A life of idleness in the world of demons

Chapter 15.15. A Great Demon is Hidden Here.

On a wide platform, there are two elegant pavilions on the left and right sides.

Ning Xuan sat in the pavilion on the left, while in the pavilion on the right was a fat man in brocade robes who was dark-skinned.

The fat man in brocade robes was the eldest son of the wealthy merchant guild, named Liu Shirong.

The young lady who gave Ning Xuan the Western Region Spirit Pearl was his sister, Liu Yushu.

The two were half-siblings; one was born a dark-skinned, overweight boy, while the other was born a merchant's wife who "fitted the image of a young lady."

Of course, Liu Shirong also had a younger brother of similar age, his biological brother Liu Shihua.

The Fugui Chamber of Commerce is neither too big nor too small. Although its roots are in Xinghe County, its trade routes traverse several prefectures, even reaching the capital city, and extend to the Western Regions. In the eyes of ordinary people, it is an insurmountable behemoth.

The president of the Wealthy Merchants Association is not young. It is said that one year he went on a business trip and accidentally entered a malaria-ridden area, where he contracted an epidemic. Although he recovered, the root of the disease has lingered, and he is getting worse year by year.

Therefore, the Wealthy Merchant Guild needs to consider the issue of succession as early as possible.

As for the heirs, there should only be three: Liu Shirong, Liu Shihua, and Liu Yushu.

As for the method of selecting successors, it is mostly a "test of ability". Specifically, the three people are each given a share of the family business to see who can make a name for themselves, and then they are allowed to inherit the business guild.

However, the Wealthy Merchants Association does not do that.

The heir to the Wealthy Merchant Guild was decided long ago; it's this fat, dark-skinned man in front of us.

Unfortunately, this fat, dark-skinned man was the most dissolute of the three. He spent his days eating, drinking, and having fun with other playboys, whether it was feasting and patronizing prostitutes, hunting and riding horses, or fighting beasts and gambling. In short, he just wanted to have fun and travel around.

In contrast, Liu Shihua and Liu Yushu are the true leaders of the Chamber of Commerce, worrying about all matters, big and small, every day. Now, they emerge as a worldly-wise and mature young man, and a charming and sophisticated lady who is very good at socializing.
However, the heir to the Wealthy Merchant Guild was not one of those two, but rather this fat, dark-skinned man.

To outsiders, this fat, dark-skinned man was nothing more than bringing his own chickens to compete with the young master of the Ning family in a cockfight.

In reality, this fat, dark-skinned man had already become sworn brothers with Young Master Ning.

He was a playboy.

But he was a playboy who climbed the social ladder.

He is the young chairman. Although he doesn't need to worry about the affairs below, he needs to protect the entire chamber of commerce from disasters from above.

You see, if things get chaotic down below, at most you'll lose some money or a batch of goods. But if it's just a single snowflake falling from above, it's an unbearable weight for those below, a catastrophic disaster with no chance of recovery.

Therefore, this fat, dark-skinned man was like a generous benefactor, making friends with influential people everywhere.

Ning Xuan was an important person he befriended.

At this moment, the two sat on either side of the pavilion, like marshals calling out their troops, while Young Master Ning's "Golden-Winged Thunder God" and Young Master Liu's "Iron-Beaked General" were already "itching to fight" in their cages.

Cockfighting is highly addictive. To use a phrase from Ning Xuan's pre-transmigration days, it's roughly a combination of the fun of "catching, raising, and battling," comparable to the enjoyment of games like "Pokémon."

Liu Shirong shouted, "Young Master Ning, my Iron-Beak General has returned from secret training and there's no way I can lose to you again!"

Ning Xuan said, "Ha, I, the Golden-Winged Thunder God, give you secret training every day."

The lackeys of both sides followed behind, like soldiers cursing the city, and began to hurl insults at each other.

The scene was incredibly lively.

The two young men each grabbed a cup of tea or other beverage from the pavilion and took a couple of sips.

Liu Shirong pointed at Ning Xuan and said, "I'm putting this out there today: if your Golden-Winged Thunder God can win, I'll..."

Ning Xuan asked, "How are you?"

Liu Shirong said, "I'll marry my sister to you!"

Ning Xuan laughed loudly, "You've got a good plan, I won't marry you!"

Liu Shirong said helplessly, "What's wrong with my sister? She's beautiful and capable. If she comes to your family, she'll save you a lot of trouble."

Ning Xuan said, "Marriage is a major life event, decided by parents and arranged by matchmakers. Liu Shirong, do you really want to decide your own marriage?"

Liu Shirong cupped his hands and said, "Well, we have to put something up as collateral, right? Otherwise, it won't be fun to fight. I'll put my sister up as collateral."

Seeing that Ning Xuan remained silent, Liu Shirong changed his tune, saying, "Fine, if I lose, I'll give you two oxcart compartments on my merchant guild's Western Regions route for free. Whether you want to arrange people or buy and sell goods, those two compartments are yours. I won't take your capital; if you make a profit, it's yours, and if you lose, it's my Fugui Merchant Guild's responsibility."

