Moonlight spilled over the figure, revealing the Squirrel Demon Song Shuhang, who had previously been with the Weasel Demon.
He had been observing from a distance for quite some time. Only after confirming that the terrifying demoness would not return and that Chen Luo and Little Frog were not faking their injuries did he cautiously approach.
"Great fortune, great fortune!" Song Shuhang slowly approached Chen Luo and Little Frog, reaching out to feel around their hearts and confirming that both the human and the frog still had heartbeats.
"It's good that you're not dead." Song Shuhang plopped down beside Chen Luo. "Third Brother Huang was indeed in the wrong for trying to rob you. But he was also killed by someone else, so I suppose we're even."
Song Shuhang muttered again, "I accepted ten Blood Refining Pills from you, and favors must be repaid. I've already thought it through. If you had died, I would have dug you a grave and laid you to rest. Since you're still alive, I won't just leave you either."
Song Shuhang glanced at the ground littered with broken branches and snapped trees. He took an axe from his pack and began hammering and chopping. Before long, he had made a simple flatbed cart.
Song Shuhang looked at the flatbed cart with satisfaction and wiped the sweat from his forehead. To save up enough money to buy Blood Refining Pills, he had not only worked as a bodyguard but had also learned a thing or two about carpentry.
Song Shuhang placed Chen Luo on the flatbed cart and said quietly, "Don't mind it. Old Song here only awakened one Innate Demonic Art, 'Swiftness.' I don't have the ability to use Demonic Power to move things."
After settling Chen Luo in place, Song Shuhang picked up Little Frog again. He tucked Little Frog into the clothes over Chen Luo's chest, leaving only a small head exposed. Then he suddenly remembered something and searched all the way along the path ahead. At last, he found the little pack Little Frog had been carrying a hundred meters away. As Song Shuhang looked at the small pack that had constantly spat out Blood Refining Pills, a trace of greed flashed through his heart, but he quickly suppressed it.
"Wealth and honor gained through unrighteousness are like floating clouds to me..." Song Shuhang sighed. "Master, you're really making me poor for the rest of my life."
Song Shuhang walked over to the flatbed cart and properly hung the little pack on Little Frog. He pulled the cart and headed toward the depths of Floating Cloud Mountain...
A small house of green bamboo stood amid lush green grass.
An elderly man, bent with age, hobbled out of the little house with a bamboo cane. His face was deeply wrinkled, and a pair of ram horns atop his head were especially conspicuous. Two hulking men stood outside. Together, they blocked nearly all the sunlight at the bamboo house's entrance. Both giants were bare-chested and pressed tightly together. The white chest hair in the shape of a V merged into a W and fluttered in the breeze, while a pair of semicircular bear ears stood upright above each of their heads. At that moment, both Bear Demons carried heaps of emerald-green grass piled like little mountains on their backs.
"Bear One, Bear Two, how could I possibly eat so much grass? Put it down."
"Ah!" The two Bear Demons hurriedly set down the heaps of grass on their backs, then said in unison with broad grins, "Greetings, Master Yang."
The Ram Demon addressed as Master Yang waved his hand. "Speak. Have you gotten yourselves into trouble again?"
"No, no!" Bear One and Bear Two hurriedly waved and shook their heads, denying it. "Master Yang, we need your help with something."
"What is it?"
Bear One and Bear Two hurriedly took turns, explaining how the Town Profound Division and Money Falling Pavilion had issued a bounty. Then Bear One added, "We had our subordinates search for an entire day, but we couldn't find a single trace of them. We wanted to ask Master Yang to take a look and see where we might find them."
"You two simpletons!" The Ram Demon spat at the two bears. "I can't divine the future. How would I know where they are?"
Bear One scratched his head and said with an ingratiating smile, "Master Yang is a rare Demonic Confucian, with abilities that reach the heavens. You must have a way." After saying that, he slapped Bear Two from behind. Bear Two hurriedly nodded. "That's right, that's right."
The Ram Demon rolled his eyes at the two bears. He could not understand how he had spent so long reciting the Sages' classics in Floating Cloud Mountain, only for these two simpletons to be the ones who gained intelligence. He said irritably, "A map!"
"A map!" Bear One shouted over his shoulder. Several little demons who had been blocked behind the two bears immediately ran to the front and spread out a map of Floating Cloud Mountain nearby.
