Chapter 59: Trusted Aides Bring News, Each with Distinct Traits

Despite the gloomy expressions of Laoba and the other two retainers, who harbored immense reluctance in their hearts, they ultimately chose to swallow those highly toxic pills.

As demons, they might indeed possess a certain simple-mindedness, but that did not mean they were fools. Naturally, they knew how to choose between being poisoned temporarily and being eaten very soon.

"Very good!"

"From now on, you are the minor demons under my command!"

A smile appeared on Mofan's face as he looked at the three pale-faced demons and said, "Rest assured, as soon as I truly become a commander of this Black Wind Mountain, I will naturally give you the antidote. However, before that, I advise you best not to make any rash moves. You should understand what my true form is. When it comes to understanding toxins, I'm afraid no one else can compare with me, save for the deceased scorpion demon. Therefore, you'd better put away your little tricks!"

"Of course, you could also try to snitch to the various generals or even Grandfather Great King. But I can tell you quite responsibly, the outcome will not change in the least. There are quite a few minor demons on Black Wind Mountain, but demon commanders are not that numerous. How the lords at the summit would weigh this choice, I suppose I don't need to elaborate further?"

Mofan's words instantly caused the expressions of the three retainer demons to turn unnatural.

They had indeed thought of going straight to snitch to Grandfather Great King the moment they left. After all, insubordination was a capital offense according to the rules of Black Wind Mountain. As for the highly toxic pills Mofan gave them, they didn't think it could pose a problem for Grandfather Great King.

Yet now, after Mofan put it this way, they immediately hesitated.

Indeed, Laibao's true form was a venomous creature, and one of the Five Poisons at that. Even a terrifying entity like the scorpion demon had been killed by him; how could the poison he administered be so simple? Could Grandfather Great King really detoxify it? Furthermore, compared to the lives of three minor demons like them, a demon commander probably held much more weight, right?

Thinking of this, all three demons fell silent.

Seeing this, the corners of Mofan's mouth curled upward. This was precisely the effect he wanted!

As for the so-called deadly poison, it was actually just ordinary Drunken Demon Pills—spoils of war he had acquired after devouring the scorpion demon. He didn't know if the scorpion demon had ever fought human cultivators in the past, but in short, among the items left behind by that fellow, there were quite a few human artifacts.

"Ah...!"

Right at that moment, Laoba the spider demon suddenly let out a miserable scream.

"What's wrong with you?"

The demons immediately looked over at him.

"I... my body feels so soft, as if I suddenly lost all my strength. It seems like the poison is taking effect!"

Laoba wore a look of terror, and then collapsed limply onto the ground like a puddle of mud.

"What?!"

The expressions of Lao Liu and Lao San also shifted dramatically, and soon after, they too collapsed weakly onto the ground one after another.

"Damn it!"

"You said you wouldn't kill us!"

Lao Liu the beetle demon raised his head, staring at Mofan with resentment. Lao San also looked at Mofan with a cold gaze, his teeth clenched tightly.

"Oh... is the poison taking effect?"

Mofan glanced indifferently at the three demons, then said slowly, "Rest assured, I certainly won't kill you. I'm just letting you learn a lesson and letting you know that this lord is not deceiving you. If I said it's deadly poison, then it's deadly poison!"

"You...!!"

Upon hearing this, the three demons were infuriated to the extreme.

This damn thing was lethal poison; did you need to test it on us to prove it?!

"This time I won't take your lives, but next time is hard to say. Therefore, you'd better not harbor any other schemes in your hearts, and honestly serve this lord with loyalty. Naturally, I will detoxify you!"

Mofan grinned broadly, then turned to Zhazha the bird demon and Redeye the rabbit demon nearby, saying, "Trouble the two of you to take them out!"

"Dali, stay behind. I have something to discuss with you."

"Understood!"

Zhazha and Redeye acknowledged in unison, then stepped over to the side of Laoba and the other two, dragging the three demons straight out of the cave dwelling.

Once the demons had departed, only Mofan and Dali remained in the cave.

"Lord, I wonder what business you have with me?" Dali looked at Mofan and asked in a muffled, rumbling voice.

