Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

Chapter 332 Speaking Human Words

Three days later, in Yidu.

The bright moon hangs high in the darkness, and the stars twinkle.

Rippling waters and the continuous sound of the tides marked the arrival of the sand barge carrying the monster in the dead of night at this ancient city.

The city was now quiet and deserted; apart from the guards, most of the residents were fast asleep.

However, there were still police officers on duty at the ferry crossing, and even at night, a few ferries would cross the flowing canal and arrive at the shore, where they would be inspected by the police before disembarking.

In order not to disturb ordinary people, Bai Yu deliberately chose to dock at night. She greeted the guards on night watch, and then the cats and dogs lined up and walked down the gangway in an orderly manner.

The officers whispered among themselves, saying that the cats and dogs looked no different from ordinary cats and dogs.

Until the three wolf demons appeared, their tall figures standing at the edge of the deck. They were traveling with the Taoist priest. It was clear that when the wolf demons appeared, the officer's body tensed up, and he gripped the long sword at his waist.

Zhuang walked ahead and disembarked from the boat with the wolf demon.

Even with the Taoist priest by his side, the oppressive feeling emanating from the wolf demon remained almost undiminished.

The officers were all on high alert, as if facing a formidable enemy.

It wasn't until the wolf demon disembarked and, together with the Taoist priest, bowed and spoke in human language, saying, "Excuse me," that the officers were startled, never expecting that this wolf demon understood human etiquette.

They were stunned for a moment, but one of the bolder ones reacted and returned the greeting with a cupped-hand salute. The wolf demon, unhurried and slightly nodding, followed the Taoist priest to the side.

Just as everyone was surprised and unsure how to react, another old fox approached the constable and said:

"We are a mountain demon clan, not barbarians. We have come here at someone's invitation and have no intention of causing trouble for anyone. We hope you will not take offense."

The old fox spoke politely, and the constables exchanged bewildered glances. Some pinched their cheeks, while others broke out in a cold sweat, whispering, "Have we encountered a ghost? Was the person we just saw really Miss Bai?"

It was already late at night, and it was unusually quiet. Then, with such a strange thing happening, and hearing what their colleague said, the people around them were both shocked and frightened.

Fortunately, they were not ordinary people; they were all police officers skilled in martial arts and wielding knives, so they were not too scared.

But I still felt a bit chilly and shivered.

Finally, amidst pushing and shoving, several tall and burly men, carrying lanterns, followed Bai Yu and the Taoist priest's group out.

There was no other way. These monsters were not registered in people's hometowns and did not have travel permits. According to the law, such people should be detained by the police, at least investigated, and their background and life story should be inquired about to ensure that they were law-abiding citizens before they could be released.

However, with the prefect's confidante, Miss Bai Yu, the head of the Pucao Merchants Association, as their guarantor, if the visitor were human, they would naturally not ask any questions and would simply let the person pass. But the visitor was a demon, and the law did not specify how to manage demons. They were also afraid that this was some kind of sorcery, and that they had encountered something supernatural. So they had no choice but to follow him with trepidation, lest they neglect their duties and cause an accident.

They were all a little guilty and dared not walk in front, keeping a great distance from the three-headed wolf demon.

Fortunately, the monster did not enter the city that night.

Bai Yu led the monsters to a camp outside the city belonging to the Pucao Merchant Guild, arranged shelter for them from the wind and rain, and asked someone to prepare some fish and meat as a gesture of hospitality before settling them in.

As for the constables, Zhuang Xing whispered a few words to Yunling, who nodded and borrowed a copper kettle. She then drew sweet water from the deep well, performed a hand seal to light the fire, and brewed a pot of jasmine tea.

Zhuang Xing offered the constables tea and said, "Brothers, you've kept watch all night. Please have a cup of tea to soothe your palates."

The officers were suspicious and initially hesitant to accept the tea. Zhuang Xing drank it all first, then distributed the tea to the others and even to the demons. Seeing the wolf demons lower their heads to lick the tea, they finally pursed their lips and drank the tea.

The spiritual tea was sweet upon tasting, and they immediately felt a warm sensation spread throughout their bodies, as if a gentle breeze had blown by and they had drunk a mouthful of clear mountain spring water, which made them feel refreshed. Their hands and feet, which had been feeling unsteady due to their nervousness, became steady, and the cold sweat stopped.

