System Granted Me Immortality; I Outlived Everyone

Chapter 22: Guest of the Hu Estate, an Old Friend Returns

The demon sovereigns present felt their brows knit in unison as they realized someone else was trying to gatecrash the recruitment assembly.

While the decree technically invited the “talented youths of the world,” everyone knew this was an internal demon affair. The major clans had already taken their positions. Where had this stray upstart come from?

“Pardon me, coming through.”

“Sorry, sorry—urgent business, out of the way, please.”

Chen Changsheng squeezed through the dense crowd with practiced difficulty. Once he reached the front, he smoothed out his rumpled robes, straightened his collar, and cupped his hands in a polite salute.

“Chen Changsheng, a humble human, pays his respects to the Wolf King.”

“Though I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting Princess Wanyan, I find myself moved to participate in this grand assembly.”

The plaza erupted.

The spectators had initially assumed some delinquent demon noble had arrived late. No one expected a human. For a member of the human race to seek the hand of the demon princess was not just an insult—it was the punchline to a cosmic joke.

“Human, get out of Night Moon Country!”

A lone voice cried out, and like a dam breaking, a torrent of vitriol and curses rained down upon Chen Changsheng. Through it all, he maintained a placid, almost vacant smile, as if the insults were nothing more than a light breeze.

The Wolf King raised a hand, palms down. The sheer weight of his presence forced the crowd into a suffocating silence.

“You wish to marry my daughter? On what basis?”

“On the basis of my sincere heart,” Changsheng replied deadpan. “For a human to stand before the demon host like this requires a singular kind of courage. Now that I am here, is my presence not proof enough of my devotion to Princess Wanyan?”

The Wolf King’s lips curled into a dry, amused sliver of a smile. “Sincerity. Very well. For the sake of that ‘sincerity,’ I shall allow it. I previously stated that any cultivator at or above the Foundation Establishment realm is eligible. You are a human, but you meet the criteria.”

“The trials begin tomorrow. Whether you survive them depends entirely on your own… sincerity.”

The Wolf King rose to depart. He paused halfway, glancing back with a thoughtful expression. “Elder Tortoise, this human has traveled a long way. He likely lacks proper lodgings. Arrange for him to stay at the Hu Residence. We wouldn’t want the humans to think we are poor hosts.”

“As you command,” the elder replied.

With a casual flick of his sleeve, the Wolf King vanished. The demon masses remained dissatisfied, but with the royal word given, they could only disperse in a cloud of grumbles.

“Greetings, Brother Hu. I’m afraid I’ll be imposing on your hospitality for a few days.”

Hearing the arrangement, Changsheng immediately turned to Hu Zhan with a beaming, cheerful smile. Hu Zhan sized him up, his own expression shifting into a mask of polite intrigue.

“Brother Chen’s gall is truly something to behold,” Hu Zhan chuckled. “Sharing a roof with a man of such character is a rare fortune indeed.”

Watching the two exchange oily pleasantries, Lin Hu looked as if he had swallowed a fly. “You Foxes always did have a stomach for filth. Look at his robes—he’s clearly from the Daqian Dynasty. A representative of a defeated nation has no right to stand before us.”

Changsheng didn’t even blink. He remained a statue of polite indifference.

Hu Zhan, however, let out a sharp, cold laugh. “Lin Hu, if you can’t use your head, don’t open your mouth and embarrass our kind. Night Moon defeated the Daqian Dynasty, yes. But we did not defeat the human race. If your little speech reached the ears of a human Sovereign and sparked a total racial war, could your puny Tiger Clan bear the weight of that consequence?”

Lin Hu’s jaw snapped shut. The specter of an all-out war between the two races was a crown of thorns he wasn’t brave enough to wear.

Boiling with rage, Lin Hu’s aura flared, his muscles rippling as he prepared to settle the matter with his fists. Before the first blow could fall, Elder Tortoise drifted between them with the weight of a mountain.

“Infighting in broad daylight? Do you wish to make us the laughingstock of the continent?”

Lin Hu snorted, shot one last murderous glare at the pair, and stormed off.

Hu Zhan turned back to Changsheng, his smile returning like a snake in the grass. “Apologies, Brother Chen. I didn’t mean to bring up the… unfortunate state of your homeland. While our nations are at odds, the Fox Clan has always been a friend to humanity. I trust you won’t hold it against me?”

“Not at all. Brother Hu is a man of direct words. I’d be a petty guest to take offense.”

As they spoke, Changsheng walked over to a nearby tree and scooped up a bald, frantically barking black dog.

“Brother Chen, is that… your battle pet?” Hu Zhan asked, eyebrow raised.

“Haha, hardly,” Changsheng replied, patting the “dog” on its ink-stained head. “I found the poor thing shivering on a street corner, nothing but skin and bones. My heart went out to it, so I decided to take it along.”

“I see. Brother Chen is truly a man of immense compassion.”

The two walked toward the Hu estate, chatting like old friends. Tucked under Changsheng’s arm, the Princess of Night Moon Country struggled with every ounce of her remaining strength, but no one spared a second glance at a bald, soot-colored mutt.

Night Moon Imperial Palace.

The Wolf King sat in the shadows of his throne, his fingers tapping a rhythmic, hollow beat against the armrest. Elder Tortoise entered, bowing low.

“The human has been settled into the Hu estate.”

“Mm.” The Wolf King acknowledged the report with a grunt. “A human abducts my daughter, and then another human appears at my gates seeking her hand. Elder Tortoise, what is the connection?”

The Elder hesitated. “His origins are a void, and the timing is far too precise to be a coincidence. He is undoubtedly a thread in the Princess’s disappearance. However, he is not the spider. A mere Golden Core cannot blind the heavens to my deductions.”

“He is a pawn,” the Wolf King finished. “A messenger sent by the mastermind. Until we find Yue’er, we cannot strike. We must watch.”

“Precisely. I shall personally oversee the investigation into his background. I want to know whose hand is moving this piece.”

“See that you do,” the Wolf King growled, his eyes flashing with a cold, predatory light. “To kidnap my daughter and then send a jester to humiliate me… when I find them, I will make their death a masterpiece of suffering.”

The Hu Residence.

“Senior… do you remember me?”

“It’s Meiniang!”

Chen Changsheng had just been about to settle in for a well-earned rest when a woman slipped into his guest quarters. He studied her face for a moment, sifting through his decades of memories. Eventually, a mental image clicked—the little fox-eared girl he had met thirty years ago, shortly after his long slumber.

“So, it’s you,” Changsheng said, his voice dropping into its usual professional register. “What are you doing here?”

Hu Meiniang glanced nervously at the door, her voice a hurried whisper. “Senior, we should speak inside. This isn’t the place for an audience.”

Hu Meiniang led Chen Changsheng into the room, closing the door behind them.