3 Chapter 3: Unforeseen Circumstances

When Arroth and Zaganon left the tavern, their faces were beaten black and blue. Their legs had almost given up on them, but they still managed to stand up.

They went to a nearby inn, just across from the tavern, and rented a room. They couldn't return to Xuelian because their Qi was exhausted and their bodies can no longer walk so far. Their best choice was to rest in a nearby inn and ignore the dissatisfied glares of those demons.

The inn wasn't the best, but it wasn't so cheap either. A room costs two gold coins, enough to feed a normal family for two months. Arroth wasn't rich, but he knew his way with stuff - a little flirting with those succubi was enough to pay for the night. Good thing that the inn was run by a succubus who fancied the angelic type: Arroth could hustle them to a room with just sweet words, and maybe a little peck to the cheeks.

Zaganon wasn't so fond of demons and found them disgusting. He had started hating them when he saw his brother bleeding in the hands of those demons. Arroth was Zaganon's remaining light; without him, he would have died a long time ago. He pampered his brother so much that the other didn’t even know how he could be such a dork.

The succubus took a look at Arroth and grinned. "If it isn't the famous half-blood brother. What brings you two to my fine establishment?" She twirled her hair with her finger, licking her lips as her eyes unbuttoned Arroth's clothes.

Arroth chuckled and asked for the succubus' hand, gifting it a small peck, and smiling back. "Well, my fine lady, we just came back from a fight, after those thugs beat us for having angelic blood!" Arroth exaggerated his words, chuckling to enthrall the other's thirst.

The Succubus caressed Arroth's cheeks and played with his hair. "Aw, you poor thing, let this woman give you the best treatment!" She started licking Arroth's cheeks and scratches. Although Arroth could feel his insides churning, he didn't mind the woman's touch. She was soft and supple, pleasing to have.

Succubi could treat a person's wounds with their mouths. Their saliva was like medicine for all ailments, and wounds even make the taker feel an immense amount of pleasure. This was just one of the greatest parts of a succubus that everyone seemed to love. Arroth didn't mind it, but for some reason, the man with him was staring daggers at the inn owner.

Zaganon pulled Araya away from that demon and tightened his grip on his saber. "Let's just get a room."

The succubus' eyes light up as she took out a key from her bosom. "I have a great room prepared when an angel visits!" She grins and handed the key to Arroth. She moved closer to his ears and whispered, "I have a beautiful gift for you."

Arroth and Zaganon were given a good room with a high ceiling and a bed that could fit three people. Although Arroth was hoping for a double bed, one would be alright. He placed their belongings down, and both lay down on the bed.

"Does your body still hurt?" Arroth asked Zaganon. He didn't like seeing his brother with a giant scar on any part of his body - the scar in his back was already too much for him to handle; adding more was something he didn't want to see.

Zaganon groaned and closed his eyes. "I'm fine, just need some rest."

Arroth nodded and let his brother slumber. He stood up, making his way out of the room to meet the succubus. He had promised her a night, and he wouldn’t renegade with his words. Arroth walked down the stairs, with not much expression plastered on his face. He didn't want to do that Succubus, but they didn’t have any money to pay.

When the red moon rose above the lands of Molian, the inn was beaming with life. Demons of all kinds found themselves eating and drinking in their small town. This town was unnamed, but demons didn't care; the noblemen of their kingdom would only name their city, and any other place would be left unnamed. Arroth was also familiar with this kind of stuff. He and his brother used to live near a city: the city was given a beautiful name, but the neighboring town next to it had been unnamed forever.

The moment Arroth walked down, the merry laughter of the room died, and everyone’s eyes were staring deviously towards him. Arroth felt his throat dry up, but he still walked down to meet the succubus. "Is the owner here?"

A man now stood where the succubus was. He had wings on his back, and six horns in his head. his eyes, like Zaganon's, were pure black, but he had a small yellow ring around them. "The boss is out back, f*cking another demon," he said with disgust. It wasn’t the fact that his boss was being held by another demon that disgusted him, it was the fact that he was talking to an angel; on top of that, it was that half-blood that their kingdom despised. "If you can't pay the fee, then get your stupid asses out of our inn!"

Arroth sighed and took out his brocade pouch. Inside were three gold coins and some silver. It would have been enough to feed them for some time, and spending it in a single night wasn’t something he wanted to do. He contemplated on what to do and decided to just pay the fee: they wouldn’t stay long in this place anyway, and they had free food in the heavens. Arroth handed the demon 2 gold coins and hoped that it would be enough.

