The afterglow of the setting sun bathed the whole of Floating Cloud Mountain. This was also the best time for some demons to absorb the sun's essence. From a distance, one could vaguely see the sunlight splitting into ten million golden threads and sinking into Floating Cloud Mountain. It was breathtakingly beautiful—the very sight known as one of the Great Xuan's Ten Scenic Wonders, "Floating Cloud Rainbow."
Lu Sagen, who had a pair of antlers atop his head, yawned as he watched this so-called "Floating Cloud Rainbow." To him, the sight was nowhere near as exciting as noodles dropping into a pot. After all, he had guarded the entrance to Floating Cloud Market for ten years and had long since grown tired of scenes like this.
The wonder in your eyes was merely someone else's daily life.
Lu Sagen stretched lazily and looked up at the enormous market gate. The three characters "Floating Cloud Market," written in powerful, hooked strokes, glimmered with specks of white light. This was a sign that Moonlight was about to appear, and it also symbolized Floating Cloud Market's official entry into the night market.
His wife was about to give birth, so Lu Sagen, who had originally worked only the day shift, had begun taking night shifts as well. By taking one night shift every three days, he could earn an extra eight taels of silver by the end of the month. Once the child was born, he would have nearly a hundred taels saved—enough to buy some mild medicinal soups to nourish the child's body and give him a smoother road ahead.
If he had known that gaining intelligence meant scrambling about for a living like this, he might as well have remained a proper wild beast and muddled through his entire life...
After swallowing a revitalizing pill, Lu Sagen pulled himself together. To get this night-shift job, he had fought a bat demon and taken several mouthfuls of blood after being knocked to the ground before finally scaring the other party into giving him a third of the quota. He absolutely could not mess it up.
Just then, Lu Sagen suddenly felt a faint tremor beneath the ground. He hurriedly lay down and pressed his ear to the earth. Sure enough, it seemed that a large force was heading toward Floating Cloud Market.
Lu Sagen nimbly climbed onto the watchtower beside the archway. At a single glance, he nearly fell off in fright. A procession stretching hundreds of meters was heading toward Floating Cloud Market. At a rough estimate, there were no fewer than five or six hundred of them. Demonic Energy churned above the procession, clearly indicating the presence of many experts.
"Bandit demons attacking?" Lu Sagen's heart jolted. Floating Cloud Market was famous far and wide, so it was bound to attract covetous eyes. But this was the first time he had seen anyone launch a direct attack on such a scale.
Lu Sagen took down the demon-shaking gong from the watchtower and was about to strike it when the hand he had raised was suddenly seized. He turned around and found his immediate superior, Xiang Dali, captain of Floating Cloud Market's patrol team.
"C-Captain, so you're... a spy?"
Xiang Dali frowned. "Nonsense. What are you thinking? What kind of spy am I?"
At that moment, tears and snot streamed down Lu Sagen's face. He rushed over and hugged Xiang Dali's thigh. "Captain, I won't strike the gong, and I won't resist. If you want to kill me, then go ahead. But for the sake of our many years of friendship, please protect that demon woman of mine. There's still a child in her belly..."
Xiang Dali rolled his eyes, reached down, and hauled Lu Sagen up. He pointed toward the procession. "Open your deer eyes and look carefully. That's the procession from Floating Cloud Mountain Demon Stronghold. That golden eagle flying there, that fat wild boar, and that... that one... They're all stronghold chiefs!"
After Xiang Dali's reminder, Lu Sagen rubbed his eyes and looked ahead again. He discovered that they were indeed all familiar faces and said sheepishly, "The Demonic Energy was too heavy just now. I couldn't see clearly..."
Xiang Dali kicked Lu Sagen. "Go ask them what they're here for!"
Lu Sagen hurriedly answered and climbed down from the watchtower.
As Moonlight first rose, the long procession of demons entered Floating Cloud Market. Lu Sagen eagerly led the way, taking them straight to a magnificent complex of buildings.
It was a complex formed from eight enormous high-rise buildings connected front to back, with gardens and pavilions interspersed between them. Two statues of Three-legged Golden Toads, polished from Eastern Sea Golden Crystal, stood outside the main entrance. The lofty plaque bore the four characters "Money Falling," but what truly caught the eye was the inscription beside them: "Presented by Qingwei."
