"P-Please... don't kill me, okay? I know I was wrong. From now on, I'll do whatever you say!"
Simon Stone snorted with laughter, planted his Cloudwalker Staff on the ground, turned his face and asked White Ape, "He says not to kill him. Do you agree?"
Owen Short glared wide-eyed at Big Bull, his bird beak shrieking furiously, "No way! Kill him!"
Standing to the side, White Ape spoke in a slightly trembling voice, "Big Bull... must have lost his mind for a moment. Maybe this is all just a misunderstanding."
"Shut up! A misunderstanding? How could there be so many misunderstandings! Do you even know they wanted to kill you too?"
White Ape shuddered at these words, but quickly forced a smile—a smile that looked flustered and bitter.
"How could that be?" He looked at Simon Stone and said, "Didn't they want me and Owen Short to go with them? Wouldn't things be worse for them without us? There must be another reason. Maybe... maybe we should ask and find out."
"Are you crazy? He had a knife to my throat—what more reason do you need? If Simon Stone hadn't rushed over, I'd be dead already!"
"We're all brothers here. Even if... we should at least get to the bottom of it."
"What's there to get to the bottom of? I've got just one thing to say—if you want to keep him, I'm leaving!" Owen Short clutched his chest and howled hysterically.
White Ape blinked and slowly lowered his head, his wrinkled hands beneath the white fur trembling slightly.
At that moment, even the little demons who had been separated from them quietly gathered around, standing at a distance, not daring to come closer.
Simon Stone, who had been quietly listening, swept his gaze around the group, finally resting his eyes on White Ape. He said calmly, "The reason is simple. Besides taking you two with them, there's another way to make sure the Skyward Rangers won't hunt them down. If they kill you and Owen Short, if this group is discovered by the Skyward Rangers, over a hundred little demons will scatter in all directions—who would have time to care about them then?"
Upon hearing this, the expressions of all the demons present—White Ape, Owen Short, and the little demons—shifted subtly.
In the silent night, only the rushing wind and the rustling of leaves in the mountains and forests remained.
Everyone fell silent.
Big Bull slowly lowered his head, his burly frame collapsing onto the ground. Clutching his head, he muttered to himself, "He told me to kill Owen Short, but he ran off himself... Heh, heh, heh..."
That sound could not be distinguished as laughter or sobbing.
At this moment, perhaps only White Ape and Simon Stone were calm; everyone else was burning with rage inside.
Jake Wolf and Big Bull's scheming was not just about White Ape and Owen Short—it was about the entire group. They were willing to trade the whole team's safety for their own smooth passage.
At this moment, though no one spoke, Big Bull could feel all those eyes staring at him, each like a thorn piercing his skin. He covered his face and kept his head down.
Under the gaze of the crowd, Simon Stone walked over step by step, picked up Big Bull's Nine-Ring Blade—which was nearly as tall as Simon Stone himself—and handed it to White Ape, giving him a look: "You decide. Kill or spare."
White Ape's hands trembled even more. He blinked, and something glistened in his eyes.
"What the hell are you hesitating for!" Owen Short roared, reaching out to snatch the Nine-Ring Blade from Simon Stone, but Simon Stone dodged him.
"I said he's the leader. He decides."
All eyes turned to White Ape.
He hesitated for a long, long time—so long that Owen Short began pounding his chest and stomping his feet, so long that the little demons started murmuring in discontent. At last, White Ape said, "Better... not kill him."
That wrinkled face forced a smile as he looked at Simon Stone.
Simon Stone nodded. "Alright, we'll do as you say."
With that, he plunged the Nine-Ring Blade back into the ground and turned to leave. Behind him came Big Bull's wailing and Owen Short's curses.
Back at camp, Monkey shouted, "Ruby! Come out! It's safe now!"
The little fox demon darted out from a pile of grass in the distance and hugged Monkey's leg tightly.
"Alright, it's over," Monkey said, patting her small head.
"Mm!" The little fox demon nodded vigorously.
The matter ended quickly. Old Bull slung his broadsword over his shoulder and sat off to the side in a daze, occasionally glancing at Monkey.
Shortbeak flew up into a tree, his face still twisted in anger—clearly shaken. It seemed that from now on, no one could get him down at night.
Old White Ape walked over to Monkey and sat beside him, but kept his head down, saying nothing.
In the distance, a group of little demons gathered together, noisily arguing about something unknown.
After a long pause, Old White Ape spoke: "Thank you..."
"Why say that? You're the leader of the group—it's only right for you to make the decisions." Monkey sat cross-legged on the ground, stroking the hair of the little fox demon who had fallen asleep with her head on his thigh.
"How am I a leader? I'm nothing. I'm just a soft-hearted fool who took on a mess for you all."
Simon Stone curled his lips slightly but did not smile.
