To Mo Fan and Red Eye’s surprise, the moment they sneaked back to Black Wind Mountain, they saw Laifu, that dead dog, already waiting for them.
“Laifu?”
Red Eye’s eyes narrowed as he said, “Weren’t you patrolling the upper sector? What are you doing in my patrol area?”
“Don’t you two have any idea why I’m here?!”
Laifu sneered, cleared his throat, and declared, “Listen up, you two. I’ve been waiting here for a while on Lord Heizi’s orders!”
“Lord’s orders?”
Mo Fan and Red Eye were startled at the words.
Had they already been exposed?
“Listen carefully. Your unauthorised absence has been noticed by the Lord. No one can save you this time!”
“The Lord said the moment you return to the mountain, you’re to be detained and brought to him!”
Laifu spoke with an air of arrogance, infuriating the rabbit demon, who demanded, “How did the Lord find out? Was it you, you dead dog, who ratted us out?!”
“Don’t make it sound so ugly. I was just worried about your safety. Since Rattlesnake told me, I naturally had to inform the Lord so he could deal with it and come up with a plan!” Laifu said calmly.
Rattlesnake?
Mo Fan’s eyes flickered. Glancing at Red Eye, who was arguing with Laifu, he understood everything.
This guy had definitely been set up by Rattlesnake, and the latter had used Laifu’s personality to orchestrate this scene.
But Mo Fan still wasn’t clear on Rattlesnake’s motive.
If it was to get Red Eye killed, there was no need for such trouble—Rattlesnake could’ve just reported it to the Black Wind Demon King.
Could it be that this wasn’t aimed at Red Eye but at the Scorpion Demon?
Mo Fan quickly realised something, his heart skipping a beat.
The feud between the Scorpion Demon and the Fourth General was no secret, but due to Black Wind Mountain’s rules and the Third General’s face, Venom Fang hadn’t directly acted against the Scorpion Demon.
This line of thought made it seem quite plausible.
Just as Mo Fan pieced this together, a figure descended from the mountain.
Mo Fan looked up to see a massive black beetle—it was Old Six, one of the Scorpion Demon’s three trusted lieutenants!
On the beetle’s back stood two figures: Old Eight, the spider demon, and Old Three, another trusted lieutenant!
With all three lieutenants arriving, Old Eight looked at Mo Fan and Red Eye as they landed, saying calmly, “Red Eye, Laibao, the Lord wants you to go see him!”
“Are you walking yourselves, or do we need to help you?”
Old Three spoke calmly, but his body exuded an overwhelming aura, locking onto Mo Fan and Red Eye.
Feeling this guy’s formidable demonic aura, Mo Fan was somewhat surprised. He hadn’t expected this usually quiet fellow to be so fierce.
In terms of raw demonic aura, he was slightly stronger than Mo Fan.
Even so, Mo Fan was confident he could take him down.
Sometimes, cultivation didn’t determine everything, especially in a life-or-death fight!
After several battles, Mo Fan believed he’d accumulated considerable combat experience.
“Is it really the Lord’s order?!”
Red Eye gritted his teeth, his body trembling slightly, fists clenched, eyes growing redder.
“Of course it’s the Lord’s order. You know what you’ve done!” Old Eight said calmly, unmoved by Red Eye’s reaction.
They weren’t called trusted lieutenants for nothing. Any one of them could easily sweep through small-fry patrol demons like Red Eye, so they weren’t worried about him causing trouble.
“Brother Eight, can I ask if we’ll come back alive from this trip?”
Seeing the tension, Mo Fan couldn’t help but ask.
This was what concerned him most.
If going meant facing the Scorpion Demon’s wrath, then it was a no-go. He’d rather risk his life escaping Black Wind Mountain.
Though Laibao had only recently arrived at Black Wind Mountain, he’d often bragged with these three lieutenants, especially about the stories of the Great Sage Sun Wukong, which made them practically beg for more.
So, over time, they’d grown somewhat familiar.
“This…”
Old Eight hesitated at Mo Fan’s question.
“Brother, don’t worry, I won’t run. I can’t outrun you three anyway. Besides, I think the Lord won’t be too harsh on us. After all, we’re all serving him!” Mo Fan said with a smile, then opened his mouth and spat out a small clay bottle—a tiny chamber pot he’d crafted in Erha’s tiger den, now filled with some spirit wine stored in his internal space using demonic aura.
“Brothers, this is some spirit wine I got from this trip. It’s a gift for you three, so I hope you’ll go easy on us!”
Mo Fan handed over the chamber pot with a smile. Old Eight took it, sniffed it, and immediately broke into a grin, “Brother Laibao, you’re too kind!”
“It’s not a big deal to say. Though you two left your posts without permission, the Lord is always lenient. He won’t kill you over such a small matter, so you can rest easy!” Old Eight laughed.
Hearing there was no danger to their lives, Mo Fan and Red Eye both breathed a sigh of relief, the latter’s clenched fists loosening.
“Thank you, Brother Eight! We’ll walk ourselves. No need to trouble you three.”
Mo Fan smiled, and together with Red Eye, they headed up the mountain, escorted by the three lieutenants.
Laifu, seeing this, wanted to follow and watch the drama, but thinking of his own patrol duties, he gave up.
He didn’t want to end up like Mo Fan and Red Eye.
The journey was silent, and soon Mo Fan and the others reached the Scorpion Cave.
But just as they arrived, One-Eye stepped out, his face grim.
As he exited the cave, Old Eight and the other lieutenants quickly bowed, “Greetings, Lord One-Eye!”
One-Eye ignored them, his gaze falling on Mo Fan and Red Eye. He sneered, “You two idiots, aligning yourselves with that venomous scorpion. You’ll end up dead without even bones left!”
With that, One-Eye left quickly.
From his words, Mo Fan caught a hint of something unusual.
Why was this guy here? Was it related to this setup?
Or had One-Eye used this incident to threaten the Scorpion Demon for some gain?
Mo Fan didn’t know, but one thing was clear: One-Eye hadn’t succeeded.
After One-Eye left, Old Eight shouted into the Scorpion Cave, “Lord, Red Eye and Laibao are here!”
“Hm!”
The Scorpion Demon’s voice came from inside, and he appeared at the cave entrance, his face cold as he looked at Mo Fan and Red Eye, saying gravely, “Do you two know your crime?”
“Lord, I know my crime, I know my crime!!”
“Please, Lord, spare me! I won’t dare do it again!!”
Red Eye immediately knelt, kowtowing frantically, clearly terrified.
“Next time?”
“You dare think of a next time!”
Scorpion Demon Heizi snorted coldly, stepping forward and kicking Red Eye to the ground, scolding, “Leaving your post during patrol? If the Great King found out, every one of you would be served up as a feast!”
“And you!”
Heizi turned to Mo Fan, saying coldly, “One deserter is bad enough, but you dared to do it too? Are you tired of living?!”
“Lord, I’m wronged. I left the mountain firstly to bring back Red Eye, and secondly to give you a surprise!” Mo Fan said with a wry smile.
“Surprise?”
The demons perked up at this, and Heizi snorted, “It better not be a shock!”
“Don’t worry, Lord, it’s definitely not a shock. We had quite the opportunity out there this time!”
Mo Fan grinned, then opened his mouth and spat out a large clay pot filled with shimmering golden spirit wine.
“This… low-grade spirit wine?!”
