Survival Guide After Accidentally Kissing a Demon - Chapter 216

Chapter 216

It was around dusk.

The incandescent glare of the sun had faded. The sun itself was invisible, hidden behind a thick layer of clouds on the horizon that were stained with a thin, fleeting wash of orange-red.

Led by Vulture, Beili and Ashera arrived at the middle reaches of the river where the traffickers collected their water.

The houses in the town here were built larger and better maintained, making them look far less dilapidated than those in the previous town.

The architecture clearly displayed the unique characteristics of the Nauze Kingdom-even, well-arranged stone buildings decorated with an abundance of lush greenery.

The roads had also become wider, no longer as narrow and winding as those in the earlier town.

“My two masters-”

Under Ashera’s enchantment, Vulture stood as straight as a tree. He stiffly raised a finger to point at the river before them. The beard covering half his face quivered slightly as he explained in a toneless voice:

“The upper reaches of the river are in the Imperial City. High walls have been built along both banks of the upper stream, and there are special guards stationed there. Almost no one can get close; if they do, they’re easily spotted. Furthermore, there are many Mages in the Imperial City, making it very difficult to escape once discovered.”

“As for the lower reaches, because it rains year-round, the Mana Crystal Water has been washed away and diluted. It no longer has the power to change one’s bloodline.”

“So, if you want to collect the water, you can only do it here, in the middle reaches of the river.”

Beili gazed at the water and asked, “What is the name of this river?”

“It used to be called the Agate River because its riverbed is very ancient, and people could often find beautiful agate stones along the banks.”

“No one calls it that anymore. People prefer its new name, the ‘Cradle River.’ Like a baby’s cradle, it brings new life to the families of the Nauze Kingdom.”

As they spoke, they rode the Black Horse closer to the riverbank. Beili’s attention was drawn to two people on the river steps. They were carrying wooden buckets and using ladles to fill them with water.

Realizing that this was how the Mana Crystal Water the town residents bought with gold coins was obtained, Beili paused and asked, “Is this where the Mana Crystal Water you sell comes from?”

Vulture turned stiffly. From beneath his grayish-black beard, he replied without emotion, “Miss, this water is very precious now. They take it back, boil it a few times, and then it’s ready for sale. Of course, many people choose to skip the boiling step. However, some also collect it for their own use.”

According to Vulture, the secret that the Mana Crystal Water was actually just river water had gradually begun to spread.

Aside from the most remote and secluded towns, many people in the Nauze Imperial City and the surrounding towns likely already knew. If that were the case, the middle reaches of the river should have been swarming with people.

Yet, there were only two people collecting water by the steps.

“There are fewer people here than I expected,”

Beili said softly, “I thought it would be crowded.”

Just as the words left her mouth, a group of people appeared in her field of vision.

They emerged from nowhere, appearing aggressive as they stormed down the river steps. They seized the two people scooping water, gave them a brutal beating, and then kicked them-buckets and all-into the river.

The two struggled desperately in the water. They swam to the bank, trying to climb out, but the group ruthlessly stomped on their hands and kicked them back into the river without mercy.

Unlike Sainthos, which was sunny and felt like eternal spring, it had rained every day since Beili arrived in the Nauze Kingdom.

In the towns along the lower reaches of the Cradle River, the rain was more frequent and intense. It didn’t rain as much here in the middle reaches, but the sky was perpetually covered in thick clouds, and the temperature was quite low.

The people in the Cradle River began to shiver after only a few moments.

Meanwhile, the men on the steps watched them with cold eyes, having no intention of letting them climb out, as if they were content to let them drown right there.

“Who are these people?”

Beili was slightly taken aback. She knit her brows slightly and asked, “They don’t look like Nobles. They look more like…” Thugs.

“They are people who successfully changed their bloodlines through Mana Crystal Water. They are punishing those who attempt to sell Mana Crystal Water, following the orders of the Royal Family.”

His grayish-black beard twitched as Vulture answered her devoid of any emotion.

“So they used to be Half-beasts?” Beili asked again, her deep red gaze falling on the figures on the river steps.

“Yes,” Vulture replied.

Beili paused, then remembered something and asked, “Since the middle reaches are so strictly guarded, where did your Mana Crystal Water come from?”