"Excellent tea!" the messenger exclaimed.

Zhuang Xing smiled and asked, "Brothers, have you ever seen a demon?"

The officer hesitated for a moment before saying, "I have seen them before, but... I've never seen a demon that can speak human language."

They worked in Yidu and had heard of monsters like water ghosts and mountain demons, even if they had never seen them. Moreover, there were always exorcists who would hunt down strange and grotesque beasts from outside the city, dismember them, and sell them in the city.

But this was the first time they had ever encountered a monster that could speak human language like the one they were seeing today.

If it were just some fierce livestock, it wouldn't be so frightening, but when foxes and wolves spoke human language, it gave them an inexplicable sense of unease, leaving them unsure of what to do.

Zhuang Xing said, "The demons you brothers saw today are demons that have cultivated themselves and can understand human speech. They will not harm people without reason like wild beasts. You brothers can rest assured."

The wolf demon also looked up and said, "We don't eat people."

They know these people are afraid of them, but in reality, they are also afraid of people.

When the guard saw that the wolf demon had spoken human language again, he couldn't help but take a step back.

The wolf demon sat properly, scratched its neck with its hind legs, and looked at the Taoist priest with a somewhat helpless expression.

It means that they try their best to be friendly, but people are still afraid of them, and there's nothing they can do about it.

The officers seemed to understand the look in his eyes. The wolf demon's demeanor was so similar to a human's, and seeing how respectfully it treated the Taoist priest, and how effective the tea had been, they concluded that the Taoist priest was a highly skilled immortal master. Their hearts calmed down considerably, and they felt that an immortal master could subdue the wolf demon, so they were less afraid.

They hadn't left yet. The scene before them was truly bizarre: cats, dogs, foxes, and wolves were all gathered together, without any inhibitions. They ate the meat that people had brought them while talking about the scenery on the boat, how delicious the fish was, or how tall and magnificent the city walls were.

The constables had heard these kinds of things countless times. Many outsiders who came to Yidu by boat would talk about these things, and what they said was pretty much the same. The constables had heard so much of it that they could almost recite it by heart.

Hearing this, I felt that the monster and the people traveling by boat had more in common, and it was indeed their first time in Yidu.

Although the wolf demon was frightening, cats and dogs were very common in Yidu. After the initial unease passed, seeing cats and dogs talking felt like a rare sight.

Suddenly, the yellow dog walked over, stood at the feet of one of the constables, looked up and asked, "Are you a constable here?"

The officer nodded and said, "Yes."

The yellow dog said, "My name is Big Yellow."

The officer paused for a moment before replying, "My name is Song Qingshi."

Although it was just a short sentence, the human and the demon exchanged names and got to know each other.

Chapter 333 Demons and Humans

At the ferry crossing, the night watchman, clutching his sword, gazed worriedly at the dark intersection.

It's summer, and we're near waters that insects love. At night, mosquitoes buzz around our ears, occasionally landing to bite us, which is very annoying.

My colleague went with me for half an hour, but there was still no news of him, and we don't know how he is doing.

They agreed to return within half an hour. If they did not return, the people stationed here should go to the city gate and inform the soldiers on the wall, and call some more people down. They should at least find out what happened tonight.

At this moment, only a lone redwood stick remained of the incense used for keeping time, with tiny sparks drifting from its tip, about to go out. The guards on duty couldn't help but feel a surge of emotions.

Just as someone was about to leave the shed to rush to the city wall to report, a light appeared in the darkness.

That was the light of a lantern, a flickering light that instilled fear in people's hearts.

Perhaps it wasn't the firelight that instilled fear, but rather that they were already afraid, and when the firelight drew closer, they all gripped their knife hilts.

As the firelight drew nearer and they heard footsteps, they saw that it was the same group of colleagues who had left earlier.

Someone breathed a sigh of relief and asked with concern, "How are those monsters?"

"They've already gone to rest in a courtyard over the east wall," the colleague reported truthfully.

The officers sat together, and those who returned recounted in detail what they had seen and heard.

I never imagined that those monsters could actually hear human speech, talk to people, and even know some of their origins.

"The dog demon was named Dahuang. It said that its ancestors had once guarded the courtyard of a melon farmer. There seemed to be something strange about the field. The dog that guarded the melon gradually became human and could understand human speech, but it dared not show it to people. Everything was normal. It just acted as a watchdog and stayed by the farmer's side."

