Mountains and giant beasts, cabins in the woods

The early summer morning light, just after passing through the thin mist on the mountaintop, was crumpled into fine gold leaf by the ancient trees and pasted onto the giant beast's glossy fur.

The big guys in front of Liu Xingmo were all fourth-level managers.

I've seen that tiger before; it's the leader of the Enforcement Hall. That white horse must be the leader of the White Horse Caravan. The pterosaur is probably the leader of the Wild Goose Caravan. I heard the water buffalo is the leader of the Great Pharmacy Hall.

Liu Xingmo immediately stood at attention and respectfully greeted, "Good morning, esteemed managers!"

The tiger approached silently, its massive body moving with the gait of a cat: "You're the storyteller?"

"That's right, I'm Liu Xingmo, editor-in-chief of the *Black Dragon Weekly*." Liu Xingmo nodded in reply. "May I ask what business you have with me?"

"Listen carefully, we need you to do something big." The tiger paused for a moment after saying this.

Liu Xingmo tilted his head back, waiting for the next part to continue.

"Get out of the way, you silly cat." The water buffalo stepped forward, shoving the tiger aside, and said, "Young man, we have a favor to ask of you. Most of the refugees who have ended up here are alchemists, whom we desperately need. We hope you can step in and persuade them to stay in Black Dragon Village."

"No problem," Liu Xingmo readily agreed, then cautiously asked, "But esteemed managers, I must know why outsiders don't trust Black Dragon Stronghold?"

"Roar!" the tiger roared, its tone impatient. "Kid, this isn't your business! You just need to follow..."

"Shut up, you stupid cat!" The white horse stomped on the tiger's tail. "You, the head of the Enforcement Hall who lives off the family's wealth, don't you want your salary for the rest of your life? Humph, we merchants aren't afraid of you."

"I shouldn't have come to join the fun yesterday. How did I get involved with that old woman..." The tiger shrugged, shoving its massive head close to the young man. "The Blood Shadow Sect, one of the five great demonic sects of the Central Plains, you know? Our Black Dragon Stronghold belongs to it..."

"What is it?" Liu Xingmo had long suspected this, and today he finally got the answer.

The tiger blinked and blurted out the answer: "The...inheritor."

The mountain forest was quiet in the early morning, with a gentle breeze carrying the fragrance of pine needles and the sweet scent of wildflowers, but the people at the foot of the mountain were not intoxicated by it.

"Inheritors? We took the Blood Shadow Sect's techniques and resources?" Liu Xingmo pressed.

The Blood Shadow Sect, a vast library, is only mentioned in ancient books hidden in secret corners. It's an organization dedicated to exploring forbidden uses of blood magic, a true enemy of the world.

The water buffalo on the other side said slowly, "No, we are the main branch of the Blood Shadow Sect. Our direct lineage has never been broken. Later, we found that selling medicine was too profitable, so we became like this."

"Impossible!" Liu Xingmo refused to accept the truth. "Our cultivation techniques were passed down from the Mountain Goddess, it can't be..."

The tiger closed its eyes and said helplessly, "Her title—Tyrannosaurus Mountain Goddess—is a new one acquired within the last thousand years. I heard she used to be called Blood Dragon Demon Goddess."

"Smack!" The pterosaur pecked the tiger's head hard with its long beak. "Silly cat! I told you to talk, but I didn't tell you to say so much! What nonsense are you spouting to a junior like me?"

"My God!" Liu Xingmo covered his eyes with his hands, utterly speechless. "Having lived this long, this is the first time I've realized that I'm some kind of evil demon..."

He thought for a moment and asked, "Wait a minute? We've been living peacefully for so many years, the underworld should have been cleansed of its criminal past by now, why are outsiders still chasing after us?"

The pterosaur spread its broad bat wings, tilted its head back and pondered: "In this world, there once was a secret technique that caused a bloodbath, the Blood Sacrifice Technique. It used other living beings as bait to strengthen its own constitution, and could even directly plunder the aptitude of those with innate bodies."

Liu Xingmo immediately realized: "Isn't this the 'Dragon Transformation Technique' that we practice every day?"

The tiger shook its head: "No, that's far from it. That so-called great technique can only absorb one, while our 'Dragon Transformation Technique' can absorb five. Quantity trumps quality; four blood-path beasts are enough to make one a primordial being."

Liu Xingmo finally gave up resisting: "Fine, that's it... I'm a demon, a monster, wahahaha!"

The young man's voice echoed through the mountains and forests, the cries of kingfishers came from the depths of the shadows, and the March River, which had been rising in recent days, flowed among the rocks with a gurgling sound.

The white horse lowered its head, its giant eye fixed on the young man: "Young man, there is a difficult task ahead: to improve the reputation of Black Dragon Village. We old folks have spent most of our lives working on this, and we've accomplished nothing. This task will fall to you from now on. Can you do it?"

"What else can I say? Never mind." Liu Xingmo waved his hand and said casually, "I'll finish the serialized novel as soon as possible. As for the new book, I'll call it 'The Legend of the Black Dragon Hero.' That's all I can do."

Bai Ma nodded with satisfaction: "That's enough. Leave the task of distributing this book worldwide to us."

The pterosaur leaned closer, asking, "Isn't this too deliberate? What if it gets banned?"

"It's alright." Liu Xingmo smiled calmly. "I'll bring back some familiar characters from my previous books for the new one. There will always be nostalgia fans who will appreciate it."

"This doesn't make sense, does it?" The tiger opened its mouth wide and also put its head on the ground. "Those people aren't from the same dynasty!"

"So what? When in doubt, quantum mechanics; when nothing makes sense, time travel. That's what rehashing old ideas is all about," Liu Xingmo said nonchalantly.

The buffalo snorted and said, "You can do it like this? Now things are really secure."

The white horse blinked and said, "Young man, you can also take on the task of persuading an alchemist, can't you?"

"My wife's relatives are among those people. I'll give it a try. Sigh!" Liu Xingmo sighed.

"You're really something, kid! You've taken on all the trouble all at once," the tiger said, baring his teeth and grinning. "Now it's your turn!"

"I'll do my best," Liu Xingmo added. "When are those people leaving? Let them relax their watchful eye for a bit, let them wander around the city and have a look around, before I can take any action."

The water buffalo calmly replied, "Leave it to us."

……

The managers' visit was unexpected and disrupted many plans.

Liu Xingmo returned to his room, quickly washed his face, and then heard the doorbell ring again.

At the entrance, three businessmen, Tie Shengcai, Bai Daoyuan, and Bai Youyun, stood in a row.

"What's wrong with you guys? You're looking at me like I'm a dinosaur." Liu Xingmo said, both amused and exasperated.

"Brother, no, elder brother!" Tie Shengcai said enthusiastically, "I just saw our team leader! And several other managers, they're all here for someone as important as you, right?"

"Yeah, yeah! Little brother." Bai Youyun turned to look into the distance, "I saw our team leader too! And that tiger, could it be the legendary head of the Enforcement Hall?"

Bai Daoyuan remained silent, his eyes filled with reverence.

"The managers did indeed have some small matters to discuss with me," Liu Xingmo said with a smile. "Let me tell you a secret: that tiger isn't very smart."