Chapter 83: Dragons are Violent and Greedy.

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System: 【By the way, there’s also…】

Wen Chu: 【Alright, stop talking. If you say any more, I’m going to get hungry again.】

Before seeing Xiu, no matter how much was said, it would only make him crave him.

Wen Chu walked into the carriage shop resentfully.

And then he saw old acquaintances.

—A group of soldiers wearing silver armor.

Wen Chu’s footsteps paused slightly, then he lowered his head and silently slipped into a corner.

The carriage shop owner was bowing and scraping to the soldier in the lead: “The high-grade enchanted carriage you customized is ready. Please follow me to the backyard to see it. I embedded three Wind-attribute energy crystal cores; it is absolutely light and fast enough. I also superimposed concealment and…” according to your request.

The owner led the soldiers inside, and their voices gradually faded away; Wen Chu didn’t hear the rest of the conversation clearly.

Aren’t these soldiers going with the group of warriors from the palace just now? Why do they need concealment?

Before Wen Chu could think about it in detail, he was interrupted by a voice.

“Customer, what type of carriage do you need?”

Wen Chu turned his head and met the impatient gaze of a shop assistant.

These days, countless foreign races came and went in the Royal Capital.

The white-haired youth in front of him had red horns and a heart-tipped tail—obviously a demon.

Demons and Liches had always been the two dark races that people despised and feared.

The assistant didn’t understand why the King chose to cooperate with demons, but that didn’t stop him, born on the Bright Continent, from giving demons no friendly face.

Especially this little demon in front of him, who looked no more than seventeen or eighteen, with cheeks still carrying a hint of baby fat, and from whom he couldn’t even sense a bit of magical fluctuation. He was much weaker than those greater demons, so the shop assistant was even less polite.

Even he was a first-tier magic apprentice, which showed just how weak this demon was.

Wen Chu glanced around. He hadn’t expected the industry of this era to be even more backward than the Steam World; the shop was full of horse-drawn carriages.

He tentatively pointed to a small white horse carriage nearest to him: “How much does this one cost?”

This carriage was the smallest here and suitable for him to ride alone.

The assistant held up two fingers: “Twenty gold coins, no bargaining.”

Wen Chu frowned: “I only have broken gold. Do you accept it here?”

The assistant nodded: “If the weight is sufficient, we accept it.”

Wen Chu didn’t know how heavy twenty gold coins were, so pretending to dig into his pocket, he simply had the System grab two handfuls of gold coins for him.

The tinkling sound of gold coins colliding rang out.

The little white-haired demon, holding a whole handful of gold coins, asked him blankly: “Is this much enough?”

The assistant was dumbfounded, his gaze glued to the handful of gold coins in Wen Chu’s hands. a sincere smile quickly piled up on his face: “Of course, this is too much. Please follow me to the counter to settle the bill. Rest assured, as the largest carriage shop in the Imperial City, our prices are definitely fair!”

Wen Chu nodded casually.

It didn’t matter if it wasn’t fair; it was the last world anyway.

He followed the assistant to the counter.

The assistant took out a scale and carefully weighed twenty gold coins, then reluctantly returned the remaining coins to Wen Chu.

He looked regretfully at the coins that were about to be taken away.

His eyes rolled, and rubbing his hands together, he said: “Customer, do you need an enchantment for the carriage? We have a Grand Mage here. Whether it’s drawing magic circles or enchanting, as long as you provide sufficient payment, your requirements can be met.”

Wen Chu remembered the shop owner and the soldiers mentioning enchantment just now.

He was a little interested: “For enchantments that increase speed and defense, how much would it cost?”

The assistant’s smile became a few degrees more sincere: “That depends on which kind you want. The highest grade is two hundred thousand gold coins, the lowest grade is fifty thousand gold coins. I can introduce each grade of enchantment to you separately…”

“No need.” Wen Chu interrupted the assistant immediately.

He was curious about what enchantment was, but he had no money.

Pooling the remaining gold coins might amount to over a hundred thousand, but he couldn’t spend his entire fortune on a carriage.

Wen Chu asked the System: 【If traveling by carriage, can I find Xiu within five days?】

System: 【Just about. I’ll take you on a shortcut.】

Wen Chu felt relieved. He repeated to the open-mouthed assistant: “No need, I just want this carriage. Please settle the bill.”

The assistant was unwilling to give up: “I can give you a twenty percent discount. Actually, without embedding crystal cores, it’s not that…”

“I said, no need.”

The youth’s voice turned cold as he frowned at him.

Those round, harmless eyes suddenly became sharp at this moment.

