Corpses littered the ground, blood flowed like rivers.
The corpses of demons and the remains of humans formed a sea of death.
The only clean mound stood out starkly against this corpse-strewn landscape, so much so that at first glance one might mistake it for piles of ashes.
Sitting atop the mound was a person.
Wei Dong had never entered a person's illusion so deeply before, not even Fang Fei's Deep Sea Illusion had ever made him feel so immersed, so unable to extricate himself.
Wei Dong felt his feet treading on that sea of corpses, the eerie stench of demon blood mixed with human flesh filling his nostrils. Moonlight shone from the direction of the mound, and he looked up at the person sitting on it.
As if sensing his gaze, the person turned to look at him.
A real person.
Ordinary appearance, nothing special.
An unfamiliar face, its age impossible to discern in the darkness.
But Wei Dong felt a strange familiarity in this person's gaze, as if he had seen it somewhere before.
Wei Dong approached little by little, trying to glean some clues from the person's clothing and appearance.
The man glanced at Wei Dong twice, then seemed to lose interest in this "intruder," turning his head away, lost in thought or perhaps simply daydreaming.
Wei Dong's gaze focused on the man's pocket at his waist.
It was a very worn cloth pocket, so tattered that its original color was unrecognizable, but its appearance was strangely familiar, especially the black rope at the drawstring end, with a rusty copper bell that occasionally emitted a dull tinkling sound.
Wei Dong had seen this exact same pocket before, back when he and Fang Fei had just arrived in this world—at that time, Lion Camel Ridge was littered with corpses, and the two had nowhere to go but to pick out two snow-white goose feathers from this pocket.
Moreover, they had learned an illusion technique; by simply tucking the goose feathers behind their ears and chanting a spell, they transformed into two goose demons, thus swaggering into Lion Camel Kingdom.
Wei Dong opened his mouth, wanting to ask the man: "Are you the old woman who helped us back then?"
But all the words he uttered vanished into the air, not a sound escaping.
The person sitting on the mound seemed to have heard him, smiled, and appeared to say something to Wei Dong, but Wei Dong couldn't hear them. The
person raised a bag in their hand, and the copper bell jingled softly.
With this sound, Wei Dong finally returned from the illusion.
Fang Fei seemed to be talking to the pig helper, preparing to choose people and haggle over prices.
The sound of the copper bell was still faintly ringing. Wei Dong stared intently at the demon before him, or rather, a demon helper from the slaughterhouse. It was of medium build, with a monkey's head, and it bared its teeth at Wei Dong and swayed its body.
The bag on the monkey demon's waist jingled, and the monkey demon made a complex gesture to Wei Dong before looking away.
Suddenly, the python man's voice rang out, followed quickly by Pig Three's voice: "Wait a minute, the deal's
not happening yet! Master Long has booked the whole place for today!" Wei Dong turned around, only to find the monkey demon had vanished.
Fang Fei reacted swiftly, tightening her grip on the child on her back: "We can't afford to offend Master Long. Let's retreat first, we'll come back another day."
Pig Shopkeeper was quick-witted, thinking these merchants didn't like meeting, so he led the two out through another door.
The two returned to the dirty alleyways, silently turning out and onto the main road paved with blue bricks.
Both knew they couldn't even save a hundred people in the slaughterhouse. If they hadn't dodged in time, the child on Fang Fei's back might have been kept by the python man, and it might even have aroused his suspicion.
"Let's go back to the inn first," Fang Fei said briefly, walking briskly.
The piercing "beep—" of the clock rang in their ears, each beep louder than the last, already the eighth.
Time was truly running out.
Back at the inn, they removed the cloth from the child's head. The child didn't cry, his gaze was completely blank.
Fang Fei applied the medicine she had bought on the way to the child's wound. The process was probably painful, but the child didn't utter a sound.
"I saw him," Wei Dong finally said.
"Was it that monkey?" Fang Fei hadn't had time to use the bird fairy feather to observe him, but she could guess something from Wei Dong's expression.
"He should be the same old woman who helped us back then," Wei Dong said, offering his guess, "the old woman we saw before entering the city."
Fang Fei lowered her hand, applying the medicine, and remained silent for a moment.
"Tell me, what we saw in the illusion, was it something from the past or something from the future?" Wei Dong asked.
