Mo Fan nodded under Red Eye’s shocked gaze, coughing, “Barely broke through!”
“Damn! You actually broke through to Demon Soldier?!”
Red Eye cursed, his eyes growing even redder.
He’d been at Black Wind Mountain for over a decade and still hadn’t reached Demon Soldier.
And how long had this guy, Lai Bao, been here?
Less than half a year, and he’d gone from a mere lesser demon to a full-fledged Demon Soldier?
This was absurd!
How could Red Eye not feel envy, jealousy, and resentment?
“Ahem, aren’t you forgetting something?” Mo Fan looked at Red Eye, a glint in his eyes.
“What’s that?”
“Oh, right, I came for those five stones of meat. You promised me, you’re not backing out, are you?” Red Eye stared at Mo Fan cautiously.
“Of course I’m not backing out, but that’s not what I meant,” Mo Fan said with a smile, shaking his head.
“Not that?”
Red Eye scratched his head, puzzled, and asked directly, “Then what is it?”
“If I recall correctly, the rule at Black Wind Mountain is that lesser demons must address a Demon Soldier as Lord Dingmu, right?” Mo Fan said slyly.
“Yeah, that’s right, why bring it up… wait?”
Red Eye paused mid-sentence, his face darkening as if he’d just swallowed a dead rat.
“So, what should you call me?”
Mo Fan grinned at Red Eye, sitting up straighter.
“Damn you, Lai Bao, you were waiting to trap me!”
Red Eye cursed inwardly, then said bitterly, “Red Eye greets Lord Dingmu!”
“Hahaha…!”
Mo Fan burst into laughter, calming down after a while to ask, “Red Eye, you’ve been here longer than me. Do you know what a newly promoted Demon Soldier like me needs to do to gain the Great King’s approval?”
“That’s simple, you don’t need the Great King’s approval, just the Third General’s!” Red Eye thought for a moment, then added, “But the Third General isn’t at Black Wind Mountain right now, so it’s a bit tricky. You’ll likely need the approval of the three trusted Demon Soldiers instead.”
“The approval of the three trusted Demon Soldiers…” Mo Fan murmured, nodding, “Got it.”
Then he asked, “You came for the five stones of meat because Rattlesnake pressured you, right?”
“Exactly, and it pisses me off. Big Dumb Cow told me these past few days, I’m pretty sure that bug set me up!” Red Eye gritted his teeth.
Mo Fan nodded. This time, Red Eye had indeed been played, and on top of that, he’d been punished with a skinning penalty, truly a bitter pill to swallow.
“In that case, I’ll give you the five stones of meat.”
As Mo Fan spoke, he focused inward to retrieve the meat but paused, slightly stunned.
“What’s wrong?” Red Eye asked, seeing Mo Fan freeze.
“Nothing.”
Mo Fan smiled and spat out several beast corpses, each weighing hundreds of pounds!
These were hunted during the few days he’d been away from Black Wind Mountain. Despite the time passed, they showed no signs of decay, as fresh as if just killed, with blood still vivid red.
“Good brother… no, thank you, Lord Dingmu!”
Red Eye was overjoyed, opening his mouth to store the beast corpses in his storage pouch.
Just as Red Eye was about to leave, Mo Fan called him back.
“Lord Dingmu, anything else?”
Red Eye looked at Mo Fan, puzzled.
“Of course, have you forgotten what we did in that peach grove?”
Mo Fan smiled, then spat out an orange-yellow gourd.
“This is…?”
Red Eye’s breathing grew heavy at the sight of the gourd.
He’d sneaked into that thousand-year-old peach tree twice, so he was no stranger to it, though he’d never succeeded in taking it.
“This is exactly what I took from that thousand-year-old peach tree. There were two gourds, I drank one, which is why I broke through to Demon Soldier so quickly.”
Mo Fan spoke slowly, not hiding anything from Red Eye. He tossed the gourd over, saying, “This isn’t ordinary wine, it’s Yellow-grade Spirit Wine!”
Yellow-grade Spirit Wine?
Red Eye instinctively caught the gourd, his hands trembling as if holding a priceless treasure.
“You’re really giving me this gourd of spirit wine?” Red Eye asked, hardly believing it.
“Of course, you earned it. We worked together that day, I wouldn’t cheat you out of your share.”
Mo Fan smiled, then sighed, “It’s a pity the lower-grade spirit wine was mostly taken by Scorpion Demon, so I can’t share any with you.”
“No need, this gourd of Yellow-grade Spirit Wine is more than enough!”
Red Eye shook his head, then looked at Mo Fan earnestly, “Lai Bao, you’re a stand-up guy. If you ever need my help, just say the word!”
“I was waiting for you to say that, and I do need your help!”
“…”
Red Eye was speechless. He’d just been polite, and this guy was already climbing the pole…
“I need you to help me take Scorpion Demon’s place!”
Mo Fan’s words were shocking, startling Red Eye.
“What? You’re planning a rebellion?”
Red Eye’s eyes widened, thinking Lai Bao was a bit too crazy.
“You could say that, but not exactly.”
Mo Fan smiled and asked Red Eye, “If I fought Scorpion Demon, who would you side with?”
“Well…”
Red Eye was stumped, pondering for a long moment before saying, “I don’t want to die, so I’d side with whoever’s stronger!”
He thought his words might upset Lai Bao, but instead, Mo Fan grinned, “Good, that’s the answer I wanted!”
“Red Eye, from today, you’re one of my trusted followers!”
Mo Fan said with a smile, leaving Red Eye flustered. He frowned, lowering his voice, “Scorpion Demon’s still alive! Are you mad?!”
“I’m not mad, and Scorpion Demon is already dead!”
Mo Fan sneered.
“What… what?!”
Scorpion Demon was dead!
Red Eye was dazed, the words sounding too fantastical.
“You heard right, I killed Scorpion Demon. From today, I’ll take over everything of his!”
Mo Fan paused, then added, “Including you lesser demons!”
He then briefly explained how he’d killed Scorpion Demon, finally convincing Red Eye.
Though it seemed absurd to Red Eye, it had really happened!
“If that’s true, I can join your camp and serve you as my lord.
But I don’t know what the other demons will think,” Red Eye said with a wry smile.
“In that case, do something for me!” Mo Fan said with a smile.
“What?”
“In Scorpion Demon’s name, bring all the demons in the camp to me!
It’s time for these fence-sitters to pick a side!”
