Coo Coo Coo~

"Cluck, cluck, cluck..."

Cui Hao made a series of noises as he dangled a piece of jerky in front of the owl demon.

The owl watched the swaying jerky, swallowing hard before speaking in a mournful tone:

"I’ve already told you everything I know. I’m just a minor demon—how could I possibly have more information? Please, stop teasing me."

Cui Hao reached out and rubbed the owl’s chin. "I’m not teasing you. Come on, open up. I’ll feed you some meat."

"Big brother! Even demons have dignity!"

Cui Hao nodded thoughtfully, then glanced at Li Yingling beside him.

"Senior Sister, it says it wants to die with dignity."

The owl’s eyes widened in disbelief. This guy was even more shameless than its own squad leader!

No wonder humans dominated the world—with such unscrupulous tactics, how could demons ever compete?

Li Yingling, who had been fiddling with some tools given by their master, promptly smacked Cui Hao on the head.

"Stop messing with the demon."

Cui Hao pouted and tossed the jerky onto the ground.

The owl’s eyes instinctively followed the falling meat.

That stuff smelled amazing. Back in the Great Wu Demon King’s ranks, the best meal it ever got was a pot of boiled weeds and spoiled meat.

When it saw these humans not eating earlier, the owl had practically wanted to bury its face in the food.

Now, this perfectly preserved jerky—clearly not spoiled—was so damn fragrant!

Li Yingling observed the owl’s round, longing eyes fixed on the fallen jerky. After a moment’s thought, she summoned the jerky back into her hand with a flick of her fingers and dangled it in front of the owl again.

The owl’s expression grew even more tragic. This woman’s no saint either!

Li Yingling pressed the jerky against the owl’s beak. "Eat it if you want. Consider it a reward for cooperating."

"I won’t—"

Before the owl could finish, Li Yingling narrowed her eyes, and a chilling aura radiated from her.

No words were needed—the message was clear.

"Gulp..." The owl’s feathers instantly stood on end, and it hastily gulped down the jerky.

Li Yingling nodded in satisfaction and patted the owl’s head.

This owl had been unusually compliant from the start. Before any interrogation could even begin, it had spilled everything it knew—no need for the "Tenfold Vitality Pill" their master had provided.

Then again, maybe that was because the information it had was utterly useless.

Still, since a demon had wandered into their hands, they might as well make use of it. Not all demons were fools, after all—though few were as shameless as that water buffalo they’d encountered before.

"Senior Sister, are we really bringing this owl along?" Lin Luoyu whispered as she approached Li Yingling. "It might cause trouble. Master always said, ‘Those not of our kind will always harbor ill intent.’"

"Oh?" Li Yingling tilted her head, gesturing for Lin Luoyu to look to the side.

Lin Luoyu followed her gaze.

There, Cui Hao had somehow produced another strip of meat and was feeding it to the owl while scratching its chin. The owl’s eyes were practically slits with contentment.

After tasting Li Yingling’s jerky, the owl’s resistance had melted away. Maybe the meat was just too delicious—because when Cui Hao offered more, it didn’t refuse.

Now, the human and the demon seemed to be getting along just fine.

Lin Luoyu couldn’t help but ask, "Can I hit him?"

"Your fifth junior brother, or the demon?"

"Of course the junior brother!"

Li Yingling shook her head, vetoing the idea.

Her junior brother was already pitiable enough. The way he teased the owl now was exactly how their master teased him.

She rummaged through her spatial ring. Their master’s Tenfold Vitality Pills were still the best for deception.

Picking out the most potent-looking one, she wrapped it inside another piece of jerky.

Then, she strode over to the owl. She shot a warning glare at Cui Hao, freezing him mid-feed.

Seizing the moment, Li Yingling shoved the jerky-stuffed pill straight into the owl’s mouth.

Within seconds—

"SCREEEEEEEEE—!!!"

The owl’s agonized shrieks pierced the air.

Humans!

Always humans!

Too cruel!

Under the cover of night, the owl trudged behind Li Yingling and the others, utterly drained.

That deceitful snake-demon impersonator had fed it a so-called "Kick-the-Bucket Pill"—a deadly poison, she claimed.

Without the antidote within twelve hours, it would endure twelve full hours of that unbearable torment before finally dying.

If enduring that pain for twelve hours was the price of death, then this poison was undoubtedly the most torturous in existence.

The owl was certain it wouldn’t last even fifteen minutes before begging for death.

"Not far ahead lies the territory of the Great Wu Demon King." The owl pointed toward a small oasis visible in the distance, then turned its head directly to Li Yingling. "With your divine might, you could just descend and cleave both the mountain and the demon in one strike..."

Li Yingling replied calmly, "Are you telling me how to do my job?"

"I wasn’t… It was just a suggestion."

"Well, I have a new suggestion. Would you like to hear it?"

"Gulp..."

As the trio—two humans and one demon—discussed the details of their senior sister’s somewhat whimsical plan, they continued toward the oasis.

Unbeknownst to them, someone had been trailing them the entire way.

High above, Chu Xingchen watched his eldest disciple’s reckless approach with a faint smile.

Her plans always sounded meticulous, but perhaps due to lack of experience, her execution tended to be a bit rough around the edges.

Yet, despite the haphazard methods, the demons she encountered were equally careless.

Take that water buffalo, for instance—Chu Xingchen had been certain it was about to attack.

Instead, it turned around and betrayed its own Demon King.

Somehow, her slapdash approach yielded surprisingly effective results.

Could it be…

The power of her innate [Fortune’s Favor] at work?

This mission was no longer the small-scale skirmishes of the past, where she bullied mere Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment demons.

After much deliberation, Chu Xingchen decided to personally oversee the operation.

After all, this involved a Demon King. Even if the demon kingdom was in disarray, they wouldn’t ignore the death of one of their rulers without retaliation.

Li Yingling was aware of this, but since her master had already assured her of his presence, her plan had grown bolder.

With her master here—practically invincible in this realm—why should she hesitate?

Besides, once this mission was over, there would be no more room for her clever schemes.

What lay ahead was a true, bloody war between the Xuanwu Kingdom and the demon kingdom—a battle that would only end when one side emerged victorious.

This surprise attack on a Demon King would be a one-time affair.

Consider it a little indulgence for his eldest disciple.

After all, Li Yingling had helped him in countless ways over the years.

Concealing his presence, Chu Xingchen followed his disciple.

He was curious to see what other antics she had in store.