The Nine-Headed Wyrm certainly had no idea what a "Hongmen Banquet" was, but at this very moment, even he, for all his stubbornness, could understand what "a tossed cup as the signal" meant.
Among demons, the Nine-Headed Wyrm ranked as a great overlord; even the Six Demon Kings had to give way before him. All his life, his style had been to act as he pleased, doing whatever he wished, because he knew that no one could do anything about it.
But there are always exceptions—like Marshal Tianpeng, and like the Handsome Monkey King before him now.
Back then, when the Celestial Navy laid a net across the Western Ox Continent to hunt down the fleeing Six Demon Kings, he risked his life to tear open their defenses and rescue them. Now, the tables had turned: he himself was trapped in Blossom Mountain’s net, and he wondered whether the Six Demon Kings outside would risk their lives to save him.
He had no faith at all in those demon kings, who were like stray dogs—and even if they wanted to save him, it was doubtful they could. In the Celestial Navy’s plan, the Nine-Headed Wyrm was an unexpected variable; in the Handsome Monkey King’s plan, the Six Demon Kings were expected.
His face turned unspeakably grim—grimmer than ever before.
He sat there dazed for a long while, then forced a laugh and said, "Handsome Monkey King, this Blossom Mountain must have cost you no small amount of effort. If I reveal my true form here and you capture me, won’t this demon city be destroyed in the process? Is it really worth it?"
"What’s there to be worth or not worth?" Monkey retorted. "You all forced your way to my doorstep. Whether it’s worth it or not has never been my choice. Besides, shrinking from battle is not my style."
With that, Monkey looked at the Nine-Headed Wyrm and said coolly, "I’ve survived countless life-and-death trials. Do you really think I’d turn coward before the likes of you? Hahahaha!"
His hearty laughter echoed through the loft. The Nine-Headed Wyrm listened in silence, his expression unchanged, while all around the loft, a dense crowd of demon soldiers gripped their weapons, breathing nervously.
On a nearby rooftop, Anna Yang still stood with the other demon generals.
"What do we do now?"
"Keep waiting."
......
Outside the city, the search teams had already spread out to a radius of five li, digging three feet into the ground as they searched. As for the demon kings, they’d long since fled twenty li away.
"What did you say? That monkey has a blood feud with you?" King Bullhorn’s eyes widened.
The rest of the demon kings were all slightly startled.
The Drake King’s gaze darted anxiously among the demon kings. "Not just with me—with all of us! Who among you hasn’t used Gold Essence traded for low-rank demons? I’m not just talking about my own business at Dragon’s Pool; haven’t you all done the same elsewhere? Back then, it was you, big brother, who introduced me to King Southwell. So why is it only me who has a blood feud with him?"
"So he really is searching for us, to settle old scores?" King Macaque scratched his head.
"He definitely is." The Drake King blinked and clenched his fists. "I know that monkey—back at Dragon’s Pool, he could’ve escaped on his own, but he insisted on fighting to the end. That’s hatred; for him, it’s never just about surviving. He’ll come for revenge, I guarantee it! So we absolutely can’t go to Blossom Mountain!"
"Nonsense!" King Roc stepped forward, one hand gripping his halberd, glaring at the Drake King. "You’re just afraid we’ll hand you over, so you say all this. Why should we be dragged down by trouble you brought on yourself?"
King Liontusk, crouching nearby, quietly reached for his broadsword.
"What do you mean by that?" The Drake King, terrified, stumbled back two steps, pointing at King Roc and shouting hoarsely, "You want to hand me over to him, don’t you?"
He looked to King Bullhorn, only to find him silent, and was instantly stunned.
After a moment, he blinked and said, "We—we’re brothers. Everything I did was for all of us, not just for myself!"
"Brotherhood doesn’t mean we have to shoulder every mess you make." King Roc stepped forward again, while King Liontusk gripped his Nine-Ring Blade and stood up.
At that moment, the long-silent King Bullhorn slammed his iron staff on the ground, drawing every demon king’s gaze.
"Third Brother, that’s enough. Mind your words." He casually took two steps, positioning himself between King Roc and the Drake King, and asked King Roc softly, "Do you really want to run over there and play the enforcer?"
Seeing King Bullhorn now blocking his way, King Roc relaxed his grip on the halberd and said coldly, "I’ve no interest in being anyone’s enforcer. As things stand, the Nine-Headed Wyrm has surely spilled everything—otherwise, how would that monkey know we’re outside? If we want another chance, it’ll be tough. So instead of waiting, we might as well enter Blossom Mountain and look for an opening."
The Drake King, finally a little calmer, panted, "Enter Blossom Mountain? How do you know he’ll accept you?"
"Blossom Mountain recruits new soldiers every day, accepting any demon who comes to join—do you really think they’d turn me away?"
"I think Third Brother has a point," King Liontusk agreed.
