Chapter 69: Hero Tuo Tuo

The old cat walking slowly along the top of the wall gave a meow, opened its mouth wide in a yawn, then continued slowly forward along the wall. After jumping onto the roof, it vanished behind the roof ridge.

In the courtyard, Tuo Tuo was pestering Xiao Cong to cut new clothes for him.

Xiao Cong was embroidering silver ingots along the hem of Yun Shan’s clothes. Helplessly, he said, “Once I finish Yun Shan’s clothes, I’ll make yours.”

“When will you finish?” Tuo Tuo asked, holding his red bellyband after stripping himself completely bare. After they came home, the red bellyband had already dried, and Tuo Tuo wanted to change out of Qiu Sheng’s clothes.

“Three little ingots left.” As Xiao Cong talked to Tuo Tuo, the needle and thread in his hands kept flying back and forth. In the time it took Tuo Tuo to put on the red bellyband, Xiao Cong had already embroidered the shape of an ingot.

Tuo Tuo touched the little ingots already embroidered elsewhere and said, “This looks good. I want this on my clothes too. I heard ingots can also be gold?”

“I don’t know.”

“Would embroidering ingots make us look too greedy for money?” Tuo Tuo furrowed his brow. “We demons don’t ask for wealth.”

“Hua Qi said that with us around, Yun Shan will definitely be safe and blessed. So it would be better to embroider ingots to ask for wealth. That way, we’ll have more time to learn farming.” After Xiao Cong answered Tuo Tuo, he turned his head and glanced at Yun Shan.

Yun Shan was fast asleep, clutching his two little fists.

After Yun Shan woke from his nap, he had spent the entire afternoon in town watching the excitement. He had also gotten a little pellet drum and had been so excited that he had not slept again all afternoon. After they came home, his eyes shut and he fell asleep straight away.

Tuo Tuo muttered, “I don’t think that’s reliable. I remember Ling Yin never paid attention to people asking for wealth.”

In the cradle nearby, Chun Hua turned her head and looked all around, now at Xiao Cong, now staring at Tuo Tuo.

Seeing that she was bored lying in the cradle, Tuo Tuo dragged over a small stool and sat beside Chun Hua’s head. He touched Chun Hua’s hair and started tying little braids for her again.

Yun Shan was active. When little braids were tied on his head, they would be shaken loose by his left-and-right wiggling in less than half an hour. Tuo Tuo no longer liked tying them for him and simply let him keep his head of messy hair.

Hua Qi wanted to cut Yun Shan’s tangled hair short, but Tuo Tuo refused. He insisted that Hua Qi let Yun Shan grow it long, saying that once his hair was long, it would be easier to tie into little braids.

After he finished tying Chun Hua’s little braids, Tuo Tuo fixed his eyes on Xi Jue, who was choosing wood in the corner by the wall.

“Xi Jue.” Tuo Tuo carried his red cloth and ran to the base of the wall. Beaming, he asked, “What are you doing?”

“Adding furniture to the new house.” Xi Jue was preparing to make the furniture himself.

“Oh, right.” Xiao Cong remembered something. There was still one thing he had not told Xi Jue. “Last time, when we borrowed silver from Yunling Temple, we said that not only would we repay the money, we would also repair Yunling Temple.”

“Mm.” Xi Jue continued choosing wood on his own.

Tuo Tuo stood behind him and asked, “Then when are you going to repair Yunling Temple?”

Xi Jue turned his head quickly. Seeing the little ginseng spirit beside him with an innocent face, and Xiao Cong under the tree blinking, he paused for a moment before asking in confusion, “I wasn’t the one who borrowed the money, so why am I the one repairing it?”

“You can’t put it that way.” Hua Qi poked his head out of the kitchen. “It was the little demons on the mountain who wanted to eat mooncakes. We didn’t have money, so we had no choice but to borrow from Yunling Temple. Those of us who have lived longer have to take care of the younger ones, don’t we?”

Xi Jue thought to himself, take care of the younger ones? Then why aren’t you the one going to repair it? That day, Hua Qi had even been the one who would not let him go up the mountain.

