Brain bloom

"What is that?" Yuan asked curiously, looking at the women who were hostile to them.

"How should I put it, it's selling young ladies."

"Oh, a slave, perhaps?"

"...In a sense, that's true. But it's only for one night, and its uses are limited." Mori had tried her best to explain, but she didn't know if the rules of this ancient industry in this world were the same as what she knew.

Perhaps because it was daytime, there weren't many thugs or hooligans around, and the two of them hadn't encountered any harassment yet.

But could a phantom dragon really be hiding in such a filthy street? She couldn't help but wonder if she'd been tricked. But not far away, she spotted Philiasel's tattoo shop. The storefront was quite large, the entrance stained with both old and new blood, and from time to time, pig-like screams could be heard coming from inside.

"Is this where you pay to touch the Phantom Dragon?" Yuan asked.

"...Probably."

"Then let's go in and take a look."

As soon as they approached, a wild, clucking laugh, like a hen brooding, suddenly erupted from inside the shop. Immediately afterward, a blood-soaked, shirtless thug rushed out, shouting, "I survived the trial!" and fled.

Full of doubt, the two of them went inside, instinctively avoiding the blood on the ground. As soon as they entered, they heard a string of curses.

"What's wrong? You can't hold people down? This isn't like you! Do you even want to continue working here?"

"I wanted to do it... but I smelled the food and couldn't resist."

"What food? Oh, another guest has arrived. Go and serve them."

"The food has arrived, not the guests."

The shop was indeed a tattoo parlor; the smell of paint mingled with the stench of blood, along with a lingering, murky odor of smoke. One man had just lit a cigarette when another slowly approached Sen Shi, drooling.

The woman, who looked to be around twenty years old, had long, slightly wavy chestnut-colored hair and a very pleasant-looking, round face; she was truly a stunning beauty.

She's the gentle and considerate older sister type; fifty silver coins for a single touch is definitely worth it. Yet, she drooled and approached Mori with the eyes of a predator eyeing its prey.

"Food, it's finally here! I want to eat you." The older sister's voice was soft and sweet. "Come on, come on."

"It actually has a human form? It's actually a female dragon. Don't, don't come any closer."

"Give me some."

“Look, don’t have any illusions about dragons…” Mori hurriedly stepped back, “This is the illusory dragon I was talking about, I bet you it is.”

"Hmm, I can tell there's an illusion covering it, but it's quite clumsy... The real body is quite imposing." In Yuan's view, the human's appearance is just a transparent layer of paper, while the original appearance inside is completely exposed.

So even though it looks like a thirsty older sister throwing herself at him, it's actually a bit terrifying. She has a row of sharp teeth with drool hanging from them, ready to devour Mori.

"for you!"

In his excitement, Sen threw several silver coins at her before the Phantom Dragon Sister could wipe away her drool and regain some composure.

The tattoo shop owner, seeing that it wasn't a customer, ignored them and just silently turned his back and smoked his pipe no matter how much they made a fuss.

"Give me some more silver coins... And, did you bring that piece of paper you mentioned last time?"

"I brought it, but I don't have any money."

"So stingy, so stingy." Big Sister Huanlong crossed her arms with obvious dissatisfaction, highlighting her impressive bust.

The ever-curious Yuan asked, "Doesn't the tourism industry, which touches the dragon's body, make a lot of money? Why would you need to work here? Are you that short of money?"

"Huh, who are you?"

When the dragon sister looked at Yuan, suddenly, her dragon instincts kicked in with the strongest sense of crisis, causing her to take several steps back, completely forgetting that her appetite had not yet been satisfied.

She suddenly bared her teeth in hostility, but then realized that her proud claws and teeth were not showing, so she could only bury her head and growl.

"I advise you not to kill me. I am actually a resident of Silvermoon City. It's hard for you to digest me! It will give you an upset stomach! Think it over carefully."

Volume 1 #099: Phantom Dragons Are Really Tough to Deal With

"I don't want to eat you, nor do I intend to kill you. I'm just curious why a noble phantom dragon is working here."

"Silver coins are my means of survival. Although I make a fortune every time I go on a tourism trip, they're all eaten up... so I can't save any. Ever since they were stolen by ghosts at night, I've moved to the city. At least it's safe here, so I do odd jobs to earn rent..."

"You do tattoos?" Mori asked with interest.

"No, no." Big Sister Huanlong shook her head, her hair swaying with it. "The shop manager was the one who did it, but his skills were terrible. He often made people scream and try to run away, and then we wouldn't get any money. I'm strong, so I was in charge of holding them down..."

"You might even break someone's bones occasionally, right?"

The shop manager, who had been silently smoking, suddenly joined the conversation in a cold, almost mechanical voice.

"My skills are terrible? It's not your place to judge. Your dragon isn't much better either. As for these two guests—"

"We...we didn't come here for tattoos," Yuan said hastily.

"It's a real shame that a pattern was left on such a beautiful young girl's skin; it should have been a pleasant experience."

Mori touched the goosebumps that had appeared on his skin, and vaguely noticed something: the shop manager's joints seemed a bit strange. Perhaps it was the clothes, but they looked spherical? Completely inconsistent with normal human anatomy.

Yet everything they exhibit is no different from what humans do...

Unfortunately, the shop manager didn't give Mori a chance to ask any questions, and didn't even show his face. He just slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, then got up and went into the small room, leaving only the words to Sister Huanlong: "Since you are my friend, I'll leave it to you. Anyway, there are no other customers."

Yuan was particularly interested in the Phantom Dragon, asking incessantly, "What does a silver coin taste like?"

"It tastes salty when you lick it, sweet when you bite into it, and a little spicy when you go down your throat." Due to the danger, she had to patiently answer Yuan's questions.

