At the ninth hour in Wenqiu City, there lay a dim and narrow alleyway.
Here, as the most harmonious city where the daemon and human races coexist, one could see daemon beings with cat ears or leopard-patterned faces strolling the streets, dressed in hemp clothes similar to humans. They sat in groups of two or three on benches, drinking, gambling, playing chess, or tending to flowers.
Such scenes were exceedingly rare in Shuoxia City.
Shen Tanqi held Sandan anxiously outside the alley, asking, “Is this the place?”
He had imagined a large clinic but found only a secluded mansion tucked away in this alley.
Lin Tanjiu nodded reassuringly, “Cousin, don’t worry. The Grandmaster of Feiluan Sect came here before to find the daemon healer. Initially, we didn’t believe it either, but the healer must prefer solitude away from bustling areas.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Tanqi felt somewhat relieved. He held Taro Ball’s hand and said, “You’re right. Good wine needs no bush. Let’s go in.”
Taro Ball kept his right hand on the sword at his waist, scanning the surroundings to protect Shen Tanqi and the little brother.
The three, along with Egg, approached along the alley and found an old red-walled mansion only at the end of it.
This daemon healer sure knows how to enjoy solitude, not even having a neighbor.
Standing in front of the old mansion door, Lin Tanjiu stepped forward to knock.
The door opened, revealing a pale-faced youth in black clothes. His disproportionately large eyes seemed to dominate half his face as he gazed lifelessly at them, pausing briefly on Shen Tanqi’s face.
“Do you need something?” The youth continued to stare at Shen Tanqi as if he owed him money.
Shen Tanqi felt a bit awkward under his gaze and whispered, “Is this where the daemon healer lives? We’d like to see him for a medical consultation.”
The youth’s eyes narrowed slightly, resembling the eyes of nocturnal creatures in the dark, deep and obscure. “Oh, come in,” he replied.
Following the youth inside, Shen Tanqi stepped into the old mansion. A chilling ghostly atmosphere greeted them, accompanied by a persistent musty smell that made Shen Tanqi sneeze uncontrollably.
This daemon healer had quite an unusual taste, preferring to live in such a place.
As they walked deeper, Taro Ball furrowed his brows more tightly. This place didn’t seem good at all. Even if there really was a daemon healer, why would he live here? Could his auntie have been deceived?
Suppressing his doubts, Taro Ball kept his hand on the sword hilt, ready to act at any moment.
They passed through a dilapidated garden and crossed an ancient courtyard, guided by the youth into the main hall. Finally, Shen Tanqi laid eyes on the legendary daemon healer—
A man in black robes, his robe trailing long on the ground, holding an ancient scroll in his hand, deeply engrossed in his studies.
“It’s you?”
Shen Tanqi widened his eyes in surprise, not expecting to encounter someone familiar in such a place.
Upon hearing his voice, the man slowly raised his head. His expression stiffened momentarily upon seeing Shen Tanqi, then his gaze fell onto the snow-white, round dragon egg in Shen Tanqi’s arms. He seemed to discover something, his chest heaving, shoulders trembling, and he couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
It was this laughter that made Taro Ball notice a faint yet palpable aura of demonic cultivation around the man. Taro Ball looked at him warily, hand instinctively moving towards his sword, ready to draw it at any moment.
However, the man moved with incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, he closed in, his large hand swiftly restraining Taro Ball who was ready to draw his sword. He ruffled Taro Ball’s head affectionately and chuckled, “Oh, you’ve grown so big. Call me uncle, kiddo.”
Taro Ball could easily sense the demonish aura emanating from him. He kicked out, but the other party caught his ankle and pulled him into a hug. He then pinched Taro Ball’s cheek gently, saying with a deep laugh, “Your face is still chubby. What’s your name?”
“You demon!” Taro Ball gathered spiritual energy in his hand, preparing a deadly strike, but Shen Tanqi urgently intervened, “Taro Ball, stop! He’s your uncle.”
The gathered spiritual energy dissipated as Taro Ball looked at Shen Tanqi in disbelief. His ankle was firmly held by the man, head hanging down, trying to wiggle his foot free from the grip of the large hand. He looked at Shen Tanqi in confusion and asked, “Daddy, what are you saying?”
This man was clearly a demon, yet Daddy was asking him to call this bad demon uncle?
Shen Tanqi rubbed his forehead and explained, “He’s your Uncle Huo.”
Huo Yening, when did he crawl out from under the Bloodthirst Cliff?
