When Baozhu was eight years old, Yan Mingli was busy preparing for his wedding, up to his neck in work.
Everyone else was equally swamped. The Fourth Prince had started to review memorials, Qiuqiu had become engrossed in reading, and the rest were all busy. Even the relatively idle Chen Ruxia had been coaxed by Father Yan into working in the Ministry of Revenue.
The only person who could offer a hand, the Prince of Rui, had accidentally broken his leg while eavesdropping on gossip.
Yan Mingli cursed under his breath as he handed the medicine to the Prince of Rui. Then he took out some dried apricots and waited for the Prince to finish the medicine before passing them over. "As you get older, you should stop climbing over walls to eavesdrop on gossip."
Feeling guilty, the Prince of Rui nodded repeatedly and casually asked, "What are you going to pick later?"
"I'm marrying into her family, and the guests will mostly be Miaochun's colleagues. I plan to pick a veil I like and wear it on our wedding day." Yan Mingli took the empty bowl and was about to leave when the Prince of Rui grabbed his arm.
The Prince of Rui smiled obsequiously. "I'll go with you. I can help you make the right choice."
The Prince of Rui, being old and having broken his leg, had been cooped up in the house for days and was itching to get out for some fresh air.
Considering that there would be guards to assist the Prince of Rui, Yan Mingli agreed.
Outside the mansion, Shen Baozhu had been waiting for a long time. "Brother Mingli, Grandpa Gu, let's go quickly."
The Prince of Rui limped over and, with the support of the guards, climbed into the carriage shakily. Just then, his foot slipped, and seeing that he was about to fall again, he instinctively grabbed the horse's tail.
"Neigh!"
The horse let out a long whinny as its tail was grabbed and started to go berserk.
Shen Baozhu and Yan Mingli rushed towards the Prince of Rui at the same time, trying to protect this old and infirm man.
...
The Demon Realm.
"Baozhu? Baozhu? Wake up. I've made some white congee. Try it." The Prince of Rui gently shook Shen Baozhu awake and fed her the hard - won congee.
Shen Baozhu swallowed the congee groggily. When she opened her eyes, she saw the blood - red moon in the sky. Her mind instantly cleared, and she looked around.
The Prince of Rui was wearing patched clothes and holding a wooden bowl filled with congee. There was also congee in the porcelain jar beside him. But his haggard expression and chapped lips made Shen Baozhu's heart ache.
The Prince of Rui carefully handed the bowl to Shen Baozhu. "Baozhu, drink quickly. I sold my clothes to get this jar of congee. This place isn't safe. We'll move to another place later."
Shen Baozhu took the bowl and drank the congee while listening to the Prince of Rui's story.
After the horse went berserk, a white light flashed, and they inexplicably found themselves here. Since the Prince of Rui had a broken leg, he stayed to take care of Shen Baozhu, while Yan Mingli went out to look for help.
Shen Baozhu had been in a coma for three days. During these three days, Yan Mingli hadn't returned, but the Prince of Rui had managed to gather some information from passers - by, both human and demon.
This wasn't the Great Zhou, nor was it the original world. It was the Demon Realm.
The Demon Realm was ruled by the Dragon Emperor. This place was under the jurisdiction of the Black Dragon General, who served the Dragon Emperor.
The Dragon Emperor ruled justly and wasn't averse to humans. He advocated slaying demons and devils. For many ordinary people who were powerless, the Demon Realm was actually a good place to take refuge. There were even places in the city specifically for humans. This jar of congee was what the Prince of Rui had exchanged for his clothes while hobbling on his crutches. He was reluctant to drink it himself and saved it for Yan Mingli and Shen Baozhu.
The so - called "unsafe" in the Prince of Rui's words didn't refer to demons but to other humans.
After seeing Shen Baozhu finish the congee, he couldn't wait to pick up the jar and pulled Shen Baozhu away. "You need to pay to enter the city. The clothes I had were only enough to exchange for the congee. During the day, the demon envoys keep order, so the refugees from the human world can be a bit safer. But at night, it's a different story."
"I know some friends and a relatively safe shelter. Let's go quickly."
The shelter was only open at night and was managed by the human leader. In the past few days, the Prince of Rui had dragged Shen Baozhu around on a large leaf he had found. They stayed outside during the day and went to the shelter at night.
To ensure their safety, he even smeared mud on Shen Baozhu's face.
Despite all his precautions, they were still targeted. Several people suddenly appeared. Their greedy eyes were fixed on the jar in the Prince of Rui's arms. One of them shouted, "It's white congee, still steaming! Only in the city can you get congee like this!"
Seeing that they were surrounded, the Prince of Rui protected Shen Baozhu behind him and was about to grit his teeth and hand over the congee when one of the men in front suddenly collapsed, followed by the others.
The Prince of Rui instinctively looked back at Shen Baozhu and saw her raising her hand expressionlessly. The silver bracelet on her wrist glinted coldly.
Shen Baozhu scanned the area warily. After confirming that there was no one else, she lowered her hand and comforted him, "Don't worry, Grandpa Gu. Even though Brother Mingli isn't here, I'll protect you."
"Let's go to that shelter."
In the shelter, someone was sighing. "Ah, if only we could go to the territory of the White Dragon General. I heard that there's no distinction between inside and outside the city, and the demon envoys patrol continuously. Neither demons nor humans are allowed to kill."