Ning Xuan knew that the Western Regions route operated by the Fugui Chamber of Commerce was a major route, with each departure carrying forty or fifty boxes of goods. The various expenses along the way were quite high, so it was really nice that they could give him two boxes to play with.

If he could obtain these two storage spaces, he would essentially have an intelligence network capable of exploring the Western Regions.

He knows too little about the outside world.

The existence of demons such as the mountain-ramming bear demon and the ghostly monkey made him realize the importance of intelligence.

He needs some of his own people who can bring him news from afar.

For example, the "Ghostly Monkey" has a physique of 3.5, which doesn't seem as good as his, but Ning Xuan doesn't plan to refine the talisman directly.

He only had one life, and now that the Ghostly Monkey had appeared, he naturally wanted to know as much as possible about its sorcery, gather as much information about it as possible, and even kill a few of them himself before making his move.

After all, during his previous fierce battle with the mountain-ramming bear demon, he already knew that if he wanted to refine the talisman, he would have to confront the strongest demon in the nightmare. Intelligence was crucial.

He needs more intelligence.

Since he couldn't gather intelligence himself, he consciously began to seek out some "tentacles" that could reach outwards.

After all these years, although his father had spoiled him rotten and given him whatever he wanted, he had never intended to let him take charge of any power.

He didn't understand why.

At this moment, Yoo Se-young's suggestion moved him.

Many thoughts flashed through his mind, and Ning Xuan smiled and said, "If I want to go to the Western Regions, that's fine too?"

Liu Shirong was taken aback and asked, "What are you going to the Western Regions for?"

Ning Xuan said, "Is it alright if I just ask?"

Liu Shirong said, "Of course that's fine, but your life is precious, Young Master Ning. If something happens to you on the way, my Chamber of Commerce can't afford to take on such a big responsibility."

Ning Xuan smiled and said, "I was just asking."

Then he said, "If I lose, I'll give you that purple shadow. You've been craving it for a long time, haven't you?"

Purple Shadow was his second best horse.

Liu Shirong said, "It's a deal!"

Ning Xuan said, "Open the cage!"

A guard from the central area hurriedly entered the venue carrying a gong.

The cages on both sides opened, and the Golden-Winged Thunder God flapped his wings and crackled, just like the Thunder God statue in the temple had come to life; the Iron-Beaked General still had bloodstains left from the battle the day before on his beak, and now he was impatiently pawing at the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

Dang Dang Dang!
The guards struck a gong.

The two chickens shot off like arrows, charging at each other and engaging in a fierce battle.

The lackeys ran over and started cheering, shouting things like "Peck it, peck it!", "Dodge, dodge quickly!", "Thunder God, quickly cut it in the bottom lane, cut it in the bottom lane!"

Han Ba ​​shivered.

Since slaying the bear demon yesterday, their team has been steadily advancing and has now basically confirmed the situation in the mountains.

The bear demons are all dead.

Tragic death.

Piles of corpses were stacked together, not a single one alive.

The yellow-robed Taoist also had a solemn expression. He picked out two from the bear demon's corpse: one with its head blown off, and the other with its head and body separated.

"If I'm not mistaken, these two are the strongest among this group of demons. If either of them comes out, we'll have to suffer at least half of our casualties before we can defeat them. If they both appear at the same time, we'll have no choice but to be wiped out."

Han Ba ​​said, "But they are all dead."

He carefully scanned all the dead bear demons.

He has already checked the wound.

“They’re all knife wounds, some of them are exaggerated, but they’re still knife wounds,” Han Ba ​​said. “Could they be from martial artists?”

Before the yellow-robed Taoist could speak, the young Taoist beside him was already amused.

"Old Han, this isn't some highly skilled martial artist possessing superhuman strength; it's a demon with martial arts abilities appearing."

"A demon who knows martial arts." Han Ba ​​couldn't help but shudder.

In his mind, the most terrifying things about demons were threefold: first, their terrifying physiques; second, their unpredictable sorcery; and third, their mysterious treasures.
They could only rely on the mystical power of the immortals to suppress and bind the demons, and then kill them with various weapons.
Fortunately, the demons don't know any martial arts, nor do they seem to be able to master the precise application of force. Even if they do, they are just for show, the kind of people who would be easily killed by him at the same level of power.

Can.
He looked at the wounds on the dead bear demon's body on the ground.

Swift and domineering.

He then recalled the dying cry of the bear demon they had killed: "Save me, save me."
Han Ba ​​felt a chill run through his body. He turned his head to look at the yellow-robed Taoist, his mouth dry, and said, "Master."

The yellow-robed Taoist priest said solemnly, "This may be due to infighting among the demons, and there must be an even more terrifying demon hiding here."

Han Ba ​​asked in a hoarse voice, "What should we do?"

The yellow-robed Taoist raised his hand and pointed, and a golden, transparent talisman appeared in the void.

He made dots in the air around the talisman, and then with a flick of his wrist, the talisman burst into flames and disappeared into the ground.

"Please summon the Celestial Master!"

(End of this chapter)