「Several days later.」
Inside a secluded cave dwelling.
A few young lords and ladies of the Pureblood Demon Race were gathered together, engrossed in the storybooks in their hands.
"This is fantastic! Absolutely fantastic! Nicholas is truly unmatched!"
"This is it. No other story has this kind of flavor. Nicholas, my god, I’ve missed you so much!"
Everyone was full of praise, their eyes brimming with delighted satisfaction. To their amazent, they were actually able to read Nicholas’s unpublished new book in the current climate. They felt incredibly fortunate!
Heaven knew how they had survived the days without his new books. It was sheer torture!
"Xiang Shan, tell the truth. Are you in contact with Nicholas?" a youth suddenly asked. The atmosphere instantly froze as all eyes turned his way.
In fact, they had long harbored such suspicions. After all, Nicholas was currently in hiding, sought after by nurous great clans. The incident at the Return to Dream Pavilion had been a real slap in the face to many of them. If it weren’t for the fact that the young lords and ladies of many great clans adored Nicholas’s works, it’s likely that even his previous storybooks would have been banned from the market, with not a single copy remaining. Under these circumstances, for Xiang Shan to actually get his hands on Nicholas’s new book... they couldn’t help but be suspicious.
However, they were tactful enough not to ask. As Xiang Shan had requested, they all swore a heart-blood oath never to reveal that the books ca from him. This was the most potent oath a mber of the Demon Race could take, sworn upon their bloodline and honor. To break it was to betray one’s ancestors, causing their bloodline to decay and their demonic heart to shatter. Not only would their future be destroyed, but they would also be reduced to a cripple, suffering a grueso fate. Truthfully, most demons would go their entire lives without ever making such an oath, because the price was simply too high. No one was willing to risk that one-in-a-million chance.
They had hesitated, but the allure of "Nicholas’s new book" was simply too tempting to resist. It was utterly irresistible. In the end, they chose to compromise, their logic clear: they were just a group of readers. Once they finished the books, that would be the end of it. Besides, short of a soul-search, who could prove they had even read them? As long as they kept their mouths shut and didn’t blabber, the chances of getting into trouble were quite slim.
They had a tacit understanding not to ask about Nicholas, knowing that such knowledge offered them no benefits. But now that soone had asked on their behalf, they didn’t mind listening in.
***
The young man who had spoken was nad Xiong Gu, a prodigy of the Xiong Demon Clan. Tall and muscular with a body covered in dense fur, he stood a full ten feet tall. He and Xiang Shan were good friends with a very close relationship. He only asked because he was worried Xiang Shan might get caught up in the sches of those powerful figures. He was just a bit slow-witted. Otherwise, he would have waited until everyone else had left before asking such a question.
However, Xiang Shan’s response was very calm, as if he had been prepared. He nodded and said, "Indeed!"
As soon as he spoke, everyone’s expression changed slightly. They hadn’t expected Xiang Shan to admit it so openly. They exchanged glances, sensing that the atmosphere today was strange and that sothing was about to happen.
"Are you crazy? Don’t you know how dangerous that guy is right now? If anyone finds out, you’re finished! Even the Earth Magic Elephant Clan couldn’t withstand the fallout!" Xiong Gu exclaid, genuinely concerned for his friend.
"Of course, I know, but I have no choice," Xiang Shan sighed, his tone incredibly earnest.
"Why? Don’t tell ... Nicholas has sohow forced you?" Xiong Gu’s large, bell-like eyes widened. His body began to glow as terrifying Demonic Qi surged around him, his oppressive presence making the very earth tremble.
Xiang Shan shook his head. He tilted his head back, gazing up at the Firmant at a forty-five-degree angle, and sighed dramatically. "I could have tolerated the darkness, had I not seen the light."
Everyone was speechless.
"What does that an?"
"I don’t get it!"
"That sounds really profound!"
"..." Xiang Shan was montarily speechless. He shot them a disdainful look. What a bunch of uncultured fools, completely wasting the grand opening line he had spent so long preparing.
"I envy you. Knowing so little allows you to maintain such blissful ignorance!" Xiang Shan spoke again. This ti, everyone’s faces changed; they could definitely tell he was insulting them.
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
"Now, I want you to seriously consider three questions," Xiang Shan said gravely. "Who am I? Where am I? Where have I co from, and where am I going?"
The room fell into an awkward silence.
"Sigh... have none of you ever wondered about the true nature of this world?" Xiang Shan shook his head and sighed, frustrated by their complacency and inability to see the bigger picture.
"Seriously, Xiang Shan, what’s gotten into you today?" Xiong Gu was puzzled. Why couldn’t he understand a single thing his friend was saying?
"Never mind!"
Xiang Shan gave up. These people were too foolish; their intellect was on a completely different level from his. Of course, that was to be expected. After all, he was the one chosen by the Demon Ancestor. He had even received personal guidance from an emissary of Nicholas, an experience that had enlightened his mind and lifted him far above the common mire.
He stopped speaking in riddles and instead recounted the story Nicholas had told him—the story of the world’s true nature—to everyone present.
Undoubtedly, the tale was incredibly shocking. Everyone was stunned, left utterly speechless.
The Demon Ancestor? Bu Ou? Vast conspiracies? Nicholas, an emissary of the Creator?!
A shocked silence fell over the group, stretching on for a long ti.
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