I am Guhuoniao, not an umbrella demon, please do not disturb me.

I didn't even have time to write a review for Arakawa no Nushi before he passed away.

"Wait a little longer before we go down. The monsters of Arakawa don't need us to appear anymore."

Arakawa no Nushi has clearly stated that she does not need help. Arakawa has integrity and dignity, and she herself is not obligated to help Arakawa. She has no relation to Arakawa and there is no reason for her to help. She is afraid that some little monsters will not understand right and wrong and will think that they have an obligation to help.

Silently watching the Goldfish Princess below, I saw her sitting on the ground in a daze for a while. After wiping away her tears, she went over and pulled out the black longsword that the Lord of Arakawa had left behind, and solemnly accepted it.

This day will change Princess Goldfish's life.

The Lord of Arakawa used his life to teach her to grow, and the price was far too high for Princess Goldfish. It can be said that Princess Goldfish lost her most important family member, and watched him die right before her eyes.

The cost is high, but the corresponding growth will be just as great. Bai Qingyu believes that the Goldfish Princess can grow into a powerful demon and take over the position of Lord of Arakawa.

However, the innocent and carefree little girl who used to talk about ruling the world is probably gone forever. Even Bai Qingyu can't say whether this is good or bad for Princess Goldfish.

Zhen Tian held Bai Qingyu's hand and watched with her as they gazed down at the desolate, deathly silent wasteland.

"The Lord of Arakawa is dead. Will Arakawa still exist?"

"Of course it exists. The Lord of Arakawa left so gracefully because he found a successor, although this successor is too young. Sigh, what a mess."

Bai Qingyu clicked her tongue. To be honest, if it weren't for wanting to help the poor Goldfish Princess, she probably wouldn't have offered to help Arakawa no Kami with the aftermath. Arakawa's current situation was really difficult to handle.

Time passed slowly, and bursts of crying came from below.

It was only then that the group of monsters gradually began to accept the reality of Arakawa no Nushi's departure.

For a moment, it felt somewhat unreal.

Why would such a powerful leader sacrifice himself?

All I can say is that this is all for their sake.

Amidst the cries, Bai Qingyu thought for a moment, then took out the Demon Book again and began writing down the other yokai living in the Arakawa River, such as the Goldfish Princess, the Carp Spirit, the Kappa, Ebisu, the Juzu, and the Umibozu.

I have seen records of the frog-shaped porcelain before; I once saw it at the palace.

First is Princess Goldfish. After thinking for a long time, Bai Qingyu's first evaluation of Princess Goldfish was: the second Lord of Arakawa.

In a sense, the current Goldfish Princess can also be called the Lord of Arakawa, since it is a title.

The demonic power flowed continuously, and in no time, all the demons of the Arakawa River except for the Lord of the Arakawa River were recorded. The Lord of the Arakawa River was not recorded not only because there was too much to write, but also because Bai Qingyu had a question.

There is a demon in the demon register named Ōtakemaru.

Putting aside whether the name is strange or not, the main point is that the comments above mentioned the words "Lord of Arakawa," and in the image of Ōtakemaru, he is holding a long sword, which is the very sword used by Lord of Arakawa.

There must be a connection between these two yokai, and that's what her intuition thought too. However, even after Arakawa no Nushi died in battle, Ōtakemaru never appeared.

Bai Qingyu wanted to know what had happened between them, and where the two demons came from.

It is certain that the previous Arakawa no Nushi had a close relationship with Ōtakemaru, and the same is true for this generation.

I somewhat regret not asking about this beforehand, as I thought explaining the Demon Book would be too troublesome.

The book was delivered to the page corresponding to Ōtakemaru. Most of the comments on it were illegible, but the words "Arakawa no Nushi" were clearly visible, and not just once, but four times, which showed the relationship between the two demons.

An hour passed in the blink of an eye, and the Arakawa River below gradually returned to calm. The leader was gone, but life still had to go on. There was no need to choose a new leader; everyone knew this except for Princess Goldfish.

Knowing is one thing, but whether you accept it or not is another matter.

When the Lord of Arakawa was alive, everyone agreed readily. But after he left, everyone looked at the little girl, Princess Goldfish, and it would be a lie to say they didn't hesitate. Could someone so small really lead everyone?

This is a very normal situation. It's like a large family of several hundred people choosing a ten-year-old girl as the new patriarch after the patriarch dies. It's not child's play; it's a big deal, so how could it be insignificant?

Hundreds of demons surrounded the small island in the middle of the Arakawa River. On the island were Princess Goldfish and several water demons comforting her.