“Xi Jue, you can already help Uncle Qiu Sheng make stools. Repairing Yunling Temple definitely won’t be a problem for you,” Dou Ming said enthusiastically. “What materials do you need? Tomorrow I’ll go to the rear mountain and get them.”

Xi Jue thought, Am I that impressive? I only helped Qiu Sheng shave down some planks. He had not yet tried the rest himself.

“We have money now. We can repay Yunling Temple’s money.” Tuo Tuo looked toward Hua Qi.

Hua Qi instantly wiped the smile from his face and muttered softly, “The silver only just reached our hands. It hasn’t even stayed overnight, and now half of it’s going to be spent. This money still needs to be saved for…”

He suddenly raised his voice. “Xiao Cong, the day after tomorrow, follow Qiaozi’s two boys to the neighboring village school and have a look.”

“I want to go to school too.” Tuo Tuo pouted. Why was Hua Qi only asking Xiao Cong and not him? That stinky black snake was biased!

Tuo Tuo had heard Shuanzi say before that school was an interesting place. Inside were many children who could sway their heads while reading aloud.

“What school are you going to?” Hua Qi swept a quick glance over Tuo Tuo. “Once Qiu Sheng finishes the loom, you’ll weave cloth at home.”

“Why can Xiao Cong go to school, while I have to weave cloth at home?” Tuo Tuo was unconvinced. “You’re biased!”

“I’m biased?” Hua Qi walked out of the kitchen holding a spatula, folded his arms, and snorted with laughter. “You’re a ginseng over a hundred years old. Don’t you know your own weight? With that brain of yours, sending you would just waste money.”

Unhappy, Tuo Tuo touched his own head and muttered, “What’s wrong with my brain? It’s very good.” When he touched his face, it still had a burning kind of pain. It was still swollen.

School and everything else was immediately tossed to the back of his mind.

Tuo Tuo ran to the wooden basin in the corner by the wall and looked at his reflection inside. He could not see clearly from far away, so he stuck out his bottom and kept pressing his face closer to the basin.

When his head was almost buried in the water, Tuo Tuo finally saw that his face had gone down just a tiny bit compared with the morning.

Dou Ming had not said a word from beginning to end. He sat properly and obediently by the table. He was not going to school. Tuo Tuo must be a fool. What was so good about going to a human school? It even cost money. Better to go run around on the mountain. They should keep the money for Little Temple Master.

Only after Hua Qi finished making dinner did Qiu Sheng and Xiu Niang return from Wang Dashan’s house. The ox cart carried two sacks of peanuts and a basket of yellow ducklings.

After Dou Ming unloaded the peanuts, he curiously grabbed a handful. These things were big at both ends and narrow in the middle, and there was still mud on their shells. He asked Qiu Sheng, “How do you eat this?”

“What? Dou Ming has never eaten peanuts?” Xiu Niang picked a peanut from Dou Ming’s hand. With a firm squeeze between her thumb and forefinger, the peanut shell cracked with a crisp sound.

Xiu Niang picked out the kernels and poured them from her palm into Dou Ming’s hand. “Try them. This year’s new peanuts. They smell wonderful.”

Dou Ming tried pouring both peanut kernels in his hand into his mouth. After chewing twice, the peanuts’ unique fragrance spread through his mouth. He agreed, “They really smell good.”

Qiu Sheng placed the bamboo basket containing the ducklings under the tree. Tuo Tuo and Xiao Cong ran over together and squatted beside it to look.

The ducklings were covered in fluffy yellow down, with flat, tender little beaks, and their cries were very young too. They looked extremely adorable.

Dou Ming leaned over for a look, then said in disdain, “Can ducks this small lay eggs?” They were about the same size as duck eggs.

“We have to raise them for four months. After the New Year, they’ll be able to lay eggs,” Qiu Sheng said. “It was perfect timing. Dashan’s family had just hatched a nest of ducklings.”

“Four months?” Dou Ming frowned and continued disdaining them. “That’s way too long.” He casually grabbed a handful of peanuts from the sack beside him, as if passing the time: squeeze once, hear one crack, then toss two peanut kernels into his mouth.

