Chapter 69: Old Grudges

Everyone put away their weapons. The skinny man let out a sigh of relief, then forced a full-faced smile and asked, "Since Your Excellency has suddenly deigned to visit such a barren and impoverished place, what might be the purpose of this trip?"

"We are heading to Mount Mei and passing through here," Liu Chou said indifferently. "We just need a brief rest and some dry rations prepared for us."

The skinny man was instantly stunned, his expression changing drastically. His subordinates also exchanged glances, their eyes flickering as various strange expressions appeared on their faces.

"Is that not allowed?" Qing Mei looked at the skinny man with a half-smile and asked.

A chill ran through the skinny man's heart. He was well aware of the strength of those demons who could walk out of the valley alive. Although they were only low-level minor demons of the fifth or sixth, or fourth or fifth ranks, demons differed vastly from one another. Those who emerged from Ghost Valley were monsters capable of ruthless slaughter. He immediately bent over and accompanied his words with an ingratiating smile.

"Your Excellency jests, how could it not be allowed? It's just... perhaps you might favor my humble dwelling with your presence for a short rest; there are matters we ought to discuss in detail."

Liu Chou nodded, signaling Qing Mei and Jin Jing to follow him toward the village. All that met the eye along the way were crude and shabby houses, with people occasionally peering out from window gaps and door cracks. In the center of the village was an open space piled with scattered carts and banners, around which green-headed blowflies swarmed and circled relentlessly, refusing to leave, the stench of blood still lingering.

With the skinny man leading the way, coupled with the martial prowess Liu Chou had casually displayed just moments before, no one dared to come forward to provoke them. Instead, they followed at a distance, accompanying the group.

Upon reaching the center of the settlement, the skinny man led them into the largest building. Once they entered and took their seats, he cautiously inquired, "As Your Excellency is heading to Mount Mei, could it be that you are unaware of the current situation in the outside world?"

Since they were taking a shortcut, they naturally had ways of getting news from the outside. Liu Chou raised his eyes slightly and remained silent.

"It seems Your Excellency truly does not know, so I will no longer conceal it. At present, the demon race has breached the Cangjiang defense line and is raiding everywhere. Internal turmoil plagues the Great Zhou as well. In those legendary forbidden lands, deep mountains, and forests, the traces of outlanders have all appeared... pulling up flags and stirring the winds, echoing the outlanders of the Western Province from afar. Mount Mei is no different; outlanders have risen up, hoisting grand banners to plunder the surroundings and attack cities..."

The skinny man was quite shrewd. Knowing that Liu Chou and Qing Mei were demons, he avoided using the word 'demon' and instead substituted 'outlanders'. Qing Mei chuckled inwardly and glanced at Liu Chou, whose face, however, remained completely expressionless. He rambled on, which neither Qing Mei nor Liu Chou minded, but Jin Jing, listening nearby, grew somewhat impatient. Suddenly, with a displeased tone, Jin Jing blurted out, "Don't you know that we are demons as well? The demon race taking up arms—what business is it of ours?"

Jin Jing's sudden outburst startled the skinny man immensely, making him instantly realize that these two were by no means ordinary figures, and the creature by their side naturally could not be a common wild beast. He immediately forced a smile and placated, "Of course it's no business of yours. Please, this... this..."

"Jin Jing," Liu Chou said flatly from the side.

"...Please rest easy, Lord Jin Jing. I haven't finished what I was saying," the skinny man glanced at Liu Chou, and at his nod, continued, "Yet these outlanders had only been clamoring for a few days when a group of people suddenly appeared and utterly wiped them all out. They may or may not have left by now..."

Hearing this, Liu Chou frowned slightly and asked, "When did this happen?"

The skinny man calculated mentally before stating with certainty, "Five or six days ago, when I was out and learned of the matter. I suppose it must have been seven, eight, or perhaps ten days already."

Liu Chou nodded. "You're not bad at all; this information is useful."

The skinny man hurriedly said, "Being able to serve Your Excellency is our honor. If... if..." His voice trailed off midway, and a bashful expression suddenly appeared on his face, lingering for a long while without finishing the sentence.

