After the Fairy Maidens Fell to Darkness, They Captured Me to Ruthlessly 'Repay' Their Gratitude-Chapter 38 - I Won’t Disturb You, I’ll Be Leaving Now

“You! Stop laughing already!”

Xia Ranyue covered her mouth with one hand, glaring at He Ange with a mix of embarrassment and frustration.

Just moments ago, she had been putting on her sweet, innocent act, but now she had hiccupped in front of him. What kind of elegant maiden hiccups in public? It was utterly mortifying.

He Ange, however, found the situation far too amusing and couldn’t stop laughing.

“You’re still laughing! What’s so funny? Can’t fox demons hiccup? It’s your fault for giving me that fizzy drink in the first place!”

“I didn’t tell you to chug it all in one go, did I?” He Ange replied, shrugging. Seeing her flustered expression, he couldn’t help but chuckle again.

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Looking closely, Xia Ranyue wasn’t as manipulative as he had initially thought. Sure, she was a fox demon and had tried to trick him into dual cultivation before, which had left him wary of her. But maybe it was time for him to reconsider his opinion of her.

“So, what exactly is this drink? How did you make it? I feel like it could be a hit if you sold it,” Xia Ranyue asked, staring curiously at the remaining dark, fizzy liquid in her glass.

“It’s called cola. The recipe is a trade secret,” He Ange said, pulling out a chair and sitting down. He poured himself another glass of the fizzy drink and took a sip.

“A trade secret?”

“You were curious about why I was at the black market that night, weren’t you?”

“Don’t tell me you went there to sell this stuff?”

“Not exactly.”

Seeing her growing interest in his business, He Ange decided to tease her a little.

Normally, he wouldn’t share such details with anyone. But since Xia Ranyue had already discovered his black market dealings and had even seen him interacting with noblewomen, he figured it was better to provide a reasonable explanation. Otherwise, she might actually believe he was seducing married women.

Of course, this was all contingent on her sitting down and listening to him calmly, rather than throwing a tantrum.

“I go to the black market to sell things. Talking to noblewomen is just part of doing business. And this cola? It’s one of my new products this year,” he explained.

“You’re a businessman now?”

“A little.”

“Don’t be modest.”

“Whether I’m modest or not doesn’t matter. What matters is that I go to the black market for business, not for the... unsavory reasons you accused me of. Got it?”

He Ange wasn’t one to engage in pointless arguments. He preferred to resolve issues quickly and efficiently.

Xia Ranyue stared at him, then glanced back at the cola in her glass, deep in thought.

She recalled something her sister had told her before she left: If you don’t want to be treated like a child who has everything done for them, then prove you can survive on your own in the outside world. Show that you don’t need the clan to live freely and with dignity.

But right now, Xia Ranyue, who couldn’t even handle a simple dual cultivation attempt, clearly didn’t meet those criteria.

“He Ange, next time you go to the black market, take me with you,” she said suddenly, looking up at him.

Her request caught him off guard.

He stared at her, puzzled, while she gazed back at him with a serious expression. He couldn’t tell what she was plotting.

“Why would you want to go to a place like that?”

“I want to see how you do business and get a feel for the black market environment.”

“No,” he said flatly.

“Why not?”

“The black market isn’t a safe place. You’d just be a burden.”

“I can behave. I’ll stick close to you and won’t wander off~” she said, her voice softening as she blinked at him innocently.

He Ange continued sipping his cola, unimpressed.

“What’s so interesting about the black market?”

“What if I end up on the streets one day and have to rely on the black market to survive? I’m so clumsy—I couldn’t even manage a simple dual cultivation attempt. I should at least prepare myself for the darker side of society, right? Unless you plan to take care of me forever?”

“...”

Her last remark struck a chord with He Ange.

Of course, he had no intention of taking care of her. But her reasoning—that she wanted to familiarize herself with the black market as a backup plan—resonated with him.

After all, he had been in her shoes once.

When He Ange first ventured into the black market, it was out of fear that his identity as a demonic cultivator would be exposed. He needed a fallback plan, a place to retreat to if things went south.

He hadn’t expected to hear such a pragmatic perspective from Xia Ranyue, the younger sister of the Fox Clan’s saintess.

