Late at night.
I snuck down the mountain in secret.
I didn’t disturb my senior brothers—they were so excited from counting money today that they fell asleep early.
Walking to a secluded spot at the foot of the mountain, I pulled out the Demon Realm Token my dad gave me from my storage ring.
My dad once said I could activate the token whenever I faced danger.
I injected a trace of demonic energy into the token.
Although I only have half-demon blood, I still possess demonic power.
The token lit up, emitting a faint, dark glow.
A moment later, a plume of black mist surged from underground, condensing into a human figure in the air.
It was a demon.
He had horns on his head, greenish-grey skin, red eyes, and wore a black cloak.
He immediately dropped to one knee: “Greetings, Princess.”
Me: “…Who are you?”
Demon: “This subordinate is a secret guard arranged in the Cultivation World by the Demon Lord, tasked with protecting the Little Princess’s safety.”
Me: “Arranged by my dad?”
“Yes.”
“How come I didn’t know?”
“The Demon Lord said… when you need it, I will naturally appear.”
Me: “…”
My illiterate dad actually made an arrangement like this?
I thought he only knew how to cry about being poor—turns out he’s quite thoughtful.
I cleared my throat: “What’s your name?”
Demon: “This subordinate has no name; my codename is ‘Ying Qi’ (Shadow Seven).”
“Shadow Seven, do two things for me.”
“Please give your orders, Little Princess.”
“First, bring a message to my dad: I haven’t found my mom yet, but I’m living very well, so tell him not to worry.”
“Understood.”
“Second, have my brother send me a bit of Nether Deep-Iron ore.”
Ying Qi was stunned: “Nether Deep-Iron ore?”
I nodded: “Right, I found out this stuff is pretty valuable in the Cultivation World. I plan to use it to exchange for some spirit stones to help supplement the household expenses.”
Ying Qi went silent for a moment, then said: “Little Princess… actually, the high value of Nether Deep-Iron in the Cultivation World was manipulated by the Young Lord.”
I blinked: “What do you mean?”
Ying Qi lowered his head: “The Young Lord said the Demon Realm was too poor, so he needed to push export earnings.”
“However, Nether Deep-Iron is way too abundant in the Demon Realm—even if mined, it wouldn’t fetch a good price~”
“So the Young Lord controlled the output of Nether Deep-Iron, instructing us to release just a tiny bit into the Cultivation World’s black market each month to inflate the price before selling it off gradually.”
Ying Qi paused, “He said this is called ‘hunger marketing,’ something he learned from the Mortal Realm.”
Me: “…………”
Holy crap.
My mine-digging brother is actually a business prodigy?!
Ying Qi pulled out a storage bag from his robes: “If the Little Princess needs it, there are several tons in here—please take this to use first. If it’s not enough, this subordinate can return to the Demon Realm to fetch more.”
I took the bag and probed it with my divine sense.
Inside was a jet-black, faint-glowing small mountain.
It really was several tons!
It was enough for me to pave the entire Heavenly Sword Sect in black.
Me: “…That’s enough.”
Ying Qi: “Does the Little Princess have any other orders?”
Me: “No. You can go back.”
“Yes.”
Ying Qi turned into black mist and disappeared underground.
Coming without a shadow, leaving without a trace.
Like a magic trick.
And it really was magic.
I returned to the cave and stuffed the storage bag under my pillow.
Staring at the roof of the cave in a daze.
Several tons of ore.
Enough for me to sell for a lifetime.
Enough for my senior brothers to upgrade a hundred swords.
Wait, that’s not right.
I started counting on my fingers to calculate:
A fist-sized piece of Nether Deep-Iron sells for one hundred mid-grade spirit stones.
But Nether Deep-Iron is very heavy—a fist-sized piece is almost a hundred catties (jin).
So, 1 catty of Nether Deep-Iron = 1 mid-grade spirit stone.
One ton is two thousand catties.
Several tons… let’s just say five tons.
Five tons is ten thousand catties.
Ten thousand catties means ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones.
Converted into high-grade spirit stones, that’s a whole hundred of them.
I hadn’t even seen a high-grade spirit stone before.
Supposedly, a single high-grade spirit stone is enough for an ordinary person to cultivate for a whole year.
A hundred of them… I’m rich.