The Ram Demon leaned on his cane and walked to the map. "Floating Cloud Mountain stretches six hundred li in every direction. Besides Floating Cloud Market, there are twelve demon strongholds, large and small!"
As he spoke, the Ram Demon began tapping the map with his cane.
Bear Two interrupted, "Master Yang, there are thirteen. Our Two Bear Stronghold has been established for a month and three days."
The Ram Demon glared at Bear Two before continuing, "All these demon strongholds should have received the bounty from the Town Profound Division and Money Falling Pavilion. They must have started moving by now..."
Bear One nodded. "Exactly. They've nearly turned Floating Cloud Mountain upside down..."
The Ram Demon nodded and continued analyzing. "First, it is uncertain whether that Earl of Wan'an from the imperial court is inside Floating Cloud Mountain, so we can set him aside for now. The foremost task should be finding the Young Pavilion Master of Money Falling Pavilion."
Bear One and Bear Two nodded together.
"Since Old Woman Golden Toad did not use her connections in the Daoist sects to divine his whereabouts and instead issued a bounty, that means Old Woman Golden Toad is confident the Young Pavilion Master is still somewhere within Floating Cloud Mountain."
Bear One and Bear Two: "Mm! Mm! Mm!"
"There are twelve demon strongholds. The registered Demon Race under their jurisdiction number anywhere from six or seven hundred to two or three thousand each, totaling no fewer than twenty thousand. Among them are creatures that fly in the sky, run across the land, and swim through the water. They searched these mere hundreds of li for an entire day and night without finding anything. That means those places simply don't have them."
Bear One and Bear Two: "Mm! Mm! Mm!"
"Now look at the map again. Aside from the areas within their spheres of influence, where else have you overlooked?"
Bear One and Bear Two: "Mm! Mm! Mm!"
"Stop grunting... Look at the map!" The Ram Demon raised his bamboo cane and rapped Bear One and Bear Two once each.
Bear One and Bear Two hurriedly looked toward the map. They discovered that every place the Ram Demon had touched with his cane was covered in blue light. Only one section in the lower-right corner of the entire map had been left out.
"One Line Gorge?" Bear One shook his head. "Master Yang, One Line Gorge is a forbidden zone. They definitely won't be there..."
Bear Two: "Big Brother is right!"
The Ram Demon was nearly driven to death by the stupidity of his two bear students. He used his cane to tap an empty stretch of land in front of One Line Gorge. "Here! Here! Here! Do you see it?"
Bear One and Bear Two suddenly understood. "Oh... Right! There's still this patch of space!"
The Ram Demon sat down while leaning on his bamboo cane. After taking a deep breath, he said, "Go quickly. The chiefs of those demon strongholds are much cleverer than you two. They may have already headed there..."
Bear One and Bear Two froze, then hurriedly nodded. "Then we'll be going first. We'll come visit you another day..."
The two bears cupped their hands in farewell, turned around, and ran off at full speed, paying no attention to the little demons still holding up the map. Those little demons looked pitifully at the Ram Demon. The Ram Demon sighed. "Go, go, go. Move all this grass into the cellar out back."
After saying that, the Ram Demon still felt somewhat uneasy. He raised his head and called out, "Little Crow!"
A crow spiraled down from the roof and landed on the Ram Demon's horns.
"Go keep an eye on those two simpletons. Don't let them do anything foolish!"
The crow nodded, flapped its wings, and flew in the direction Bear One and Bear Two had left.
It was noon, and the blazing sun scorched the earth.
The Squirrel Demon Song Shuhang placed the flatbed cart beneath the shade of a tree and leaned against the shade himself, fanning constantly.
"Third Brother Huang said that if I keep going straight in this direction for roughly three or four hundred li, I'll reach Floating Cloud Market." Song Shuhang pondered to himself. "It's bustling there, so I'm sure I can find someone to treat them. That will also count as repaying their gift of pills. After that, I'll return to my hometown, prepare to advance, then find a demon woman and have a few little squirrels. Wouldn't that be..."
Song Shuhang suddenly sensed danger. He hurriedly turned his head and shouted, "Who's there?"
The grass was green and the willow leaves yellow; may the fragrance of gifted tickets linger in your hands.
There's a godfather thread in the book reviews. Thanks to all the readers who have followed this book since it was just a tiny sprout~ I hereby unilaterally declare that you're all godfathers of this book. You can go raise your hands and check in first~
Before you continue