Chapter 18: The Cage Nephew’s Roar

The constables arrived swiftly.

Havoc just climbed a tree that offered a good vantage point, Bai Jiujiu already glimpsed numerous figures moving across the rooftops of Chongxi Town.

In the alley, fully armed soldiers, clad in military attire and brandishing long spears, ran in perfect formation towards Li Sibao’s home.

‘How wonderful it would be to have popcorn right now.’

Bai Jiujiu felt a pang of nostalgia for the popcorn she loved so much while watching movies in her previous life. She had never found corn in this world, so the idea had simply faded away.

She had no snacks to chew on either. Surely, she couldn’t resort to eating her own tail…

However, this was also an opportune moment to thoroughly observe the combat prowess of these constables.

As Bai Jiujiu watched the soldiers, a thought flashed through her mind: with the officials concentrated at Li Sibao’s house, the guards at the Town Suppressing Banner’s entrance must be scarce. She could seize this chance to force her way out, rather than waiting until the next day.

But Bai Jiujiu offered a faint smile and immediately dismissed the idea.

She had partnered with Tong Qiu, investing a significant sum, not merely to escape this place.

Tong Qiu’s primary role was to help Bai Jiujiu understand the human faction’s grasp of Su Ling’er’s whereabouts. Bai Jiujiu herself had descended the mountain in a hurry and possessed an inherently lazy disposition.

While escaping the Town Suppressing Banner was one goal, her greater priority was to reach Su Ling’er as quickly as possible and properly chastise her unruly disciple.

Tong Qiu had also solemnly promised that once Bai Jiujiu’s innocence was proven, the Demon Suppressing Division would, in accordance with the laws signed by humans and demons, inquire into the circumstances and then release her.

The flames of discrimination between humans and demons would not be extinguished by a single basin of water. However, this law at least prevented them from burning too fiercely.

From ancient times to the present, no one in the Demon Suppressing Division had dared to violate this rule.

No one… This bold assertion made Bai Jiujiu feel a slight unease.

If Bai Jiujiu had truly been a naive little snake, those five disciples would have devoured her, bones and all, back on Cloudfall Mountain. Eight millennia of teaching her five disciples, engaging in battles of wit with them, and managing the demons on Cloudfall Mountain had all sharpened Bai Jiujiu’s inner resolve.

Yet, her inherent cuteness was unchangeable.

Ever since all her disciples had left the mountain, the little snake had chosen to simply ‘lie flat,’ and the present situation was no different.

Boom!

Wahoo! They’re fighting!

Bai Jiujiu pushed aside the leaves covering her face, observing the constables’ battle through the gaps.

This was an excellent opportunity to know both herself and her enemy. Not only did she not know how many constable cultivators and demon hunters had gone to her Cloudfall Mountain, but Su Ling’er’s situation alone would involve numerous confrontations with the human race.

This Cage Nephew’s combat power was truly terrifying.

One must remember that Chongxi Town was currently covered by the Town Suppressing Banner, which suppressed demonic energy. Having replicated a (pseudo) Town Suppressing Banner herself, she naturally understood the extent of its suppression on demonic power.

The reason demons had suppressed humans for thousands of years relied on the demonic energy accumulated within their bodies. A demon stripped of its demonic energy could not only no longer cast demonic spells, but even its physical body, forged by heavenly tribulations, would become fragile, vulnerable to abuse from even a three-year-old child.

Yet, a surge of black energy erupted, sending the soldiers who had forcefully entered Li Sibao’s home flying backward. Had it not been for the Town Suppressing Banner, this demonic aura alone would have plunged the entire village into a coma.

“It’s a demon of the Yin Spirit Realm! The Town Suppressing Banner has locked onto it. Do not let this fiend escape!”

Zhang Feng pushed aside the soldier in front of him, drew a Tang saber similar to one he had seen with Tong Qiu earlier, aimed it at Li Sibao’s house, and issued commands to those around him.

The Cage Nephew let out a roar composed of various sounds. Eight distinct shadows surged from the doors and windows, while the largest part burst through the door and leaped onto the rooftop.

