Chapter 16 : Oscar-Level Acting
Su Xiao’s expression did not change, but inwardly she was astonished beyond measure. She had never expected that simply possessing the identity of a demon could make a mid-level demonic beast behave like this!
After all, although this Dread Wolf had fled during the battle, whether facing the superior demonic beast—the Killer Bee King—or the Refined Spirit Qingluo Snake, it had never displayed any disgraceful behavior from beginning to end. On the contrary, it had been cautious and clever, even selling out its teammates with clean decisiveness. It was hard to imagine that such a cunning demonic beast would become like this!
Su Xiao did not press the wolf too hard. A cornered dog will jump over the wall. She was not a real demon. If the wolf truly became desperate, she would be finished.
Su Xiao, stay calm! Don’t reveal even the slightest flaw! She kept encouraging herself in her mind. She glanced at the Qingluo Snake and the Armored Crocodile behind the Dread Wolf, repeatedly reminding herself that only by stabilizing even those two behind it could she escape safely.
When Su Xiao’s smiling gaze swept past the wolf and toward those behind it, the crocodile suddenly felt a chill run through its body. The clever, cunning, and cautious wolf had actually shown such a humiliating appearance. Rather than feeling schadenfreude, the crocodile instead felt a shiver of fear.
The crocodile was not as clever as the wolf, but that did not mean it was truly stupid. Demonic beasts all possessed awakened intelligence and basic logical thinking.
The Dread Wolf’s behavior, combined with the mysterious smile on the human woman’s face in the crocodile’s eyes, made the crocodile think of a possibility. And that possibility made its entire body tremble.
The crocodile’s thinking was very simple—submit immediately! It had to submit! The Dread Wolf had already knelt!
The Armored Crocodile hurriedly prostrated itself, pressing its six limbs against the ground as its entire body lay flat in a strange posture, indicating that, like the Dread Wolf, it was submitting to this mysterious and powerful superior demon.
Looks like the crocodile isn’t a problem either. Su Xiao let out a breath of relief inwardly and thought, As long as I handle the last Qingluo Snake, this disaster will pass.
“Difficulties? You have difficulties when fighting over spirit flowers and rare herbs?” Su Xiao controlled her illusory body, letting a faint trace of mockery appear on her face. It had to be said that making the illusion show such subtle expressions placed a heavy burden on her, but she could only grit her teeth and continue.
“Great Demon, you may not know this!” Seeing that this mysterious superior demon had not immediately executed him with heavenly punishment, the Dread Wolf quickly seized the chance to speak.
“Oh? Then explain the reason. What reason made you dare to trespass into the territory of a mountain lord without permission?” Su Xiao deliberately showed a slightly interested expression, though the corner of her eye glanced toward the green snake.
The snake made no other move. It simply watched Su Xiao, its eyes revealing an indescribable emotion—perhaps fear, perhaps doubt. Compared with demonic beasts, Refined Spirits were much calmer when facing demons.
“The Mount Qi where we live was originally a peaceful and harmonious place. Everyone guarded their own territory and never stirred up trouble,” the wolf said quickly, not daring to keep Su Xiao in suspense. “But starting seven days ago, things gradually began to change. On that day, the Mountain Lord suddenly disappeared! After the lord vanished, everyone could still get along peacefully at first. But later, whenever the Yin Moon rises, from the eastern lands some fragmented souls drift over. Borrowing the Yin Moon’s aura, they possess corpses and transform into mindless wraiths, disrupting the peace of this region. At the same time, some Refined Spirit lords have begun coveting the Mountain Lord’s throne, growing restless. At first everyone could still restrain themselves. But today, that half-demon from outside Mount Qi broke the balance. She was the first to enter the Mountain Lord’s territory!”
The Dread Wolf’s pupils widened slightly, showing just how greatly this event had affected the demonic beasts of Mount Qi.
Su Xiao nodded secretly, thinking, The disappearance of the Mountain Lord of Qi created a power vacuum in this region. Some powerful Refined Spirits have begun to stir; this is understandable. But because they still feared the Mountain Lord’s former authority, a delicate balance had been maintained over these seven days. Then Bai Yiyi appeared and broke that fragile equilibrium! In other words, her arrival gave those Refined Spirits an excuse!
Having grown up in a great era, Su Xiao quickly understood why these Refined Spirits and demonic beasts had entered the Mountain Lord’s territory at this moment. Simply put, Bai Yiyi was an outsider who had trespassed into the Mountain Lord’s domain, giving those Refined Spirits and demonic beasts the moral justification they needed.
No wonder Bai Yiyi didn’t dare stay long. Every extra moment she remains in Mount Qi only increases the danger for her!