"Fortunately, the Dragon Emperor slays the demons, so we ordinary people can come to the Demon Realm to take refuge."
The more Shen Baozhu listened, the more familiar it sounded. The White Dragon, the Black Dragon, and slaying demons... She seemed to have heard the Dragon King mention these things many times.
At the same time, the voice of the little phoenix sounded in Shen Baozhu's ear. "Master, master, can you hear me? Master, Wuwu misses you. It's another day of missing master."
"When will my great - nephew help me find master? I want master! I want master!"
"Master, where are you? You promised to love Wuwu the most and never abandon Wuwu."
The continuous voices gave Shen Baozhu a headache. She试探ed, "Wuwu? Where are you now? I'm in the Demon Realm."
The little phoenix exclaimed in surprise, "Really? I'm with my great - nephew. Wuwu and the Dragon Emperor are coming to pick up master!"
Shen Baozhu was a bit curious. "Wuwu, you actually know the Dragon Emperor?"
"Did master hurt your head? It was the Dragon Emperor who gave Wuwu to master." The little phoenix flapped its wings and flew onto the angry Dragon King, looking a bit gloating. "There's a good news and a bad news. Which one do you want to hear?"
The Dragon King was very angry now because the water curtain had malfunctioned for three days, and he hadn't seen his little cutie for three whole days!
Lin Yu and the True Lord Qingyun were in the same situation as him. They couldn't see Shen Baozhu either, and the picture was completely black. Although they could still send subtitles, what was the use of these damned subtitles if the little cutie was gone!
The Dragon King didn't have the time to play games with the little phoenix. If it weren't for the fact that the little phoenix was Shen Baozhu's pet, he would have killed it on the spot.
The little phoenix said happily, "The good news is that I've contacted master. She's in the Demon Realm now. The bad news is that master doesn't recognize the Dragon Emperor."
The Dragon King looked at the little phoenix like he was looking at a fool. "When I first met the little cutie, I was just the Dragon King. You should ask the little cutie if she recognizes the Dragon King."
"Wait, the little cutie is in the Demon Realm? Is this true?"
Without waiting for the little phoenix to answer, the Dragon King picked it up and leaped into the air, revealing his true form. "Show the way!"
Before Shen Baozhu could get an answer from the little phoenix, the shelter collapsed.
A huge golden dragon appeared in the sky. The golden dragon let out a low growl, shaking the heavens and the earth.
The Prince of Rui stared with wide eyes. The golden dragon in front of him looked extremely familiar. Wasn't it the dragon that always followed Baozhu? In the Demon Realm, the golden dragon had become a hundred times bigger?
Shen Baozhu looked up and met the eyes of the golden dragon. She whispered, "Dragon King?"
A white light flashed, and the golden dragon disappeared. A two - meter - tall man holding a phoenix emerged in mid - air.
The man had golden pupils and black hair, and his features were handsome. The moment he saw Shen Baozhu, his brows relaxed. "Little cutie!"
The phoenix in his hand couldn't wait to fly towards Shen Baozhu. "Master!"
Shen Baozhu reached out and caught the little phoenix. She found that the little phoenix's body was much softer and more enjoyable to rub.
The Dragon King stepped on the void and came in front of Shen Baozhu. He directly reached out and pinched her little face. Well, the touch was just as good as he had imagined.
The Prince of Rui was very adaptable. Sensing that Shen Baozhu knew the person in front of her, he behaved as meekly as a quail.
"You old coot, you look so wretched." The Dragon King raised his eyebrows and smiled. Taking advantage of the Prince of Rui's inattention, he stepped on his uninjured foot.
The Dragon King actually wanted to kick, but the Prince of Rui was old. If he accidentally kicked him too hard, it would be bad. He didn't want to go to the underworld to rescue him. It would be inauspicious.
The Prince of Rui was stepped on twice. He silently looked at the Dragon King in front of him and always felt that this person also knew him. He smiled apologetically. "Sir, my grandson has been in the city for three days, and there's been no news of him. Could sir be kind enough to help look for him?"
The Dragon King reached out and hugged Shen Baozhu in his arms. Just like Shen Heqing and Shen Haiyan used to do, he had long wanted to hug the little cutie, and now that his wish had come true, he couldn't wait to show off.
Dragon King: [The little cutie is soft, but she's too thin. She feels so light in my arms.]
Dragon King: [I won't chat anymore. The old coot wants me to help look for the fool.]
Lin Yu: [?]
True Lord Qingyun: [You've seen Baozhu and the Prince of Rui? What's wrong with Yan Mingli?]
Lin Yu: [Is Mingli in trouble?]
True Lord Qingyun: [How did you get to the world where Baozhu is?]
True Lord Qingyun: [Dragon King?]
After that, no matter how many subtitles Lin Yu and the True Lord Qingyun sent, the Dragon King ignored them. Instead, Shen Baozhu imitated the Dragon King and sent subtitles to report that she was safe.
Dragon King: [Brother Lin Yu, True Lord, Baozhu is now in the Demon Realm. Grandpa Gu is with me. We're going to look for Brother Mingli.]
Dragon King: [The Dragon King is protecting us. We'll be fine. He looks very powerful!]
The Dragon King was dissatisfied. "What do you mean 'looks'? I am very powerful."