Chapter 15: A Great Demon is Also Hiding Here

Chapter 15: A Great Demon is Hidden Here Too

On a spacious platform, there were elegant little pavilions on both the left and right sides.

Ning Xuan sat in the pavilion on the left, while in the pavilion on the right sat a dark-skinned, chubby man in brocade robes.

This chubby man in brocade was the eldest son of the Fugui Merchant Guild, named Liu Shirong.

The young lady who had previously delivered the Western Region Spirit Pearl to Ning Xuan was his younger sister, Liu Yushu.

The two were half-siblings; one had grown up to be a dark-skinned fatty, while the other had grown up to be a merchant guild lady who "fit the image of a young mistress."

Of course, this Liu Shirong also had a brother of similar age, a full brother—Liu Shihua.

The Fugui Merchant Guild was neither too big nor too small. Although its roots were in Xinghe County, its trade routes spanned several prefectures, even reaching the state capital and the Western Regions. In the eyes of ordinary people, it could be considered a colossal entity beyond their reach.

The head of the Fugui Merchant Guild was no longer young. It was said that years ago, while traveling for business, he had mistakenly entered a miasmic region and contracted a plague. Although he was cured, the root of the illness remained, and he had been growing weaker with each passing year.

Therefore, the Fugui Merchant Guild needed to consider the issue of succession early.

And logically, there were only three candidates for the successor: Liu Shirong, Liu Shihua, and Liu Yushu.

As for the method of selecting a successor, it was mostly a "test of ability." Specifically, the three were each given a portion of the family business to see who could make a name for themselves, and then that person would inherit the guild.

However, the Fugui Merchant Guild did not do things that way.

The successor to the Fugui Merchant Guild had been decided long ago: it was this dark-skinned fatty right before them.

Yet, this fatty was the most dissolute of the three. He spent his days eating, drinking, and having fun, hanging out with other wastrels, whether it was feasting and consorting with courtesans, hunting and riding, or gambling on animal fights—in short, he just lived for pleasure, playing everywhere.

In contrast, Liu Shihua and Liu Yushu were the ones truly managing the guild, worrying about every little detail every day. Now that they had stepped out, one was a slick, sophisticated, and precocious young man; the other was an intellectual, charming lady who was highly skilled in social interaction.

Yet, the successor to the Fugui Merchant Guild was not those two, but this dark-skinned fatty.

In the eyes of outsiders, this fatty was merely bringing his own chicken to cockfight with the young master of the Ning household.

But in reality, this fatty had already become sworn brothers with Young Master Ning.

He was a wastrel.

But he was a wastrel who walked the path of the upper echelons.

He was the young guild master. Although he didn't need to toil over the details below, he needed to raise his hand to shield the entire guild, protecting it from disasters coming from above.

One had to know that no matter how chaotic things were below, at most it meant losing some silver or a batch of goods. But above... even a single snowflake falling from the heights was a weight that those below could not bear, a catastrophic disaster with no possibility of recovery.

Therefore, this fatty acted like a "god of wealth," making friends and building connections with powerful people everywhere.

And Ning Xuan was an important figure he was cultivating.

At this moment, the two sat in their respective pavilions like marshals selecting their generals, while Young Master Ning’s "Golden-Winged Thunder Lord" and Young Master Liu’s "Iron-Beaked General" were already "limbering up" in their cages.

Cockfighting was an addictive pastime. To use some of Ning Xuan’s pre-transmigration terminology, it was a blend of "catching pets, raising them, and battling," comparable to the fun of things like "Pokémon."

Liu Shirong shouted, "Young Master Ning, my Iron-Beaked General has returned from secret training; there’s no way he’ll lose to you again!"

Ning Xuan replied, "Heh, my Golden-Winged Thunder Lord trains in secret every day."

The lackeys on both sides stood behind them, like soldiers cursing at an enemy city, putting their all into shouting insults at each other.

The scene was incredibly lively.

The two young masters each took a few sips of the tea and drinks from their pavilions.

Liu Shirong pointed at Ning Xuan and said, "I’ll lay it out here today: if your Golden-Winged Thunder Lord can win, I... I..."

Ning Xuan asked, "What will you do?"

Liu Shirong said, "I’ll marry my sister to you!"

Ning Xuan laughed heartily, "You’ve got a good scheme going, but I won't marry her!"

Liu Shirong said helplessly, "What’s wrong with my sister? She has looks, she has ability. If she comes to your house, she can save you a lot of trouble."

Ning Xuan replied, "Marriage is a major life event, decided by the orders of parents and the words of matchmakers. Liu Shirong, do you mean to say you make your own decisions regarding your marriage?"

Liu Shirong cupped his hands and said, "Then... then we must bet something! Otherwise, the fight won't be exciting. I... I’ll bet my sister."

Seeing Ning Xuan remain silent, Liu Shirong changed his tune: "Fine, if I lose, I’ll give you two ox-cart slots on my guild’s Western Region route for free. Whether you want to arrange people or trade goods, those two slots are yours. I won't take your capital; if you make a profit, it’s yours, and if you lose, it’s on the Fugui Merchant Guild."