“Your Daddy says I’m your uncle,” Huo Yening grinned wickedly, pinching Taro Ball’s cheek again. “Why don’t you call me uncle, you brat?”
Taro Ball winced in pain, angrily covering his cheek. He blurted out, “I don’t want to call a demon uncle.”
Huo Yening raised an eyebrow and teased, “Is that so? But I see your Daddy holding this little brother of yours, and he also seems to have some demonic aura. Should I be a good guy and help you kill your little brother too?”
He had noticed the faint demonic aura on the dragon egg Shen Tanqi held.
But these two are quite lively. He hadn’t even settled down yet, while Shen Tanqi and Yu Ce already had three kids.
Taro Ball choked up instantly, his face flushing with anger. “My brother is not a demon.”
Seeing them about to argue again, Shen Tanqi quickly handed Sandan to Lin Tanjiu and reached out to rescue Taro Ball from Huo Yening’s grasp. He looked at the face, so similar to Shen Tanwu’s, and couldn’t help but scold, “Is this how an uncle behaves, bullying kids?”
Being reprimanded didn’t seem to bother Huo Yening. He calmly watched as Shen Tanqi comforted the child.
He actually… quite liked this intimate and scolding tone that humans used.
Perhaps it was because of his impending death, coupled with not practicing demonic cultivation for too long, that made him sentimental about such trivial matters.
Shen Tanqi rubbed Taro Ball’s reddened cheek gently and whispered, “He really is your uncle. Your father and he are old acquaintances. He’s not a bad demon, Taro Ball, you don’t need to be nervous.”
Comforted by Shen Tanqi in his arms, Taro Ball pouted and hugged him tightly, saying aggrievedly, “But… but he just said he wanted to kill my little brother…”
“He’s just teasing you. Uncle is here to help your little brother get better.” Shen Tanqi glanced at Huo Yening, with a hint of scrutiny in his eyes. “Isn’t that right, healer Huo?”
Huo Yening smoothed out the wrinkles on his sleeves with his hand, looked down at Shen Tanqi, and replied calmly, “Not exactly. I didn’t expect you to come knocking at my door.”
It was quite coincidental. He had just been planning to give Shen Tanqi and Yu Ce a big gift, and Shen Tanqi showed up at his door with a child in his arms.
“Then you really are the daemon healer?” Shen Tanqi looked at him skeptically, then turned to Lin Tanjiu.
Lin Tanjiu shook her head in confusion. She was even more baffled by the situation. They had met with the demon healer at Feiluan Sect before, but each time, the healer had worn a mask and never revealed his true face.
Moreover, although this man had a faint demonish aura, it was so faint that it was almost negligible. Lin Tanjiu guessed that he hadn’t practiced demonic cultivation for a long time.
But isn’t it true that demons will die if they don’t practice demonic cultivation?
Before they could fully grasp the situation, Huo Yening lounged back lazily in his spacious armchair, lifting a teacup to sip leisurely.
“Do you know who saved Yu Ce when he fell off Bloodthirst Cliff, barely clinging to life after copying the 98,000-character Chen Zui?” Huo Yening casually flicked away the foam in his tea and pointed the cup lid towards Shen Tanqi with a smirk. “Oh, I nearly forgot. It was you who punished him with copying that 98,000-character book in the first place.”
Shen Tanqi: “…”
So that’s it. Back then, Huo Yening rescued Yu Ce at Bloodthirst Cliff because Huo Yening himself was a daemon healer. It made sense that he could heal Yu Ce.
Thankfully, Huo Yening was indeed a genuine daemon healer, and coincidentally an acquaintance.
Shen Tanqi cautiously glanced at Huo Yening, took Sandan from Lin Tanjiu’s arms, and handed him over, saying, “Uncle, could you take a look?”
Huo Yening glanced at him and replied, “Did someone say you’re good at building relationships?”
Though he said this, he took the swaddled Sandan from Shen Tanqi’s hands.
Shen Tanqi blinked and retorted, “How can you call it ‘building relationships’ with my brother?”
“You, really.” Huo Yening chuckled helplessly, recalling about the leisurely and amusing times he spent chatting and boasting with Shen Tanqi in that cave. It might have been the only relaxed and enjoyable time in his life.
If only he truly had such a brother.
Placing his palm on the dragon egg, Huo Yening’s expression turned serious. “Tell me about the symptoms.”
