The villain's way to tame the protagonist

There's something hiding in the shadows, like... a crow?

Ze Rui knew that there was a strange creature called Shadow Crow in the Empire. This creature could be sold at an incredibly high price both in the Empire and in the Theocracy. Shadows were always associated with peeping into secrets, and one of humans' favorite things to do was to pry into secrets.

The young lady adventurer began to feel that something was not right... If the owner of this black market could afford to raise several Shadow Crows, then was there any need for him to do these jobs in the sewers and put himself in a difficult position?

It's impossible that he likes to open a black market...

Ze Rui muttered to herself, and after a while she saw a light in the shape of a door below. When she stepped into the light door, the scene in front of her suddenly changed drastically.

The slightly narrow street has forced the vendors' stalls on both sides of the road to shrink in size. Although there are not many people on the street, there are definitely quite a few. Looking further inside, although you can almost see the end at a glance, you can also see quite a few shops of reasonable size.

This black market cannot be considered an underground kingdom, but it is more than enough to be considered a street. The owner of the black market is indeed very capable to build such a street under the sewer.

After Ze Rui came in, there were no guards to verify her identity. Only a few vendors and buyers near the entrance glanced at her.

"It seems that the designer is very confident in his lock... He thinks that if you don't have the key, you can't open the lock, so only those who can enter have the key?"

The girl snorted smugly, "How naive, but... that's the kind of narcissistic and arrogant personality you need!"

The church came to visit the empire, and even if the goods were placed on the black market, ordinary people would not dare to take them. Only someone as bold and confident as her would dare to take these goods. It seems that the owner of this black market is the best candidate.

So Ze Rui walked straight to an unpatronized stall, placed a standard imperial silver coin on the table, and then asked, "Is the manager of this black market in the house at the end of the road?"

The stall owner was stunned for a moment, then looked at the silver coins pressed on the stall. Seeing that Ze Rui had no intention of letting go, he slowly asked, "You want to find Mr. Shadow?"

"If he is the manager of the black market, then he is the one I am looking for." Ze Rui raised her hand holding the silver coin a little.

She didn't worry at all whether her actions were suspicious. After all, it didn't matter who she did business with. It was normal to do business with the boss.

"Then you're lucky, he just came out to look for some small things to play with."

The stall owner pointed at a man standing in front of a stall not far away who was playing with something and said, "That's him. If you have any business with him, I suggest you hurry up. There are only six or seven people in front of you now. If you wait any longer, there will be more people... Hey, why don't you let go?"

Although he had given a very moral reminder of the extra gift, the golden-haired boy in front of him still pressed the silver coins, which made the stall owner a little annoyed.

The golden-haired girl Ze Rui is not a person without a sense of contract, it’s just that she was in great shock.

At first glance——

Hmm? Why does the clothes on this person look like a modified version of a black-robed priest?

Second look -

Damn it! This guy is from the church!

Chapter 21: Thrilling Adventure Part 2

People from the church were running a black market in the sewers of Imperial Port City. How could I have such a dream?

But the aura coming from this "Mr. Shadow" is not deceptive. The empire's extraordinary path, that is, the road to heaven, gives people a feeling that is completely different from the church's divine magic. Due to having been mixed between the two sides for many years and for some special reasons, Ze Rui is extremely sensitive to this aura.

Although the facts before her were shocking, Ze Rui quickly calmed down because this aura alone could not determine the other person's identity.

Priests who adhere to dogma need to give up many things and devote their entire lives to fulfilling God's dogma and realizing the world that God wants. It is absolutely not allowed to seek personal gain by opening a black market.

Although the black-robed priests from the Inquisition and the Arbitration Chamber are basically ruthless characters who will stop at nothing and are even allowed to go beyond the dogma in certain circumstances, no matter how transgressive the black-robed priests' behavior is, one characteristic of them will never change - as long as they are still a part of the church, they cannot be tainted by the breath of the abyss.

The breath of the abyss is actually something that most of the extraordinary people in this world cannot perceive at all. The reason why the corrupted extraordinary people are easy to identify is because their mental state is quite unstable, and the madness when controlling the ether cannot be suppressed at all. These are just external manifestations, not the breath of the abyss that diffuses into the world through this body.

