As the sun dipped gently toward the west, the band of little demons kindled campfires and built stoves in their camp, using pots salvaged from the abandoned hunter's cabin to cook soup.
The deadly cooking smoke drifted slowly upward, like a pillar reaching for the sky.
Each one received a bowl of steaming wild vegetable soup—something they could never have dreamed of on ordinary days. Tears streamed down their faces as they sang joyful songs that no one else could understand.
Soon, a signal flare shot up into the sky, illuminating the horizon.
Ten miles away, White Ape silently watched the shimmering light suspended in the sky. He lowered his head, then turned and led the team into the grasslands.
......
The sacrifice of the little demons ultimately brought the team a full half-month of peace.
During those two weeks, they did not encounter a single Skyward Ranger.
According to Shortbeak’s reports, the Skyward Rangers seemed to pin the blame for the disappearance of both squads on the little demons. With their mission completed, the reinforcements dispatched from elsewhere were called back.
The frequency of patrols throughout the region suddenly dropped significantly.
Falsifying battle reports to claim merit—this is not a trick known only to mortal armies; the celestial troops know it well too.
But in doing so, they unwittingly aided the real culprits. The safety of the whole group seemed suddenly assured. Yet from that day on, White Ape rarely smiled, often drifting into solitary contemplation.
Perhaps it wasn’t just White Ape—this incident changed many of them.
Rhino seemed less domineering than before. Sometimes he would mingle with the little demons, laughing heartily during conversations, though he still kept his distance from the Monkey King.
Shortbeak spent his days either flying through the air or hanging from trees, rarely touching the ground, as if his fear hadn’t faded. On the day the signal flare rose, he told the Monkey King, "I realized I’m not as brave as they are."
Rhino once swore the little demons must have had another scheme—no demon would willingly die for another. Maybe it was fate, maybe they drew the short straw, but surely they'd run at the last moment.
Yet, in the end, he was proven wrong.
Though small and weak, the little demons had their own dignity. In their own way, they earned respect.
After that, relations between Rhino and the little demons seemed to improve. The Monkey King once saw Rhino lying on the ground asleep, while two playful cat demons chased each other right over his belly.
Of course, with his tough hide and thick flesh, he probably didn’t feel a thing.
Fiona Fox grew increasingly quiet. Every day, she would ask the Monkey King, "Will Shadow survive?"
The Monkey King always smiled and replied, "He definitely will."
But every time she heard that answer, she would quietly shed tears.
Almost every few days, a little demon too exhausted to continue would quietly drop out. Once, White Ape kept watch all night and caught one trying to sneak away. He asked why he was leaving.
He said, "If I slow everyone down, then those who died ahead of us did so for nothing."
He spoke with remarkable calm—a calm so deep it was heartbreaking.
White Ape hesitated for a long time, but in the end could only pat his shoulder and mumble, "Good child."
The little demon knelt before White Ape, knocked his head three times on the ground, then turned and vanished into the dense forest.
Perhaps they would never see him again.
Such is the world of demons—cruel, and so cruel that it becomes routine.
A somber mood spread through the whole group, yet their pace quickened noticeably.
On the seventeenth day, they encountered another squad of Skyward Rangers. A minor error upset their battle plan, and this squad was stronger than any before.
Big Bull’s arm was pierced through, and one Skyward Ranger broke through the encirclement and soared into the sky. Shortbeak dove and tackled him back to the ground.
In the end, it was a narrow escape. Shortbeak took four knife wounds—he survived, but couldn’t walk, let alone fly. For days, Rhino had to carry him on his shoulder.
Fortunately, two days later, they entered the territory of Dragon’s Pool.
......
Dragon’s Pool, originally called Purple Cloud Azure Wave Pool, is a hundred-mile-wide lake of sparkling blue water, plunging a thousand fathoms deep.
The scenery here is famous for its beauty. In the south, it’s a rare and coveted summer retreat.
Legend has it that a thousand years ago, a Dragon King lived here, but he vanished mysteriously and the dragon palace dispersed.
When mortals discovered and cultivated the land, they built a small town in this precious spot.
The villages surrounding the town all lived by fishing.
Two hundred years ago, a Serpent Lord moved in, and the lake was renamed Dragon’s Pool—likely out of admiration for the dragons.
Because this Serpent Lord was nicknamed the Evil Jiao, the place naturally became known as Dragon’s Pool among demons. At first, only demons used this name; mortals and the Heavenly Court still called it Purple Cloud Azure Wave Pool.
Though jiao and dragons are kin, the Heavenly Court does not recognize jiao as legitimate lords of the mortal realm.
So, even though the Serpent Lord occupied the original Sea King's Palace and renamed the pool, he dared not reveal his identity openly. Not even the villagers had ever seen him.
But living so close to mortals, trouble was bound to happen sooner or later—the Serpent Lord knew this well.
So the Serpent Lord began causing trouble: villagers couldn’t catch fish, and little demons disguised themselves as bandits to harass them.
After decades of this, the area gradually emptied out and became desolate, finally turning into the ideal home for the Serpent Lord.
However, the good times didn’t last.
About a hundred years ago, a celestial army pursuing a fugitive from the Heavenly Court stumbled upon the Serpent Lord and launched a campaign against him.
Who could have predicted that, in a fit of rage, the Serpent Lord swallowed all five hundred celestial soldiers whole.
The news reached the Heavenly Court, and the Jade Emperor was furious. He sent a massive army to besiege Dragon’s Pool, but even ten thousand elite troops could do nothing against the Serpent Lord.
So the fighting went on and off for a hundred years, countless battles, and still the Heavenly Court couldn't take Dragon’s Pool.
The Serpent Lord’s fame spread among the demons. Thousands traveled from far and wide to join him, and he became a banner for demon tribes across the southern continent, honored as the Serpent Demon King.
This was one of the two wonders of Dragon’s Pool. The other was Dragon City.
Rumor among demons had it that beside Dragon’s Pool stood Dragon City. Fifty years ago, when many land-dwelling demons came to join the Serpent Lord but couldn’t enter the Sea King’s Palace, he led them to build a demon city atop the ruins of the old human town. Now, it stands like a fortress.
Up to thirty thousand demons gathered on the plains, occupying the beautiful land and building a town. For demons who lived in exile under the shadow of the Heavenly Court, it was unimaginable.
Whether Dragon City truly existed was unclear—information among demons was patchy. Some said it did, some said it didn’t; to this day, no outsider knows for sure.
"Hasn’t any demon who’s been to Dragon’s Pool come out to confirm if it exists or not?" Whenever the topic came up, some demon would ask.
And the admirers of the Serpent Demon King would answer, "If a demon ever went to Dragon’s Pool, would they really want to leave again?"
And so, Dragon City became a legend.
Before reaching Dragon’s Pool, neither White Ape nor the Monkey King believed such a place could exist. After all, what were the Heavenly Court’s million soldiers doing? Building a demon city was like slapping the Jade Emperor in the face!
Only when they stood before the gates of Dragon City did they realize how little imagination they had.
Staring at the bustling crowd of demons, the towering city walls, and the well-equipped demon guards marching back and forth, the refugee band was utterly stunned.