The Demon's Tears

Moonlight flowed like water, and atop the treetop canopy, an utter stillness reigned. The demon stood dumbstruck, staring blankly at that bright, silvery moon, as if sunk in some ancient memory. Unconsciously, two lines of tears traced down his cheeks.

A melancholy demon who could weep; a being who had once slaughtered without number, yet showed such a vulnerable side. If this ever spread, no one would believe it.

Indeed, the demon was handsome. Since he was the sole fierce spirit to have escaped from the City of the Dead, he must have been extraordinary. He must have had a glorious past—but all of it had dissolved into the river of time. He himself did not even know who he was.

"Looking at that moon in the sky, my heart aches. It feels as if in an endless age ago, on a night just like this, I lost the thing most precious to me…" Crystalline tears hung on the demon's pale cheeks.

It was a long while before he wiped the tears away. Breaking into a smile, he said, "I actually wept. I am becoming more and more human. Perhaps I truly am a person now."

Afterward, beneath the moonlight atop the tree crown, he fell into silence again with Xiao Chen. Only after a long time did the demon speak coldly: "I will give you seven more days, no more." With that, he vanished from the treetop.

A gentle breeze brushed past, stirring Xiao Chen's long hair. On such a night, he too thought of many, many things. Gazing at that bright moon, he remembered his parents, his family. It had been several months since he entered the World of Immortality, yet he was still trapped on this vast, desolate Dragon Island, spending most of his time struggling just to survive.

Were his mother and father well? Losing a son, they would surely grieve and weep.

He truly wanted to return to the Mortal World, to bring smiles back to his parents' graying faces, to spare them sorrow and tears.

And her—the girl in his heart. When so many years had passed, would she still remember the youth she once knew? Farewell, beloved girl. May the dreams of old still remain after all these years. May one beautiful memory forever be buried in the heart.

Xiao Chen was bidding farewell to the past. Unconsciously, a glint of tears appeared in his eyes. His thoughts were in turmoil…

In this moment of solitude, he did not need to hide. He let his true feelings show. He was a man of flesh and blood, possessing all the emotions that ordinary people did. But ordinarily, he could only bury them deep in his heart. To the practitioners on Dragon Island, he appeared as nothing more than a cold, resolute youth. Yet who could know he had such a tender side?

"I want so badly to return to the Mortal World…" Xiao Chen murmured to himself. A few tears finally slipped down. But then, in an instant, he shook his head fiercely and buried that sorrow once more.

"I cannot do it now. For now, I can only live on." His resolve hardened. Forcing himself to cast aside those melancholy thoughts, he began to cultivate quietly on the treetop, eventually sinking into deep sleep.

At dawn, cheerful birdsong woke Xiao Chen. Drawn by his profound art, the primordial energy of heaven and earth converged above the treetop canopy, making the air shimmer with dense spiritual radiance. Even the brilliant morning glow seemed dimmed by comparison. Many small birds gathered, spiraling and chirping around him.

Xiao Chen began to stretch and limber up. "Flutter, flutter," the birds scattered in alarm. Looking at Keke, who still lay in sweet, deep slumber with a bit of drool, he could not help but smile. The little beast's sleeping pose was simply too adorable—so peaceful, like a tiny infant, though sometimes it babbles in its dreams.

There was no further need to linger at the edges of Dragon Island. Xiao Chen set off with Keke, heading back into the deep interior. Two days later, he unexpectedly encountered Liu Mu, the monk Yizhen, and the others. The Azure Dragon King and the Jade Dragon King followed alongside them. Yan Qingcheng had been sealed in her cultivation, supervised by the seductive and enchanting beauty Liu Ruyan. Behind them were more than twenty others, apparently deferring to those two as leaders.

"Xiao Chen!" Yizhen the monk and Liu Mu exclaimed, rushing over quickly. The two young Dragon Kings, radiating divine light like bolts of lightning, also charged over and circled Xiao Chen, eyeing Keke warily.

"Are you all right?" Liu Mu asked with concern. His handsome features, touched with a hint of sickly pallor, lent this space spiritist a unique bearing.

"I am fine. What happened? Why are you all here?" Xiao Chen asked in puzzlement.

