Chapter 9: Hm... 【Happy New Year】

"Help me..."

A sudden cry from the crow monster rang out. The little pig demon with red skin, who was tending a fire in the shade by the bank, turned his head and saw the crow monster being dragged into the river by something.

Before he could react, he watched as White Fur leapt into the river after him.

Finally realizing what was happening, Red Skin sprang to his feet, grabbed the fish spear lying nearby, and rushed toward the river’s edge.

But when he reached the shore, all that remained on the surface were wide ripples spreading out—there was no trace of White Fur or the crow monster.

"White Fur..."

"Crow Monster..."

Red Skin called out anxiously as he hurried along the riverbank, his voice echoing over the water.

But the surface had already regained its calm, betraying no sign that anything had transpired. It was as if nothing at all had happened.

Yet he knew all too well that both his companions had just been swallowed by the river.

Though White Fur had clearly dived in of his own accord.

"White Fur..."

Red Skin kept calling as he followed the current downstream.

Minute by minute, time slipped away.

The river remained serene, showing no trace of any disturbance.

Red Skin’s face grew more anxious and worried.

At that moment, a jet-black bird’s head suddenly surfaced downstream.

It was the crow monster.

"Crow Monster!"

Red Skin’s face lit up with joy and he shouted, hurrying downstream.

Rushing to the shore opposite where the crow monster was flailing, he quickly reached out with the other end of the fish spear to pull him in.

Still gasping for breath, the crow monster grabbed the spear and, pointing urgently at the water below, cried out, "White Fur, White Fur is still down there—save him, quickly..."

But Red Skin’s face grew even more anxious at the plea.

Although he was born knowing how to swim, he’d rarely set foot in a river like this, and his swimming was only marginally better than the crow monster’s.

On land, he could help.

But underwater, he wasn’t even sure if he could fight.

If he plunged in recklessly, he might just add to White Fur’s troubles.

Though he usually seemed slow-witted compared to the other demons, Red Skin never lost his head at a crucial moment.

"Quick, get up here..."

He hauled the soaking wet, bedraggled crow monster onto the bank and immediately asked, "Where’s White Fur? How is he?"

"He’s still in the water—he was fighting that monster just now, that’s the only reason I could escape from that fish demon..." The crow monster explained breathlessly. As he finished, he grabbed Red Skin’s fish spear and peered into the water.

But though the river’s current was not especially swift, it was far from slow.

The crow monster could see nothing beneath the surface.

"Down there..."

"They must have been swept downstream..."

Without another word, the crow monster took off running along the bank.

Red Skin hurried after him.

Yet as they ran, the river remained eerily calm. The crow monster, anxious and glancing back at Red Skin, exclaimed, "No, there’s no way White Fur can defeat that thing underwater. We need to get Chief Bear to help..."

Red Skin didn’t reply. He knew the crow monster was right to worry, but what he wanted to say was—by the time Chief Bear arrived, who knew where White Fur would have drifted?

As the two young demons fretted, a patch of the river downstream suddenly bloomed red with blood.

"There!"

"There’s blood!"

The crow monster pointed at the water and shouted, then ran even faster downstream.

When he and Red Skin reached the spot, eyes straining to see beneath the surface, a white head suddenly broke through the water.

"White Fur!"

The crow monster shouted in delight.

At that moment, Lu Fei could spare no breath for a reply.

He was gasping for air, drawing in deep lungfuls.

He had this demon body to thank—it was far hardier than his former human body back on Earth. If he’d been in his old body, there was no way he could have fought a fish demon underwater while holding his breath—he’d have run out of air long ago.

He kept panting for breath.

Just then, the crow monster and Red Skin ran up, and a bamboo fish spear was thrust suddenly in his face, startling him out of his daze.

"Turn it around! Turn it around!" Red Skin shouted, alarmed at the crow monster’s clumsy attempt to hand over the sharp end of the spear.

"Oh—sorry, sorry..." The crow monster grinned sheepishly and quickly flipped it around.

Lu Fei grabbed the spear and let the crow monster drag his exhausted body to shore.

"White Fur, are you alright? Is it over?" The crow monster hurried to his side as he collapsed onto the bank, spent.

"I’m fine—though you nearly skewered me yourself..." Lu Fei replied, panting, glaring at the soaking, bedraggled crow monster.

"Heh heh..." The crow monster chuckled. "As long as you’re okay, as long as you’re okay..."

"White Fur..." Red Skin asked, "What happened just now?"

Still catching his breath, Lu Fei didn’t want to talk, so he looked at the crow monster.

Catching his gaze, the crow monster paused, then piped up, "I know best what happened—let me tell it..."

"I was gutting fish by the river. It was so hot, I didn’t notice anything until that monster lunged out and dragged me in..."

"Luckily White Fur acted fast and fought the monster with a fish spear underwater, giving me a chance to escape..."

"Red Skin, you have no idea how dangerous it was down there..."

As the crow monster recounted the tale, Lu Fei, still resting, couldn’t help but recall the perilous moments beneath the water.

He’d always been a strong swimmer—even worked as a lifeguard at a pool back on Earth. That was partly why, when he saw the crow monster dragged under, he dared leap into the river to fight the fish demon.

But it was mainly because this demon body gave him confidence.

Besides, he already thought of the crow monster as a future underling, a member of his own retinue—how could he just watch as one of his own was carried off by a fish demon?

"Did you... did you kill the monster in the end?" Red Skin asked.

Lu Fei immediately remembered driving the fish spear into the fish demon’s eye.

The crow monster said, "That’s for White Fur to say..."

Hearing their exchange, Lu Fei slowly stood and answered, "Even if that fish demon survived, it would be badly wounded—I put out its eye..."

...

When night finally fell, Lu Fei, the crow monster, and Red Skin hauled the last bundle of bamboo arrows back to the stone cave.

Because the crow monster’s wing had been bitten by the fish demon at noon, he could barely fly even after transforming.

So, the airlift plan had failed.

The three demons had to rely on their humanoid forms to carry all the arrows back trip by trip.

The stone cave was quite a distance from the bamboo grove, so they’d been busy all day.

"Ugh..." Dropping his load of arrows, the crow monster collapsed onto a stone bed with a groan. "I’m exhausted. Why is my luck so bad today..."

"Move over, you’re on the wrong bed," Red Skin said.

"Just let me rest a bit longer—I’m really tired..."

"Your bed is right next door..."

Lu Fei, used to their antics, ignored them. He climbed onto his own stone bed, lay down, and focused his mind.

Lines of soft white glowing script began to appear before his eyes.

[Host: Lu Fei]
[Realm: Level 1 Demon Soldier (40/100)]
[Technique: Demon Breathing Method (Beginner) (27/100)]
[Abilities: Spearmanship (Beginner) (18/100); Archery (Beginner) (6/100); Fish Spear Technique (Beginner) (15/100)]
[Divine Powers: None]
[Talent: Celestial Wolf Devours the Moon (Beginner) (7/100)]
[Soul Power: 1]
[...]

Staring at the data floating before his eyes, Lu Fei’s eyes widened in surprise. "Hmm..."