One after another. In no time, a small pile of peanut shells had fallen onto the ground.

Qiaozi deliberately rushed over before Xiu Niang’s family finished dinner, while the sky was not yet dark, to remind them, “Is Xi Jue still going up the mountain tomorrow? If there are rabbits, I want two. Wild chickens would be even better.”

Xi Jue nodded.

“Qiaozi, the day after tomorrow, let Xiao Cong follow your two boys to the neighboring village. I’ll send him to school too.” Since Qiaozi had just happened to come, Hua Qi told her about this matter.

“You’re only sending Xiao Cong? What about Dou Ming and Tuo Tuo?” Qiaozi lowered her voice. “Today, Landlord Zhang gave you quite a lot of silver, right? You have to be willing to spend it. If you don’t want the children to end up like us, working so hard in the fields just to scrape out a living, you have to be willing to spend money to send them to study.”

“I’m only sending Xiao Cong to study. He has patience and can learn things.” Hua Qi thought, They came here exactly for the sake of scraping out a living from the fields. If all three little ones are sent off to study, are we supposed to rely on Xi Jue alone to learn farming?

Besides, with Dou Ming and Tuo Tuo’s brains, who knew whether they could learn anything properly. They must not end up delaying Yun Shan in the future.

As Qiaozi was talking here, Fifth Auntie also arrived. “Aiyo, Qiaozi is here too. I came to ask whether Xi Jue is going up the mountain tomorrow.”

“You’re here to buy meat too?” Qiaozi asked her.

“That’s right. Tomorrow is Reunion Festival, and both my sons are coming back. I have to buy more meat and make some good food.” Her sons were coming home, so Fifth Auntie was very happy. “Doesn’t your family have those big pomegranates? Are there any left? How are they sold? I want to buy four or five.”

“Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Xiu Niang said. “You came too late. There were originally four pomegranates left, but they were just eaten.”

Thinking that he could earn money, Xiao Cong immediately became happy. “Tomorrow I’ll go up the mountain to pick pomegranates again. Two copper coins each.”

“Two copper coins each is too expensive.” Fifth Auntie looked toward Xiao Cong and said kindly, “You sell them for two copper coins each in town. We’re from the same village, and you don’t even have to carry them to town. You have to make them cheaper.”

“Make them cheaper and I’ll buy four,” Qiaozi said. “I heard Xiu Niang say your family’s pomegranates are big and the seeds are small too. This morning, I even heard Auntie Osmanthus next door say she wanted to come to your house to buy pomegranates, but they were too expensive.”

“Isn’t that right?” Fifth Auntie looked toward Xiu Niang again. “Most families in our village haven’t bought pomegranates yet. Everyone knows your family’s pomegranates are good. I reckon someone will come ask in a little while.”

Before Fifth Auntie had finished speaking, several women entered the courtyard one after another. They had all come to reserve meat and buy pomegranates.

Why did they wait until the day before Reunion Festival to say they wanted to buy pomegranates? Every household wanted to buy them cheap and fresh.

Everyone in the village knew that Huaniang’s boys went up the mountain every morning to pick pomegranates. Big pomegranates sold in town for two copper coins each, but once Reunion Festival passed, pomegranates would no longer be worth money. They all wanted to snatch up a bargain on this last day.

Seeing business so good, Xiao Cong grew happy along with it, and a smile unconsciously appeared on his face. Even his speaking voice became much louder than usual. “Three copper coins for two.” There were more than a hundred households in the village. If each family bought two pomegranates, then he could earn more than three hundred copper coins.

Seeing Xiao Cong about to earn money again, Tuo Tuo immediately turned his head and looked for Qiu Sheng. “Uncle Qiu Sheng, when will my loom be finished?”

Qiu Sheng did not know whether to laugh or cry. “There’s still quite a while.”

All the way until bedtime at night, the sound of peanut shells cracking kept ringing by Hua Qi’s ears: crack, crack.

Hua Qi lightly patted Yun Shan to coax him to sleep, then turned his head toward the floor. “Dou Ming, did you not eat enough tonight? Why aren’t you sleeping, and why are you still eating?”

