All the demons left, leaving only Mo Fan behind.
This left Mo Fan puzzled and a bit panicked, but he quickly calmed himself.
In his view, since this Black Scorpion Demon had saved him yesterday, it likely wouldn’t harm him, so there was no need to worry too much. Instead, he hadn’t yet properly thanked the other for saving him.
“I can take this chance to give a few milky-white stones to this Demon Lord, as a way to repay his kindness, and maybe find out what those stones actually are.”
Mo Fan thought to himself, then heard a voice from the cave, “Laibao, come in!”
“Yes, my Lord!”
Mo Fan replied respectfully, then walked towards the pitch-black cave.
Upon entering, Mo Fan frowned slightly, as there was barely any light inside, which made him feel a touch uneasy.
“Are you looking for me?”
Suddenly, a voice sounded by Mo Fan’s ear, startling him.
Then he saw a figure glowing faintly green appear in his sight, it was the Black Scorpion Demon.
“Laibao pays respects to my Lord!” Mo Fan greeted.
“No need for formalities.”
The Black Scorpion Demon waved a hand, and the dark cave was instantly lit up by bright lamps, allowing Mo Fan to finally see the interior.
Inside were a wooden bed and a few chairs, the furnishings looking much like a human dwelling, quite different from the crude caves of lesser demons like Bull Demon Dali.
“Do you know why I saved you yesterday?” Black Scorpion asked, sitting down and pouring himself a cup of wine from a jug on the table.
“This little demon doesn’t know, please enlighten me, my Lord!” Mo Fan said respectfully.
He genuinely wanted to know why the other had saved him.
If not for this Black Scorpion Demon yesterday, he’d likely have died under the One-Eyed Demon’s palm, and wouldn’t have so easily escaped the schemes of the Red-Robed Demon General Venom Fang.
No matter how he thought about it, Mo Fan couldn’t figure out why this scorpion demon had saved him.
“You’re a clever little demon, I hope your wit can serve me, so you can survive long on Black Wind Mountain. I happen to lack a true confidant, and I hope you’ll be the one!”
Black Scorpion smiled, passing the wine cup to Mo Fan, saying, “This is spirit wine, given to me by the Third General, said to be taken from human lands, called Bone-Forging Wine, try it!”
“Thank you, my Lord!”
Mo Fan’s heart leapt with joy, he’d had Bone-Forging Wine before and knew its benefits.
As he brought the cup to his lips, he indeed smelled the unique fragrance of Bone-Forging Wine, but also a faintly familiar scent he couldn’t quite place.
Mo Fan didn’t think much of it and, under Black Scorpion Demon’s gaze, drank the wine in one gulp.
“As I was saying about saving you yesterday, besides my feud with the Fourth General, there’s another important reason, I need something you have!”
Black Scorpion’s tone shifted, grinning at Mo Fan.
What?!
Mo Fan’s heart jolted, realising this Black Scorpion Demon wasn’t up to anything good, and he immediately wanted to flee the cave.
But at that moment, he suddenly felt his body go limp, collapsing to the ground.
This… Demon-Intoxicating Pill!
Mo Fan finally recognised the familiar scent in the wine, it was the Demon-Intoxicating Pill!
He’d once killed an old hunter and got half a bottle of Demon-Intoxicating Pills from the body, so he knew the scent well, but hadn’t connected the dots earlier.
“Disaster!”
Mo Fan’s heart sank bitterly, he hadn’t expected that just as his luck seemed to turn, he’d end up at someone’s mercy again, utterly wretched.
“No need to be so scared, I won’t take your life, otherwise I wouldn’t have saved you yesterday.”
Seeing Mo Fan’s terrified expression, Black Scorpion Demon chuckled, then said calmly, “The Bone-Forging Wine you just drank had a pill in it, called the Demon-Intoxicating Pill, made by human demon hunters specifically for us demons. It dissolves easily in wine and makes us go limp.
I happened to kill a demon hunter once and got some of this stuff.”
With that, Black Scorpion Demon approached Mo Fan, smiling, “Don’t blame me, I’m just avoiding unnecessary trouble.”
“Since you don’t want my life, my Lord, what is it you want?”
Mo Fan asked, puzzled, his fear gradually fading.
Since the other didn’t want his life, he naturally wasn’t as scared.
“You’re not afraid of me anymore?” Black Scorpion Demon looked at Mo Fan, surprised.
“If you hadn’t saved me yesterday, Laibao wouldn’t be alive today, so why would I fear you?”
“Besides, you said you won’t take my life, so I’ve nothing to fear.”
Mo Fan spoke calmly, though a surge of nameless anger rose within him.
But he knew, the more critical the moment, the less he could show his anger, or he might not leave this cave today.
“You really don’t resent me at all?”
Black Scorpion Demon pressed, staring intently at Mo Fan, as if trying to spot any hint of deceit.
“Not at all!”
“My life was saved by you, my Lord, if you fancy any part of me, just take it, I definitely won’t blame you, let alone resent you,” Mo Fan said with a bitter smile.
“Hahaha…”
Suddenly, Black Scorpion Demon laughed, but to Mo Fan, the sound was grating and somewhat terrifying.
“Worthy of the little demon I’ve chosen, rest assured, I said I won’t take your life, and I won’t.”
“I kept you here because I need to refine a certain pill, and your venom happens to be one of the ingredients, so I just need some of your venom!”
Hearing Black Scorpion’s words, Mo Fan genuinely breathed a sigh of relief, fearing the demon might actually take a piece of him.
If it was just venom, that was fine.
“So it’s venom, my Lord, you can fetch an empty bowl, I’ll extract some venom for you!” Mo Fan said eagerly.
“No need for such trouble, I’ll extract the venom myself!”
Black Scorpion Demon gave a sinister smile, and a massive, slender scorpion tail suddenly appeared behind him, its sharp stinger half a metre long, startling Mo Fan into a cold sweat.
Before he could react, the stinger pierced his body.
More precisely, it pierced a bulge on his skin, one of Mo Fan’s venom glands.
Soon, a powerful suction came from the stinger, and Mo Fan could clearly feel his venom being rapidly drawn out.
The process lasted nearly half an incense stick’s time.
When Black Scorpion Demon withdrew the stinger, Mo Fan collapsed limply, feeling utterly drained, dizzy, as if he’d been gravely ill.
Sensing carefully, Mo Fan found nearly all the venom in his body had been drained, and his size had shrunk, even weaker than before drinking the Bone-Forging Wine.
This wasn’t extracting venom, it was practically draining his life!
“So it’s a mental-type venom, quite a fine toxin, I like it. Rest well, with your current constitution, you should regenerate venom in a month, and I’ll come for more then!”
“Off you go!”
Black Scorpion Demon waved dismissively, satisfied.
Mo Fan gave a respectful bow, practically crawling out, filled with both anger and humiliation.
This grudge, I’ll repay!!
Mo Fan screamed inwardly, finally understanding why this scorpion demon saved him, to keep him as a venom source, to extract it for pill-refining whenever needed!