"I don't know."
"In that environment, it seemed like a great battle between demons and humans had taken place, the scene was extremely tragic."
Listening to Wei Dong's description, Fang Fei found it hard to imagine the tragic scene, let alone deduce whether it happened hundreds of years ago or was about to happen in a few hours.
"Wei Dong, why do you think these demons came to Lion Camel Kingdom?" Fang Fei suddenly asked.
Wei Dong thought for a moment: "Didn't the python man say that it's legal to eat people here? This country seems to be a lawless zone."
"What does 'Journey to the West' say? Why is it allowed for those monsters to eat the entire population of an entire country?" Fang Fei felt a chill run down her spine just thinking about it—eating people was terrifying, but what was even more terrifying was that it was legal and justified.
"According to the book, these three monsters all have powerful backers; they're not just nameless wild monsters," Wei Dong said, sitting down in a chair by the window. "The green lion and white elephant are the mounts of the Bodhisattvas Manjushri and Samantabhadra, and the Garuda is even more extraordinary; in fact, it's the Buddha's uncle."
"I think this was mentioned in a TV series too. The phoenix gave birth to a peacock and a Garuda. The peacock, who naturally loved eating people, even dared to eat the Buddha. Later, the Buddha emerged from the peacock's back. The peacock then claimed to be the Buddha's mother, so the Garuda became the Buddha's uncle." Fang Fei remembered seeing this part on TV.
"So the Great Roc was lawless, saying it wasn't used to vegetarianism and wanted to eat people every day. In the end, it was only when Buddha said to feed it with his own followers that it converted."
Fang Fei's eyes widened upon hearing this: "Feed it with people?"
"This probably implies sacrificing oneself to feed a tiger, or giving up one's life for righteousness," Wei Dong said.
Fang Fei frowned, as if she had thought of something: "I told you about the Eight Heavenly Dragons before, which mentioned that the Garuda had a craving for dragons, eating them until the dragon race was on the verge of extinction. Later, the Dragon Mother begged Buddha to save her dragon son, and Buddha persuaded the Garuda to stop eating dragons and promised him that Buddhist disciples would give him nectar before their own meals. So the Garuda converted to Buddhism and never ate dragons again."
Wei Dong had never heard such an explanation before, which completely overturned his previous understanding of "Journey to the West": "To be honest, I never understood this part before, and could only fool myself with phrases like 'sacrificing oneself for righteousness.' I never thought there was such an interpretation in Buddhist scriptures?"
Fang Fei: "I haven't read Buddhist scriptures. I looked up some information while reading martial arts novels, and it just so happened that these things were mentioned."
Wei Dong: "I think Wu Cheng'en, the author of *Journey to the West*, definitely knew this story. He probably deliberately wrote it in a different way, perhaps to satirize the society of his time, perhaps to enhance the story, or perhaps for some other unspeakable reason."
Fang Fei felt that with their combined intelligence and experience, it would be difficult for them to decipher the mystery in a short time.
Fang Fei said, "Anyway, the world we live in is nothing more than a matter between humans and demons."
The world before them reminded Wei Dong more of the picture in *Animal World*.
Whether in the picture or in reality, as long as one seizes the top of the food chain, the identities of humans and demons can be completely interchanged.
What exactly is a human? What is a demon?
What is a non-human being?
The one being eaten is always the weakest.
Wei Dong looked at Fang Fei's snow-white goose head: "You know what? If I were to watch a goose being slaughtered now, it would probably be no different from watching a murder."
This is what they mean by "feeling the pain of seeing one's own kind. "
Wei Dong felt as if he had suddenly grasped the essence of dialectical materialism.
"I don't think that monkey demon had a chance to say anything to you," Fang Fei said, never leaving any room for maneuver when changing the subject. "If he were truly a pure human, he would have left some clues."
"He said," Wei Dong carefully recalled the monkey demon's gestures, then stood up and imitated them, raising his right hand high, then clapping it three times to the left, and then clapping it twice in front.
"Three hearts and two minds? Three words and two claps?" Fang Fei felt she was worst at solving such riddles.
"…" Wei Dong turned around and looked at his surroundings, seemingly suddenly understanding something. He changed direction and repeated the gestures. "I remember now, he was facing south. I think he was pointing us in the right direction."
