Chapter Eighty-One: Rescue

The dense forests stretched endlessly, while two black-clad guards wielded sharp blades, clearing a path ahead and startling countless birds into frantic flight. Master Liaokong followed at the rear of the group, walking and glancing around as he went. Suddenly, he shouted loudly, “Commander, halt! There is a demon here!”

Commander Zhou uttered a surprised sound, gestured for the group to stop, and asked in a deep voice, “Master, in broad daylight, under the clear skies, how can there be demons?”

Master Liaokong sat cross-legged on the spot, palms pressed together, eyes closed. His two round ears began to move without wind, flapping noisily like little fans.

This scene was so strange that everyone stared without blinking. Only Commander Zhou seemed unfazed, bending his bow and nocking an arrow, his small eyes wide open, alert to any movement.

“Hey!”

Master Liaokong suddenly opened his eyes, snatched the string of prayer beads from his neck, and shouted, “Demon, reveal yourself and prepare to die!”

With a sharp whistle, the prayer beads flew out, spiraling toward the right. There, amidst a thick patch of grass, the beads spun through the air, each bead inscribed with scripture that burst forth in golden light, encircling a hidden target and clamping down.

A squeal echoed. As expected, the grass was swept aside by a fierce wind, revealing the body of a white fox, its fur like embroidered silk—Yingning herself.

Seeing this, Commander Zhou quickly called out, “Master, spare its life! Capture it alive so its pelt can be presented to our sovereign.” His keen eyes immediately recognized the fox’s extraordinary fur—unique, priceless. If damaged, it would be a pity; but if he could skin it whole and offer it to his superior, such a gift would surely earn him a promotion and a future of wealth and honor.

Rumor had it that deep in the mountains lived fox demons who cultivated spiritual energy; eating their flesh granted longevity, taking their elixirs increased martial prowess, and wearing their pelts warded off the cold.

Commander Zhou had always been skeptical, but seeing this now, he instantly realized the rumors were true, and hurriedly stopped Master Liaokong, lest his prayer beads reduce the fox demon to a pulp and ruin everything.

It was well known that Master Liaokong, as a monk of the Buddhist sect, had achieved the fifth transformation of mind and body, possessing supernatural power far beyond ordinary monks. The prayer beads he had just released were no ordinary item, but a powerful artifact.

Hearing Commander Zhou’s words, Master Liaokong frowned slightly. He had intended to capture the fox demon himself with his artifact and then refine Yingning into a mindless protector for his own use. Clearly, Commander Zhou meant to intervene and seize the fox demon for his own merit.

Hmph, letting this brute profit…

But Master Liaokong still had much need for the support of the court and the black-clad guards, so there was no need to turn against them over a mere fox demon. He pressed his palms together, his face benevolent, and said, “Subduing demons is our duty. Yet since the commander has spoken, this humble monk will spare the creature and leave it to your disposal. Heaven cherishes life. Well and good!”

Squeaks echoed.

While they conversed, Yingning was immobilized by the golden glow emanating from the prayer bead artifact, unable to move a muscle despite her desperate struggle. All the spells she had learned proved useless in this predicament—her demon form was simply inferior to human form; even if their cultivation and magical power were comparable, when it came to true combat, demons inevitably fell behind, often unable to withstand even a single blow.

The reason was simple: cultivators had artifacts, while demons relied only on their bodies.

The role of tools was immense and wondrous. Take Master Liaokong’s prayer beads, for instance; they had a name: the “Demon-Subduing Empowerment Ring,” specialized in pinning down the enemy’s spirit and soul. Once caught, even the greatest magical powers could not be deployed.

Unable to escape, Yingning was so anxious that tears welled in her eyes; she regretted not heeding Xiaoyi’s advice to flee at once and seek out the young master.

“Yingning, I’m here to save you!”

Suddenly, a shrill and awkward cry rang out. From beneath the grass, a small figure leapt up, recklessly hurling itself at the “Demon-Subduing Empowerment Ring” suspended in midair.

It jumped astonishingly high!

Bang!

A loud, resounding noise shook the ears. Xiaoyi immediately felt as if his small head had collided with an iron mountain—stars danced before his eyes, blood poured from his orifices, and he collapsed stiffly to the ground, limbs splayed, unable to move.

That impact created a weakness in the golden ring, and Yingning swiftly darted out, grabbed the fallen mouse demon, and dashed headlong into the dense forest.

The event happened so suddenly that Master Liaokong was caught off guard, furious: “Impudent mouse demon, how dare you ruin my plans! Let’s see where you run!”

He retrieved his artifact, shed his scarlet robe, shook it out, and leapt onto it, riding the robe in hot pursuit.

Behind him, Commander Zhou, shocked and enraged, gave a command, leading his black-clad guards in a roaring chase.

Yingning, clutching the unconscious mouse demon, relied on her familiarity with the terrain to sprint swiftly, then suddenly changed direction and quietly slipped out of the mountain from another path.

In the air, Master Liaokong sat cross-legged on his scarlet robe as if riding a flying carpet, palms pressed together, employing Buddhist spells once more. His wind-catching ears flapped noisily—this was a Buddhist technique called “Wind Listening Ear,” which allowed him to hear the movements of nearby demons.

But this time, Master Liaokong was disappointed. He circled overhead, listening intently, but the two small demons seemed to have vanished without a trace.

“How can this be? Could they possess a spell to conceal their presence? Hmph, these two demons must have some background. To let them escape is truly regrettable.”

He searched again, still found nothing, and his magical power was nearly spent. He was forced to descend, landing before Commander Zhou, palms pressed together. “Commander, they have escaped.”

Upon hearing this, Commander Zhou drew his sword in anger and chopped down a tree as thick as a bowl, cursing, “Damn it!” Watching such great wealth slip away, how could he not resent it?

After a pause, he said, “Master, if there are demons in this mountain, they must have a lair—likely the spiritual vein you mentioned. Why not attack and capture them all?”

Master Liaokong replied, “Well spoken, commander. However, from my observations, the two demons likely went the opposite way and have already left the mountain.”

Left the mountain?

Commander Zhou’s face suddenly changed. “This is bad!”

Master Liaokong asked, “Why the alarm, commander?”

Commander Zhou said, “If the two demons leave the mountain and encounter Young Master Wu waiting outside, wouldn’t he blame them and lash out violently?”

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Master Liaokong’s expression changed as well. “In that case, we should leave the mountain immediately and join Young Master Wu!”

Wu Wencai, being the only son of the Minister of Rites and a special envoy for Buddhist hospitality, held an exceptional status. If he came to harm at the hands of demons while traveling with them, neither Master Liaokong nor Commander Zhou could escape responsibility.

They hurried at full speed, rushing out of the mountain and returning to the grove where the horses were tethered—fifteen fine steeds, all present, but Wu Wencai and two black-clad guards were missing. A thorough search yielded nothing. Only when Master Liaokong used his spells did he detect a faint scent of blood, along with lingering traces of the fox and mouse demon.

The worst had happened.

Commander Zhou and Master Liaokong exchanged glances, each seeing a shadow of gloom in the other’s eyes…