Chapter 51: Hunter? Prey?

Shi Yi looked at Xu Jiaren with relief:

“Young Master, if everyone had the same level of thought as you, why would the Red Turban Army ever fear failing in its great cause.”

Xu Jiaren shook his head with a smile:

“Uncle Shi, you don’t need to praise me. I’m not a perfect man either. Although I never intended to kill those ordinary bandits, the leaders were all extremely wicked people—killing them was no loss.”

“The Black Wind Stronghold’s Second-in-Command and Third-in-Command have already been carried off by the bear, they most likely won’t survive. Let’s go and kill the Chief, if only to vent some of my frustration.”

Shi Yi nodded in agreement and grabbed Xu Jiaren’s shoulder:

“Young Master, pardon the offense.”

With a single leap, Shi Yi carried Xu Jiaren into the Black Wind Stronghold.

But strangely, once they entered, there was not a single shadow in sight.

Even the Black Eagle and Pearl were gone.

Within the stronghold, apart from celebratory red drapes and red lanterns, there were only bloodstains splattered across the streets and walls.

“This...”

Xu Jiaren was dumbfounded.

He had just told Shi Yi that they should capture the bandits for a proper trial, and in the blink of an eye, the Black Wind Stronghold had become an empty fortress.

Although after Pearl’s death, indeed quite a few bandits had fled, it shouldn’t have been enough for the entire stronghold to be deserted.

Could it be that he had misjudged the number of escapees because of the snake venom in his system?

Or did everyone flee through some hidden escape tunnel after they realized Uncle Shi had arrived?

Then what about all this blood on the streets and walls? It couldn’t possibly be from Mo Lin and the Black Eagle fighting, could it?

But the amount of blood didn’t match up at all!

Shi Yi, as an Earth-rank swordsman, was confident that in his prime he could wipe out the Black Wind Stronghold with a single strike.

Even now, though heavily injured, eliminating a stronghold without a Profound Demon wouldn’t have been difficult.

But he was a swordsman, not a cleaner.

Even he did not have the means to make an entire stronghold of over a hundred people disappear without a trace.

Xu Jiaren thought for a moment, then suddenly remembered the few bandits who had fled when he, Shi Yi, and the bear confronted each other at the stronghold’s entrance—before Mo Lin had even appeared.

“Please, don’t eat us!”

Recalling their desperate cries as they fled, Xu Jiaren’s eyes widened in shock with a startling guess:

“Could it be... the entire stronghold was eaten by Mo Lin?”

Prompted by Xu Jiaren, Shi Yi immediately recalled that python demon whose head and belly were oddly out of proportion:

“You mean that Profound Python?”

“No wonder I thought its belly was absurdly huge. If it really did eat all the bandits here, that would explain it.”

Xu Jiaren frowned in doubt:

“But Uncle Shi, wasn’t it just a Profound Python? Could it really devour an entire stronghold in such a short time?”

Shi Yi shook his head:

“I attained the Dao through swordsmanship, so I don’t understand much about the cultivation of such serpents.”

“But as far as I know, in the western regions of the Great Qian Dynasty, there was once a case of a snake demon devouring an entire city.”

“However, that was a Heaven Serpent, renowned across the world. I don’t know if a Profound Demon could achieve something like swallowing a stronghold.”

Shi Yi looked at Xu Jiaren, his eyes carrying a grave weight:

“But if this stronghold’s bandits really were eaten by that python demon, then in both temperament and innate talent, that creature is exceedingly dangerous.”

“In time, it may even break its shackles and advance to become an Earth Python.”

“Young Master, I suggest that once you descend the mountain, you should avoid any further entanglement with it.”

Shi Yi’s sharp gaze revealed that although he was a warrior obsessed with the sword, he could still perceive Xu Jiaren’s intentions.

Just as he said—Mo Lin was cold in nature and extraordinarily gifted.

To silently annihilate an entire stronghold without outsiders noticing was no small feat.

Dealing with it would undoubtedly be perilous.

