“Understood!”
Several Lesser Beasts, upon hearing Hong Yanzhi’s command, immediately surged forward, pulling out ropes, ready to tie up Zhang Zongnian.
Zhang Zongnian was filled with sorrow and anger.
So, in the end, I’m still going to die?
A Demon is a Demon—there’s no way they’d let a human like me go.
It seems I’ll never be able to avenge my mother.
Pain, indignation, despair—all sorts of emotions tangled together within his heart.
He felt as if a huge stone was pressing heavily against his heart, making it hard to breathe.
After struggling all this way, this is still the result.
I’m not resigned!
He clenched his fists, ready to jump up and fight back at any moment.
A soft hand grasped his fist, stopping his sudden outburst.
He heard Lin Xue say to Hong Yanzhi, “Demon Princess, please wait! I know how to cure poison. I am willing to accompany you to the mountains to detoxify the elder’s illness—please, Demon Princess, spare my brother’s life!”
Zhang Zongnian froze for a moment.
Miss Lin Xue can cure poison?
How come I didn’t know that?
Last night, she was poisoned by corpse toxin herself and was at a loss—how could she suddenly know how to detoxify after just one night?
Could it be she’s just buying time to save me?
Or does she have some other way?
He suppressed his anger and impulsiveness, deciding to endure for now.
Lin Xue, hearing Hong Yanzhi say her father was afflicted with a strange poison, immediately thought of the Wood Spirit Detoxification Technique.
According to the Wood Spirit Detoxification Technique, this cultivation method is effective against all poisons.
No matter how strange the poison, it is still poison.
Since it’s poison, maybe the Wood Spirit Detoxification Technique can be used.
Lin Xue decided to give it a try.
Hong Yanzhi was a little surprised and looked at her, asking, “You, little Snake Spirit, can cure poison?”
Lin Xue nodded and replied firmly, “Yes, Demon Princess.”
Hong Yanzhi raised her eyebrows and asked, “What kinds of poison can you cure?”
Lin Xue answered, “I can cure any poison.”
Lang Buping folded his fan, slapped it into his palm, and laughed,
“Little Snake Spirit, don’t boast too much. The poison that the Master of the Cave of Luoyun Cave, Xixia Mountain, has been afflicted with is no ordinary poison. Several mountain’s top beast healers have already tried their hand, and none have succeeded.”
“Even the best healer on my Yellow Wind Mountain, Deer Elder, was helpless. You’re just a little Snake Spirit—how could you possibly cure it? Don’t just blow hot air.”
Lin Xue replied, “Whether it can be cured or not, we’ll only know if we try. Please, Demon Princess, give me a chance—let me diagnose and treat the Master of the Cave.”
Hong Yanzhi stared at her for a while, considered for a moment, then said, “Fine. Since you’re so confident, I’ll let you try.”
“If you succeed, I won’t trouble your brother any further and will spare his life.”
“In any case, he can’t escape. If you fail, I’ll hand him over to my father for medicine-making—no hurry.”
“As for you, Snake Spirit, if you cure my father, that’s a great merit and will offset my saving your life today. I’ll let both you and your brother leave. If you’re willing to stay in Xixia Mountain as a Demon Citizen, I’ll welcome you.”
“But if you’re boasting and can’t cure my father’s poison, making me happy for nothing, then not only will your brother die, but you’ll also become my slave for life—never to be free! That way, it counts as repayment for my saving your life today.”
“Little Snake Spirit, do you dare accept?”
Lin Xue felt as if ten thousand alpacas were galloping through her mind.
Damn you, you tigress—so ruthless! If I can’t cure your father, I’ll become your slave for life?
She gritted her teeth and nodded, “I accept.”
There’s no choice, anyway.
Beneath another’s roof, one must bow their head.
She wasn’t sure if the Wood Spirit Detoxification Technique could actually cure the Master of the Cave’s poison.
But right now, with Zhang Zongnian about to be dragged into the mountains to be drained of blood, she could only steel herself and take things one step at a time.
At this moment, Hong Yanzhi had lost all interest in playing around.
With a wave of her hand, she commanded her attendant Lesser Beasts, “Let’s go! Return to the stronghold!”
A Condensed Core Realm Demon’s Demon Aura is mighty and overflowing; they can conjure a cloud of Demon Aura to carry themselves and others, flying together.
A gray cloud appeared under Hong Yanzhi’s feet, enveloping her followers, Lin Xue, and Zhang Zongnian, preparing to depart.
A tall, burly figure blocked her way.
Xiong Ba clung to the edge of the cloud, his face full of anticipation, and asked, “Yanzhi, didn’t you say earlier that whoever helped you teach that human old man a lesson today, you’d marry them? Does that still count?”
Lang Buping sidled up, smacking Xiong Ba with his fan, saying, “Move aside, you dumb bear! I was about to catch that old man myself—if you hadn’t rushed in and woken him up, he’d already be in my hands. Credit goes to me, Lang Buping! If Yanzhi’s marrying anyone, it should be me. Get to the back of the line!”
