readytorunbook Chapter 196 The White Bird Priest
Chapter 196 The White Bird Priest
"Priest Bear, I will not disturb your conversation any longer."
Compared to the little iron beast, Cheng Jiu and his companions had virtually no interaction with this holy maiden. Moreover, she seemed to have no intention of associating with Cheng Jiu and his companions. It was more that Cheng Jiu and his companions had helped her in Qingli City, and she was simply repaying their kindness.
"Gentlemen, then the Holy Maiden and I will take our leave first. If you come looking for me later, please come to the temple and give me your name. Farewell." As soon as the Holy Maiden spoke, Huan He took his leave and followed behind her.
"Long time no see!" The little iron-eating beast looked at the group and said, "I didn't expect you to come to the demon realm as well. As the host, I should treat you to a good meal. Let me treat you to a drink, Bull Demon."
"Priest!" The Bull Demon bowed his head respectfully.
"Go back to the priest's temple first. You don't need to come with me here," the little iron-eating beast instructed naturally.
"Yes, High Priest!" The Bull Demon respectfully departed.
The little iron-eating beast climbed onto Shangguan Song's body without any hesitation. This guy was the strongest here, so he would serve as a temporary mode of transportation.
Cheng Jiu and the others, who had dealt with the Little Iron-Eating Beast before, were not surprised. Even after more than ten years, it was still a cub.
Looking at the little iron-eating beast, Cheng Jiu and the others were quite delighted. After all, besides experiencing the demon realm, the little iron-eating beast was also a reason for them to come here.
Having a familiar demon makes things easier, especially a familiar demon of high status.
As they passed through the side gate they had recently used, the demon's relatives and friends, who were welcoming him out of prison, saw the little iron-eating beast in Shangguan Song's arms and respectfully bowed: "Priest Bear!"
Only after the group of people had gone far away did the demons raise their heads.
"Why is the Bear Priest so close to humans?"
"I heard that High Priest Bear was stranded in the cultivation world when he was young, which may be why he is closer to the human race."
"I don't think so. Maybe Lord White Bird is right. That little iron-eating beast colluded with humans to betray the demon race."
"Are you crazy to bring this up in front of the Demon Prison?"
As soon as the other party spoke, the demons moved far away from this madman.
“I think he’s right. The facts are already laid out before us. He’s so close to those humans! And you bunch of opportunists. A hundred years ago, when the Heavenly Star fell, was Lord White Bird watching over it all along? You demons are long dead.”
"What nonsense are you talking about? The temple wasn't just home to the White Bird demon back then. How can all the credit be given to him? He was merely following the divine command. The White Bird committed blasphemy and is no longer fit to be a priest!"
"Demon Guard! I'm reporting him for protecting a traitor and questioning the Demon Emperor's decrees!"
The group, initially embarrassed by the other party's words, instantly sobered up. The priest was the divine messenger who communicated with the demon god. How could such a traitor be addressed as "Sir" when the divine messenger had actually betrayed the demon god?
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the demons reported them, and the two demons who had been slacking off were suddenly brought to the forefront.
“Those who defend the traitors should be executed. Come with us!” Several demon guards looked at the demons with serious expressions.
Meanwhile, no sooner had Cheng Jiu and his group left than an uninvited guest arrived at Zhu Yun's office.
"Grand Master of Ceremonies!" If Zhu Yun's attitude towards the Holy Maiden and the Iron-Eating Beast was respectful, then his attitude towards this closest attendant of the Demon Emperor was obsequious: "Those humans you mentioned have been taken away by the Bear Priest."
"That high priest of the Iron-Eating Beast clan?" The Grand Ceremony arrived hastily, only to be a step too late.
These guests were quite the troublemakers. Before he could even entertain them, they had already gotten themselves into prison. By the time he came to rescue them, they had already hooked up with the priests of the temple and left prison early.
Well, now he has to go find someone again. If it weren't for the Demon Emperor's orders, he really would quit.
“Yes, Your Excellency! High Priest Bear seems to have some prior acquaintance with these humans,” Zhu Yun said.
"An old acquaintance?" The upper-class nobles were generally aware of the Iron-Eating Beast's background, and those who became priests had all been investigated: "He is a human whom Priest Bear knew when he was young, right?"
“The priest didn’t say!” Zhu Yun replied.
"Okay! I'll be going now." Some things don't need to be said outright; Grand Ceremony knows them all in his heart.
"Warden! We've caught two demons protecting the blasphemous White Bird outside the prison!"
Before Zhu Yun could get up to see him off, there was a knock on the door, followed by the respectful voice of a demon guard.
