Chapter 64 The Demon's Ingratitude
"Because the Painted Skin Immortal wanted us to catch him and offered us money, so we caught him."
"We'll sell the people we've captured to him; he wants to use them to make lanterns... His lanterns are excellent, and there's a chance they'll be presented as tribute to the Emperor on his birthday! We'll give him the best ones! He promised to give me an official position!"
Xu Huaji was heartbroken, but he kept saying, "We're going to send the goods to Jiangzhou, to the Painted Skin Immortal, so he can choose what to get. The rest we'll sell to human brokers..."
"There is no mastermind behind it all; everyone is acting in their own self-interest."
Bai Yuheng narrowed her eyes and said coldly, "How long have you been doing this?"
"Two years? Three years? Or four years? I don't remember. At first, we just used the Octopus Demon to rescue people who had been in trouble. We made a name for ourselves and a lot of money! But later, Yao Rong suggested that I use this to expand the business!" Xu Huaji seemed to be lost in memories. "He is good at doing business with people, so he is more resourceful than me, who only knows how to fish by brute force. I listened to him."
"We'll join forces to spread the fame of the sea god's messengers and priests, and then have the Octopus Immortal threaten passing ships to collect protection money, which is essentially offerings... Later on, as we make more money, we'll gain both fame and fortune."
“A man who called himself the Painted Skin Immortal approached us and said he had a big business opportunity for us. At the time, we weren’t satisfied with just that, so after some discussion, we agreed.”
"So you started buying and selling people?"
"Yes." Xu Huaji recounted in detail all the evil deeds they had committed together over the years.
At the beginning, the two were just ignorant fishermen, bold but not very courageous. After gaining fame and fortune, they dared not do anything more reckless. But just then, someone emboldened them, giving them not only a great deal of money but also greater protection.
Thus, evil took hold of them, and they reached out to the innocent and weak, taking their offerings and then kidnapping them to buy and sell, turning them into lanterns.
Upon hearing this, Bai Yuheng gasped.
"Doesn't anyone suspect you? You accepted the offerings, yet you still failed to protect those who went to sea?"
Xu Hua smiled smugly: "How could no one suspect anything? Anyone who did suspect anything has been taken care of."
He spoke as if it were perfectly natural, showing no regard for human life.
“We have people protecting us, so naturally no one will be foolish enough to cause trouble. If something goes wrong, they will only blame themselves for not being sincere enough and not giving enough offerings.”
Bai Yuheng felt an itch in her palm; looking at that unrepentant face, she really wanted to slap it.
She tried to calm her turbulent emotions, stared at him coldly, and asked again, "What's the deal with that Octopus Immortal?"
"Hmph, that was just a monster I saved by chance."
One winter, the snow fell heavily, and the lake froze over everywhere, making it difficult to catch fish. Other fishermen also planned to rest and recuperate, hoping to catch plenty of fish the following year.
Everyone's gotten lazy now. Xu Huaji had just come out of one of his brothers' houses and looked unwell.
He asked several families, but none of them were willing to go fishing. He spat and had no choice but to go out by himself.
He acted immediately, going home to retrieve what he needed and then heading out to sea.
People who met him laughed at him for being greedy for money, going out in such cold weather and not being able to take a day off; others praised him for being capable and always looking for opportunities.
Xu Huaji couldn't explain it, but he had a strong urge to go out to sea. Regardless of whether there were fish or not, he wanted to follow his heart and set sail.
The sea stretches endlessly, and goose down falls gently on my face.
Xu Huaji set up the net as usual, then rowed to his usual spot—a small island with many low hills—where he found his usual cave.
As usual, he took out the firewood he had hidden beforehand and lit it to keep warm.
The cave was deep and dark, so he dared not go in and rested only on the outside.
At that moment, a few faint cries were heard, and he immediately felt a chill run down his spine and his scalp tingle.
His eyes were fixed warily on the dark cave, his right hand gripping a long spear tightly. He slowly stood up, even his breathing becoming shallow and slow.
"Waaah..."
He picked up a burning piece of firewood and slowly walked in, swallowing his dry throat. The closer he got, the louder his crying became.
"Help me, help me..."
The cave was of unknown depth, and a thin stream flowed out, presumably merging into the sea. In the firelight, he could see clearly a creature entangled in a long net, its entire body wrapped in a peculiar shape. It resembled a human, yet also a fish, with large, date-shaped eyes, pinkish skin like that of konjac, and speckled with black spots. Its eight tentacles were tightly bound, and it was stranded on the shore.
When the monster saw him coming, it struggled for a moment, then looked at him with large, tearful eyes: "Please save me..."
Xu Huaji's legs trembled, but seeing that it couldn't move, he asked, "Are you a monster?"
"I am fine..." It was very weak, its voice was faint and ethereal, its eyes were half closed, and its eight claws were powerless to move.
"Please, save me, I will repay you..."
Xu Hua swallowed hard, a thought of repaying him stirred within him, and he countered, "How do I know if what you're saying is true? What if I save you, and you realize what's happening and eat me first?"