Lowering his voice, Yizhen said, "We have been searching for the Companion Dragon Kings. Now all the practitioners on the island know that it was you who delayed the legendary demon. Everyone is grateful. All who can be contacted have mobilized, hoping to locate a few Dragon Kings as quickly as possible, call the divine ship, and leave this island soon."

A soul-stirring, bewitching laugh rang out. Liu Ruyan swayed her willowy waist as she approached, full of seductive grace, and at the same time escorted the peerlessly beautiful Yan Qingcheng forward. She gave Xiao Shen a flirtatious glance and said, "My oh my, playing the hero like this—if you end up unable to enjoy that city-toppling beauty of a female slave, don't come crying to me."

Yan Qingcheng silently gritted her teeth, but could do nothing. If her cultivation had not been completely sealed, she would have wanted to deal with the seductress Liu Ruyan right then and there.

"I have been working hard these past days, training her every day to become a proper woman and a proper slave girl," Liu Ruyan said with a tittering laugh, her voice as rippling as spring water—voluptuous and bewitching.

With a few soft rustles, the three skeletons at the back of the group charged over. Qin Guangwang, Yanluowang, and Lunhuiwang were among this party. They quickly came before Xiao Chen and greeted him in their unique skeletal language, their jaws clacking incessantly.

From these people, Xiao Chen learned of recent events. It was true that everyone had been mobilized. The woman always shrouded in multicolored mist had found Liu Mu and Yizhen, persuading them to take the young Dragon Kings and lead people in a search for other Dragon Kings—because only Dragon Kings truly understood other Dragon Kings. With the Azure Dragon King and Jade Dragon King joining, they were sure to make progress.

Originally, according to many, Liu Mu and Yizhen were to separate, each leading a team. But under their strong objections, everyone finally agreed they could stay together, and they also brought Liu Ruyan and Yan Qingcheng along.

And indeed, the Dragon Kings knew their own kind best. In this area, they had already discovered traces of another Dragon King and had spent the last two days planning how to subdue it.

"I also discovered two Dragon Kings near the Dragon Clans' sacred mountain," Xiao Chen said. "But that region is extremely dangerous—there are many savage dragons and fierce beasts. Ordinary people cannot get anywhere near it." He shared this information with Liu Mu and the others, because finding all nine Dragon Kings would ultimately require visiting that area.

"You mean the savage Red Dragon King and the mighty Golden Dragon King? The Red Dragon King has already been subdued."

Yizhen's words surprised Xiao Chen.

"Someone went there and successfully subdued that red Companion Dragon King?"

"Yes," Yizhen explained. "That mysterious woman led Dugu Jianmo and other experts deep into that territory. With the guidance of the Violet Dragon King, they found the Red Dragon King. At the cost of nearly twenty lives, the savage Red Dragon King was subdued by Dugu Jianmo."

"How did he subdue it?"

"At first, many practitioners tried to use force, but not only did they fail to capture the Red Dragon King, they were wounded by it—and they attracted fierce beasts like the Lion King Dragon and Sword Dragon. They left behind seven or eight corpses, with only a few people escaping…" Yizhen recounted briefly.

After hearing this, Xiao Chen had to sigh. The most powerful and frightening thing in this world was still the human heart.

The second time they went to corner the Red Dragon King, Dugu Jianmo assembled a team of over a dozen people—but the mysterious woman did not participate. First, they lured the Red Dragon King out of its Dragon Clans' sacred land, then laid an ambush to trap it and strike it severely wounded, but all of the dozen-plus men were also gravely injured by the Red Dragon King's counterattack. Finally, what they never expected was that Dugu Jianmo, who had been holding back, struck them down at that critical moment. He almost single-handedly shattered them with his iron sword! Using a combination of bitter self-injury, feigned sympathy, and cunning, Dugu Jianmo—posing as the dragon's rescuer at that crucial juncture—closed the distance with the Red Dragon King. Then he pulled out every trick, staged a few more scenes, and ultimately forged a bond with the Red Dragon King.

Young Dragon Kings, though long since intelligent and untainted by the Dragon Island's seal, were still far too young. Their minds could not match long-calculated human schemes.

