After making sure her clothes were in order, Princess Ivy said, "Let’s head back to Nine-Shade City first. You should find an inn and settle in. Once I’ve explained things to my father, I’ll bring you to meet him. If you just show up out of nowhere, he might blame you—after all, I’m his only daughter, and he’s very strict about who gets to be his son-in-law."
"No problem. Just come find me when you’re done. But before that, can I see my sister? It’s been ages since we last met—I want to check on her." Evan Chu said, not taking Princess Ivy’s concerns to heart at all.
Honestly, if her father refuses, all the better—it’d save him a lot of trouble. Evan felt a bit bad for Princess Ivy, but if her father said no, he wasn’t about to shamelessly beg for approval. If anyone should be asking, it ought to be Ivy, not him.
Then Evan grabbed Princess Ivy and shot up into the sky. With a single teleport, they appeared above Nine-Shade City. Ivy stared at Evan in shock and said, "Evan, how are you so fast? Why didn’t you move this quickly when I was chasing you before?"
"I had to lure you into chasing me, didn’t I? How else could I win you over? Regretting it now?" Evan grinned.
"Not at all. I’m just surprised, that’s all. You really aren’t ordinary—I guess I picked the right person. Don’t worry! I’ll make sure my father approves our marriage." Princess Ivy said confidently.
Afterward, the two landed in a secluded spot. To avoid attention, they split up on purpose. Before leaving, Princess Ivy told Evan to wait for her at the Auspicious Cloud Inn in Nine-Shade City. Evan agreed right away.
After Ivy left, Evan didn’t rush into the city. Instead, he took out a human-skin mask and disguised himself all over again—after all, plenty of people had seen his face at the city gate that day, and he wasn’t about to cause a stir over something so trivial.
Once he was ready, he strolled up the main road and soon reached the city gate. Plenty of people were coming and going, but nobody paid any attention to this unfamiliar human.
"Show your entry pass for inspection!" a guard stopped Evan and demanded.
"No entry pass, no entry to Nine-Shade City!" the guard said after glancing at Evan.
"Is there any other way? Where can I get an entry pass?" Evan asked helplessly. He really didn’t want to cause any more trouble right now—otherwise, he’d never get to stay in Nine-Shade City.
"You can pay a thousand Netherstones and enter the city. If you want to come and go freely, you’ll need to pay a thousand Netherstones each time. If you get an entry pass, that also costs a thousand Netherstones, but it gives you unlimited access. To get one, you’ll have to go to Warmriver City, a thousand li away. Think it over!" the guard said.
Evan almost wanted to say this was daylight robbery, but he kept quiet. He took out a thousand Netherstones from his storage ring and handed them to the guard. "Can I enter now?"
The guard hurriedly took the Netherstones. "Yes, yes!" he said, and Evan walked right in. A few other guards gathered around.
"Lucky day! We just found ourselves a fat sheep. Looks like this month’s drinking money is covered—let’s grab a drink after our shift." one of the guards said.
"Of course! It’s good to be in Wang’s crew. Tonight, we’ll drink to Wang!" another guard chimed in.
Naturally, Evan heard every word. He couldn’t believe he’d just been extorted by a bunch of low-level guards—what a joke.
As Evan walked through the streets of Nine-Shade City, vendors were hawking their wares everywhere. People from all five races mingled, but none of it interested him anymore. What mattered now was finding the Auspicious Cloud Inn Princess Ivy had mentioned—maybe he’d see Roxanne Lin soon.
The street was lined with every kind of shop—teahouses, restaurants, you name it. Evan wandered for ages but couldn’t find the so-called Auspicious Cloud Inn, since he didn’t recognize Netherworld script at all. Even Qingshuang was clueless.
"Excuse me, brother—how do I get to the Auspicious Cloud Inn?" Evan asked a middle-aged human man as soon as he saw him.
The man glanced at Evan and said, "You messing with me? This is the Auspicious Cloud Inn! Didn’t you see the huge sign with those four big characters? What’s wrong with you!"
Evan looked behind him and sure enough, there was a huge sign with writing on it. He felt a bit embarrassed. "I didn’t notice—thanks!"
Once inside, a waiter greeted Evan warmly. The waiter was human, with the cultivation of about seventh or eighth-layer Divine Martial Realm. He was sturdy and not unattractive, and as soon as he saw Evan, he asked:
"Are you here to stay or to eat? Auspicious Cloud Inn is one of the most famous inns in Nine-Shade City—any human who comes here chooses us, since our boss is human too."
"I’ll stay. Give me a nice room, a few good dishes, and a pot of wine—human wine, not that Ghost Clan stuff. That stuff tastes awful." Evan ordered right away.
"Please, come with me!" the waiter said, leading Evan into the inn and quickly bringing him to a room on the second floor.
The room was well-furnished, with all the essentials. "Please wait, sir—your food and wine will be brought right up!" the waiter said before leaving.
Evan sat at the table and took out a demon core from his storage ring, planning to absorb its energy while staying at the inn. He’d broken through to fourth-layer Saint Martial Realm, but the Sword Spirit said he still wasn’t strong enough. To complete his mission, he had to get stronger.
Soon the waiter brought up the food and wine. Evan handed him a few Netherstones and said, "Don’t bother me unless it’s important. If a human woman comes looking for me, bring her here."
"Understood, sir! Understood!" the waiter said happily, then left. He hadn’t expected this guest to be so generous—over a hundred Netherstones at once.
Turns out Evan had given him a high-grade Netherstone without realizing it. He hadn’t noticed if he’d done the same for the guards earlier—if he had, he’d be even more annoyed.
"After all this time in the Netherworld, this is the first decent meal I’ve had. Not easy!" Evan chuckled to himself, then poured a cup of human wine and drank it in one go.
After eating and drinking his fill, Evan sat on the bed and began carefully examining the demon core in his hand. He knew it mainly affected the version of himself in his mind, but he had no idea what would happen after absorbing its energy…