Volume One, Chapter 19: Crossing the River on a Demon-Hunting Expedition!

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Then Yun Yao flicked her fingertips. A gust of wind rose, pushing the bamboo raft toward the shore. She casually scooped up two demons and returned to land with them. Once ashore, she raised her eyes to gaze at the towering Azure Cloud Mountain.

“He is the one who shattered my demon spine with the ‘Mountain Shatter Slash.’”

“He is the reason I, in my youth, had to be promised to another to seek protection.”

“But... at that moment of crisis, only that heartless man could save you.”

“That’s why I wanted him to come save you.”

Zhao Fusheng lowered his gaze. The Mountain Shatter Slash? Could it be a fellow cultivator from the mountain?

“Senior Brother Patrol?” Yun Yao bit her lip. “No.”

Zhao Fusheng furrowed his brows deeper.

“Senior Brother Mountain Guardian?”

Yun Yao shook her head like a rattle. “No... neither.”

“You don’t need to guess; you know it’s useless.”

“Once I break the seal and restore my spine, I will find him and settle the score personally!”

Hearing her serious tone, Zhao Fusheng understood there was no point questioning further. Moreover, Miss Yun was a clever demoness! There must be a reason for withholding the name.

Senior Brother King Fathead’s strength was unfathomable, but he was only a mountain patrol disciple. Beyond that were the Mountain Guardians, like Shi Changkong and Ren Xuemin — those who could hold their own against Senior Sister Song. Further still were the Peak Guardians, like Senior Sister Song herself, elder disciples, and the direct heirs of peak masters in various halls.

For Zhao Fusheng, the gap between these ranks was like heaven and earth... Neither patrol nor guardian... No need to ask further.

Some secrets are like poisoned blades.

She was willing to seek help from one who had harmed her — this debt of gratitude must be remembered.

Old wounds were better left unprobed.

“I respect your choice!”

“But now, we must discuss practical matters.”

He relaxed his gaze toward Yun Yao, then looked at the two wolf demons.

“I killed your elder brother, Chai Da, and you used bone whistles to harm me once. Let’s call it even.”

“But this matter must be resolved!”

“You were victims, I was also harassed multiple times, and the mastermind was the great demon Lord Huang.”

“Why not work together to eliminate him?”

Before Yun Yao could stop them, the scarred Chai Er stepped forward.

“Little Brother...”

Hiss! Before he could speak, his brother pinched his leg hard.

He coughed and quickly changed his tone. “Senior Brother, this can’t be taken lightly.”

“Lord Huang is the mountain king of the Bone Pit Gorge.”

“Not to mention the gap in cultivation between you and him.”

“Under his command are countless battle demons and demon chiefs!”

“Trying to kill him? We’d probably be gutted before even seeing him!”

Cough, cough!

Chai San pulled his brother aside and hastily added, “My brother speaks bluntly, please don’t mind him.”

But he sighed deeply.

“Unfortunately, it’s true.”

“The battle demons are all at least sixth level in Body Refinement or Qi Condensation; the demon chiefs might be at Great Perfection!”

“If we use a pack of wolves fighting a tiger tactic, even foundation-stage immortals would need to hold back!”

Yun Yao nodded in agreement. “If it weren’t for that strength, the Yun clan wouldn’t have chosen him as a husband to protect me.”

She also raised her eyes, looking intently at Zhao Fusheng.

Although she didn’t know why she had broken through to sixth level Body Refinement, her strength was still relatively weak.

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But she still needed to rely on him to guard the post here, to have a place to belong.

“Actually, I’ve already left you a way out.”

“Specifically, I let you keep the two brothers, and let the foolish neighbor who mocked you suffer — that’s the plan, isn’t it?”

Zhao Fusheng pondered slightly.

He understood Yun Yao’s meaning.

They only needed the Chai brothers to return and report that “she” was mistakenly eaten by the bone spider and that Zhao Fusheng also died fighting the spider swarm.

Everyone’s face would be saved, and they could live peacefully.

It was a way to survive.

But Zhao Fusheng had his own considerations.

“What if it can’t be concealed?”

Zhao Fusheng asked in a serious tone.

He habitually considered the worst-case scenario.

Only those who have endured the darkest depths understand that just hoping for the best and avoiding the worst is a relatively inefficient way to survive.

His words left the three momentarily speechless.

“I’ll tell you the outcome.”

“Chai Er, Chai San, you and your family will all be gutted!”

“And Miss Yun, you’ll be forced into marriage and become a wife who can only endure bullying!”

“Are you willing to accept that?”

Gulp.

Chai Er and Chai San swallowed hard.

Some things were too dreadful even to imagine.

Yun Yao frowned.

She was born of a noble lineage and had become a great demoness, yet she was sealed and reduced to a mere concubine?