“It was also taken from the river. But at night, when the Overseers are asleep, the surveillance is much more lax.”
Vulture answered her honestly, his dull eyes not even blinking.

Beili nodded and tried to dismount, but the person behind her held her waist and showed no intention of letting go. She could only lean forward slightly, sensing the flowing river from a distance.

Indeed-

She sensed sinful Mana mixed into the river water.

Though the amount wasn’t large, it was constant.

She pondered, raising her hand to stroke the scythe pendant resting against her collarbone.

If she summoned the Black Bone Scythe now to let it absorb the sinful Mana in the river, would it be too conspicuous?

It might be better to come back at night to absorb the Mana; she didn’t want to draw attention to herself right now, Beili thought silently.

…

The two commoners soaking in the water clearly realized that the people on the river steps had no intention of letting them ashore. Attempting to climb up would result in nothing but a brutal beating before being kicked back into the river.

Thus, the two swam back into the current, floating downstream in an attempt to find a new spot to land.

“Lord York, those two commoners are swimming away!”

Someone in the group shouted a reminder.

“They want to find a place to get out, but every spot is guarded. They won’t be able to land; they’ll just drown in the river.”

The man called Lord York raised his eyebrows arrogantly, a smug sneer on his face.

As if to intimidate the others watching from the shadows, he raised his voice and shouted:

“This is the consequence of defying the Royal Family’s orders and attempting to sell Mana Crystal Water.”

“If you want to change your bloodline like me, you’d better honestly save up your gold coins and buy it from the Mana Crystal Water shops in the Imperial City!”

“Lord York is absolutely right…” the others complimented.

Sitting on horseback, Beili’s deep red gaze watched the two figures in the river drift further and further away.

As she was thinking, she suddenly heard someone else speak in a raised voice:

“The Nauze Kingdom really is a mess these days.”

Beili was slightly startled and turned her head toward the source of the sound.

A magnificent carriage had appeared by the riverside at some point.

A young woman’s disdainful, cold, and sharp sneer drifted from the carriage’s lattice window:

“Anyone can become a Noble now, and anyone can be called ‘Lord’.”

The people standing on the river steps looked at each other in confusion upon hearing these sudden words.

They could all clearly tell that the person in the carriage was mercilessly mocking the man they called Lord York.

The man known as Lord York immediately felt his pride wounded. Standing on the river steps, he couldn’t see who was speaking on the bank. He could only look up, knitting his brows, and demand loudly:

“Who are you? How dare you speak to one of the New Nobles like that!”

“New Nobles?”

After a few seconds of silence, the girl’s voice came from the lattice window again.

“What a foolish title. You greedy, low-level Nobles are not allowed to call yourselves New Nobles to the outside world; you must add the words ‘low-level’ before ‘Noble’. Have you forgotten?”

Lord York’s face grew increasingly unsightly, turning as dark as a thundercloud.

But no matter how dull he was, he could tell that the person on the riverbank was either an old-school Noble or a member of the Royal Family-because only they would use ‘greedy, low-level Nobles’ to mock those like him who had successfully squeezed into the aristocratic circles by relying on Mana Crystal Water.

Therefore, even though the man was fuming with rage, he didn’t dare to lash out. He could only take his anger out on the lackeys beside him.

The man raised his foot and roughly kicked them into the river one by one.

Without waiting for them to scramble back to shore in their pathetic state, he left in a huff.

…

Beili couldn’t help but fix her gaze on that magnificent carriage.

The carriage was parked not far from them, its body inlaid with precious colored agates and its interior draped with brown gauze.

She now had a general idea that in the current Nauze Kingdom, the traditional Nobles-whose noble bloodlines were determined by the ‘blind box’ of birth-utterly despised these Half-beasts who had luckily become Nobles through Mana Crystal Water.

There was a moment of silence.

As if receiving an instruction, the coachman climbed down from the carriage, strode over to the two of them, and bowed respectfully.

“Your Highness, My Lady-”

“Sitting inside the carriage is Her Highness Princess Theresa Dobin, the seventeenth princess of the Nauze Kingdom.”

“After hearing the news that two distinguished guests had arrived in the Nauze Kingdom, she rushed here from the Imperial Palace, hoping to show you both a good time.”