Chapter 87: Getting Rich
Several days later, at the Dream Palace, on the terrace.
Jima sat in a chair, playing with a circular disc that she had split in half, while Lianxi, dressed in a white maid outfit, stood by to assist.
As time passed, Lianxi quietly asked, “Master, are you very troubled?”
Jima stopped what she was doing and asked, “How do you know I’m troubled?”
“You’ve been fiddling with that disc for almost half an hour.”
“Oh.”
Suddenly, Jima thought of a method to repair the disc; the fragments of the Demon King’s crown might work. The thought of its magical powers made Jima restless.
What if I just do it alone? After all, no one knows where the Demon King’s crown fragment is. It might even be in the hands of a ten-year-old child, and all I would need to do is run over and snatch it back.
Jima immediately dismissed this thought, knowing that she was not the only one coveting this item. She believed that as long as she used the “Wish Compass” to search for the Demon King’s crown fragment, she would surely expose herself to the eyes of the demon clan.
Although the demon clan could not find the Demon King’s crown fragment, if someone possessed any extraordinary abilities that pointed to the crown fragment, it would be like a small bug encountering a spider’s web. The spider, sensing the vibrations in its web, would come out to catch its prey.
But what if? Right now, I consider myself an adept in divination; perhaps I could hide my tracks.
The notion tempted Jima.
If the magic ring does not lie and truly can fulfill a person’s desires without harming the user, can those who have tasted its power resist the temptation?
She took a deep breath, summoned her personal system, and checked the main task in the task bar: “Retrieve my or his extraordinary material, see the red-named text.”
Years of habit formed from completing the main task and her nature of seeking stability gradually suppressed her restlessness.
I still need to confirm whether I am the Demon King.
Jima picked up the disc again.
At that moment, inspiration struck her, and she realized that Xiya was coming as invited.
Previously, Xiya had reported to her that she had borrowed thirty-two thousand.
Initially, Jima was very excited and exclaimed, “So that kid has spent all his money on this!”
She had never looked into the market for human armor and had no idea that the armor in George’s collection was so expensive.
In her past life, her armor was gifted by the Blood God without costing a single gold coin; she merely shed some blood because the Blood God had thrown a powerful monster in front of her, and the armor was inside its belly.
Most demon clan heroes obtained their armor and mounts in a similar manner. Therefore, for the demon clan, war is the primary productivity. Advocating for peace and friendly coexistence is akin to promoting laziness and self-indulgence in human society, which is severely criticized by mainstream morality.
As her initial excitement gradually subsided, Jima started to feel uneasy, and her backside began to vaguely ache.
Now she understood that she had gotten herself into huge trouble; she might have spent nearly half of George’s lifetime income on those two pieces of armor while she was planning to use them to pawn for money.
But there’s a saying: as long as there’s no evidence, it’s not a crime.
In her thoughts, Xiya’s slender figure, dressed in a flaming red evening gown, appeared on the wide stone path below the terrace. She was dressed formally, and behind her was a large, heavy treasure chest, resembling a coffin.
Xiya was dressed formally, with all her accessories in place. She raised her head, gazing at the palace with a mixture of surprise and suspicion, wondering if this was all a dream. After all, for a mortal who had only heard of and seen a few extraordinary powers, this was hard to believe.
Jima walked to the railing, propped her chin up, and smiled faintly with a hint of mischief as she looked down at Xiya and said:
“You’re dressed so formally.”
Xiya displayed a polite smile and said, “Hearing that you invited me to the palace, I made an effort to prepare a proper outfit, but now I feel it’s still not enough.”
Jima, not being modest, had invited Xiya with the intention of showcasing her strength. She extended her hand and said, “Come up, let’s have a good talk.”
As soon as she finished speaking, clusters of clouds appeared before Xiya, forming a staircase, one cloud after another, leading up to the terrace.
Xiya lightly lifted her skirt, stepped onto the clouds, suppressing her excitement, curiosity, and awe. She carefully placed her foot on the cloud, with her high heels half-sinking into it, feeling steady. She started walking slowly at first, then gradually increased her speed, and soon reached the three-story high terrace in brisk steps.
Upon landing, she smiled and said, “This is truly magical.”
Jima walked straight to her chair, with Lianxi closely following. After Jima sat down, she noticed that Xiya was still standing. Feeling pleased with Xiya’s display of reverence, Jima waved her hand towards the empty seat and said:
“Sit down.”
