Ah, this—
Quietly listening to Sona's words, Chen Yu couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine. A gust of eerie wind blew up his pant legs along his neck, causing the tall man, over six feet, to tremble. Demons?!
He had often heard this term in television dramas, especially in some melodramatic idol series where the yandere villain's actions would prompt the female lead to point a finger and, with extreme fear, even hysterically shout at the villain. "You, you're a demon."
At this point, the villain would spread their hands, responding with a nonchalant flippancy, or with a madness that bordered on insanity. "Yes! I am a demon!"
Under such circumstances, Chen Yu would usually devour a hearty meal. It was just too "down-to-earth" a scene. If he didn't stuff his mouth with white rice, he felt he wouldn't be doing justice to the divine drama. And if the male lead made a flashy appearance at that moment, it would truly be a mealtime feast. Chen Yu would polish off three bowls straight!
Of course— these were all plot points from divine dramas. There were also relatively conventional Western films where demons and angels, such beings, would appear. Whether in divine dramas or regular movies, demons were, at best, merely nouns. People knew very well. The world didn't have demons or angels; these were all fictional, just for amusement. Those who delved a little deeper would analyze the human heart behind it all.
But, Chen Yu's current situation was different. He was in the underground world, a world of swords and magic, where one could see bipedal orcs, beasts and monsters lurking in jungles and wilderness, cast spells like those in Harry Potter, and possess broomsticks that could fly. Here, demons were still nouns. The difference was, they were real!
In fact, even so, the existence of demons didn't have much impact on Chen Yu. He was currently a survivor wandering the outskirts of the underground world, perhaps faring a little better than other survivors. But if he were to truly come into contact with demons, the possibility was actually quite low. Such high-tier beings, by all rights, should reside in the core of the underground. Or perhaps in some secret realm or forbidden zone.
Did it affect Chen Yu? No impact! What truly made Chen Yu tremble was the combination of Sona's preface and her earlier expression of incredulity at Chen Yu's magical talent. Following that, she had stated with certainty that she knew of only one race possessing such talent. Demons! Wasn't that precisely saying Chen Yu was a demon?
"Sister, you're not suggesting I'm a demon, are you?" Chen Yu asked, his lips pursed, a worried expression in his eyes as he approached. "Look closely, where do I look like a demon? Please don't mistake me for a demon and purify me; I'm just caught in the crossfire."
"Hmph, scared now, aren't you?!" Seeing Chen Yu's expression, the demon girl placed her hands on her hips, her little backside sticking out slightly as she leaned forward, her eyes filled with a playful menace. "We Sona are divine mages, and demons are their natural enemies. If there's a demon before her, they will definitely be bathed in holy light."
"Go up there." Chen Yu raised his hand, pushing the demon girl's little head aside. Stumbling, the demon girl glared and angrily reached out. "ヽ(`Д´)ﾉ Sona, purify him for me, he's an evil demon!!!"
"I need to purify you before you purify me," Chen Yu rolled his eyes, then looked seriously at Sona, a hint of wariness in his eyes. "You don't actually think I'm of demon race, do you?"
It wasn't that Chen Yu was being overly sensitive. Considering the context, he felt that Sona genuinely believed he was a demon. "You're an outsider, so you shouldn't be a demon," Sona whispered, pursing her lips. "But your magical talent truly baffles me. To help me confirm it better..."
Creak. Her words trailed off. Chen Yu, eagerly awaiting Sona's next words, involuntarily stretched his neck. Speak! Why don't you continue? Whether you need me to do a blood test or a urine test, or even a nucleic acid test, even if you say I need to drop my pants, that's fine. We need some follow-up. This situation, leaving things hanging, is quite uncomfortable.
"How do we confirm?" Chen Yu murmured tensely, then saw the demon girl squint, cross her arms, and approach with a mischievous smile, clapping Chen Yu on the shoulder. "What do you think?"
"What are you doing?" For some reason, Chen Yu suddenly had a bad feeling. The demon girl then snorted. "Cultivating, what else would we be doing? Do you think we're going to dissect you, me and Sona? Whether you're of demon race or not, we can't waste such good magical talent. Magical cultivation requires perseverance. Haven't you heard the saying, 'One day without meditation, one day without progress'? Let's go, cultivate!"
"I've never heard that saying before. I have heard 'One day without Xin Zhao, one day without progress'."
"Young man, you're quite talkative!" the demon girl snorted, grabbing Chen Yu's arm. "Stop the nonsense, let's go meditate."
At that moment, the youth's eyes lost their spark. He never dreamed that after surviving elementary to middle school, and middle school to high school, he, a mature university student, would one day be forced to cultivate magic. The sea of learning is boundless, and there's no turning back! Only two pretty figures and a youth with his ear being tugged disappeared into the desolation, accompanied by cries of 'Be gentler'.
At this time— Outside a magnificent high wall, several tall, armored warriors were diligently patrolling around the city. People of various races flowed in and out. Judging by the foot traffic, this was a relatively advanced city. However, just outside this city gate, two humans, wearing loincloths woven from leaves and straw sandals, their faces covered in black soot, appeared outside the city.
"Young master, we're back." The sturdier-looking human glanced at the youth beside him, who was leaning on a wooden stick as a cane, and whispered.
"What, back, back?" The soot-covered youth looked up blankly, his eyes involuntarily welling up as he gazed at the city before him. Two lines of tears slid down his cheeks. Clang. The cane fell to the ground, and the youth slumped onto the ground with a thud, then threw his head back and burst into laughter.
"Ha—" "Hahaha—" "I'm back, I'm back!" The surrounding city dwellers, travelers, and merchant caravans instinctively glanced over. However, the youth, sensing their strange gazes, glared. "What are you looking at? I'll dig your eyes out, all of you, get lost!" Bang. Before he could finish speaking, a pair of large hands clamped down on his shoulders. "Our town does not take in refugees. Here are a few copper coins; go to a nearby village to buy some food and head to other city-states."