Demon God!

"961, 962, 963..."

Panting, Shi Lai shoveled dirt into the pit while using Detection Art on Xia Yi.

"998, 999, 1000!"

With the pit filled and his Detection Arts finally used up, Shi Lai slumped to the ground in exhaustion. The dinging of Detection Art still echoed in his mind.

Xia Yi smiled. "Although this girl helped you, you did a fairly good job."

[Ding! Quest complete!]

Shi Lai perked up a little and looked at Xia Yi.

"Grandpa, will you teach me swordsmanship?"

"No hurry. Look at the state you're in. Besides, it's getting late. Tomorrow. Come to this girl's house first thing tomorrow, and I'll teach you."

Shi Lai let out a soft breath. "All right!"

Zhou Xiaoxian, who was resting nearby with the support of a forked stick, froze. "My house?"

Xia Yi spoke as though it were only natural. "I have nowhere to stay, nowhere to eat, and no money either. What, you won't welcome a muddleheaded fellow like me as a houseguest?"

Zhou Xiaoxian was speechless. "You're welcome."

Shi Lai looked back and forth between them, unable to quite figure out their relationship. After some thought, he decided it was time to start the next stage of the quest.

He recalled what had happened earlier and gathered his words.

An hour earlier, at the smithy in Zhou Family Village.

Shi Lai had found the issuer of the marriage proposal quest, the blacksmith's apprentice Zhou Lizhu.

True to his name, Zhou Lizhu stood eight feet tall and was extraordinarily burly. He wore a brown undershirt washed pale, and large beads of sweat covered his exposed arms. He was masculinity itself, yet his facial features were somewhat soft. His face was flushed red from the smoke and heat, and when he saw Shi Lai, he even displayed an awkward shyness and anticipation.

"D-did Uncle Feng agree?"

Shi Lai said, "That damned old man... uh, the village chief is firmly opposed. I've been more than twenty times already. It really won't work."

Zhou Lizhu could not hide his disappointment. He fumbled in both trouser pockets, took out two pieces of silver, and offered them with his enormous, fan-sized hands.

"Shi Lai, this is all I have. You must! You must help me. I'm no good with words. I've g-gone a few times, but whenever I see Uncle Feng, I can't get a single word out. Please, help me. I... oh, I have something else. Wait here."

He hurried back into the smithy and soon returned carrying a sword.

"I forged this sword out of scrap behind my master's back. Take it too."

Shi Lai's gaze passed over Zhou Lizhu to the middle-aged man peering out at them from inside the smithy.

"Behind your master's back?"

"Yes. I know it wasn't right, but that scrap... throwing it away would have been a waste."

Does having your back turned to him count as doing it behind his back? This guy really is a simpleton. He's like this every time, making me feel bad. But I really can't keep wasting time in this Starter Village forever. I've proposed on your behalf more than twenty times. I've already done more than enough.

Besides, you and Zhou Xiaoxian really aren't that well matched. Maybe it's like that inspirational post I saw a few days ago: not every pair of lovers who end up together gets a fairy tale.

It's more likely to be a tragedy.

Hmm, inspirational advice?

At that thought, Shi Lai had a brain glitch. "Zhou Lizhu, do you think marrying Zhou Xiaoxian would be a good thing for her?"

"...Huh?"

"Both your parents are dead, and all you have left is a shabby tiled house of less than thirty square meters, with nothing inside.

"But Zhou Xiaoxian is a fairy who got into the Provincial Capital Sacred Academy. If she marries you, her life, with all its dazzling prospects, will instantly become plain meals and household necessities, a life whose end she can see at a glance!"

The more Shi Lai spoke, the more smoothly the words flowed. Saying things that sounded impressive even though he did not quite understand them felt strangely satisfying. In a flash of inspiration, he even added, "So Zhou Xiaoxian won't be happy marrying you. If you truly love her, you should let go!"

"So awkward!" Criticizing himself aloud, Shi Lai hurriedly checked Zhou Lizhu's reaction. Zhou Lizhu stood there dumbstruck. Whether he had understood was unclear; he simply kept murmuring:

"A life whose end you can see at a glance."

"Let go."

"A life whose end you can see at a glance."

"Let go."

"Oh no. I think I talked him stupid."

Shi Lai rolled his eyes. Suddenly, a system notification sounded: [Ding! Attention, player. The mysterious figure Zhou Lizhu has been provoked. Unknown changes will occur in Starter Village, Zhou Family Village!]

"...Holy shit?"

He promptly cast Detection Art.

Name: ??? (Zhou Lizhu)

Age: ???

Faction: demon

Level: 95 (continuously rising)

Talent: ???

...

A faint black aura gradually enveloped Zhou Lizhu. When Shi Lai cast Detection Art again, he could no longer see Zhou Lizhu's level!

"His faction changed to demon?"

