Rise of The Demon General

Chapter 261: Chapter 261. Old Acquaintance

The little girl looked left and right with an uneasy face before replying to Amon, ”My parents told me not to speak to strangers.”

Amon smiled and squatted down. ”Do you like flowers?” He asked.

The little girl nodded.

”They are beautiful. Do you plant them yourself?” Amon asked again.

The girl hesitated before replying, ”My mom planted them, but I take care of them.”

”My name is Lin Mo, by the way. I also like to plant flowers. Do you want to see mine?”

The girl nodded.

A yellow flower appeared in Amon’s hand. It was one of the plants from the plantation inside his space ring.

”You are one of those who can do magic!” the girl exclaimed with wide eyes. Not many cultivators were in this village. There were even fewer who possessed space rings, hence her admiration.

”For you,” Amon offered the yellow flower to the girl.

The girl appeared excited but paused when she was about to grab the flower. Her hesitation lasted only a few seconds before she gripped the flower in Amon’s hand. She put the flower close to her face and inhaled. The flower smelled very nice. The smell made her feel relaxed. The worry in her heart faded away.

Amon smiled when he saw the girl at ease. The yellow flower he gave the girl wasn’t a normal flower. It came from one of the spirit plants used to concoct the Fragile Bone Muscle Poison. The plant was called Fragrant Pacifying Flower.

The gas this flower released could incapacitate spirit beasts and make them unconscious. The flower had been removed from the spirit plant, but its smell still carried a lingering trace of the gas. This small dose was harmless, but it made a non-cultivator like the girl feel weak, both in mind and body. She attributed this to her being relaxed. She attributed this to her being relaxed.

The innocent girl didn’t suspect anything about this abrupt change to her condition. Under the flower’s influence, Amon resumed his questions.

”What’s your name?”

This time, the girl answered without any resistance. ”My name is Ai Ling.”

”It’s nice meeting you, Ai Ling. I would like to know more about this village. Can you tell me if it is always like this?”

”I don’t know what you mean, Mister,” Ai Ling replied. She was still playing with the Fragrant Pacifying Flower in her hand. She liked its smell very much.

”I mean, is it always this quiet? Not many people are on the streets,” Amon clarified his question.

The girl glanced at the street outside before returning her attention to the yellow flower. ”It was not always like this. The streets used to be livelier. I miss playing with my friends...”

”When did the village turn quiet like now?”

Ai Ling shook her head. ”I can’t remember... I think it’s not long after bad things happened to Yon Yu’s father.”

”Who is Yon Yu?” Amon asked.

”She is one of my friends. We used to play together. Now, no longer,” Ai Ling answered.

”Do you know the bad thing that happened to Yon Yu’s father?”

”I don’t know for sure. I’m not allowed to go out much during those days. I just know that Yon Yu’s father passed away due to the bad things.”

”You are not allowed out? I thought the streets only got quiet after what happened to Yon Yu’s father?”

”Only the children were prohibited. The adults still wandered outside,” Ai Ling answered.

”Why was that?” Amon asked.

”My mom said that it was because some kids had gone missing, so it was safer for me to remain inside the house. One day, I overheard the adults say Yon Yu’s father had something to do with the missing children. I found that hard to believe. Yon Yu’s father was always very kind to me.”

”I see. About the bad things, what can you–”

”Who are you...!!”

Amon’s question was interrupted by a couple who came out of the house. Amon assumed they were Ai Ling’s parents.

”Stay away from my daughter!!” The woman yelled and ran to Ai Ling. She grabbed the girl and pulled her into the house while the man used his body to shield them. Amon snickered at the attempt. If he had bad intentions, these people wouldn’t be able to resist. None of them were cultivators.

”Goodbye, Mister. Thank you for the flower,” Ai Ling waved at Amon before she entered the house. The door closed once she and her parents entered.

Tuang Yin returned to his side. ”Sorry, I guess the parents finally suspected something was wrong and went to check on their kid. Do you learn something?”

