Ch 30: The Malevolent Monster Just Wants To Farm

A cold wind howled through the mountain forest, but there was no response. The tree demon elder dared not speak further and continued to bow slightly, waiting.

Fortunately, they didn’t have to wait long.

There was a rustling sound from the forest, as if something was stepping on the fallen leaves and approaching. Then, a thin voice said, “The master asks you to follow me.”

Another clear voice followed, “Follow us, follow us.”

One of the maidservants behind the tree demon elder couldn’t hold back her curiosity and looked up, letting out a small “ah” of surprise:

The ones speaking were two small children carrying lanterns. They were dressed in identical green robes, with their hair styled in two little buns, just like the young students in the human world. Their round, chubby cheeks were extremely cute.

She hadn’t expected the infamous Black Mountain Demon to use such adorable children as servants.

The tree demon elder shot her a warning glare and said, “These are puppets.”

The maidservant looked closely and noticed the slight unnaturalness in the children’s movements.

The two children didn’t seem to care about what the people behind them were thinking. They simply held up their lanterns and led the way.

The tree demon elder and her group followed quietly, not daring to speak.

On the way, various thoughts raced through the tree demon elder’s mind: unless absolutely necessary, she wouldn’t have wanted to deal with a demon as powerful as the Black Mountain Demon. But recently, she had encountered an old enemy, and after a fierce battle, the enemy had used some unknown magical artifact to severely injure her.

Her old enemy wouldn’t let her off, so she had to find a more powerful demon to rely on before her enemy could track her down. The mysterious and unpredictable master of Black Mountain became her top choice.

To gain protection, she naturally needed to offer something in return.

She didn’t know what the Black Mountain Demon liked, as he had lived in seclusion for so long that no one could find out even the slightest detail about his preferences. But he was a male demon, and men in the human world were usually interested in power, strength, or beauty; demons probably weren’t much different.

She had plenty of beautiful demonesses and ghost girls under her command. This time, she had carefully selected eight beautiful maidservants to accompany her. If even one or two of them caught the Black Mountain Demon’s eye, the rest would be easy to handle.

The maidservants who came with her were aware of their mission. They were both anxious and excited—anxious because they feared the Black Mountain Demon might be ruthless, leaving them with a bad fate, and excited by the hope that if a powerful demon took a liking to them, they wouldn’t have to serve under the tree demon elder anymore.

The tree demon elder of Lanruo Temple was no easy master to serve.

The little guides suddenly stopped, and one of them said in a crisp voice, “We’ve arrived.”

The other guide walked three steps forward and threw the lantern in his hand to the ground. The lantern shattered with a loud crash, transforming into several streams of light that fell onto the ground ahead, forming a formation.

The guide turned back and said, “Follow me and don’t wander off.”

He stepped forward into the starlit ground.

The tree demon elder and her group didn’t dare be careless and cautiously followed the puppet child. After about a dozen steps, the scenery before them suddenly opened up.

The moon, previously hidden behind clouds, broke free and generously bathed the world in its light. The entire exquisite courtyard was enveloped in silver radiance. The gate was wide open, the fence on either side green as jade, and from the courtyard came the clear, joyful laughter of a young girl.

The serene and beautiful scenery left the tree demon elder somewhat bewildered. The meeting she had envisioned with the master of Black Mountain didn’t seem like it should take place in such a tranquil setting. However, she dared not relax her guard and quietly led her entourage into the courtyard.

The courtyard wasn’t large, paved with clean, smooth stones. In one corner on the left, there was a peach tree (planted because Qingluo liked it). Beneath the tree was a stone table with two figures seated before it: a young man in a black robe and a delicate, beautiful young woman in a green dress.

Upon seeing them, the man smiled and said, “The guests have arrived. Go prepare some tea.”

The young woman in the green dress didn’t move, but the small boy who had guided them earlier responded crisply, “Yes, sir.”

Jiang Lin was inwardly surprised. In all the adaptations of A Chinese Ghost Story he had seen, the tree demon elder was always portrayed as a villain, with the title of “Grandmother,” and the actresses who played her invariably had old and wicked appearances. But the woman in the dark robe before him could be described as having a face as delicate as a lotus, with skin as white as frost and snow, even more charming than the eight white-clad maidservants behind her.

Upon further reflection, it made sense. When demons take on a human form, they usually appear ageless, especially for long-lived species like tree demons. It would be rather strange for them to take the form of an old crone.

Little did he know that while he found this curious, the tree demon elder and her entourage were even more shocked upon seeing the infamous Black Mountain Demon. Although this master of Black Mountain rarely appeared in public, all the rumors about him were invariably tied to words like “powerful,” “ruthless,” and “sinister.”

Who would have imagined that upon visiting today, she would meet a master of Black Mountain who resided in such an elegant and serene courtyard, with a face that could be described as handsome, and an aura that was calm and gentle? If it weren’t for the fact that he was sitting in the territory of Black Mountain, and for the subtle aura he unconsciously emanated, she might have thought she was in the courtyard of a wealthy young nobleman in the human world.

If the tree demon elder was shocked, her maidservants were even more so. They had expected the master of Black Mountain to be a sinister and ruthless demon, but now they saw that he was actually refined and gentle. If they could catch his favor…

For a moment, the maidservants from Lanruo Temple were filled with different thoughts, their eyes flickering with various emotions.

The tree demon elder quickly composed herself, stepped forward, and bowed. “Huaiyin, the tree demon of Lanruo Temple, greets the master of Black Mountain.”

Jiang Lin casually nodded, “I’ve given myself the name Jiang Lin. You may call me ‘Sir’ or ‘Mr. Jiang.'”

The tree demon elder corrected herself, “Huaiyin greets Mr. Jiang.”

Jiang Lin lightly tapped the table with his finger and said, “Please, have a seat.”

The tree demon elder sat down at the stone table. The eight maidservants, naturally without seats, didn’t dare to overstep their bounds.

A puppet child stepped forward to pour tea for Huaiyin.

Qingluo, who had been blinking her big eyes while observing her, suddenly spoke, “Sister Huaiyin, you’re so beautiful.”

After a moment, she added, “All the white-clad sisters are also very pretty.”

She was clearly very young, and Huaiyin had already noticed that her true form was also that of a tree demon, but her aura was exceptionally pure and transparent, indicating that she followed a righteous path.

Uncertain of her identity, Huaiyin glanced at Jiang Lin and asked, “This is…?”

Jiang Lin replied, “This is my daughter, Qingluo.”

His daughter?

She had never heard that the master of Black Mountain had a daughter.

But that wasn’t important. All Huaiyin needed to understand was Qingluo’s status and the appropriate way to treat her.

A warm but not overly familiar smile quickly appeared on her face. “Miss Qingluo is as cute as jade and snow. Sir, you are truly blessed.”

Jiang Lin, surprisingly, nodded in agreement. “Indeed, Qingluo is the most adorable daughter in the world.”