Mutant Rat Demons

The blizzard raged on.

Panic gripped the entire Yao Stronghold, and every day brought all manner of outlandish rumors.

They seemed both true and false, and no one could tell which.

The atmosphere grew increasingly oppressive.

Su Changsheng, meanwhile, barely had time to let his feet touch the ground, his days packed with tasks. Apart from searching the Yao Market for demon arts and techniques that suited him, he spent all his time buried in cultivation.

Crafting runes, practicing breathing exercises.

He also set aside time to practice the Turtle Breath Art and the Stone-Shattering Art.

The results, however, were poor.

Although shedding his skin once had slightly improved his innate talent and aptitude, he still found the more complicated demon arts and techniques troublesome and could not grasp their essentials.

Several days of cultivation had earned him only a little experience. The gains were utterly out of proportion to the time, energy, resources, and everything else he had invested.

With no other choice, he stopped this meaningless effort and devoted more energy to breathing exercises, studying runes, crafting runes, and searching the Yao Market for new demon arts and techniques.

As for advancing his demon arts and techniques, he would use survival points.

And so, while the half-demons of the Half-Demon Grounds panicked and floundered, Su Changsheng settled his mind and planned his future one steady step at a time, displaying something of a great general's composure-meeting ten thousand changes by remaining unchanged.

As for the little ripple caused by his advancement, it had long since dispersed like smoke and clouds. No yao paid it any attention anymore.

Time slowly slipped by.

As he cultivated, Su Changsheng's yao body grew increasingly powerful. His weight had more than doubled, and his enormous snake tail was thick and long, looking quite intimidating.

Thanks to his ample supply of blood food, every scale gleamed as though coated in a dense film of oil. They had turned a deep blue-green, and some were already showing faint signs of darkening further.

He had tried tapping his scales with his hand. They gave off a metallic clang that echoed through the tunnel and lingered for a long time.

The scales seemed to contain a diamond-like strength, multiplying their defensive power.

But gains inevitably came with costs hidden from others.

Over these days, his stockpile of blood food dwindled at an accelerating rate, with at least ten jin consumed each day. Seeing blood food become increasingly difficult to obtain and its price change daily, Su Changsheng had no choice but to step up his stockpiling again.

The few hundred jin of blood food at home were still far from enough. He had yet to reach the point where grain in the larder meant peace in the heart. He needed more.

Fortunately, word of the Yao Stronghold's land-clearing expedition had reached the Yao Market. Though no one knew whether it was true, prices for lifesaving items such as concealment runes had recovered somewhat over the past few days.

One rune could be exchanged for roughly eighteen jin.

Demand was enormous, too. Not only were unaffiliated yao stockpiling them, but small organizations were doing the same, and the Yao Stronghold's higher-ups had even specifically sent yao to purchase them.

Stalls such as the Demoness Market and the Spirit Plant Shop had already made buying concealment runes a long-term business.

After all, everyone understood that once the conscription order for the land-clearing expedition came down, no yao would escape. Even the Great Yao would leave the Yao Stronghold and accompany the expedition.

So, whether the news was true or false, they needed to prepare early for unforeseen needs.

There were plenty of clever yao.

All this made Su Changsheng's Skilled Level concealment runes highly sought after. Aside from trading a batch to the Fox Woman, he had secretly exchanged most of the rest.

The blood food he received could have filled nearly half a room when piled up.

Unfortunately, he still had not found any demon arts or techniques that satisfied him, and this left him somewhat anxious.

Ideally, the demon arts and techniques he needed would be easy to learn but difficult to master, with effects that improved the further he progressed.

Only arts like the Turtle Breath Art, which were easy to begin learning but powerful in their later stages, could make the most of his cheat.

No rush. There are plenty of demon arts and techniques, but very few suit my circumstances. You can't eat piping-hot tofu in a hurry. If I keep looking, I'll find one eventually.

Su Changsheng reassured himself and continued wandering through the Yao Market.

There were quite a few unfamiliar faces in the Yao Market that day. Many yao who normally seldom ventured out had appeared, including powerful Great Yao who had come from the Yao Stronghold's central district.

For a time, the vast Yao Market was positively bustling.

Not only that, Su Changsheng noticed something strange: there were a great many stallholders offering blood food for trade that day.

He found this difficult to understand.

Logically, with blood food now precious and increasingly difficult to obtain, the volume being traded should have fallen.

Yet there were unexpectedly many sellers, and most of the stallholders were first- or second-level half-demons. Where had they obtained all this flesh?

Continuing to observe carefully, he noticed that the blood food was remarkably similar in texture, as though it all came from the same kind of creature.

This doesn't make sense!

Could something else have happened in the Yao Stronghold without my knowing?

Once again, they were inside the Spirit Plant Shop.

A small red-clay stove, three jin of blood food, and two bowls of steaming meat soup. This time, there was also a stone-slab grill.

Su Changsheng was treating.

The price was three concealment runes.

"Fourth Miss, why does the Yao Market seem a little unusual today?" Su Changsheng asked intently as he tossed the blood food onto the stone slab to roast.

Blood food was actually most effective when eaten raw, but the Spirit Plant Shop's proprietor had picked up some human practices from somewhere. A teahouse paired with grilled meat-it was neither fish nor fowl.

The Fox Woman liked it very much, however. In her own words, she loved everything related to humans, especially the poignant, passionate love stories between scholars and fox women, which enthralled her most of all.

Su Changsheng needed a favor from her today, so he could only endure the pain of spending three concealment runes to give this place a try.

Being addressed as Fourth Miss put the Fox Woman in an excellent mood. She loved human-style forms of address most of all; that was how scholars in books addressed fox yao.

In her delight, her soul-stealing eyes narrowed slightly, and a fragrance wafted from her entire body. Her gaze grew heated as she looked at Su Changsheng, as though the snake yao before her had transformed into a gentle, refined scholar.

She said softly, "You mean the blood food, don't you? You may not know this, but three days ago, a large group of mutant rat demons slipped into the Yao Stronghold from somewhere and started causing trouble everywhere."

"But they aren't strong. A first-level half-demon can handle them, so quite a few yao have started selling rat demon blood food in the Yao Market. Ah, these rumors about the land-clearing expedition have everyone in a panic. Everyone is looking for ways to stay alive."

At this point, the Fox Woman sighed, her expression turning wistful. There was no telling what she was thinking.

She clearly did not care much about the mutant rat demons. They were far too weak, after all.

Su Changsheng, however, froze briefly at her words and frowned.

Mutant rat demons!

He thought of the mutant rat demon that had attacked him when he shed his skin. Could it have shared the same origin as the swarm causing trouble now?

If that was true, it meant the mutant rat demons had infiltrated the Yao Stronghold long ago, not merely over the past few days.

Nearly a full month ago!

The situation is much worse than I imagined!

Su Changsheng's heart grew heavy, but he could hardly say so outright. He merely raised his eyebrows and feigned curiosity. "Mutant rat demons? Has anyone confirmed that their flesh is safe?"

He had originally wanted to say that he, too, had encountered a mutant rat demon inside the Yao Stronghold over a month ago, but after thinking it over, he decided against it.

Better one less complication than one more. If this drew the attention of certain beings, the losses would outweigh any gains.

In the danger-ridden Yao Stronghold, protecting himself wisely, staying out of others' affairs, refusing to stand out, and disappearing into the crowd-that was the true way to survive.

Su Changsheng had long since understood this deeply.