"Actually, you really don't have to stay with this group. If it were you, even with Ruby, the two of you could cross the prairie in a single night..."
Simon Stone let out a laugh. "Are you trying to drive me away?"
"No, no, absolutely not!" Old White Ape hurriedly replied.
"Then what do you want?" Simon Stone turned to stare at White Ape.
That look made White Ape's heart tremble, and he slowly lowered his head.
He knew Simon Stone's question—"What do you want?"—was asked in all seriousness, and it wasn't about driving anyone away. It was about... what he himself wanted to do, right now.
Yes, what did he really want to do?
After another long, long silence, he finally said slowly, "I don't know what I want either. I know that killing Big Bull is the right thing to do. With you here, one squad of Skyward Rangers would be easy to handle. Big Bull is just an extra layer of insurance. If there are multiple squads, you can't handle it, and even with Big Bull, it still won't be enough."
"Then why haven't you chosen to kill him?"
White Ape pursed his thin lips and said, "I just think... it's already hard enough being a demon. Why should we turn on each other too?"
Blinking his bloodshot, clouded eyes, he lifted his head to gaze at the moon, his breath forming faint white mist in the air.
"I know I'm foolish. You're not the first to think so." He grinned, "Anyway, thank you—for being foolish with me."
Simon Stone shifted his gaze to the noisy little demons in the distance and asked, "So, what do you plan to do about the current situation?"
"I don't know, but something will come to me. Isn't there a saying, 'When the cart reaches the mountain, there will be a road; when the boat gets to the bridge, it will go straight'? There will be a way, there will be a way, there will be a way..." He muttered, as if trying to convince himself.
His clenched hands trembled uncontrollably.
That night, except for the little fox demon, almost none of the monsters slept. Oh, and there was one other—Big Horn. He snored thunderously, hugging his giant axe from start to finish; unless you kicked him, nothing could wake him up.
Early the next morning, before dawn, Simon Stone saw the group of little demons who had argued all night gathering together. A handful of them knelt before White Ape with a thud.
Among them was the rat spirit whom the little fox demon called Blackie.
White Ape panicked, hurrying forward to pull at them, but they wouldn't get up.
"White Ape, thank you," one of the little demons looked up and said, "Thank you for always leading us, always protecting us."
"What are you all doing?"
The little demon pursed its lips, tears falling one by one. Silently, it kowtowed, each thud echoing.
"What are you doing? I... I won't abandon you."
Each heavy kowtow left plum blossom marks on the ground, as if striking directly at White Ape's heart.
The rest of the little demons who had been standing also knelt down.
"Get up, get up and speak." Tears welled up in White Ape's eyes.
"Get up, get up and speak." Tears welled up in Old White's eyes.
A pang shot through White Ape's heart.
This was a farewell.
White Ape pursed his lips, tears streaming down his face. "No... you don't have to do this... I promise, I'll find a way. Just give me some time..."
The little demon didn't continue; the whole group was sobbing uncontrollably.
Old White Ape pursed his lips, tears streaming down his face. "No... you don't have to do this... I promise, I'll find a way. Just give me some time..."
Big Bull, sitting in the distance with his Nine-Ring Blade, slowly turned his face away.
"We can't keep thinking, can't keep waiting—if we wait any longer, we'll all die together."
"You... you're all my children... my good children..."
White Ape finally couldn't hold back any longer. He knelt down, embraced them, and wailed together with them.
What a foolish group of monsters they were...
Blackie slowly stood up, wiped the tears from his face, and walked barefoot toward Monkey, his eyes fixed on Monkey, a little afraid.
Finally, he mustered his courage, walked up to the little fox demon, and with muddy hands pulled a shiny silver dagger from the only scrap of clothing he wore—a tattered pair of pants—and handed it to her.
"I hid this last time. It's for you."
Taking the finely crafted dagger inscribed with the words 'Skyward Court,' the little fox demon blinked her beautiful eyes, seeming to understand something.
She turned her face to look at Monkey, tears slowly welling in her eyes.
Blackie slowly stood up, wiped the tears from his face, and walked barefoot toward Simon Stone, his eyes fixed on Simon Stone, a little afraid.
He had just taken a step when Blackie grabbed his pant leg.
"Don't..." He could barely speak, tears welling up again as he choked out, "It was my idea... I drew the lot, it's my fate. So... don't..."
Turning, he hugged the little fox demon. "If I survive, I'll come find you at Dragon's Pool. Wait for me..."
She turned her face to look at Simon Stone, tears slowly welling in her eyes.
Simon Stone let out a long sigh and stood up. "Let me go talk to White Ape."
This is what it means to be a demon. They have no history, no culture, no traditions, and no faith.
There is no place for them in the justice of Heaven. They can only rely on themselves, living in the shadows where sunlight cannot reach—yet still, they grow wild like weeds.