It was precisely because of such humiliation that she had fled.

“What about Senior Brother’s opinion?”

Zhao Fusheng looked toward the opposite bank.

“When I used to hunt in the mountains with my grandfather, we always struck first before the beasts became alert.”

“No matter how strong they were, they had no chance to resist or bare their teeth.”

“Attack is the best defense.”

“My idea is simple.”

“Strike first when the beast is unaware, pull out the teeth, then deal the fatal blow.”

Chai Er and Chai San’s eyes brightened.

Chai Er said, “When we hunt humans, it’s the same...”

Chai San shoved him but also asked, “Senior Brother, how do you plan to pull out the tiger’s teeth?”

He pointed to the other shore.

Under the gray and misty night sky, flickering flames glowed like lurking beasts. Their eyes were fierce, provoking.

“Once you finish your task, report back.”

“I will go with you.”

Yun Yao’s eyes flashed. “Teeth must be pulled one by one to prevent them from regrouping!”

Zhao Fusheng smiled faintly. “Exactly.”

Chai Er and Chai San murmured, “Good idea.”

If it’s like wolves fighting tigers, even the demon chiefs can’t withstand it.

“In that case, mother, wife, there’s hope.”

Chai Er sighed.

“If they can be saved...”

“I apologize for our previous ignorance and arrogance!” Chai San added.

Now that was said, they were no longer enemies but allies.

Grandfather often said, “It’s better to have one more friend than one more enemy.”

He remembered this well and saluted.

“If you help me eliminate that big troublemaker,”

“I will also find your elder brother, let him rest in peace, and bow at his grave to apologize for past recklessness.”

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Chai Er and Chai San’s eyes glimmered.

The saying goes — no fight, no acquaintance!

At this moment, their hearts could hardly conceal their excitement.

“Senior Brother... how about we call you Brother Zhao?”

“Good brothers!”

“There’s no wine here, but once we reach the other shore, I’ll treat you to some of our demon tribe’s favorite Blood Blossom Brew.”

“I’ll toast you properly!”

Chai San showed some emotion.

Chai Er nudged him, “We have serious matters, no time for drinking.”

Zhao Fusheng also smiled broadly.

“I am an immortal sect cultivator; our ancestral mountain rules forbid drinking!”

“Since you call me brother, how about tea instead of wine?”

Chai Er and Chai San immediately cupped their fists. “Excellent!”

But when they turned to look, the house had already been crushed by the bone spiders.

Everyone looked at each other in surprise.

“Don’t rush, I’ll get it,” Yun Yao said with a smile.

Restored to thirty percent strength, she casually summoned demon energy, and the house began to reassemble from rubble and wood chips. In no time, it was as intact as when they had arrived.

Before entering, she couldn’t help but glance at Zhao Fusheng again.

Most demons were straightforward — either friend or foe.

Normally, they wouldn’t change so easily.

But now the Chai brothers seemed sincere.

Zhao Fusheng, with just a few words, had persuaded them.

Though lacking a spiritual root, he possessed extraordinary intelligence.

With that, he was more likely to win than someone with merely great cultivation.

“Lord Huang, you’ve finally met your match,” she murmured.

A faint smile curved her lips.

“So it wasn’t that heartless man who saved me from the sea of suffering.”

“It was this young lad instead?”

Yet a hint of melancholy lingered.

Her emotions were complex and hard to express.

Soon after drinking a cup of snow ginseng tea, the Chai brothers’ eyes brightened.

Especially the scar on Chai Er’s chest, which visibly faded.

“Brother Zhao, this must be the ice crystal harvested from the glacier guarded by the Yuan clan’s great demon!”

“Brother Zhao, you know the Yun and Yuan clans? Could you be some big figure?”

Zhao Fusheng just scratched his neck.

“Me? How dare I?”

“I’m just a charcoal seller from the foot of the mountain... a nobody.”

But the two demons didn’t see it that way.

They watched as he casually summoned a green pouch, swiftly disposing of the demon carcasses.

Muttering, “This stuff only has a spiritual root, no demon pill, can’t sell for money. Better to just take it back.”

It was like casually sweeping trash from in front of the door.

Once aboard the small boat, he activated the Heavenly Evolution Pearl beneath him. His external energy formed a qi palm, but only stirred the water.

The bamboo raft shot across the river like an arrow, waves flying.

That powerful enemy-repelling technique was used merely as a crude paddle?

Then he flicked his sleeve and stood at the boat’s prow.

The wind lifted his hair, wild and free, indifferent...

Like an exiled immortal wandering the mountains.

A charcoal seller? A nobody?

Not at all.

More like an old friend from sixty years ago, crossing the river in white robes, having driven demons back three hundred miles.

Called by name: Song Ningxia.