But here comes the problem:
How do I give so much Nether Deep-Iron to my senior brothers?
If I just pull it out directly, they will definitely suspect something.
I have to think of a reasonable excuse.
For example…
“I picked it up at the back of the mountain”?
No, the back mountain has already been dug through completely by my senior brothers—there isn’t even a decent piece of iron ore left.
“I dug it up while sleepwalking”?
My senior brothers aren’t fools.
Sigh, so difficult.
Wait.
My brother hyped up the ore price so high—if I bring out this batch of ore to sell, will it disrupt the market?
Will my brother go bankrupt?
Will the Heavenly Sword Sect be held accountable by the Demon Realm?
Halfway through my thoughts, I got too sleepy and fell asleep.
Early the next morning.
While I was still fast asleep, I was woken up by my senior brothers.
“Little Junior Sister! Wake up quickly! Great news!”
Su Ning rushed into my cave dwelling, waving a communication talisman and dancing with joy.
Yan Chuan followed behind, trembling with excitement.
Murong Zhuo and Gu Chenguang also gathered around, their eyes shining brightly.
I crawled up with a pair of dark circles under my eyes: “What happened?”
Su Ning saw my dark circles: “Junior Sister, didn’t you sleep well?”
I nodded: “I had a nightmare.”
Yan Chuan: “What kind of nightmare?”
I recalled: “I dreamed that we were so poor we couldn’t even afford steamed buns, so we could only eat dirt.”
My senior brothers fell silent.
That look on their faces… was probably everyone having a sore spot hit at the exact same time.
Su Ning coughed: “Umm… that won’t happen, Little Junior Sister, we’re rich now!”
He shoved a communication talisman in front of me: “Second Senior Brother sent a reply!”
Me: “Second Senior Brother?”
You mean Fu Shao—the one who’s been prospecting for mines for three years?
Yan Chuan said excitedly: “He discovered a Nether Deep-Iron mine at the border of the Demon Realm! He even sent back a ton of ore—a full three thousand catties!”
Murong Zhuo: “The purity is extremely high! It can sell for 30 high-grade spirit stones!”
Gu Chenguang: “You heard that right—high-grade!”
Me: “…Huh?”
Second Senior Brother?
The same Fu Shao who spent three years searching for mines?
He found a Nether Deep-Iron mine?
And sent back three thousand catties first thing in the morning?
I just received five tons last night, and Second Senior Brother sent three thousand catties first thing in the morning?
Didn’t Ying Qi say that the production of Nether Deep-Iron was controlled by my brother?
Could it be…
My brother and Second Senior Brother know each other?
Impossible.
My brother mines in the Demon Realm, and Second Senior Brother prospect mines in the Cultivation World—they’re worlds apart.
Unless…
My brother IS Second Senior Brother?
No, my brother is named Fu Yan, while Second Senior Brother is Fu Shao—the names are different.
Besides, my brother is a demon, and Second Senior Brother is a sword cultivator—their species are different too.
A coincidence.
It must be a coincidence.
I composed myself and asked: “Where is Second Senior Brother’s letter?”
Yan Chuan handed the letter to me.
I took the letter—even though I couldn’t read all the characters, I still had to put on a show of reading it.
The content was roughly:
“Senior brothers and junior brothers, I found a small Nether Deep-Iron vein at the border of the Demon Realm. I’ve dug up several thousand catties and sent them back first. Take them to sell for spirit stones to use for Little Junior Sister’s cultivation. I’ll keep prospecting and send more when I find it. — Fu Shao”
There was also a crooked signature at the bottom.
Looking at this letter, I always felt like something was off.
Yet I couldn’t put my finger on it.
Su Ning was still talking excitedly: “With all this Nether Deep-Iron, we can buy you tons of Origin-Nourishing Pills! Enough for you to cultivate all the way to Foundation Establishment!”
Me: “…Mm.”
Looking at the excited faces of my senior brothers, I silently pushed the storage bag under my pillow a bit deeper inside.
Forget it.
There’s no need to take it out anymore.
It’s impossible to explain anyway.
I can’t exactly say, “I summoned a demon last night and he gave me several tons,” right?
My senior brothers might catch me and treat me as a demon spy.
Even though I actually am a demon—half of one, anyway!
I’ll just keep these few tons of ore as reserve funds.
What if we go bankrupt again in the future?