The Dark Goblin stared in terror at the "stupid clerk" gripping his throat. He couldn't understand how such a weak human could have so much strength. But Dark Goblins were at the bottom of the barrel when it came to combat power in the Demon Realm, even weaker than Lesser Devils. Their specialties were crafts and little tricks. Apart from a handful with exceptional talents who managed to distinguish themselves, most could only serve as menials or laborers.
With Chen Rui's current true strength, he could have snapped the Dark Goblin's neck with a single squeeze. But he didn't. He simply threw the fellow away.
The Dark Goblin hit the ground and clutched his throat, coughing loudly. Still shaken, he watched the human approach step by step with a cold smile.
"Trying to pull a little trick like that in front of me? Do you even know whose apprentice I am?" To conceal the existence of the Super System, Chen Rui deftly used Comrade Aldas as his shield. It was a kind of riding on someone else's coattails, in a sense.
Only then did the Dark Goblin realize what a ridiculous mistake he'd made in his greed. He'd actually tried to use drug powder on an apprentice of a master alchemist! And not just any master, but one who could poison a Dragon to death with some kind of gas!
"Let me think about how I should deal with you. Should I poison you until you're a pile of ash, or a puddle of water?"
The Dark Goblin remembered the rumor that this apprentice had once made a fellow scream for two whole days. He shuddered, and his entire body began to tremble.
To Chen Rui's surprise, the Goblin, who was known for his cowardice, didn't panic. Instead, he gritted his teeth and threw caution to the wind. "Y-You'd better not do anything reckless! I'm with the Cloak Society. If you dare poison me, our leader won't let you get away with it!"
The Cloak Society? Was it a gang in Darkmoon City? No wonder they wore little cloaks to look mysterious.
Chen Rui paused briefly, then asked, "Who's your leader?"
At that, the Dark Goblin immediately found his nerve. "My leader is an incredible powerhouse. With just one hand, he nearly knocked the head off Gangke, a notorious thug in Darkmoon City! Yesterday, Gangke even came here injured and very politely asked for the hammer our leader had confiscated."
Gangke? A hammer? Why did this sound so familiar to Chen Rui? The Dark Goblin wore the pride of someone riding on another's coattails as he continued, "The leader of our Cloak Society is none other than Agulie!"
At the sound of that name, Chen Rui instantly froze.
Chen Rui recalled the time he'd first gained initial evolution, when he'd saved the Goblin father and daughter in the alley. The black lines on his forehead seemed to multiply.
What did it mean to wave a tiger's hide like a banner? To ride on another's coattails? This was the real pinnacle of the art!
Compared to this, using Aldas's name was child's play.
Seeing Chen Rui's stunned expression, the Dark Goblin assumed the human clerk had been intimidated by his leader's name. He added another bombshell: "And I'll have you know that my cousin Sasa is the leader's beloved concubine!"
Chen Rui's whole body shook as if struck by lightning. Miss Sasa's beauty floated into his mind, and his heart began to cramp violently. That kind of appearance... was certainly one of a kind!
Since being reborn in the Demon Realm, he had to admit he'd entertained the normal fantasies of a man about a few beauties: the icy, mature Eldest Princess and his boss, Shea; Jia, the bewitching temptress who could drive a man to his death; and the spirited, passionate, and generous Athena.
As for Miss Sasa, perhaps she was considered a beauty among Goblins, and perhaps weirdos like Gangke liked her. But he, Chen Rui, had absolutely, positively, never entertained any improper thoughts about her!
Not in the past! Not now! And certainly not in the future!
And yet somehow, this Goblin lady had started claiming to be his concubine. Oh, and there was that damn adjective—"beloved"!
He'd heard of people being forced into buying things, but never of a maid or concubine forcibly claiming someone as her master! His reputation as a virgin in both lives had just shattered into pieces without his even knowing it!
The Dark Goblin was about to continue threatening him when the human clerk suddenly charged over, grabbed him by the hand, and said, "Take me to this Cloak Society of yours. Now!"
Kaka's gaze fell on the bundle on the ground. The human frowned slightly and waved his hand. The enormous bundle vanished. Kaka looked Chen Rui over, but couldn't spot any spatial equipment on him. Could it be the legendary spatial magic? Wasn't this human supposed to be powerless? How could he do something like that?
"Move!" Chen Rui urged impatiently. If he didn't resolve this, he'd be left with a terrible psychological scar around women for the rest of his life!
Terrified of Chen Rui's mysterious power, Kaka didn't dare say anything more. He led Chen Rui down the alley.
While he was still fuming, Chen Rui spent 500 points of spirit energy to activate the Storage Warehouse in the Super System. With a thought, he easily stored the magical materials. If he hadn't been on his way to confront the Cloak Society, he would have liked to try out more of the warehouse's functions.
After Kaka took several turns, he led Chen Rui to a small courtyard. Several short figures in similar cloaks were gathered nearby. Judging by their builds and movements, they were either Lesser Devils or Dark Goblins.
One of the cloaked short figures let out a shrill laugh. "Kaka, look what you've brought back! A... human?"
Kaka quickly shook his head at him. The cloaked figures all recognized him as the only human in Darkmoon City—the newly appointed clerk. They'd heard that the human was poisonous all over, and couldn't help feeling afraid. But their curiosity was even stronger. What was a human doing at the Cloak Society? Was he here to join?
They entered the house. Chen Rui saw the old Goblin Didi—the one who'd declared himself his "father-in-law"—sitting in a chair in the middle of the room. Miss Sasa, with all her distinctive Goblin features, sat beside him.
