Chapter 212: What Will Our Demon Mountain Become… (sniffle)

"Ah, sorry, sorry!" Jia Ji immediately clasped his hands together and apologized: "I got carried away—I should've known my unconscious self would do something like this…"

Yet, before his sincere apology had lasted two seconds, Jia Ji immediately revealed his wall-thick gall and declared a sacred separation: "No, since I wasn't conscious then, it wasn't me—it was all that unconscious little stone's doing (certainly)."

But the three tengu of varying sizes before him said nothing in response to his words.

After all, they were major figures in the demon world, living peacefully on their own turf, when suddenly an unwelcome guest appeared, said nothing, and beat every major demon senseless… Though humiliating, they had no way to retaliate.

The strong must humiliate the weak—might makes right!

Jia Ji, seated cross-legged, had undoubtedly thrown the entire Mount Hachiro into chaos, yet none among those present could dare criticize him—they had no choice but to grit their teeth and accept it.

"Please, have some tea."

A pure-white maiden, clad in a white robe and white socks, her silver hair tightly pinned against her back, served steaming tea; yet her movements were slightly stiff, her jade-like fingers trembling—clearly, shadows of the man before her still haunted her.

"Tea again… fine."

Jia Ji took the teacup, lifted the lid, closed his eyes, and drained it in one gulp. The scalding tea slid from his mouth to his throat; he held his breath, eyes shut, savoring it carefully.

Hmm… couldn't taste salt or sweetness… seems like every time I visit a new place, I have to drink something—just like the banquet after resolving a anomaly or slaying a demon. It's practically tradition.

But… does Japan even have tea leaves here?

Whatever. People who care about this are ⑨. I'll treat it as tea ceremony cultivation.

He drank two cups of tea that hot—in one go!

"You didn't do this on purpose, did you? Out of some sadistic whim?"

Beside him, Yagumo Shii regarded him with suspicion and whispered quietly.

Everyone had come here "in good faith" to challenge, draw the line, fight fairly—winner stands, loser lies down. But this guy ended up like Shiluozhi, winning with this utterly indefensible method.

The atmosphere was now painfully awkward—even the demon sage, his own ally, wanted to pretend she didn't know him.

"Impossible!" Jia Ji denied vehemently, his face radiating righteousness: "I've traveled countless realms for years—I'm known as the Honest and Reliable Young Master, a man with ironclad integrity. How could I ever do something so selfish and cruel! I almost took a photo and posted it to the group… but I didn't, did I?"

"You've become utterly disloyal, unjust, unkind, and unfilial…"

"Sister, are you asking me to say you're cute too?"

The Demon King, sitting upright, eyes straight ahead, gaze utterly still, eyes fixed on nose, nose on heart, noticed the conversation veering dangerously toward territory involving her—and still, they delayed getting to the point.

And her two top tengu were useless—both sat rigidly, faces stern, staring blankly at each other, lips sealed tight. She finally couldn't hold back: "Ahem, I wonder if the Demon Sage and…"

What followed was the negotiation between Yagumo Shii and the tengu clan—none of it concerned Jia Ji.

But when the Demon Sage proposed launching an assault on the Moon to seize Tsukuyomi's position, everyone turned to Jia Ji with eerie, resentful stares.

Why not just say upfront we're forming an alliance?

Is "persuasion (by force)" really how you use it?

Of course, they also glanced at Yagumo Shii—but all they got was her helpless shrug. After all, Jia Ji was the main force; the blame fell squarely on him.

Only after the man had finished stealing and devouring the entire fruit platter did the two sides finally conclude their talks. After long deliberation, the Demon King ultimately agreed.

"The Moon people's technology must be far more advanced than ours on the ground. Both our tengu clan and the kappa below are quite interested in such things."

She was a demon who lived for novelty. In truth, had she not been blinded by rage at first, she might have joined the alliance without even fighting Jia Ji.

"GO! GO! GO!"

Seeing another faction secured, Jia Ji nearly shouted, "Trust the Demon Sage—full advance!"

But before that, Yagumo Shii had already anticipated it—she opened a gap beneath his seat, swallowed him whole, then turned and winked twice at the bewildered tengu, flashed a mysterious smile, and vanished instantly.

After all, the oni were arriving soon—and they'd likely rough up the entire tengu clan again. When they traced the culprit, it'd inevitably lead back to Jia Ji.

Now's the perfect time to leave.

"Rin~ Ryu~"

In the ancestral tengu council hall, now that outsiders had left and only Reiri and Iinagamaru—whom she'd raised like a daughter from the egg—remained, the once-majestic Demon King collapsed, slumping into a limp heap on the tatami, boneless, radiating an aura of pure "indolence."

"Sigh… this time I've lost all dignity…" The Demon King's lips quivered, wanting to speak but unsure what to say—finally, she could only choke out:

"What will our demon mountain become… (sniffle)"

…………

In tengu society, where rumors spread faster than wind, if you don't silence the gossipmongers, false stories—obviously false, yet still believed—will erupt in no time.

Of course, rumors like "The Demon King was stripped naked" or "Rin's honor was tainted by a human"—too explosive to contain—spread across all of Mount Hachiro.

That day, aside from beings like Yagumo Shii, no one could withstand the residual shockwaves of the two titans' clash—none could have witnessed the Demon King, after being stripped, wrapping herself in her wings, eyes vacant, as if broken, in silent withdrawal.

And Yagumo Shii had no interest in spreading such rumors… at least not now. Who knows about later?

So if not Shimeji Mon, not the Demon Sage… then could it be Jia…

Immortal God·Shi Zhangji: Yes, it was me.

Though her direct power couldn't match the Oni King, as a mountain deity within her domain—and given Mount Hachiro's immense scale, more stable than Great Mountain—she had used invisible hands to hold the mountain together behind the scenes, preventing its collapse. Even so, it exhausted her terribly.

Spreading rumors was her little revenge. After all, the Demon King never cared.

"Ryu-sama! Rin-sama! The Demon King's dead—!"

Yet the first words a young tengu screamed upon waking from a nightmare spread across the demon mountain ten times faster.

(End of Chapter)