At night, Mo Fan lay in the cave dwelling, unable to sleep, all because of the loud snoring of that dead dog in the next room.
He was also unbearably hungry.
After a whole day of intimidation and excitement, Mo Fan was mentally and physically exhausted, having not eaten anything all day.
The welcome feast he imagined never happened; instead, he almost became the meal for the demons of Black Wind Mountain.
Mo Fan went to the back door and, by the moonlight, saw some swimming fish in the spring pool at the entrance.
These fish weren't big, only a few inches long, but they filled Mo Fan with delight.
"Right, there's a natural fish pond right at my doorstep. Doesn't that mean I won't have to worry about going hungry in the future?"
Mo Fan whispered, his gaze fixed on a nearby fish, and his tongue shot out like an arrow.
Water splashed as his tongue wrapped around a fish and retracted.
In no time, Mo Fan had a satisfying meal.
From chatting with Dali and the other demons earlier, he learned that the fish survived in the spring pool because almost no demons on Black Wind Mountain could swim. Even demons like Dali, who had some swimming ability, dared not venture into the cold, bottomless pool.
Without demons hunting them, the fish naturally multiplied.
Now, it was Mo Fan's good fortune.
After eating his fill, Mo Fan returned to the cave dwelling, intending to take out the milky white stones from his inner space to make a bed. But considering the dog demon in the next room, he decided against it.
Mo Fan understood the principle of "a man with a treasure is a target."
Without knowing the stones' true value, he dared not reveal them.
"I need to find a chance to figure out what those stones really are," Mo Fan thought, then lay on the ground and soon fell asleep.
Early the next morning, Mo Fan was woken by the dog demon Laifu.
"It's not even light outside, why get up so early?" Mo Fan frowned, annoyed. He had just been dreaming of becoming a demon king, surrounded by beauties, and was about to get to the good part when the dead dog interrupted.
"Waiting for daylight? Are you tired of living?" Laifu sneered, then said, "We have a rule in our command: every day before sunrise, we must go to Lord Heizi to pay respects. If we're late, we might get punished by the lord, from beatings and starvation to being skinned alive!"
"That harsh?" Mo Fan's eyes widened.
"In Black Wind Mountain, all commands have this rule. Didn't that dead bird tell you about our minor demon etiquette yesterday?" Laifu looked at Mo Fan suspiciously. Find the original chapter at novelping.com.
Mo Fan thought for a moment. It seemed he really hadn't been told, so he shook his head.
"That damn Zhazha, the lord told him to explain our minor demon etiquette to you, and he dared slack off. Isn't he afraid of being skinned?" Laifu snorted, then patted his belly and said, "I'm a bit hungry. After we pay respects, help me catch some fish from the spring pool outside, and I'll tell you about the various taboos and etiquette, so you won't get punished for breaking them in the future. How about it?"
"Thank you, Brother Laifu!" Mo Fan nodded.
The spring pool might be deep, but it posed no danger to him. Now that he had undergone Demon Transformation, his tongue could extend over ten feet, making him adept at catching fish. So the dog demon's request was no big deal for him.
"Alright, I'll tell you as we walk."
On the way, Laifu explained the various etiquettes of Black Wind Mountain, and Mo Fan learned many taboos.
For example, the demon clan also had a strict rank classification, from low to high: minor demon, demon officer, demon general, demon king, and demon ancestor.
As minor demons, they had to call their own demon officer "lord." If they met another command's demon officer, they needed to respectfully call them "command." When meeting a demon general, they called them "general," and a demon king "grandfather great king."
As for demon ancestors, Black Wind Mountain had none, but it was said there were some deep within the vast land. If they ever encountered one, they had to respectfully call them "old ancestor."
Laifu didn't know what rank was above demon ancestor.
Within Black Wind Mountain, minor demons could engage in private duels but couldn't kill. If they accidentally killed a demon, they would be executed, and their body would be served as a meal by the grandfather great king.
Minor demons had to maintain enough respect in front of demon officers, and even more so in front of demon generals and demon kings. If they offended them, demon officers had the right to kill minor demons under their command.
There were also rules set by the demon king that couldn't be violated, or they would be served as a meal.
Minor demons had to pay respects daily because sometimes demon officers might have new tasks to assign. As demon officers wouldn't lower themselves to seek out minor demons, the paying respects tradition was established.
Not long after leaving the spring pool, Mo Fan and the dog demon Laifu arrived at a slope and saw two adjacent cave dwellings, one large and one small.
These were the dwellings of Ox Demon Dali and Rabbit Demon Red-Eyed. The two demons had been waiting and joined the group to pay respects when Mo Fan and Laifu arrived.
As the group of demons passed the Great Banyan Tree, Zhazha swooped down from a nest in the tree and landed on Dali's horn to continue napping.
Red-Eyed jumped onto Dali's broad back, and Dali didn't mind.
Mo Fan envied Red-Eyed and Zhazha, but he knew his own worth. Though Dali seemed easygoing, Mo Fan wasn't that familiar with him yet.
Zhazha was small, so Dali didn't mind, and Red-Eyed had a good relationship with Dali, evident from their adjacent dwellings.
Black Wind Mountain was vast, so it took the group of five minor demons two incense sticks' time to reach Lord Heizi's cave dwelling.
Upon arrival, Mo Fan saw the three minor demons who had followed Lord Heizi yesterday. The three bald heads were hard to miss.
"Dali, you're early today," one minor demon greeted Ox Demon Dali after glancing at Mo Fan and the others.
"Paying respects to the lord should be early. We can't keep the lord waiting, can we?" Dali chuckled, then introduced Mo Fan, "Laibao, these three brothers are the lord's personal followers. Be respectful when you see them, and if you get an opportunity, don't forget to share with these brothers!"
"I understand!" Mo Fan nodded, then respectfully greeted the three minor demons, "Laibao greets the three brothers!"
"Hmm, you're an ugly Toad Demon, but you're clever and quick to understand. That's rare!" The Spider Demon nodded approvingly. "I'm called Old Eight. You can call me Brother Eight."
"Yes, Brother Eight!" Mo Fan nodded.
The other two demons introduced themselves as Old Six and Old Three.
Mo Fan found their names amusing, but the three demons seemed proud, as the names were given by Lord Heizi, which they saw as an honor.
Eight minor demons stood outside Lord Heizi's cave dwelling, chatting until the first light appeared. Then, the Spider Demon Old Eight shouted into the cave, "The great sun is hanging high. We've come to pay respects to the lord. Any instructions?"
"Are all my command's minor demons present?" came a voice from inside.
"Yes, lord, we're all here, including Laibao, who joined yesterday!" Old Eight replied respectfully.
"Good, there's nothing today. Go amuse yourselves!"
"Yes!"
The demons nodded and turned to leave, but then the voice from the cave called out, "Laibao, stay!"
The demons turned to look at Mo Fan, and Dali smiled at him, "Not bad, just joined our command, and the lord already likes you. Laibao, you have a bright future!"
Mo Fan was puzzled and cautiously asked, "Brother, is this 'like' genuine?"