The little snake demon’s words were clearly a threat, but in her coquettish, wheedling tone, they held not a shred of menace.
No helping it—that was just how she always talked…
Three seconds later, the old woman spoke from behind the screen.
“Are you out of your mind?”
“You’re the one with the problem!”
Yin Luan threw her chest out proudly and brandished the recommendation letter.
“See this? I’m with the Demon Subduing Division! You evil creature, why don’t you kneel and submit right now?”
“Evil creature?!”
Ren Tan’s legs, which had only just straightened, nearly buckled again.
An evil creature mingling in the crowd? Here, in the heart of East County’s bustling Nine Li City?
This time, the figure behind the screen stayed silent even longer before protesting.
“Don’t spout nonsense. I’m clearly human!”
For some reason, her voice now sounded much younger—not at all like it was coming from an elder.
“You’re clearly not human!”
The little snake demon shot back.
Whoosh—whoosh—
A Yin wind gust swept through the room.
The skull perched on the cabinet suddenly jerked to life. Its jaws gaped wide as it lunged at the pair!
Crack.
The little snake demon snatched it out of the air and crushed it to powder.
“If you don’t come out,” Yin Luan pressed on with her babyish menace, “I’m going to use Snake Fist!”
She made a show of raising her right hand and shouted at the figure behind the screen.
“Wait—wait a second!”
The other party sounded panicked now, her voice even more youthful.
“I can come out, but you have to promise not to attack!”
The little snake demon glanced at Ren Tan, who nodded.
“Fine,” she said. “Come on out.”
Clatter-clatter—a racket of noises followed as a plump, doughy lump rolled out from behind the bone screen.
On closer inspection, it wasn’t some meatball but a curled-up little girl.
She looked about eight or nine, her cheeks rosy and plump, her legs short and sturdy, topped with two twisted little braids. She was utterly adorable.
She raised her head, checked that the little snake demon wasn’t attacking, then stood with hands on hips.
“I told you—I’m human!”
“…”
Little Snake gazed down at her loftily. A moment later, she wiped the drool from her mouth.
The little girl shuddered violently, some primal instinct urging her to flee. Unfortunately, Yin Luan was too quick; her palms slammed down on the girl’s shoulders, pinning her fast.
“Wait, wait! Don’t eat me! My cultivation base is too shallow—eating me won’t do you any good!”
The girl wriggled a couple of times, but the hands on her shoulders weighed a thousand catties. Utterly helpless, tears sprang to her eyes.
Little Snake ignored her pleas. Her red lips parted, her neck stretched out, and she leaned right in.
Then she licked the girl’s cheek.
“You’re lying,” Yin Luan declared. “You’re definitely not human. You taste delicious… a flavor I’ve never tried before. What are you, exactly?”
“Wahhh, I knew I shouldn’t have set up a stall here. It’s too scary…”
Bean-sized teardrops rolled down the little girl’s cheeks, lending her three extra parts of pitiful charm.
Ren Tan was utterly bewildered by this whirlwind of events, too stunned to speak for the longest time.
Luckily, she wasn’t some ordinary young maiden. Once she regained her composure, she said gently,
“Yin Luan, let her go. We’re here to ask this senior for help.”
With the gold master issuing the order, the little enforcer didn’t belabor the point and released the girl.
“Y-You’re not going to eat me?”
The little girl sniffled to a stop and peeked up at them.
“Senior, we mean you no harm,” Ren Tan said with a smile. “The trouble started because you tried to snatch my bracelet by force.”
“I-I was only thinking of you!” The little girl drew a couple of snotty breaths, her cheeks flushing as she defended herself. “A human who hasn’t even grasped Qi, carrying an innate object around—you’re just begging for some villain to target you.”
“Human?” Ren Tan’s smile didn’t waver. “Isn’t senior human herself?”
“……!”
Realizing her slip, the little girl clapped a hand over her mouth and feigned panic.
“Drop the act,” Yin Luan said, patting her head. “Confess and you’ll get leniency. Resist, and it’s the full penalty. What are you?”
“I-If I tell you, will you promise not to eat me?”
She ventured timidly.
“Don’t worry,” the little snake demon replied with dead seriousness. “I’m a vegetarian.”
“That’s even worse!” The little girl paled in horror. “I’m a radish spirit!”
Radish… spirit?
The dim room fell deathly silent.
After a long pause, Yin Luan asked dubiously,
“Can even a radish become a spirit?”
Demons, devils, ghosts, monsters, immortals, spirits.
Beasts in the mountains could absorb the essence of the sun and moon. By a stroke of luck, they might transform into demons, such as fox demons, snake demons, or tiger demons.
Plants, flowers, and trees, if blessed with such fortune, would evolve into spirits—like locust tree spirits, jujube tree spirits, or ginseng spirits.
Spirits were even rarer than demons. The leap from lacking spiritual intelligence to gaining it required heaven, earth, and human factors aligning perfectly, often taking thousands of years even then.
That was why folklore spoke of millennium-old ginseng turning into spirits, but never five-year or ten-year ginsengs doing so.
As for radishes… Weren’t they the kind of thing that rotted in the ground if you didn’t dig them up within a year? How could one possibly become a spirit?
“I don’t know why either,” the Radish Spirit said, her expression equally puzzled. “When I came into being, I was the biggest in that whole patch. Only I managed to awaken spiritual intelligence and slowly take on human form.”
There was one key difference between spirits and demons.
Demons capable of shapeshifting into humans were almost always great demons, wielding heaven-defying abilities and immense power.
Spirits, on the other hand, originated from lifeless matter. Only after assuming human form did they truly embark on the path of cultivation. Depending on their type, their destructive potential varied widely—some were barely stronger than ordinary humans.
Of course, whether spirits or demons, all such existences violated the laws of the Great Zhou Kingdom.
As the edicts had proclaimed since the kingdom’s founding—no, since the establishment of the Demon Subduing Division—becoming a spirit was forbidden within the Great Zhou!
“Radish…”
The Little Snake Demon swallowed hard.
Radishes were delicious—stir-fried, stewed, in salads, or even raw. They were a top-tier vegetable: tasty and long-lasting…
The Little Girl instinctively sensed the danger and scooted aside, hiding behind Ren Tan.
Perhaps it was the Radish Spirit’s cute and fragile appearance that made her endearing. The Fourth Boss, encountering an “evil spirit” for the first time, took a couple of deep breaths and steadied herself.
Though the situation was completely beyond expectations, her companions seemed able to keep this “informant” in check.
Demon, monster, or spirit—it didn’t matter. Finding the treasure was the top priority!
“Senior Radish Spirit…”
Calling a child no taller than her thigh “senior” felt a bit odd.
“Just call me Xiao Luo,” the Radish Spirit replied. She seemed convinced this human was far more approachable than the others, speaking in a squeaky, childish voice. “Earlier, I only wanted to scare you. I had no intention of actually hurting anyone… I’ve never harmed a soul.”
“Uh, Senior Xiao Luo,” Ren Tan said, touching her face as she continued, “do you really have leads on the treasure? For certain reasons, I need it desperately. If we obtain it, I promise I won’t forget to repay the favor.”
“I do know something,” Xiao Luo said hesitantly, “but I don’t recommend you go looking for it… Plenty of dangerous figures have already headed that way.”
