CHAPTER XXVI: Entering the Demon's Den Again, Violating the Precepts Over and Over Again

    Monk Faming allowed Jiang Liuer to rest at Golden Light Temple for a night before departing.

    As long as he left before the other monks awoke.

    Thus... before dawn, Jiang Liuer bid farewell to Monk Faming. Carrying his meager belongings, he left the temple.

    Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, Jiang Liuer gazed at the hillside.

    "Elder Faming urged me to leave not only because the abbot reported to authorities, but also because I killed Snake Chief. The demons of Wolf Gully Cave will surely seek vengeance. He wanted me far from danger," he murmured.

    "But Elder Faming and I are close. If I leave, those demons will target him. Should they return and find him unprotected, what then?"

    Jiang Liuer's expression hardened: "I cannot abandon him like this."

    Finding my birth mother matters greatly.

    But the immediate peril matters equally.

    Hu Yuyu tilted her head: "Benefactor, what will you do?"

    Her fox tail swished as she added firmly: "Whatever you decide, I'll support you completely!"

    Jiang Liuer declared: "I will eradicate Wolf Gully Cave's demons. These fiends force marriages, kidnap monks, and commit countless atrocities. Heaven itself would condemn us if they remain."

    Having broken precepts repeatedly, Jiang Liuer no longer hesitated about killing.

    Moreover, his targets weren't humans, but evil spirits.

    Wicked demons!

    Hu Yuyu: "!!!"

    She gasped: "Benefactor! Though weak individually, they number nearly two hundred! Besides minor demons, there are four chiefs... well, three now. And Wolf Wuji—their demon king!"

    "I don't plan to eliminate them all at once." Jiang Liuer shook his head. "We know their lair, but they don't know our location. We strike from shadows, eliminating them one by one."

    He considered saying "The advantage is ours," but found the phrase inauspicious and swallowed it.

    First, he'd sever the cave's claws and eyes by eliminating its perimeter guards.

    "This will be perilous," Jiang Liuer warned. "I can protect myself, but not you. Stay behind—Wolf Wuji hunts you specifically."

    Hu Yuyu gritted silver teeth: "You saved my life. Even through dragon pools and tiger dens, I'll follow."

    "When shall we act?"

    A twelve-year-old boy and fifteen-year-old fox spirit—such a pair plotting to assault a demon stronghold!

    "Now." Jiang Liuer's voice rang decisive.

    "But dawn approaches!"

    "Humans have two vulnerable moments: deep sleep, and groggy awakening at cockcrow. Demons likely share this weakness." He paused. "We need bamboo. Lots of it."

    Hu Yuyu blinked, realizing she indeed felt drowsy now—yearning for a second sleep cycle.

    "Brilliant! They'll never expect daylight assault!"

    ...

    Wolf Gully Cave.

    "Those roosters Chicken Chief keeps are crowing again at first light. I'll pluck and roast them someday," a boar-demon grumbled, yawning over his spear.

    A hedgehog-demon warned: "Those are fighting cocks for our king's amusement. Touch them, and he'll skin you alive. Besides, Chicken Chief outranks us. Keep talking, and I'll be eating pork stew tonight!"

    The boar-demon shuddered: "Just joking! Where's Snake Chief? Still hunting that intruder?"

    The hedgehog shrugged: "Probably hiding in Tang's vast territories. Like finding..."

    His voice died as approaching footsteps silenced them.

    A majestic rooster-demon strode forward—human limbs clad in leather armor, sword at waist, crest erect with authority.

    "Chicken Chief!"

    Both guards snapped to attention.

    "Any disturbances?" the rooster-demon clipped.

    "None reported since our shift began," the hedgehog squeaked.

    "Remain vigilant."

    As Chicken Chief turned away, strange rustling halted him.

    "What's that?"

    Not birds. Not insects.

    A bamboo pole—one end sharpened to lethal point—hurtled through air.

    "Look out!"

    The boar-demon, mid-yawn, barely registered the warning before the bamboo spear pierced his heart from behind.

    Dying, his final thought: 'Just yawning... worth killing?'

    Blood-spattered hedgehog scrambled backward: "What's happening?!"

    "Alert the king!" Chicken Chief barked, drawing sword. "Intruders in our territory!"

    The hedgehog bolted—only to be impaled by another bamboo missile.

    "Cowards!" Chicken Chief's comb flushed crimson with rage. "Face me!"

    Silence answered.

    The rooster-demon retreated warily, reporting to his king while glancing over shoulder, dreading bamboo ambush.

    ...