Chapter 24: The sword that has not been drawn is the most perilous.

    "Damn you, Jiang Liu'er! Finally come to face your Snake Grandpa, have you?"

    The snake captain was both furious and elated—furious at Jiang Liu'er's tardiness, yet thrilled at the imminent glory he would claim.

    Soon, the Wolf King would surely reward him handsomely.

    Gripping Monk Faming with one hand and his halberd with the other, the snake captain stormed out of the derelict temple.

    There, he spotted a young man standing not far away.

    "So you’re Jiang Liu'er?" The snake’s slit pupils narrowed in surprise. "A mere child! You’re the imposter who disguised himself as a green snake demon to trick me?!"

    His eyes then fell on Hu Yuyu, and his delight surged. "The Lady is here too! Perfect! So it was you who kidnapped her! Two prizes in one—the criminal and the Lady! Glorious!"

    Hu Yuyu scowled. "Who is your ‘Lady’? That brute Lang Wuqi injured my mother and dragged me to his lair. He deserves no title as my husband!"

    The snake captain chuckled dismissively. "Everyone for miles knows our Wolf King is the mightiest demon lord. What choice do you have but to wed him?"

    Though polite to Hu Yuyu, his tone hardened as he turned to Jiang Liu'er.

    "Kneel, brat! Let your Snake Grandpa bind you and deliver you to the king!" He raised his halberd, its tip aimed at Jiang Liu'er.

    Monk Faming, seeing the boy, felt both moved and despairing.

    Old and unafraid of death, he wished only for Jiang Liu'er to flee this chaos. The boy—rescued from a river and raised like a son—meant everything to him.

    Yet here Jiang Liu'er stood.

    "Venerable Faming, I’ll save you!" Jiang Liu'er ignored the snake’s threats. "This is my fault. I’ll make it right."

    "Foolish child... Amitabha," the monk sighed.

    "Deaf to my orders, Jiang Liu'er?!" The snake captain roared. "This isn’t a social call!"

    Jiang Liu'er finally met his gaze. "Release Venerable Faming first, then take me."

    "You dare bargain?!"

    With a snarl, the snake captain charged, dragging Faming as dark miasma swirled around him.

    "The king wants you alive—broken limbs count!"

    In a single leap, he closed the distance, halberd slashing.

    Jiang Liu'er darted backward, vanishing into a bamboo grove. Hu Yuyu followed.

    "Stop them!" The snake captain hesitated. "A trap? But with the monk as leverage, what can they do?"

    He plunged into the grove.

    Jiang Liu'er’s fleeing figure baffled him—how could a human outpace a demon? Summoning his power, he soon closed in, though Hu Yuyu had mysteriously vanished.

    "Nowhere to run!" The snake’s tail whipped the ground, propelling him forward as his halberd swung—

    A whistling sound pierced the air.

    He spun to see a bamboo spear hurtling toward him, its tip sharp enough to pierce his scales.

    "Pathetic trick!" He severed the spear mid-air—

    Three more flew. He blasted them aside with a gust, only for the missiles to twist back.

    "Useless monk!" He tossed Faming aside, slicing through the spears.

    His pupils shrank.

    Deep in the grove stood Jiang Liu'er, fifteen bamboo spears levitating behind him—all aimed at the snake’s heart.

    "How does a brat command such power?!"

    The spears shot forth. As the snake raised his halberd, a searing pain erupted—

    Hu Yuyu, now a fox, had bitten off his tail-tip.

    While he howled, she shifted to human form, hoisting Faming to safety.

    "Hu Yuyu, get him far away!" Jiang Liu'er lunged, bone club in hand.

    This snake had to die—now.

    The snake dodged the club, only to spot the sword on Jiang Liu'er’s back.

    "Why use a bone when—?"

    The sword flew from its sheath, streaking like lightning.

    ‘A feint?! The spears were a distraction—this blade is the kill!’

    Metal screeched as the sword grazed his halberd—

    Then pierced his chest.

    Blood sprayed as the blade erupted from his back.

    ...