At this, Liu Chou felt somewhat puzzled. "Hmm?"

Before the skinny man could speak, Qing Mei chimed in with a half-smile, "If one day our demon race unites the realm, and the two of us attain high positions, we might pull you up along with us. Is that what you wanted to say?"

The skinny man's face instantly flushed red. Born human, yet with the demon race invading, instead of thinking about how to serve his country and repay his allegiance, he was already conspiring with the demons—he still felt somewhat ashamed. He could only manage a bitter smile and say, "My lords, we are merely ants, only wishing to scrape by and stay alive."

Liu Chou nodded slightly, feeling a mixture of emotions within. It seemed that while there were demons like Mowun who wished to defect to the human race, among humans, there were surely no fewer who wished to defect to the demon race. All they wanted was to preserve their lives—it sounded simple, yet in this world, it was exceptionally difficult.

If others were thus, how could he himself be any different?

As they were speaking, wine and meat were prepared. After Liu Chou and Qing Mei finished eating, each retired to the rooms arranged by the skinny man to rest...

While the others rested, Liu Chou once again entered the Pot Realm and began to observe the changes in the Demon-Refining Pot resulting from the prolonged integration of demon cores.

Only the fourth layer of the Demon-Refining Pot had been unsealed, and the corpse of the ape demon still lay quietly inside the cauldron, showing neither signs of life nor decay, looking as though it were merely fast asleep. Ever since Liu Chou learned that this cauldron might save his life, he had frequently entered to observe the remains, providing himself with a layer of security and leaving behind a final glimmer of hope in this turbulent world.

The other three layers remained as they had always been, with nothing out of the ordinary.

Subconsciously, Liu Chou cast his gaze toward the fifth layer. The spiritual essence required to unseal this layer had now reached sixteen thousand eight hundred and seven Sumeru mustard seeds. Calculated by the cores of minor demons, it would require nearly a thousand—an excessively large quantity. The spiritual essence in Liu Chou's hands was barely enough for Jin Jing's consumption and the refining of various elixirs; how could there possibly be any left over?

Presently, Liu Chou's strength had improved slightly, with various attributes advancing to the ninth rank, putting his power on par with the tenth rank. Even if he encountered monstrous demons, he had the capability to put up a fight. However, Qing Mei's strength was even greater. Although Liu Chou did not know how she had advanced so rapidly, his intuition told him that Qing Mei's power was certainly no less than his own.

By now, though neither had spoken of it, Liu Chou had vaguely guessed that the white-robed female demon who had let him escape that day was none other than Qing Mei. Her baffling and unfathomable soul power made Liu Chou's heart palpitate—not out of wariness toward Qing Mei, but because the world now held a few more things that made him wary, hence the fear.

The next day, the two set off again.

Mount Mei was a great distance from the Western Border, but no matter how far, there would eventually come a day of arrival. Moreover, that savage village was originally only a few days' journey from Mount Mei, and the targets of their plundering were merely hunters and merchant associations returning from hunting on the outskirts of Mount Mei. Liu Chou and Qing Mei did not head straight into the mountains; instead, they made a detour, spending two extra days to reach another small town.

The town was not large, but it was surrounded by towering wooden walls, with ballistae mounted in certain areas. Without exception, the people inside were strapping men armed with weapons. Occasionally a woman would pass by, but she too would bear a face full of scars, a blackened forehead, and tattooed temples—completely ferocious in appearance.

Just as they reached the entrance, a few men emerged from the town. Although the terrain here was elevated and the weather was growing colder, they still left their chests bare, exposing thick patches of black hair. They glanced at Liu Chou and Qing Mei before saying, "You may enter the town, one coin per person per day."

Liu Chou nodded, fished two knife-coins from his bosom, and handed them over.

Seeing Liu Chou comply, the burly man nodded in satisfaction, pocketed the coins, and said, "Go on in. Remember, buying furs and mountain goods requires paying taxes, and food, drinks, and women are all at the eateries. As long as you have money, you can do whatever you want, provided you remember not to engage in private brawls; it's not allowed in the town."

