"Let go! My fucking name isn’t Red Face!"
Amid the bickering, the two quickly began to brawl.
Monkey, wielding his Demon Slaying Saber, glanced disdainfully at the childish bunch.
He then hurried over to Lin Shu, babbling on about his grand blueprint.
Find a Demon Mountain, establish a Demon Banner!
Just like the Qingming Demon General, they would have a territory of their own.
Unfortunately, Lord Lin didn’t seem very interested in such things.
Lin Shu walked through the silent mountain forest and let out a long breath.
He finally understood the source of the unease he’d been feeling.
Due to his lack of power and status, there were many things he wanted to do but couldn’t.
This was especially true after witnessing the behavior of these Demons.
That feeling of his will being stifled grew even stronger.
In reality, things weren’t as complicated as he had made them out to be.
With Yu Sheng covering for him back in Shihu City, no one would know where Shopkeeper Lin had gone.
Before leaving Yongzhou Pass, he could use this time to briefly play the part of a Demon General.
Once he took on a new identity, that trove of Merit and Sin Coins he was always thinking about no longer seemed so difficult to earn.
"A Demon Mountain..."
He didn’t much care for the Demon Mountain Monkey was going on about.
He just needed a place to stay for two months.
In any case, once the time was up, he was bound to return to Yongzhou, and Elder Xu would take this group of Little Demons somewhere safer.
As his thoughts drifted, a flurry of hurried footsteps suddenly sounded from up ahead.
Immediately after, a dense sea of torches emerged from the woods.
About thirty or forty neatly dressed Demons, all with sharp blades at their waists, had split into two teams and were searching the mountainside.
The Demon Qi around them was thick, and their Cultivation levels were by no means weak.
The display was almost comparable to the team of Demon-slaying Bureau constables led by Xu Zhonglin.
"Found them!"
The lead Demon halted and crushed a Child Stone.
Soon, a black-clad figure surged forward, and a beautiful woman swept silently out of the night.
She saw Lin Shu, a hint of surprise in her eyes. Her gaze then shifted to the many Little Demons behind him, finally landing on the pile of Demon-Binding Ropes and Demon Slaying Sabers.
"I had just sensed something was wrong and was looking for them. I didn’t expect you’d be the one to save them again."
The Qingming Demon General instantly guessed what had happened. She smiled, pressing her lips together. "Thank you for your trouble, young friend. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have known how to explain myself to Elder Xu."
After speaking, she turned to Xie Yutang. Her tone wasn’t scolding, but gentle. "Elder Xu entrusted you to my care, after all. If you need to go out for something in the future, you should inform me first."
"Huh? But when we left, didn’t we ask them to tell you..."
Monkey looked up, stunned. Before he could finish his sentence, Xie Yutang secretly kicked him.
Sure enough, among the fully-armed Little Demons from Qingming Mountain, a few figures silently averted their gaze.
The beautiful woman’s expression turned slightly cold as she glanced back at them impassively.
"Please don’t be offended, Demon General. This mouth of mine just loves to run on its own." Monkey chuckled foolishly, slapped himself lightly on the mouth twice, and quickly tried to smooth things over.
In truth, they could understand the other Little Demons’ way of thinking.
After all, the Qingming Demon General’s safety didn’t just involve the lives of these Demons, but also the tens of thousands of refugees in her territory.
"Do you need my help covering this up?"
The Qingming Demon General turned back to look at Lin Shu again.
The Demon-slaying Bureau had mobilized so many people only to suffer such a major, silent defeat right after entering the mountains.
This wasn’t like the matter with the two Immortal Descendants last time, which could be glossed over with a fabricated demon’s name.
"No need. I plan to stay here for a while."
Lin Shu shook his head, his tone polite.
Although they weren’t well-acquainted, this Demon General had helped him once before.
Besides, while the beautiful woman claimed she was only searching, judging by her entourage, she had clearly been prepared for a head-on confrontation with the Demon-slaying Bureau.
"Stay for a while?"
The Qingming Demon General was stunned for a moment. She then looked at the undisguised excitement on the Little Demons’ faces.
A look of astonishment crossed her pretty face. "Did you really take up the Demon Banner?"
The moment she said this, the rest of the Little Demons instantly looked over.
For a Demon General to establish a banner was a major event in the mountains. It had to be announced throughout the entire mountain range and even reported to the Demon Monarch.
Adding one more to the thirty-six Demon Generals would relieve a great deal of pressure for Lord Qingming.
"You..."
The Qingming Demon General suddenly rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on.
’Didn’t Elder Xu warn this young man that something big is about to happen at Yongzhou Pass?’
’This group of Demon Generals under the Cloud Dragon Demon Monarch, us included, might not want to participate, but after so many years under the Demon Monarch’s protection, we can’t bring ourselves to just walk away now.’
’So why is someone else rushing headfirst into this mess?’
Shaking her head, she let the thought go.
’I’m not that familiar with this young man. Some things are best left until Elder Xu returns.’
’I wonder what kind of look that Old Demon will have on his face when he gets back and finds things have turned out like this.’
"Let’s walk and talk."
At this thought, the Qingming Demon General gave a helpless smile. "Choosing a location for a Demon Mountain is quite particular. It involves setting up formations and building a residence, which can’t be done in a short time. Why don’t you come back with me to Qingming Mountain for now... Don’t stand on ceremony. Just consider it a small gift from me to congratulate you on taking up the banner."
Hearing this, Lin Shu glanced back at the crowd of Little Demons.
Including Xie Yutang, they were all just exchanging blank looks.
Apparently, even though Monkey was always shouting about taking up a banner, when it came to the actual business of being a Demon, Elder Xu hadn’t taught them a thing.
’A bunch of half-baked amateurs, all of them.’
Lin Shu speechlessly averted his gaze, cupped his hands, and said, "Then I must thank you, Senior."
"I’m not your senior."
The Qingming Demon General shook her head, correcting him. "Now that you have become a Demon General here, status has nothing to do with age or seniority. All that matters is your rank under the Demon Monarch."

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