Only those who have come into contact with the abyss can truly feel the power that destroys the soul while elevating existence - after all, feeling the breath of the abyss is equivalent to touching the abyss.

But Ze Rui did not abide by this rule which was regarded as the truth by the world.

The adventurer lady who was described by Ming Fuluo as "a lucky person who set foot on the road to heaven by chance"... can actively capture the breath from the abyss while maintaining the purity and integrity of her soul.

She placed the silver coins on the stall and cautiously moved towards Mr. Shadow, carefully releasing her perception in this mixed black market.

People in the gray area hate the feeling of being spied on. This is the rich adventure experience of the beautiful adventurer Miss Ze Rui. Learn from her!

However, there was no need to amplify the perception. Before he had taken a few steps, the fully focused Ze Rui felt the terrifying aura that was almost overwhelming.

Wow...what happened to this priest to make him so crazy?

The young lady adventurer was greatly shocked by the surging and terrifying aura, as if she had been completely abandoned by God and cursed by Himself.

She had met many fallen heretics in the Theocracy... people who had once been priests but had betrayed their duties for various reasons, but there were very few who could be compared to the one in front of her.

Moreover, those fallen evildoers have basically gone completely crazy. Ze Rui can feel the deep and crazy aura on them from a distance of 800 meters. But this priest... his aura of the abyss is so terrifying, but it is almost imperceptible if you don't get close, and he also behaves very normally... What's going on?

"It seems that the new guest in the sewer is a little curious about me?"

Just when Ze Rui was overjoyed but also a little confused, Mr. Shadow, who was picking and choosing in front of the stall, suddenly said this.

The surrounding vendors and passers-by were not attracted by the shop. The owner of the black market was obviously inviting Ze Rui to chat with him.

"This... is inevitable."

Miss Ze Rui is a person who dares to jump up and down in the Church with only the strength of the third level. She is a legendary adventurer who dares to trade goods back and forth between the two ends of the continent. After confirming that Mr. Shadow is a traitor and evil person of the church, she immediately approached him in a familiar manner: "I heard that the black market above has been cleared out. Of course, I am curious about who is the big shot who can build a black market in this place."

As she spoke, she observed Mr. Shadow. His appearance was blurry in her eyes. It was obvious that he was using some kind of cognitive shielding spell. So... it was hard to tell whether this "Mr." was a man or a woman.

"You just found out about the Mechanical God's big cleanup now? Did you just return to Triumph Port City?"

Mr. Shadow casually held up a ring and examined it.

"Yes, they came back with the church's fleet."

Although he spoke in a careless tone, Ze Rui was ready to run away at any time.

First jump to the sewer entrance, then use the teleportation stone to run to a farther place, and then use magic to jump randomly again. I really don't believe that this can catch me.

The adventurer's heart tightened as she met Mr. Shadow's blurred vision due to the cognitive shielding spell.

After staring at each other for a few seconds, Mr. Shadow chuckled, "Then you are really an amazing new guest... It's not easy to hide it from their eyes."

His tone sounded somewhat pleased, as if he was happy to hear that the church had suffered a setback... This was natural for the fallen followers.

Ze Rui relaxed a little and chuckled, "I've been dealing with them for at least seven or eight years. It's difficult, but not hopeless... and they already had a pretty big flaw this time."

Ze Rui likes to chat with her guests, which makes it easier for her to sell at a friendly price that makes everyone happy. In view of Mr. Shadow's attitude towards the church, the adventurer lady was more active in describing the secrets about the visiting fleet, which was also the secret of her ability to conceal the truth.

She said mysteriously, "The church deliberately stuffed a group of death row prisoners into the fleet! Although I don't know what they want to do with these death row prisoners, it's a bargain for me anyway. The church must be very strict in checking its own people, but it's different for death row prisoners, isn't it?"

"So... you disguised yourself as a death row prisoner and sneaked into the fleet, then somehow managed to escape and stole some property. But after you docked, you found no place to sell the stolen goods, and finally found me."

