Chapter 558: Ye Wenxin Transforms into—

When Fairy Fengya gave no acknowledgment, Ye Wenxin felt a twinge of irritation. “What? Am I not qualified to help?”

Fairy Fengya shook her head. “No, it’s just that my troubles are ones no one can assist with.” She turned and left without showing any reluctance. Ye Wenxin sighed as she watched her go, murmuring, “How could I possibly like her? I could never like someone like that.”

Ye Wenxin also stood up to leave. She contemplated whether to say goodbye to the kitsune and then have a chance encounter with Fairy Fengya at the Azure Wings Sect. Just then, a rabbit demon rushed past her in a flurry.

Ye Wenxin thought Red Yama had finally shown up. She quickly grabbed the rabbit demon, startling her. But when the rabbit demon saw it was her, her expression shifted to one of delight.

“Milady, I finally found you!” The rabbit demon exclaimed, nuzzling against Ye Wenxin. During her stay in the city lord’s mansion, Ye Wenxin had gained a certain status among the demons.

Confused, Ye Wenxin asked, “What’s going on?”

The rabbit spirit explained, “Some envoys from an unknown dynasty have arrived, but the Fox Queen is out on patrol. We have no experience receiving guests and are worried about neglecting them, so we thought of you, milady. You are human. You must understand human sentiments better than we do. So we’d like you to give it a try.”

Ye Wenxin couldn’t help but feel pressured by how much importance these demons placed on her. Seeing this rabbit demon holding such high hopes for her, she confessed, “That might not be a good idea. The great Liu City is the demons’ domain. Sending a human to receive those dynasty envoys might make them look down on demons instead.”

She considered how Liu City had developed rapidly after its reopening and its emphasis on harmony between humans and demons. It had drawn plenty of opinions and opposition. Just as they rejected the demon sects, humans would not be as accepting of demons as one might hope.

Now, even a dynasty had come over to make a power play. If Ye Wenxin approached as a human, the envoys would see through the ploy.

The rabbit demon seemed to see her point and turned to go look for the bear demon instead. Ye Wenxin groaned internally. She knew all too well how that cuckolded bear would act. If he were to represent the demons, he would deteriorate Liu City’s relations instead of gaining more support.

Diplomacy was always a hassle, especially when it involved interests. It was like a battle between deities. Ye Wenxin didn’t want to get involved but couldn’t stop thinking of the kitsune’s captivating figure. Recently, whenever they had a spare moment, they would steal away to spend time together.

The bear demon didn’t even have any chance to touch his fiancé, much less have any idea what was happening right under his nose. Unbeknownst to him, the kitsune and Ye Wenxin had already lain together innumerable times.

In other words, this was something Ye Wenxin must handle. Now that she’d claimed the kitsune as hers, she had to take on the responsibilities that came with being her lover.

Thinking of this, Ye Wenxin tugged on one of the rabbit demon’s long ears.

“Ahn!” The rabbit demon let out an unexpectedly seductive sound. Ye Wenxin felt awkward. The rabbit demon, equally embarrassed, quickly composed herself and respectfully asked, “Do you need anything else, Lady Ye?”

“I’ll handle the reception myself. But I need you to lend me something.” Ye Wenxin smiled mysteriously. The rabbit demon appeared puzzled as she watched Ye Wenxin stroke her rabbit ear.

“You’re not planning to cut off my ears, milady?” Seeing the wicked look on Ye Wenxin’s face, the rabbit demon feared the worst for her ears. But Ye Wenxin merely took out a dagger and gently shaved off a small tuft of fur, perplexing the rabbit demon even more.

“This is the One Short Sect’s secret technique. You won’t understand even if I explained it to you. Anyway, it lets me temporarily take on the form of a rabbit demon like you.” Ye Wenxin thought explaining was too troublesome, so she didn’t. She took out miscellaneous items she’d purchased from her bag of holding, tossed them into a pill furnace with the rabbit fur, and concocted a pill.

It was a type of transformation pill that required a small part of a creature as a medium to assume that creature’s appearance. It was a form of disguise the Bone-Shrinking Technique couldn’t achieve. That was why Ye Wenxin opted for this quick and effective method.

“Done.” Ye Wenxin swallowed the pill. Within seconds, a pair of rabbit ears sprouted from her head. She touched them and found the texture surprisingly pleasant. However, they didn’t feel as limber as the rest of her body.

Ironically, it hadn’t been too long ago that she ate a thousand-year-old rabbit demon. Now, here she was, transforming into a rabbit herself. Reflecting on this twist of fate, she followed as the little rabbit demon hopped ahead to lead the way.

They soon arrived at the drawing room.

The scene inside was far from what she had expected. The demons were all playing with the envoys in their original animal forms. A cat demon, in particular, appeared to be overly welcoming yet wore a resigned look.

When she entered, Ye Wenxin felt the weight of everyone’s gaze fall on her face—and her new rabbit ears.

“Greetings. I am Ye Wenxin, chief steward of the city lord’s mansion,” she introduced herself. “Ye Wenxin” was a common enough name. It wouldn’t impact the reputation of the Azure Wings Sect’s Ye Wenxin.

Seeing the person in charge had arrived, the envoys quickly withdrew their traitorous hands. The other demons promptly shifted back into their human forms, standing behind Ye Wenxin in a disciplined manner. The kitsune had trained them well. Ye Wenxin took her seat and began conversing with the envoys.

A few exchanges in, she learned that the envoys came from the Hundred Flowers Dynasty.

The Hundred Flowers Dynasty ranked fifth among the Ten Great Dynasties, neither too high nor too low. They were renowned for their abundance of plant-based resources. Their primary industries included textiles and timber. Many of the clothes Long Qingyue wore were from the Hundred Flowers Dynasty, so they had a friendly relationship with the Golden Age Dynasty.

Also, what made this dynasty unique among others was that they had no emperor or king. Instead, their ruler was elected by the populace and known as the Flower Lord. Elections were held every three years. The current Flower Lord, who ascended to the position at ten, had ruled for over twenty years.

The purpose of the envoys’ visit was also commercial in nature.

Materials derived from demons—such as fur, claws, and teeth—were highly valuable to the Hundred Flowers Dynasty. They presented a huge market opportunity. While other dynasties were still considering cooperative relations with Liu City, the Hundred Flowers Dynasty had already extended an olive branch.

They offered to support Liu City in achieving the goal of creating a harmonious city for humans and demons, providing trade opportunities, and facilitate currency flow.

The demons were extremely pleased with this tremendous boon. Ye Wenxin also let out a relieved breath. The Hundred Flowers Dynasty had come at the perfect time.