Shortbeak escorted the six newly rescued demons to the mine entrance at the foot of the mountain, not far away. He summoned the Sage's Path military medics to examine their wounds. Watching them devour their food, he couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart.
He remembered how his own team once took this same road, full of hope, heading for Dragon's Pool. But fate had them encounter the Serpent Lord, not Simon Sun.
Years have passed since then: Jackal betrayed them, Big Bull and White Ape died, and of the original six demons who set out as the main force, only himself, Monkey, and that big-horned sleeper remain.
Maybe it was because of this shared experience that Shortbeak never hesitated to help demons who came seeking refuge.
"Stay here for now. I have things to handle—once I'm done, we'll head back to Blossom Mountain together." With this final instruction, Shortbeak turned and entered the narrow tunnel.
He walked down the tunnel, its three sides lined with wooden partitions, passing demon miners going in and out. Every one of them wore the standard Blossom Mountain miner's uniform, each hung with a bead emitting white light.
No open flames were allowed in the tunnel. Those beads were simple artifacts custom-made by Blossom Mountain: once infused with spiritual power, they could glow for a while. But Shortbeak had no need for such things—his natural night vision was unmatched by other demons, even without magic.
According to Anna Yang's survey, this mine contained a mineral urgently needed by Blossom Mountain. Though the deposit was poor and the ore scarce, the location was close enough to justify extraction, so Monkey decided to open it.
But not long after mining began, the supervising demon announced that the vein had broken...
That was why Shortbeak and the main force of the guard had shown up here early in the morning.
After walking for nearly two li, Shortbeak finally spotted a black figure standing with arms akimbo in the distance.
"Handled?" Monkey asked without turning his head.
"Handled. The other side backed off, all six demons were rescued." Shortbeak stood shoulder to shoulder with Monkey. "This side's still not settled?"
Not far ahead, in the corner of the tunnel, Belle squatted with a glow-pearl in hand, fussing with a jumble of strange tools while sketching, her hands moving in anxious confusion.
"Do you really know what you're doing? Maybe we should wait for Anna Yang." Monkey called out loudly.
"Don't underestimate me. I studied mineral surveying too," Belle retorted, pursing her lips.
"Studied and mastered are two different things. I read those books too, but never understood them. Didn't have the heart to study it back then, either."
Belle looked here and there, fiddled for a long time, then brushed off the dust from her clothes. She gathered up her sketches and assorted odd tools, stood up, and turned to announce, "Done! I've mapped out the vein's direction—the vein isn't exhausted!"
"Are you sure?" Monkey asked, expressionless.
Pressed by the question, Belle hesitated, frowning as she thought for a long while before turning back. "Maybe I should check it again."
"Enough, we don't have time for you to keep checking." Monkey grabbed Belle. "I'll have Anna Yang re-survey it later and compare your results. If they match, I'll trust you next time."
Belle could only pout and nod, clutching her pile of equipment as she followed Monkey out of the tunnel, looking pitiful.
She had spent days preparing for this survey, but in the end, still lacked confidence. After all, she was only seventeen; her Sage's Path Spirit-Refinement Stage cultivation was shaky, and her knowledge of alchemy and metallurgy was nowhere near Anna Yang's.
Walking shoulder to shoulder with Monkey, Shortbeak glanced back at Belle, who was frowning, and said softly, "Why not let her try again? Anna Yang is swamped right now. If someone else can handle things, let's not bother her."
Monkey scratched his ear and grinned. "I just want to get back soon. Isn't Rhino's kid about to be born? My godchild!"
That godchild referred to Rhino's offspring. Rhino was one of Blossom Mountain's earliest members, but also the least accomplished—always either cultivating or sleeping. Now, even the other little demons who went to Dragon's Pool with him have more prestige than he does.
Yet it was Rhino who first spread the news of getting someone—well, another demon—pregnant. The mother was a rabbit spirit...
When Monkey heard about it, he was stunned. He couldn't imagine how the towering, round-bodied Rhino could end up with such a petite, delicate rabbit spirit.
Well, Rhino was at the Spirit-Transformation stage now. His talent was average, but at least he could change his size...