"What direction?"
"He was facing south, raising his hand once meant we should leave the slaughterhouse, clapping to the left meant we should go east, clapping three times meant we should go east for three streets, and then clapping it twice in front meant we should turn south and go two more streets." Wei Dong explained his analysis.
Fang Fei stared at Wei Dong in disbelief, almost suspecting he had stolen part of Mu Yiran's brain and brought it over.
Wei Dong scratched his head: "I've been thinking about this the whole way here, I don't even know if I'm right. I just realized it now. He was standing facing south, the sunlight was blinding him, and he squinted, probably to remind me that he was facing due south."
"We shouldn't delay, let's go check it out!" Fang Fei was always decisive.
Wei Dong took out the feather fan left by the bird fairy that he always carried, took a white feather from it, and walked to the child. The child was probably exhausted, and Fang Fei had fallen asleep while applying medicine to him.
Wei Dong tucked the feather behind the child's ear, chanting the incantation the old woman had taught him. Soon the child's head transformed into the shape of a white crane, resembling a sleeping little crane demon.
"Human form is too dangerous, he'll die in Lion Camel Kingdom sooner or later, we can't protect him forever," Wei Dong said.
Fang Fei looked at Wei Dong and nodded.
The two instructed the waiter to watch the child.
Wei Dong and Fang Fei set off again, heading towards the location Chunren had indicated.
They hurried along and soon arrived at the small street.
Although the street was narrow, it was lined with shops on both sides. They quickly searched and looked through each shop. When they reached the end, a sudden gust of wind arose, blowing their goose feathers everywhere, blinding them.
Wei Dong rubbed his eyes hard, barely able to see clearly, only to suddenly realize that the bird fairy feather clinging to his eyelashes was gone.
Fang Fei glared angrily with her goose eyes; clearly, her bird fairy feather was also missing.
Wei Dong looked up at the shop in front of him; it was a painting shop. Pushing open the door, he saw that it was full of monkey demons bustling about.
For a moment, Wei Dong couldn't tell if the "Chunren" who had directed him there was among them.
Without the bird fairy's feathers, how could one distinguish between "pure humans" and "pure demons"?
Fang Fei followed in, chiding him in a low voice, "Where's your fan?"
Wei Dong replied with a mournful face, "It's gone. It seems to have been blown away by that demonic wind."
There was no turning back; they could only accept their fate.
Wei Dong looked around the small art shop, its walls covered with paintings. The monkey shop assistants were busy running around, some hanging paintings, others trying to dry the ink.
Only then did the two realize that all the paintings hanging throughout the shop were actually the same! To be precise, the patterns on all the hundreds of paintings were exactly the same!
"Are these woodblock prints?" Fang Fei asked one of the monkey shop assistants.
The monkey shopkeeper bowed and said, "Madam is right. Our water and land paintings are the most enchanting. During festivals or when we invite gods and immortals, the people of our Lion Camel Kingdom all come to our shop to buy paintings!"
Wei Dong asked, "Why is there only this one design?"
The monkey shopkeeper replied, "This water and land painting is the most efficacious! This woodblock was made by the gods; it has divine power! We little demons can only print; we can't paint or make the blocks!"
Wei Dong further inquired, "We came here to buy paintings; I'm afraid the paintings hanging in this shop aren't enough."
The monkey shopkeeper had never heard of anyone buying so many paintings at once.
Wei Dong said, "I need to go to the workshop to see how fast you print them, to see if you can keep up with our needs for tomorrow."
The monkey shopkeeper didn't refuse and led the two goose demons to the printing workshop behind the shop.
Several monkey workers were working, each with their own tasks: some were coloring the wooden block, some were printing, and some were taking the paintings to dry.
Wei Dong and Fang Fei approached the wooden block and examined it closely. The various deities and figures carved on it were incredibly lifelike.
"Is this the only wooden block you have?" Fang Fei asked.
The monkey workers were getting impatient, unsure of the two goose demons' motives. "Since the demons entered the Lion Camel Kingdom, we've only had this one wooden block. Every household hangs the same painting. I'm not exaggerating, even our Great Roc King's palace has paintings printed from the same wooden block, except the ink has gold, silver, and gemstone powder added, making it less prone to fading."
