Chapter 17: Simple and Direct

“Begin…”
Watching the white wolf demon before him display such polite manners, Chief Bear felt an inexplicable sense of comfort and spoke casually.
He had never expected that among his ranks, there would be a wolf demon so distinct from the others.
He recalled hearing rumors about certain demons born with the ability to count and read, though such beings were exceedingly rare.
Was this white wolf one of them?
As Chief Bear stood aside, lost in thought,
“Yes…”
Lu Fei replied respectfully, then moved to the side, picked up a roughly crafted bow from the ground, and began counting aloud: “Thirty-nine, forty, forty-one…”
Surrounded by demons, the white wolf became the center of attention.
Even in front of Chief Bear, the white wolf spoke with ease and composure.
At the back of the group, the crow monster and the little pig demon, Redhide, were utterly astonished.
Never before had they seen Chief Bear address a lesser demon with such a normal expression.
The crow monster usually dared not even stand before the chief, and any interaction was limited to cold, curt orders, to which the crow responded with fearful nods.
Now, seeing their companion, Whitefur, not only boldly converse with the chief but also successfully take over Grayhide’s duties,
How could they not be surprised, delighted, and excited?
“Forty-nine, fifty… fifty-three…”
Lu Fei placed the last crude bow aside, then turned to the bear demon and reported, “Chief, the count is complete. There are fifty-three bows in total. One is defective with a broken string, so there are fifty-two usable bows remaining.”
“Defective…”
Upon hearing this unfamiliar term for the first time, Chief Bear immediately furrowed his brows.
He did not understand its meaning, but was too embarrassed to ask the white wolf demon directly.
Having spent time among these illiterate demons, Lu Fei quickly realized the chief’s confusion and corrected himself: “One bow is broken. There are fifty-two good ones left.”
This time, Chief Bear understood. He nodded and looked at the four young demons waiting nervously nearby, “Your task is complete…”
“Next…”
Counting such simple quantities was a task any elementary school student could handle.
Lu Fei, naturally, made no mistakes, and his speed was swift and precise.
Soon, it was the turn of himself, the crow monster, and Redhide.
With Lu Fei able to speak before Chief Bear, the crow and Redhide visibly relaxed.

At Lu Fei’s suggestion, Chief Bear sent several young demons to help the crow and Redhide move arrows from the stone cave.
Under Lu Fei’s tallying, fifteen neat piles of one thousand five hundred arrows were assembled, perfectly fulfilling the task.
It was during this counting of arrows that Chief Bear realized the white wolf was even cleverer than other numerate demons he’d encountered;
The other young demons under his command looked on with envy;
Grayhide, the rat demon whose job Lu Fei had taken, grew ever more jealous and resentful.
When the counting task was finished,
Noon had passed, and it was time for the day’s sole meal.
Once Chief Bear departed, the young demons rushed in a swarm toward the dining hall.
Standing beside Lu Fei, Redhide the pig demon suddenly said, “Whitefur, the rat spirit just now looked at you very fiercely.”
The crow monster immediately responded, “Rat spirit? Redhide, you mean Grayhide?”
Redhide nodded, “Yes, the rat spirit whose position Whitefur took.”
“I saw it…”
Lu Fei withdrew his gaze from the swiftly departing demons and said, “No need to worry. He won’t dare do anything.”
When he had seized the opportunity to recommend himself to Chief Bear,
Lu Fei hadn’t intended to make an enemy of the rat demon.
Otherwise, he would have spoken up when the rat made a counting error, not when he forgot his words.
Had he done so, Chief Bear would never have spared the rat.
In fact, the rat should thank him, as he did not kick him when he was down.
But reality proved Lu Fei had overestimated him.
The rat lacked the brains for such reasoning.
He only remembered that Lu Fei had taken his place serving the chief.
Since that was the case,
Lu Fei would no longer hold back, and said quietly, “The day after tomorrow, during the battle with Snakecoil Mountain, let’s see if we can get rid of him…”
Usually the last to speak, Redhide nodded immediately, “Alright…”
When Lu Fei claimed the counting task before Chief Bear, the crow—who had already begun to see Lu Fei as his elder—also quickly agreed, “Good, but he has two brothers who are close to him. Should we deal with them as well?”
Lu Fei replied, “We’ll see how things go…”
He had already learned that in battles between demon groups, the lower ranks simply rushed in and fought chaotically.
With no uniforms, no markings,
It was inevitable that demons might accidentally kill their own side.
Thus, as long as he set his mind to it, during the battle with Snakecoil Mountain, killing that ungrateful rat demon was entirely possible.
The grudges and animosities between demons were brutally simple.
If there was discord, they fought.
If the enmity deepened, they sought to kill each other outright.
Were it not for the imminent battle with Snakecoil Mountain,
Lu Fei would have already sought an opportunity to give that rat demon a beating.
Among the lower ranks,
Battles depended mostly on physique and instinct.
In this regard, the larger demons naturally held an advantage over the smaller ones—like the elephant demons, bear demons, and ox demons.
Moreover, carnivorous beast demons, once transformed, were stronger and more ferocious than herbivores—for example, tiger, bear, and wolf demons.
So, among the lower ranks,
If Lu Fei and Grayhide were to fight, he was fully confident he could tear the rat demon apart.
But before that, he needed to know what talent the rat possessed.
If it was a combat talent like Redhide’s, he’d have to be cautious.
With this in mind, Lu Fei turned to the crow monster, “Do you know what talent the rat demon has?”
“Well…”
The crow, who often gossiped with the rat demon, clearly knew and tapped his feather-covered ear, “His talent is the same as mine—ears. But what he hears seems a bit different from me…”
Lu Fei was surprised, “Are you certain?”
The crow nodded firmly, “I’m sure, because he showed me.”
With that, Lu Fei’s sole lingering question was easily resolved.
This also showed how many lower-ranked demons lacked even the most basic sense of caution,
So much so that they readily revealed the secret of their innate talent.
With this realization,
Lu Fei carefully reviewed the memories of the original host,
And discovered that, aside from exchanging talent secrets with the crow and Redhide,
He had not disclosed them to any other demon.