Mr. Shadow looked at Ze Rui with great interest: "Your story is very interesting. The guest... seems to be a very experienced smuggler. Which fleet are you from? Blue Ice? Swordfish? Or Purple Jellyfish?"

"Fleet? No, no, I'm alone. It's too tiring to follow the ship."

Ze Rui waved her hand: "I usually sell goods to the fleet directly in the Theocracy, and rarely go back to the Empire, but I have done business with the three fleets you mentioned... The people of Blue Ice are too stingy, the people of Swordfish have a serious tendency to violence, and although the Purple Jellyfish are rich and generous, they have been running underwater for too long, and their mental state is a bit abnormal. I don't like to communicate with them."

The adventurer talked attentively and confirmed that Mr. Shadow was indeed a legitimate black market boss. After all, he was so close to the smugglers. Even if he had really joined the church, it was only a matter of time for him to defect given his dishonest behavior.

"Haha... People who wander the sea all day long and risk their lives for wealth always have all kinds of problems." Mr. Shadow smiled, "Because of my family, I have also come into contact with some smugglers. Most of them are not as enthusiastic and lively as you... It's better to say that you are not like a smuggler, but more like a..."

"Adventurer!"

Miss Ze Rui raised her head and declared this with great pride.

In fact, even if she didn't join a smuggling fleet, even if she simply took a ship to travel between the Empire and the Theocracy, Ze Rui could get much more money than selling the fleet directly. But she didn't like the boring time drifting on the sea. She had to face the endless sea every day when she got up. Ze Rui still preferred to fight wits and courage with the Empire people, church believers, and all kinds of messy people in various places in the Theocracy, and explore everywhere.

She is indeed an adventurer who does it out of interest. It is precisely because of her interest that she is always full of enthusiasm. As for smuggling... it is normal for her to get some funds to support her adventure.

"Okay, okay, Miss Adventurer, since you are against the church, I can advance your transaction sequence to now. After all, I am the only one in the entire black market who can take your goods. I hope it won't let me down."

"Of course! Let me tell you, I have a great reputation in the Platinum Palace..."

Isn't this the reward for her friendliness? Ze Rui didn't have time to wait in line. The important thing now was to sell the goods and run away from Kaixuan Port City. Well... I also had to thank the stall owner. I'd better give him two more silver coins before I leave.

Miss Ze Rui showed a bright business-like smile, and while handing the storage ring to Mr. Shadow for inspection, she had already started planning where in the empire would be best to go on vacation.

I remember there were a lot of ruins in the West Country... I don't know what's going on there now, or should I go to the South Country? There are always interesting things to be found in places with good environments, um... or I can play around in the dark. The people in the church wouldn't expect me to be hanging around East Port after I've delivered the goods, right?

Now that the emperor is gone, it seems that I no longer have to wait several years to return to the empire like before, and when I come back I have to sneak around like a mouse. It should be okay to play for a while longer... right?

Just as Ze Rui was imagining a happy holiday life after completing this deal, Mr. Shadow, who was clearly inspecting the goods, asked a question that had nothing to do with the transaction:

"Miss Adventurer, you said you got on the church's ship by mixing in with those death row prisoners, right?"

"Yeah, what's wrong?" Ze Rui looked at him strangely.

"That's... a bit troublesome."

Mr. Shadow sighed: "Please stay for now-?!"

He raised his hand to press Ze Rui's shoulder, but the moment his fingertips touched Ze Rui's coat, Mr. Shadow stopped talking.

Because the moment she touched Ze Rui, the adventurer's figure turned into a phantom and began to flicker.

"Want to... sizzle... catch me? You'd better go... sizzle... home and get some sleep!"

The flickering phantom made a very provocative gesture and said such arrogant words at the same time, but looking at the fixed flickering state of the phantom, it was not what Ze Rui was thinking just now, but a fixed taunt full of bad taste that she left behind after escaping.

Mr. Shadow was stunned for two seconds, then looked down at the space ring in his hand. When he once again penetrated deeper into it, he found that the storage space that was just filled with various treasures was now empty. Not only that, the ring was also rapidly rusting and completely disintegrated in just a few seconds.

