Gu Zheng sat there for two hours before he stood up.
If there was a demon in the Celestial Immortal Realm in the cave, he would have smelled the blood and come out to check. Since he did not come, Gu Zheng was relieved. He was sure that there was only one demon here.
Putting away the incense table, the gourd, and the Mirage Dragon Pearl, Gu Zheng strode up the mountain.
In the Demon Cave, a few demons were chatting. They were saying that if the King went out, it would be easy to capture him. Just now, when the demon went out, he told his subordinates that his Mirage Dragon Pearl had appeared and that he was going to capture the person who had stolen it.
After two hours, their king did not come back. These demons were not in a hurry. They were still chatting and eating meat.
For demons, there was no lack of meat. At this time, there were still abundant resources. Unlike later demons, who occupied a mountain and only the things in the mountain belonged to them. They could only hunt the prey in the mountain. Once they went out of the mountain, they might be in someone else's territory.
Such monsters were indeed poor. Generally, the animals in the mountains were limited, and they did not know how to raise them. They simply let these wild animals grow naturally. To fill the stomachs of these monsters, they had to eat sparingly. However, it was different now. There were barren mountains everywhere, and there was no one around. They could catch whatever they wanted and eat whatever they wanted.
But even so, there were still many demons who ate humans. They treated humans as their food.
When Gu Zheng went up, these demons were talking about the delicious human meat last time. They had finished eating and when to catch more. They did not notice that someone had come to their cave.
"Who caught this baby? Why did he come out?"
One of the demons noticed Gu Zheng and shouted in surprise. Gu Zheng had carefully observed them. None of them had reached the Celestial Immortal Realm. He was relieved.
Gu Zheng could not detect them directly now, but he could still observe them through their words and actions. Moreover, if they had reached the Celestial Immortal Realm, they would have noticed the fishy smell at the foot of the mountain. They would not be so careless as to brag here.
"I didn't catch it. This baby's meat is so tender. It must be very delicious!"
Another demon stared straight at Gu Zheng and said with ill intentions. Gu Zheng suddenly stretched out his hand, and there was a short saber in his hand. This was a new short saber that he had gotten in the morning, and it was much better than the one he had before.
"The little kid is still holding a knife, haha!"
The demon that wanted to eat Gu Zheng laughed loudly. He rubbed his hands and stood up, walking towards Gu Zheng. Before he could get close to Gu Zheng, his head flew into the sky. This time, it wasn't the Immortal-Slaying Gourd, but Gu Zheng's saber.
He did not need the Immortal-Slaying Gourd to deal with this Little Goblin.
Speaking of which, the previous demon died a worthy death. He was killed by the Immortal-Slaying Gourd. The Immortal-Slaying Gourd killed powerful people. In front of these powerful people, he was at most a Little Goblin.
This time, the one who killed the Little Goblin was Gu Zheng himself. His battle experience and skills were far from what these Little Goblins could compare to.
The Little Goblins were stunned when their companion died just like that. They then reacted and wanted to use their weapons to resist. Unfortunately, Gu Zheng did not give them the chance. The child-like Gu Zheng was like a tiger in a flock of sheep. He quickly finished off these Little Goblin.
There were a total of four Little Goblins, and they were all killed by Gu Zheng.
After killing these Little Goblins, Gu Zheng searched their cave abode again. The cave abode was not big. It had a foul smell and was very dirty. Besides a big pot, there were a few obvious grills. There was a pot of meat cooking in the pot. Fortunately, it was not human meat. It was probably the Little Goblin's food for today.
What made Gu Zheng angry was that he saw many human bones inside. There were more than a hundred of them. These demons had eaten many people.
Besides these hundred human bones, there was a big pit outside the cave. There were many human bones inside, and it was obvious that they belonged to children. Needless to say, these were the children who had been killed. Looking at these skeletons, Gu Zheng did not regret killing the two people. He only hated that they had gotten away with it.
It was a pity that Gu Zheng could not enter the Underworld at this time. Otherwise, he would have captured their souls in the Underworld and prevented them from entering the cycle of reincarnation. He would have let them suffer for eternity.