The person who had stood up to leave immediately sat back down.
Zhu Yun watched the grand ceremony unfold and said in a deep voice to those outside, "Bring them in. Have they been interrogated?"
"Reporting to Warden, no!" the demon guard said. "Please make the decision, Warden."
"I remember it's been a month since the execution of the White Bird. His Majesty has even announced the charges and facts, and the relevant demons have been investigated and dealt with. There has been no movement since then. Why has there suddenly been such a commotion?" The Grand Ceremony Master said to Zhu Yun to himself.
"Please rest assured, Your Majesty, we will conduct a thorough interrogation to find out if there is any collusion behind this."
Zhu Yun immediately understood what the Grand Master of Ceremonies meant. No one would believe that these guys suddenly claimed there was no demon behind them.
"I hope you will not disappoint His Majesty the Demon Emperor's high regard for you."
Seeing that Zhu Yuan understood his meaning, the Grand Ceremony did not linger any longer. He also had his own things to do, such as going to the Demon Affairs Bureau to have them patrol the city properly and clear up any rumors that might appear.
For example, when we talk to those guests, although it's not good to disturb them while they're catching up, we should at least give them a chance to receive us later.
"Warden!"
"You two can leave now. I'll interrogate these two myself!" Zhu Yuan looked at the two demons. They were clearly ordinary human demons, yet they were causing such a ruckus outside the prison. It was both unwise and highly unusual.
"It's Lord Zhu Yun!" The two demon guards retreated.
To prevent the two demons from committing suicide, the demon guards not only bound their hands and feet but also dislocated their jaws and thoroughly searched their bodies. At this moment, they lay motionless on the ground, like dead fish that had been brought ashore.
However, in Zhu Yun's eyes, these two were no different from dead fish.
"Take them with you!" As Zhu Yuan finished speaking, four bodyguards appeared in the air.
Upon arriving at the prison where serious offenders were held, the two demons were trembling all over, sweating profusely, and nearly fainted from fright.
"Will you confess yourselves, or should I make you confess personally?" A powerful aura belonging to a high-level demon swept over the two demons. Under the overwhelming pressure, the two demons turned pale, broke out in a cold sweat, and almost fainted.
As the guards beside them helped them straighten their jaws, the two of them spilled everything they knew, much to Zhu Yun's growing exasperation.
It wasn't as profound as he thought. There might be someone behind it all, but those two guys weren't even small fry; they were just plain stupid.
These two demons are just ordinary demons. The only difference is that these two demons are so poor that their pots are empty, and one of the demons in their family is in jail.
Three days ago, a demon approached these two demons.
The reason they approached the two demons was because these two demons were previously followers of the White Bird Priest, and quite devout ones at that.
This demon paid a large sum of demon gold to have these two demons spread rumors in the city that were detrimental to the bear priest.
Judging from the expressions of these two demons, it must be a considerable amount of demon gold.
These two demons were quite protective of the White Bird Priest and disliked the Bear Priest who was replacing her, so they readily agreed.
Today, they came to pick up their relatives and friends who were being released from prison. They thought they had found an opportunity and had received money, so they boldly spoke out outside the prison, which led to them being reported and arrested by the police.
The two demons wept bitterly, their faces filled with remorse and fear. They said they knew they were wrong and begged that they not be taken to the demon prison.
After listening, Zhu Yuan felt that these two demons were so stupid that they had shattered his understanding of the word.
They're really good at causing trouble but not at accomplishing anything. Perhaps the mastermind behind it all didn't intend for them to do anything significant, or maybe they wanted them to spread rumors in the tavern, where there are many different kinds of people, and once the rumors spread, it would be difficult to find out who was behind it.
But as a result, these two foolish demons actually loudly proclaimed outside the Demon Prison, "If we don't arrest them, who will we arrest?"
Zhu Yun didn't want to get any information from them about the mastermind behind it all.
As expected, when asked, they knew nothing. The two sides had never even met. The other party had simply paid a large sum of demon gold, and these two fools had boldly accepted it without considering the consequences.
After the investigation was completed, Zhu Yun felt disappointed, as nothing had been found out.
As for those two demons, they're both stupid and wicked, so let's leave them in prison!
On the other side...
In a private room of a restaurant, there was no one else around except for Xiao Shi Tie Shou and Cheng Jiu.
“I know you don’t like drinking, but this place is most famous for its wine and snacks. The noble ladies in the city love to come here. You should try some,” the little food beast said generously.
"How did you end up in the royal city? I thought you were with your people, since you're so young."