The other party clearly still looked soft and easy to talk to, but the shop assistant shivered for no reason, feeling the hair on his body stand on end.

“Alright, settling the bill for you right now!”

It wasn’t until Wen Chu got into the new carriage and left the shop that the assistant reacted.

“What happened…”

He scratched the back of his head blankly, watching the departing carriage.

He clearly hadn’t sensed any magical fluctuations from the other party.

But just now, when meeting the other’s gaze, the shop assistant felt an indescribable oppression, like a higher-dimensional being looking down on him.

It was even more oppressive than when he communicated with the Grand Mages in the shop.

This was a power that transcended the rules of the world.

“Sure enough, a dark creature…” The assistant shuddered.

Even such a seemingly weak demon actually possessed such eerie and terrifying power.

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Meanwhile.

Wen Chu sat in the carriage, successfully exited the city gate, and rushed in Xiu’s direction according to the System’s instructions.

【Xiu’s dragon lair is behind the Moonlit Forest, and the Moonlit Forest is the habitat of the Elves. They dislike being disturbed by outsiders, so the warriors in the Royal Capital will choose to detour when they set off tomorrow.】

【I will take you straight through the forest. Plus, since we’re leaving a day early, you will likely arrive one to two days ahead of them.】

The System diligently gave directions, slowly displaying a real-time map in front of Wen Chu and explaining.

On the map, the small red dot representing Wen Chu’s carriage was leaving the main urban area.

After passing a few nearby cities and driving across vast fields and plains, they would arrive at the Moonlit Forest.

Wen Chu seriously memorized the route: 【Okay.】

The jurisdiction of the Human Kingdom was huge. The carriage traveled for most of the day and didn’t reach the last city on the border untill sunset.

This carriage was the most basic model; apart from a horse and a cart, there was nothing.

Wen Chu found it novel at first, occasionally lifting the curtain to look outside, but sitting until now had become painful.

【Let’s rest here for a while.】 Wen Chu felt hopeless. 【Eat some food and buy some things. My butt is about to be shaken into two halves.】

No one told him carriages were this bumpy before.

If he had known, he would have added a shock-absorbing enchantment at the shop.

No matter how expensive, he would have added it.

Wen Chu crawled out of the carriage grimacing in pain. He randomly found a restaurant, bought a bowl of rice bowl with the copper coins given as change by the noodle shop owner, and while eating slowly, zoomed in on the map to find a shop.

He wanted to buy soft cushions, pillows, and blankets.

Fortunately, although the small town was remote, the basic facilities were quite complete. Not far from the restaurant was a general store.

Wen Chu forced himself to ignore the enticing aroma of dreams coming from all directions, locked the carriage, and headed straight for the store.

He ran too fast, so he couldn’t stop in time when a black-robed person pushed the door open and walked out of the store, crashing straight into them.

“Bang—”

The black-robed person was knocked back against the door by him, letting out a muffled groan.

“Sorry, are you okay?” Wen Chu hurriedly stood up to apologize.

“Hiss—what do you think? Are the eyes on your head for decoration…”

An extraordinarily familiar voice rang out, then stopped abruptly.

The black-robed person looked up, and the moment they saw Wen Chu, their voice vanished.

A pretty youth with long white hair was currently guiltily swishing his heart-tipped tail, and his small red horns drooped guiltily because he had done something wrong.

What a beautiful Succu… Demon.

Especially those blue eyes, purer and more dazzling than any sapphire he had ever collected.

Before Wen Chu could react to the change in the other party’s attitude, he first paused because of the familiar voice, then looked at the black-robed person with some scrutiny.

“I’m very sorry.” Wen Chu continued to apologize. “I’m willing to pay for your medical expenses.”

“No, no need.” The person under the black robe stuttered slightly, their voice suddenly softening. “It’s not your fault; it’s mine for not catching you immediately.”

Wen Chu: …?

Eh?

While Wen Chu was still confused, the black-robed person had already opened the shop door first. Accompanied by the crisp sound of the doorbell, the black-robed person said: “Sorry, did I scare you just now? What do you want to buy? As compensation, I’ll pay for you.”

Wen Chu hesitated: “Are you really okay?”

Why did it feel like they hit their head?

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” The black-robed person shook their head repeatedly. “Please rest assured, my physical constitution is much stronger than ordinary people. Just hitting the door won’t even cause a superficial wound.”

Wen Chu hesitated for a moment but ultimately politely refused: “Thank you, no need. I have money.”

While speaking, the two had already stepped into the shop.

