Chapter 45-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation

After returning to her bedroom and washing up, Ye Zheng lay quietly in bed, her long, dark, glossy hair spread neatly beneath her like black algae threatening to drown a person.

She raised her right hand in the dim light, her gaze tracing the palm—hidden there was the nation's most precious treasure.

The Dragon Bone was within the flesh of her palm, a thin piece only the size of a fingernail, yet its appearance was enough to shake the entire country.

Everyone knew where the Dragon Bones were buried, but now, a Dragon Bone that shouldn't belong to the lower district had appeared one after another. Last time it was underground, this time it was inside a human body.

Ye Zheng recalled the woman's face. To retain her humanity after being possessed by the core boss of a Demonic Domain, her head, connected to an insect's body, looked at her with a pleading expression.

[That woman should have died in the Demonic Domain, but you let her go, and even let her make off with the Crown Prince's standard mode of transport.]

[The plot is about to change again.]

"She gave me such a great gift, it would be rude to kill her."

"Besides, I might not have been able to kill her."

When Ye Zheng first saved that woman, she was certain she was an ordinary person. Perhaps there was a bit of fate involved; she already knew the aura of the Dragon Bone, and was thus drawn by its aura in the chaos, accidentally discovering the woman and saving her.

If Ye Zheng hadn't come into contact with the Dragon Bone in the previous Demonic Domain, she might not have noticed this woman who was supposed to have died in the plot.

However, her survival, the possession by a powerful monster, and the effect of the Dragon Bone—the three seemed to have produced an incredible reaction.

Ye Zheng guessed that the powerful regeneration ability displayed by the monster actually belonged to the woman herself, which was why after the insect body died, the woman could still function normally as a human.

[You just let her blend into the crowd and leave like that? Isn't that a waste of an opportunity?]

The system's voice sounded a bit regretful.

"Hearing you say that, her existence, or rather the truth behind her carrying the Dragon Bone in the lower district, must be a very important plot point."

"The Pope's sudden appearance there was also to find that woman, right?"

After sensing the Dragon Bone's aura from the woman, Ye Zheng almost immediately realized why the Pope would appear according to the manga spoilers.

So, while Wu Shu went down to look for the so-called monster's weakness, Ye Zheng sat high up next to the head and arranged everything, including using the Crown Prince's mount to quickly escape the Pope's search area.

The system didn't respond to Ye Zheng's guess; it had its restrictions and could only let Ye Zheng figure it out on her own.

[The woman has run off. Compared to you, who is weak and alone, the Pope is far more likely to find her first with his power.]

"For the next few days, the lower district will have continuous rain."

Ye Zheng gradually closed her eyes and said softly as she lay in bed.

The system was confused. Why had the topic suddenly turned to the weather forecast?

It wanted to ask more, but Ye Zheng seemed extremely tired, and her breathing gradually steadied.

Never mind. This person always had a way; there was no need for it to worry.

It had wanted to let her see the manga update and give her a popularity surprise, but it seemed everything would have to wait until tomorrow.

Shu Wan had a dream for the first time in a long while. She rarely dreamt after her fantasy-filled youth had passed.

She dreamt of her school days. After testing as an S-rank talent at the age of twelve, the proud and ambitious young girl became a sought-after "figure" as she had wished. She was recruited by the best ability user academy in the lower district, received large scholarships every year which improved her family's standard of living, and was admired by her classmates and praised by everyone around her.

She even came close to participating in the nationally acclaimed ability user competition, just like her daughter would in the future.

Why didn't she go? In her dream, Shu Wan furrowed her brows.

Oh, it was because she had received an admission invitation from an upper district academy.

What good would it do to represent the lower district in the ability user competition? The teams from the lower district were usually eliminated by the second stage, serving merely as foils for the contestants from the upper district.

Shu Wan didn't want to be someone else's foil. She could already see the ceiling for her in the lower district. If she wanted to climb higher, studying in the upper district was the best plan.

Her parents tried to dissuade her, but no one could stop this young girl who had always been very opinionated. She had been domineering even as a baby in her cradle, always liking to sleep spread-eagled, firmly occupying her little territory.

Upon arriving in the upper district, Shu Wan witnessed a brand-new world. The sidewalks could be so wide, the campuses so magnificent, and people could live so brightly and freely.

In the upper district academy, full of hidden talents, the young girl didn't have the qualifications to participate in the ability user competition. She was a bit disheartened but quickly pulled herself together. With her powerful talent, perhaps there was still a chance?

