Maybe it’s just that you’ve met the wrong person.”
Jima, who had personally spread rumors about Xiya, said sincerely, patting her shoulder to comfort her.
Jima thought: It seems not every man can accept that their partner is a shapeshifting woman.
