The words of the Black Robe Demon Officer left Mo Fan stunned, and all the demons in the cave were equally taken aback.
Anyone could see that this Toad Demon was neither favored by the Demon King nor had he made any friends with General Poison Fang, so naturally, his fate was not looking good.
Although the Demon King was in a good mood and willing to spare the Toad Demon's life, no demon dared to speak up for him for fear of offending General Poison Fang.
Thus, the words of the Black Robe Demon Officer were particularly striking.
Mo Fan hadn't expected the Black Robe Demon Officer to take him in at this moment, which was undoubtedly a great favor, leaving him with mixed feelings.
The impression Black Wind Mountain had given him was undoubtedly terrible. Not only was he forcibly brought up the mountain by Green-Faced and other minor demons, but he was also nearly made into a feast.
But now, the Black Robe Demon Officer had shown Mo Fan a glimmer of hope on this Black Wind Mountain.
"Oh, under which general do you serve?" the Demon King asked the Black Robe Demon Officer with interest.
"Reporting to Grandfather Great King, I serve under the Third General," the Black Robe Demon Officer replied respectfully.
"So, you're under that Mountain Phoenix fellow," the Demon King realized and continued, "Mountain Phoenix is rarely at Black Wind Mountain, and I almost forgot about him. Since you're his officer and you've asked for this favor, I'll grant it. This Toad Demon will be under your command!"
"Thank you, Grandfather Great King, for your generosity!" The Black Robe Demon Officer was overjoyed and scolded the still-dazed Mo Fan, "You ugly thing, hurry up and thank Grandfather Great King!"
Mo Fan came to his senses. Although he wished he could swallow all the demons in the cave whole, he had no choice but to force a smile and bow to the Demon King, "This minor demon thanks Grandfather Great King for your great kindness!"
"Very well," the Demon King nodded, then turned to the Black Robe Demon Officer and warned, "Although this Toad Demon is now under your command, he's truly hideous. Don't bring him to my Black Wind Cave often. If he scares my Beauty Consorts, I'll make a feast of you all!"
Mo Fan's face stiffened instantly.
"This minor demon understands and assures Grandfather Great King that such a thing will never happen!" The Black Robe Demon Officer replied respectfully.
"Good, now leave. All of you, leave. I'm in a good mood today and want to enjoy some time with my beauties!" The Demon King laughed heartily, wrapping an arm around each woman's waist and heading deeper into the cave amidst their cries.
Listening to the heart-wrenching cries, Mo Fan felt a chill run down his spine, understanding that the Demon King was about to commit an act of tyranny, leaving the Rabbit Demon and the beautiful human woman to suffer.
Sure enough, before the demons could leave Black Wind Cave, they heard moans and cries of pain from inside...
"That Tiger Demon, come with me. You'll be my mount from now on!" Poison Fang suddenly spoke, calling out to Erha, who was eavesdropping intently.
"You two brothers won't fight me for this Tiger Demon, will you?" Poison Fang ignored Erha and looked at the other two Demon Generals.
"Tiger Demons are rare in the Demon Spirit Mountain Range. Even if there are any, they're usually summoned by the Ten Thousand Mountains. Although rare, it's just a newly transformed minor demon. If you like it, take it under your command!"
"Indeed, I prefer flying demons over this flashy but useless Tiger Demon. Female demons are even better, more comfortable to ride, hahaha..." The other two Demon Generals shook their heads.
"Thank you, brothers, for not competing with me." Poison Fang cupped his fists at the two Demon Generals, then glanced coldly at the Toad Demon and the Black Robe Demon Officer, before turning to Erha, "Follow me!"
Erha quickly followed, never sparing Mo Fan another glance, leaving Mo Fan fuming with anger.
Once the three Demon Generals had left, the Black Robe Demon Officer finally breathed a sigh of relief. With a wave of his hand, a black light flashed, and the ropes binding Mo Fan fell to the ground, severed.
"Thank you, Lord Demon Officer, for saving me!" Mo Fan expressed his gratitude sincerely after regaining his freedom.
"I don't get along with that Fourth General Poison Fang, so saving you was just to spite him," the Black Robe Demon Officer said casually, then glanced at Mo Fan, "Of course, you might be useful to me. From today on, you'll follow me!"