In any case, after a brief moment of surprise, Monkey cheerfully declared he'd take the child as his godson—or goddaughter. He's been excited about it for days.
Hearing this, Shortbeak clicked his tongue and laughed, "How do you know it'll be a boy?"
Monkey threw an arm around Shortbeak's shoulder and burst out laughing. "Intuition! My gut's always right!"
As they walked out of the tunnel, the six demons who'd eaten their fill hurried to bow before Monkey. "Long live the King! Long live the King!"
"Enough, enough." Monkey waved it off, his gaze sweeping past the six, lingering on the white dove demoness. He turned his head to Shortbeak and asked quietly, "So, when are you going to give me another godchild?"
"Then when will you give us a crown prince?" Shortbeak replied with a sly smile.
Monkey's expression froze. He quickly glanced behind him.
Belle was still clutching her sketches, frowning in deep thought, so distracted she hadn't heard a word.
Seeing this, Monkey let out a small sigh of relief and hurriedly dropped the subject.
On Blossom Mountain, this was a taboo subject—only someone of Shortbeak's status dared bring it up. After all, the Handsome Monkey King's rule was simple: anyone who made him miserable wouldn't die well.
But with an old comrade like Shortbeak, he couldn't bear to retaliate.
After handling the routine matters of the mine, by midday Monkey raised his hand, enveloping Belle in a translucent aura. The two soared off toward Blossom Mountain, soon passing over vast farmland.
For dozens of li in every direction, the land was covered with newly opened fields. Over a thousand demons worked the land like human farmers, looking up as their king swept overhead.
Ever since the underground demons began migrating to the surface, many things became possible—like farming.
Of course, this hadn't been part of Monkey's original plan. But as the population of Blossom Mountain exploded, the old food stores couldn't keep up, so agriculture became a necessity.
And since Blossom Mountain's spiritual energy was still abundant despite its decline, most crops chosen here were suited for cultivation, aiding the demons' training. Thanks to Tina Ao, the weather was perfectly controlled—rain or shine, harvests were always plentiful.
Passing over the farmland, they soon saw the outline of Blossom Mountain. At its foot stood a sprawling fortress.
It's called a fortress, but though officially a 'demon city,' Monkey had no interest in building stone walls. So to this day, the city is ringed by wooden palisades, lacking any real grandeur.
Inside the palisade were buildings much like human city-states, though the styles varied.
Felines thought cave-like houses were most comfortable; birds believed treehouses were safest; amphibians insisted homes half-submerged in water were best...
So they argued endlessly.
This was a problem with no clear solution, so in the end Monkey decided to scrap the unified construction plan and let everyone do as they pleased.
As a result, all of Blossom Mountain erupted with joy. The demons who moved above ground, finally grasping the hope of a better life, unleashed their imaginations. Under their tireless handiwork, almost no two buildings in the town looked alike—each one stranger than the last.
But Monkey didn’t mind at all; as long as they were happy, that was enough.
Of course, some mischief did have to be explicitly forbidden. For instance: mole demons digging random holes right in the middle of the road; dung beetle demons piling up excrement in their homes, poisoning their neighbors; rat demons gnawing on others’ rafters in the dead of night...
In short, nearly every kind of demon had one or more peculiar habits, so all sorts of strange laws were drawn up—a stack of scrolls thick enough to intimidate even the most seasoned human magistrate.
Of course, making rules was one thing—whether they could be enforced was anyone’s guess. Luckily, none of this stopped the city from thriving.
At the very center of town stood a towering hall. Outsiders would likely think it a palace or temple, but in fact, beneath it ran a massive tunnel leading straight to the Underworld City.
In fact, it wasn’t just a passage to the Underworld City—the town itself had two additional underground levels, both accessed through this entrance.
Back when the Underworld City was still dormant, its slogan was 'live in the sunlight.' Later, it turned out that was just a slogan—not every demon wanted to live under the sun, especially certain snakes, bugs, rats, and ants.
Those demons who qualified for relocation but disliked sunlight refused to keep living in the monotonous, harsh Underworld City. So they built new underground districts beneath the surface city.