Looking at the little iron-eating beast, Cheng Jiu was full of questions. After all, it was still a cub and a priest. Logically, it shouldn't be staying in the tribe. How could he feel at ease letting it live in the royal city?
The little iron beast was gnawing on a bamboo cake with its two paws: "Mmm! Since the priests take turns guarding the royal city, it's my turn to guard the royal city now."
"Are you sure your tribe is okay with this little golden nugget being all alone in the royal city?"
“My mother and an uncle from the clan stayed in the capital to take care of me!” The little iron-eating beast dispelled her doubts: “Um, I wanted to ask, how are my adoptive mother and brother doing now?”
"Very good. Your two older brothers are currently under contract with an outer disciple of our sect, Danfeng. The disciple I met once before took very good care of your two brothers."
"As for your adoptive mother, she has also come to the demon realm, but she is resting in my master's spirit storage bag. If you want to see her, I can take you there," Cheng Jiu replied.
The little iron-eating beast breathed a sigh of relief. Although it had repeatedly said before leaving that it respected its adoptive mother and brothers' choices, it was still worried after returning to the demon realm. It was afraid that one day it would learn of their deaths. Fortunately, it now knew that they were doing well.
"Thank you for taking care of them! I owe you another favor." The little iron-eating beast demon said earnestly.
"Do you know about the crime of blasphemy?" Cheng Jiu asked.
"So you already knew! I've repaid the favor I owed you!" said the little iron-eating beast demon.
Unlike Badger He, Little Iron-Eating Beast Demon doesn't have as many restrictions, mainly because he is also one of the main characters involved.
"The incident was caused by a rare beast tide that appeared in various parts of the demon realm not long ago." The little iron-eating beast quietly revealed a major event.
"What? A beast tide has appeared in the demon realm too?" Cheng Jiu and his group of five were astonished!
"Not only wild beasts, but also the domesticated beasts in the city are restless. The beast tide broke out too suddenly, and most places were caught off guard. We not only have to deal with the wild beast tide, but also appease the beasts in the city. Although His Majesty the Demon Emperor provided timely support, we still suffered heavy losses."
As the little iron-eating beast spoke, it suddenly realized something was amiss: "Oh, could it be! A beast tide has also appeared in the cultivation world?"
"Yes, that's why we came here."
Cheng Jiu nodded, suspecting that the demon realm had played a dirty trick to trigger the beast tide, but now it seemed that was not necessarily the case. If the demon realm also had a beast tide, how could it have spared the time to play dirty tricks on the cultivation world?
"No wonder!" The little iron-eating beast said solemnly, "After the beast tide ended, rumors spread that the human race deliberately set up the beast tide to retaliate against the demon realm."
At this crucial moment, the White Bird Priest spoke up, claiming to have received a divine decree that the humans were behind it all. This effectively confirmed the rumors.
The Temple of the Priests holds a very high position in the demon realm. In order to ensure the Temple of the Priests' uniqueness and nobility, the calculations must be basically consistent!
Subsequently, the other nine priests also arrived at the same answer based on the White Bird Priest's calculations.
It can be said that the war spirit in the demon realm was extremely high at the time. Although His Majesty the Demon Emperor did not want to go to war, he was forced into it and began pre-war preparations.
Cheng Jiu and the others understood quite well. After all, having experienced the beast tide, they would feel the same hostility if they knew that the beast tide in the cultivation world was actually the demon realm secretly plotting against them.
Unfortunately, there is no clear evidence at present, so a considerable degree of peace has been maintained.
“Although we’ve only been in the main city for a short time, the people here don’t seem to be as hostile to us as you say!” Gong Yu said curiously.
"This is all thanks to me!" The little iron-eating beast puffed out its chest. "I was always grateful to you for helping me return to the demon realm! So I did another test. I calculated the beast tide in the demon realm. Was it the cultivation world that was behind it? The divine decree says no!"
"No, wait a minute!" Cheng Jiu's mind was racing: "If the white bird priest's divination was correct, then the demon race's beast tide was caused by the humans. And if your divination was also correct, then it wasn't the cultivation world that did it. If we exclude the cultivation world, then the only person who did it is..."
Everyone present fell silent; that spiritless place, the mortal realm with a very low presence.
No, how dare they? Before, when they fought against the demon realm, they were only able to maintain a balance because the cultivation world was supporting them from behind. And yet they still dared to attack the demon realm from behind.
If the demon realm declares war on the mortal realm because of this, the cultivation realm will inevitably be dragged into it.
Peace has finally been restored, so what exactly does the mortal realm want? Do they think they can act with impunity now?