The cracking sound instantly disappeared. What followed was a rustling sound as peanut shells scraped across the ground.

Very soon, aside from the sound of breathing, there was no other movement in the room.

When night fell, the government office in town was brightly lit.

Two sheets of paper lay on the desk. They were the confessions from interrogating Ma Daming and the others that afternoon.

The adviser stood by the desk with a gloomy expression and said, “The four have confessed. They were acting for a Young Master Wen from Li City. Young Master Wen is cruel and eats people. These four kidnapped and trafficked a total of thirty-two boys and girls, all of whom were sent to Young Master Wen in exchange for silver. It is said that Young Master Wen only eats the hearts and livers of young boys and girls. By now, the number he has consumed is countless.”

“My lord, this matter is horrifying. These few people aided evil and truly cannot be tolerated by heaven’s law. Tomorrow is Reunion Festival, yet dozens of families have been separated from their own flesh and blood because of what these people did, unable to be reunited. These four are a scourge and should be removed as soon as possible.”

The county magistrate’s face turned stern. He slammed the desk hard and said in a deep voice, “These four are unworthy of being human.”

“Do not let anyone else learn of such a matter, lest the people panic. Quickly have men cut out the tongues of those four. Three days from now, parade them through the streets and behead them. Hang the bodies on the city wall and expose them to the sun for three months, to console the souls of the departed children.”

“Immediately send a letter informing the prefect of Li City of this matter. In addition, write an official report upward.”

Thinking of children only a few years old being harmed by evil people, the county magistrate felt his whole body go cold. He sat alone in the room in a daze for half an hour, then hurriedly got up and went to his elder brother’s house.

After Zhang Mancang bathed, changed into clean clothes, and ate his fill, he grew sleepy. Three days of terror had finally passed, and deep dark circles had already formed under his eyes.

Landlord Zhang tenderly patted his son’s back and coaxed him in a low voice, “Mancang, sleep now. Father will stay with Mancang.”

Only after hearing that familiar voice did Zhang Mancang finally settle down and fall asleep.

Before long, the county magistrate walked in. As soon as he saw his nephew, he thought of the confessions he had just read. In his heart, he felt only fortunate.

The county magistrate told Landlord Zhang about the confessions. At the end, he sighed with feeling. “Luckily, Mancang is blessed and was rescued by benefactors. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable.”

“What you say is right, younger brother.” Landlord Zhang felt incomparably lucky. “Huaniang is not only beautiful, but also heroic. She allowed fifteen families to reunite during Reunion Festival, and she is also our Mancang’s benefactor, having saved Mancang twice. I must properly thank her. I wonder whether she is married. If she is not married, why not…”

“Brother!” The county magistrate hurriedly stopped him. “This woman has long since married. She was originally from Li City and fled disaster to Dongwang Village. She has four sons at home. I’ve heard her husband and eldest son are strong and powerful, and going up the mountain to hunt wolves and boars is no trouble for them. Such people—Brother, do not provoke them.”

Landlord Zhang said regretfully, “What a pity.”

The county magistrate advised him, “Sister-in-law has been gone for two years. Brother, you should consider Mancang and find him a mother to care for him. If someone had been watching him properly two days ago, it would not have taken a whole day after Mancang disappeared before anyone found out.”

Landlord Zhang agreed with his mouth, but in his heart, he had secretly given himself to that aloof and proud woman. Since she already had a family, he would simply watch over her in silence.

Hua Qi had no idea that someone was thinking about him. When he opened his eyes, the sky had only just begun to lighten, and Yun Shan was grabbing his tail and trying to stuff it into his mouth.

Hua Qi moved his tail, changed into human form, and said softly, “You can’t eat my tail.”

He took the bottle, collected half a bottle of milk, and gently, deftly carried Yun Shan to the courtyard to feed him.

Yun Shan took a sip of milk, then smiled at Hua Qi, as if he had encountered something delightful.

The corners of Hua Qi’s mouth rose of their own accord. He asked softly, “What are you smiling at? Are you that happy to see me?”

