Chapter 12: Bound and Dragged into the Mountains, Surrounded by a Horde of Demons

"Misunderstanding? How do you account for the arrow you shot at me earlier? My thigh is still bleeding even now—where is the misunderstanding in that?!"

The bird demon from the sky swooped down, manifesting a rather handsome human head, and glared at Mo Fan with a face full of fury.

"This bird-brother is truly handsome; you must be the most dashing demon in all of Black Wind Mountain, right?"

Mo Fan opened his mouth and unleashed a barrage of flattery, catching the bird demon off guard. The demon subconsciously touched his cheek and asked, somewhat uncertainly, "Do you really think I’m handsome and good-looking?"

"More true than real gold!" Mo Fan nodded without the slightest hesitation.

"Although you’re a very ugly toad, you have an extraordinary eye for beauty. I am indeed the best-looking demon in our squad!"

The bird demon didn't bother with false modesty and beamed with delight, though he immediately turned indignant again. "But this beautiful face of mine was nearly disfigured by a hideous thing like you!"

"Uh... brother bird, didn't I hit your leg? How does that involve your face?" Mo Fan asked, feeling a bit puzzled.

"I said 'nearly'! I am the face and brand of our squad. By shooting me, you were undoubtedly trying to smash our reputation, so this matter cannot be settled just like that!"

Watching the still-fuming bird demon, Mo Fan was speechless. He thought to himself that linking a leg injury to his face was truly the logic of a bird-brained creature.

"Brother bird, we are all civilized demons; we must be reasonable. Let me ask you, when I first saw you, had you manifested your human head?" Mo Fan asked.

"Not yet," the bird demon replied reflexively.

"Ha, there you have it! Everyone, judge for yourselves—since you hadn't manifested your human head at the time, how could I have known you were a fellow demon? If I had known you were kin, why would I have shot you?"

"So, you see, it was just a misunderstanding!"

"Don't you think so, brother bird?" Mo Fan countered.

The bird demon paused, standing there in a daze for a long moment before muttering, "It seems... so..."

*Smack!*

Before the bird demon could finish his thought, he received a heavy blow to the back of his head.

"Are you out of your mind?"

"Do we demons need to reason with this ugly thing?"

The wolf demon approached, his gaze scanning Mo Fan, the rabbit demon, and the husky with malice. He snorted coldly, "This ugly creature is extremely cunning. Let’s tie them up first and hand them over to Master Ding for judgment!"

"You got it!"

The snake demon flicked its tongue as it approached, and the rat demon burrowed directly out of the ground next to the husky. It spat out a rope, jumped onto the tiger's back, and began binding Mo Fan and the rabbit demon.

Mo Fan wanted to resist, but seeing the wolf demon's icy glare, he could only give up, though he kept shouting, "I told you it was a misunderstanding! Why won't you believe me?"

"Can’t you demons on Black Wind Mountain be reasonable for once?!"

"I don't want to die! I’m still young, I only just transformed, this has nothing to do with me! I’m just a guide—please, masters, let me go!" The rabbit demon wailed from the side, his face full of terror.

"Shut up! If you keep screaming, I’ll eat you first!"

The wolf demon glared fiercely at the rabbit, causing the latter to shrink back, finally daring not to make another sound.

"Whether it’s a misunderstanding or not, our Master Ding will be the judge. Now, behave yourselves and come back to Black Wind Mountain with us!"

"Don't even think about escaping. To me, little runts like you who just transformed are nothing more than baby chicks—weak and pathetic!"

The wolf demon sneered, ordering the other three demons to tie up Mo Fan and the rabbit and take them away. Even the husky, that big tiger, was not spared; the wolf demon grabbed its tail and dragged it toward Black Wind Mountain.

Just like that, Mo Fan finally entered Black Wind Mountain, though the method of entry was a bit different from what he had imagined.

Black Wind Mountain had no mountain gates, nor were there any guards at the entrance. If Mo Fan hadn't seen other demons halfway up the mountain, he would have suspected that this was just a pathetic, run-down lair.

Led by the wolf demon, the bound Mo Fan and his companions became a striking sight on the mountain.

"Greenface, what are you doing?"

On a large rock, a demon with a fat head, big ears, and a half-transformed human body asked curiously.

"We caught two wild demons who ambushed White-Feather at the foot of the mountain, so we’re taking them back to be dealt with by our Master One-Eye!" the wolf demon, Greenface, said with a grin.

"Wild demons, eh? It’s been a long time since any wild demons came up Black Wind Mountain. I wonder if they’re here to join us or to be served as a feast?" the fat-eared demon chuckled.

"I don't know about that, but it's best to leave them to Master One-Eye!"

Greenface smiled, bowed to the demon, and continued on his way. However, their conversation had already drawn the attention of many nearby demons.

"Come quick! The demons from One-Eye’s squad caught some wild ones—this is a rare treat!"

"Let's go, let's go! Let's see what kind of wild demons they are!"

"I heard there’s a female demon—she looks really wild, all furry and good-looking!"

"Bullshit! I heard it was a toad demon. How good-looking can a toad be?!"

"Why did I hear it was a big tiger?"

"Move, move, let's go take a look..."

Before long, the news of Greenface’s group catching wild demons spread far and wide, attracting even more demons to come and watch the spectacle.

Curiosity was in the nature of demons. They didn't like to work or cultivate like humans; they were habitually lazy and idle. Aside from specific times for cultivation and hunting, they spent most of their time just "playing around."

As a gathering place for demons, Black Wind Mountain rarely had fresh news, save for special events or feasts that could catch everyone's attention.

Now, hearing that demons from another squad had brought in wild demons was undoubtedly big news, naturally drawing a crowd of onlookers.

"Damn it, how did the demons under Master One-Eye get so capable? They’ve only been patrolling for a few days, and they’ve already caught two wild ones!"

"Yeah, Greenface has really made a name for himself this time. I bet his tail will be wagging in the clouds by now!"

"Who cares about his tail? I only care about whether we can get a piece of the feast and some grease. We haven't even seen a bug worth eating around here lately; I’ve been eating wild grass for days, and I’ve lost so much weight!"

Some demons envied Greenface and his crew, while others complained, hoping for a meal.

To these Black Wind Mountain demons, Mo Fan and the others were a novelty, but to Mo Fan, these demons were also a curiosity. While they were sizing him up, he was doing the same to them.

He eventually realized that these demons seemed quite unrefined. He didn't know if it was because they were starving, but their eyes lit up whenever a feast was mentioned.

"Fellow demon brothers, we aren't 'wild demons'! We came to join the Demon King of Black Wind Mountain, but this wolf demon tied us up and dragged us here. You be the judge for us!"

Seeing more and more demons gathering, Mo Fan raised his voice and shouted. He wanted to attract as much attention as possible so they would know he was here to join, not to be a sacrifice.

In Mo Fan’s view, since these demons could gather in one place and occupy such a large mountain, there must be a Demon King, and there must be rules for the demon community.

If there were no rules, everything would have fallen into chaos long ago; they wouldn't have been able to gather so many demons.

Therefore, the bigger the scene, the better.

"Make way, make way! Master Blackie from our squad is here!!"