The World of Demons

A bowl of hot soup, a few meager bites.

In the cold, dark cave, Su Changsheng felt especially content. It took a long, long time for that unbearably bitter ache to fade from his heart.

He knew this was not yet the time to relax. His shedding was imminent, and he needed to keep studying and cultivating.

Cultivate, cultivate-as long as he could endure it, he would work himself to death. It had been the same in his previous life. He had no illustrious family background; his parents were farmers through and through. Nor did he possess any exceptional talent. All he could do was study, study as if his life depended on it.

What talent lacked, effort would make up for.

Born into poverty, he had only his studies.

Once, studying had been his only way out. Now, cultivation was his only means of survival.

Life and death were at stake, his fate hanging in the balance.

He could not afford a single idle day.

Three or five days slipped by in cultivation, and the end of the month gradually drew near.

The Half-Demon Grounds grew increasingly chaotic. The price of blood food at the Yao Market began to soar, while all the resources traded for it became practically worthless. Most demons complained bitterly, each so hungry they were frantic.

Some even risked everything out of desperation.

Su Changsheng paid his dues for the month. He had just sent a small Werewolf away when cries and shrieks came from nearby.

"What happened?"

Su Changsheng frowned.

The Bird Yao couple next door also emerged at the sound. The Bird Woman stood behind the Bird Yao, craning her neck to look around. When she spotted Su Changsheng, terror instantly filled her eyes. Like an ostrich, she burrowed beneath the Bird Yao's wing and trembled.

Su Changsheng: "..."

You're a second-level half-demon, aren't you? Is that really necessary? You can't even suppress your instinctive fear at the sight of a Snake Yao?

Su Changsheng rolled his eyes, then nodded to the Bird Yao in greeting before looking back toward the cries. He had no intention of going over to investigate. He understood perfectly well that curiosity killed the cat.

The Bird Yao, however, was clearly far too curious. He took flight on the spot and circled overhead, peering into the distance.

Su Changsheng looked on with envy. Flight truly was a miraculous ability. He wondered when he would finally be able to roam the skies.

He was too low to see exactly what was happening, so he simply climbed onto his own stone house for a wider view.

Sure enough, he could see more clearly now.

In the distance, a small Wolf Yao and two Werewolves had surrounded a stone house, letting out savage howls at whoever was inside.

The roof had already been torn off. Inside was a complete mess, filled with signs of a struggle. A snake half-demon lay on the ground, covered in blood, breathing faintly and clearly on the verge of death.

A moment later.

Seemingly tempted by the smell of blood, the small Wolf Yao and the two Werewolves could no longer restrain themselves. Howling, they charged into the house and began tearing the Snake Yao apart.

A wolf pack's hunt!

Great slabs of flesh were ripped away, but they did not eat them, tossing them straight onto the ground instead. Within moments, the thick stench of blood filled the surroundings. Even Su Changsheng could smell it from where he stood.

As for the Snake Yao, she had already become a cold white skeleton, dying with unbearable resentment.

"Awoooo!!!"

The small Wolf Yao stood atop the bones and howled at the sky. His scarlet eyes swept over the surroundings, cruel and cold, like a wolf king returning victorious.

"Remember, don't challenge Lord Wolf Yao's authority! Every one of you had better behave!"

The small Wolf Yao roared, demonic winds billowing around him. For a moment, every demon in the area shuddered in terror.

Su Changsheng's expression turned grave.

The Snake Yao's gruesome death made him feel as though they had slaughtered a chicken to frighten the monkeys. He drew a deep breath, climbed down from the roof, and returned home.

This was the first time he had seen a living demon hunted down before his eyes and torn limb from limb. The bloody scene shook him to his demonic core.

It was not fear so much as incomprehension.

That Snake Yao had been a resident of the Half-Demon Grounds, yet the Wolf Yao's subordinates had simply torn her apart. What exactly were they trying to do? Had they become so lawless that they no longer even observed the Yao Stronghold's rules?

Thought after thought rose in Su Changsheng's mind.

Not until that afternoon.

The Bird Yao, who had gone out to ask around, brought back the latest news and let Su Changsheng know.

There was more to the matter after all.

The story the Wolf Yao had initially spread was this: the small Wolf Yao had gone to collect the dues. The Snake Yao had pretended to invite him inside, then launched a sneak attack. In the end, she had been inadequately prepared, allowing the small Wolf Yao to escape. He had then called in his companions and turned the tables, hunting down that audacious Snake Yao.

It looked as though hunger had driven her mad, but the truth was...

"The Snake Yao was contaminated." The Bird Yao still explained in brief, clipped phrases.

Contaminated?

Had she been attacked by a Wraith Beast?

Su Changsheng was puzzled. Through the Bird Yao's further stammering, word-by-word explanation, he learned more about that Snake Yao.

The Snake Yao had originally belonged to a household of two: a mother snake and a little snake. The recent surge in blood food prices, coupled with repeated exploitation by the small Wolf Yao and his fellows, had left them unable to pay their dues at the end of the month.

The small Wolf Yao had therefore wanted to take the little snake as payment.

The mother snake had pleaded desperately, to no avail. Driven to despair, she had attacked.

But what did that have to do with contamination?

When Su Changsheng looked puzzled, the Bird Yao fell silent for a long time. At last, he sighed softly and said in a low voice, "You saw it during the hunt this morning. Only the mother snake was there. The other little snake... was never found."

"But afterward, inside the mother snake's stomach, the small Wolf Yao and his fellows found not only large amounts of bark and stones, but quite a few fragments of snake bones."

This was the first time the Bird Yao had spoken at such length. His words surprised Su Changsheng, alarmed him, and even made his skin crawl.

Eating one's own kind contaminated the soul!

"Did the mother snake eat the little snake first, or was she driven into a corner and attack after swallowing the little snake?"

Su Changsheng asked quietly.

Devouring one's child out of ravenous hunger and devouring one's child in despair differed only in the order of events.

"Don't know!"

"But mother snake, contaminated, long before!"

The Bird Yao's words were brief, but their meaning was plain.

Even humans exchanged children before eating them. Here among demons, they did not bother with that last scrap of cloth to hide their shame. How could a single word like "tragic" possibly encompass this world?

"Ah!"

"Ah!"

One snake, one bird, two sighs.

Among the demon race, there was an explicit rule: never eat one's own kind. Doing so could easily trigger the contamination lurking within the body, ultimately deranging the soul and turning the offender into a Mutant.

That was what had driven the mother snake mad.

"Thank you for telling me!" Su Changsheng sighed and fell silent for a while, then cupped his hands and continued, "I'm something of a homebody and rarely go out, but I'm very interested in any news of the outside world. If you have any knowledge or information, please feel free to tell me. Here is a Hair-Shedding Rune. Consider it payment for this news."

The Bird Yao hesitated, but eventually accepted the Hair-Shedding Talisman and nodded. "Useful news, tell you."

Still those same short, clipped phrases.

In his eyes, this half-snake demon neighbor was fairly easy to get along with. Su Changsheng seemed to be quite a homebody, and the aura of contamination on him was not severe. Most importantly, he was almost certainly a low-level talisman maker.

Among low-ranking demons, talisman making was a fine craft to know. At the very least, it ensured food and clothing. Maintaining a good relationship with a demon who could make talismans was also very worthwhile.

With that in mind, the Bird Yao briefly shared some other information. Then the snake and the bird each returned home.

As for that little snake, all one could say was: let this be your only journey through this world. Never come back again.

Every world was bitter. Why descend into one again?