Xiong Ba roared, “Bullshit! What Yanzhi wanted was to vent her anger, to get revenge, understand? My slap was so satisfying, knocked all that old man’s teeth out. You, that yellow-skinned thing, just made him stand there dazed—didn’t hurt or itch, not satisfying at all! Of course, credit is mine! Yanzhi should marry me!”
Lang Buping was angry too and shouted, “You idiot! If I hadn’t used my Fan Eye to hypnotize him, how could you have hit him? Yanzhi saw for herself, when you went up alone at first, you couldn’t even touch the old man and got sent flying instead. You’re just a useless brute! Clearly, credit goes to me, Lang Buping!”
The two Demons glared fiercely at each other.
Hong Yanzhi giggled, “Stop arguing, you two. Both of you did well; now you’re making it hard for me to choose. How about this—next time, if the chance arises, you can compete again, and I’ll compare you both once more.”
With that, she waved her hand at the two Demons, mounted her cloud, and, along with her followers, soared away.
Xiong Ba and Lang Buping glared at each other, snorted coldly, summoned their own clouds, and each returned to their own lair.
Hong Yanzhi’s cloud flew fast—almost matching the Paper Crane’s top speed.
Lin Xue stood atop the cloud, her heart full of worry—worried whether the Wood Spirit Detoxification Technique could really cure Hong Yanzhi’s father’s poison.
Although the manual claimed it could cure any poison, she’d never actually tried it herself, so she didn’t know if it was truly as effective as it said.
Now, all she could do was hope the Wood Spirit Detoxification Technique was really as powerful as described.
To escape, she’d brought Zhang Zongnian into Demon territory; if he died because of her, she’d feel guilty for the rest of her life.
The odd-looking Lesser Beasts around her never stopped staring, but she couldn’t spare any attention for them.
Zhang Zongnian, surrounded by several Lesser Beasts, felt only gloom and darkness in his heart.
He didn’t believe for a second that Lin Xue could cure poison.
He figured maybe it was just Lin Xue’s way of stalling for time to save him.
But time wasn’t unlimited—the journey would end eventually.
Soon, they’d reach their destination.
And his life would likely end there as well.
Zhang Zongnian sighed inwardly.
Before long, a majestic mountain nearly a thousand meters high appeared ahead.
From afar, he could see a grand and spacious Cave Stronghold near the summit, with six large characters inscribed above: Xixia Mountain, Luoyun Cave.
In front of the cave was a flat Platform, surrounded by mountains on three sides, roughly the size of a soccer field.
On the Platform, dozens of Demon Troops wielded weapons, practicing martial drills under a Demon General’s command, some attacking, others defending, their shouts shaking the sky—everything appeared rather orderly.
The cloud landed straight onto the Platform.
Hong Yanzhi withdrew the cloud.
The Demon General stopped the drills and came forward, cupping his hands, saying, “Hua Ban greets the Demon Princess!”
The Demon Troops all knelt messily, calling out, “We greet the Demon Princess!”
Lin Xue noticed that the Demon Troops on the Platform, as well as the dozen or so Lesser Beast followers behind Hong Yanzhi, were mostly feline beasts turned spirits, bearing obvious feline traits.
That Demon General, Hua Ban, looked like a Leopard Demon, his face covered in leopard spots.
A den of Cat Demons—have I walked into a Hakimi’s lair or what?
Hong Yanzhi waved her hand, “Everyone, rise.”
The Demon Troops chorused, “Thank you, Demon Princess!” then stood up.
As soon as they stood, all their gazes fell straight onto Lin Xue.
Lin Xue immediately felt dozens of burning eyes sweeping her from head to tail, making her extremely uncomfortable.
These Lesser Beasts seemed to have been pent up for too long, their eyes burning with undisguised desire.
They dared not look at Hong Yanzhi, so all their lustful gazes turned to Lin Xue.
Lin Xue turned her face away, trying hard to ignore those scorching stares.
She heard Hong Yanzhi ask the Leopard Demon General, “Is my father in the Cave Stronghold?”
Hua Ban replied, “The Master of the Cave has been inside all day, hasn’t gone out.”
Hong Yanzhi asked, “And my younger brother?”
Hua Ban answered, “Young Master Huzi took his followers out early in the morning—I have no idea where he went.”
Hong Yanzhi nodded, leading her followers, along with Lin Xue and Zhang Zongnian, into the cave.
Lin Xue heard a buzz of whispers among the Demon Troops behind her.
“Meow, who’s that Snake Spirit?”
“If you’re asking me, who should I ask?”
“Must be the Demon Princess’s new personal maid.”
“The Demon Princess changed her maid again? What happened to the last one, Pingping?”
“Don’t you know? That Pingping was snatched last month by Young Master Huzi and his followers while the Demon Princess was away—ended up getting played to death.”
“What? Young Master Huzi killed another female Demon? There aren’t many female Demons left on this mountain—they’ll all be ruined at this rate.”
“This Snake Woman is so beautiful, I bet she won’t escape his clutches, either.”
“What a pity—let’s see how long she lasts.”
Lin Xue was shocked.
Young Master Huzi?
Playing female Demons to death?
What kind of sadist is this?
She had thought that as a Demon, she’d be relatively safe in Demon territory.
Now it seemed she’d been far too optimistic.