The fish demon’s story aligned closely with Mo Fan’s suspicions, so he didn’t press for more details.
It wasn’t until they reached the outskirts of Yunling Village that he stopped.
“Are you insane? You’re going into that village?!”
Seeing the village ahead, the fish demon realized something, a bad feeling creeping in.
“Yeah, I promised a little guy I’d visit his home for a meal, so he still owes me one,” Mo Fan said with a smile, nodding.
“Are you sick?!”
“That’s a human village! Our fight must’ve alerted the town’s guardians in Pingyao. Instead of running, you’re going for a meal? Are you out of your mind?!” the fish demon snapped irritably.
Mo Fan ignored him. Some things, even if explained, the fish demon wouldn’t understand.
“Why do you always keep that big fish head? Can’t you transform it into a human form too?” Mo Fan changed the subject, frowning at the fish demon.
“What’s a human form?”
The fish demon’s attention shifted, curiosity piqued.
Mo Fan, remembering the fish demon’s wild demon origins, gave a brief explanation.
“So, the human body we demons transform into is called a ‘human form’?”
The fish demon nodded in realization, then gave a bitter smile. “If I could fully transform into a human form, I wouldn’t be stuck with this fish head, unable to meet Miss Fang.”
“You mean, after breaking through to Demon Ding, your head reverted to its fish form, part of your true demon body?” Mo Fan looked at the distressed fish demon, thoughtful.
“Exactly.”
The fish demon nodded, its heart heavy with bitterness. More than any demon, it longed to be human—or at least fully transform into a human form—so it wouldn’t have to sneak around to see Fang Ru, fearing it would scare her.
“That does make things tricky.”
Mo Fan frowned, glancing at Yunling Village, where candlelight flickered in some windows.
After a moment’s thought, he said to the fish demon, “Alright, transform back to your original form. Make yourself smaller and suppress your demonic aura to avoid attracting the village guards’ attention.”
With that, Mo Fan spat out a bamboo basket and gestured for the fish demon to enter.
“No way! I’m not going, even if it kills me!”
“That’s reckless behavior—you’ll get yourself killed!!”
The fish demon backed away, grumbling.
“Fine, stay here then. If cultivators show up, you can hold them off for a bit,” Mo Fan said with a wink.
“Damn you!!”
Cursing under its breath, the fish demon turned into a streak of light and entered the basket.
Mo Fan’s lips curled slightly. Looking down, he saw a palm-sized red carp in the basket.
Smiling, Mo Fan picked up the basket and swaggered into Yunling Village.
As he entered, he saw a group of children playing, among them a familiar figure.
Seeing the child, a smile spread across Mo Fan’s face.
He couldn’t help but recall the child’s words from before.
“My name’s Lai Bao. Aren’t you afraid of demons?”
“I am!”
“If I were a demon, would you be afraid?”
“No!”
“Why not?”
“Because you saved me, big brother. Even if you were a demon, you’d be a good one. And you’re clearly human, so how could you be a demon?!”
“Bad guy, I won’t let you hurt big brother!”
…
“Lai Bao!”
Mo Fan called out. The boy, playing with his friends, froze, looked around, and finally spotted Mo Fan, his face lighting up with joy.
“Brother Lai Bao!”
Lai Bao broke away from his friends, ran over, and threw himself into Mo Fan’s arms.
“Brother Lai Bao, you lied!” Lai Bao suddenly looked up, pouting at Mo Fan.
“What’s wrong?” Mo Fan was taken aback.
“You promised that day after I saw my mom, I’d come find you, and you’d come to our house for a meal. But the village chief said you left!” Lai Bao huffed.
“Oh, that? Look, I’m here now, aren’t I?” Mo Fan chuckled.
“…That’s true!”
Lai Bao’s brows furrowed, then he nodded, his earlier displeasure vanishing.
“Brother Lai Bao, come on, I’ll take you to meet my mom. She’s really nice. Last time, when she heard you saved me, she wanted to thank you herself. Now that you’re here, she’ll definitely make delicious food…”
“Oh, Brother Lai Bao, what’s in that basket?”
“A fish.”
“Wow! It really is a fish!”
“You didn’t have to bring a fish, Brother Lai Bao! But it’s fine—when we get home, I’ll ask Mom to cook it!”
“…”
“Oh! Brother Lai Bao, the fish just moved a bit!”
Mo Fan glanced into the basket, seeing the carp trembling. He smiled, “It’s probably scared by your words. I bought this fish to release, not to eat.”
“Oh, okay, Brother Lai Bao, what’s releasing a fish…?”
Mo Fan followed Lai Bao into the village, soon arriving at his home.
“Lai Bao, you little rascal, where did you run off to?”
“You had me looking for you half the day…”
As soon as Lai Bao entered, a woman scolded him, but her eyes fell on Mo Fan, and her pupils shrank. She stopped talking.
“Mom, this is the big brother who saved me last time. His name’s Lai Bao!”
“I promised to invite him to our house for a meal.”
“Mom, do we still have food?”
Lai Bao was excited, but he soon noticed his mother standing frozen. He tugged at her sleeve, “Mom??”
“Oh, oh, yes… yes.”
The woman snapped out of it, her body trembling slightly, her face noticeably paler.
“Is Madam unwell?” Mo Fan asked, his eyes flickering.
“No… no, you sit, I… I’ll heat up some food.”
The woman stammered, glanced at her son playing happily with Mo Fan, her eyes anxious, but she went to prepare the meal.
Soon, a bowl of thin porridge with barely any rice, three slightly spoiled cornbread buns, and a plate of sparse sausage slices were placed on the table.
Mo Fan’s gaze swept over the meal. The sausage plate had fewer than ten slices, looking meager.
“Wow! There’s sausage!”
“Brother Lai Bao, this is the best food we have!”
“I told you Mom would really like you!”
Lai Bao cheered at the sight of the food, swallowing hard at the sausage but urging, “Brother Lai Bao, eat! Mom’s cornbread is so good, and the sausage is really fragrant!”
“Mm.”
Mo Fan nodded with a smile and ate heartily, even the spoiled cornbread tasting delicious to him.
But he didn’t touch the sausage, claiming he was allergic to cured meats and asking Lai Bao to taste it for him.
Lai Bao happily ate all the sausage, still wanting more.
“Huh… where’s Mom?”
After Mo Fan finished, Lai Bao suddenly noticed his mother was gone.
Mo Fan smiled, a trace of helplessness in his eyes. He’d seen the woman leave the house and knew what she was doing but didn’t stop her.
“Lai Bao, want to know how to write your name?”
“I do! But it’s no use, I can’t write…”
“No problem, Brother Lai Bao knows how. I’ll teach you!”
“Really?!”
“Really!”
…
When Mo Fan left Lai Bao’s home, the boy was already asleep. Mo Fan left two silver ingots under his pillow.
“I meant no harm. You shouldn’t have betrayed my trust in you.”
Stepping outside, Mo Fan looked at the woman beside an old man, a flash of disappointment in his eyes.
“I… what did you do to Lai Bao?!”
