Mist Empire’s Rise: Fake Noble to Fog Queen

The McColley Malt Tavern, usually a fairly busy establishment, had been unusually quiet these past few days.

Eight burly men sat in the tavern hall, their exposed arms thicker than the waists of the tavern maids, each carrying a sword nearly as tall as a person.

These men had been sitting in the tavern for two or three days, reportedly waiting for someone.

The tavern keeper got nervous just looking at their swords. For the past two days, he had prayed hundreds of times that whoever they were waiting for would come quickly and take them away.

Although these men drank a lot and paid promptly, they had scared away all other customers, and even the owner was afraid of them.

Finally, at dusk, the small tavern welcomed two new guests.

The tavern keeper, hiding behind the bar counter, observed that one of the newcomers also carried a sword. This must be who they were waiting for!

Great! Today he could finally bid farewell to these intimidating guests!

The tavern keeper was overjoyed and was about to stand up to see them off when one of the new guests approached him: "Innkeeper, prepare two clean bedrooms. We'll be staying here tonight."

The tavern keeper's smile froze on his face: "Y-yes, of course."

"How much per night?" Troy asked.

"Ten... ten copper coins."

Troy gave him ten silver coins: "Prepare extra roasted meat and meat pies."

"Right away, sir!" The tavern keeper's face lit up with joy.

Only a fool would turn down good money!

Troy returned to Luo Wei after making the arrangements and walked with her toward the eight burly men.

The men stopped drinking, their sharp eyes fixed on them.

A swordsman and a little girl?

What was a little girl doing here? Wasn't she afraid of being kidnapped and sold to a brothel?

Troy scanned the eight men, his gaze settling on the yellow-bearded young man at the edge: "Matt, long time no see."

The yellow-bearded youth, who had been staring at Troy uncertainly, immediately stood up upon hearing the familiar voice: "Troy!"

"It's me," Troy stepped forward and embraced Matt briefly, then turned to introduce him to Luo Wei, "My lady, this is my good friend, Matt."

Matt looked at Luo Wei in surprise, then back at Troy, whispering: "Is this the noble employer you mentioned in your letter?"

She looked so young and delicate - how did she come up with the idea of adventuring in the Demon Sea?

Troy nodded, then continued introducing the others to Luo Wei: "My lady, these are the mercenaries you asked me to find. On the far left is Cleveland, a mercenary of fifteen years with rich combat experience."

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"Greetings, noble lady." Cleveland removed his hat and bowed.

Luo Wei nodded.

"The second is Alex, who has participated in many battles and is quite agile."

"Hello, my lady." Alex removed his hat and bowed.

"The third is Laurie..."

"The fourth is..."

There were seven mercenaries in total, all junior swordsmen, ranging from thirty-seven years old to twenty-four.

After introducing the mercenaries, Troy formally introduced Luo Wei to everyone: "This noble lady is our employer, Lady Luo Wei."

"Lady Luo Wei." Everyone bowed to her again.

Luo Wei nodded: "Please, there's no need for such formality."

After the pleasantries, everyone sat down at the table, and Troy led the discussion about tomorrow's route to the island.

Luo Wei maintained her cold, noble demeanor, silently listening to their discussion.

Cleveland, who had arrived earliest, had gathered much information over the past few days.

"They say there are three taboos in the Demon Sea: first, the living cannot enter; second, you can't retrace your steps when entering or leaving the Demon Sea; and third, you can't make any sound once you're on the island."

"If the living can't enter, how do we get in?"

"Just bring a corpse with you. Someone tried it and made it out in one piece."

"Where are we going to get a corpse in the middle of winter?"

"I've already got one - picked up an executed criminal's body outside Santanle City. It's buried outside town; I'll dig it up tomorrow morning."

Cleveland glanced at Luo Wei as he spoke, worried this lady might object to bringing a corpse. In his years of experience, noble ladies were usually too troublesome - if it weren't for the high pay this time, he wouldn't have come at all.

But when he looked, he found her expression even calmer than his own. She didn't even blink at the mention of corpses, showing a coldness that surpassed his own.

Frightening.

Cleveland muttered inwardly, no wonder she wanted to venture into the Demon Sea - could she be a necromancer?

The others continued discussing: "Let's enter through Narcisse Bay then. The water's deep enough not to freeze, and we can return via the southern sea route to avoid backtracking."

"And remember to keep quiet once we're on the island - no talking. Use hand signals to communicate. The island is covered with skulls and poisonous snakes, so prepare yourselves mentally. Don't scream no matter what you see."

"Legend has it that souls float all over Demon Island, evil witches live in the forests, and man-eating monsters hide in the caves. Human screams will attract them, and then none of us will escape."

These last few words were clearly meant for Luo Wei - almost all the mercenaries assumed that such a delicate young lady would surely scream at the sight of a skull.

Luo Wei could clearly sense their condescension. Despite their outward respect, they didn't take her seriously at all.

They all thought she was just a little girl playing make-believe, who had never seen anything of the world and would probably wet herself in fear and demand to leave as soon as they reached the island.

Luo Wei kept her eyes lowered, fingers tracing the wooden cup, neither arguing nor showing anger.

Words couldn't prove what kind of person she was - only actions could convince them.

She had seen plenty of corpses and skeletons, witnessed numerous scenes of beasts devouring humans. No creature could be more terrifying than humans who had lost their humanity.

She had already experienced the most frightening things in this world.

In her previous life, she had been sent to El Salvador by that man's illegitimate son, spending half a year dodging bullets. Later, she was held captive by a criminal organization in Juarez, working illegal jobs for two years in what was known as the world's most violent city. She hadn't even gotten her diploma.

If it weren't for the hypnotherapist being so skilled at implanting kindness and love into her subconscious, forcefully retrieving her conscience, she would have become invincible by now.

Unfortunately, she had transmigrated before she could eliminate that family. If she couldn't return to her previous life to take revenge, what meaning did life have?

And her mother - her ashes were still with that cold-blooded man.

Just thinking about these things made an uncontrollable rage rise in Luo Wei's heart.

She gripped her cup tightly, trying to suppress the malicious thoughts surging in her mind, her knuckles turning white from the force.

The mercenaries exchanged glances and shook their heads dismissively.

Sure enough, she was just a pampered noble lady - getting angry after just a few words. What a temper.

Whatever, money isn't easy to earn. Once this job is done, they'd never take another one like it.
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