Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

From the outside, the club appeared to be just an ordinary villa.

Despite its rather plain exterior, the interior was exquisitely luxurious and had an artistic flair.

Passing through the entry hall and walking further in, one would come to the banquet hall where sparse groups of guests were chatting idly by the bar counter or in corners.

Ye Jun handed out membership cards to everyone and introduced,

"Your information has been registered. If you want to order food, talk to the suit-wearing manager by the counter. You can order whatever you like, and if it's not available, they'll arrange to have it flown in for preparation; it just takes some time, as it cannot be served immediately."

"Can we ask him to recommend some rare dishes?" Zhao Yuanzhen asked eagerly.

"Of course," Ye Jun replied with a smile, "treat him as your hired butler; feel free to give him orders."

So Zhao Yuanzhen and Xie Ruoxi, the two young ladies, immediately strode over to the manager to inquire about the meal service.

"We can order here, right?" Zhao Yuanzhen asked first, "What's good to eat?"

"Yes," the manager replied with a smile, "we can provide anything that people on Earth have eaten; if no one has eaten it, we'll try our best to source it. If you need to see the menu, we have a record of recent ordering statistics…"

He took out a Pad, swiped a few times, and handed it to Zhao Yuanzhen and Xie Ruoxi.

The two young ladies began eagerly perusing the menu, while Lin Ning and Su Yunjin made their way to the side of the banquet hall—where there was a very beautiful piano.

"Lanchestian." Su Yunjin was somewhat surprised, "This brand is a bit extravagant. I've heard they only accept custom orders, sending people to measure the temperature and humidity at the customer's home before flying in materials for onsite assembly and tuning. They even provide dedicated maintenance every three months…"

"Does temperature and humidity affect the piano's quality?" Lin Ning curiously asked.

"It has a bit of an effect," Su Yunjin replied, sitting down in front of the piano and neatly arranging her hair before starting to play seriously.

In another corner of the banquet hall, three young men were chatting when they suddenly heard the melodious sound of the piano. Find adventures at My Virtual Library Empire

"Not bad at all," one of them said, turning his head to look at Su Yunjin in the distance without recognizing her but feeling she indeed looked good. He nudged his companion with his elbow and said, "Hey, looks like a new member."

"A new member? Or someone's female companion?" his companion, intrigued, turned his head to look as well.

Becoming a member of this club wasn't just about having money; a referral was needed to enter the circle. As for the women who entered as companions of current members, that was relatively easy.

Some of the female companions brought by members were there expressly to penetrate this circle, with a distinct air of profit-seeking; others had been specifically trained, and without getting into who was behind that training, their demeanor was reminiscent of those slim courtesans of Yangzhou: pleasing at first sight, but ultimately too contrived, feeling artificial with persistent exposure, so they were just for casual amusement.

However, the young woman playing the piano didn't have any men by her side and lacked any air of gold-digging subservience... She must have entered through the member's gateway.

Since she was a member and also attractive, they definitely had to make acquaintance quickly!

The three young men exchanged looks, stood up, and made their way towards the piano area. They waited until Su Yunjin finished her piece before smiling and saying,

"Beautiful lady, are you a new member? Haven't seen you here before, but you play the piano incredibly well. Are you at a professional's standard?"

"You flatter me," Su Yunjin said lightly, "I'm just practicing casually, nothing professional."

"Should we go check out the garden?" Lin Ning, noticing she wasn't too keen on chatting, quickly came over to offer an escape.

"Hmm," Su Yunjin responded and stood up, smoothing out her skirt.

Despite the young women's chilly rejection, the three young men did not intend to give up. They followed nonchalantly, looking for another opportunity to strike up a conversation.

After all, the world is full of pretty women, wealthy ones too, and certainly daughters of prestigious families. But finding someone pretty, wealthy, and of noble birth—all at once—truly was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

"I feel like I've seen you before; are you perhaps related to the Zhang family in the Ministry of Justice?" one of them asked.

"At Zhang Rong's twentieth birthday banquet at Liyun Hotel, right? I remember too," his companion quickly chimed in.

"Enough already," Lin Ning said, visibly annoyed, "you've got the wrong person. We don't know any Zhang Rong."

"Well, then tell us your name, let's see if we know you…" the three young men continued chuckling, but suddenly they heard a sweet voice behind them,

"They are indeed unrelated to Zhang Rong; they're my friends."

Turning around, they saw Chen Lingyun standing there with a sweet smile.

Though she was only around five feet tall, tiny and quite adorable, to the three young men, she appeared almost like a deity in human form.

"Chen… Chen Lingyun?"

"What's wrong?" Chen Lingyun raised an eyebrow. "Disappointed that it's not Zhang Rong but me?"

"Not at all!" "Of course not!" The three of them, as if having triggered some mechanism, unanimously and simultaneously exclaimed.

The Governor's only daughter, Chen Lingyun, was nicknamed Princess Jiang Hai—an undoubtedly derogatory title because no matter how you pursued her, there wasn't even a one in ten thousand chance of success.