As a student from the lower district, Shu Wan was inevitably picked on and isolated. Her strained finances gradually made her forget her hopes for an opportunity.

The more she understood this world, the more she realized her dream of becoming a person of high status was increasingly out of reach. Whether in the Sei Curia or the imperial institutions, very few positions were left for female ability users, and the few that existed were reserved for noble girls to burnish their credentials before marrying well.

For a commoner girl from the lower district to want to stay in the upper district was a fool's dream.

And just then, a handsome young noble approached her, giving her hope of staying in the upper district.

It was the first time Shu Wan's heart fluttered. At that time, she defined it as love—

When she got married, she thought she was marrying him for love, like Cinderella meeting her fated prince.

When persuaded to have children, she thought it was worth sacrificing the ability level she had worked so hard to achieve. Only then could her B-rank talent husband establish his standing in the family with high-talent offspring.

After giving birth to two children with excellent talents, Ye Fanjing actually started having affairs. Shu Wan began to frequently run off to the lower district with her young daughter in a fit of pique, and Ye Fanjing would tirelessly ask her to come home. Many people told her that for a noble man from the upper district, this was considered quite devoted.

At that time, she sadly believed that their "love" had eventually been worn down by marriage.

—It wasn't until the "Blood Flower" descended upon the lower district and she lost her closest family members that Shu Wan realized how naive and ridiculous she had been.

The woman, no longer young and beautiful, lay on the large, empty bed. Her face was troubled in her sleep, yet her posture was perfectly proper and elegant. This was something she had deliberately practiced to become a qualified nobleman's wife. Even if she regretted it today, some things had become indelible marks she couldn't wash away, nor was she capable of washing them away, nailing her inside a picture frame. And even her daughter...

Just one floor away, Ye Zheng lay in bed with her hands folded over her abdomen, her face peaceful in deep sleep, her posture impeccably standard.

But the dream she was having was not peaceful.

"Mommy, why didn't you bring Xiao-Di to play with us?"

The little girl was led by the hand by a gorgeous and beautiful woman. Passersby turned to look, marveling at a splendor that did not belong in this place.

The girl shook her two braids. She noticed that when everyone looked over with expressions of "wow," her mother's mood seemed to improve just a little.

"Xiao-Di... he's too young, it's not suitable for him to come to a place like this."

"Grandma and Grandpa said they want to see Xiao-Di too! Xiao-Di can already pull my braids for fun, he's not little at all!"

Shu Wan's expression was a bit awkward, a hint of obscurity flashing in her eyes. The little Ye Zheng of that time couldn't understand it, but the Ye Zheng of many years later understood what kind of feeling that was.

Her younger brother, Ye Di, was a male heir with a noble S-rank talent. As the wife of the Ye family, Shu Wan could play a little game of cat-and-mouse with her husband, holding her daughter. But if she were to run around with Ye Di—

That would no longer be a playful matter. This game of love would be over. Ye Fanjing would surely rip off his mask of affection and reveal his most naked, profit-driven side.

Subconsciously, Shu Wan knew this, but at the time, she refused to face the truth. She frantically ruffled her daughter's hair and said in a gentle, forced voice.

"Xiao-Di is too naughty. Zhengzheng is the best-behaved, so Mommy is taking Zhengzheng out to play."

The little girl, who only came up to the woman's waist, pouted. She was a big girl now and didn't want to be a good baby anymore. But if being good meant she could go out and play, she could reluctantly continue being a good baby.

She liked her grandma and grandpa. They didn't talk to her about talents or abilities. Her mother said they were teachers for ordinary people. Little Ye Zheng thought, so teachers for ordinary people are much more interesting than the teachers Father arranged!

And so, Ye Zheng traveled back and forth between the upper and lower districts from time to time, from the age of four to eight. She would always brag to Ye Di about the fun places she got to go. Ye Di, at his young age, would look disdainful and shout that Father told him those weren't fun places, they were lowly places!

Ye Zheng would puff up her cheeks and refuse to pay attention to her brother. In any case, she had two more relatives who doted on her than he did, and Mother preferred to take her out to play.

One day, when she was eight, the wife of the Ye family returned to her home in the lower district to live for an extended period, taking her daughter with her in a fit of pique because Ye Fanjing, who had smoothly become the head of the family, was keeping a mistress.

Shu Wan was not used to this home that had witnessed her childhood and youth. She wanted to persuade her parents to move to a better place, but she silently swallowed her words—becoming a resident of the upper district was an extremely difficult thing. She had hinted to Ye Fanjing many times, both overtly and covertly, asking him to help her parents obtain upper district residency, but he always brushed her off.

