Chapter 6: The Unspoken Matter Between Little Drill Wind and Cold Moon
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Cold Moon had been kneeling for nearly an hour.
Her silky hair fell over most of her face, and her entire body trembled slightly, yet her waist remained as stiff as a straight rod.
Little Drill Wind, watching her from the shadows, felt a pang of sympathy. After a moment’s hesitation, he decided to stride over and suddenly yank her up from the ground.
“Ah…”
Cold Moon let out a soft yelp, but when she turned her head and saw it was Little Drill Wind, her furrowed brow began to smooth out.
“Let go of me,” she said.
Little Drill Wind gritted his teeth, “Look at your knees! They’re so stiff they could probably walk from here to Thousand Bird City without any joints.”
He forcibly pressed Cold Moon onto a nearby stone bench. Cold Moon struggled for a bit but eventually relented.
Sighing, she said, “Little Drill Wind, you really don’t have to worry. I just wanted to take this opportunity to clear my mind about a few things.”
“But even so, do you have to kneel the entire time?”
“You don’t understand. This way, I can think more clearly… I have a gut feeling that the Great King is not just some Great Demon.”
“Is it just because she defeated you? Didn’t she almost end up dead at your hands, too?”
“A little mistake can lead to a huge difference. If the Great King hadn’t shown mercy, I might have ended up like that Cold Wind Old Demon by now.”
Inside the dark cave, the torchlight flickered, casting shadows that danced across the ground.
“When I sit by the campfire and hear those human adventurers talk about the Great King, I think to myself: for so many years, the Monster Race has been struggling to survive in the cracks between the Human Race and the Demon Race. It’s been over a hundred years since we last set foot in the human realm! And yet the Great King swims like a fish in a roaring river, effortlessly escaping the pursuit from Thousand Bird City. Do you have any idea how envious and in awe I was when I heard that?”
“But… that still doesn’t prove she’s a Great Demon, does it?”
“You saw her mount, didn’t you?”
Little Drill Wind recalled the first time he and Old Drill Wind encountered the Great King, almost getting killed by a giant bird covered in gray feathers. He still had nightmares about it.
He nodded, puzzled, “That giant bird?”
Cold Moon nodded earnestly, “Though I don’t know its name, I’m certain it’s a Monster Beast without a doubt. In the Monster World, only Great Demons have the power to dominate those unruly beasts, so it’s obvious that the Great King’s identity is more than meets the eye.”
“I see…” Little Drill Wind replied.
“The joke is, even though the Monster Race is caught in the squeeze of two powerful forces, we still can’t stop fighting among ourselves, giving others the chance to benefit from our conflicts. At this rate, we’ll be destroyed by those selfish Great Demons.”
Cold Moon’s expression darkened.
Little Drill Wind furrowed his brow, “The matters of the Monster World are beyond the reach of us two. It’s already a stroke of luck that we’re still alive, isn’t it?”
“True, but I don’t want to spend my whole life in this cave. When will we get to enjoy the warm sunshine and fresh air like real humans?”
Little Drill Wind fell silent.
That kind of wish was something he hardly dared to think of.
Before they transformed into demons, they were clueless, unaware of the sun, moon, and stars, only driven by the instincts of survival and a longing for food.
When they were fortunate enough to gain the blessings of the heavens and one day could think for themselves, with fish tails transformed into legs, they truly realized that most of the time, they didn’t live any better than a fish, whose life and d*ath depended on fate—simple and pure.
In the demon world, everything speaks of power.
It was perfectly normal for Great Demons to bully and enslave Little Demons.
Little Drill Wind was dragged into a cave led by an Evil Merman right after transforming. That big demon had a terrible temper and frequently whipped and tortured the Little Demons, forcing them to live in constant fear, working tirelessly just to survive.
After enduring years of hardship, Little Drill Wind finally summoned the courage to escape.
But one day, he saw the Evil Merman drag back a graceful and gentle Carp Spirit to the cave.
She was the most beautiful demon he had ever seen.
For the first time, he knew what it meant to have feelings. Just thinking about her silhouette in the dark made his heart race. He would even purposely mess up and get dragged to the main hall to endure the Evil Merman’s beatings, just to catch a glimpse of her.
But as long as he could see a hint of her lovely figure amidst the pain, it filled his heart, making all the suffering feel sweet.
However, he later learned that the Carp Spirit was not living a good life with the Evil Merman.
One time, the Evil Merman even laughed devilishly and, in front of all the Little Demons, peeled off the remaining scales from her leg one by one, bl**d spilling everywhere.
The Carp Spirit didn’t cry; she merely curled up on the ground and bore the pain with all her strength.
At that moment, Little Drill Wind seriously considered throwing caution to the wind and fighting the Evil Merman.
He endured and pretended to laugh like the other Little Demons.
Little Drill Wind’s plan changed. He wanted to escape with the Carp Spirit.
And it had to succeed with no room for failure.
Fortunately, the opportunity finally arrived a year later.
Another Great Demon clashed with the Evil Merman, and the Second Demon fought fiercely nearby, causing chaos. Most of the Little Demons cowered in their caves, afraid of getting caught in the crossfire between the big shots.
Being a Catfish Spirit, Little Drill Wind had a natural digging skill; after all, before he transformed, catfish loved to burrow to evade enemies in ponds.
So ever since he decided to escape, he had been quietly digging tunnels every day.