"Alright, alright, let me interject. Huanlong, I'm here to recruit you." Sen Shi spoke up, getting straight to the point. "You need a place to live, right? Come to my house. There are no ghosts to bother you, the house is comfortable, and there's enough space for you to exercise. I don't charge rent."

"You want me?" When talking to Sen, she was all high and mighty, with the same attitude she had towards food.

"Yes, compared to silver coins, I can give you plenty of paper to eat, lots and lots of it, definitely more delicious than silver coins. All you have to do is give me a few tears."

Mori felt he had offered many favorable conditions, and since it happened to be a poor dragon, the chances of successfully luring it away were high. However, the expected nod of agreement did not come.

"No way, no way, you're lying." Big Sister Huanlong shook her head, looking very arrogant.

"……Why?"

"Where would you find such a kind person? Suddenly offering me a helping hand and saying they'd give me a place to live, rent-free?" She turned her head, her expression not good. "Trying to kidnap me, huh? I've seen this kind of thing a million times, a scammer."

“I’m telling the truth! My home is in the Four Seasons Winery, which is a very big place. You can look at a map if you don’t believe me.”

"Truth?" She looked at Sen Shi, snorted again, and turned her head away. "Then I'm even less likely to go. Do you think I'm a three-year-old? If you gave me an endless supply of ore or silver coins, I might consider it. Humph, you only gave me paper to eat. How stingy."

"...The paper I feed you is more valuable than silver coins." After all, you have to painstakingly write knowledge on it to become the food that the Phantom Dragon desires.

Unfortunately, this somewhat abnormal phantom dragon still didn't believe it: "Liar, liar, ten silver coins can buy a whole bunch of paper."

Mori gave up trying to persuade this stubborn guy, thinking to himself that he was really difficult to deal with.

The only option left is to use silver coins instead of paper as a lure. But finding the right amount is tricky; it's unclear how many silver coins to give her each day to satisfy her and keep her obediently serving.

First, give them a little something to taste, then slowly add paper money to the silver coins...

So Mori suggested, "How about this, one hundred silver coins a day? You can have them all."

"R-Really? You're not trying to trick me with gold coins, are you?"

"...You really should study economics properly."

Just as Sen was about to press her advantage and increase her stakes to entice her, a familiar light appeared at the edge of her vision. The characteristics of that light made her recognize it at a glance as her family's mascot, Fufu.

The salt sprite darted in through the corner of the window and landed on Morishita's shoulder: "Morishi-neechan, something's come up at home."

"What's wrong?" Mori realized something was amiss.

"...What a sweet scent! Is this also from your family?" Big Sister Phantom Dragon stared intently at the Salt Sprite.

"Ah."

"We discovered danger right at our doorstep, underwater. We planned to continue exploring, but... a powerful figure appeared and is negotiating with the princess, saying that we are not allowed to continue exploring."

Mori couldn't deduce the whole story from Fukufu's fragmented words, but she understood that something might have happened at home, and she became nervous. How come both times she went out alone, trouble arose at home?

"A powerful figure has appeared, there's danger, so Dandelion sent you to find me?"

"I came here on my own initiative...that person scared me a little."

"Okay, let's go back... it's just that the road is a bit long."

"—Mori, if you want to go back, I'll help you?" Sensing that something was wrong, Yuan came over and offered a welcome piece of advice, "We can go through the Demon Realm and go back directly. It won't take long."

"If that's the case, the travel expenses must be very expensive, right?"

"Yes, it's a bit of a hassle to bring people along. I just hope this help will bring me closer to Yiyun." She didn't hide her thoughts.

"I'll put in a good word for you, is that enough?"

Yuan nodded happily.

As for whether to accept or not, that's up to Dandelion. If it's true that outsiders are absolutely not allowed to participate, then Dandelion will definitely not agree—even if Sen Shi speaks up.

In Yuan's view, this promise already represented the establishment of an equal exchange. Then she took Sen Shi's hand, preparing to go together to the Demon Realm, and from there directly reach the winery.

Seeing that Sen would be able to go home soon, Fu Fu felt at ease and immediately turned back to report the good news.

But there was still one person in the room—

"I didn't expect you to have something like this, a salt mine? Such beautiful crystals. If I could have a bite, I might as well go with you..." Big Sister Phantom Dragon was still fidgeting there, calculating how to eat Fufu. "How about it? It would be best to add some silver coins... Hmm? Where is everyone?"

After blinking, Big Sister Phantom Dragon discovered that all the food in front of her had suddenly disappeared.

Volume 1, Chapter 100: Man

The Demon Realm was a strange place, with a bottomless black canopy hanging in the sky, yet tinged with a rusty red, giving it an oppressive feel. But unlike what Mori had imagined, there were some buildings to be seen around, and it wasn't as desolate as it seemed.

Although shrouded in darkness, it still resembles a city in ruins waiting to be rebuilt... Could the Demon Realm really have such a plan?

When Mori turned around, he suddenly discovered that a large castle, forcibly constructed from stone, mud, bones, and leather, stood right behind him.

It looked particularly sinister, and occasionally you could see demons wandering around nearby, as well as suffering souls with numb faces roaming here. Without asking, you knew that they were those who had made a pact with the demons and were forced to work until their deaths.

Mori felt the castle looked strangely familiar, but before he could take a closer look, his vision was distorted as dim light and fog enveloped his eyes.

It was wishful thinking that the portal was reopened.

When she opened her eyes again, she and Yuan were back at the winery. They were in the backyard of the cabin, under the apple tree covered in blossoms.

She seemed to really like it here. She picked a green apple, wiped it carefully on her clothes, and then slowly said to Mori, "Alright, we've arrived at our destination. My duty is successfully completed."

"Okay, thank you. I'll go check on the situation first."