It opened its eyelids and said, "There's a magnetic field on this island that restricts my spiritual power. I can't cast spells..."
Seeing that he was less resistant, it continued, "This is my inner core. I'm giving it to you. If I wanted to kill you, you only need to gently crush it, and I would explode and die..."
Xu Huaji took the inner core that was flashing with an unusual light, which looked just like the legendary luminous pearl. He wondered what price he could get for it if he sold it.
How can I save you?
"Help me untie these ropes, then put me in the water and take me out of this shallow area," it said in one breath.
Xu Huaji originally intended to take its inner core, but looking at its eyes yearning for trust, he hesitated, pursed his lips, struggled a few times, took out the short dagger hidden in his chest, walked up to it, suddenly raised it, and swung it down heavily.
"The first time I felt expectation and trust was actually from a monster..." Xu Huaji laughed, his laughter tinged with sorrow. "Perhaps I was truly moved by compassion, so I did as she asked and carried her into the sea along the stream. She gradually regained her strength, pulled the spear out of her body, and thanked me as she did so."
"It gave me the most dazzling pearl from the seabed, asking me to return the inner core. I pretended to agree, but demanded that it agree to three conditions."
Bai Yuheng listened quietly.
"The first thing is that it allows me to catch lots and lots of fish every time I go out to sea!"
"Secondly, give me the treasures from the seabed."
Xu Huaji recalled: "I didn't mention the third one, but it kept the first two. Isn't that amazing? A demon actually kept its promise!"
There was a hint of surprise in his voice.
"It's like we've become friends. It even brought me its mate, a giant beast with nearly a thousand years of cultivation, also with eight claws. But that demon was very wary of me, afraid that I would deceive it. It tried to persuade it not to believe me and to kill me to take back its inner core, but it refused. It trusted me completely."
"And then? You took advantage of its trust in you and kidnapped it?"
"Later, I wanted to keep my promise, but Yao Rong discovered my secret and made a suggestion to me—"
"Catch it, hide it, and then make that eight-clawed demon work for you. Then you'll have inexhaustible wealth!"
"But what if it gets angry and kills us all?"
Xu Huaji felt it wouldn't work and said worriedly.
"Hey, that's easy. Didn't you say that island can suppress their spiritual power? We'll hide it on the island and have its mate work for us. With the key in hand, how could we not think of a way?"
Xu Huaji was still hesitating: "Let me think about it."
Yao Rong wasn't in a hurry, just told him to think it over carefully and not miss this great opportunity.
"Later, under the pretense of returning the inner core, I joined forces with Yao Rong to trap it on Penglai Island. Its mate was very angry when it found out, and we promised to release it as long as it did something for us."
Bai Yuheng glanced at the golden flame leaping in her palm, its tip tinged with an eerie black, then stared intently at him: "Is what you said true?"
Xu Huaji's face twitched, and finally he uttered heavily, "Is what you said true?"
Bai Yuheng didn't speak, but she knew in her heart that this person wasn't telling the truth. Glancing at the sky outside, and thinking about Cui Mingcan who needed to maintain the barrier, she quickly asked all the questions she wanted to ask.
"Fairy, spare me! I'll never do it again! Please forgive me!" Xu Hua cried out, begging her to let him go.
"I'll ask you one last question: where did you lock up that demon?"
Bai Yuheng walked to the place Xu Huaji had mentioned. It was getting dark. She went up to look and saw that the heavy iron gate was tightly closed and locked with many locks on the outside.
Bai Yuheng made a hand seal, and the iron chains silently untied. She pushed open the door and suddenly touched a barrier.
The cry for help grew louder and louder, accompanied by the deafening sound of chains hitting the water's surface.
Bai Yuheng lightly touched the edge of the barrier with two fingers. The golden-red pattern on her wrist shone, and a small golden snake emerged. It touched the barrier with its head, and the barrier spread out like ripples in water before dissipating.
Bai Yuheng walked down the dark stone steps, and the closer she got, the louder the sound, like a trapped beast struggling violently, grew.
She took out a tinderbox from her storage bag, and the light shone as she walked down.
The winding stone steps lead downwards.
Inside a water dungeon, a monster several meters long was trapped. When Bai Yuheng approached, she saw an iron chain around its neck, and its original eight claws were now reduced to only four broken claws.
Perhaps hearing the commotion, those large, dark eyes looked over coldly, filled with deep hatred, as they struggled desperately, turning the pool a pale red.
Who are you!?
Its hoarse, distinctly female voice questioned, "Trying to torment me again?"
"Hahahaha..." It laughed maniacally, its voice shrill, and blood-red tears slid from the corners of its eyes, merging into the pool water.
"I hate you! You ungrateful bastards! You heartless wolves and dogs!"
"If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have saved you in the first place!!!"
Her intense and profound hatred rushed towards her, and along with the water droplets it spewed out with its roar, it landed on her body and melted into her bones and blood. Bai Yuheng was instantly horrified and took a step back.
"You mean, you saved Xu Huaji, but he's ungrateful and imprisoned you here?"
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