Hair Demon

With that said!

The wealthy merchant produced half a stick of incense from who knew where and planted it in the ground.

The incense ignited without a flame, sending up wisps of blue smoke.

Only then did the wealthy merchant speak. "All right, everyone! Whatever abilities you have, stop hiding them and put them to use!"

"There's not much time left. If you don't show us some real skills, we might as well all go home to our mothers and stop wasting our effort!"

"I'll go first!"

Shen Lang stepped forward without hesitation, raised his flute to his lips, and began playing a strange melody.

As his flute sounded, the Hair Demon in the well slowly rose above its rim!

Ye Qianfan finally saw the Hair Demon's true appearance!

It was a mass of slimy, dark green hair. After soaking in water for so long, its strands were covered in moss and other growths. At first glance, it writhed like a venomous green snake, enough to raise goosebumps all over!

"Attack!"

The wealthy merchant shouted.

Then he flicked his abacus, sending its golden beads flying at the Hair Demon!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The blows struck the Hair Demon's hair, bursting into several sprays of water.

Yet the Hair Demon seemed completely unharmed and continued rising to Shen Lang's flute, carrying on as it pleased!

The staff-wielding martial artist struck as well. He lashed his staff at the Hair Demon's hair, then used it like a stirring rod, churning round and round as he tried to wind up all the hair in the well!

"Something's wrong!"

Just as Ye Qianfan finished folding a paper crane and prepared to send it ahead to scout, the Daoist spoke. "With so many people attacking it one after another, this Hair Demon should have gone berserk long ago!"

"But it's far too calm. It's practically letting them beat it without fighting back!"

"This is too strange!"

"What's wrong with it not fighting back?"

Ye Qianfan asked in puzzlement, "Have you considered that she might be scared, facing a whole crowd of men up here who want to kill her? If the Demon-Quelling Office hadn't deliberately put her here, she probably would've slipped away already!"

"You don't understand Hair Demons," the Daoist countered. "To put it plainly, a Hair Demon's hair is actually condensed resentment! And Hair Demons are among the less intelligent demons. Anyone approaching the well will stir up its resentment! Fear doesn't even enter into it!"

After listening to the Daoist's lengthy lecture, Ye Qianfan finally extracted the heart of all that waffle.

"So you're saying this Hair Demon is fake?"

"Very likely!" the Daoist replied. "Even the weakest Hair Demon is still a Seventh-Rank Earth Demon, equivalent to a human cultivator with Sixth-Rank Cultivation. The strongest among you is only at the Seventh-Rank Peak!"

"What's more, this Hair Demon lives in the well, giving it the advantage of favorable terrain, and there's a time limit on top of that!"

"No one here could defeat it!"

"I get it!"

After reviewing the Demon-Quelling Office's purpose, Ye Qianfan finally grasped its reasoning. "You think it's unlikely that the Demon-Quelling Office would go to all this trouble to bring people here just to watch them get wiped out!"

"So in the second trial, the Demon-Quelling Office isn't testing everyone's fighting strength at all, but their discernment and courage!"

"Even if everyone knows this Hair Demon is fake, how many would dare jump into its lair to look for a Passage Gate?"

The Daoist nodded. "You're a teachable lad!"

"Everyone, stop!"

Having worked out the Demon-Quelling Office's intentions, Ye Qianfan stepped forward. "This Hair Demon isn't real. Stop wasting your effort!"

"What?"

Everyone was shocked!

Especially the martial artist, who was still frantically winding up the Hair Demon's hair. By now, the mass he had gathered was nearly as tall as he was, yet the hair seemed like endlessly stretching malt candy. No matter how much he wound up, there was no end to it.

By this point, the Hair Demon's hair had grown so abundant that the Martial Artist's staff was bending under its weight. Sweat poured down the Martial Artist's head, and he was beginning to buckle, barely able to hold on!

But perhaps because he had already started and felt he couldn't give up halfway, the Martial Artist gritted his teeth and kept stirring!

"In this second trial, the Demon-Quelling Office isn't testing our fighting strength," Ye Qianfan explained. "It's testing our discernment and courage! Just as Brother Shen Lang said, this well really is the Passage Gate to the actual testing grounds. All we have to do is jump in to pass!"

"You're just fucking guessing, aren't you?"

The Martial Artist protested, unconvinced. "If you say this Hair Demon is fake, then where did all the hair on my staff come from?"

"Exactly, Brother Ye!" The wealthy merchant nodded repeatedly. "You saw my golden abacus beads hit that Hair Demon earlier, blasting out countless strands of hair and sprays of water. There's still hair beside the well! How could it be fake?"

No one believed him!

Ye Qianfan offered no explanation. He simply released the paper crane in his hand. "By decree of Wind God Fang Tianjun: winds of heaven and earth, come forth; wings, rise; crane, seek!"

The paper crane swiftly flew toward the well where the Hair Demon was and darted inside!

Then...

A wondrous sight unfolded.

The Hair Demon truly did not attack the paper crane. It even flew into the well with ease. There was no water inside at all, and the instant the crane reached the bottom, it vanished!

Through this spell, Ye Qianfan was now all but certain that this was a fake well concealing a real Passage Gate!

But the others thought differently!

"The Hair Demon not attacking a paper crane proves nothing!" the Martial Artist insisted. "It's made of paper, after all. The Hair Demon isn't interested in things made of paper, so of course it wouldn't attack! If you're so capable, jump in first and show us!"

"Although I believe our young friend, jumping in so rashly is still a huge risk. Why don't we discuss it further before acting?"

"I suggest catching a small animal and throwing it in first!"

Everyone offered their own suggestions and opinions.

But Ye Qianfan couldn't be bothered with them. He walked to the well alone and said, "We're running out of time. If you're afraid, stay here. I'll be going on ahead!"

"Brother Ye!"

Seeing that Ye Qianfan really intended to jump in, Shen Lang hurriedly grabbed him. "This is too risky!"

"Don't let them goad you into it! They just want you to scout the way for them. Let's try again and make sure first!"

"Thank you, Brother Shen Lang."

Ye Qianfan could naturally tell that Shen Lang genuinely had his best interests at heart. But after glancing at the incense stick, which was nearly halfway burned down, he shook his head. "Don't worry about me. I've already performed a divination. The Patriarch said this path is highly auspicious!"

"Brother Shen Lang, didn't your earlier divination also identify this as the gate of life? Then you should be bolder and trust your own judgment!"

With that said...

Ye Qianfan stepped onto the well's rim and jumped straight in.