Wei Dong stared at the wooden block for a while, then turned to examine the several paintings that had already been printed. Wei Dong had never studied water and land paintings before, and only now did he realize that these paintings depicted various deities, demons, and even insignificant figures like weeds.
Fang Fei watched for a while, but really couldn't understand it.
Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out beside her: "I didn't expect a naive person to play hide-and-seek with me."
The two turned around in fright, only to find that the person was the python man.
Before the python-man could speak, Fang Fei coldly said, "In Lion Camel Kingdom, humans are food for demons. The reason Dapeng established this kingdom is because it's legal and legitimate to eat people here. Young Master Long and Dapeng are no different; both are demons, both eat people. Why does Young Master Long still want to leave this place?"
Indeed, through their observations in Lion Camel Kingdom over the past few hours, they discovered that two kinds of animals, natural enemies among beasts, are like neighbors in this country. For example, foxes and rabbits, roosters and centipedes, and the hawk and sparrow that Wei Dong witnessed at Xicui Tower.
"Perhaps Young Master Long has other motives?" Fang Fei further inquired.
The python-man smiled sinisterly: "Madam Dongfang is indeed not simple. My dragon clan is capable of anything, from flying to diving into the sea. How could a small Lion Camel Kingdom block my clan's path? I can leave the city at will; why would I need to ask for his golden seal?"
"So, your pure heart isn't offered to Dapeng, but rather you yourself want to be eaten, right?" Fang Fei said.
The python-man flicked his purplish-red forked tongue: "I thought you were just two dimwits new to the city, but it turns out you actually have some brains. Fine, a bunch of monkeys are going to eat anyway, two geese are going to eat anyway, so I'll just swallow you all whole. I, the python, can digest it all!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he revealed his true form: a giant python as thick as an old tree trunk. With a single suck, he swallowed the monkey waiter who had just greeted the two men.
The entire small shop collapsed under the python's weight. The other monkey waiters tried to run away in terror, but the python's massive body held them captive, preventing any escape.
Wei Dong could no longer pinpoint the python's vital spot, as each of its scales was as large as his own hand. Even if he could find it, he probably couldn't hold it down.
"Monkeys, get out of here!" Before Fang Fei could finish speaking, the python's massive jaws lunged at her, a chilling voice accompanied by a foul stench: "Madam Dongfang is too clever; I must eat you first."
Fang Fei appeared incredibly small before the python's enormous jaws; being eaten by it would be like a human eating a dumpling.
Suddenly, a gust of wind swept in, forcing the python to retreat.
Wei Dong couldn't believe his hands had transformed into a pair of giant wings, and his entire body had grown larger, his long neck stretching out, his hard beak pecking fiercely at the python's head.
Fang Fei was extremely anxious, understanding that this was probably the effect of the half-dragon pearl, and deeply regretting that she hadn't yet eaten the other half. —She probably thought the dragon pearl was just something the python had used to fool them, and couldn't possibly have any "power-boosting" effect.
Fang Fei reached for the treasure box she carried, opened it, and found that her half-dragon pearl had vanished into nothingness.
Fang Fei watched the fierce battle between the snake and the goose, regretting that she hadn't eaten the Dragon Ball. In terms of fighting power, she was far stronger than Wei Dong.
Knowing she couldn't help, Fang Fei urgently asked the monkeys, "Which of you is truly human? Can anyone tell me where the wooden tablet fragment is?"
One of the monkey demons said, "I don't understand what you mean by 'pure human' or 'impure human.' I only know that everyone in this city is neither human nor non-human. I don't know anything about wooden tablet fragments. In Lion Camel Kingdom, there's only one wooden tablet; there's no second one."
The scene was so chaotic that large swaths of white goose feathers fell like a heavy snowfall.
Fang Fei was on the verge of tears, but she told herself to calm down and carefully recall the monkey demon's words. There was only one wooden tablet in Lion Camel Kingdom; there was no second one.
That meant the wooden tablet fragment in Lion Camel Kingdom could only have come from this one tablet!
Fang Fei clenched her fist and walked towards the wooden tablet depicting the water and land painting, slamming it down hard. Her fist drew blood, but the tablet remained as solid as iron, without a single crack.