After eliminating these demons, Gu Zheng finally felt relieved. It was a pity that these demons were too poor. Whether it was the king just now or these Little Goblin, they did not have any useful resources. However, he obtained a few demon furs.
These furs were better than ordinary beast furs.
"Wu You, do you think Little Tie will be okay?"
Beside a town, Aunt Cui asked Wu You worriedly. They had been out for thirteen days and had not seen Gu Zheng for thirteen days. This made her very worried.
In these ten days, Taotie was also unhappy. He did not go out to play alone. It was rare for him to hide and cultivate.
"No, you have to believe in master!"
Wu You immediately shook his head. In his heart, Gu Zheng was the most powerful. However, it was rumored that the demon could fly. At least, his master could not fly. This made him faintly worried, but he did not say it out loud.
"Don't worry. Young Master is not a reckless person. He is very smart. Since he dares to go, he must have confidence. Otherwise, he would not go now!"
Mado said with a smile. Although Mado had not been with Gu Zheng for a long time, he knew Gu Zheng better than Wu You and Aunt Cui. Gu Zheng was too mature. It was not the maturity that a child should have. Moreover, Gu Zheng was very smart. Based on what he heard, he concluded that Mado was deliberately bluffing. This made Mado admire him very much.
There was also Gu Zheng's means to deal with him. Because he had killed more than a dozen people, Gu Zheng deliberately killed him once and then revived him. This way, he would die once and have nothing to do with the past. At the same time, he also showed Gu Zheng's terrifying ability, so that he would no longer have any thoughts of betrayal or resistance.
In addition, during this period of time, he knew that although Gu Zheng was young, he would not do anything that he was not sure of. Therefore, he was very confident in Gu Zheng.
"But that's a demon!"
Aunt Cui was still worried and said again. Mado laughed. "That's a demon, yes. But don't forget that Young Master is also an immortal. Aren't immortals supposed to kill demons?"
In the hearts of many people, immortals were omnipotent and were supposed to kill demons. At this time, there were not many immortals worshiping them. For many people, if a demon appeared, the first thing they thought of was immortals.
"That's true. Aunt Cui, we just have to wait patiently!"
Mado's words gave Wu You a lot of confidence. Gu Zheng would not do anything that he was not sure of. Since he was going, nothing would happen to him.
He was also afraid that something would happen to Gu Zheng. He did not notice that after Mado said this, there was an unnatural flash of worry in his eyes.
He was indeed very confident in Gu Zheng, and what he said was true. However, when he thought of Gu Zheng's previous arrangements, he could not help but worry. He knew very well that they could only live a good life with Gu Zheng. Without Gu Zheng, he was afraid that they would be beaten back to their original state.
Before leaving, Gu Zheng had secretly told him that he had secretly lifted the restriction on Wu You. Only Wu You did not know. If he could not come back, he would ask Mado to take everyone to find a village to live in seclusion. With Taotie, no one could bully them.
However, Taotie would not follow them all the time. He would protect them for as long as he could.
Mado also asked Gu Zheng how likely it was that he would not come back. Until now, Mado still remembered Gu Zheng's answer. Gu Zheng said that the possibility of him not coming back was less than 10%, but even if it was only 0.1%, he had to be prepared for it.
Thinking of Gu Zheng saying that he was 90% sure that he could kill the demon, Mado did not think too much. He just prayed that Gu Zheng would come back as soon as possible.
"It seems that they are quite confident in themselves!"
Not far from them, Gu Zheng smiled slightly and hid his body again. He had already chased them, but after finding them, he suddenly thought of not appearing for the time being. He wanted to see what these people would do if he did not come back. This way, he could better verify the people's hearts.
So he hid, and he did not even bring Little White Dragon with him. Except for Taotie, no one knew that he had come back.
There was no other way. He was too close, and he could not hide it from him. His cultivation was now higher than Gu Zheng's, but Gu Zheng had asked him to keep it a secret. Seeing that Gu Zheng was fine, Taotie was very happy. He did not care why Gu Zheng asked him to do so. Anyway, whatever Gu Zheng said, he would do it.