They surrounded the island with only one objective.

Instead of holding a funeral for the Lord of Arakawa, they will elect a new Lord of Arakawa.

With the death of the Lord of Arakawa, the true nature of many demons resurfaced, and they all wanted to take over as the Lord of Arakawa themselves.

Even though Arakawa is small, it is still a major force. All the aquatic demons within a radius of hundreds of kilometers are here. Being able to become the leader is considered being a minor demon king. Not to mention the many benefits of becoming the leader, including power, status, and all those female demons, you can have them all.

From now on, Arakawa will be in charge. Who wouldn't be tempted?

The demon race is inherently primitive, strong-willed and warlike. Not to mention them, even the wolves in the mountains know to choose a wolf king; it's an instinct ingrained in their bones.

Since the Lord of Arakawa left nothing behind, naturally, all the water spirits regarded the black longsword in the hands of the Goldfish Princess as a treasure for inheriting status. Whoever obtains this "leader's sword" will become the new Lord of Arakawa.

If it were before, Princess Goldfish would definitely have given up the sword. She was well aware of her own limitations and knew whether she could be the right person to be the Lord of Arakawa.

However, no matter what she says now, she will not give up this sword.

Before leaving, the big, simple-minded man told her that she would walk the road ahead in his place from now on.

This was his last wish, and she had to fulfill it!

Facing the voices of the surrounding demons, the Goldfish Princess lowered her head, clutching her long sword without saying a word. The Carp Spirit, on the other hand, kept trying to help her, but before she could say more than a few words, she was pulled away by a demon, leaving the Goldfish Princess alone.

There was even a demon who dared to step forward and use its seemingly burly body to block in front of the Goldfish Princess, saying, "Young lady, you are still young. Let it keep this sword for a few years and return it to her in a few years."

Just as the giant hand reached out, it saw the Goldfish Princess suddenly look up, and the fierce, resentful look in her eyes startled it so much that it instinctively took a half step back.

This demon was a catfish spirit with considerable Nascent Soul strength. It was considered a minor overlord in the Arakawa region, only kept in check by the Lord of Arakawa. It dared not act normally, but it had done its fair share of coercion and enticement in secret. Once, while drunk, it attempted to force itself on a carp spirit, resulting in the Lord of Arakawa breaking both of its arms. Had the war not been so intense, it would have been banished.

Perhaps feeling embarrassed that he had been frightened by a little girl, the catfish spirit snorted coldly, his eyes filled with malice. Ignoring the goldfish princess's reaction, he grabbed the longsword with his large hand without saying a word.

"The position of leader is not a child's play, nor is it child's play. Let's hand it over to a capable demon. The leader is getting senile. I'll give the position to you."

Princess Goldfish took a half step back, staring intently at the catfish spirit, who was about to make a move when suddenly a beam of platinum light shone out, instantly melting the giant catfish into countless bubbles.

Bai Qingyu stepped out from behind the Goldfish Princess, gently placing her hand on the Goldfish Princess's shoulder. Her gaze swept over the demons, and though her voice was soft, it carried throughout the entire Wild River.

"I support Princess Goldfish becoming the new leader of Arakawa. Any demons who oppose this can stand up."

·

Volume Two: The Journey Through the Demon Scroll: Chapter Twenty-Two - The Growth of the Goldfish Princess

Wherever Bai Qingyu looked, all the demons took a step back, none daring to even peek out. They all knew in their hearts that what they had done was wrong. Their leader's body was barely cold before they came to force the Golden Fish Princess to abdicate, which was somewhat disheartening.

Princess Goldfish may be minor, but that doesn't mean they have to forcibly take her place.

They have all been protected and blessed by the Lord of Arakawa. Now more than ever, they should unite. If Princess Goldfish is young, then everyone should work together and wait for her to grow up. Even if they manage to take her position now, what good will it do? Can they really be sure they will do better than Princess Goldfish?

There must be a reason why the leader chose Princess Goldfish. They all know that such matters are not to be taken lightly, so how could their leader not know?

The scene was completely silent; not a single demon stood up to speak, and the deafening slogans that had been shouted earlier had vanished.

Princess Goldfish still held the long sword tightly, and couldn't help but look up at Bai Qingyu. She had many things she wanted to say and ask, but in the end she gave up.

The matter of Arakawa has nothing to do with Sister Bai. If she came, then everyone should thank her properly. If she doesn't come, that's normal too. Sister Bai also has a family to take care of, so why should she help Arakawa? She has no relation to any of the monsters in Arakawa.

So when she saw Bai Qingyu come to help her, she was already very grateful.

