Shu Mingye wiped a bit of blood from the corner of his mouth and kept laughing. He knew they'd come back. After all, that thing was still locked up in his prison. And the wooden box she had shoved at him in the secret passage? Still with him. Still very much his problem.
He just didn't expect they'd return so fast… or looking like that.
What were they even doing here? Were they seriously planning to fight demons dressed like festival mascots? Were they going to offer snacks next?
He would never understand what went on in their heads. Every time he thought he'd figured them out, they changed the script.
And yet, he couldn't deny it. The moment he saw them, something in him eased. Less tension in his shoulders. A breath that didn't burn. Something suspiciously close to… happy.
The rabbit looked around, spotted a fallen soldier's sword on the ground, and picked it up.
The smug monkey also picked up an abandoned sword from the ground. Of course, Shu Mingye remembered his sword had been bent by General Zimo that night.
The grumpy panda calmly summoned his weapon with a flash of spiritual energy. It glowed with red fire. Peak stage fire element? Shu Mingye raised an eyebrow. That quiet one had been hiding his cards.
And the sly fox? She didn't draw a sword at all. She reached into her robe and pulled out… a flute?
Shu Mingye squinted.
Yes. A flute. A very elegant, familiar-looking flute. The one from the secret passage.
Of course. Because why not bring a flute to a demon fight?
He sighed, wiped more blood from his chin, and raised his sword again.
The four split up without a word, each heading in a different direction like it had all been decided ahead of time which, of course, it hadn't. They just looked coordinated. Probably by accident. Or shared chaos instinct.
Each one picked an assassin and charged—fast, clean, and without hesitation. No heroic speeches. No dramatic poses. Just four masked lunatics charging into battle.
Shu Mingye stood still for a moment, watching them go. His sword still burned in his hand. A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Perfect.
Let the animal squad handle the assassins. He could finally focus on the demon currently redecorating the battlefield with soldiers.
When the group had first reached the edge of Shulin, they hadn't wasted a second. Right at the border, they'd put on their masks—rabbit, monkey, panda, and fox—and marched toward the inner wall.
Naturally, every single guard and civilian nearby stopped what they were doing to stare.
Who wouldn't?
Once they got close enough, they ditched their horses and sprinted straight for the second wall. Outside, the battle was still raging. Arrows flew from the rampart. Bodies scattered across the field. The scent of blood hung thick and sharp.
But the walls still stood. The gate still held. They had fought hard to keep it that way.
The group paused only a second. Just a glance.
That was all they needed. Years of fighting together did that to people. No talking. No shouting orders. Just a nod and they moved.
Linyue's eyes scanned the field. The smoke. The flames. The broken ground. And there, in the middle of the madness—
There he was.
Shu Mingye.
Laughing like a madman. Blood streaked his pale face in messy red smears. His robes were torn at the side, blood soaking through, but he stood tall. Fire spiritual energy burned around him in waves.
If someone had pointed at him and said, "That's the Demon King," she would've believed them. He looked the part. All that was missing was a crown made of bones and a throne of burning corpses.
Still… if he could laugh like that, then he was probably not dying.
Probably. Maybe. Not yet.
With that settled, she turned her attention to the assassin in front of her surrounded with blue spiritual energy. Water element. Late stage, fourth level.
Tricky, but not a problem.
She raised her flute.
Calmly, with spiritual energy pooling in her palm, she pressed the small groove near its center. There was a soft click and then the flute extended.
Dark green jade tubes slid out from each end, covered in elegant swirling wind-carved patterns that shimmered faintly in the light. A quiet hiss followed, thin silver blades popped out from both tips. Just like that, the flute had become a six-foot length spear. Elegant. Graceful. Ridiculously fancy.
Honestly, it looked more like something someone would hang on the wall of a palace and say, "Ah yes, that's a decorative weapon," rather than "Hey, that thing's going to stab you."
But those blades?
