Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 123 - 123 122 The Official's Patrol

123: Chapter 122: The Official’s Patrol 123: Chapter 122: The Official’s Patrol By the time Hou Niao had fully recovered, Tideng Monk had already disappeared without a trace, along with Guard Captain Ruan Erjie.

Because of this, Old Man Huang lodged a fierce complaint at his place, accusing the monk of repaying kindness with ingratitude and resenting those who had helped him.

Saving him wasn’t just Ruan Erjie’s effort, but the kindness of the entire Yinyue Castle.

To his dismay, not only did the monk leave quietly on his own, but he also took their most capable guard captain with him!

Regarding Old Man Huang’s request to pursue them, he just smiled slightly and advised kindly that such things were hard to explain clearly, a waste of words; better left unsaid.

Because he did not want to raise a commotion or hold a farewell ceremony, he despised these superficial acts.

So, he chose a night to leave the castle silently.

For him, the nights in Yinling were no longer terrifying; rather, he himself was the most horrifying presence in the area.

Riding across the wilderness under a clear moon and sparse stars, the chilling wind made the breaths of both horse and man coalesce into a puff of white mist; a string of bells hung on the horse’s neck for decoration, somewhat superfluous, yet he did not remove them.

Essentially, he did not wish to attack every monster and soul ghost he encountered.

Like humans, they had their good and bad; that was simply the natural order.

With the sound of the bells, everyone became more restrained, which was quite good.

Battling these demons wouldn’t enhance his combat prowess at all compared to the abnormal soul bodies in the Soul Realm; these demons posed no challenge.

Battle should always aim higher; one must choose opponents who are stronger, yet not overwhelmingly so, leaving no room for struggle.

Only such battles were meaningful.

Unless circumstances forced his hand, like that time before at Yinyue Castle; otherwise, constantly abusing weak lesser demons would develop bad combat habits, which was important to avoid.

Passing by Yinyue Pond, the shimmering waves glistened.

This big water hole was beneficial to him, though the water’s taste was not great, being stagnant; hence, the demons’ reasoning wasn’t bad.

Washing clothes and buckets directly here was really unhygienic, not being freshwater.

In this regard, the demon’s sense of smell and taste far surpassed humans’, so their dissatisfaction was understandable.

The problem was that their method of resolving it was wrong!

The world is just so contradictory; what you protect may not necessarily be right, and what you kill may actually align more with your sentiments.

This is the mysterious Cultivation World, using a justified reason to mask the essence of species conflict, how sorrowful?

Having passed Yinyue Pond, he was about to hasten his journey when he suddenly stopped, his gaze fixed on a cluster of grass, and spoke softly,

“Come out, it must have been hard following me.”

A yellow figure flashed out of the bushes, its form nearly indistinguishable, hardly revealing its original demon body, the only incongruity being its somewhat long whiskers,

He sighed, “Elder Huang, your figure has gotten increasingly plump; roasted chicken is good, but moderation is key.”

Huang Xiaoxian just chuckled, “Don’t worry about me teasing Daoist friend; I’ve always loved this taste, never tiring of it; well, I heard about the battle at Yinyue and came here immediately, having waited outside the castle for several days.

Today, I finally met Daoist friend.”

Hou Niao dismounted, and walking side by side in the bitter winter cold, asked, “What is it, Elder Huang?

Have you gained much and come to trade with me?”

Huang Xiaoxian laughed awkwardly, “No, to speak frankly to Daoist friend, since that day I left, I’ve been looking for Soul Beads, but something strange occurred.

Three months have passed, and I haven’t found a single one, I don’t know what went wrong; I also want to trade, but alas, my purse is thin…”

Hou Niao smiled without saying a word, though he didn’t know where Huang Xiaoxian had been searching for the Soul Beads, whether by killing or scavenging.

But it probably had something to do with the tomb clusters in West Mang Mountain.

His and Tideng Monk’s rampant looting there might have had an impact?

“It’s not important, and he didn’t want to explain, but he was very curious, ‘No matter, external possessions, why rejoice in getting them, or mourn their loss?

But since there are no Soul Beads, Senior Huang, your waiting here for me is …'”

Senior Huang’s beard quivered, pretending to look mysterious as he glanced left and right as if he was about to reveal something significant, which was quite ludicrous,

“It’s like this, I know Quanzhen Patrol is tracking the Tracking Honeycomb Demon, and behind the Tracking Honeycomb Demon, there might also be mysterious forces manipulating, which are directly related to the incidents caused by the Demon Clan in various parts of Yinling.

And I happen to know who exactly is stirring up the trouble behind the changes at Yinyue Castle.”

Hou Niao pretended not to know, expressing surprise, “Who could it be?”

For a demon like Senior Huang, making a deep contact with humans for the first time, pride is paramount, what they can’t withstand most is being looked down upon by humans; thus, it’s essential to encourage and praise them often in interactions, making them feel that what they are doing is meaningful and indeed helping human friends.

That’s the foundation for future interactions.

In fact, in so-called exchanges, how could there be absolute fairness?

A portion of trust is the best reward, and they take delight in it.

Senior Huang lowered his voice, “It’s the Rat Demon clan’s Bangya Black!”

Hou Niao suddenly realized, “That’s right!

That’s right!

I did see a giant rat demon during the battle, black, and it seemed its front teeth were broken.

Could it be the same one?”

Senior Huang nodded, “Exactly!

Daoist, as you are new to Yinling, you probably don’t know about the distribution of the Rat Demon clan here.

For them, there’s essentially no set range of activity.

Wherever they can burrow, these creatures will be there, spreading across the wilderness, omnipresent.

The Rat Demon clan is both dirty and smelly, and they carry plague.

In Yinling, it’s not just the humans but also the other Demon Beasts clans that despise them.

Wherever they pass, it’s like the scourge of locusts—nothing is left uneaten or unbitten, despite Yinling’s fertile land being so hard to reap, largely because these beings are rampaging here!”

Hearing Senior Huang ruthlessly demean the Rat Demon clan, Hou Niao nodded in agreement, “Indeed, especially since they are natural-born archenemies of your weasel clan?”

Senior Huang forced a laugh, not bothering to explain, since it was an open secret, an innate predator-prey relationship ingrained in their species; simply put, weasels naturally prey on rodents.

But the Rat Demons have an advantage unmatched by any other species—astonishing fertility.

The Rat Demon reproduces four to six times a year, bearing five to ten, or even more, offspring each time; such numbers are truly unkillable and inexhaustible.

However, since the resurgence of spiritual energy, all sorts of creatures could awaken, including the Rat Demons; though their perceptual capacity ranks low among animals, their sheer numbers completely compensated for their lack of aptitude, making them one of the largest populations of demons in the Yinling Wilderness.

Once the Rat Demons became demonized, their natural enemies were in big trouble.

Ordinary rats were no match for ordinary weasels, but once their bloodlines were awakened, the differences weren’t so vast.

Add in the numerical advantage of the Rat Demons, to speak the truth, the weasel clan in the Yinling Wilderness had it tough.

This was the real reason why Senior Huang came to snitch, hoping to use humans to eradicate this nuisance, or at least, significantly weaken them!

This is an adult’s world; there are no favors without reason, Hou Niao understood this well—mutual benefit is what mattered.