"He's actually a major boss?!"

Rather than alarmed, Shi Lai was delighted. He stepped back a few paces and readied himself. Zhou Lizhu, shrouded in black light, underwent another change: a pitch-black point emerged from his forehead.

"Zhu!"

Just then, the blacksmith's call came from behind Zhou Lizhu. His increasingly savage expression froze, and a look of struggle appeared on his face.

"Xiao Xian!" A moment later, he suddenly roared, turned, and charged into the mountain forest!

Shi Lai was about to give chase when a string of system notifications dazzled his eyes.

[Ding! Player "Shi Shi Bu Shi Shi" has unlocked the main quest: Demon God Uprising.]

[According to historical records, 503 years ago, Xiang Yu, the Conqueror, and the twelve Demon Gods of the Demon Race perished together on the banks of the Wu River. Yet you sensed the aura of Kui, the Ox Demon God, in the provoked Human Race youth Zhou Lizhu. You discovered that things were not so simple.]

[A corner of history's veil has been lifted.]

[Main quest one: investigate the truth of 503 years ago. Current completion: 1%.]

[Reward: unknown.]

[Side quest acquired: Influenced by the aura of Kui, the Ox Demon God, two yellow cattle in Zhou Family Village with Demon Race bloodlines are about to undergo Demonization. Kill them!]

[Reward: a large amount of experience.]

"Um... Grandpa, while I was digging, I remembered something. It might have something to do with the yellow cattle turning into Ox Demons," Shi Lai said.

Xia Yi looked at him. "Oh?"

For some reason, Shi Lai felt guilty under Xia Yi's gaze. He kept feeling that this old man could see into his thoughts as a player, so he hurriedly looked at Zhou Xiaoxian. "Lately, I've been helping Zhou Lizhu from the smithy propose to her."

Zhou Xiaoxian blinked, feeling a little shy, before a bad premonition suddenly rose in her heart... Why had Shi Lai mentioned Brother Lizhu when they were talking about Ox Demons?

"After the proposal failed today, I went to Zhou Lizhu and told him the result." Shi Lai hesitated for two seconds, skipped over all the messy details, and lied with a straight face. "Then he ran into the mountains, shouting Zhou Xiaoxian's name as he went. A faint black light also rose from his body."

Zhou Xiaoxian's expression changed at once. Just then, faint calls of "Xiao Xian!" and "Xiao Xian!" reached them. A burly middle-aged man came running, gasping for breath. "F-finally found you, Xiao Xian! Have you seen-seen Zhu? Oh! Shi Lai, you're here?"

"Master Wang!"

It was none other than the blacksmith!

Putting the two accounts together, Zhou Xiaoxian grew even more anxious. "Which way did Brother Lizhu run?"

"Just... into the mountains by the smithy."

Whoosh... A gust swept past as Zhou Xiaoxian raced toward the smithy. The smithy's owner had only just caught his breath. Stunned, he shouted, "Xiao Xian, wait for me! Something seemed wrong with Zhu before he disappeared!"

In the blink of an eye, only Xia Yi and Shi Lai remained. Shi Lai looked at Xia Yi. "Grandpa, aren't you going with them?"

That Demon God thing sounded fierce. Without clinging to this mysterious NPC for support, Shi Lai feared that finding him would only mean serving himself up on a platter.

Xia Yi smiled. "You can't keep a grown daughter at home. That girl's never been this worried about her father. A pity. It seems she gave her heart to the wrong thing."

He turned around and said, "The Demon Race bloodlines of those two yellow cattle go back dozens of generations. They couldn't be any thinner. They couldn't possibly undergo Demonization on their own. Since they did, there are only two possibilities."

"First, a Great Demon awakened them at close range. But that couldn't escape my eyes."

"Second, a Great Demon of the Ox Tribe triggered a resonance in their bloodlines from a distance."

"Come out, Great Demon of the Ox Tribe, Zhou Lizhu. Let me see how you, a member of the Demon Race, concealed your bloodline and hid among humans!"

"A Great Demon? What level is that? Surely not as powerful as a Demon God." Shi Lai muttered, "This NPC might be heading for disaster. Should I warn him? I haven't learned swordsmanship yet."

Xia Yi turned to glance at him, then changed his tune. "Oh, so he isn't here. Never mind, child. Let's go find that girl."

Not far away, dry leaves crunched underfoot, but Xia Yi seemed not to hear them, until a voice like muffled thunder exploded beside his ears.

"Who are you? Moo's never seen you before."

"Are you Xiao Xian's elder?"

"Can you marry her to moo?"

"Whoa!" As though startled by the booming voice, Xia Yi scooped up the human-shaped object beside him, turned, and hurled it with all his strength!

"Hey! Aah-"

Bang! Splat...

[Victory and defeat are commonplace in battle,

please try again, young hero.]

Shi Lai: What the fuck?!