The reason why Gu Zheng did this was very simple. There were too many people, and his energy was limited. He did not want to take so many people with him, but he could not drive people away for no reason. He used this method to test and see who was worth taking with him. It was not a problem to take them with him. If it was not worth it, he would let them find another way.
Mado and Wu You were also in the test. The ones who were not tested by Gu Zheng were Taotie and Aunt Cui. However, he did not tell Aunt Cui about the news of his return. Aunt Cui was an emotional person, and Mado was very smart. It was easy for him to see something from her.
Gu Zheng was not worried about Taotie. Taotie was a child. He was temperamental and had a lot of changes. Such a person was the most difficult to figure out. What's more, Mado did not dare to test Taotie. He had already heard about some of the things that Taotie had done.
Early the next morning, Mado and the others continued to move in the direction of the Prefecture City. Before leaving, they brought enough food. Moreover, Taotie was following them. If there was not enough food, Taotie could quickly catch two big prey from the wild. They had enough food along the way.
20 days after their departure, Wu You was a little anxious. He did not know that Gu Zheng had secretly removed the restriction on him. He was still worried that the one-month time limit was up.
Besides Wu You, Aunt Cui was also anxious. Although Mado was better than them, he was also more confused. It had been 20 days. The demon's nest was not far away, and they were not walking fast. This was the only way to the Prefecture City. He had also left a mark on the road according to Gu Zheng's request. Normally, the demon should have caught up with them long ago.
On the 25th day, they were getting closer to the Prefecture City. There was still no news of Gu Zheng.
Although they did not have to worry about food and clothing, the atmosphere was obviously different. Some people had already begun to whisper that Gu Zheng had not succeeded in eliminating the demon. He had been eaten by the demon. They could not go to the Prefecture City anymore. What if Gu Zheng betrayed them and the demon caught up with them for revenge?
This kind of talk was quickly suppressed by Mado. However, he was clearly worried now.
On the 28th day, Wu You was already restless. The talk that Mado had suppressed showed signs of rising again. Aunt Cui, on the other hand, was much calmer now. She no longer asked when Gu Zheng would return. She just went about her own business every day.
On the 29th day, Wu You was almost in despair. He took out his waist saber and wiped it several times. He had experienced the pain caused by the restriction before. He definitely did not want to experience it a second time. Once the restriction acted up, he would rather die.
At this time, Mado told him that Gu Zheng had already removed the restriction on him.
Wu You was still skeptical, but he still made sufficient preparations. Once the one-month time limit was up and his restriction acted up, he would ask Mado to help him kill him so that he would not have to endure the pain.
Thirty days passed peacefully. Wu You's restriction did not act up, and he finally calmed down.
However, the talk that Mado had suppressed before rose again. This time, it seemed that Mado could no longer control it. Some people came to Mado and said that they did not want to go to the prefectural city. Taotie was a child, and they wanted Taotie to go with them. As long as Taotie was with them, they were not afraid of anyone. They would still have a good life in the future.
There were many people like this. At least three groups of people came to find him, but they were all reprimanded by Mado and left.
However, Mado's worry grew. These people were only focused on the benefits in front of them. They thought that Taotie was easy to coax because it was a child. However, they did not know that even if they took Taotie away, as long as Gu Zheng did not return for a long time, Taotie would definitely leave on its own.
On the thirty-fifth day, there were more and more discussions. Mado gradually showed signs of not being able to suppress it. At this time, everyone no longer had any hope for Gu Zheng. After not returning for so long, they were afraid that something bad had happened to him. There were more and more people who did not want to go to the prefectural city. There were even people who suggested that they return to their old profession and continue to be bandits.
The person who suggested this also said that as long as Taotie was with them, it was strong enough to destroy any enemy.
On the forty-fifth day, the group had stopped for three days. More than half of the people did not want to go to the prefectural city. They even sent representatives to negotiate with Mado. At this time, Mado could no longer control his original group.