As a fierce battle raged outside the cave, he seized the opportunity presented by the confusion and ran to the Carp Spirit, saying, “Come with me, I have a way to get out of here.”
Cold Moon, usually cautious, surprisingly believed him at that moment.
The Second Demon crawled through the narrow half-human-high tunnel with all their might, their knees rubbed raw and bleeding, but they didn’t stop to rest until they had crawled out for a long, long time.
Yes, the Evil Merman’s flying ability was terrifying. They had to run as far as possible in the limited time they had.
Finally, after two days and nights of relentless, exhausting travel, they collapsed on the ground, completely unable to move another inch.
They fell asleep, and when they woke up, they found themselves surrounded by a group of Little Demons.
At the head was Old Drill Wind.
What a coincidence! His name was indeed Old Drill Wind, and he even had it embroidered on his chest!
Little Drill Wind rushed over and threw himself at Old Drill Wind’s feet, wailing like a baby, “Brother! I finally found you! I’m Little Drill Wind!”
Old Drill Wind stared blankly for a moment, “Little Drill Wind? Since when did I have a brother?”
“Of course! We have thousands of brothers! But only you and I transformed at the end,” Little Drill Wind blurted out in order to save his life.
Old Drill Wind sized up Little Drill Wind and then glanced over at the Carp Spirit lying nearby, immediately laughing, “Since we look so alike, what’s the harm in having another brother? Come on, stick with me and you’ll be well-fed and pampered! But that Carp Spirit? You’ve gotta hand her over to big brother, or else…”
Little Drill Wind was not willing to comply; just as he was about to fight Old Drill Wind, he saw the Carp Spirit stand up, smiling sweetly at Old Drill Wind and saying, “Are you the Great King? I can’t do anything, but I can serve you.”
Old Drill Wind was so amused he almost split his sides, but he had enough self-awareness to realize he was surrounded by so many Little Demons; how could he risk it all for a beautiful demon?
They immediately escorted the Carp Spirit and Little Drill Wind back to the cave.
The Cold Wind Old Demon already had a Carp Spirit concubine, and he was thrilled to receive an even prettier one that Old Drill Wind brought back, immediately promoting Old Drill Wind to the captain of the Cold Wind Cave Patrol and enrolling Little Drill Wind as a member.
But what the demons didn’t know was that Cold Moon possessed incredible skills, quickly taking control of the Cold Wind Old Demon from behind the scenes, while still allowing him to maintain the façade of the leader. She then promoted Little Drill Wind to patrol team leader.
Old Drill Wind was furious after holding the position for just a few days and cursed Little Drill Wind for being ungrateful.
However, at that moment, Little Drill Wind realized Cold Moon wasn’t just any ordinary demon. Although she pretended to cuddle up to the Cold Wind Old Demon, his heart was still aching.
He would rather drift about with her than be some lousy patrol team leader.
Yet he knew Cold Moon had never given him any promises. Even if they escaped from the Evil Merman’s grasp, nothing had happened between them. Perhaps she knew of his feelings, but she had never responded.
When he first saw Lin Nan alone by the lake, his immediate thought was to bring her back so that Cold Moon wouldn’t have to pretend to serve the Cold Wind Old Demon anymore.
Now, there was little he could do for her.
Although they had managed to get through several crises in Cold Wind Cave thanks to Cold Moon’s clever disguise, everything had changed when they encountered Lin Nan.
The Cold Wind Old Demon died too quickly, and Cold Moon had no choice but to reveal her identity, leading to utter defeat.
But what Little Drill Wind couldn’t understand was why Cold Moon placed such high hopes on a conqueror, even at the cost of hurting her own body.
He forced a smile.
He didn’t know whether the new Great King would change the demon world, and he didn’t care if the demon realm would change in the future.
But what he did know was that Cold Moon was drifting further away from him.
After sitting on the stone bench for a while, Cold Moon’s legs finally regained their sensation.
“I… I’ll take you back to your room.”
Little Drill Wind’s arm moved slightly, but Cold Moon slipped away unnoticeably.
“It’s fine, I can manage on my own. You’ve been with me for so long, you must be tired. Go take a nap, alright?”
Little Drill Wind stared blankly at Cold Moon’s retreating figure, looking down at his webbed hands, feeling a touch of melancholy.
Yes, he was just a Little Demon who could dig holes.
The Cold Wind Cave fell silent. Since the Great King announced that for these few days the cave was closed and no one was allowed to go out, the Little Demons mostly hid in their grassy nests, sleeping soundly.
Old Drill Wind stumbled out to the toilet, still tugging at his pants, and spotted Little Drill Wind standing alone. He asked in confusion, “What are you doing? Hey, why are your eyes red?”
“Nothing, just got some wind in my eyes,” Little Drill Wind said, quickly looking away and leaving.
Old Drill Wind glanced around, “Wind? What wind? Speaking gibberish again. You wouldn’t be trying to think of ways to please the Great King, would you? d*mn it, can’t I even get a good night’s sleep?”
Little Drill Wind had grown tired of life as it was.
He thought maybe he should leave the Cold Wind Cave. No one really needed him here.
He wanted to find a place without anyone, without demons, and live life as carefree as he did before transforming.
He was just a Little Demon. He didn’t need love.
Morning broke.
Lin Nan opened her eyes.
The rising sun streamed through the narrow window, casting a winding shadow on Fatty’s bottom.
Another new day.