"ROOOAR…" A dragon cry shook the heavens from afar, followed by the wild laughter of Dugu Jianmo. People could see him in the distance, racing toward them atop a red Dragon King.

"Why is he here?" Xiao Chen asked, puzzled.

Liu Mu explained, "It was arranged beforehand. Not only is he coming, but also the masters of the Black Dragon King and the Violet Dragon King. They plan to jointly surround and capture the Companion Dragon King that has appeared in this region."

Dugu Jianmo, sharp as a drawn sword, flew up quickly. The Red Dragon King beside him seemed wreathed in leaping crimson flames, divine light blazing brightly. Relatively speaking, the Red Dragon King was perhaps the most savage and battle-hungry of all the Dragon Kings currently present. Spotting the slightly smaller Azure Dragon King and Jade Dragon King, its eyes immediately blazed with ferocity, and it lunged at them with vicious intent.

When Dragon Kings encountered one another, fierce battle usually erupted. The only reason the Jade Dragon King and Azure Dragon King could coexist peacefully was the persistent efforts of Liu Mu and Yizhen, who had continually defused the hostility between the two Dragon Kings.

The savage Red Dragon King charged. The Azure Dragon King and Jade Dragon King were not to be outdone; they both met the larger, fierce red Dragon King head-on. Liu Mu and Yizhen hurriedly tried to stop them—they could not afford infighting among the Dragon Kings now; there would be no benefit.

However, Dugu Jianmo did not even try to intervene; instead, he laughed heartily. He was pleased to see his Red Dragon King overpower the two smaller Azure and Jade Dragon Kings. By nature, he was proud and solitary—he not only wanted to stand above all other masters himself, but he also wanted his Dragon King to surpass those of others.

At that moment, the snow-white little beast Keke, who had been sleeping soundly on Xiao Chen's shoulder, was woken by the noise. Like a child, it rubbed its bleary eyes, looked at the people around it, and then watched the three Dragon Kings about to fight.

"Ya-ya…" The snow-white little beast's big eyes immediately brightened. It had seen both the Azure Dragon King and the Jade Dragon King before, so it knew them. The savage Red Dragon King it had glimpsed from a distance on that rainy night, too. With a "whoosh," it darted out, landing instantly on the Red Dragon King's head, bouncing and stamping as if trying to stomp it hard.

This unexpected development stunned everyone present. The Red Dragon King flew into a thunderous rage—it was practically bursting with fury. It was fiercer and more violent than the other Dragon Kings, and naturally had a much hotter temper. How could it tolerate some unknown little beast trampling on the head of a Dragon King?

With a "crack," its pair of blood-red dragon horns flashed crimson lightning, trying to blast Keke apart. But Keke's body was instantly wrapped in a soft, protective glow; unharmed, it nimbly jumped onto the Red Dragon King's back and started bouncing and stomping again.

Of course, this was not truly harming the Red Dragon King—it was pure, naked provocation. When you thought about it, the Violet Dragon King, Azure Dragon King, Jade Dragon King, and Black Dragon King had all been trampled by the snow-white little beast already. And the Azure Dragon King and Jade Dragon King were right there; they watched with a mixture of slight embarrassment and undisguised schadenfreude, delighted to see the Red Dragon King being stomped by the peculiar little creature.

But this time Keke seemed especially relentless, stomping without end. The Red Dragon King hurled draconic attack spells at her, but they proved utterly useless. Though Keke only knew one technique—the Binding Art—that brilliant light could truly block any attack, leaving the furious Red Dragon King helpless. Even when it bucked violently to shake off the mischievous Keke, she could always use her absolutely superior speed to dart back and pounce again.

Only Xiao Chen knew why Keke was being so excessive. He guessed the snow-white little beast was seeking justice for the severely wounded little dragon from that dreadful night.

"Keke, stop messing around! Come back!" At last, Xiao Chen pulled Keke back.

Next to them, Dugu Jianmo was speechless. The proud and arrogant swordsman felt genuinely vexed. That fierce and untamable savage Red Dragon King seemed to be no match for a little snow-white beast, and it left a very bad taste in his mouth.

Everyone else, however, felt immense satisfaction. Many had long resented Dugu Jianmo but dared not voice it, for his skill was simply too high—among their peers, few could compete with him.