It carried a smaller one on its back, and the other eight smaller shadows clung to it one by one. Finally, the Cage Nephew, now composed of ten demons, revealed its true form under the moonlight.

Whether it was the large demonic main body at the bottom or the smaller demons above, their forms were unexpectedly slender and gaunt. Ten human faces, with nine pairs of eyes, stared fixedly and resentfully at the constables below.

The nine faces above vaguely resembled young children. However, the face at the very bottom left Bai Jiujiu unable to discern its identity for a moment. It seemed to be a woman, with the appearance of a middle-aged woman, yet a countenance undeniably like an old man, its eyes tightly shut.

“This demon has plagued the common folk for many years! Now, the Demon Suppressing Division will apprehend it and bring it to justice!”

With Zhang Feng’s command, which was merely a signal for the surrounding commoners not to come out and watch, fifty-odd soldiers surrounding the area surged forward.

They had all cultivated the most basic martial arts. Although most could only achieve body-strengthening effects due to their talent, preventing them from joining the ranks of cultivators, only about ten had reached the Qi Condensation Realm.

Zhang Feng chanted incantations, brandishing his Tang saber and unleashing several formidable sword qi strikes.

Tong Qiu followed closely behind him, condensing three fire needles in her hand and throwing them at the Cage Nephew.

The Cage Nephew roared, its nine sound waves blocking the constables’ attacks. The infantile wails also assaulted the newly ascended soldiers, causing blood to stream from their ears as they tumbled from the heights.

“What a wicked fiend! Today, I, this constable, shall personally slay you with my demon-slaying blade! Tong Qiu, let’s go together!”

Seeing that the soldiers were helpless against the Cage Nephew, Zhang Feng decided to join forces with Tong Qiu to kill it.

A demon of the Yin Spirit Realm could stably overpower a cultivator of the Core Formation Realm. However, the Cage Nephew was already locked by the Town Suppressing Banner, and its demonic energy was gradually being stripped away. It was no match for Zhang Feng and Tong Qiu, and its once eerie demonic spells had their power greatly diminished under the Banner’s influence.

The dozen or so Qi Condensation Realm soldiers also recovered from the sound waves. They immediately used their spiritual energy to block their ears, suffering less damage than the others.

Seeing their superiors charge forward, they too raised their simple blades.

“My lord, that’s my son, my son!”

Li Sibao stumbled out of the house, bleeding from all seven orifices after directly facing the demonic energy inside. Yet, he still grabbed a soldier’s leg, crying out in sorrow.

“Someone, seize this person who colluded with a demon!” Unexpectedly, the soldier immediately ordered those with bleeding ears, unable to fight, to apprehend Li Sibao.

“Spare my son, please spare my son! The smallest one at the very top, that’s him…”

Li Sibao was dragged away by two burly soldiers. His pleas did not elicit sympathy from the soldiers; instead, he was harshly slapped, causing him to cough up another mouthful of blood from his already severe injuries.

“Spare him… the one at the very top…”

“That’s my son, you cannot, you cannot harm him…”

Li Sibao seemed to have lost his soul, muttering pleas as he was dragged away by several soldiers. Their ears had been injured by the very ‘son’ Li Sibao spoke of. Had they not cultivated martial arts, they would have been deaf by now.

The accumulated resentment from the Cage Nephew allowed these soldiers to vent their frustrations on Li Sibao.

“I really envy those with long-range attack methods. I should find an opportunity later to devour some of Tong Qiu’s offensive cultivation techniques.”

Bai Jiujiu sat in the tree, watching the constables and the Cage Nephew unleash various dazzling techniques, filled with profound envy.

Despite possessing millennia of demonic energy, she couldn’t learn demonic spells. The human cultivation techniques and magical artifacts she had devoured and mastered were primarily functional. Her only offensive method was to set things on fire.

She had tested its power, but it couldn’t even singe a strand of Tong Qiu’s hair. At best, it made lighting fires for cooking a little more convenient.

“Ying!”

The Cage Nephew was now covered in numerous wounds. Having determined it could not defeat these humans, it let out a heaven-shaking roar, and its body instantly exploded. Nine shadows scattered, fleeing in all directions.

One of the largest, however, flew directly towards Bai Jiujiu’s position.