This time, she had caught him in the wrong. If he wanted to ask her back, he ought to show some sincerity, right?

But Shu Wan had no real confidence in her heart. The bargaining chips she held in front of Ye Fanjing seemed so fragile.

Seeing their daughter looking so troubled, the old couple decided to take the child out to lift their spirits.

"Your mother has loved the pastries from that shop in the East District since she was little. Grandma will take you to buy some."

"Will this make Mommy happy?"

"If Mommy knows her daughter wants to make her happy, Mommy will definitely be happy."

The white-haired woman picked up the somewhat heavy little girl, murmuring words the little girl couldn't understand, "So, I'm already very happy, she doesn't need to do any more."

The eight-year-old Ye Zheng didn't like to think too much. When she saw something new and interesting, she would quickly cast her worries aside.

"Look! That big red cover is so pretty!"

The two elderly people looked in the direction the child was excitedly pointing, and their smiling faces instantly turned pale.

That was the first time Ye Zheng saw a Demonic Domain, and from then on, no Demonic Domain she encountered would be more cruel than the one she met in her eighth year.

Seeing the red space rising not far away, people began to scream and evacuate, but a group of people in gorgeous uniforms stopped them.

"Father, do we really have to do this?" a tall uniformed man said with a look of intolerance.

The young man, with an ordinary appearance but an exceptionally gentle and amiable temperament, smiled, "My noble Knight, can you bear the consequences of those princes, dukes, and ministers perishing inside?"

The Knight's body trembled, and he silently carried out the young Priest's suggestion. The crowd, forcibly driven towards the Demonic Domain, began to scream and cry.

"What about her, she's so young..."

The Priest looked down at the little girl huddled in the arms of her grandparents and extended his arms.

"Give her to me. We're about at the right number anyway."

The woman, who had been a teacher her whole life, was used to letting children go. After crying hard at the graduation of her first students, she had never cried for a child again, not even when her own daughter walked down such an out-of-control path.

But this time, tears welled in her eyes, crinkled at the corners, as she and her old husband lifted the child up to the Priest who was sending them to their deaths.

The little girl watched all of this in a daze. She didn't know what was about to happen, only that the awkward way this young man held her was very uncomfortable.

She struggled free, got down, and ran after the departing crowd, while the young Priest followed quietly behind her.

A group of people were driven, crying and screaming, into the Demonic Domain. The figures of the two elderly people were swallowed by the crowd and then disappeared behind the red curtain of light.

"Do you want to go in too?"

"But my family all went in? Why did they go in?"

The Priest squatted down to be eye-level with the little girl.

"...Why, indeed. That's a good question."

"Your family members are very great. They went to save the most valuable people in this country."

"But they didn't want to!"

"Their wishes are not something I need to consider," the young man said flatly.

"If you care, you can go in and ask them. Do they really want to, or not?"

The little girl didn't move forward. She turned back to see the gentle-looking man smiling at her. "What, you don't want to go in?"

The girl, half as tall as a man, puffed up her cheeks and rushed in one breath to the front of the Demonic Domain, which glowed with an ominous red light—

For an instant, she seemed to see twisted black figures trampling each other, their screams unending. In her eight naive years, she had never been so close to death, to hell.

And then she flinched.

"Hahahahaha!"

The young Priest clutched his stomach and roared with laughter. "You see? Even someone as small as you understands how to weigh interests!"

"Compared to your family, you yourself are more important, aren't you?"

"Little fatty, you should thank me. I've taught you the most important lesson in life."

The young man introduced himself with great interest.

"My name is Wen Jian. Remember my name—or perhaps you don't need to. This name is destined to echo throughout the entire empire."

The young Priest was not wrong. After the Blood Flower Incident, he, with his unremarkable background as a down-and-out noble from the upper district, rose rapidly through the ranks, becoming the person everyone in the empire knew—the Pope.

As the morning light broke, the girl on the large bed suddenly awoke. As if sensing something, she picked up the phone from her bedside table.

She found a message from Wen De.

It was information on the several contestants from the upper district who were consumed by the Demonic Domain in the lower district this time.

Ye Zheng finished flipping through the information, her face expressionless. A cold smile touched her lips.

How interesting. Three of the contestants who went missing in this incident were all descendants of the nobles who were saved during the Blood Flower Incident.

Ye Zheng turned her head and stared pensively out the window.

So, there were other ghosts, just like her, who could not be exorcised, lurking silently in the shadows.

Author's Note:

A little late today, my apologies to everyone...

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