Shu Da sat cross-legged on the lavish bed that once belonged to Hong Lao San.
Opposite him, the Mouse Demon Tu Gedar looked nervous and was respectfully reporting and seeking instructions about some menial chores.
Sharp pains surged through the various meridians inside Shu Da’s body.
He frowned, circulated the demon power within his Serpent Core, and forcibly suppressed the abnormalities in his meridians.
Tomorrow, he needed to perform Wan Shu Chao Yuan to help his younger brother condense his Serpent Core.
He decided to take good care of himself today, recover his energy, and prepare for tomorrow.
However, this Tu Gedar just wouldn’t stop taking up his rest time.
Half a month ago, in order to deliberately humiliate Shu Da, Hong Yanzhi had stripped him of his position as head steward in charge of miscellaneous chores in the cave, in front of a crowd of little demons, and promoted Tu Gedar to the position instead.
Tu Gedar wasn’t happy for long; that very night he saw Shu Da successfully revolt and rise to become the master of the cave.
After Shu Da became cave master, he soon arranged for all the Mouse Family’s demons to become mid-level stewards in the cave.
Afraid that Shu Da might become displeased and take back the position he’d only just obtained, Tu Gedar had been constantly coming over these days to seek instructions and report to prove his loyalty, making Shu Da quite irritated.
Listening to Tu Gedar’s endless prattling, a hint of impatience appeared on Shu Da’s face.
He raised his hand to stop Tu Gedar’s report and said, “Tu Toumu, in the future, for these trivial matters, go consult my younger brother Shu Er. As the Third Boss, he also has the authority to handle cave affairs.”
Then, he called out to the guard demon outside the door, “Old Seventh!”
A Mouse Demon entered and saluted, “Big Brother, what are your orders?”
Shu Da said, “Take Tu Toumu to find Shu Er, and tell him I’ll be going into seclusion for a while. All affairs in the cave will be handled by him on my behalf for the time being.”
The Mouse Demon called Old Seventh replied, “Understood!”
As he turned to go, Shu Da added:
“Also, tell your guards that if anyone comes to report anything during this period, send them to Shu Er. Don’t let anyone disturb me!”
The Mouse Demon led Tu Gedar out with him.
The whole world was finally quiet.
Shu Da closed his eyes and began focusing on recuperating his body.
……
In the great hall, a Deer Demon pulled up his pants, looking quite satisfied as he walked out of a cubicle.
Lined up behind him, another little demon had a piece of beast hide wrapped around his head, exposing only his eyes, and slipped sneakily into the cubicle.
Although his head was wrapped and his face was hidden, the furry, slender tail behind him revealed his identity—he was a Cat Demon.
These days, from time to time, Cat Demons, Leopard Demons, and Tiger Demons who couldn’t resist the temptation of making love with Hong Yanzhi joined the line.
Back when Hong Lao San and Hong Yanzhi managed the mountain, they had shown much favor to these feline demons, treating them as their own trusted subordinates.
But in the end, even they couldn’t suppress their desires and joined the ranks to violate Hong Yanzhi.
All the demons had grown accustomed to this.
The Cat Demon entered the cubicle, cautiously glanced at Hong Yanzhi, and saw her staring blankly at the cave ceiling, not looking at him. Only then did he climb onto the bed and begin to thrust.
This was his first time experiencing such a thing, and the pleasure made him let out an involuntary “meow.”
Hong Yanzhi’s eyes flickered and she looked at his face.
Even though the Cat Demon’s head was wrapped in beast hide, Hong Yanzhi recognized him at a glance.
Her numb face showed some emotion for the first time, and she called out in a hoarse, weak voice, naming the Cat Demon: “Yuan Ding?”
The Cat Demon was indeed Yuan Ding, formerly Hong Yanzhi’s guard. Suddenly hearing her call his name, he was so frightened he nearly lost his composure.
Even though Hong Yanzhi had fallen to such a state, in his heart she was still the once-powerful Demon Princess.
He pulled off the beast hide from his head and knelt on the bed, kowtowing to Hong Yanzhi repeatedly, “Demon Princess, please forgive me! I was momentarily confused and offended you. I deserve to die!”
Seeing his fearful expression, Hong Yanzhi gave a bitter smile, shook her head, and said, “Get up. I’m no longer the Demon Princess…”
She looked at Yuan Ding, hope shining in her eyes, and said, “Yuan Ding, do what you want to do. I won’t blame you. I only ask you to help me with one thing, can you?”
Yuan Ding froze and asked, “What is it?”
Hong Yanzhi said with difficulty, “Please help me send a message to Lin Xue. Tell her I have something extremely important to tell her, concerning her future safety. Ask her to come see me.”
Yuan Ding, seeing that she wasn’t asking him to set her free or anything outrageous, breathed a sigh of relief.
Puffing up his chest, he promised, “Alright, I’ll be sure to pass your message on to the Demon Princess.”
Hong Yanzhi let out a breath and closed her eyes, saying, “Go on, continue what you were doing. I won’t blame you.”
Yuan Ding’s breathing grew heavy.
He originally wanted to refuse modestly, to put up a show.
But looking at Hong Yanzhi’s beautiful body, he swallowed hard, closed his mouth, gave in to his desire, and continued what he had started.
……
Lin Xue sat in the boudoir that had once belonged to Hong Yanzhi in the upper cave.
For now, this set of chambers belonged to her.
A squad of Mouse Demon guards stood outside the door, nominally to protect her, but in reality to watch her.
Wherever she went, this squad followed, and if she did anything unusual, someone would immediately report it to Shu Da or Shu Er.
She was effectively under house arrest.
Lin Xue glanced at her ring; the Chuanyin Fashu’s Cooldown Time still had nine days to go.
She sighed.
All she could do now was wait.
When the time came, she would find Zhang Zongnian in the dungeon, grab him, and teleport away from the mountain.
A Mouse Demon called from outside the door, “Future Second Madam, the laborer here to clean your chamber pot has arrived. Should I let him in?”
Lin Xue replied casually, “Let him in.”
A little demon entered the room.
Lin Xue looked at him and was stunned.
She recognized him—it was Yuan Ding.
She hadn’t expected to run into a familiar face.
So it turned out that all the chores of cleaning chamber pots were being done by the Mouse Family’s little demons.
After Shu Da took power, he made the Cat Demons do such filthy and degrading tasks.
When Yuan Ding saw her, he immediately knelt down and kowtowed, “I pay my respects to the Future Second Madam.”
Seeing this Cat Demon she had dealt with before, Lin Xue felt a bit of familiarity.
She said, “Get up, there’s no need for such formalities.”
After standing up, Yuan Ding looked around, then approached Lin Xue under her curious gaze and whispered, “Future Second Madam, I have something to report to you.”
Lin Xue, seeing how serious he was, felt a little puzzled and asked, “What is it?”
Yuan Ding answered, “Our Demon Princess asked me to tell you today that she has something extremely important to say to you—something concerning your life and death. She begs you to meet with her again, she will explain everything to you face to face.”
Lin Xue’s eyes widened.
Life and death?
Was it really that serious?
Could Hong Yanzhi just be exaggerating?
She remembered the look Hong Yanzhi had given her, pleading for help.
Should she go see her again?