"?"
A question mark slowly appeared above Chu Liang's forehead.
Well, well. Had he run into the Cao Mengde of the demon realm?
"There was no helping it. Zanglin Mountain's power was too great, so I could only submit," King Cat said. "I didn't want to force my little sister either, but when King Tiger left, he said he would start preparing the wedding as soon as he returned. In three days, he would come to take my little sister as his bride. If he didn't see her then, he would lose his temper..."
Chu Liang glanced at Madam Ming again and asked, "Didn't you tell him that you had received Shushan's investiture?"
"My little sister told me I could ask Shushan for help, but... I didn't dare." King Cat shook his head. "Little wild demons like us fear cultivators most of all... Usually, not only do we not dare harm anyone, whenever we come across people lost in the mountains, injured from a fall, or drowning, we have to hurry and save them. We're afraid someone might die in the mountains, and your human race would suspect demons did it, then come in and sweep through the place for no reason."
Chu Liang could understand his predicament somewhat.
The prevailing view among humans was still to regard demons and devils as mortal enemies. There were plenty who, upon encountering a demon, wanted nothing more than to wipe it out completely.
There were also cultivators with crooked hearts who treated demons as materials for pill refining, soul refining, and the like, slaughtering them without cause. After all, killing people was against the law, but demons had no legal protection.
All these things only deepened the little demons' fear of cultivators.
But had humanity's fear of demons and devils not existed since ancient times as well?
The evil deeds within every group were committed by only the wicked among them. Yet in the end, the entire group often had to bear the consequences together.
Demons like the East Mountain cat tribe, surviving in the cracks, were by no means few.
"I don't know about others, but at the very least, everyone in the Shushan Sect is reasonable," Chu Liang could only say.
"Alas..." King Cat shook his head again. "If you take my little sister away tonight, then when King Tiger's wedding procession arrives tomorrow, our East Mountain cat tribe will surely suffer slaughter. If you truly want to help us, then take my little sister and leave quickly. That way, we might have a little more time to flee."
He raised his eyes toward the little lackeys behind him. "I just don't know whether we can survive after leaving this territory."
Chu Liang pondered for a moment.
When people left their homes, perhaps the hardest part was only emotional acceptance. But for the Demon Race to seek a new habitat, bloody battles were highly likely to follow. It truly was perilous.
They needed food, shelter, and a suitable environment. They absolutely could not survive just by finding some random patch of wilderness.
Besides...
"Does King Tiger have many demons under him?" Chu Liang suddenly asked.
"Zanglin Mountain is the largest Demon Race force within a hundred li of Xingzhou City. King Tiger may have several hundred little demons under his command," King Cat answered.
"What cultivation does King Tiger himself possess?" Chu Liang asked again.
"He has seven or eight hundred years of cultivation. By your human standards, he should be a demon of the fourth or fifth realm," King Cat said.
"What if..." Chu Liang said slowly, "what if I help you get rid of King Tiger? Wouldn't that solve all future troubles?"
"Th-this..." King Cat was stunned and bewildered, unable to understand what Chu Liang was thinking.
Though Chu Liang had more than enough strength to beat him, there was no way Chu Liang could be King Tiger's match, was there?
Naturally, Chu Liang had no intention of throwing his life away.
The greatest thing he relied on in daring to entertain this notion was naturally the jade talisman his master had given him. So long as he could summon Empress Feng, it did not matter how many subordinates King Tiger had. She would make his soul scatter and his spirit fly, beat those wolves, insects, tigers, and leopards until they had nowhere to hide...
And on this trip, Chu Liang had yet to gain anything. It was neither a sect mission nor had he fought any demons.
These East Mountain cat demons were all kind-hearted little demons, so he could not simply kill a few for rewards.
That would mean coming here for nothing.
If he took Madam Ming away just like that, he would also indirectly harm these little cat demons.
Taking all these factors into account, it would be better to head over and wipe out the demons of Zanglin Mountain directly. They were all vicious demons who ran wild and threw their weight around. If he could kill a few and earn some rewards, this trip would not have been in vain.
Of course, rewards were not the most important thing. Punishing evil and promoting good was.
Mm.
With that thought, he smiled faintly at King Cat. "Since I asked, I naturally have some confidence in dealing with him. So long as you are willing to help me, I can save your sister. What do you say?"
"I'm willing!" Seeing Chu Liang's calm and unhurried expression, King Cat felt that this man truly was trustworthy. Earnest gratitude filled his eyes as he nodded heavily. "But, young hero, could you untie this rope for me first?"
Zanglin Mountain.
It lay one hundred and twenty li east of Xingzhou City. Its mountains were high, its valleys deep, and its forests dense; the terrain was easy to defend and hard to attack. In its early years, it had been a stronghold for bandits and mountain brigands. Later, travelers gradually stopped passing along the nearby roads, and the outlaws on the mountain slowly dispersed. At some unknown point, it became a place where demons gathered and howled.
Today, the clamor of gongs and drums unexpectedly rang out from within the vast mountain range, faintly audible even beyond the mountains' outer edge.
If one followed the steep slope upward and climbed to the peak, one could see that in a huge clearing below, there were truly several hundred little demons shouting to heaven and earth. Some wore red and bright colors, with gongs, drums, and other instruments in their hands.
It was an altogether festive scene.
These were not merely the little demons of Zanglin Mountain. Demon kings on good terms from within a hundred li had also come to offer congratulations, because today was the day King Tiger was taking a wife.
King Tiger was powerful. He had arrived at Zanglin Mountain only a few years ago, yet had become the largest demon king in the area. He usually enjoyed abducting women, and there were already dozens of madams in his cave, yet this time he was making such a grand spectacle of it.
The surrounding lesser demon kings all knew that King Tiger had recently been roaming about everywhere, seeking to absorb the scattered Demon Race forces nearby. Rather than a wedding, this gathering was more like a display of King Tiger flaunting his own power.
Before long, a grand procession could be seen approaching from ahead.
At its head was a gigantic elephant with a huge red flower ball on its head. Riding atop the elephant's back was a massive man like an iron tower, over ten feet tall and covered in a thick black beard. Though he wore a groom's outfit, it still could not conceal the murderous aura about him. He was King Tiger himself!
Behind him, a group of little demons formed two lines, playing wind instruments and beating drums. In the middle of the procession, eight little demons carried a large red bridal sedan chair.
The bride seated within the sedan chair was said to be a little cat demon from the East Mountain cat tribe. Yet most of the demons present had never even heard of this East Mountain cat tribe.
Following at the very end of the wedding procession were several demons who seemed to be the bride's family from East Mountain. The leader, King Cat, wore a thoroughly dejected expression. The one or two behind him looked utterly unremarkable, presumably unknown little demons.
Except...
Among the little demons from the East Mountain cat tribe, one seemed distinctly different from the rest.
He stood straight and tall. Though he too was covered in fur and had the appearance of a cat, there was a trace of refined, easygoing grace in the way he walked.
And...
The way he looked at the surrounding demon crowd was completely unlike the fear, admiration, awe, and other tangled emotions in the eyes of the other cat demons... His eyes shone brightly, filled with anticipation.
As though he were looking at a mountain of treasure.
Thanks to "Taolue xt" for becoming this book's seventh Alliance Leader. 77777, thank you, thank you.
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