Chapter 72 Chapter 73 Sleeping Through Noon
At noon, the sun shone brilliantly.
After Ji Ma ate two pieces of bread taken from another dimension, she couldn’t help but internally complain that this task felt like a spring outing. At the same time, she enjoyed herself unreservedly, with Jenna providing a clean blanket for her to lie down under the shade of a tree and take a nap.
She closed her eyes, and in less than three minutes, sleepiness washed over her; her eyelids felt heavy, and her consciousness faded away without her realizing it. In an instant, her awareness returned.
Some instinct told Ji Ma that she was in a dream.
Sure enough, as soon as she opened her eyes, the sunny plain transformed into a dull, monochrome dreamscape of black and white.
Ji Ma’s tiny wings on her back flared out, quickly expanding and gaining strength. With a mighty flap, her petite body soared lightly into the sky of the dream.
She looked down at the land; the ground, initially only black and white, gradually revealed some yellow mist, appearing in towns, villages, and other settlements. These were the visual manifestations of the rumors Ji Ma had created. In her eyes, the yellow mist contained information that only she could decipher. She could easily tell which rumors these mists originated from.
The rumor of “The Troubled Queen of Elves” had grown the most and spread the widest.
Centered around Le’an Port, several coastal cities had been “infected” to varying degrees by the yellow mist. She even saw, on the distant horizon across the vast ocean, a faint patch of yellow mist. She focused her mind, reading the most remote mist and deciphering the location of its rumors.
That was a port of the high elves.
The speed at which the rumors spread far exceeded Ji Ma’s expectations.
“Spreading this fast, ha, those arrogant high elves said they would never trade with humans. It’s also possible that a merchant ship accidentally encountered the elven navy, and the goods on board were ‘temporarily’ detained.”
The rumor of “The Troubled Elf Queen” was filled with lies.
Ji Ma extended her hand, pretending to touch the “mist of rumor.” She felt as if her fingertips were touching a heart full of heat and vitality, pounding powerfully like George’s chest.
Ji Ma’s face flushed slightly as she drove the thought from her mind and concentrated.
A warm current flowed from her fingertips into her body; this was the power of the lies.
Countless people who believed these lies transmitted and amplified them not only with their mouths but also with the power of their spirits, which transformed into the power of the lies for Ji Ma’s use.
This harvest was abundant; Ji Ma could feel that there was a place on the outskirts of Le’an Port that provided nearly half of the power of the lies.
Ji Ma lowered her hand and stopped absorbing the “power of lies.”
She was very cautious.
Before understanding the reason behind this abundant harvest, she didn’t plan to continue absorbing it; it could be a trap.
At this moment, a thin stream of black smoke unexpectedly emerged from Le’an Port, drawing attention. It came from Mr. Dongdong’s dream seed.
He hadn’t “arrived late”; he had also taken a nap at the designated time.
Ji Ma was jolted awake as she reached out to grasp the black smoke belonging to Mr. Dongdong.
In less than ten seconds, she entered Mr. Dongdong’s dream, as if walking into a gray cloud.
Everything around was a hazy gray; Ji Ma snapped her fingers.
A black palace suddenly appeared, with layers of steps expanding downward beneath her feet, a full one hundred steps “growing” from where she stood. A throne appeared underneath her.
Ji Ma comfortably sat down, glanced around, and felt that the black palace wasn’t imposing enough. Flicking her index finger against the armrest, the throne instantly transformed into an iron throne forged from a thousand steel swords, with a twisted holy sword behind her head—the very one George used to pierce Ji Ma’s chest.
She was initially satisfied but looking at the steps below, thought they were too low to showcase her demon lord’s might (if she still had any), so she snapped her fingers, making each step grow to a height of one meter.
She looked down at her slightly rising bosom and long, powerful legs.
“No matter how you look at it, it feels like I’m sitting on the demon lord’s thigh, ready to be taken at any moment.” Ji Ma made a series of “rational” minor modifications to her appearance.
After ten minutes of adjustments, she finally lifted her hand and “awoke” the dreamer, Mr. Dongdong.
Mr. Dongdong’s tiny figure appeared at the bottom of the steps.
He looked up, and a small hill-like set of steps appeared before him. At the top of the steps was a massive throne shrouded in gray mist, behind which only a giant figure twice the height of a bull could be vaguely seen, with a flickering light at its head.
Mr. Dongdong was instantly terrified, his legs going weak as he dropped to the cold ground, looking up at the terrifying presence on the throne.
Ji Ma grinned, quickly covering her mouth with her hand, nearly bursting into laughter. She thought that with the gray mist obscuring her, Mr. Dongdong couldn’t see her expression or hear her laughter.
The succubus girl released her hand and laughed, her silver bell-like laughter resonating through the mist. It transformed into a deep, booming male laugh, reminiscent of a dragon’s voice.
Mr. Dongdong trembled fiercely, lowering his head with his forehead against the ground, not daring to speak.
“My faithful mortal servant,” Ji Ma said, “you always bring me some amusement. Tell me, have you calculated yesterday’s accounts?”
“I’ve calculated, my… my master,” Mr. Dongdong replied. “Recently, although there are fewer clients, they are all wealthy big clients. You earned a total of five hundred and twenty gold coins, and with your earnings from the previous period, it totals one thousand four hundred and eighty gold coins.”