Ning Xuan knew that the Fugui Merchant Guild’s Western Region route was a major line. Every shipment had forty or fifty boxes of goods, and the various expenses along the way were quite high. Being able to get two slots to play with was truly a good deal.

And if he could have these two slots, it would be equivalent to having an intelligence line that could explore the Western Regions.

He knew too little about the outside world.

The existence of the Mountain-Crashing Bear Demon and the Ghost-Shadow Horse Monkey made him realize the importance of intelligence.

He needed his own people who could bring him news from afar.

For instance, that "Ghost-Shadow Horse Monkey"—its 3.5 physique didn't seem as good as his, but Ning Xuan didn't intend to refine its talisman immediately.

One only had one life. Since this Ghost-Shadow Horse Monkey had already appeared, he naturally hoped to know what its demonic arts were, to collect as much intelligence about it as possible, and perhaps even kill a few himself before taking action.

After all, in the fierce battle with the Mountain-Crashing Bear Demon, he had already learned that if he wanted to refine a talisman, he would have to face the strongest demon of that type in his nightmares.

Intelligence was important.

He needed more intelligence.

He couldn't explore for intelligence himself, so he began to consciously want to acquire some "tentacles" that could reach the outside world.

After all, for so many years, although his father had been incredibly doting, giving him whatever he wanted, he had never shown any intention of letting him manage any power.

He didn't understand why.

At this moment, Liu Shirong’s proposal moved him.

Many thoughts flashed through his mind, and Ning Xuan smiled: "If I want to go to the Western Regions, is that okay too?"

Liu Shirong was stunned and asked, "Why would you go to the Western Regions?"

Ning Xuan said, "Just asking, is it okay?"

Liu Shirong replied, "Of course it’s okay, but you, Young Master Ning, have a precious life. If something happens on the road, my guild couldn't bear such a heavy responsibility."

Ning Xuan smiled, "I was just asking."

Then, he said, "If I lose, I’ll give you that 'Purple Shadow' horse. You’ve been coveting it for a long time, haven't you?"

Purple Shadow was the second-best horse under his command.

Liu Shirong said, "It’s a deal!"

Ning Xuan said, "Open the cages!"

A guard in the center picked up a bronze gong and hurried into the arena.

The cages on both sides opened. The Golden-Winged Thunder Lord shook its wings with a crackling sound, looking just like a temple statue of the Thunder Lord come to life. The Iron-Beaked General still had bloodstains on its beak from the fight the day before, and it was impatiently scratching the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

*Clang! Clang! Clang!*

The guard struck the gong.

The two chickens immediately shot out like arrows from a bow, rushing toward each other, clashing and fighting.

The lackeys ran over, starting to cheer them on, shouting things like, "Peck it! Peck it!", "Dodge! Dodge quickly!", "Thunder Lord, cut off its lower path! Cut off its lower path!"

Han Ba shivered.

Since slaying that bear demon yesterday, their small squad had steadily pushed forward, and now they had basically completely determined the situation in the mountains.

The bear demons were all dead.

Miserably dead.

Piles of corpses were stacked together, with not a single survivor.

The yellow-robed Daoist also had a grave expression. He picked out two from the bear demon corpses: one with a body a zhang long whose head had been crushed, and another that had been decapitated.

"If I’m not mistaken, these two were the strongest of this batch of demons. Whether it was either one of them coming out, we would have suffered at least fifty percent casualties to resolve it. If they had appeared together, we would have had only one path: total annihilation."

Han Ba said, "But they are all dead."

He carefully scanned all the dead bear demons.

He had already checked the wounds.

"They are all sword wounds. Although some are quite exaggerated, they are still sword wounds," Han Ba said. "Could it be a martial artist?"

Before the yellow-robed Daoist could speak, the young Daoist boy beside him was already amused.

"Old Han, this isn't some martial arts expert mastering strange strength, but the appearance of a demon that knows martial arts..."

"A demon that knows martial arts..." Han Ba couldn't help but shiver.

In his mind, the most terrifying things about demons were three: first, their terrifying physique; second, their bizarre demonic arts; and third, their mysterious treasures.

And they could only rely on the mysterious powers of the True Men to suppress and bind the demons, and then use various weapons to slay them.

Fortunately, demons didn't know martial arts at all, and they didn't seem capable of mastering precise force application. Even if they did, it was just for show—the kind of show that would be slaughtered by him at the same level of strength.

But...

He looked at the wounds on the dead bear demons on the ground.

Swift, and domineering.

He remembered the bear demon they had killed, screaming "Save me, save me" before it died...

Han Ba felt a chill run through his entire body. He turned his head to look at the yellow-robed Daoist, his mouth dry as he said, "True Man..."

The yellow-robed Daoist said gravely, "This might be an internal conflict among the demons, and here... there must be an even more terrifying Great Demon hidden."

Han Ba said hoarsely, "What should we do?"

The yellow-robed Daoist raised his hand and pointed, and a golden, transparent talisman appeared in the void.

He traced and circled the talisman in the air, then with a flick, the talisman burned and sank into the ground.

"Summon the Celestial Master!"

(End of chapter)