Li Ang asked softly, "What's the story behind that tiger with the hanging eyes and a white forehead?"
Hiding within his body, Chai Cuiqiao answered, "Originally, he was a man-eating beast from Jingyang Ridge. After falling off a cliff, he luckily dropped into a hermit's cave from the Tang Dynasty and acquired some legacy. Since then, he stopped eating humans and renamed himself 'Tai Gezi'."
Some bloody Tai Ge. Dude, are you sure you didn't wander onto the set of Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf by mistake...?
"What about the One-eyed Giant?"
"He's a half-breed. His mother was a descendant of the ancient Fengshi clan of giants, and his father was a frail scholar."
"?" Li Ang was taken aback. He gestured vaguely at the size of the One-eyed Giant. "This could be a mixed breed?"
"It's not what you're thinking... His father, when young, went to the capital for the imperial exams and sought shelter from a downpour in a cave."
After a moment of silence, Chai Cuiqiao awkwardly continued, "As it turned out, his father was quite skilled with his hands. During his idle time sheltering from the rain, he pulled out a sketchbook. After the rain stopped, he left the cave and continued on to the exams."
"..." Li Ang's eye twitched. "You mean..."
"Exactly," Chai Cuiqiao said uncomfortably. "You better not mention this to the Giant in person. At the last banquet, he killed a bunch of Monsters with a wooden club."
All right, the world is full of wonders. Such a bizarre birth isn't much different from the mythical tale of Hua Xu's conception of Fuxi.
Li Ang's eye continued to twitch uncontrollably as he kept asking about the origins, personalities, and strengths of the other Monsters—Chai Cuiqiao, who loved reading storybooks in life, had a strong ability to collect information and deduce conclusions. After peeking and eavesdropping on a couple of banquets, she had figured out most of the intelligence on the Monsters.
Just as Chai Cuiqiao had said earlier, the Monsters who came to the banquet showed no suspicion towards Li Ang and the others for being alive. They merely glanced at them curiously, then turned their heads to continue chatting with other Monsters.
After all, being able to face so many Monsters without being overwhelmed by their potent demonic aura served as proof that the mission team members were all "heteromorphs," belonging to the same kind.
"We're all here, so why hasn't the Mountain Demon arrived?" the plague ghost, covered with poisonous sores, called out hoarsely.
"What's the hurry," the Tiger Taoist waved his horsetail whisk, a wide-mouthed grin spreading across his face. "Isn't he always the last to arrive every year? He'll probably show up after the sun has completely set."
"Since that's the case, let's tidy up the Daxiong Bao Hall first." The old Rat Monster, with thief-like eyes and a thin frame, snickered, waved his robe, and countless plump, brown rats tumbled out of his empty, bulging sleeves like a waterfall.
With a wave of his claw-like hand, the mass of dark rats at his feet surged into Daxiong Bao Hall as if they had been given an order.
The countless plump rats wriggled under the Shakyamuni Buddha Statue, joined forces to lift it, and brought over some wooden planks from nowhere, stacking them under the statue's base. They then slid the statue out of Daxiong Bao Hall, placing it in the open courtyard.
The rats replicated this process efficiently, removing all the Buddha statues from Daxiong Bao Hall. They even brought brooms and dustpans to sweep away the dust. In just a few minutes, they had cleaned the hall until it was spotless, shining like new.
This efficiency outdid even modern housekeeping companies.
The group of Monsters bustled their way up the steps, entering Daxiong Bao Hall. They grabbed cushions and hopped onto the pedestals on both sides, sitting properly on the cushions like refined scholars and guests at a human banquet.
Xing Hechou and the others glanced at each other, found a secluded spot to sit down, and watched as the group of rats skillfully brought out candles from the temple's storehouse, lighting them until Daxiong Bao Hall was as bright as day.
Then the rats carried out box after box of bone china cups from the storehouse, washed them clean with water from the stream behind the mountain, and placed the cups in front of each guest's cushion.
The banquet had not yet begun, yet the demons were already causing a ruckus, either gambling with dice or aiming Arrows at narrow-necked bottles, playing the "tossing game."
There was no helping it. In that era, human entertainment was quite lackluster, with hardly any novel pastimes. Banquets mostly involved urging others to drink, engaging in mutual flattery, composing poems, and watching beautiful women dance; that was pretty much it.
As for demon banquets, there were only three forms of entertainment: drinking, gambling, and playing games. They even omitted the segment with dancing beauties—after all, species were different, and so were aesthetic standards.
A knockout beauty in the eyes of a Rat Monster was nothing but a big rat with shifty eyes to other Monsters.
A peerless beauty in the eyes of a skeleton spirit was nothing more than a rack of bones to other Monsters, at best having slightly whiter bones.
The dearth of entertainment options made these fearsome-looking, noisy demons seem to the mission team like a group of country bumpkins who'd never seen the world.
We really should take these Monsters to a modern nightclub, let them know what 'entertainment' and 'partying' mean.
Wanli Fengdao muttered to himself, but then heard Li Ang say softly, "Ladies and gentlemen, wouldn't you like to make a fortune with some extraordinary items?"
"What?" Xing Hechou was startled, hurriedly whispering, "Xiao Li, we're nearing a critical moment now. Don't stir up unnecessary trouble."
According to confidential information within the Special Affairs Bureau, all sorts of organs from Monsters and wild-grown treasures possessed supernatural Traits, which, in the hands of Necromancers from the Chinese Heterodox Academy (another official supernatural institution), could be refined into artifacts of various grades.
Even if not turned into artifacts, the diverse organs of Monsters could be sold to the System store in exchange for some Game Currency.
"Don't worry, I'm confident." Li Ang chuckled, stood up from his cushion, and clapped his hands vigorously.
CLAP. CLAP. CLAP.
The noise gradually subsided, and many demons turned their attention to Li Ang.
Li Ang remained composed, smiled openly, and said casually, "Good evening to all the esteemed seniors and guests here. We are Disciples of Taoist Head Tan Teng from the Ayitobie Archipelago overseas, visiting this glorious place for the first time, unfamiliar with this land and its customs. If we speak out of turn, we ask for your understanding."
Hey, what are you doing? Seeing the demons on either side turning their heads, Xing Hechou felt both anxious and angry. While unseen by others, he gently tugged at Li Ang's pant leg, his face still as calm as water.
"We've come to the Central Plains not only for training but also for bartering, to exchange some local specialties for our return journey."
Local specialties? Some of the Monsters showed disdain. Just as humans prided themselves on the abundance of produce and wealth of the Central Plains, Monsters from these lands also looked down on the "barbarian" territories overseas.
What good could possibly come from such a godforsaken place that's worth trading?
The Monsters fell silent, but Li Ang took it in stride and pulled out a bulging Snake Skin Bag from his backpack.
He took out an ancient-looking wooden box from the Snake Skin Bag. Upon opening it, he revealed a green spherical object inside.
The ball was round and rough, as if made from glued-together fragments of grass and wood, emitting a strangely compelling scent.
An 80-yuan, Taobao-priced, super-concentrated catnip sphere, rich in nepetalactone pheromones. It could drive any feline wild with desire. Even the coldest, proudest, most chaste big cat, upon catching its scent, would obediently 'undress' and surrender to being petted by anyone.