"This is really..." Mr. Shadow shook his head, "It's my fault, Ms. Lance. I didn't expect her reaction to be so quick."

Starting from the second half of the sentence, his voice...actually, little by little, turned into a female voice!

Mr. Shadow walked towards his own house at the end of the street, and asked curiously, "However, the adventurer's movements were too fast. I can't imagine that this is the counterattack speed that a third-level extraordinary person can have."

"She is not quick to react, but is always ready to escape. Maybe she is worried about being robbed by her fellow criminals, or maybe she is worried about being found... It's possible."

A whisper came from the shadows beside the street that only Mr. Shadow could hear: "Since she got into the fleet by pretending to be a death row prisoner, she is definitely not the murderer. Don't worry too much, Elalo."

The only remaining large black market in Triumph Port City is owned by none other than Ellalo, the man who had been abandoned and trained as a pawn for twenty years.

It was Ming Furo who asked Xin and Ji to help her recover not long ago. However, Ellalo, who hated the church to the core, would not appreciate their kindness. The only meaning left for her was to be loyal to Ming Furo who gave her a second life... and Ansher.

So Ze Rui was actually wrong. It was not the priest who built this black market, but the dangerous woman who cleared out all the black markets.

*

After running away twice in a row, Ze Rui wiped her forehead and walked into a pub.

It was really too weird, how could they arrest someone without any explanation when the business was being discussed? If it weren't for the warning brought by his previous good luck, and the exposure of Mr. Shadow when he asked her questions again, she might have really been in trouble.

"Luckily I have this thing." The adventurer touched the ring on her left index finger, feeling a lingering fear, "Otherwise, even if the person ran away, the goods would still be gone."

The ring on her hand was dug out from a ruins. The function of this ring is that it can split into a ring every month. The internal space of this split ring is actually connected to the original ring. The owner of the ring can move the contents of one storage ring to another at will through the air.

This is a good thing for scamming, but Ze Rui would not do such a shameless thing as stealing everything back after taking the money, otherwise she would not be alive today. This is just to prevent the other party from swallowing the goods without paying.

The continuous space jumps made Ze Rui a little tired, and the fact that the goods had not been sold yet was even more of a headache for her, but things had come to this point... Let's have two drinks first.

"Give me a cup, uh..."

The adventurer walked to the bar and sat down, glancing at the wine list but couldn't find anything that suited her taste.

And about six seats to her left, a young man said with a smile: "Why not try Azure Melting Star? I think it's okay."

"Azure Melting Star... the name sounds good, so let's do this——"

This familiar voice made Ze Rui turn her head suddenly, but the other party seemed to have already noticed her, so she just smiled: "I didn't expect to see you again so soon, Miss Adventurer."

"…Uh, where's your daughter?"

"She is always busy." The young man sighed, "Sometimes she is even busier than me."

Although the authenticity of this statement is questionable, after all, it is extremely despicable for a single father (questionable) to abandon his daughter and go to a bar, but this is not what Ze Rui is thinking about now.

Hey, wait.

Can I... sell the goods to this handsome single father who looks so awesome?

Chapter 22: Thrilling Adventure Part 3

Anser took Ivora to a tavern.

After the ups and downs on that ship, the princess sisters needed time to calm down. Susilen was good at this, while her sister was just the opposite, so now was a good time to add some sweet bait that would make Miss Catvola even more addicted.

Hydra sat at the empty bar, and Ivora, who was following behind him, hesitated whether to stand or sit down. In the end, he thought he was very tough and sat down next to Anser.

She cast her gaze towards Anser who was looking at the wine list with great interest. Her eyes wandered for a while before she asked in a low voice:

"You just said that there was—"

"Give me a glass of Azure Star." Anser nodded to the bartender, then glanced at the beautiful woman beside him who was dressed in fancy clothes and somewhat out of place in this tavern, and pushed the drink list to her. "Let's go, Blue Star."

Ivola choked for a moment, and then instinctively wanted to raise his voice and question: "You——"

"Ok?"

But Anser just looked at her with a smile. He was obviously very kind, but the eldest princess inexplicably felt a sense of fear.