Everyone had their own selfish desires. Now that their days were better, and since they started following Gu Zheng, everyone had eaten a lot in the past two months. Now that their stomachs were full and they didn't have to worry about clothes and food, many people's thoughts had changed. They wanted to live a better life.
At this time, some people had crooked thoughts.
After two months of getting along, everyone had found that Gu Zheng was too smart. He was not a child at all. He was smarter than an average adult. However, Taotie was different. Taotie's wisdom was at most a ten-year-old child. It was much easier to coax him.
The most important thing was that Taotie had power. It had power that they longed for and envied. As long as Taotie was taken away, they could live the life they wanted. If there was no food, they could take Taotie and rob. They could have whatever they wanted. They could even snatch some women back to be their wives.
Once greed arose, no one could control it.
At first, Mado's accumulated prestige suppressed them. However, as time passed, Mado became more and more difficult to suppress. He was a person who firmly carried out Gu Zheng's orders. Even if Gu Zheng did not come, he absolutely could not be a bandit. This was the bottom line.
"Big brother, we are all brothers. If you don't want to be with us, we understand. But I hope you don't stand in the way of our wealth. As long as you give Taotie to us, we will leave immediately!"
On this day, Mado's men finally officially separated from him. Sixteen people and three women, a total of nineteen people, asked to be bandits again. If Mado was willing, he could continue to be their boss. If not, they could leave with Taotie.
They must take Taotie away. Without Taotie, there would be no life they wanted.
"No, it's impossible!"
Two groups of people, each standing beside a carriage, confronted each other. Taotie was beside Aunt Cui. It seemed that he did not understand why these people were fighting for him.
"You don't know how powerful the young master is. I will not violate his orders. If you really want to go, you can go. But there is one thing, you must not be a bandit again. Otherwise, don't blame me for carrying out the young master's orders!"
Mado gritted his teeth and said. Gu Zheng had said before that if these people followed him, who would be a bandit again, he would not spare them.
"The young master was eaten by a monster. Big brother, you should stop dreaming. If he was not eaten, with the speed of the white horse, it would have caught up with us long ago. It would not have waited until today!"
Advocating to be a bandit again, he was still persuading Mado. "Big brother, I will ask you one last time. You take us away, or let Taotie go with us. Choose one of the two!"
"I don't choose either!"
Mado shouted angrily. As soon as he finished speaking, two people beside him suddenly held him down. One of them took out a knife and held it against his neck.
"You, you have also betrayed me, betrayed the young master!"
Mado was stunned at first, then became even angrier. He struggled there, but unfortunately, he did not struggle.
Wu You reacted quickly. After they moved, he immediately came to Aunt Cui's side, took out his knife, and looked at them vigilantly. Aunt Cui was protecting Taotie, but she was also a little frightened.
The other people who had been following Mado and were unwilling to be bandits with them were also controlled by these people and tied up with Mado.
Mado did not expect that there were spies around him. These people began to learn to use tricks.
It was not all his fault. These people usually acted ordinary, but after all, they had been with him for so long. They could still think of some tricks. This time, he was also careless. He trusted the people around him too much, so he suffered a loss.
But now it was all clear. Except for the four men and two women who were still willing to follow him, the rest had already betrayed him. Even the three children were taken away by them. There were only six people left on his side. No matter what, they were willing to follow him and were not willing to go with others.
Unfortunately, among these six people, there was no one left who was from the same village as him. At this time, his companion was going to be the leader of the bandits, the new big brother.
"Aunt Cui, Wu You, we will not make things difficult for you. If you are willing to follow us, you will have a share of the glory and splendor in the future. If you are not willing, you can go wherever you want, but you have to let Little Taotie go with us!"
After that person controlled Mado, he said to Wu You and Aunt Cui with a smile on his face. After that, he looked at Taotie.
"Little Taotie, I know a place that is more fun. There are many big deer there. Do you want to go? If you want to go, we will go now …"
Before he could finish his sentence, he was sent flying more than ten meters away with a blood-curdling scream.
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