"And outside the town?"

The man glared at Liu Chou. "Outside the town, do as you please."

Liu Chou nodded again and headed into the town with Qing Mei. Jin Jing had already been tucked away into the Pot Realm ahead of time, so the two of them looked no different from ordinary people, though slightly mismatched—one was a short figure less than three feet tall, with a rodent-like head, squinted eyes, mismatched ears, and monkey-like cheeks; the other was a pretty, delicate, and graceful young maiden. Neither of them looked remotely connected to hunters or traveling merchants, causing people to cast sideways, scrutinizing glances from time to time, yet no one made a move.

People who could make a living in this place were no fools. They knew very well that if these two dared to come to this savage fringe and were not lone wanderers with formidable skills, they must be scions of aristocratic families out to gain experience, or perhaps Qi practitioners. Neither of these types was something they could afford to provoke.

The town was small, yet it housed many shops, most of which dealt in the pelts, flesh, bones, hair, and internal organs of demons. There were also places selling human weapons and artifacts, and even individuals squatting in corners holding glittering stones, searching for potential targets to swindle. Liu Chou and Qing Mei mingling among the crowd immediately drew the covetous gazes of quite a few people.

Exchanging glances and whispering among themselves, they still held back, which clearly demonstrated the formidable deterrent maintained by the town's guards.

Liu Chou and Qing Mei strolled casually through the town. Although it looked aimless, they were actually searching for any clues related to the barbarian monks. Since those barbarian monks had sneaked into Mount Mei, it was impossible for no one to notice, but the two had not yet found a suitable person to question.

Passing by a secluded blacksmith's shop, Liu Chou finally found what he was looking for. Inside the shop, people were bustling busily, fervently forging six-sin fetters. Devices specifically designed to shackle and imprison demonic entities like these were usually stocked in quantities of only a few pieces even when merchant caravans entered the mountains, because it was simply impossible to capture so many minor demons. Yet outside this very blacksmith's shop, dozens of such sets were laid out, with more still being forged inside, which showed the sheer magnitude of the demand. That so many minor demons needed to be imprisoned and that it had nothing to do with the barbarian monks was something Liu Chou would never believe, even if beaten to death.

Recounting his deductions in a low voice, Liu Chou said, "You wait here for a moment. I'll go around to the back door and grab someone to interrogate."

"Interrogate?" Qing Mei chuckled slightly. "How do you plan to interrogate?"

Liu Chou bared his fist. Although it was only the size of an infant's, Qing Mei knew the power it contained. However, this did not seem to be the time to compare strength. She shot Liu Chou a reproachful glare and said, "Forget it, I'll do it instead. You just wait here."

With that, Qing Mei went off on her own, and Liu Chou made no move to stop her.

Before long, Qing Mei indeed returned with a joyful expression and said to Liu Chou, "I've already found out. These shackles were ordered by a merchant association, and they are to be delivered tonight, supposedly to enter the mountain tomorrow."

"Oh?" Liu Chou raised an eyebrow. "That's not bad. Do you know which merchant association it is?"

"Tiansi."

"Hmm?" Liu Chou was slightly startled. He was very familiar with the name of this merchant association. Back when he was still a demonic beast, he had been captured by this association, and later seized the opportunity to break out of prison, triggering a beast tide that destroyed the entire camp. Who would have thought he would encounter them again today!

That truly delivered an opportunity to settle old scores and avenge past grievances right to his doorstep.

In truth, what Liu Chou did not know was that the people who had once been his enemies—including Baili Shuyi of the Tiansi Association, the barbarian monk Ku Yu, and others—had long since perished at the hands of the Gold Cicada. The current Tiansi Association had been rebuilt by Baili Guyu, the son of the late Baili Shuyi, and bore no relation to the past.

However, even if he had known, Liu Chou probably wouldn't have been willing to let them go. A father's debts paid by his son was only right and natural!

Killing a few people—what reason did one even need?