Chapter 38: Turbulent Heart

Early morning.

A sliver of sunlight filtered through the old glass window and fell upon Mo Zhi.

Warm golden rays outlined her delicate and lovely face, making her long eyelashes shimmer with brilliance.

The sunlight pricked her eyes, making them ache; she scrunched her brows and, after three furry tails reached out from under the quilt to cover her eyes, she drifted back to sleep with a soft snore.

“Time to get up, Chief.”

A gentle, husky breeze blew past her ears.

It wasn’t exactly comfortable, but it gave a serene sense of reassurance.

“Mm…”

Mo Zhi mumbled in a similarly hoarse voice, rolled over, and burrowed back under the covers, leaving only a pair of cat ears exposed.

“Let me sleep a little longer, Wensa, just a bit…”

Wensa would have loved to admire her adorable sleeping face for a while longer, but unfortunately, Mo Zhi had told her firmly last night to wake her on time today—there was proper business to attend to.

“No can do, Chief. We have things to do today.”

“…Right.”

The black cat ears twitched, and she slowly poked her head out.

“What time is it?” she asked with her eyes still shut, even stealing a few more seconds of sleep while talking.

“It’s half past eight.”

“Half past eight… Half past eight?!”

She shot upright from the bed, staring wide-eyed at the clock on the wall—it was clearly not even seven yet.

“Wensa!”

Wensa covered her mouth and laughed lightly, “Are you awake now, Chief?”

“You meanie…”

Mo Zhi was jolted out of her earlier laziness.

She stretched, rubbed her messy hair, and started putting on the long robe for the morning meeting.

Wensa tended to her long hair, trying out countless styles before finally deciding that letting it flow freely best showed off Mo Zhi’s unique natural beauty.

Her soft, lustrous black hair shimmered like ink, swaying with a fruity fragrance.

A few gentle curls added to her cuteness, and Wensa couldn’t bring herself to straighten them.

Those emerald-green, dazzling eyes shone especially bright in the dim room.

With every blink, her long lashes fluttered like butterfly wings.

Fair, rosy skin matched her height of one-seventy, making Mo Zhi look like a life-sized, exquisitely crafted doll.

Sensing Wensa’s gaze, Mo Zhi asked curiously, “Why are you staring at me without blinking? Is there something on my face?”

“Not at all. I just think Chief is still as beautiful as a doll, as always.”

“That sounds a bit creepy… But I’ll take it as a compliment.”

Mo Zhi scratched her cheek, looking a bit embarrassed.

She honestly didn’t care whether she was pretty or not; because of her looks, people in Demon King City often treated her like a pampered young lady.

If she could, she’d rather be tall like the demon Black Death Soldiers—over one-ninety, fierce-eyed, muscles bulging—then people wouldn’t dare look down on her.

Still, a compliment was a compliment. Deep down, she was a little happy.

“Are you ready? Don’t forget to bring your hand.”

“All set, Chief.”

***

The two of them set out in a carriage toward Demon King City.

The cat demon tribe was a hundred li from Demon King City, with a Town in between.

Whenever they passed this place, Mo Zhi would always stare around the Town in a daze.

Looking at the bustling crowds, clean and beautiful streets, and the variety of shops— even their carriage was drawn by dragon horses. Whenever she saw these, her eyes filled with envy.

Compared to this Town, their tribe was practically the countryside.

Some nobles even called the cat demon tribe a primitive tribe behind closed doors, calling her clansmen Barbarians.

Though that was an exaggeration, in comparison to higher society, the cat demon tribe really was backward.

Lost in thought, she unconsciously voiced what was on her mind: “When will our tribe become like this…”

Wensa paused, then gave her a warm smile, saying, “I believe, with Chief leading us, it’ll happen very soon.”

Realizing she’d just revealed her discouragement, Mo Zhi coughed, put one hand on her waist, covered her chest with the other, and raised her chin, feigning confidence.

“Of course! I’m the Chief! Building a little Town like this won’t even take a few years!”

“Mm, I believe Chief can definitely do it.”

After that bit of bravado, Mo Zhi fell silent again, looking out the carriage window.

Everyone in the tribe pinned their hopes on her.

If she lost confidence first, the people would only sink further into despair.

But looking on the bright side, since marrying the Demon King, the tribe had really improved.

At least no one went hungry or cold anymore; everyone could eat hot food and wear warm cotton coats.

That was just a small step for Mo Zhi, but a big leap for the tribe!

Thinking of this, Mo Zhi felt a surge of confidence.

Hehe, I really am pretty capable.

The carriage traveled a bit further.

As they passed a shop, a familiar scent suddenly wafted to Mo Zhi’s nose.

Her eyes widened, and she shouted excitedly, “Dou Dou Cakes!!”

“…Chief, it’s already half past seven.”

Mo Zhi scratched her head with an awkward laugh, “We left so early I haven’t even had breakfast. Wensa, you’re hungry too, right? Why not buy a few? Come on, it won’t take long.”

“…Alright then.”

As the carriage stopped, Mo Zhi hopped down and ran toward the shop, with Wensa following close behind with quick little steps.

The cat demon tribe had a bad reputation among the demons, mostly because of things they’d done in the past.

So, after getting out, both of them instinctively hid their tails and ears.

“Boss, four Dou Dou Cakes!”

Mo Zhi squeezed through the crowded shop, tossing four copper coins onto the counter.

The four hot, greasy Dou Dou Cakes were quickly ready, but just as she reached out, a slender, pale hand suddenly snatched all four first.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?”

Mo Zhi turned, annoyed—only to freeze in surprise.

Behind her stood a witch in a black, wide robe.

She looked gaunt, obviously hungry for a long time.

“Sorry, could you let me have these four cakes first? I haven’t eaten in days…”

“You’re a witch?”

“Yes… (Mmm, chomp—)”

She didn’t even finish her sentence before biting eagerly into a cake.

Tears of happiness instantly rolled down her cheeks.

Looks like she really hasn’t eaten in a long time.

“What are you doing here?”

Although the demons didn’t forbid witches from entering, she was still a human.

Among some of the more carnivorous tribes, humans were quite a rare delicacy.

“Mm… (gulp—) I’m a witch from the east. I heard the human Princess Royal is getting married soon, so I wanted to take a shortcut and check it out, hehe.”

“Princess Royal… getting married?!”

“Thud”

Her heart seemed to seize painfully for a moment.

But thinking about it, this had nothing to do with her—so why, then…