The little town was peaceful and serene.
The first batch of people who had chosen to remain in demon beast territory rejoiced at the decision they had made years ago. The rice paddies yielded abundant harvests, chickens, ducks, and fish grew plump, and they no longer had to endure hunger even in times of plenty. Nor were there tax officials carrying blades to seize their grain and money. Within the territory of the White Flood Dragon Demon King, it had been expressly declared that farming required no taxes whatsoever.
Waterwheels turned, driving the mills, while the sound of reading rang clear and bright.
It was hard to imagine such peaceful lives in the Southern Wasteland, where demon beasts ran rampant. There were no village bullies or gangs; the blades and spears of the Snake Demon Soldiers made every lazy brute putting on a fierce front regain their senses.
Beyond the town, a moss-covered stone arch bridge curved over a babbling stream.
A young man surnamed Xu sat by the water, staring blankly at the distant mountains. It had been two years. Whenever he finished his farmwork, he liked to recall that unforgettable beautiful figure, thinking of her day and night.
Last year, Granny had fallen gravely ill beyond cure and passed away, leaving him to live alone in bleak loneliness. With cold stoves and cold meals, he tossed and turned through the silent depths of night. Whenever loneliness seized him, he missed that Mysterious Girl all the more. He wanted to build a family anew, to live like everyone else—man plowing, woman weaving, children in swarms.
The people in town all said his soul had been hooked away by a demon, while the town's demons all said a Ghostly Entity had cursed him.
One particularly talkative Parrot Demon had analyzed