Xiya lightly approached and sat down. She couldn’t help but pat the velvet cushion beneath her and touch the edge of the table. It was not that she had never used luxurious furniture; she just needed to confirm whether everything was real.
Jima scrutinized her for a second before speaking:
“Xiya, I notice your walking posture is a bit strange; did you get your period?”
Xiya was slightly taken aback; she thought she had concealed it well and laughed, “I had menstrual cramps a few days ago; you’re quite observant.”
Of course, I’ve done divination before; the walking posture is just an excuse.
At this moment, Lianxi raised her chin and said, “My master is the ruler of dreams, omnipotent, and all-knowing.”
Jima felt a little embarrassed, her hair tightening slightly, and raised her hand to stop Lianxi from praising unnecessarily, “Don’t exaggerate.”
“Yes, my master,” Lianxi lowered her head.
In her heart, she thought: My master is already powerful enough that merely sitting quietly allows mortals to sense her authority; there’s no need for me to remind anyone.
Xiya smiled and said, “I have a small doubt, and I hope it won’t offend you. Is this a dream, or does it truly exist?”
“Both,” Jima replied, “You’ve come here in your true form; otherwise, I wouldn’t have allowed you to bring gold coins here.”
Xiya was secretly astonished, unsure how much it cost the succubus before her to build this palace in a dream. No, it’s impossible to measure it with gold coins. Gold coins can build a palace in the mortal realm but can’t create one in a dream.
“This loan was very successful,” Xiya reported. “The monthly interest rate is only two percent…”
Isn’t that an annual interest rate of twenty-four percent? The financial borrowing rates of this era are really high.
Jima had already researched through divination, understanding that this annual interest rate was considered quite standard.
“It could have been lowered to one percent,” Xiya said, “but the amount was too large, alarming my friend’s father, who is also the head of a family.”
“Did you take the medicine?”
“Your medicine is very effective; otherwise, I wouldn’t have gotten such a large loan.”
Jima remembered that the other party had asked for medicine to attract someone, enjoying the thrill of being pursued.
She asked, “Did the medicine work for him?”
“I haven’t tested it yet,” Xiya said, “I was worried that Priest Sigma would find out since after Hisis stirred trouble in Marin City, the Sigma Church dispatched a batch of demon hunters and armed forces to settle in Marin City.”
“Will you be found out?”
“No.”
Jima held her palm up, and a wooden box flew into her hand. She placed it on the table and said, “Inside are three charm witch potions.”
Joy filled Xiya’s heart as she raised her hand to take the wooden box but quickly suppressed her impulse.
“You helped me, so I should reward you. How about five percent of the loan amount as a reward, plus this box of potions?”
That’s sixteen hundred gold coins; Jima felt a pang of pain and tried hard to push the number sixteen hundred from her mind. Even a well-connected go-between’s loyalty is so important.
“Very generous,” Xiya said, “but—”
Lianxi’s red cat ears perked up, glaring at Xiya, who seemed ungrateful.
Xiya smiled, “… but this reward is too precious for me.”
Jima pushed the wooden box in front of her, and it gently floated into Xiya’s arms. She said, “Take it.”
Xiya accepted the wooden box, intending to reduce her reward. However, she noticed that the other party had not glanced even once at the treasure chest full of gold coins below, keeping her gaze straight ahead. Perhaps to the other party, gold coins were merely insignificant numbers.
She opened her mouth and said, “Half of the loan is in gold coins, while the other half consists of various assets. I’ve already talked to Caslan and can use the assets to purchase equivalent casino shares and participate in the profits; the proof is here.”
Saying this, she took out a thick stack of papers from her bag. Jima took it, casually flipped through it, confirmed it was correct in her mind, then returned the proof, saying, “You can keep it; just report your earnings to me.”
“Okay.” Xiya put away the proof, “I made a round of purchases in the black market based on the list you provided, and most were bought—”
Jima, feeling pleased, interrupted, “How many portions of positive energy materials did you buy?”
“None.”
The smile on Jima’s face vanished at a visible speed.
Xiya hurriedly said, “But I happened to purchase two portions of shadow materials from an old friend.”
What are shadow materials?
Seeing Jima’s confusion, Xiya explained, “He claimed they are very useful and was eager to sell. I didn’t pay anything, so I brought them to show you.”
“Where are they?”
“In the box.”