Xu Jiaren’s future should be to face the world, not to risk everything in his formative years by associating with a Profound Python.

Xu Jiaren rubbed at the corner of his robe, not intending to hide his thoughts from Shi Yi:

“You’re right, Uncle Shi, you’ve guessed correctly. I do indeed plan to make further contact with it.”

“As you said, you’ve seen it too. This Profound Python may have the potential to advance into an Earth Python. If we can win its favor, it would be of no harm to us.”

Shi Yi’s face grew tense, and he quickly said:

“But Young Master, that python demon is simply far too dangerous...”

Xu Jiaren raised his hand to stop him, speaking slowly yet firmly:

“Wasn’t it dangerous when my father founded the Red Turban Army? Isn’t it dangerous for the Red Turban Army to vow to overthrow a dynasty?”

Shi Yi fell silent.

Those two acts alone were battles against the massive colossus that was the Great Qian Dynasty.

Even a hundred heads wouldn’t be enough to risk, so of course they were perilous.

Xu Jiaren smiled faintly:

“I am merely attempting something. Even if I fail, it doesn’t matter.”

“After all, it is just a Profound Python. Once you recover to your full strength, Uncle Shi, a mere Profound Demon would naturally not be a threat to me under your protection.”

Shi Yi couldn’t help but reply:

“But if it breaks through to become an Earth Python, then it would be a being equal to the Mountain Lord.”

Xu Jiaren said calmly:

“If it truly becomes an Earth Demon, and if it can be controlled, we shall ally with it and make it our support in Yongzhou.”

“If its nature proves untamable, then we shall devise a plan to pit it against the Mountain Lord.”

“When the two are badly wounded from their conflict, we can reap the benefits, eliminating both demons at once. That would also be a contribution to the people of Yongzhou.”

Hearing Xu Jiaren’s rather meticulous reasoning, Shi Yi still wanted to argue, but he had to admit there was merit in the plan.

Xu Jiaren patted Shi Yi’s shoulder:

“Enough, Uncle Shi. Since the Black Wind Stronghold is now empty, the Chief must already be in Mo Lin’s belly.”

“There’s no point in staying here. Let’s descend quickly before unforeseen troubles arise.”

With that, the two departed.

Yet neither the gravely injured Shi Yi nor Xu Jiaren with his Kouque noticed the figure quietly watching them from the woods not far from where they had stood.

The figure wore a tattered Taoist robe.

A gaping wound pierced through its throat, and its body exuded no trace of life, only death.

Thus, it had deceived Shi Yi’s senses.

Only after Xu Jiaren and Shi Yi left did the figure step forward.

It was none other than Gong Yang—the Bureau of Heaven Monitoring traitor who had died two years ago and been refined by Mo Lin into a Hair Jiangshi!

“Mm-hmm.”

Nearly a kilometer away, just at the edge of the control range for the Hair Jiangshi, Mo Lin clearly heard the entire conversation between Xu Jiaren and Shi Yi through Gong Yang’s ears.

“That damn bear may be rotten, but its judgment of character is sharp. This Xu Jiaren really is a cheap lotus, actually waiting here for me.”

Like the bear before, Mo Lin spat disdainfully, then chuckled darkly:

“But you never expected that I’d have a zombie that could disguise itself as a corpse and secretly listen to your little talk.”

“If not for this, I wouldn’t have known that beneath that delicate, pretty face, you were plotting such schemes.”

Yet, precisely because he overheard Xu Jiaren’s words, Mo Lin finally felt reassured.

According to Xu Jiaren, they would treat him favorably and attempt to recruit him, at least until he reached Earth-rank.

Which meant, before he became an Earth Demon, contact with them was relatively safe.

With the advantage of intelligence, he could easily play a game of “who is truly the fisherman.”

“You want to control me or eliminate me?”

“Heh, then let’s see who’s more capable in the end. I really want to test whether your death would truly render that companion artifact unusable by me.”

“In this world, the roles of hunter and prey can reverse in an instant.”

With that, Mo Lin finally departed from the Black Wind Stronghold.