"Brother Dali, you flatter me. Just now in front of the other demons, in order to maintain my dignity, I addressed you by your first name. In private, we don't need to be so polite; you can just call me Laibao!"

Mofan spoke with a smile. Judging from Dali's words just now, this bovine demon was not foolish; on the contrary, he was quite smart and knew that Mofan had something to ask him.

Dali was startled upon hearing this, then he let out a sigh of relief and grinned, saying, "You jest, Lord. Now that you have broken through to the Demon Commander realm, even if you hadn't taken over the scorpion demon's position, this old ox would still have to address you as Commander Lord. These are the rules of our demon clan, and they naturally cannot be changed at will."

"Well... as you like!"

Mofan smiled bitterly. He had a very favorable impression of Dali, who had taken good care of him in the past. Even his cultivation and the detachment technique had been taught to him by Dali. Now that their statuses differed, a sense of estrangement had inevitably crept in.

"It's like this: I heard that the Third General is currently not on the mountain, so to gain recognition, I need the approval of the retainer demon commanders under the Third General. Is this true?" Mofan asked.

"Indeed so. This is a rule set by Grandfather Great King."

Dali nodded, pondered for a moment, and said, "Newly promoted demon commanders need to gain the recognition of the generals to become new commanders. But if a general is absent, the recognition is given by the retainer demon commanders under that general's command. Though called recognition, it's actually just a formality, after all, demon commanders are still relatively scarce for each general. However, your situation, Lord, is an exception, and it makes things a bit tricky."

Mofan nodded; he understood Dali's meaning. If he hadn't gotten into a conflict with the scorpion demon, it would have been fine, and he could have ascended directly to the position of commander. But since he had killed the scorpion demon, it was tantamount to indirectly violating the rules set by Grandfather Great King. At this point, getting those general retainers to acknowledge him would be somewhat difficult. Who knew what kind of relationship the scorpion demon previously had with those three retainer demon commanders?

Thinking of this, Mofan asked further, "Does brother know what kind of demons those three retainer demon commanders are? Can you tell me about them?"

"I do know a thing or two."

Dali nodded and then said, "The three retainer demon commanders under the Third General are a crane demon, a wolf demon, and a deer demon."

"Among them, the crane demon is a female demon named He Feifei, who is said to love eating fish and frequently goes hunting in the Black Water River."

"The wolf demon is the most ferocious, named Lang Xiongziong. He loves eating human hearts and livers the most, but he is not on the mountain right now, having been taken away by the Third General."

"The remaining deer demon is named Lu Tantand, and just like his name, he is the most avaricious. It is said he has even extorted quite a lot of private wealth from other demon commanders."

Hearing Dali put it this way, Mofan felt an inexplicable urge to laugh.

What kind of messy names were these?
He Feifei?
Lang Xiongziong?
Lu Tantand?
It seemed the scorpion demon's inability to name things well was influenced by that Third General.

"So that means I only need to get the approval of He Feifei and Lu Tantand, the two retainer demon commanders?" Mofan rolled his eyes and asked.

"That is indeed the case!" Dali nodded.

"Understood. Tell me the locations of their cave dwellings, and I'll go look for them shortly!"

Mofan nodded, then seemed to recall something and asked, "Do you have a wine flask?"

"Uh... no, but I do have a water flask." Dali scratched his head.

ิ"A water flask will do as well. Get me two!"

Hearing Mofan's request, Dali opened his mouth without hesitation and spat out two water flasks.

Though called water flasks, they were actually just somewhat thick bamboo tubes.

Mofan looked at the bamboo tubes, which had a capacity no less than a flagon of wine, smiled slightly, and waved his hand. Endless demonic Qi surged forth, enveloping the bamboo tubes.

A moment later, the demonic Qi receded, and the bamboo tubes were now filled with a golden liquid.

"This is?"

Dali looked at Mofan with a puzzled expression.

"This is Monkey Wine, a low-grade spiritual wine that I brought back from outside this time. I'm presenting these two flasks of wine to you and Zhazha as a token of appreciation for your support of me."

"This... this is too precious!"

"Accept it and we remain good friends."

Mofan winked at the hesitant Dali, who then smiled bitterly and put the wine away.