As they returned from the kitchen camp, all the little demons on the mountain top gazed at them eagerly.
The little demons understood that whether they could enjoy a feast tonight depended on these fellows.
There were not many demons in the kitchen camp, just over a dozen monsters, but at this moment each one was shouldering the corpses of two plump and sturdy wild beasts, their faces beaming with smiles.
The fire lizard landed on the ground and immediately grumbled irritably, “Hurry up and get off this king’s back! You’ve nearly exhausted this king!!”
The crowd of demons chuckled and joked around, but they did not dare to slack off. They all jumped down from the fire lizard’s back one after another, then under Lao Chai’s lead, piled all the food in one place. There were over thirty carcasses in total!
“Tsk tsk, Lao Chai, you’ve done well. Where did you scavenge so much meat from?”
Zha Zha and Leopard Head rushed over at once, their faces full of delight, while asking in a sinister tone, “Tell Lord Zha the truth. Have you been hiding some private stash down the mountain on ordinary days?”
“Lord Zha, please don’t scare me. I’m just an old cripple. How could I withstand such fright from you?
With the rules decreed by the Great King in place, where would I dare to hide anything!
I don’t want to be dragged out and skinned alive publicly at this age…” Lao Chai smiled bitterly. He was indeed quite frightened.
“You sly old Lao Chai!”
“Why do I feel like you’re pointing at me?”
Red Eye walked over, his face full of displeasure, and said angrily, “If you don’t make a proper meal to treat us tonight, Rabbit Lord here will stuff live maggots into your crotch!”
Lao Chai’s neck shrank back instantly at these words, utterly terrified.
“Alright, you two rascals only know how to bully Lao Chai. He’s older than both of you after all. Can’t you show him some respect?”
Mo Fan could not stand listening any longer. Stuffing live maggots into someone’s crotch? Was that something a normal demon would do?
With that said, Mo Fan turned to Lao Chai and continued, “Lao Chai, don’t stoop to their level. But now that this king has returned, we must celebrate properly. So, I’ll trouble you all in the kitchen camp. Set up a three-day flowing banquet!”
Lao Chai’s face turned bitter upon hearing this.
Although demons did not have high requirements for cooking ingredients, arranging flowing banquets at the drop of a hat only exhausted the kitchen camp. Lao Chai had his own unspeakable hardships.
In the days of Pioneer Zhu, when had they ever been so extravagant?
Forget about frequent banquets. Holding a flowing banquet once every year or so would have been a blessing from the Demon King grandfather himself, an immense grace!
But ever since Toad Great King took power, banquets were held at every turn. The horde of demons was delighted, but the demons in the kitchen camp were nearly worn out to numbness…
“What’s this? Already moved to tears?”
Seeing Lao Chai like this, Mo Fan immediately smiled and patted his shoulder, saying, “Don’t worry. As long as you all follow this king diligently, there will be banquets to eat every day from now on!”
Lao Chai staggered on his feet at once.
“Oh, right. Is there enough ingredients?”
“If not, this king can summon more meat with this Mountain Shaking Drum.”
Mo Fan spoke with a smile. He had truly come to appreciate the妙用 of this Mountain Shaking Drum. It could control all the wild beasts within a twenty-li radius.
Even if he wished it, no little demon below the Demon General level could resist the mental control of the Mountain Shaking Drum!
“Enough! More than enough!!”
Lao Chai nodded hurriedly, then shouted to the little demons under his command, “Bring out the meat from your storage pouches as well!”
“Yes!”
The crowd of little demons nodded in unison, then spat out carcass after carcass of wild beasts from their mouths, over a hundred in total, piling up into a small hill.
“Wonderful! More banquets to eat!!”
“The Great King is back, so it’s time for a feast!!”
“It’s been half a month since I last tasted meat…”
On the square, the horde of demons grew so excited that they could not close their mouths, drool trickling down their chins and pooling on the ground…
“What a bunch of useless things!”
Mo Fan could not help but curse under his breath. Then he saw Bai Yaoyao smile and say, “In the month you were away, everyone was on edge, fearing that some great demon might invade.
