Inside his head Liu Yang was busy moving numbers around like some bored gamer.
His lips were tight, his eyes locked forward, but his brain was going "Strength ten, Stamina ten, Agility five, Defence ten… okay done."
The System screen was still floating in front of him, cold and blue, showing all his new stats.
He wanted to cheer, he wanted to scream like he just got an SSR drop, but outside he forced that noble face, serious, calm, like some master who carried weight on his shoulders.
Then her voice broke the silence.
Her head dipped low, her body leaning forward, her red eyes glowing soft in the dark.
"Oh, Master… you accepted me as your slave."
Her hands pressed on her knees, her lips curling faint, trembling between fear and pride.
"Master, it is my honor to serve you. Together we will rise. Together we will bring glory back to our demon race. Together we will crush the humans."
Her voice cracked at the end, not weak, but heavy with fire.
She raised her chin, her red eyes locking straight on him.
"Me and you, Master. Me and you."
Liu Yang's lips twitched, but his face stayed serious, the mask of a master. Inside though his head was crying.
"No lady, I will die before we can bring any glory… what am I supposed to do now… how the hell do I even go forward from here…"
He sighed deep inside, chest heavy, his thoughts rolling like stones.
"Now blah blah tagged along with me… my dream of harem starting like this… I didn't know…"
His teeth pressed tight, his eyes shut for a second.
"What I thought was a harem full of girls, me lying on soft beds, their perfume sweet in the air, silk brushing my skin, warm hands on my chest, kisses on my lips… but instead…"
He almost groaned.
"Here I am, stuck like a babysitter… nodding at her long speeches, carrying her baggage, patting her shoulder, telling her 'yes yes I understand' while she talks like a history teacher who won't stop the class even after the bell rings…"
His head dropped a little, the shadow covering his eyes.
"This isn't harem king life… this is torture… no, worse… this feels like one of those long boring lessons where you can't skip the page even if you want to."
But as he was thinking inside his head, pulling his hair, trying to figure out how to make her stop talking, footsteps echoed. They weren't soft. They were steady, heavy, coming closer.
The cave was dark and deep, but not quiet, her voice was still spilling out, word after word, filling the black walls like an echo that wouldn't stop.
But then a glow came from far inside, weak at first, then stronger as it moved closer, it was fire, it was a fire torch, the flame shaking and throwing the light around.
The rocks caught the glow, the floor too, and the shadows jumped long on the wall, Liu Yang's own shadow stretched wide with his horns, looking more like some monster drawn by fire than a man lying there.
The flame came closer, step by step, and the sound of boots on stone joined it, sharp and steady, and then the faces showed under the glow.
Three men. Their armor black and tight. The torch flame licked against their helmets, showing cold eyes that didn't blink.
One lifted the torch higher, and the flame burned brighter, their faces half hidden, half lit, like hunters stepping out from a nightmare.
A voice came out, low, calm, but sharp as a blade.
"Finally… we catch up."
Another laugh followed, dry and mocking, bouncing against the stone walls.
"Haha… so this rat really thought she could hide in here."
She turned her head slowly, her eyes wide, wider than before, the red pupils in her eyes glowing faint in the torchlight. Her mouth opened a little but no words came, not even a whisper.
Her lips pressed, then parted, then pressed again, like she wanted to speak but her throat was locked.
Her legs trembled, knees knocking together, her body stiff, and the sound that always poured from her just stopped, cut off like someone had ripped the words out of her.
Liu Yang blinked. His mouth twitched. His chest felt lighter, lighter than it had the whole night.
"Oh my god… finally… silence… thank you, thank you so much… whoever you are… strangers, demons, angels, I don't care… you shut her up… you're my real heroes…"
He almost laughed, almost cried, his face stuck between both, while outside he tried to keep it calm and serious, like he was ready for battle.
One of the hunters raised his torch higher, the firelight spilling across the cave walls. His voice came rough.
"Too bad… after all this time, after all this tracking, we only found one demon. Just one. What a waste."
Another hunter spat to the side, his lips curling.
"Yeah. A waste of time. We followed her trail for days and this is all we get?"
The third laughed under his breath, shaking his head.
"Should we signal the other unit?"
The second snapped quick.
"Signal? For this? Are you out of your mind?" He jabbed his finger toward Liu Yang and the demoness. "One short demon and one girl? If we call the others, they'll laugh at us for sure."
The first nodded slow, his face half hidden by the torchlight.
"Yeah… we'll be the joke of the camp. Imagine that, three hunters calling backup for two scraps."