Sharp enough to poke through someone's eyes.
From the other side, Song Meiyu—still swinging her borrowed sword—caught a glimpse of the transformation. She gasped loudly. "That flute is really a hidden weapon?!"
Even Shu Mingye, still bleeding and still somehow laughing, from the corner of his eye. He squinted.
Was that… a spear? From the flute?
Wait. She was serious back then?
He had honestly thought she was just talking nonsense again.
But nope. It was real. Linyue-level real. Should he even be surprised anymore? He wasn't sure.
Back in the chaos, Linyue, fully aware of the confused looks she was getting from allies and enemies, ignored everyone completely.
She lunged toward her opponent.
The assassin in front of Linyue clearly thought he was impressive. With a dramatic sweep of both hands, he summoned glowing blue fish made of water spiritual energy. The fish swirled around him in the air, tail fins flicking sharply left and right. Every flick sent a pulse of water energy forward in burst-like waves.
The fish spun. Darted. Sparkled.
Linyue stared at the floating fish.
Interesting. Pretty, even. But threatening? Not really.
With a sharp shout, the assassin sent the water-fish flying toward her. They streaked through the air, their shimmering bodies cutting through the air like blades. Each one left a trail of swirling blue mist that hissed and shimmered.
With a single, fluid motion, she spun her spear in a wide, graceful arc. Blue flame burst to life along the blade, trailing behind it in a crescent glow. The first wave of fish collided with the blue flames and burst into hissing clouds of steam. The assassin's eyes widened but Linyue was already gone.
She was already moving. A blue blur, fast and focused. Her spear glowed in her hands as she shot forward. The assassin barely had time to summon a wall of water before she struck.
Linyue twisted mid-air and her spear slamming into the barrier and instead of breaking through, she channeled the impact. There was a burst of light.
The water shield exploded outward—not as water, but ice. The sudden heat from her flame had turned the barrier brittle, and now razor-sharp ice shards rained down. The assassin stumbled back, flailing, arms raised to shield himself.
Linyue didn't stop.
She was already above him—feet off the ground, flipping her spear up, then driving it down. The assassin yelped and barely rolled aside.
THUD.
The spear hit the ground.
The earth cracked open beneath them, glowing blue flames shooting out in all directions. The assassin scrambled to his feet, panting. And then Linyue did something absolutely unfair. She yanked the spear from the ground, turned slightly—
And threw it.
The spear flew fast and hit him square in the stomach.
There was a loud "Oof—!"
The assassin crumpled, both hands clutching his stomach as he fell to the ground, gasping.
Linyue walked over and yanked the spear out.
The assassin collapsed backward with a very satisfying thud. He groaned once, then went completely still.
He was definitely not getting up anytime soon.
She didn't even blink.
Her gaze shifted immediately toward Shu Mingye and the actual problem: the Petrified Corpse Demon.
It was still stomping around—flinging branches, slamming the ground, making everything worse by just existing. Every time Shu Mingye sliced off a branch, two more seemed to grow in its place, cracking out of its back.
Linyue frowned slightly behind her fox mask.
Cutting the branches was useless. It would just keep regenerating as long as it had spiritual energy to burn.
She knew this demon. She'd fought one before, years ago. It had a weak spot. Just had to find it before it flattened everyone.
Across the battlefield, Shen Zhenyu had already finished off his assassin. Of course. He stood in the smoking remains of his fight, completely composed, holding his weapon in one hand while his panda mask continued to look permanently disappointed with life.
Linyue's eyes flicked to the right.
Song Meiyu and He Yuying were still going, bouncing and flipping and arguing in the middle of a fight. The rabbit and the monkey could handle themselves for now.
This demon, though?
This was the problem that needed solving fast.
She gripped her spear, took a deep breath, and ran toward the heart of the chaos.
This battle needed to end before the demon broke something important. Like walls. Or more soldiers. Or Shu Mingye's spine.