DEM Chapter 41: Hurry and Drag This Scoundrel to the Immortal Execution Platform to Be Beheaded!

"Sorry, we only serve regular customers here."

Deep in the alley, a burly man in a black suit, wearing sunglasses despite the late hour, blocked Su Yuan and Chen Nuoyi's path.

After a long internal struggle, the two had finally decided to venture into the alley to investigate.

Looking up at the signboard glowing with pink light behind the sunglasses-wearing man, Su Yuan felt increasingly exasperated.

The pink signboard bore four glittering characters: Peach Oolong!

Peach Oolong was a delicious tea drink, something everyone knew.

But when those four words appeared on this signboard, in this bizarre setting, they felt outrageously strange, didn’t they?

Although Chen Nuoyi didn’t notice anything amiss with the words, for Su Yuan, with his keen sense of association, every stroke of those characters screamed impropriety!

But he couldn’t say it aloud, because if he did, it wouldn’t come out right!

Suppressing his urge to rant, Su Yuan cleared his throat and said with feigned composure, "We have a friend inside, but I don’t know if he’s using his real name or a stage name."

The sunglasses-wearing man replied with a cold expression, "Then describe your friend’s appearance. If such a person exists, I’ll go inform them."

Su Yuan gave a rough description of Chu Lanxi’s height and features.

"You’re sure?" the man asked, his expression taking on a strange nuance.

"Uh, is there a problem? Is he not an employee here?" Su Yuan asked, puzzled.

The man didn’t respond. Instead, he pressed his earpiece and lowered his voice, saying, "Boss, there are two young people outside looking for you, claiming to be your friends."

Su Yuan and Chen Nuoyi exchanged glances, both seeing disbelief in the other’s eyes.

Before entering the alley, they had considered many possibilities: Chu Lanxi could be an employee here or perhaps a customer indulging in consumption. But they had never imagined this scenario!

The boss!

Chu Lanxi, with his bold eyebrows and big eyes, was actually the boss of this place?!

This wasn’t just casually dabbling in the demonic path, this was practically being the sect master of a demonic sect!

Ten seconds later, the tightly shut shop door opened, revealing a familiar figure standing before Su Yuan and Chen Nuoyi.

"I knew it was you two," Chu Lanxi said with a hint of resignation. "So that roasted goose you treated me to at the cafeteria earlier was indeed with ulterior motives, wasn’t it?"

Su Yuan quickly pulled Chu Lanxi aside and said with heartfelt concern, "Lanxi! If you’re just trying to make quick money by coming to a place like this, we can understand. But you absolutely shouldn’t be running a shop like this!"

"You need to know that running this kind of place starts with a five-year sentence. You can’t keep going down this path!"

Chen Nuoyi also chimed in, "Classmate Chu, why would you fall into the demonic path? If you’re short on money, you could work part-time with us to earn some cash."

Chu Lanxi’s expression grew odd. "Five-year sentence? What did I do? I just opened a milk tea shop."

"Milk tea shop?" Su Yuan sneered. "What kind of milk tea shop sets up in such a secluded alley with that garish pink signboard?"

Chu Lanxi looked even more aggrieved. "Peach Oolong tea is the shop’s signature drink. What’s wrong with using it as the shop’s name? As for the signboard’s color, can’t I just like pink?"

Seeing Chu Lanxi speak so convincingly, Chen Nuoyi wavered. "Su Yuan, did we misunderstand Classmate Chu?"

Su Yuan continued to sneer, "Lanxi, you can fool your brothers, but don’t fool yourself."

One minute later.

Led by Chu Lanxi to the counter, Su Yuan watched the customers quietly sipping tea inside the shop, utterly dumbfounded.

"No way, bro, this is actually a milk tea shop?!"

Su Yuan was stunned for a long, long time before finally voicing his last question, "If this is a legitimate shop, why didn’t you open it in a busier area?"

Chu Lanxi shrugged. "When did I ever say this was a legitimate shop? Peach Oolong is a properly registered, 17-rated demonic sect."

"Demonic sect?" Su Yuan and Chen Nuoyi were both taken aback.

Chu Lanxi smiled and explained, "You guys don’t get it, do you? Demonic sects can legally exist too."

"Our cultivation civilization developed after the Spiritual Energy Resurgence, built on the foundation of ancient cultivation legacies."

"Among those legacies were both righteous and demonic inheritances."

"At the dawn of the Spiritual Energy Resurgence, many used demonic methods to commit evil, and they faced severe crackdowns from righteous cultivators. By now, the demonic path has been almost entirely eradicated."

"But as civilization progressed, many insightful people realized that some practices, once deemed demonic in ancient cultivation times, had their merits."

"Thus, less harmful demonic inheritances weren’t banned outright. They can establish legal demonic sects, but accessing them requires meeting certain conditions."

"The most common condition is an age restriction, hence the classifications like 17-rated or 18-rated demonic sects."

"My shop is a 17-rated demonic sect, so it can’t be located in a bustling downtown area, and only cultivators over seventeen can come in to spend."

After hearing Chu Lanxi’s explanation, Su Yuan and Chen Nuoyi felt as if a door to a new world had been opened.

Sorry, they were still too young to even know demonic sects could be legalized!

"So, does that mean the Joyous Union Sect actually exists?" Su Yuan asked curiously after digesting the information.

Chu Lanxi replied, "That one’s not allowed. If you get caught, you’ll be sent to the Immortal Execution Platform."

Su Yuan nodded, "Oh, then never mind."

Chen Nuoyi, puzzled, asked, "But why would a milk tea shop be classified as a 17-rated demonic sect?"

Chu Lanxi didn’t answer directly. Instead, he handed them the drink menu.

The two huddled over the menu, but after just a glance at the first item, they reacted like cats with tape stuck to their paws, frantically shaking their hands and flinging the menu far away.

"Imperial Lemon Tea, one hundred and eighty yuan a cup?!" Su Yuan’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.

How dare he? How dare Chu Lanxi do this?

A three-yuan cup of lemon water, sold for one hundred and eighty!

This wasn’t just a 17-rated demonic sect, this guy deserved to be dragged to the Immortal Execution Platform alongside the Joyous Union Sect’s leader!

"Su Yuan, my legs feel weak," Chen Nuoyi said, clutching Su Yuan’s sleeve, trembling from the shock of the menu’s dense rows of zeros.

Chu Lanxi, however, remained calm. "Don’t make a fuss. There’s a reason I charge so much."

Su Yuan, slightly stunned, ventured, "Could it be that the ingredients are premium, like high-nutrition spiritual fruits?"

Chu Lanxi replied, "Not really. They’re just ordinary spiritual fruits, five yuan a jin on the market, even cheaper wholesale."

Su Yuan muttered, "…As expected, you really should be dragged off to be beheaded."

Chu Lanxi chuckled and continued, "While the ingredients for the milk tea are average, I add something extra. That’s the core secret of my demonic sect."

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