In the black palace, a rumbling voice echoed: “Really?”
Indeed, the powerful devil could still hear me from such a height.
Mr. Dongdong’s tone became even more humble as he said: “Indeed, master! I understand that as an ant-like insignificant existence, nothing can be hidden from you.”
Ji Ma opened her “personal system,” clicked on a memo called “Financial Income,” and checked it. The last pure income was nine hundred and sixty gold coins. After calculating in her head, she realized that Mr. Dongdong hadn’t lied to her, so she closed the “personal information system” and said, “I trust you.”
Mr. Dongdong replied, “Thank you, thank you!”
Ji Ma couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
At this moment, Mr. Dongdong asked, “My master, may I have the audacity to ask you a question? Why does your appearance differ from last night?”
“What’s different?”
“You seem taller and more imposing than last time…”
With each adjective he spoke, Ji Ma’s tail perked up.
Ji Ma replied, “My power is tied to my appearance.”
Indeed, the book she provided was not just a surface-level triviality; it contained some evil that could awaken an ancient demon. Oh dear, what am I getting myself into?
Mr. Dongdong’s calves trembled even more; he was extremely grateful that he had timely dropped to all fours; otherwise, he would have been paralyzed with fear.
Curiosity compelled him to continue asking: “Then, what is that flickering light?”
“It is the flame of hell sealed in my eyes,” Ji Ma explained. “With just a thought, anyone before me would be turned to ashes by the flames.”
“What about the gray mist surrounding you?”
“That is to protect you,” Ji Ma laughed, and the entire palace resonated with roaring laughter. “Otherwise, with a mortal’s will, you would have crumbled long ago and your soul would burn without flame.”
Mr. Dongdong didn’t dare look at Ji Ma any longer and asked one last question: “What about the giant sword beside you?”
“That is a weapon I forged over ninety-nine eighty-one years with the black flames of hell.”
“May I… be so lucky as to know its name?”
Are you trying to pry into my secrets?
Ji Ma’s eyes shifted, and she said, “It’s called the Fluffy Tail of the Pink Bunny.”
Mr. Dongdong couldn’t believe his ears. That name sounded more like something a cute girl would name her pet.
He even dared not repeat the name, fearing it would invoke the flames of hell to burn his soul, forever trapped without rebirth.
“You… I… must be hearing things.”
“I made myself very clear,” Ji Ma repeated, “the Fluffy Tail of the Pink Bunny.”
“Is this some ancient language? I truly don’t understand, my master.”
“This is not a homophone,” Ji Ma said. “Based on my experience from being beaten for ten days and nights by a shameless hero and his deity, the older and more legendary the name of a weapon, the weaker it is. Because the opponent can look up ancient texts based on the weapon’s name and find out its weaknesses.”
“So, I named my sword something utterly irrelevant. One of my followers told me it is highly insulting, and anyone defeated by it will feel deep humiliation; far more than any soul-rending, mercy could.”
“I took his advice and burned his soul.”
Mr. Dongdong instinctively asked, “Why?”
The palace echoed with a loud rumble of laughter again, causing Mr. Dongdong’s eardrums to ache, yet he dared not cover his ears.
After Ji Ma finished laughing, she said: “I know that the Fluffy Bunny is an animal among mortals, described with the adjective ‘cute.’ He seemed to think that I don’t understand the art of mortal language and tried to deceive me. But that does not prevent me from agreeing with his viewpoint.”
Mr. Dongdong’s body trembled again, feeling as though Ji Ma was warning him.
Never test the divine!
This thought sprang into his mind, and he felt deeply regretful for his curiosity, anxious and uneasy.
“Tell me, are there any major events nearby recently?” Ji Ma asked. “For example, something related to extraordinary beings.”
“Yes,” Mr. Dongdong replied. “Those knights, who together are hardly stronger than your pinky finger, are competing in a tournament; many of those participating are coming for your peripheral items.”
Ji Ma felt relieved.
The “power of lies” provided by extraordinary beings was far more than that of mortals.
“Are many of them loyal readers of the book?”
“Yes, they are so enamored with your magic tome that they cannot extricate themselves.” After finishing, Mr. Dongdong hesitated again. “Also, there’s one more thing.”
“Speak.”
“Fourteen people have already expressed a wish for you to write a book, and some can’t wait and impulsively punched me in the face.”
Hehe, I’ve earned enough money anyway; I’m too lazy to write.
Being capricious, Ji Ma smiled and said, “Just tell them I’m writing it.”
“Yes, my master.”
Ji Ma snapped her fingers again, and Mr. Dongdong’s dream came to an end.
She returned to the dream sky, overlooking the yellow mist beneath her.
Underneath the striking “yellow mist of rumor,” there was another cluster of mist that appeared quite feeble, like a candle flame in a cold wind, at risk of extinguishing at any moment.
That was the rumor “Ji Ma is a kind succubus.”
“I infused it with the power of lies yesterday, and now it’s weakened again in half a day.” Ji Ma murmured to herself while continuing to inject the power of lies, “It seems no one is spreading this rumor anymore. Ha, those sailors boasted they would remember me forever, and in less than two months, it’s become like this.”