The demon raised his brows and laughed. "The boss gave you the finest room in this inn! Two gold coins aren’t enough!"

"How much?" Arroth said with gritted teeth.

"5 gold coins!"

Arroth felt his insides churn and spasm. 5 gold coins!? Was this man crazy? Their inn wasn’t even that great, and this “best room” they were talking about was nothing more than a room with better air-conditioning. At most, it should have been 2 gold coins and 5 silver, but 5 gold-coins! they could have rented a hotel room with that much money. "You're bluffing."

The demon laughed, raising his voice so everyone in the room could hear. "Did you hear that, folks? This bastard of a beast thinks he's better than us full-blooded demons!"

The surrounding demons looked at each other each wearing a proud grin on their lips. They scoffed and made fun of Arroth until he couldn't take it anymore.

Arroth ran back up the bedroom and rummaged through Zaganon's belongings. He knew his brother would be hiding some coins on him, and since they were brothers, it would be fine.

Zaganon groaned when Arroth grazed his back. His eyes opened, finding his brother, rummaging through his thing. "What… What are you doing?"

Arroth scratched his head and explained. "The bedroom is expensive." He purses his lips and lets out a cough. "I was searching for more coins."

Zaganon nodded and handed him a bag full of coins. "Use it wisely. We can't spend too much."

Arroth nodded repeatedly. He grabbed the bag and thanked his brother. He walked back to the clerk and gave him three more gold coins.

The demon scoffed, testing the authenticity of the coin with his teeth. "Seems like you lot aren't that useless after all!" He threw the three coins inside his pockets and sniggered. "Just stupid!"

Arroth's brows knitted. Demons were troublesome. This man knew how to use an audience to steal from the weak and poor. Indeed, a businessman at heart.

Those around them laughed at Arroth's misfortune. They knew that each room in the inn only cost 2 gold coins, and the moment that demon spoke about a bigger and better bedroom, they knew that the man would steal 3 more.

Arroth was too tired to care and just went back up. He and his brother no longer wished to fight back against these demons. He could feel his bones creaking when he walked and his cheeks were still bruised and bloody.

He lay his body next to Zaganon, and let the weight of the day dawn on him. He slept peacefully that night. Empty dreams and calm music that energized his body surrounded him. He didn't know where this feeling came from, but he enjoyed it very much.

However, the man beside him felt his inside start to hurt. His organs were agitated, bouncing all around, twisting and turning until the sun rose. Zaganon lifted his eyes . . . and found that his head had pierced through the ceiling. He stared at the chest that Dayan gave them; he felt as if it was the source of his pain. He didn't like this chest and, certainly, it didn’t like him. He looked at his hands and saw scales.

What happened?

Arroth woke up to the sound of the roof crashing down next to him. He mumbled before turning his head towards the person next to him. "Brother, did you break the ceiling?" he yawned. Debris fell in front of him, which woke him up. "HOLY FISH, WHAT THE-" He turned his head towards his brother - and found a massive blue dragon looking at him in a frightened expression.

"You - " Arroth turned to the chest and saw it glowing. "What?"

Zaganon nodded, lowering his head and pushing his brother to the chest.

Arroth nodded and examined the chest. There wasn't anything wrong with it, but the moment he touched the keyhole, it opened up. Inside was a teardrop pendant, glowing. He grabbed the pendant and took a closer look.

"Hello, kid." A familiar, yet annoying voice sounded from the pendant. It was Dayan, the merchant from before. "Did you like my gift?"

Arroth was silently watching the pendant. It wasn't like the talking stones used by cultivators of the lower realm, but rather condensed energy that felt warm and calming. He felt the texture of the pendant; it was smooth and clean with no sign of impurity.

Dayan laughed and said, "How does it feel having an azure dragon as a brother?"

"What did you do?" Arroth gripped the pendant tighter. Zaganon was his remaining family member, and seeing him like this made his heart hurt. "Bring him back!"

"Relax, kid. The pendant chose him as its prey!" Dayan sounded pleased and chuckled as he spoke. "But I can reverse it, and bring your brother back!"

Arroth frowned. Dayan sounded sure with his words. If he was the reason why his brother is a dragon, then he should be the one to reverse it… problem was: "Where can I find you?"

Arroth heard Dayan laugh madly. "If I told you where I was, it wouldn't be fun anymore!!"

"Then, how?"

"Simple. Search. Search everywhere!"

The voice disconnected, and the glow of the pendant died down. And in that very horrible day in hell, the sound of a man screaming profanities at a single pendant was heard in the streets of the unnamed town. Arroth swore to kill Dayan even if it was the last thing he did.

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