Several more people died in the city, which gradually turned the initially shocked people into panic.
I heard that those people died in a rather gruesome manner, which seemed to be the work of a demon.
Unfortunately, the government has not released any information about the investigation these days, not even the most basic announcements such as whether the person was killed by a demon.
Rong Yi noticed that the tree demon's window remained closed, clearly indicating that she, being a demon, was also very nervous.
But things got even more complicated the next day when three demons died, leaving both people and demons bewildered.
This incident prompted the royal family to issue a statement, indicating that they would conduct a thorough investigation and provide an explanation to the people of the capital.
Rong Yi and Wei Yanqing did not receive any news about the Jade Spirit Stone mine, but instead sensed the presence of many powerful demonic auras around the capital.
Almost overnight, the capital city, once the safest city in the Great Liang Dynasty, became the biggest vortex of chaos.
Then they witnessed a verbal battle between a demon and a human.
The great demon said that they came to demand an explanation from the royal family. They had been suppressed by the human race for many years, and the disciples of the immortal sects would kill them at the drop of a hat. They suspected that the deaths of the three demons in the city were caused by the human race to vent their anger.
The humans retorted, "It's because you eat people, otherwise why are you so nervous and on guard against us?" They also claimed that the demons weren't killed by them, but were probably killed in internal strife among the demons.
The demon race retorted that the humans were being sophistical, and accused them of holding onto the Jade Spirit Stones too tightly, leaving the demon race with no other way to cultivate and forcing them to choose the path of cannibalism.
The humans said they didn't have many jade spirit stones either, and they really didn't control them to prevent the demon race from obtaining them.
In short, both sides have their own reasons, and neither side is willing to admit defeat.
"So, the great demons are going to war with the human race?" Rong Yi asked the waiter as he sat in the restaurant, having heard the latest news about this war of words.
The waiter nodded emphatically, "Yes, they said they wanted to fight for the survival of the demon race, I spit on that!"
Wei Yanqing took out a few copper coins from his purse and gave them to the waiter. "Thank you for the information. Go and attend to the other customers."
The waiter took the coins and grinned, "Alright, sir, just call me anytime if you need anything."
After the waiter left, Rong Yi simply leaned back in his chair and listened to the other customers talking about the matter.
"The demon race is really relentless. They've made it so clear that they still want to start a war. They've been coveting our human race for a long time and have been waiting for this opportunity."
"I've heard that a lot of demons have been leaving the city recently."
"It's better that they left. If they stayed, they might suddenly stab us in the back."
"It's too late to leave now. The whole city is searching for demons and locking them up. We'll exchange them for the captured immortal disciples with the powerful demons outside."
Rong Yi sat up straight. It hadn't been long since he arrived and things were already in turmoil. "They've all started hunting down monsters. It's only a matter of time before a fight breaks out."
Wei Yanqing kept his eyes straight ahead, focusing on the food in front of him, and took a moment to reply to Rong Yi: "There will be a battle eventually, after all, we are different races."
Even in a world without monsters, people from different regions would fight each other; how much more so in a world separated by species.
However, this was none of their business; it was a war between the local indigenous people.
Before the two had finished their meal, they saw soldiers walking around the street. They closed all the shops run by the monster, and a large crowd gathered to watch.
Rong Yi then realized that the West Gate, which was usually reserved for demons to enter and exit, was now closed. The other three gates all had demon-identifying stone plates, and the entire city was surrounded by a defensive array. It was impossible to fly over the city wall, as it would trigger the array.
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The streets outside were in chaos, and Rong Yi had no interest in strolling around, so he simply went back home with Wei Yanqing.
As soon as the door opened, they saw the tree spirit trembling under the table in their room.
"Tree demon?" Rong Yi wondered why she had decided to hide here. "Why are you hiding in a human's home?"
Wei Yanqing closed the door. After these few days of brief interaction, the two knew that the tree spirit was very gentle. Its daily work was to encourage the sale of beautiful and rare flowerpots. It spent almost all its time indoors, occasionally basking in the sun.
"The city is capturing demons." The tree demon crossed its arms, bowed its head weakly, and said, "I'm sorry, both of you. I'm really scared. I haven't been in human form for long, and I'm still a small demon with medicinal value. If I'm captured and thrown into a cage, I'll be eaten by other demons."
Plant-type monsters are rare to begin with, and those with medicinal value are even more precious. For this reason, tree monsters rarely go out, for fear of being kidnapped by other monsters.
She endured countless hardships to reach the capital, drawn by the city's laws prohibiting violence and seeking a sense of security.
Hearing this, Rong Yi understood her fear. "Then you stay here and wait until things calm down before deciding whether to leave or stay here."
The tree spirit felt as if it had been granted a pardon. "Thank you! I..."
Before he could finish speaking, complaints arose from outside.
"When the government is handling matters, everyone should cooperate and not make things difficult for us!" The speaker's voice was strong and resonant, coming from outside the courtyard.
The tree spirit turned pale and looked around.
After some investigation, Wei Yanqing discovered that the government was not only searching the houses where the demon had lived, but also the houses of ordinary people, in order to prevent the demon from reverting to its original form and hiding there.
The tree spirit was so anxious that the green leaves on its hair trembled wildly, and its voice shook, "What should I do? I can't escape."
"Look at how pitiful she is," Rong Yi asked in a low voice, "would you be willing to trust us just this once? We can help you safely evade the search."
Having come this far, the tree spirit had no other choice but to nod firmly, "I believe you!"
With the tree spirit's trust, Rong Yi stepped forward and put his arm around the tree spirit's shoulder. Instantly, the tree spirit disappeared from the spot and entered her storage compartment where she collected living creatures.
Having finished everything, the two opened the door. They had almost finished searching the opposite courtyard, so it was time to check this one.
The family across the street opened their door and stood facing them.
Upon arrival, the officers and soldiers immediately ordered a search of the tree spirit's house opposite the main gate, but after a thorough search, they found nothing.
The leading soldier asked Rong Yi and his family, along with the other family, in a gruff voice, "Have you seen the tree spirit that lives here?"
Both sides shook their heads. The officers and soldiers had no other expression, only saying, "To prevent the monster from hiding in your home, we have to conduct a search."
They all heard what was happening on the other side and immediately stepped aside to allow them to search.
After checking and finding no monsters, the officers and soldiers were immediately directed to the next location.
Looking at the room, now a mess from the search, Wei Yanqing waved his hand, and everything returned to normal.
"It's always ordinary people who suffer from war," Rong Yi sighed.
For example, during this search, the bowls in the house across the street were broken, but the soldiers couldn't utter a sound because they were acting under orders.
Once the others have left, you have to clean up slowly on your own; this is the case for every ordinary household.
Seeing that there was no sound outside and that the family across the street had also gone out, Rong Yi released the tree demon.
The tree spirit, still dazed after emerging from the storage compartment, had no idea what had happened during the search and only felt as if it had been asleep for a while.
Rong Yi: "Alright, the soldiers have searched the city. It's estimated that the human race won't be able to leave the city for a while. We'll take you with us when we have a chance to go out."
The tree demon immediately knelt down, "Thank you both for saving me. Otherwise, even if I hadn't been devoured by other demons, I would have been captured by high-ranking officials to be used in medicine."
Wei Yanqing raised his hand, and she was pulled up by an invisible force.
Rong Yi: "No need to exaggerate. We only took action because we saw that you were indeed quiet and gentle."
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