Yu Lie's voice echoed on the podium, but no one dared to answer him.
Yu Lie didn't expect these people to answer either. He wiped the paper knife in his hand on his Daoist robe and put it away in his sleeve. After freeing up one hand, he put his finger to his lips and let out a sharp whistle.
Tweet!
The whistle sounded, and the paper donkey tied far away heard it. It immediately recovered from its dazed state, shook itself off the ground, and walked over to Yu Lie.
Yu Lie stood on the podium, holding the paper donkey down with ease, pushing it to the ground. Then the paper knife flowed out from his sleeve, and he pinched it, cutting a big mouth in the paper donkey's belly like gutting a fish.
The cut was smooth, revealing a large empty space in the paper donkey's belly, ready to be filled.
Then a rustling sound filled the air!
Yu Lie stuffed the wolf demon's organs that he had placed aside one by one into the paper donkey's belly. Especially the wolf's heart he had just pinched, he placed it on top of the paper donkey's belly to prevent it from being crushed.
After tidying up, there were still some empty spaces in the paper donkey's belly. Yu Lie didn't want to waste the space.
He took out a few strips of meat from the wolf demon's body, a wine cup hidden in the wolf demon's attire, and stuffed them all into the paper donkey's belly.
The wine cup was made of bronze, with patches of rust. Although it had no spiritual energy, it might be an antique, so it shouldn't be underestimated.
The surroundings of the podium remained quiet, with the mountain people staring at Yu Lie in a daze. They felt that Yu Lie's actions were both eerie and sinister, leaving them speechless.
On the contrary, Yu Lie efficiently packed up his things. He pressed his hands on the donkey's belly, smeared some wolf demon blood at the cut, and then closed the belly.
He stood up, formed a hand seal, and called out, "Treasured donkey, listen to my command, rise!"
Creak!
Upon hearing Yu Lie's command, the paper donkey immediately moved. Its feet didn't touch the ground as it floated up, stood up straight, and a ghostly face appeared on its head, with a smirk.
Once Yu Lie sat on it, the paper donkey became heavier, and the expression on its donkey head became even more grotesque and sinister.
Riding on the paper donkey, Yu Lie turned back and smiled at the dumbfounded mountain people.
He bowed and said, "Blackwater Town's mountain patrol disciple has completed the demon-slaying task and is now taking his leave."
With that, Yu Lie flicked his sleeve, mounted the paper donkey, and trotted back and forth on the mountain road.
Upon hearing Yu Lie reveal his identity, the mountain people snapped out of their daze. They dared not speak up but looked around, trying to find the village chief Daoist to come out and talk to Yu Lie.
But the next moment, they remembered that their village chief had been eaten by the wolf demon three days ago and was now nowhere to be found.
On the other side, as Yu Lie reached the intersection, the black mynah tied to the gong heard the commotion, flew up, and was about to cry out, "Feast time! Feas..."
Before it could finish, Yu Lie kicked it as he rode past on the donkey, sending it flying.
The gong rang, and the mynah, pulled by a rope, also fell to the ground, silenced abruptly.
Yu Lie glanced at the black mynah, cursed under his breath, "The feast is over! You still want to host a feast, planning to eat someone else's feast?"
The mynah fell to the ground, twitched for a moment, stopped calling out "feast time," and instead started imitating a chicken's crow, flapping its wings, trying to fly.
At this moment, the mountain people finally came to their senses from fear. Seeing that Yu Lie was leaving, they realized that he was just here to slay demons, not to harm them.
A series of banging sounds echoed on the podium as the mountain people knelt down, knocking their heads, repeatedly thanking and praising Yu Lie.
Children's cries also rang out as a few kids fell from the villagers' robes while bowing, landing on the podium and crying.
Amidst the grateful sounds of bowing, a sense of chaos mingled in.
The mountain wind howled, as if weeping and lamenting.
Yu Lie, riding the paper donkey, hurried on his way, ignoring the wails of the mountain people behind him.
At this moment, Yu Lie had lost interest in dealing with the wild mountain folks. His mind was focused on one thing.
He needed to hurry back to Blackwater Town, rent a quiet room, set up the ritual, and prepare the wolf demon's heart and lungs he had risked his life to hunt.
To consume and advance on the path!
Blackwater Town, true to its name, was a small town in the Qianshui County of the Qianzhou region. Surrounded by the Blackwater River, it was mostly mountainous, with harsh winds and sandstorms.
Yu Lie rode back from the demon-slaying mountain valley, his face already covered with a veil out of necessity.
The black mynah, which Yu Lie had picked up later, was tied to the paper donkey's head. Emaciated and beaten, it had turned into a silly bird, losing many feathers and appearing gray and trembling.
Yu Lie paid no attention to the silly bird. He looked at the towering mountain in front of him, feeling invigorated. He had arrived!
There were no ordinary town roads leading to Blackwater Town, yet to be constructed, to prevent the poor town disciples from being taken by wild beasts and monsters in the mountains.
Within a few miles, this place was full of vitality, with black fish thriving in the waters below, well-fed and robust, providing ample nutrition.
As Yu Lie returned riding the paper donkey, which had not yet been scrapped, he didn't have to climb the cliffs.
When he reached the foot of the mountain, Yu Lie kicked the paper donkey hard, and it continued to move forward, stepping almost vertically on the cliff. Its hooves clung to the cliff like a gecko's feet, climbing upwards.
In no time, Yu Lie arrived at the mountaintop, officially entering the territory of Blackwater Town.
The town had no gates, only dark and rugged rocks, shrouded in mist, resembling a ghostly abode.
After a cup of tea, a crude, simple, and oppressive architecture appeared before Yu Lie's eyes. The streets ran parallel to the Blackwater River, winding, and the houses were made of stone.
The entrances were narrow, like those of children's homes, and many houses didn't even have windows.
Upon seeing Blackwater Town for the first time, Yu Lie immediately thought of the words "pigsty."
He didn't dare to continue riding the donkey in the town. He dismounted from the paper donkey, leading it by hand, walking down the street with his head down, completely devoid of the imposing aura he had displayed in front of the mountain people.
The street was filled with the stench of black water, foul, rotten, and putrid.
However, there were many people on the street. It was just early morning, and many doors were already open, with signs like "Tea," "Wine," "Meat" hanging outside the shops. People hurriedly passed by Yu Lie one after another.
Most of these people were dressed in gray Daoist robes like Yu Lie, with either a strange red complexion or a dull gray appearance.
Leading the paper donkey, Yu Lie attracted some attention, but most people just glanced at him, unable to recognize him with his face covered in a veil, and then moved on.
Yu Lie continued to walk with his head down.
Suddenly, he felt a chill on his ear, and a warm breath sounded.
A red tongue extended from behind Yu Lie, removing the veil covering his face.
"Brother Yu, long time no see."