Chapter 6: Special Envoy of the Monster Commission

Jiao Da Wang likely had no idea what Jin Qianbao was thinking.

To him, this little leopard was meticulous, thoughtful, and capable of reasoning—even from mere fragments in the Monster News, he had deduced truths nearly equal to what Jiao Da Wang himself knew; after a brief moment of stunned silence, Jiao Da Wang nodded heavily.

Seeing Jin Qianbao's opinion had won Jiao Da Wang's approval, Tu Lao San said no more; he straightened his robes and stood proudly behind his elder brother, clearly reclaiming his aura as a demon king.

Following the two demons, Jin Qianbao couldn't help smirking inwardly, already regarding these two great demons as complete fools.

Especially when he saw Jiao Da Wang walking while ordering underlings to fetch a cloak, he silently cursed in his chest: "You big dumb serpent, trying to tie me to your rotten ship? Wait till I meet the envoy—I'll show you how I'll slip right out of this Dragon Qi Dong, which the monkey's going to smash to bits anyway."

Perhaps Jin Qianbao's amusement was too obvious; Tu Lao San glanced at him curiously: "Qianbao, what's so funny?"

Jin Qianbao startled, realizing he'd let his guard down; he quickly wiped the smugness from his face and bowed: "Respectful reply, Third Master: this humble one is merely delighted thinking of the kindness your two Great Kings have shown me."

"Kindness?"

Tu Lao San grinned, two large, jade-white front teeth flashing out: "Hmm… good you know it. I'll tell you this: the position of cave strategist has been vacant for a long time. Don't let our two Great Kings down."

"Thank you, Great King! Thank you, Great King! Please, Third Master, rest assured—I shall serve with all my might, even unto death, lest I fail to repay your two Great Kings' nurturing!"

These two phrases were what the little leopard had heard from storytellers' tea stalls back in Chenshi—tales of Zhuge Liang, chancellor of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms.

Zhuge Liang himself had once been a great being of the demon realm, originally a ten-thousand-year sleeping dragon who, moved by Liu Bei's recognition and favor, emerged from seclusion to lend aid.

The little leopard naturally loved hearing such tales of great demons, but back then he'd been too playful to remember much—only these two lines from the "Memorial to the Emperor" stuck in his mind.

Unfortunately, neither Tu Lao San nor Jiao Lao Da had ever heard these words; yet seeing the little leopard's sincere expression, though confused, they dared not lose face before their subordinates, assuming he'd spoken something wise, and both gave faint smiles and slight nods.

As the three demons entered the mountain cave's main hall, every corner was lit with candles.

Watching the wax candles weeping down the walls and floors, Tu Lao San felt his heart bleed—these glowing things were luxuries for demons who dwelled deep in mountains for years, since passing merchants rarely carried candles with them.

Jiao Lao Da, however, appeared magnanimous, clearly pleased with his underlings' grand reception—yet just one second later, he grew gloomy.

"It's you."

"Indeed, it's this Great Sir."

"Hmph… a hundred years since we last met, and you've risen to become an envoy of the Commission? Quite the surprise, Jiao Wang."

"Hmph? What's so hmphy? I told you long ago: among all demon dragons in this world, only my Qiu clan is the true dragon lineage. Not even an envoy—someday, even joining the Commission's leadership won't be hard for me!"

Jin Qianbao sighed inwardly, realizing the demon before him—glowing red all over, face wrinkled, yet utterly beardless—must be the infamous E Qiu, the deep-pool demon with old grudges against Jiao Da Wang.

Thinking this fellow would likely make trouble for Jiao Da Wang, Jin Qianbao's mood soured; his earlier plan to use this situation to escape the cave

was instantly shadowed by unease.

But before Jin Qianbao could speak to ease the tension, Jiao Lao Da suddenly waved his hand and barked: "Bring it!"

Most of the little demons in the cave were crude and unrefined; hearing their Great King's shout and recalling the envoy's arrogant demeanor, they instantly assumed Jiao Lao Da meant to attack—each snatched up weapons and charged into the hall.

E Qiu was clearly startled by this sudden turn; he shrank his neck, brandished a jet-black Long Spear, and his voice trembled slightly as he pointed at Jiao Lao Da: "Y-you… what are you doing? I—I—I'm an envoy of the Monster Commission!"

But Jiao Da Wang continued: "Extinguish all the candles. Put them away. What's the point of lighting candles in broad daylight?"

Hearing this, all the demons froze, wondering when their Great King had changed his ways—surely this wasn't his usual style… Seeing their confusion, Jin Qianbao seized the moment, leapt forward with a single stride, bowed deeply to E Qiu, and smiled apologetically: "These little demons here don't know proper etiquette—please, Esteemed Envoy, don't take offense. Come, come… please, sit down, please, sit down."

With Jin Qianbao's diversion, the little demons snapped to attention, murmured "Yes, sir!" and slunk away—only a few flower-spirits and tree-ghosts remained, busily snuffing out the candles.

E Qiu never imagined Jiao Lao Da's outburst was just to put out candles; he realized he'd shown weakness, and seeing Jin Qianbao—a handsome little demon—step in to smooth things over, he quickly steadied his nerves.

He then acted as if nothing had happened, sat heavily on the stone chair beside him, cleared his throat, and said: "A few candles…"

Mid-sentence, catching Jiao Lao Da's hostile gaze, he instantly changed course: "Let's get to the matter at hand."

Jin Qianbao observed every shift in E Qiu's expression—he knew this envoy was all bluster and no substance, and immediately formulated a plan.

First, he respectfully poured tea for the envoy, then bowed and said: "Esteemed Envoy, coming from the Monster Commission, you naturally wouldn't care about a few little candles."

"But… though our Dragon Qi Dong is piled high with treasures, my Great King is always frugal. We've extinguished these candles—please, Esteemed Envoy, don't take offense."

Jin Qianbao's words weren't elegant, but they served two purposes: they restored Jiao Lao Da's dignity and prevented E Qiu from seeing him as stingy.

On the other hand, they subtly redirected E Qiu's earlier embarrassment onto the candle-lighting incident, restoring a sliver of face for the envoy—so both great demons instantly felt more comfortable, and both secretly developed a surge of goodwill toward him.