The answer he received was still the smile rising on Yun Shan’s little chubby face.

“So you really are this happy to see me.” Hua Qi touched his little chubby face and said happily, “You really are getting fatter and fatter. This face is almost catching up to Tuo Tuo’s. Xiu Niang says plump children are good-looking. Our Yun Shan really is getting better and better-looking.”

The water buffalo stood beside the cowshed and mooed twice, as if echoing him, yet also as if urging him on.

Hua Qi used his sleeve to wipe away the milk that had dribbled from the corner of Yun Shan’s mouth. Rarely, his tone toward the water buffalo was gentle. “Can’t you see I’m busy? Once I’m done with Yun Shan, I’ll let you out.”

“Moo—moo—” How could the water buffalo understand so much? It kept calling to hurry him.

Hua Qi glared impatiently and rudely scolded the water buffalo. “I said wait, wait. What are you shouting for? Shout again and I’ll skin you and stew you into soup.”

“Moo!” The water buffalo unhappily flicked its tail in the cowshed.

Holding Yun Shan, Hua Qi opened the courtyard gate. Chuyi led the little goat out the door, and the water buffalo became even more anxious. Its cry grew more urgent. “Moo—”

Hua Qi walked up to the cowshed. First, he slapped the water buffalo hard on the head. Only then did he open the cowshed and let the water buffalo out.

The water buffalo shook its head, blew a stream of air from its nose, and walked heavily out of the cowshed, aiming its horns at Hua Qi.

Hua Qi sneered. “What? You’re not convinced after getting hit?”

He slapped the buffalo’s head again with a smack. This time, he used force, hitting the water buffalo so hard stars flashed before its eyes, and it cried out in pain, “Moo!”

After being hit, the water buffalo became obedient. It lowered its head, drooped its eyes, and dodged Hua Qi, quickly leaving the courtyard.

Xi Jue followed closely behind and quickly left the courtyard, heading up the mountain.

Holding Yun Shan in one hand, Hua Qi easily lifted the lid of the rice vat with the other, scooped out a spoonful of rice, poured it into a basin, and began washing the rice.

After putting the rice soup on to boil, he took out the key placed above the door of the storage room and opened the door, scooping out chicken feed. He let all the chickens and ducks out of their cages.

After scattering the chicken feed on the ground, Hua Qi stood to the side holding Yun Shan and watched the chickens and ducks eat.

Seeing one chicken eat while leaving droppings at the same time, he was so angry that he picked up a stick nearby and drove it away. “Go away. Food goes in the front and comes out the back. Stop eating. Don’t waste grain. Leave it for the other chickens.”

“Ya, ya.” Yun Shan echoed along with him.

Xiu Niang opened the room door and laughed. “Why are you up so early today? You’ve even fed the chickens.”

Hua Qi replied, “I couldn’t sleep. I woke up just as the sky started getting light. Weren’t you talking yesterday about making something tasty? What are you planning to make today?”

“Fried meatballs and vegetable balls. Once Qiu Sheng wakes up, I’ll have him go to the village to buy some tofu, and also get half a jin of yellow wine,” Xiu Niang said. “At noon, we’ll take out the mooncakes too. We definitely have to eat mooncakes today.”

“Eh?” Xiu Niang walked quickly under the tree and said strangely, “I remember we brought back two sacks of peanuts yesterday. Why is there only one left now?”

Hua Qi remembered last night’s cracking sounds. Needless to say, the missing sack had definitely been eaten by Dou Ming.

At this moment, Dou Ming was carrying a sack out of the room. Xiao Cong followed behind him.

Xiu Niang asked, “Dou Ming, why did you carry an entire sack of peanuts into the room?”

Dou Ming scratched his head. “I finished eating them. Where should I dump the shells?”

Xiu Niang’s eyes widened in shock. Finished eating them? He ate an entire sack of peanuts? Had he been eating peanuts all night?

Hua Qi rolled his eyes and said fiercely, “Don’t eat anymore. The peanuts are being kept for tomorrow. If you dare sneak any…”

He narrowed his eyes and looked toward Dou Ming, his gaze full of blatant threat.