The shop owner was a middle-aged woman. Without lifting her head, she said: “Overend, why are you back again? I already told you the Moon Breath Grass is out of stock here too… Huh? A demon?”

The middle-aged woman turned her head, froze for a moment upon seeing the white-haired youth who walked in behind the black-robed person, then revealed a friendly smile: “Do you need anything? I haven’t seen a demon here in a long time. Apologies for the rudeness.”

Wen Chu paused upon hearing “Overend,” then felt amused at himself.

Xiu was a dragon, and the human form provided in the System photo also had a dragon tail. He was really obsessed; he actually thought anyone he saw was Xiu.

Ignoring the person in black behind him, Wen Chu said directly: “I need soft cushions, blankets, and pillows.”

“Daily necessities are over here.” The middle-aged woman walked out from behind the counter and led Wen Chu to a shelf filled with blankets and pillows.

The black-robed person followed silently.

Wen Chu bent down to carefully select the thick ones, while not forgetting to ask the shop owner: “Do you have Moon Breath Grass here?”

He still remembered the background story given by the System; Moon Breath Grass was the main ingredient for sleep-inducing potions.

He happened to be passing by the elves who were skilled in making potions. If he could get some Moon Breath Grass, maybe he could make a few bottles of potions in advance.

In case Xiu didn’t let him eat dreams, he could use the sleep-inducing potion.

“I did, but it went out of stock three days ago.” The shop owner sighed. “Moon Breath Grass is a herb that grows in the Moonlit Forest. It’s not rare, but the location is special. The Tree of Life is the mother tree of the Elf race. Only elves can gather it, and since elves rarely communicate with the outside world, it’s extremely scarce on the market.”

“I know a few elves who often gather it and come to trade with me. But three days ago, the Elf race suddenly said they were holding some celebration, and all the herbs were collected to be given as celebration gifts, so naturally, I ran out of stock here.”

The shop owner made a small joke at the end: “Humans have stockpiled quite a bit though. If you still want it, you can only buy it at a high price from the black market, or go rob the King.”

The black-robed person remained silent, seemingly thoughtful.

Wen Chu inexplicably felt the other party was contemplating whether to rob the Elf race or the King.

“If there isn’t any, then forget it.” Wen Chu temporarily gave up on his idea.

He handed the selected blankets and other items to the shop owner: “How much for all these?”

The shop owner carried the items to the checkout counter and, after packing them for Wen Chu, said: “Total is 3 silver coins and 61 copper coins. Just give me 3 silver coins and 60 copper coins.”

Wen Chu lowered his head to count the money.

Just then, he felt the bag in his hand get heavier.

The black-robed person behind him placed a book into his bag, then took out four silver coins and placed them on the counter.

“Including this book, four silver coins in total. I’ll pay for him.”

Wen Chu glanced at it and recognized the text on the book.

Overend’s Poetry Collection · Dragon Race Edition

Wen Chu finally remembered that back in the palace, the demons had also mentioned “Overend.”

According to them, Overend wrote poems for every race, except for the Demon race.

So the black-robed person in front of him was actually a famous bard?

Wen Chu was dazed for just a moment before being led out of the shop by the black-robed person, who even took the shopping bag from his hand.

“You bought these for the carriage, right?” The black-robed person said with certainty. “I’ll see you there.”

Wen Chu opened his mouth but ultimately didn’t refuse, leading the black-robed person toward the carriage not far away.

Before leaving, he had left some money for the restaurant waiter. The little white horse was taken care of very well and was standing spiritedly in front of the carriage.

“Here is fine.” Wen Chu handed the five silver coins he had counted earlier to the black-robed person.

“Thank you for paying for me, but I have money. Consider the extra silver coin as payment for helping me carry things.”

Overend wanted to refuse, but the little white-haired demon shoved it over without explanation.

Feeling the silver coin warmed by the other’s body temperature in his palm, he stopped his movements for no reason, allowing the other to press the coin into his hand.

Having cleared the debt, Wen Chu sighed in relief and was about to board the carriage with his luggage.

“Wait a moment.” The black-robed person suddenly spoke.

Wen Chu stopped his motion to board the carriage and asked politely: “Is there anything else?”

The black-robed person didn’t answer immediately, just looked his carriage up and down.

Wen Chu inexplicably sensed some disdain and pickiness from under the other’s hood.

“One silver coin is too much. In return, how about I help you modify your carriage?”

Overend threw out a temptation he couldn’t refuse: “I know a little about enchanting. I can add some shock-absorbing enchantments to your carriage.”

Thinking of the four-day journey ahead and his poor butt, Wen Chu only hesitated for a second before saying: “Okay, sorry to trouble you.”