He looked at her, taking in her innocent appearance and the delicate cherry-pink dress she wore. An idea began to form in his mind.

Clapping his hands together, he gave her a mischievous smile.

“If you want to come with me to the black market, it’s not impossible... but you’ll have to do me a favor first.”

“What kind of favor?”

Xia Ranyue’s curiosity was piqued, but she couldn’t ignore the sly look in his eyes. She crossed her arms defensively.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You’ll need to model some outfits for me. Be a mannequin for my customers to admire.”

“You sell clothes at the black market?”

“I sell all kinds of things. If you can imagine it, I probably sell it.”

He Ange’s cryptic smile only deepened her suspicion.

Sensing her hesitation, he decided to give her a heads-up.

“Just so you know, the clothes I sell aren’t exactly... conventional. Some of them are a bit... unusual. If you want to back out, now’s your chance.”

...

Meanwhile, Qin Shiyan had spent the entire day reading.

Despite her aloof and regal demeanor, her daily life was rather monotonous. She had no hobbies aside from reading, and even then, she preferred history and miscellaneous topics over cultivation manuals.

After all, who wouldn’t choose an interesting story over tedious training?

But today, she had been reading since morning, maintaining the same posture for hours. By now, her entire body felt stiff and sore.

Her legs, in particular, were numb. She had been sitting with her left leg crossed over her right for so long that she felt like she might collapse if she tried to stand.

As the elder in charge of the sect’s treasure hall, Qin Shiyan often had disciples coming to her with requests for cultivation techniques and other matters. To maintain her image of grace and authority, she always sat with perfect posture.

But even immortals weren’t immune to fatigue.

At times like this, she remembered the massage device she had recently purchased from a certain young man’s shop in the black market.

“Now that I think about it, I might’ve been a bit too harsh on him during the swordsmanship class...”

Thinking of He Ange, Qin Shiyan sighed, a hint of worry in her expression.

She hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but Xu Xin’s strong reaction afterward had made her reconsider.

He Ange hadn’t begged to be her disciple—she had chosen him. If he became disillusioned with her as his master, he could leave at any time.

Realizing this, Qin Shiyan decided to have a proper conversation with him. She would fulfill the promises she had made when she took him in and address any lingering disappointment he might have felt during the swordsmanship class.

“Xu Xin, go fetch He Ange for me. I have something to discuss with him.”

“Got it~!”

Seeing her master’s softened demeanor, Xu Xin eagerly set aside her cultivation manual and ran off to find He Ange.

Once Xu Xin was gone, Qin Shiyan found herself alone in the hall. She retrieved the pink silicone wand from her storage ring.

The device, known as a “fairy wand,” was supposedly designed to massage the body and relieve fatigue.

But as she examined it, she realized she had no idea how to use it.

She had forgotten to ask the young man for instructions when she bought it.

Determined to figure it out, Qin Shiyan began experimenting with the wand, trying various methods to activate it.

The more she looked at it, the stranger it seemed.

There was something about the wand that felt... off. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but it didn’t seem like a typical massage device.

After some time, a stray surge of spiritual energy activated the wand’s core. The silicone tip began to vibrate rhythmically.

Holding the vibrating wand in her hand, Qin Shiyan stared at it in stunned silence.

It suddenly dawned on her—this thing resembled the “tools” described in certain... risqué texts.

Glancing down at herself, then back at the wand, a faint blush spread across her cheeks.

She recalled how He Ange had earnestly introduced it as a massage device, and a wave of embarrassment washed over her.

Had she, a dignified elder of the Shengxu Sect, been pranked by her own disciple?

Just as her face turned a deeper shade of red, the hall’s doors creaked open.

Standing in the doorway was none other than He Ange, the culprit himself.

He entered with a cheerful smile, oblivious to her flustered state.

“Master, you wanted to see me? Xu Xin said you were going to reward me with some cultivation techniques?”

As he stepped closer, he noticed her expression—and the vibrating wand in her hand.

His face turned pale as the realization hit him.

He was doomed.

Quickly, he backed away, forcing an awkward smile.

“This fairy wand is... very useful. I won’t disturb you. I’ll just... see myself out.”