Jima then scrutinized the box below; with a raised hand, the unlocked box opened on its own, revealing a pile of gleaming gold coins, attracting the attention of the other two. Who doesn’t love a pile of gold coins, even if they’re a severe case of trypophobia?
However, Jima’s gaze was not on the gold coins. Inside the box, there was a partition, and behind the partition was an array of bottles and jars. Jima could sense the magical energy within. With a raised hand, two rusty dark gray jars floated toward her.
She examined the jars; shadows swirled inside them.
Her intuition told her they could be used to make “canned potions,” although they could not encapsulate extraordinary abilities like George or Jenna.
“Okay, give him whatever he asks for.”
“The original price is a thousand; I bargained it down to eight hundred gold coins.”
Jima’s expression remained unchanged. With a gentle snap of her fingers, gold coins flew out of the box, swirling like bees, gathering on the table, totaling two thousand four hundred gold coins in a pile, inducing a strong impulse to scoop them up.
Jima glanced at Xiya’s handbag and said:
“Looks like it’s not enough to hold them. Do you have a dimensional space bag?”
Xiya shook her head.
Oh no, I forgot about that. There’s nothing in my palace to use for storing money… except for the sacks used for military supplies.
Jima didn’t want Xiya to know that this palace was essentially fictional, and everything she created within it could not be taken into reality; this would affect her prestige.
She snapped her fingers, and a brown-gray burlap sack, smelling of rust-proof oil, flew over. The gold coins swirled and fell into the sack, landing by Xiya’s feet.
“Please take it back with you.”
After Jima said that, she glanced at Xiya. Fortunately, the latter didn’t show any unusual reactions.
Xiya grabbed the sack and, with a forceful move, managed to sling it over her back, the rough sack pressing against the soft silk fabric.
“I’ll be heading off now.”
Jima’s mind flickered, “Goodbye.”
Xiya felt the world around her blur, as if waking from a dream. By the time she regained her senses, she was back in her bed.
Something heavy pressed against her back. She pushed herself up from the bed, and the heavy sack rolled off her back, landing on the bed with a clattering sound.
It was the sack filled with gold coins.
Sitting on the bed, she turned on the alchemical lamp. The large wooden chest that had previously been beside her bed had vanished without a trace.
Now, Xiya could confirm she hadn’t been dreaming; she had indeed visited Jima’s palace and returned with a sack full of gold coins.
Sitting on her bed, she took several deep breaths, trying to suppress her excitement.
The succubus Jima was far more powerful than she had imagined.
Even though the Sigma Church repeatedly proclaimed Jima’s crimes, Xiya didn’t care.
The chaos in Marin City that night made her deeply feel the helplessness of money; a few high-level extraordinary beings could throw an entire city into a state of fear.
It would be better to cling to the thigh of a powerful extraordinary being and work hard for her.
She looked at the sack of gold coins at her feet and admired, “As expected of a powerful succubus; only someone like her, who doesn’t care about gold coins, would casually use a sack to hold them.”
Thinking back to the palace standing beside the forest and Jima’s demeanor, she noticed that she hadn’t paid any extra attention to the pile of gold coins at all, as if they were just ordinary coins.
It made sense; with her being such a powerful extraordinary being, gold coins were merely a number, merely a number used to achieve her goals.
At this very moment.
In the dream palace that didn’t exist in the mortal realm.
Jima continued to focus, waving her hand at Lianxi, “You should go rest; I’ll handle my business.”
Lianxi answered, “As you command, Master.”
She paused for a moment and said, “Master, one day I will surely earn your trust.”
Indeed, Jima dismissed Lianxi to keep things confidential.
Jima looked deeply into Lianxi’s brown eyes and said, “Some spells and sorcery can directly extract things from the mind.”
“I understand; Master, you do this to protect me.” Lianxi’s eyes welled with tears, “I’m sorry, I’m too weak.”
After saying that, Lianxi slightly bowed to Jima and left.
Once Jima confirmed that Lianxi had really returned to her room, she couldn’t wait and jumped up directly from her chair, leaping to the railing, diving from the three-story high terrace. Tens of thousands of gold coins flew out of the treasure chest, supporting her descending body as she floated down, finally cushioning her fall.
Jima lay atop the pile of gold coins barely able to support her body, running her hands through the coins below her, her face radiating joy. With both hands, she scattered the gold coins and shouted, “I’m rich!”
As for George’s anger? Who would think about that in the face of money?