“Since the day before yesterday, every time I infused spiritual energy into Sandan, it disappeared without a trace. Even the large amounts of spiritual energy infused by Yu Ce were absorbed seamlessly by Sandan,” Shen Tanqi gently stroked the shell of Sandan and continued softly, “But Yu Ce mentioned that he couldn’t sense any connection with Sandan anymore. We thought Sandan’s life was fading. We were really frightened.”
Upon hearing this, Huo Yening pondered for a moment and said, “The symptoms are similar to a bird egg I once treated.”
Lin Tanjiu couldn’t help but interject, “It’s not a bird egg, it’s a Feiluan.”
“Well, a Feiluan is still a bird,” Huo Yening replied nonchalantly, taking Sandan out from the swaddle and holding it in his hand. He infused a strand of demonic energy into it, which was quickly absorbed by Sandan. He looked slightly surprised. “It wants demonic energy too, such a greedy little guy.”
Shen Tanqi nervously cautioned, “Don’t infuse too much demonic energy; my son is very prone to demonization.”
Upon hearing this, Huo Yening’s expression shifted slightly, though his voice remained calm, “What’s wrong with demonic cultivation? Throughout history, both demonic energy and spiritual energy are natural forces in the world. Your son being able to cultivate demonic cultivation is also his blessing.”
“That won’t do,” Shen Tanqi muttered, “You’ll anger Yu Ce.”
Taro Ball protested vigorously, “We absolutely can’t let my little brother become a demon!”
Thinking about Yu Ce’s reaction if he saw his son succumb to demonic energy, Huo Yening couldn’t help but burst into laughter, his amusement growing with each moment. “Alright, alright, I understand. With his stubborn temper, wouldn’t he just throw the egg on the ground and smash it to pieces if he knew it had been demonized?”
Pausing for a moment, Huo Yening realized that wasn’t likely either. Knowing Yu Ce’s character, although he disliked demons and demon cultivation, he wouldn’t vent his anger on an unborn child.
No wonder Yu Ce is such a boring person.
“So, have you figured out how to treat this?” Shen Tanqi asked anxiously, his eyes fixed on Sandan in Huo Yening’s hands, afraid that a careless move from Huo Yening might harm his son.
At Shen Tanqi’s question, Huo Yening lifted his eyelids slightly, concealing the ambiguous darkness in his eyes. He tapped his fingers on the table and said, “Of course, what about the payment?”
Payment?
Shen Tanqi flipped through his pockets, placing all the money he had on the table and asked, “Is this enough?”
Looking at the pile of coins and bills on the table, Huo Yening raised the corner of his mouth and teased, “Are you trying to bribe a beggar?”
Sensing there was more to Huo Yening’s words, Shen Tanqi decided to cut to the chase, saying, “Just tell me what you want.”
Huo Yening chuckled lightly and pointed at Shen Tanqi, “I like your smart attitude.”
He gently returned Sandan to Shen Tanqi’s embrace, pressed his fingers against his lips, and whistled loudly. Swiftly, a fierce-looking peregrine falcon darted into the main hall and headed straight towards Huo Yening.
Before reaching him, Huo Yening grabbed the falcon by its leg and pulled it into his palm.
“Transform,” Huo Yening ordered.
Reluctantly, the falcon emitted a wisp of demonic mist and transformed into a young man. Surprisingly, it was the same pale youth who had led them into the main hall earlier.
Shen Tanqi and Lin Tanjiu exchanged bewildered glances.
Huo Yening’s face lit up with a smile as he pushed the young man towards Shen Tanqi, introducing him as if showcasing merchandise, “I won’t take your money. Instead, I’ll give you a big gift. What do you say? Shouldn’t you thank me?”
Confused, Shen Tanqi looked at him and asked, “What gift?”
The young man furrowed his brows, nudged lightly by Huo Yening. He bit his lip, gazing at Shen Tanqi, and suddenly made a resolute decision. He knelt down heavily and shouted at Shen Tanqi, “I, Jing Wei, pledge my blood loyalty to you, never to betray. I will infiltrate the demon clan and stabilize the demons. I will not hesitate to face any hardship for my master.”
Shen Tanqi: ?
Shen Tanqi bewilderedly took a step back, staring incredulously at Huo Yening. “What are you doing?”
Huo Yening scratched his nose, looking somewhat embarrassed as if realizing he might have gone too far. He casually muttered under his breath, “You have so many sons anyway, one more won’t make much difference.”
Shen Tanqi: “… Are you kidding me?”
He wasn’t running a kindergarten at home!
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