It was as if a commoner could never marry a princess—the very template of someone with her nose in the air, sporting a pretentious smile of equal treatment on the surface, while never giving any man the slightest encouragement.

But why was the title "Princess Jiang Hai" universally acknowledged? Because the men who irrationally attempted to court her were indeed plentiful.

The Governor's only daughter, what did that imply? Even if you couldn't win her over, you certainly couldn't afford to offend her. At the very least, you had to show that you were making an effort. Otherwise, what would you do if she took umbrage?

Besides, even if the odds were less than one in ten thousand, what if you were the one to succeed? What if lady luck decided to grace me with her favor?

Yan Yu was chatting casually with Ye Jun when he turned his head and saw three young men surrounding Chen Lingyun, speaking to her with utmost caution, their desire to please written all over their faces—if they had tails on their rumps, they would certainly be wagging them enthusiastically.

For a moment, it almost felt like a dream of a past life.

In her previous life, although Chen Lingyun proclaimed to have a boyfriend, she remained unmarried despite her age, with many shameless men still boldly pursuing her.

But Yan Yu was utterly confident in her, because her feigned smile was so formidable that it repelled all suitors without exception.

"Need me to help out?" Ye Jun also noticed Chen Lingyun being bothered and inquired.

"No need," Yan Yu said with a smile. "Have you forgotten her status? Who would dare to mess with her and not suffer the consequences?"

"True," Ye Jun quickly realized.

"Speaking of which, how are things on your end?" Yan Yu continued to ask.

"Pretty good," Ye Jun said. "The money from the Mysterious Realm is plentiful; I'm quite financially independent now."

"I was referring to the team..."

"Oh, oh, oh." Embarrassment crept onto Ye Jun's face, mainly because her teammates often spread rumors about her and Yan Yu, causing her to subconsciously think that Yan Yu's question "How are things on your end?" pertained to her personal situation. "That's still okay, too. The main issue is the frequent emergencies at the border, which require us to head north to defend."

"I heard that the towns along the border have been evacuated?" Yan Yu continued his inquiry.

"There were plans to consolidate villages and towns anyway," Ye Jun said after a pause. "It's just coincidental timing, just taking advantage of the situation."

"One still has to regularly go out and kill," Yan Yu said indifferently. "Even wild boars in the mountains, if not regularly hunted to control their population, will come down to ravage the farmers' cornfields. Are Spirit Communicators now less of a threat than wild boars?"

"Liu from the team said the situation is complex," Ye Jun sighed. "I really don't understand it. We can only go wherever the Dragon Soar Team is ordered to fight."

"Things should improve a lot once the Amur witch group stabilizes," Yan Yu mused. Though he couldn't change the "situation" that even Lord Master found tricky, he was already laying groundwork for the Eclipse Queen thanks to his knowledge from his previous life. "By the way, I have a favor to ask of you."

"What is it?" Ye Jun asked.

"I need to check the weather data from across the country," Yan Yu stated earnestly. "Mainly precipitation and snow."

"Why do you need that?" Ye Jun asked in puzzlement. "Besides, can't you just look that up on the Meteorological Bureau's website?"

"I have special requirements." Yan Yu explained. "The rain needs to be as slight as possible, preferably a drizzle that doesn't even necessitate an umbrella; the snow must be the first snowfall of this year in that area. Even if there's been sleet before, it doesn't count as the first snowfall."

"Uhh..." Ye Jun was silent for a long time before suddenly asking, "You're not really doing what Liu said, creating your own version of Jinling's Twelve Hairpins, are you?"

"Huh?" Yan Yu was bewildered.

"The specific rain and snow you're asking for—it's similar to the method for making Cold Fragrance Pills in 'Dream of the Red Chamber' by Xue Baochai, isn't it?" Ye Jun speculated. "Are you planning to have Su Yunjin play Xue Baochai? I always thought she had the right temperament for it, perhaps forming a Chai-Dai duo with Lin Ning?"

"Don't you believe Lord Master's nonsense!" Yan Yu quickly interjected righteously, "I really need it! It's not for cosplay, it has a purpose. I can't go into specifics, which is why I'm asking for your help because you can keep a secret!"

"Okay." Ye Jun nodded. "I'll help you ask around."

She paused for a moment and then added:

"By the way, it seems like Liu has connections to get the backup costumes from the 1987 TV adaptation of 'Dream of the Red Chamber'. Want me to snag some for you?"

So he wanted Yun Jin to play Baochai and Ningning to play Daiyu, huh?

This thought lingered in Yan Yu's mind for a moment, and it seemed rather amusing...

"No, wait!" Yan Yu suddenly came to his senses, almost fooled by Ye Jun's line of thinking, and he hastily clarified his position, "What do I need their costumes for? I've already said it's not for cosplay. Keep this up and I'll get angry, you know."

"Yes, yes, yes~" Ye Jun snickered.