At night, Mo Fan lay in his cave dwelling, unable to sleep, disturbed by the loud snoring of the dog demon next door.
He was also starving.
After a day filled with fear and stress, Mo Fan was mentally and physically exhausted, having eaten nothing all day.
He’d imagined a warm welcome, but instead, he nearly became a feast for the demons of Black Wind Mountain.
Mo Fan went to the back entrance, where moonlight revealed small fish swimming in the spring pool.
These fish, only a few inches long, sparked joy in his heart.
“Right, my cave’s right by a natural fish pond. Doesn’t that mean I’ll never have to worry about going hungry again?”
Mo Fan murmured, his gaze locking onto a nearby fish. His tongue shot out like an arrow, swift and precise.
With a splash, his tongue wrapped around a fish and reeled it back.
In no time, Mo Fan enjoyed a satisfying meal.
From earlier chats with Dali and the others, he learned the pool teemed with fish because most demons on Black Wind Mountain couldn’t swim. Even Dali, who had some ability in water, dared not venture into the cold, bottomless spring.
With no demons preying on them, the fish had multiplied.
Now, they were Mo Fan’s gain.
Full and content, Mo Fan returned to his cave, tempted to take out the milky-white stones from his inner space to make a bed for sleeping. But thinking of the dog demon next door, he held back.
He understood the danger of possessing treasures.
Until he knew the true value of those stones, he dared not reveal them.
“I’ll need to find a chance to figure out what those stones are,” Mo Fan thought, lying on the ground and soon falling asleep.
The next morning, he was rudely awakened by the dog demon Lai Fu.
“It’s not even dawn yet, why’re we up so early?”
Mo Fan frowned, annoyed. He’d been dreaming of becoming a Demon King, surrounded by beauties, just about to get to the good part, when this blasted dog interrupted.
“Wait till sunrise, and you’ll wish your hide was thicker!”
Lai Fu sneered, then said, “Our account has a rule: every day before sunrise, we must go pay respects to Lord Heizi. Slack off, and you might face his punishment—lightly, a scolding or beating, heavily, your skin peeled and tendons pulled!”
“That harsh?” Mo Fan’s eyes widened.
“Every account on Black Wind Mountain has this rule. Didn’t that blasted bird tell you about our demon etiquette yesterday?” Lai Fu eyed Mo Fan suspiciously.
Mo Fan thought back and shook his head. No one had mentioned it.
“That damned Zha Zha! Lord told him to explain our etiquette, and he dared slack off? Not afraid of a beating?”
Lai Fu snorted, then patted his belly. “I’m a bit hungry. After we pay respects, catch me some fish from that pool to try. In return, I’ll tell you about the taboos and etiquette, so you don’t get punished for breaking them. Deal?”
“Thank you, Brother Lai Fu!” Mo Fan nodded.
The pool was deep, but posed no danger to him. After transforming, his tongue could extend over a zhang, making fish-catching easy, so the dog’s condition was no trouble.
“Good, I’ll explain as we go.”
On the way, Lai Fu detailed Black Wind Mountain’s etiquette, teaching Mo Fan many taboos.
For instance, the demon hierarchy was strict, from lowest to highest: minor demon, demon soldier, demon general, Demon King, and Demon Ancestor.
Minor demons like them called their demon soldier “Lord.” Other demon soldiers were addressed as “Lord Ding,” demon generals as “General,” and the Demon King as “Great King Grandpa.”
As for Demon Ancestors, Black Wind Mountain had none, but they existed deep in the vast land. If encountered, they were to be called “Old Ancestor”!
What lay beyond Demon Ancestor, Lai Fu didn’t know.
Within Black Wind Mountain, minor demons could brawl privately but not kill. If one killed another, they’d pay with their life, served up as a feast by the Great King Grandpa.
Minor demons had to show respect to demon soldiers, and even more to generals and the Demon King. Offending a demon soldier gave them the right to kill their own account’s minor demons.
There were also rules set by the Demon King, not to be broken, or one would be made into a feast.
The daily respects to the demon soldier were because they might assign new tasks. As demon soldiers wouldn’t lower themselves to seek out minor demons, the custom of paying respects existed.
Soon after leaving the pool, Mo Fan and Lai Fu reached a slope with two adjacent caves, belonging to the buffalo demon Dali and the rabbit demon Hongyan.
Both were waiting and joined the group to pay respects.
Passing the banyan tree, Zha Zha swooped from its nest, landing on Dali’s horn to nap.
Hongyan hopped onto Dali’s broad back, which Dali didn’t mind.
Lai Fu tried to get close, but a glare from Dali’s big eyes sent him grumbling away.
Mo Fan envied Zha Zha and Hongyan but knew his place. Though Dali seemed easygoing, they weren’t close enough yet.
Zha Zha’s small size made Dali indifferent, while Hongyan’s close bond with Dali was clear from their neighboring caves.
Black Wind Mountain was vast, and it took the five demons two full incense sticks’ time to reach Heizi’s cave.
There, Mo Fan saw the three minor demons who followed Heizi yesterday, their bald heads hard to miss.
“Dali, you lot are early today.”
One of the demons glanced at Mo Fan’s group, greeting Dali.
“Paying respects to Lord should be early. We can’t keep Lord waiting, can we?”
Dali grinned honestly, then introduced Mo Fan. “Lai Bao, these three brothers are Lord’s close attendants. Be respectful to them, and if you get a chance, don’t forget their gifts!”
“Got it!” Mo Fan nodded, then bowed to the three demons. “Lai Bao greets the three brothers!”
“Hm, you toad demon may be ugly, but you’re sharp, catching on quick. That’s rare!
I’m called Laoba, you can call me Brother Eight,” the spider demon nodded, pleased.
“Yes, Brother Eight!” Mo Fan nodded.
The other two introduced themselves simply as Laoliu and Laosan.
Their names left Mo Fan speechless, but the three seemed delighted, as they were named by Heizi, apparently a point of pride.
All eight minor demons stood outside Heizi’s cave, chatting and boasting until the sun rose. Then Laoba shouted, “The sun’s high, we’ve come to pay respects to Lord. Any orders, Lord?”
“Is my account’s demons all here?” a voice responded from the cave.
“Replying to Lord, all are here, including Brother Lai Bao, who joined yesterday!” Laoba said respectfully.
“Good, no tasks today. Go have fun!”
“Yes!”
The demons nodded, turning to leave, when the cave’s voice called out, “Oh, Lai Bao, stay behind!”
The demons looked at Mo Fan, and Dali grinned. “Not bad, just joined our account and already favored by Lord. Lai Bao, you’ve got a bright future!”
Mo Fan was puzzled but cautiously asked, “This ‘favored’ that Brother mentioned, is it proper?”