Free enchantment, he’d be a fool to refuse.

Overend led him into the restaurant and ordered him a glass of honey milk: “Then please wait a moment.”

Ten minutes later.

Wen Chu stared dumbfounded at his carriage.

The exterior of the carriage was painted with layers of magic circles, and the originally empty carriage was embedded with more than a dozen crystal cores of various colors.

Even if he wasn’t familiar with the power of this world, he could feel the powerful magical aura radiating from the carriage.

Even the saddle of the little white horse in front wasn’t spared, covered in complex magic circles.

Overend stood in front of the carriage, picking faults: “This carriage is too small, and there wasn’t enough time. Otherwise, I could have made you a crystal core door curtain and added a few more high-level attack formations.”

Wen Chu: ??

There are attack formations too?

His eyes widened into circles: “How many formations did you draw on my carriage?”

Overend said casually: “Not many, just forty or fifty. I also put fire and ice crystal cores inside the carriage for a simple temperature-control enchantment, and laid out the cushions for you.”

Seemingly amused by his surprised expression, Overend’s voice carried a hint of a smile: “Do you like it?”

Wen Chu hadn’t recovered from the shock of suddenly becoming rich in ten minutes. Looking at the various colored crystal cores embedded in the carriage, he asked carefully: “Then… how much do those crystal cores cost?”

He only had over a hundred thousand gold coins, so he definitely couldn’t pay the full price, but he had to pay at least the cost price so the other party wouldn’t lose too much.

Overend waved his hand: “No money needed. I killed the magical beasts and dug the crystal cores myself. They are all high-level cores, enough for you to use for ten or eight years. Use them with peace of mind.”

Wen Chu: …

Is the point how long they can be used?

Anyone could tell these couldn’t be bought with one silver coin.

He insisted: “Then give me a cost price. I’ll pay you. If it’s not enough… I can write an IOU and pay you back when I earn enough money.”

Overend looked him up and down, his voice containing a smile: “No need.”

“If you really want to pay me, then give me an authorization.”

“Authorization?” Wen Chu was puzzled.

“Mn.” Overend said softly. “As you can see, I am a poet, currently writing poetry collections for every race. If you are willing to let me write you into the Demon Race poetry collection, that counts as paying me.”

As if afraid Wen Chu would continue to shove money at him, Overend added: “Don’t worry, the royalties alone are enough for me to earn back the cost.”

Wen Chu thought for a moment, looked at the black-robed person for a while, and finally made a request: “Before that, can you let me see your face first?”

“Of course.” The black-robed person didn’t hesitate and took off his hood directly.

Different from Wen Chu’s guess, under the hood was the ordinary face of a young man, with black hair and black eyes, looking somewhat melancholy and thin—fitting Wen Chu’s stereotypical image of a literary youth perfectly.

No matter how you looked at it, it couldn’t be Xiu.

Wen Chu lowered his eyes.

He was really crazy from hunger, actually thinking everyone was Xiu again and again.

Having confirmed the black-robed person’s identity, Wen Chu no longer hesitated and agreed immediately: “Okay, you write it.”

Thinking of those outrageous words from the demons, he added: “I have someone I like, so please don’t make up my romantic history. You can write whatever you want for the rest.”

The arc of Overend’s mouth lowered slightly.

He looked at Wen Chu quietly, his black eyes gentle and devoid of aggression: “Then can you tell me your name?”

“Wen Chu.” Wen Chu gestured. “Wen as in gentle (Wen he), Chu as in beginning (Chu shi).”

“Okay… Wen Chu.” Overend pronounced the last two words very lightly.

“Hope we are destined to meet again.”

Overend finished speaking and put his hood back on.

Night had fallen. He turned and disappeared into the darkness.

Wen Chu finally got into the modified carriage, ready to set off.

After getting into the carriage, Wen Chu truly experienced just how luxuriously Overend had modified it.

The suburbs were cold at night, but the moment he entered the carriage, the chill disappeared; there was only a comfortable temperature inside.

The original seat was widened and covered with soft cushions and blankets, allowing him to sleep on it completely.

Lifting the curtain, he saw the carriage’s speed had increased more than twofold. The surrounding scenery retreated rapidly, and a faint golden light lingered around the carriage—this was a protective shield.

And during the high-speed travel, standing inside the carriage, Wen Chu felt no noise or bumpiness at all, no different from standing on flat ground.

“Enchantment is amazing.”

Wen Chu hugged a pillow, leaning back on the soft bed, feeling that the hunger in his soul was soothed a lot because of this comfort.

