Chai Zhengzhou had been hard and unyielding all his life, but in the end, when he grew old, he taught his grandson only two words—lower your head.
Though he himself had never managed it, the sight of blood splashing across a child's innocent face had still served as his grandson's final lesson. It taught the little demon what it meant to learn from the wreckage ahead, and what it meant not to tread the same path into ruin.
Before obtaining the Ancient God Mirror, Chai Asi had always lived as his grandfather taught him to—tail tucked between his legs.
He had no true friends, and was neither acknowledged nor accepted.
Yuan Yong extorted him at will, and Zhu Dali looked down on him as well.
His childhood sweetheart threw herself into his arms, while he toiled bitterly day after day... all to keep those bloodsucking leeches fed.
He had entered the mountains to gather herbs countless times; it was not as though he had never found fine medicinal ingredients. But he had never been willing to use even one himself, nor had he ever sold one for a good price.
Where he could sell them, and at what price, were all prescribed. The rules were never plainly written down, yet every demon had to obey them.
The herb shop he frequented was backed by an owner from the Divine Fragrance Flower Sea, yet because it operated in Cloud-Brushing City, it too had to abide by Cloud-Brushing City's rules.
For a single stalk of medicinal herb, Cloud-Brushing City officials took a share, the Cloud-Brushing Ape Family took a share, the Flower Fruit Society handling the transaction took a share, and the herb shop needed its profit too... In the end, scarcely anything was left for the little demon who had gathered