Qingwei was the Grand Celestial Master of the Dragon Tiger Xuan Altar, known as Dao Lord Qingwei.
A figure hurried out of Money Falling Pavilion. He was a thin, elderly man who looked to be in his fifties. He walked extremely fast, chattering nonstop. "Who is it? Who is it? Who's bold enough to come block the entrance to my Money Falling Pavilion? Let me see how many lives you have to be acting so cocky..."
The old man walked out the main doors and glanced at the many stronghold chiefs standing outside. Planting his hands on his hips, he said, "Oh, it's several stronghold chiefs..."
At that moment, the chiefs who had previously looked so imposing all bowed and smiled obsequiously, clasping their fists. "Steward Crane, you're too kind. Take a look at who we brought here..."
"Hm?" Steward Crane's gaze sharpened. "You found our young master?"
The chiefs all scattered, opening a path down the middle. Steward Crane looked over and saw Song Shuhang trembling as he climbed down from the flatbed cart. He straightened his clothes, clasped his hands, and imitated the scholar's ritual he had once seen when paying respects to a teacher, performing a scholar's bow. "Your junior, Song Shuhang, heard that this place could heal our young Pavilion Master and his demon pet, so I came to seek treatment..."
Impatience appeared on Steward Crane's face. He glanced at the chiefs. "What? Seek treatment? What do you take this place for? You..."
The scar-faced man transformed from the golden eagle demon stepped forward with a smile. "Steward Crane, don't rush. Look at the cart..."
Only then did Steward Crane look at the flatbed cart again. His gaze paused on Chen Luo's face. "Is this the one..."
Suddenly, Steward Crane's eyes landed on the Little Frog, whose head was poking halfway out from Chen Luo's chest. His eyes went round. He rushed forward, shoved Song Shuhang aside with one palm, and carefully lifted the Little Frog from Chen Luo with trembling hands. Then he suddenly let out a shriek—
"Ah!"
"None of you are allowed to move! Anyone who moves, I'll pull out their tendons, skin them, and pickle them..."
Then he shouted toward the interior of the pavilion—
"Master, something's happened to the young master..."
Song Shuhang sat stiffly in the reception hall, not daring to move. He sniffed the fragrant tea that had been served and immediately felt the blood in his body beginning to heat up. It was a sensation he could only faintly achieve after three days of bitter cultivation. He had once seen the wood beneath his chair at a patron's home. That patron had treasured a piece no bigger than a pinkie finger and kept it close to his body. He had said it was Dragon Blood Wood irrigated with dragon blood. Of course, all of these were external possessions. What truly kept Song Shuhang from even daring to shift his gaze was the Fox Woman serving at his side. In all the years since he had gained intelligence, Song Shuhang had never seen such a beautiful Fox Woman. He vaguely sensed that her cultivation was far higher than his own, yet she was merely a maid casually assigned by Steward Crane.
From Steward Crane's introduction, Song Shuhang finally understood what sort of divine figures he had saved—the human was a newly enfeoffed earl of the Great Xuan Dynasty, while the Little Frog was the only direct grandson of Old Woman Golden Toad, the master of this place.
All the demons who had escorted them there left in high spirits. Only Song Shuhang had been singled out to remain, leaving him somewhat uneasy. Just then, Steward Crane entered the reception hall.
Song Shuhang hurriedly rose to salute. Steward Crane returned the gesture and said, "Righteous Man Song, please sit for now. My master is treating the honored guest's injuries. If there's anything you need, just give the order. Treat this as your own home and don't stand on ceremony."
As he spoke, Steward Crane took a few more steps forward and lowered his voice. "Knowing my master, Righteous Man Song, you can start thinking about what reward you'd like. Money Falling Pavilion certainly won't disappoint you..."
"A reward?" Song Shuhang froze. He subconsciously glanced at the Fox Woman standing to one side, then hurriedly looked away...
And with that, Little Song's story comes to an end. Next chapter, we return to Chen Luo.
There are still investment slots available. Everyone, charge~~~
Before you continue