"Yes!" Mo Fan nodded quickly, not daring to show any negligence.
Seeing this, the Black Robe Demon Officer said no more and headed straight out of the cave.
Mo Fan followed silently, keeping pace.
The Black Robe Demon Officer's steps were small, but his pace was swift, forcing Mo Fan to sprint on two legs to keep up.
Once they descended from the Cloud-Mist Zone, the Black Robe Demon Officer slowed down a bit and said, "My name is Hei Zi, and I'm an officer under the Third General Mountain Phoenix at Black Wind Mountain. Since you're now under my command, you may call me Lord."
"Yes, Lord!" Mo Fan replied respectfully.
"Though you've just recently transformed, you're quite clever, understanding my hints. Otherwise, you would have died in Black Wind Cave earlier."
Seeing Mo Fan's cleverness, Hei Zi the Demon Officer nodded in satisfaction and asked, "Do you have a name?"
"Replying to Lord, I do have a name. It's Mo Fan!" Mo Fan replied honestly.
"Mo Fan?"
"That sounds like a human name, too plain!" Hei Zi the Demon Officer frowned slightly and said, "We demons shouldn't have such mundane human names. At Black Wind Mountain, we have a tradition where newly promoted minor demons are named by their officers. So, I'll give you a better name!"
Mo Fan's face twitched, but he feigned joy and said, "Please grant me a name, Lord!" This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
"You're clever!" Hei Zi the Demon Officer smiled with satisfaction, thought for a moment, and said, "Since your true form is a toad, and Grandfather Great King called you a lucky demon, how about Lai Fu (Lucky Toad)?"
"......"
Mo Fan's face stiffened, feeling as if a thousand horses were galloping through his mind.
"No, no, the 'Fu' character is already taken. Let me think... Hmm, 'Bao' sounds good, Laibao, Laibao... Got it, from now on, you'll be called Laibao!" Hei Zi the Demon Officer said seriously.
"Ah... this..." Mo Fan was utterly speechless, thinking, what a ridiculous name!
But seeing Hei Zi the Demon Officer's satisfied expression, Mo Fan didn't dare refuse and could only nod, "Laibao thanks Lord for the name!"
"Hahaha... Glad you like it. I'm truly a genius at naming!" Hei Zi the Demon Officer laughed, walking further along the mountain path.
Mo Fan followed Hei Zi the Demon Officer for about half a day before they arrived at a cave dwelling.
The cave was built into a rock, without any name plaque, and inside was pitch black, depth unknown.
"This is my cave dwelling. If you need anything, you can come here to find me. If not, don't disturb me, or I won't mind teaching you a lesson!" Hei Zi the Demon Officer warned, then suddenly asked, "By the way, do you have a 'handle'?"
"Ah?" Mo Fan was puzzled, not quite understanding.
"Hehehe, the Lord is asking if you, stupid toad, have a 'ding ding' down there!" A teasing voice came from above Mo Fan's head.
He looked up to see a sparrow the size of a human head circling above him.
This time, without asking, he knew it was also a demon, though its response was peculiar.
"What are you looking at, you fool? The Lord is asking you a question!" The sparrow indeed spoke, mocking him.
Mo Fan frowned but didn't argue with it. Instead, he turned to Hei Zi the Demon Officer, embarrassed, and said, "Replying to Lord, I'm ashamed to say, I have nothing down there..."
"Lord, it seems this stupid toad is as cowardly as the stingy rabbit!" The sparrow demon teased from above.
Hei Zi the Demon Officer frowned, then instructed the sparrow demon above, "Zhazha, this ugly thing is Laibao. From today, he'll join you in the Mountain Patrol. Explain the rules to him."
"I'm tired and need a nap. You can leave now!" Hei Zi the Demon Officer yawned, waved them off, and ignored Mo Fan and the sparrow demon, heading into the dark cave.
"Laibao, your name sounds nice, but you're quite ugly!" The sparrow landed on Mo Fan's shoulder and said, "The Lord said you're now part of our Mountain Patrol."
"Come on, I'll introduce you to the other three fools!"