Kaka stepped forward and whispered a few words to Didi. The old Goblin looked surprised and stood up.
The old Goblin bowed slightly to Chen Rui. Knowing that Aldas and the Eldest Princess stood behind the human, and that he absolutely couldn't afford to offend him, he immediately invoked his master. "Lord Clerk, Kaka was blind and offended you. On behalf of the Cloak Society, I apologize. Please, for our leader's sake, let this matter go. Our leader is..."
Enough with the leader already! Chen Rui cut the old Goblin's boasting off without a trace of courtesy. "How about you send the others outside first? I have something important to discuss with you alone."
The old Goblin frowned and pointed at his daughter, Sasa. "Your business may be confidential, but this is my daughter, Sasa—the leader's concubine. She has every right to hear..."
That set Chen Rui off again. He nearly grabbed the fellow who'd appointed himself his father-in-law and beat him up. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Stop talking nonsense! I have limits to my patience!"
Thinking of the rumors about the human's poison skills, the old Goblin shuddered. He signaled to Sasa and Kaka, and the two wisely left the room.
"Lord Chen Rui," the old Goblin said, his manner even more respectful now. "What can I do for you? The Cloak Society was only established recently, and our leader is often away..."
"Are you still going on about that?" Chen Rui pointed angrily at the old Goblin, looking as though he held a deep grudge, but couldn't find the words to explain it. In the end, he forced out a few words: "You've completely ruined Agulie's reputation!"
The old Goblin had been nodding respectfully, but suddenly froze. "So you know our lea— I mean, my master."
"Your master owes me his life, you could say. The depth of my relationship with him is beyond anything you can imagine!" That was naturally true. They were, after all, the same person.
The old Goblin looked doubtful. How powerful was Master Agulie? He'd easily defeated Gangke, so he had to be at least a Mid-tier Demon. How could he possibly have a close relationship with this powerless human?
Chen Rui saw Didi's doubts and snorted. "That night, after Agulie saved you, he gave you a Purple Crystal Coin. Then, when you begged him desperately to let you be his servant, he gave you two more. Isn't that right?"
Only the old Goblin, his daughter, and Agulie himself knew about that. Didi no longer dared doubt him for even a moment. "Lord Chen Rui, please forgive Didi for his rudeness. May I ask where my master is?"
"He's training to gain even greater power." Chen Rui gave the old Goblin no quarter. "You know perfectly well that he never accepted you as his servant! In fact, when he gave you those three Purple Crystal Coins that day, he was testing you, too. I can't believe you pretended your daughter was his concubine and even started this Cloak Society to rob and swindle people! If he finds out, he'll kill you!"
"So Master was testing me!" Cold sweat appeared on the old Goblin's brow. He secretly congratulated himself for not having pocketed those three Purple Crystal Coins back then. "Lord Chen Rui, please tell Master Agulie that Didi hasn't failed his test. I've established the Cloak Society for him. It's only the beginning, but it will keep growing!"
As he spoke, the old Goblin took out a handful of Purple Crystal Coins and presented them to Chen Rui with both hands. "I've multiplied the three Purple Crystal Coins Master gave me several times over. Please give these to him as my most sincere offering as his servant."
The old Goblin felt no remorse for starting a gang and robbing and swindling people. On the contrary, he was proud of himself, believing that he'd accomplished something great for his master.
Chen Rui knew the Demon Realm had its own rules, so he didn't say much. But the old Goblin's methods surprised him. He'd started with just three Purple Crystal Coins, and in only a few days, he'd turned them into more than ten. Had he managed it by having that group of little cloaked figures scam people?
After asking around, Chen Rui learned that the old Goblin had earned ninety percent of the money himself. He had a quick mind and knew every shop and stall in Darkmoon City like the back of his hand. For instance, beast hide that sold for ten White Crystals in the north of the city could fetch at least thirteen in the south. The old Goblin made money by taking advantage of these price differences. He'd once run a small business just to put food on the table, and even then had to deal with extortion from bullies like Gangke. Life had been hard.
After Chen Rui had taught Gangke a lesson that night, the old Goblin later ran into Gob, one of Gangke's underlings. When he mustered the courage to claim he was the servant of the powerhouse from that night, he actually managed to scare Gob off. The old Goblin's courage grew dramatically. He used the three Purple Crystal Coins as capital to expand his trading business, then used Agulie's reputation for defeating Gangke as a pretext to quickly gather a group of people and establish the Cloak Society. Of course, he sometimes rode on Agulie's coattails and used strong-arm tactics to make money. It wasn't until today, when Li Gui ran into Li Kui, that his cover was blown.
Chen Rui didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but he was thinking about something else. The old Goblin had a knack for spotting business opportunities and profiting from price differences. He'd also managed to establish an organization in such a short time. His abilities were certainly impressive. The Cloak Society might have been a farce, but this was a crucial time when Chen Rui needed money and materials to replenish his spirit energy. If he could make good use of them, the old Goblin—with his sharp business sense—might well become a great asset.
"Keep the money. You can give it to Agulie yourself when the time comes." Chen Rui's thoughts raced, and he'd already made up his mind.
The old Goblin had offered the money partly to bribe the human. He'd assumed that by the time the Purple Crystal Coins reached Master Agulie, at least half would be gone. He hadn't expected the offer to be refused. He became even more convinced that the human clerk had an extraordinary relationship with Master Agulie, and his manner grew still more respectful. "Lord Chen Rui, may I ask when Master will be available? Yesterday, Gangke came here and took back the hammer from last time. He also asked to meet Master."
"What, does he want revenge?" If Gangke was all Chen Rui had to deal with, he no longer considered him a threat.
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