In the dungeon, Zhang Zongnian sat on a beast pelt, silently reciting the Beast Refinement Codex over and over, pondering its techniques.
These days, Hong Yanzhi had not come to interrogate him, but his heart was constantly in turmoil.
He worried ceaselessly about Lin Xue’s injuries, hoping she would wake soon, yet fearing that once she did, she would suffer as he had—dragged to the torture chamber by that Tigeress and forced to confess.
Whenever he thought of Lin Xue enduring the same cruel tortures he had faced that day, he grew unbearably agitated.
Unable to dispel his anxiety, he could only suppress it by reciting and studying the Beast Refinement Codex.
In the latter half of the night, he heard a faint rustling.
Opening his eyes, he saw the little mouse had returned to the dungeon.
The mouse looked extremely weak and exhausted, no longer lively as usual. Upon its return, it didn’t even glance at the food on the ground, but went straight into its burrow, not coming out again.
Zhang Zongnian was a bit puzzled, not knowing what the little creature had gone through.
But he didn’t dwell on it.
The next morning, he saw the dog demon, Laifu.
Laifu, with dark circles under his eyes and unsteady steps, wore a refreshed, blissful expression, his face dreamy as if lost in fond memories. He swaggered to the cell door, plopped down, and sat there, still savoring the recollections.
Zhang Zongnian asked, “Laifu, what good fortune have you encountered to be so cheerful?”
Laifu bared his dog teeth in a grin and said, “It really was a stroke of luck! Brother Dog here has been a demon for so many years, and today I finally tasted some meat, did what a real man should do!”
Zhang Zongnian, curious, said, “Oh? I’d like to hear the details.”
Laifu’s dog mouth stretched even wider, and with animated gestures, he recounted to Zhang Zongnian the earth-shaking events that had unfolded in Luoyun Cave last night.
He started with the feast from the previous night, telling how all the mountain demons had been drugged, then went on to how Mouse King publicly humiliated Hong Yanzhi.
Afterwards, Mouse King dumped the unconscious Hong Yanzhi in a side room of the main hall and declared that all the mountain demons, regardless of species, position, or status, so long as they swore allegiance to him and handed over a strand of their own fur, could go into that room to spend the time it takes to drink a cup of tea alone with Hong Yanzhi, free to do as they pleased.
Upon hearing Mouse King’s announcement, the minor demons on the mountain were practically in an uproar.
There had always been few female demons on Qixia Mountain, and most minor demons had lived as bachelors their entire lives, never even holding a female demon’s hand.
Now, given the chance to do as they wished with Miss Hong Yanzhi—something they never even dared to dream of—they couldn’t control themselves.
The little demons surged forward, each one eager to pull out a strand of fur, scrambling to swear allegiance to Mouse King, then racing to line up outside the side room in a long queue.
As for how they would treat Hong Yanzhi inside, there was no need to say more.
Especially those whose families had female demons who had once been abused by Hong Huzhi—those family members ground their teeth in anger, determined to exact revenge for what Hong Huzhi had done!
Even some cat demons, tiger demons, and leopard demons couldn’t help joining in.
Laifu, being a headman among the dog demons, was placed fairly early in line, but because there were so many participants, it was nearly dawn when his turn came.
After his allotted time, urged out by the others waiting their turn, he floated out on unsteady feet, completely satisfied, and returned to the dungeon.
Still savoring the experience, he said to Zhang Zongnian, “Brother, it’s a pity I can’t make decisions for you. Otherwise, you could have lined up too and tasted some meat yourself.”
Zhang Zongnian was stunned.
Only now did he realize that everything in this demon den had changed overnight—Hong Lao San and Hong Yanzhi had been toppled, replaced by Mouse King.
His feelings were mixed with both relief and worry.
He was relieved that he and Lin Xue would no longer suffer the cruel torture at Hong Yanzhi’s hands.
But he worried, too, not knowing what kind of temperament Mouse King had, nor how he and Lin Xue would be treated.