He couldn’t help asking the System: “Can I learn it too?”

System: 【You are a Nightmare.】

Meaning he couldn’t.

Wen Chu: 【qwq】

What use is a Nightmare? Can only eat dreams. Does he have to eat everyone until they can’t dream anymore?

Then their sleep quality would be great.

System: 【It’s not just eating dreams; you can level up.】

As it spoke, it brought up the Nightmare’s information for Wen Chu.

【Category: Nightmare】
【Race: Demon】
【Skill 1: Dream Devouring: Devour dreams after entering them】
【Skill 2: Dream Weaving: Fabricate dreams, dragging people into illusions】

Wen Chu’s eyes lit up: “Then when can I weave dreams?”

System: “Depends on the emotional intensity of the dreams you eat. If they are dreams with strong emotions, roughly ten dreams will unlock the new ability.”

It left an upgrade progress bar for Wen Chu.

【Wen Chu (Nightmare Form): lv.1 | 0%】

Wen Chu looked at his zero experience bar and made up his mind: “I will definitely level up properly.”

System: 【Mn.】

The night road was long. Wen Chu got sleepy after a while. After handing over full control of the carriage to the System, he wrapped himself in the blanket, curled up, and fell asleep.

He hadn’t read the book Overend gave him yet.

A second before falling asleep, Wen Chu thought dazedly.

What a strange kind person. He was also crazy from missing Xiu. Tomorrow he’d take a look at that Overend’s Poetry Collection…

“Overend, that was just an adult little demon.”

Inside the shop, the middle-aged woman wasn’t surprised by the black-robed person’s return, only frowning disapprovingly as she said this sentence out of nowhere.

Sitting in the shop, the black-robed person was no longer calm and harmless like before. He repeated the shop owner’s words with interest: “Mn… just an adult little Succubus.”

The middle-aged woman: …

She dispelled the illusion on herself. A female elf with blonde hair, green eyes, and pointed ears appeared in the shop, looking at him with a frown: “Xiu, Moon Breath Grass can only temporarily soothe your emotions. If you continue to kill innocents indiscriminately like this, even the sap of the Tree of Life won’t save your spiritual power riot.”

“Who said I was going to kill him?” the young man said.

He took off his hood unhurriedly.

Without the influence of the illusion, semi-long blonde hair as dazzling as the sun fell down.

The blonde man propped up his chin and said: “Miss Mary, haven’t I been cultivating my character all this time, writing poetry to mold my temperament when I have nothing to do? I came out this time to gather material.”

Mary reacted: “You want to write poems for him?”

Back then, she was found by Xiu in this way. As the first female elf to elope with a human in a hundred years, she had ignored the huge lifespan gap between humans and elves without hesitation and eloped with the little boy who had saved her from the mouth of a magical beast.

Xiu found her, wrote a hymn of love for them, and they formed a bond from then on.

“No.” The blonde man spat out words that surprised Mary.

He raised his eyes, revealing a pair of cold blue beast pupils.

Violent, chaotic, full of aggression and pleasure.

“I will not only write poems for him.”

“I will also… steal love with a blade.”

Dragons are violent and greedy.

No matter how hard Xiu tried to suppress his nature, he couldn’t stop the inherent bad roots of the Dragon Race inherited in his bloodline.

The moment he met the youth’s clear blue eyes, the dragon blood he had forcibly suppressed began to boil again.

Especially when the other party blurted out “I have a lover.”

Almost every drop of blood was roaring, instincts were trembling, urging him to tear apart all obstacles and take the beautiful treasure back to his cave.

But he couldn’t.

Xiu lowered his eyes, his platinum eyelashes once again covering his beast pupils.

The treasure he had set his eyes on was very fragile; he couldn’t even withstand the bumps of a carriage.

Fortunately, he had long learned to restrain his instincts, able to put on a gentle and harmless appearance in front of the other party, using this to mark the other party’s carriage.

The little gem seemed to be on a journey.

Xiu thought happily.

Then during the journey, he would kill his ex-husband and lead him into his own cave.

He could be good enough to the other party, making him fall deeper little by little.

Then hide him away.

A pretty demon belonging only to him.

“Wen Chu.”

The blonde youth softly spat out these two words.

“This sounds very much like the name of a beautiful dream, doesn’t it?”

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Author’s Note:
That’s right, Xiu’s full name is Xiu Overend, contrasting with Wen Chu (Gentle Beginning), one beginning and one end.
And writing to this chapter, I can finally say, in this book, you two each die once, each go dark/blackened (?) once, neither of you came for nothing. ao.