Girl, There's Something Wrong With You - Chapter 13

“You two certainly made quite the big move.” The princess, upon learning of the matter, looked at the two with astonishment.
“So, you just happen to meet someone on the road, and she turns out to be the mother of the great northern demon, the Lord of Qinghe?”

“Ahem, it was all Wanrou’s discovery,” Cheng Jinyang said modestly, trying to ease the tension between the two women. “I merely played a minor, insignificant role.”

“Is that so?” The princess, fully aware of his intentions, gave Wang Wanrou a meaningful glance.

It was the look of a first wife.

“Well then, since the Lord of Qinghe still remembers her mother, it seems she retains some humanity. We could try negotiating a deal with her.”

The terms were straightforward: as a demon, Murong Shu had no power base in the human world. Therefore, her mother could only be placed in Pengcheng County, south of Qinghe County, under the care of demon guards. Cheng Jinyang could escort the Old Lady Luo, to Jingkou for proper care. In exchange, they would gain Murong Shu’s goodwill—a win-win situation that left no reason for refusal as long as the other party remained rational.

The three then went to the Bureau of Public Security, using the princess’s Jinyiwei credentials to have Old Lady Luo released as a detainee.

They boarded the eastern railway line, heading toward Qinghe County.

The subterranean network beneath the central plains cities had also been taken over by human settlers. Unlike Pengcheng County, which was under the control of the Cavalry Corps, the underground cities in this area were largely governed by private lords, ability-wielding families, or corporate entities.

These ruling powers often had intricate, secretive connections with the demon lords on the surface.

Take the underground city of Qinghe County, for example. It was controlled by two ability-wielding families: the Zhang family, whose power was “Vacuum Interference,” capable of creating a space devoid of any matter, and the Cui family, wielders of “Antimatter Annihilation.” The latter was actually a branch of Cui Xiaoniang’s family, split off during the southward migration of aristocrats years ago.

Old Lady Luo appeared extremely reserved on the journey. She answered the princess and Wang Wanrou’s questions thoroughly and without hesitation. However, when Cheng Jinyang spoke to her, though she responded politely, her gaze often drifted toward the two young women.

Cheng Jinyang couldn’t shake the odd feeling that she might be mistaking him for some kind of male concubine.

As they neared Qinghe County, they encountered heavily fortified checkpoints in the subterranean network. The military presence was even more intense than in Pengcheng County—soldiers armed to the teeth, exuding a palpable sense of ferocity.

The princess’s identity was switched from Jinyiwei to a “family visitor.” Surprisingly, they were not subjected to thorough questioning and were let through without much trouble.

The underground city of Qinghe County was far less prosperous than Pengcheng County but was riddled with gun shops, and the atmosphere was noticeably more hostile.

Most pedestrians either carried pistols or slung rifles over their shoulders. Their vigilant eyes scanned their surroundings, and upon seeing beautiful women, they instinctively veered away. Some even rested their hands on their gun grips, ready to draw at the slightest sign of trouble.

Speaking of beautiful women, the local female passersby were generally very attractive. Cheng Jinyang, with his keen eye, discerned that most relied on makeup to enhance their looks, though a few were naturally stunning even without it.

After some thought, he lowered his voice and asked, “Are they deliberately… disguising themselves as demons?”

“Borrowing the tiger’s might,” the princess replied.

“No, it’s mutual cover,” Wang Wanrou said coldly.

Cheng Jinyang looked again at the naturally stunning women and suddenly felt a realization dawning in his mind.

Most humans only knew of demons as mindless creatures like zombies. High-level demons with intelligence could easily infiltrate human cities, pretending to be merely attractive human women.

Most people couldn’t tell the difference, so they simply coexisted peacefully. Even if someone did realize the truth, the sheer power of a high-level demon was enough to deter anyone from exposing them directly. More often than not, they’d just pretend not to notice and steer clear.

Over time, everyone understood the unspoken rule. Whether the pretty girl you saw was a demon or a human, it was best to handle the situation cautiously.

For human women, in such a dangerous city where everyone carried guns, dressing up as a beautiful woman became the most efficient form of self-preservation—who would dare rob someone who might be a high-level demon?

Thus, women began investing serious effort into their appearances. As the number of beautiful women increased, it also pressured those who didn’t wear makeup, shrinking their social space. At the same time, this made it even easier for demons to infiltrate. The end result was the strange phenomenon they had now—an underground city where seemingly everyone was a makeup expert.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” Cheng Jinyang couldn’t help but marvel as he figured it out. “No wonder most people give you two a wide berth.”

“I’m actually wearing light makeup,” the princess replied with a smile.

Miss Wang said nothing, only giving him a look that seemed to say, “What else would you expect?”

“Now that we’ve arrived in Qinghe County, what’s the next step?” Cheng Jinyang asked thoughtfully. “Head straight to the surface?”

“The surface is mostly overrun by Puppets—what would you do up there?” Wang Wanrou countered. “Mow them down like weeds?”

“I get it.” Cheng Jinyang nodded quickly. “We find one of Murong Shu’s planted agents here and use them to establish indirect contact with her.”

“So, Jinyang, do you have any good ideas?” The princess asked with a smile.

“Murong Shu’s agents here are most likely demons, not humans,” Cheng Jinyang analyzed.

“Or to put it another way, any high-level demon here is almost certainly connected to her surface forces,” the princess followed his line of thought. “So we could capture a demon.”

“Speaking of kidnapping targets, back when I was in the Tianluo, I did plenty of jobs like this,” Cheng Jinyang said, scanning their surroundings. “Do you think anyone here looks like a likely demon? Uh, what about that one at the bookstore entrance?”

“You think that woman is very pretty, don’t you?” Wang Wanrou asked incredulously.

“Uh…” Cheng Jinyang feigned ignorance, refusing to answer.

“Unlikely,” the princess said with a laugh. “She has servants following her—she’s probably a local noblewoman.”

“What about her?” Cheng Jinyang pointed to another woman across the street. “She looks suspicious to me too.”

“She’s carrying a gun,” the princess shook her head. “Do demons need firearms?”

“Sister Xinnan is right,” Cheng Jinyang said with an awkward laugh, trying to cover his embarrassment as his eyes scanned the area again. “Hey, look at that one…”

His voice trailed off abruptly. After a long pause, he hesitantly said, “Yujing San?”

“It’s her,” Wang Wanrou also frowned.

“Who’s Yujing San?” The princess asked, puzzled. Then a thought occurred to her. “A Star General?”

“No, not a Star General,” Cheng Jinyang replied. “She’s, uh… an old demon friend of mine.”

“When did you make friends with demons?” the princess asked curiously.

“Well, that’s a long story,” Cheng Jinyang said evasively, motioning for them to follow him quickly. Across the street, Yujing San had already turned a corner, disappearing into a nearby alley.