There was a deeper turmoil in his heart as well—he had nearly brought disaster upon himself.
To protect himself, he had blamed the killing of Hong Huzhi on the Xichuan Yang Clan and the Beast Taming Sect.
Hong Lao San, having lost his beloved son, flew into a rage and actually planned to rally the surrounding mountains to attack Xichuan County City for revenge.
Though he would be happy to see the Yang Family suffer, if this implicated the people of Xichuan County, he would feel extremely uneasy.
Fortunately, Mouse King’s coup had stopped Hong Lao San’s vendetta.
Zhang Zongnian recalled his impressions of Mouse King.
Back in the storeroom, he’d crossed paths with Mouse King several times, but they’d exchanged few words, and he didn’t really know him.
With a worried look, he asked Laifu, “Laifu, do you think Mouse King being the cave lord is a good thing or a bad thing?”
Laifu slapped his thigh and said, “Of course it’s a good thing!”
“Brother, you don’t know—Hong Lao San, that old cat, was already planning to rally the surrounding mountains and attack the human Xichuan County City to avenge his son, that bastard Hong Huzhi.”
“We little demons were all wishing that brat would just die—none of us wanted to go fight human cultivators over him.”
“Fighting means dying! There are hundreds of cultivators in that county city—it’s no easy task to deal with them.”
“Now that Mouse King has taken out Hong Lao San, the plan to attack the human city is dead too. We don’t have to risk our lives fighting. That’s good news!”
“Hong Lao San and his son have always been bullies, abusing us minor demons in every way, but we never dared speak up. Now their whole family’s been toppled, and honestly, we’re all happy about it.”
Laifu turned to Zhang Zongnian, saying, “Brother, maybe this is good news for you too. You were imprisoned on Hong Yanzhi’s orders, but now Mouse King’s in charge—he might just let you out.”
Zhang Zongnian sighed, “Let’s hope so.”
Unexpectedly, Laifu’s words proved prophetic. That afternoon, the storeroom supervisor Yang San Hu appeared at the dungeon, coming with Laifu to Zhang Zongnian’s cell.
Yang San Hu’s face was all smiles as he said, “Zongnian, it’s been tough on you these past days. Today I spoke to Mouse King about your situation—he’s agreed to let you out and have you help out in the storeroom.”
Laifu opened the cell door.
Zhang Zongnian stepped out of the cell he’d inhabited for several days.
After spending several sunless days and nights here, he felt as if mold covered his entire body.
Laifu bared his dog teeth and gave his shoulder a slap with a furry paw, grinning, “See, I told you—a change in leadership might just be good for you. Look, good things are already happening.”
Zhang Zongnian thanked Yang San Hu first—if Yang San Hu hadn’t spoken up for him to Mouse King, who knew how long he might have stayed locked up?
Then he thanked Laifu for looking after him these past few days.
Afterwards, he asked Yang San Hu if he could visit the Yi Fang first, to check on Lin Xue and see how she was doing.
Yang San Hu looked troubled, saying, “Mouse King is waiting in the storeroom now—he wants to see the items in the Hong family’s inner treasury first. We shouldn’t keep him waiting. Zongnian, come with me to the storeroom first. Once we’re done today, you can go visit your little sister, alright?”
Seeing him say so, Zhang Zongnian could only stifle his urgent desire to see Lin Xue and follow him towards the storeroom.
In the Yi Fang, Elder Huai took out several shards of Serpent Core, mixed them with a few other medicines, decocted them, and fed the resulting potion to Lin Xue.
Afterwards, he went off to tend to his own affairs.
Within Lin Xue’s body, the Beast Refinement Codex continued to operate automatically.
Her internal demon power enveloped the shards of Serpent Core, gradually dissolving and absorbing them.
Her own Serpent Core slowly transformed from liquid to solid.
While she remained in a deep sleep, her cultivation once again reached the late Body Tempering stage.