"But one day a thief stole melons and entered the farmer's house, intending to molest his wife and daughters. The yellow dog was startled and killed the thief."

"The farmer then realized that his yellow dog was extraordinary. Knowing that it could not be hidden, the yellow dog spoke to the farmer in human language. The yellow dog originally wanted to stay in the farmer's house, but after the farmer's family learned that it had become a demon, they avoided it and dared not approach it. They were no longer as close as before and gradually drifted apart. Later, they even asked a Taoist priest to come back to the house to exorcise the demon."

"The yellow dog was disheartened and left the farmer's house, hiding in the mountains and wilderness. There, it endured wind and rain, and as its cultivation gradually increased, it met some monsters and became one of their kind, thus giving rise to the dog demon, Big Yellow."

When the constables heard Song Qingshi recount the origins of the dog demon, they had differing opinions. Some said that the farmer was unjust, and since the dog demon saved his whole family, he shouldn't have asked someone to exorcise the demon instead of repaying the favor. Others said that if the dog demon killed the thief today, it could kill the farmer tomorrow, so it was best to get rid of it.

For a time, everyone had their own opinions, and no one could be decided. However, after hearing such a strange story and seeing a real monster, the group of people who returned from that courtyard still had some unsettled feelings, but they had gained a better understanding of monsters and a greater curiosity about them, rather than just relying on hearsay.

...

The next day.

The fact that the monster had entered the capital was not publicized, and only a small number of people knew about it.

Bai Yu rested for a night and then went into the city that same day to inform the prefect.

She entered the city at dawn, and before noon, she led the prefect and the Western barbarians to the outside of the city. Her husband, Chu Sheng, also accompanied her.

The monsters were all sitting on prayer cushions. The prefect got off his carriage and, led by the person in front, arrived in the courtyard. He was stunned to see the monsters sitting in neat rows.

The prefect's gaze fell upon the wolf demon, and he stopped in his tracks. But when he saw the two Taoist priests beside him, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Although they hadn't seen each other for several years, the prefect still recognized Zhuang Xing. The young Taoist priest he used to call him had grown into a handsome young man, and the woman who used to accompany him had also become elegant and graceful.

Upon meeting the Taoist priest, the prefect felt reassured and his mind calmed down.

"Master Zhuang, it's been a long time." The prefect, whose temples were gray, stepped forward.

"I'm sorry to trouble you, Prefect, to come here." Zhuang Xing bowed.

The young Westerner was slightly taken aback when he looked at Zhuang Xing's face, but he smiled the next moment.

They met on the bridge last year, a chance encounter that only involved exchanging names. Today, the young man from the Western Regions recognized Zhuang Xinglai.

Zhuang Xing looked at the boy's attire again, and it was very different from last year. He could still tell from his skin color and facial features that he was a foreigner, but he had tried on the clothes of the Yidu people. He had taken off his original leather coat and boots and put on a blue robe. He also had a straw hat for sun protection around his neck. He could smell the scent of soil and grass on him, as if he often traveled in the fields.

Zhuang Xing exchanged a friendly glance with the boy, then exchanged some polite words with the prefect before sitting down.

Zhuang Xing introduced the representative of the monsters to the prefect; needless to say, it was the old fox.

"I am an old fox from the fox demon clan in the mountains." The old fox sat to one side with Zhuang Xing. "It is an honor to meet the Prefect today."

"How should I address this gentleman?" the prefect asked.

"Your Excellency, you may simply call me Fox Seven," the old fox said respectfully.

Bai Yu stood beside the prefect and told him about the trip.

Zhuang Xing, acting as the middleman, explained why he brought the demon race here and what had happened.

The prefect remained seated, listening attentively.

The demon and the human talked until noon, drank tea, and got to know each other quite well.

"May we, Your Excellency, go and tour the city?" the old fox asked.

"That's alright. I'm old enough to have more experience than younger people, so I won't assume that any demon I see is a vicious monster," the prefect said. "Apart from those three wolf demons, it won't be difficult for you to enter the city and take a look."

As the prefect spoke, he glanced at the people from the Western Regions and said, “In the past six months, my knowledge has grown considerably. I have no intention of resisting this matter. It would be best if the people under my jurisdiction could live and work in peace and contentment. This matter is a win-win situation.”