”A little bit. Not enough to determine if it has anything to do with our mission,” Amon answered. ”We need to get more information.”

”How about we force our way inside? We can use the kid as leverage to force the parents to tell us what we want to know.”

”Hm...,” Amon contemplated while massaging his chin.

”Hey, I was joking! Are you seriously considering that?” Tuang Yin asked.

”We better not do that. We are the Royal Academy’s representatives. If we use a method like that, we will get into trouble later.”

”Fuck... You truly considered it,” Tuang Yin said in disbelief.

The two continued to walk around the village, but they didn’t get another opportunity like Ai Ling. She was the only child they saw. They decided to return to the Nightfall Inn again after sunset. They couldn’t find another inn, nor was there a tavern. They figured the lobby of the Nightfall Inn was the closest thing to a public gathering place this village had. If any villagers were more likely to open up, that should be the place for it.

When they arrived in front of the Nightfall Inn, they heard voices from the inside. It was not deserted like in the morning. The two entered and found that two tables out of eight were occupied.

”It’s you three,” Tuang Yin said with a disappointed tone.

One of the occupied tables was used by the three cultivators claiming to be in charge of this village’s security; Yang Jun, Leng Ku, and Yang Su.

”You kids are still here? Why don’t you go back home already,” Leng Ku uttered.

”We won’t go back until we complete our mission!” Tuang Yin replied defiantly. ”Right, Lin Mo?” She turned to Amon but found that Amon’s gaze was in a different direction. She followed the gaze and saw that Amon was looking at the other occupied table. An adult woman and a teenage girl were sitting there.

”I thought you had no interest in... Hey, wait for me!” Tuang Yin called when Amon walked toward the table with the two ladies.

The two ladies looked over when they noticed someone approaching. Their eyes showed a surprised expression when they saw Amon.

”It’s you. I’m surprised to find you here!” The woman exclaimed when she saw Amon.

”I can say the same thing about you,” Amon said and took a seat at their table.

”Hey! Go get your own table!” The teenage girl protested.

Not only did Amon not comply, but Tuang Yin also followed his lead and sat on the last unoccupied side of the square table. The teenage girl glared at her. She glared back with a grin.

”What are you doing here, Xin Lie?” Amon asked.

”You remember my name. I’m touched!” Xin Lie said.

”Are you selling your wares here? I don’t see any stalls outside. I also don’t find this village an attractive place for a merchant. So, what are you doing here?”

”We haven’t met for so long, and your first response is to interrogate me. How rude,” Xin Lie stated. ”But goodness! You have grown so much. Your cultivation improves so fast. I can’t believe you are already at the Beginning Transformation Stage.”

Amon narrowed his eyes upon hearing Xin Lie declare his real cultivation. He never learned about Xin Lie’s cultivation in the past, but this revelation implied that she was at least at the Spirit Stage.

”Beginning Transformation Stage? Not bad for a village bumpkin,” the teenage girl said.

”Tough talk, little girl. A little girl like you should learn to keep your mouth shut when adults are talking,” Tuang Yin said, which caused the teenage girl to stare dagger at her.

”Li Jing, behave,” Xin Lie told the teenage girl.

”Yes, you should listen to your mother,” Tuang Yin added.

”She is not my mother!” Li Jing exclaimed.

Xin Lie laughed at the exchange.

”Stop messing around,” Amon told them. He then asked Xin Lie again, ”You haven’t answered me. What are you doing here?”

”Who dies and makes you the village chief?” Li Jing replied on behalf of Xin Lie. ”We are grown-ups. We go where we please. We don’t need a purpose to come here.”

”I’m sorry, but you don’t look like a grown-up to me,” Tuang Yin said, which caused Li Jing to glare at her again.

”Haha. How about this? Tell us first what you are doing here, then we will do the same,” Xin Lie told Amon.

”Very well. We are here because we heard a rumor about the existence of a demon who practices infernal cultivation in this village,” Amon said. ”We are here to confirm whether this is true.”