Now that they see you back, the taut string in their hearts naturally relaxes.
Don’t underestimate these little demons with their low cultivation. They have gradually come to accept you, and they are the most cohesive group of mountain demons I have seen in all these years!”
Mo Fan fell silent for a moment upon hearing this, then frowned and said, “Back then, didn’t I tell everyone to hide away? How come they’ve all returned?”
When leaving Black Wind Mountain, Mo Fan had worried that the Lei Yu family might target the demons, so he had Bai Yaoyao lead everyone into hiding. Yet upon his return, aside from the little demons sent to the other two mountains, all the rest were present.
“At first, everyone did hide. But later, Red Eye and Zha Zha insisted on coming back to the mountain to wait, saying they would live and die together.
If the Great King was not afraid of death, what did they have to fear?
If the Great King died because of it, they absolutely could not cower and survive.
And so, under these two fellows’ agitation, all the little demons came back.” Bai Yaoyao said helplessly.
“Those two rascals!”
“And these little demons too. As soon as this king is away, they turn the place upside down. They don’t obey this king’s orders at all. What will become of this if it continues?!”
“This king will skin them all eventually!!”
Mo Fan gritted his teeth, feeling his eyes grow a bit moist. He immediately turned his head away, not wanting Bai Yaoyao or the demons to see him like this.
“You wouldn’t bear to skin them at all!”
But Bai Yaoyao suddenly laughed, then said seriously, “Oh, right. In the month you were away, I set a rule for our Black Wind Mountain.”
“Oh? What rule?” Mo Fan asked curiously.
“It has to do with the Mountain Shaking Drum in your hand.”
Bai Yaoyao glanced at the Mountain Shaking Drum in Mo Fan’s hand, then continued, “To deal with future invasions from outsiders, I have decided that from now on, Black Wind Mountain will use the drum’s beats as signals.
If an enemy is spotted invading our Black Wind Mountain territory, the flying squad will report back immediately and sound the Mountain Shaking Drum.
Seven beats mean the enemy is still far off, and their cultivation is below that of a King level great demon. This is to alert all mountain demons to be wary of the approaching foe.
Eight beats mean the enemy is near, and their threat rivals a King level great demon. This is to remind all mountain demons to take cover.
Nine beats mean the enemy is overwhelmingly powerful, and Black Wind Mountain faces imminent destruction. This is to warn all mountain demons of the impending catastrophe: either choose to leave Black Wind Mountain now, or gather at the mountain peak for a final stand to the death!”
By the end, Bai Yaoyao’s voice had grown heavier.
“This rule is quite good, but how will the little demons distinguish the enemy’s cultivation level?” Mo Fan raised a question.
“That will be up to the little demons themselves to judge.
In general, Demon Kings no longer need to ride clouds or summon fog to fly, while those with thick demonic energy around them during flight are usually Demon Generals. At such times, you can beat the drum seven times.”
“I see!”
Mo Fan suddenly understood. He soon recalled that when he had flown back earlier, he had not ridden clouds or summoned fog, merely enveloping Black Wind in demonic power before spreading his wings to fly.
Perhaps that was why Screech and the others had judged him as a Demon King, leading to eight beats of the drum.
Seeing that Mo Fan understood, Bai Yaoyao continued, “Actually, this rule I set is not all that clever, and I underestimated the cohesion of our Black Wind Mountain demons.
Originally, with eight beats, according to the rule, everyone should hide, and then I along with Fire Spirit would deal with or fight the enemy. But as you saw, not only did they not hide, they spontaneously gathered at the peak…”
“They really went all out!” Mo Fan said with a wry smile.
“Nothing but trouble!”
Hei Yi, overhearing from the side, snorted coldly, “These little demons have no idea what a Demon King represents. Rushing forward blindly will only get them killed for nothing! Won’t that just cause chaos for you, Great King?!”
Bai Yaoyao glanced at Hei Yi’s cold expression, then said to Mo Fan with deep meaning, “The little girl you brought back this time has quite the personality!”
