I am Guhuoniao, not an umbrella demon, please do not disturb me.

"possible."

"Hiss, if that's really the case, then I'd really like to know who this woman is. Oh well, let's just let things take their course."

Remembering what happened at the Ghost Gate last time, Bai Qingyu changed her mind. No matter how much she wanted to know, she'd wait and see how things developed. She'd let nature take its course; she'd find out when the time was right. There was no need to forcefully pry. After all, Shuten-dōji was a minor demon king.

"Yes, I agree with that. Let's see how things develop first."

Just as Zhen Tian finished speaking, Bai Qingyu suddenly sighed again, "Actually, more than this guy's identity, I want to know whether he is a man or a woman."

After sighing, Bai Qingyu buried her face in Zhen Tian's chest. "Zhen Tian, ​​what do you think we should do if the person on the other end really is a man?"

"If that's the case, there's nothing we can do. We can't just force our way in. I think that's not the most important thing. What's more important is whether this person will bring danger and disaster to Shuten-dōji."

"Yeah, what did you use when you took a shower? You smell so good."

"Ah, it's incense made from the poison in Sister Zhen's body. It's for bathing, mainly because it's good for the skin. I forgot to tell you."

"Can the poison from a poisonous bird be used to make incense?"

"Yes, as long as the amount is controlled, it won't be toxic. Sister Zhen told me that she has stored a lot of poison and doesn't know what to do with it."

Bai Qingyu fell silent. He hadn't expected these two female birds to be so cunning, using poison as a skincare product. They really came up with something.

·

Shuten lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

Whenever I close my eyes, scenes from the red maple forest flash before my eyes, and my mind is filled with that female demon.

I even hallucinated hearing the voice of that banshee.

In the middle of the night, Shuten decided not to sleep at all. He secretly slipped into Bai Qingyu's brewing room, stole a jar of wine, climbed onto the roof, and drank it down while gazing up at the full moon in the sky.

Maybe drinking will help me forget him, forget that guy.

I don't know what kind of magic that female demon used on him to be so powerful.

It doesn't seem to be magic.

Shuten-dōji, in a daze, drank the wine in large gulps, not caring whether it was magic or not.

As expected, the alcohol did have an effect. Shuten-dōji unleashed his demonic power and gulped down the alcohol, even abandoning the sake bowl and drinking directly from the sake jar. The more he drank, the more dizzy he felt. The power of the alcohol truly made him forget about Momiji for a short time.

Shuten-dōji did not believe in love at first sight.

He was clueless and unwilling to understand love, always believing that it was something that held him back.

Shuten got drunk and lay on the roof, fast asleep.

Even so, he would carefully hold the wine jar in his arms before going to sleep, otherwise it might roll off the roof and shatter into pieces.

In the blink of an eye, the sun was high in the sky.

Bai Qingyu woke up early in the morning and didn't see Shuten, so he assumed he had gone out. After breakfast, he discovered that the guy had actually run up to the roof, was fast asleep with a wine jar in his arms, and was covered in the smell of alcohol.

Helpless, he flashed to Shuten's side, and Bai Qingyu kicked him.

"Hey, Shuten-dōji, wake up! Wake up, the sun's already high in the sky!"

With a kick, Shuten slowly opened his eyes and quickly sat up after seeing Bai Qingyu.

"aunt."

"Why are you sleeping on the roof?"

"I...I couldn't sleep last night." Shuten looked at the sake jar in his arms and thought about what happened last night.

"Which female monster are you thinking about? I can't sleep because I'm thinking about her."

Upon hearing Bai Qingyu's words, the image of Hongye reappeared in Shuten's hazy mind.

Bai Qingyu noticed Shuten's reaction after a brief moment of distraction and breathed a sigh of relief; at least it was a female demon and not a male one.

I wonder which female demon is so charming that she bewitched Shuten-dōji.

"I'm sorry, Auntie, I have to hurry over to Kiyama." Coming back to his senses, Shuten looked at the high-hanging sun and finally remembered his brothers. He didn't even have time to eat breakfast before he ran off.

When he arrived at Kiyama, Ibaraki was already waiting for him.

Seeing Shuten's flustered appearance, Ibaraki narrowed his eyes.

Just like Bai Qingyu, he could tell at a glance that Shuten-dōji was problematic.

In a sense, Ibaraki cared more about Shuten-dōji than Bai Qingyu did.

Please vote for me, sob sob sob

Volume 1: Chapter 106 Divine Phoenix, Uninvited Guest

It has been two months now, and Ibaraki has recently noticed that Shuten seems to have become a different person. Two months ago, he was determined and full of fighting spirit, and every move he made showed the dashing figure of the future demon king.

During those two months, he often drifted off into a daze and frequently drank until he was drunk.

Shuten once told him that although sake is good, one should not overindulge, as drinking can lead to trouble. He could have a couple of sips when he had nothing to do, but he must never get drunk.

However, he now finds himself frequently drunk.

"Shuten, what's wrong with you lately? How have you changed so much all of a sudden! Have you forgotten what you told everyone? You were going to lead everyone to fight against all the demon races in the world! Have you forgotten all of that?!"

