Chapter 10

Without realizing it, Jin Qianbao fell asleep on his throne, his body exhausted; when he woke the next day, he was starving and ordered the Little Demons to fetch him something to eat.

It was fine not going—but once they went, Jin Qianbao received a message that nearly made his jaw drop: the kitchen had been robbed!

The entire rear kitchen's food had been completely cleared out, and the original rat spirit in charge, along with his few disciples, had vanished without a trace.

Even more shocking was that before disappearing, the rat spirit had taken his disciples and prepared a lavish breakfast for all the Little Demons in the Mountain Cave, then quietly taken everything away without anyone noticing.

Jin Qianbao was stunned; he wished he were that hateful rat himself, wished he were still the harmless little leopard he used to be.

"Master Jin, the news about the stolen kitchen hasn't spread yet—but once it's time for lunch today… what do you plan to do about this?"

The Little Demon didn't finish speaking, but the meaning was clear: if Jin Qianbao couldn't come up with a solution immediately, by dinnertime the Mountain Cave would explode in chaos.

After all, demons gathered together not only for mutual protection, but most importantly, for the chance to eat a ready-made meal.

After repeated setbacks, with both his head and stomach empty, Jin Qianbao was dazed; seeing he said nothing, the Little Demon silently shook his head and stood aside, silent.

After a long while, a small advertisement on the cover of the newly arrived Demon Realm Express News caught Jin Qianbao's attention.

"In response to the Demon Administration's call to 'not wander, not roam,' this Great Immortal currently possesses one precious jar of demonic artifacts, urgently needing delivery to the Broken Rock Mountain's Green Wave Pool in Jisai Kingdom. Whoever sees this, please come to my Pò'er Cave's Gathered Immortal Hermitage on Jieyang Mountain within three days to collect it personally and deliver it for me; I shall reward you with five hundred Spirit Sand."

Looking at the signature: "Ruyi Zhenxian of the Daughter Kingdom," Jin Qianbao's thoughts stirred.

His own Jing Xiang Shan's Long Qi Dong was located in Western Liang, right between Jin Dou Shan and the Daughter Kingdom; whether heading to either place, it was only seven or eight days' travel—and he was a demon, capable of traveling a thousand li in a single day.

Thinking of how the Mountain Cave's entire food supply had been stolen, and how he must quickly solve the problem of meals—or else…

Jin Qianbao dared not think further; he knew being beaten by these demons would be the best outcome—if he met a particularly unreasonable one, being eaten alive was entirely possible…

"Sigh—who else but me is now the master of Long Qi Dong?"

Thinking of this, Jin Qianbao's hatred for Jiao Da Wang and the others deepened; he couldn't help mentally cursing the ancestors of both great demons.

With no other choice, Jin Qianbao no longer cared whether helping deliver this cargo counted as wandering or roaming; even if the Demon Administration came to question him, he could always invoke the perfectly legitimate reason: "Demons need to eat."

Thinking this, Jin Qianbao quickly fetched a map and studied it: from the Daughter Kingdom to Jisai Kingdom, the route passed through Nanyue Tuo Kingdom and Xiben Bo Kingdom—both extremely prosperous places. His own cave held barely a hundred demons; if he acted carefully and kept them tightly controlled, securing enough food would be easy.

With a plan in mind, Jin Qianbao's mood lifted slightly; he returned to the rear compound of the Mountain Cave, thoroughly searched the lairs of Jiao, Zhu, and Tu, and seized over three hundred Spirit Sand; then he ordered the Little Demons to summon all demons in the cave to the great hall for immediate departure.

Not long after, a subordinate reported that all demons still present in the cave had assembled, awaiting Master Jin.

Hearing the phrase "still present," Jin Qianbao was puzzled—but when he reached the great hall, he understood, he rejoiced, he was delighted,

He nearly danced for joy!

The once-hundred-strong demon force now numbered only thirty-seven, including himself; of these thirty-seven, fewer than ten were First Generation Yao, the rest were Second Generation demons who had only recently taken human form, less than a century ago.

Jin Qianbao had been worried about mobilizing nearly a hundred demons—fearing such a large group would draw the Demon Administration's attention and suspicion—but now, with fewer than forty left, this was excellent news.

Seeing Jin Qianbao arrive and noticing the pitifully thin ranks, each demon hung his head in gloom, turning the already small gathering hall into a lifeless void.

A First Generation Yao who had taken human form for two hundred years stepped forward and said to Jin Qianbao: "Master Jin, after hearing the kitchen was robbed, most of the old demons left—seven or eight out of ten. We tried to stop them, but they were too many, so… so we couldn't hold them back. All demons still here are now assembled; say what you will. Don't worry—I, Old Hou, speak first: I don't care if others accept you, but as long as you don't let me starve, I'll follow you blindly."

Old Hou was originally a long-eared, red-striped macaque who had taken human form—he was one of the cave's oldest residents. Hearing his words, several other old demons immediately stepped forward to support him.

Thus, under Old Hou's lead, all demons bowed deeply before Jin Qianbao, temporarily stabilizing the morale of the cave's inhabitants.

Watching the demons shift from their earlier panic to this newfound resolve, Jin Qianbao felt both joy and anxiety: joy that, under Old Hou's leadership, the demons had temporarily accepted him as master—this meant his plan to go to the Daughter Kingdom stood a good chance of succeeding.

But the anxiety? Old Hou, as a former subordinate of Jiao Da Wang, had always held high prestige in the cave; though he now claimed to support Jin Qianbao, any keen observer could see that most of the demons below were already treating Old Hou as their true leader.

After a moment's hesitation, Jin Qianbao thought: let them follow whoever they want—as long as I can get them a full meal, they won't cause me trouble.

Thinking this, he suddenly realized that going to the Daughter Kingdom to deliver the goods for Ruyi Zhenxian was the most brilliant plan imaginable: it would feed the demons, and under the guise of delivery, he could avoid Tang Seng's party entirely.

As for what came after? Jin Qianbao didn't care. He told himself: once Tang Seng passed through Jing Xiang Shan, even if he abandoned Long Qi Dong and fled to another mountain, the Demon Administration's bigwigs wouldn't care anymore.

Besides, Jiao Lao Da and the other three greats clearly fled because they feared Tang Seng—once he passed, they'd return, and then there'd be even less reason for anyone to care about him.