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Chapter 58 Humans are like animals, and animals are like humans.

—What is it saying?
Why would a donkey utter a human phrase?
—Did I hear that right, or...?
Numerous thoughts flooded his mind, and Zhou You felt his limbs grow incredibly cold. He suddenly squatted down, bringing himself level with the donkey's head, and stared directly into its eyes.

Then, he confirmed it.

Those eyes undoubtedly held human emotions.

This donkey is undoubtedly a living person!
Zhou You took a deep breath, then gritted his teeth and said to the old Taoist priest.

"Master, is this what you called 'creating animals'? This thing—"

However, before he could finish speaking, a voice rang out from behind him.

"Hey young man, what are you doing standing here?"

Zhou You turned his head and saw that the caravan leader seemed to have finally finished eating the bowl of Tai Sui meat. He was picking his teeth with a dry tree branch, and his face had returned to that kind smile.

—It seems the other person didn't hear what I said.

Zhou You was silent for a moment, then raised his hand and pointed to the donkeys.

"Hey Li, what are these?"

"A donkey, what else could it be?"

The other person looked completely bewildered.

Zhou You observed carefully for a few seconds, confirming that it wasn't a disguise, before frowning and speaking.

"Donkeys? But your donkeys just spoke human language."

Li Tou paused for a few seconds, then suddenly burst into laughter.

Then, he picked up the whip from the goods, swung it high, and then brought it down heavily!

The donkey immediately began to bray in agony—but the caravan members around it not only didn't stop it, but instead burst into laughter as if they had seen something extremely amusing—then, Li Tou slowly said to Zhou You.

"I thought you were talking nonsense. You just spoke human language. This kind of thing happens occasionally. But after a few slaps and feeding the Tai Sui a few times, it will stop."

Zhou You slowly raised his head and looked directly at that face.

But he didn't get angry; instead, he spoke in a casual tone.

"Oh? Li, you've traveled all over the country and seen a lot of things. Could you explain this to me?"

Hearing Zhou You's boast, Li Tou said smugly.

"It's actually quite simple—those donkeys all belong to our caravan."

—The other party seemed to have no qualms about speaking frankly and directly told the truth.

"However, unlike us, these guys have a really weak faith in the Tai Sui Star Lord, so they've become like this after eating a little meat. Normally, such ungrateful people would be slaughtered and eaten directly, but I'm being kind, so I spared their lives and let them help the caravan carry goods, and we'll slaughter them when we get into the city."

Seeing that Zhou You did not reply, Li Tou continued.

"Young brother, you may not know this, but even under the patronage of the Grand Duke, people are divided into different ranks. The best are those who become immortals or Buddhas before the Grand Duke, but we can't envy that. Next are those who have received the Grand Duke's favor and work in the county government. Then there are people like me, who work for the Grand Duke, usually transporting goods and such. As for the worst..."

Li nodded.

"Look, these are the guys. They brought this on themselves. Who told them to be so unfaithful? These things can't even be called human anymore; they're just pure beasts, the kind you can just throw into the pot when you're done with them."

"--idiot."

This wasn't said by anyone, but rather a wise whisper from inside the pocket.

However, Zhou You seemed not to have heard this comment, and simply smiled.

"So, brother, you mean if I ate that bowl of Tai Sui meat, I might end up like this?"

Li Tou was stunned for a moment, then quickly changed his words.

"How could that be? As long as you are devout enough in your faith in the Grand Duke of Jupiter, even the worst can achieve what I have. Don't use those beasts as an example. People like us are born a generation lower than demons. We can only survive under the Grand Duke of Jupiter." Zhou You didn't listen to the rest of what he said. He just nodded as a greeting, then walked back to a nearby tree, leaned against a withered tree, closed his eyes, and seemed to be resting.

Seeing this, Li Tou could only shake his head and walk back into the caravan.
-
As night deepened, the moon rose high in the sky.

Surrounded by a group of outsiders, Zhou You couldn't ask the old Taoist priest any further questions, so he could only close his eyes and wait quietly.

And so, more or less, passed.

Then, just as his head was nodding and he was half asleep, a rapid ringing suddenly came from his ear.

At first, Zhou You thought it was his imagination, but the next moment he was suddenly shocked.

—It's the sound of a brass bell!
At the same time, the old Taoist priest's urgent words rang out beside him.

"Wake up, something's coming!"

Zhou You, who hadn't completely fallen asleep, immediately opened his eyes.

"What happened? What went wrong?!"

Before he could finish his question, the old Taoist priest suddenly stopped him.

"Hush! Xi Sheng!"

Zhou You immediately shut his mouth.

—During this time together, he also learned that although the old Taoist priest was full of bad intentions and had no good intentions towards him, he would at least do his best on the way back to the mountain gate since he had to be sent back by him.

So he squinted, pretending to be asleep, and subtly glanced around.

The caravan members around them had all gone to sleep, seemingly believing that there was no way any bandits or wild beasts could appear in this barren wasteland that had been dry for a year, so they didn't even leave anyone to keep watch.

The campfire had long since died down, leaving only a dark mass of charcoal. Only the moonlight provided faint illumination. The campsite was filled with the sounds of snoring, like a chorus of drums and music, but under the moonlight, only sleeping faces were visible.

Everything seemed so normal, with no signs of anything going wrong.

But
Zhou You glanced at his right wrist.

The brass bell trembled more and more violently—after the curse was lifted, this warning sound of danger could only be heard by Zhou You himself and those who were harmless to him.

Something is coming.

Zhou You kept his eyes half-closed, but his lips moved slightly.

"Master, what happened? Why are you calling me so urgently?"

The old Taoist priest shook off the cloth bag from his head, took a deep breath, and then said in a low voice.

"Something terrible has happened. I thought I could easily make my way through the rest of the journey by blending in with these ripe fruit vendors, but I never expected to run into robbers."

".What's the meaning?"

"Old Daoist, didn't I just tell you? These guys are ripe fruits—actually, you can understand this word literally. The Tai Sui Star Lord giving them flesh is not out of compassion and salvation, but rather like how you humans fertilize fruit trees, using this flesh to catalyze the human body."

The old Taoist priest took a breath and continued to explain.

"Those who are not talented and cannot be forced to grow will be turned into livestock or otherwise disposed of, while those who have some potential will be kept and, once they are ripe, will become rare and precious fruits in the eyes of demons and monsters, and will be picked by them immediately."

"—So, Master, you only called me a fool before you got old?"

"That's right, this group is full of fools—they think they're superior, but they don't realize they're just prey already prepared for someone else's meal—but this area has already been designated as the territory of the Grand Duke Jupiter, and ordinary demons, like that pig demon, even if they're ravenous, wouldn't dare to rob a group like this, which is why I didn't stop you from sneaking in. But now it seems like an outsider has arrived—wait, let me see who it is."

The old Taoist priest closed his eyes and kept muttering something under his breath, which sounded like a Taoist divination method. However, as he continued to speak, his face became increasingly pale.

"Damn, it's the White Dew season!"

(End of this chapter)