By the river, Ibaraki stood under the old tree, questioning Shuten-dōji face to face, his eyes filled with heartache.

How could he bear to watch his best friend fall into depravity?

Seeing how drunk Shuten-dōji was, Ibaraki really wanted to punch him in the face.

"It's okay, I'm fine, I haven't changed."

Arriving at Kikuyama early in the morning, Shuten was already drunk, a habit he'd been doing for the past two months, clinging to his sake jar and refusing to let go.

Ibaraki, unable to bear it any longer, gritted his teeth and punched Shuten in the face. Before Shuten could react, he grabbed his shoulders and dragged him to the riverbank, pressing his head against the back of his head so that he could see his reflection in the water.

"Look at yourself! This is what you look like! Are you still the same Shuten-dōji who wanted to become the Demon King?!"

Being punched for no reason, Shuten was inevitably annoyed, but when he saw his drunken appearance reflected in the water, he instantly sobered up.

Seeing Shuten-dōji stunned, Ibaraki-dōji punched him again with his backhand.

"Is there something I can't tell you, my dearest friend?"

Ibaraki emphasized the word "close friend."

Two punches later, Shuten-dōji was completely sober. "I'm sorry, I... well, it's like this..."

After holding it in for two months, and Ibaraki also enduring it for two months, Shuten finally opened up to Ibaraki for the first time, telling him about his chance encounter with the demon woman Momiji in the Maple Forest two months ago. It was from that day that Shuten felt he could never forget that female demon.

The only way to forget her is to drink, to drink endlessly.

During these two months, Shuten went to the Maple Forest more than once, in fact, three times. Unfortunately, he only met the demon woman Momiji once and learned her name, and that was all.

Ibaraki remained silent, never expecting that Shuten-dōji would become like this because of a female demon.

"Shuten, listen to me. Demons are all about strength. That female demon isn't interested in you because she hasn't seen your power."

After a long silence, he said this.

Love between demons is simple, unlike that between humans. If you are strong enough, you can win the favor of a female demon. Ibaraki felt that he should have asked this question earlier, and thought that Shuten had suffered some kind of blow.

Upon hearing Ibaraki's words, Shuten-dōji immediately raised his head.

Upon careful consideration, it does seem to make sense. He was tricked on his first visit; if it were him, he certainly wouldn't like such a weak demon either.

"Hahaha, as expected of my best friend!"

Regaining his confidence in an instant, Shuten laughed heartily and gathered all his subordinates inside Mount Kiku. At a glance, there were about a hundred monsters of all sizes.

I refuse to believe that even with all this, that female ghost named Hongye won't even give him a second glance!

"The aura of the Divine Phoenix must be in this vicinity, there's no mistake."

The compass needle spun in his hand, revealing a young face beneath a tattered straw hat.

He put away the compass, raised his hand, and a picture vaguely formed from the flowing colored light: a maple forest, the phantom of the Guhuoniao bird, the ghost girl Hongye, and Bai Qingyu.

"Divine Phoenix..."

The gray robe was tattered and worn, with traces of weathering at the hem. The young man continued walking forward, three long swords faintly visible beneath the robe.

Tongzhou was just ahead, but instead of entering the city, he walked towards the maple forest.

The demon girl, Hongye, was currently using her demonic power to weave a maple leaf doll. A red gemstone was dotted on her forehead, and her clothes were a castrated version of the phoenix dress that Bai Qingyu had worn when he saved her.

This is the gift she prepared for Bai Qingyu.

I hope Bai Qingyu will like it.

Two months had passed without her seeing Bai Qingyu again. Knowing she lived in the city, the ghost maiden Hongye decided to go and find her. She couldn't forget the life-saving grace she owed Bai Qingyu; she wanted to repay her personally.

The maple leaf doll is just one step away from completion.

If you just add two more red gems to her eyes, then...

Clang!

Behind the demon girl, Momiji, a maple tree was sliced ​​in half by an invisible blade of light. As the light burst forth, countless tiny blades shaved the entire maple tree into a pile of wood fragments no larger than a fingernail.

The maple leaf doll, which was just one step away from completion, fell from her hands, and the ghost girl Momiji's pupils constricted.

What fell was not only the maple leaf doll she made, but also the arm that was holding the doll.

Do you recognize this demon?

A calm voice sounded in her ear, and the ghost girl, Hongye, broke out in a cold sweat. Her entire body was enveloped by a terrifying power, rendering her unable to move. The only part of her body she could move was her eyes. Her wine-red eyes glanced to the side, and a gray-robed figure appeared beside her, holding something.

She looked closely and realized that the figure revealed by the seven-colored light in the man's hand was none other than Bai Qingyu!

That outfit, that rainbow of light—the ghost girl Momiji would never forget it for the rest of her life.

This guy is in cahoots with those three damned cultivators!

They've come to seek revenge on Lord Bai Qingyu...

The young man walked up to the demon girl Kureha and slightly withdrew his power. Kureha immediately gasped for breath, like a drowning person coming back to life.

The pressure just now was really too strong.

Blood continued to flow from the severed arm. Using her demonic power to cover the wound, the demon woman Hongye took a step back. "I don't know. I don't know her. At that time, she only had a grudge against those three guys. It had nothing to do with me."