Bai Qingyu was surprised by the Goldfish Princess's reaction. She thought the Goldfish Princess would throw a tantrum and ask her why she hadn't gone to help the Lord of Arakawa, but she didn't.

Time passed second by second, and seeing that the surroundings were still quiet, Bai Qingyu spoke.

"Since no one is speaking, there's nothing more to say. I think your old leader must have already told you that Princess Goldfish would be the new leader of Arakawa."

"Of course, you don't need to worry about Princess Goldfish's age. I will take care of you Arakawa appropriately before Princess Goldfish fully grows up."

"Your old leader has only recently passed away. I believe he would be quite disappointed in you if he saw this scene. He established Arakawa for so long, providing you with a safe haven free of charge, bringing together you who were originally scattered into one big family. But as soon as he left, they started to fall into chaos on their own."

"If you're really not happy about it, you can just leave. No one will stop you. If you want to stay, then you'd better behave yourself."

As soon as Bai Qingyu finished speaking, the surrounding demons shouted "Yes, sir!" in unison, and were then dismissed by Bai Qingyu's wave of his hand.

I would like to deal with the instigators, but not now. The situation in Arakawa is not stable yet. It's not too late to deal with it after it stabilizes.

"Let's go, Princess Goldfish. There's something I want to talk to you about."

Bai Qingyu extended a hand to the Goldfish Princess, who then offered her her small hand and placed it in her warm palm, just like before.

Princess Goldfish's small hands were icy cold, and she noticed they were covered in blood, mainly from the sword, some from enemies and some from the Lord of Arakawa himself.

Using her demonic power to purify the blood, Bai Qingyu led the Goldfish Princess to the place where she had talked with the Lord of Arakawa. It was on the shore, but the original courtyard was gone, leaving only half of the old tree and the stone table and benches.

Of course, the owner of this place also disappeared, the aloof and arrogant leader.

"I'm sorry about what happened to Lord Arakawa; I couldn't save him."

Sitting down facing the little goldfish, Zhen Tian sat quietly next to Bai Qingyu. She wanted to comfort the little girl, but then thought better of it and decided it was best to let Bai Qingyu do it.

“Your leader is a man of great integrity. I think he doesn’t need me to save him. But before he left, he told me to take care of you. You are the person he is most worried about in the entire Arakawa.”

“I know you are very sad right now, but listen to me. You still have the Lord of Arakawa, your carp spirit sister and your kappa brother. Most of your good friends are recorded in this book of demons.”

He took out the Demon Book, turned it to the page about the Lord of the Arakawa River, and made sure the little goldfish could see it.

Upon seeing the illustrations depicting Arakawa no Nushi, Kingyo-hime's eyes flickered. But that wasn't all; she then flipped to the pages corresponding to herself and the other Arakawa yokai.

"You see, your existence is very special. I don't know if you've felt it, but you are also a demon, but you are different from most of the demons around you. The reason is this."

"The monsters recorded in this monster book are all very special. I don't know exactly what makes them special, but I can tell you that each monster in the book is unique in the world. There will never be another one like it. Moreover, when one monster dies, a second one will appear after a period of time."

"This demon book is hundreds or even thousands of years old. In other words, we already existed hundreds of years ago. Do you understand what I mean?"

Princess Goldfish was just very sad and silently shed tears.

Now, her attention was completely focused on Bai Qingyu's demon book and his words.

"Sister Bai, I think I understand now."

"Well, what I want to tell you is, don't be so pessimistic. Although the Lord of Arakawa is dead now, he will be reborn. When that happens, he will still be himself, but he will probably forget you and forget this Arakawa."

At that moment, Princess Goldfish's tearful eyes brightened instantly, and a hopeful and joyful smile even appeared on her distressed little face.

"Really, Sister Bai?"

"Of course it's true. Would I lie to you? Think about it. If you can't be reborn, where did the Lord of Arakawa come from? Your leader can't have lived for thousands of years, can he?"

"Me...me...me, can I go find him?"

"Of course, but it depends on fate, because we can't determine when he will be reborn or where he will be."

"It's alright, I will find him, I definitely will!" A determination she had never shown before appeared on Princess Goldfish's face; she had seen hope, hence her resolute expression.

In any case, being able to be reborn is a good thing.

It doesn't matter if I don't remember her or Arakawa, as long as I'm still alive.

"Don't be too happy yet. The outside world is dangerous. Without strength, you can't even guarantee your own life, so how can you guarantee the well-being of others? Now that you are the Lord of Arakawa, you must shoulder this responsibility."