"Then you’re all mistaken!" the Drake King shrieked hysterically. "I know that monkey—he’s not the type to let things go so easily!"
"What if we handed you over as a gift to show our sincerity?" King Roc pointed at the Drake King and barked, "You keep saying you know him—don’t think I’m unaware of your mess at Dragon’s Pool. If you really understood that monkey, you wouldn’t have been outplayed by him!"
At these words, the Drake King’s face turned purple. "Was I doing it for myself? If not for the business at Dragon’s Pool, why would I have offended him? Why is it that every time we split the Gold Essence, it goes on the main ledger and gets divided among you, but when trouble comes, I’m the one who has to take the fall? Don’t forget, Dragon’s Pool brought in the highest profits of all, and didn’t the pills you took come from Gold Essence bought there? Damn it, you used to treat me so warmly—ever since Dragon’s Pool went wrong, when have you ever shown me a good face? I’ve put up with you for long enough!"
With that, the Drake King rolled up his sleeves, ready to fight. King Roc, stronger than him, was not about to back down either, and raised his halberd in front of him.
[Irrelevant passage: This chapter isn’t finished ^.^, please click next page to continue reading!]
"Enough! Shut up, all of you! What, am I dead to you now?" King Bullhorn, standing in the center, suddenly roared.
At his shout, King Roc turned away, refusing to look at the Drake King. The Drake King seemed to want to say more, but only opened his mouth and then swallowed his words, unwillingly.
His body trembled uncontrollably.
The two quarreling demon kings finally quieted down.
After a brief silence, King Bullhorn spoke slowly: "At this point, we need to think about our next move. From the looks of it, the Nine-Headed Wyrm has already sided with Blossom Mountain. Are the six of us really going to waste energy fighting among ourselves?"
"What’s there to think about?" King Roc snorted. "The Nine-Headed Wyrm’s joined Blossom Mountain, so let’s go kill the Azurewave Dragon King and Princess Marina Azurewave to vent our anger."
At these words, King Bullhorn’s eyes bulged with fury. "What did you say? If not for the Azurewave Dragon King, we’d have died in the Western Ox Continent. Is this how you repay him?"
"It was the Nine-Headed Wyrm who saved us, not that old dragon. The Wyrm is arrogant—if he weren’t somewhat useful, we’d have killed him already. Now that he’s joined Blossom Mountain, what’s left to talk about?"
King Bullhorn’s mouth twitched, and his nostrils erupted with thick smoke as he roared, "I’ll slaughter you, you ungrateful wretch!"
He grabbed his iron staff and charged at King Roc, while King Macaque and King Gloomape, terrified, rushed to block him.
"Big Brother, calm down! Calm down!"
"Third Brother, you’ve gone too far—apologize to Big Brother!"
"Yeah, Third Brother, hurry and apologize!"
The Drake King, egging things on, pointed at King Roc and shouted, "Let Big Brother go—this ungrateful wretch deserves to be beaten to death!"
Before he finished speaking, King Roc shot him a cold glare, and the Drake King immediately shut his mouth.
Seeing King Bullhorn still furious, King Roc could only bow reluctantly and mutter, "Big Brother, I was wrong."
Only then did King Bullhorn slowly lower his iron staff. His breathing was still heavy, and though he’d calmed a little, he turned away, refusing to look at King Roc.
In the distance, several demons could be seen flapping their fleshy wings as they searched the area.
King Roc pursed his lips and shot the Drake King a cold look. "Big Brother, I’ve apologized. But the problem still isn’t solved—what should we do now?"
"Let’s head back first!" Still fuming, King Bullhorn slammed his iron staff down and strode toward the outskirts of Blossom Mountain.
The Drake King, still fearful, glanced at King Roc and hurried to follow.
In a flash, only King Roc and King Liontusk remained.
"What now?" King Liontusk asked.
"What else can we do? If Old Bull won’t hand over that eel, going to Blossom Mountain is suicide. Let’s just take things one step at a time."
With that, he too followed in the direction King Bullhorn had gone.
......
At dusk, Anna Yang, dressed in military garb, quietly pushed open the door to Monkey’s reception hall, stepped over to his side, and knelt on the cushion.
"They’ve left?" Monkey asked.
"Yes, they’ve definitely left Blossom Mountain’s territory." Anna Yang glanced coolly at the Nine-Headed Wyrm. "It seems there was some conflict among them."
At that, the Nine-Headed Wyrm finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Though he secretly despised the Six Demon Kings, if they’d really come to rescue him, he’d probably have died even faster.
After a moment to compose himself, he sighed, "I told you I’m not close with them. If not for my father-in-law’s request, who would go save those guys? This time, they dragged me along. So, can we end the alert now?"
"Not yet," Monkey replied bluntly.
"Why not? You still don’t trust me?"
"I’m still suspicious. Being cautious never hurts."
"I’m liking you less and less," said the Nine-Headed Wyrm.