Chapter 7: The Order from the Higher-ups

Hearing Jin Qianbao's words and seeing Jiao Lao Da's smile, the Qiu Envoy's tension vanished instantly; he chuckled and went along with it: "Young brother speaks truly—I, the Envoy… ah, no, I, the Envoy, have indeed trained long within the Demon Administration Committee, so this sudden darkness is quite disorienting."

Tu Lao San, seeing Jin Qianbao defuse the awkwardness, cast him an approving glance, then stepped forward and bowed: "Envoy, you've come from afar—let our Mountain Cave host you, with my Big Brother as your companion—shall we drink well together?"

Jiao Lao Da had never wished to entertain this E Qiu; he had just called for men to attack.

Fortunately, mindful of the other's status, he quickly devised a clever ruse—extinguishing the candle.

Now that his Third Brother had spoken, he no longer resisted, smiling: "Brother Qiu, we're of the same lineage—today we must drink well, hahaha!"

Hearing the Envoy claim kinship with him, Qiu Envoy felt deep distaste.

But having just been frightened, he dared not provoke further; he merely sneered twice, straightened his chest, assumed a haughty air, and sighed upward: "I appreciate the goodwill of Jing Xiang Shan, but I have urgent matters—after finishing your business here, I must proceed to the next cave."

"Alas… who but me must follow the orders of Wen Da Ren?"

Hearing the Envoy claimed to serve Wen Da Ren, Jiao Lao Da was startled, involuntarily glancing at Jin Qianbao—thank heavens this kid was sharp; otherwise, our humble Long Qi Dong would have offended a major power.

But Jin Qianbao had no idea who Wen Da Ren was—he assumed the man was some official in the Demon Administration Committee—and kept his expression calm as he asked Qiu Envoy: "Envoy, what matter do you wish to convey to our Great King? Should we little demons step down?"

Jin Qianbao's plan was to slip away afterward, wait outside the cave to see the Envoy off, then, using the Envoy's name, claim Qiu Envoy had ordered him on a mission—leveraging the tension between Jiao Da Wang and the Envoy to execute a "darkness under the lamp" escape.

He believed his favor in helping the Envoy would guarantee success, and he was inwardly delighted—until E Qiu shook his hand, walked straight to Jiao Da Wang's side, and declared loudly: "By order of the Demon Administration Committee, I come to notify the Lord of Long Qi Dong, Jiao Da Wang, regarding Tang Sanzang's West Journey… please summon Zhu Second Master as well."

Jiao Lao Da and Tu Lao San exchanged glances, faces flushed with embarrassment; Tu Lao San took over: "To be honest, my reckless Second Brother, Zhu, got us drunk several days ago and vanished without word—we have no idea where he is now."

Qiu Envoy paused, sighed in frustration, and felt doubt—but then reasoned: Zhu Er isn't important; as long as Jiao Da Wang accepts the order, it's enough. He cleared his throat, pulled a beautifully crafted Silk Scroll from his robe, and slowly unrolled it.

Before Jiao and Tu could lean closer, Qiu Envoy's face darkened, assuming a solemn expression, and began reading slowly: "To the esteemed Great Kings and Cave Lords, when you read this Demon Edict, you have surely learned of the Buddhist West Journey."

"It is well known that our demon lineage was once the master of heaven and earth; later, our saintly ancestor Nüwa created humanity, giving rise to the current coexistence of demons and humans…"

Then, the Qiu Envoy mechanically recited the entire text of the Silk Scroll.

Demons are crude creatures, rarely speaking to each other—always preferring action over words—and now, hearing nothing but ancient history, they all felt their heads pounding, desperate to flee.

Just as Jin Qianbao was on the verge of collapsing into sleep,

Qiu Envoy finally reached the main point.

"That Tang Sanzang dares to collude with the demon traitor Sun Wukong, seeking to pass through your domains on his way to Xi Tian to seek scriptures—can we tolerate this? Of course not, right?"

"Therefore, by decision of the 1,279th Major Affairs Research Meeting of the Demon Administration Committee, we hereby notify and command all mountain strongholds and cave lords: from this day forward, all caves must mobilize troops, guard their gates strictly, forbid unauthorized movement, and fiercely obstruct Tang Sanzang's party—must utterly crush the West Journey."

Hearing this, the three demons within Long Qi Dong who knew the truth exchanged glances; Jiao Da Wang frowned—this doesn't make sense. Wasn't the Demon Administration Committee already in agreement with the other factions? Why now order all caves to mobilize? Could it be… could it be those lunatics broke the negotiations? But so fast? Jiao Da Wang grew more suspicious, suddenly recalling Jin Qianbao's earlier mention of "Party Struggle Debate."

His heart turned cold.

He thought: if negotiations had truly collapsed, my inside sources in the Demon Administration Committee would have informed me long ago. Now, with no warning, such an order—could they truly be planning to purge dissenters?

At this thought, Jiao Da Wang lost all interest in what Qiu Envoy was saying, sinking into deep suspicion.

Moments later, Qiu Envoy rolled up the Silk Scroll and gently extended it to Jiao Da Wang, sighing: "Jiao Da Wang, Tu Da Wang, when I departed, I was specifically instructed: your cave is a pillar of our demon realm. If Tang Sanzang never reaches you, fine—but if he does, I beg you both to handle it well, and uphold the glory of our demon kind."

Jiao and Tu knew their own worth perfectly; they exchanged glances, then slowly accepted the Silk Scroll and placed it on the table. Tu Lao San asked helplessly: "Envoy, if the higher-ups have decided to sabotage Tang Seng's West Journey, why not gather all demons and kill him outright? Why bother blocking each mountain one by one? Isn't that inefficient?"

Qiu Envoy nodded and smiled: "The wisdom of our leaders is beyond our comprehension. Their foresight is never explained to us. I advise you, Tu Da Wang, to prepare early—don't risk derailing the mission."

Tu Lao San hit a soft wall, his face darkening further; he grumbled: "Even if you won't gather all demons to kill him, why forbid cross-border operations? I heard eating Tang Seng grants Eternal Life—why not let all demons compete? Whoever gets him first, eats him first?"