Dou Ming immediately nodded and promised, “I won’t eat anymore. I won’t.”

Xiao Cong hid completely behind Dou Ming in fear.

“All right, don’t blame Dou Ming. Yesterday was his first time eating peanuts. Let him enjoy himself a little. One sack of peanuts is enough. Look how badly you scared Xiao Cong.” Xiu Niang smiled and lightly patted Hua Qi, then said to Dou Ming, “Just dump the peanut shells in the cowshed.”

After Dou Ming dumped the peanut shells, he threw down the sack, picked up the back basket, and, together with Xiao Cong, fled out the door as if escaping, hurrying up the mountain.

After the chickens finished eating, they paced around the courtyard.

Hua Qi placed Yun Shan into the cradle, picked up the large broom from the corner by the wall, and carefully began sweeping the courtyard.

Qiu Sheng greeted them, took a hoe, and went down to the fields. The rice would be harvested soon, so he was going to walk around the fields and see if anything was wrong.

Only then did Tuo Tuo come out of the room. Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he stood under the corridor and waited until Hua Qi finished sweeping the ground before running over to the cradle to look at Yun Shan.

Hua Qi put down the broom and said in a strange, sarcastic little voice, “The ginseng pig is awake.”

Tuo Tuo turned his head and looked at Hua Qi angrily. “Don’t randomly give me names.”

The corners of Hua Qi’s mouth turned down, his face full of disdain. “Doesn’t it fit?”

“You…” Tuo Tuo angrily turned his face away and ignored Hua Qi. Touching Yun Shan’s little hand, he muttered to himself, “Stinky black snake, bullying demons.”

“Tuo Tuo’s face is much better than yesterday.” Xiu Niang scooped two small plates of pickled vegetables from the sauce jar and carried them out of the kitchen. She pulled Tuo Tuo’s face over and looked at it carefully, then said, “It’ll probably be better tomorrow. The marks on your body will take a few more days to fade.”

Tuo Tuo touched his face, then ran to the wooden basin and examined himself for a while. It had indeed gone down a lot compared with yesterday.

Taking advantage of Xiu Niang returning to the kitchen, Tuo Tuo ran out of the courtyard and headed up the mountain. If he burrowed through the soil, his face would get better faster.

When he burrowed through the earth and reached the mountain peak, he heard the little sparrow discussing the human traffickers with Xiao Cong.

The little sparrow had specially flown to town yesterday to watch the excitement and had personally seen the human traffickers locked in prison.

“Chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp.” Lord Tuo Tuo really worked so hard. Yesterday I saw three bad people all hitting Lord Tuo Tuo. They even made Lord Tuo Tuo cry.

What do you mean, made him cry? He would never cry from being hit by humans. He was angry. Angry, okay?

So embarrassing. All the demons on the mountain knew he had cried. He was a ginseng spirit over a hundred years old!

“Chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp.” The bad people didn’t hit the other children, only Lord Tuo Tuo.

“Chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp.” They stuffed a dirty cloth into Lord Tuo Tuo’s mouth.

“Chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp.” Lord Tuo Tuo was so miserable.

“Squeak squeak squeak squeak.” The little squirrel, hearing it for the second time, immediately expressed that Lord Tuo Tuo was so pitiful. In order to complete the mission, he had been hit over and over by three humans.

“Bad humans really are bad,” the little rabbit said. “I hate bad humans.”

“Why did they steal human cubs?” the monkey spirit asked in confusion. “We never steal cubs.”

The little sparrow said, “Human traffickers are very, very bad humans. I heard other humans curse them and say they aren’t human.”

Xiao Cong had only just learned these details. After Tuo Tuo came back yesterday, he had not said anything at all. Xiao Cong was listening with keen interest when the soil beside him suddenly loosened, and Tuo Tuo burrowed out of the earth.

The little animals who had no time to run all saw his slightly swollen chubby face.

Tuo Tuo shook the dirt off his body and said with a red face, “It wasn’t like that. The humans didn’t make me cry. I was pretending to cry. I-I had to act like a human cub. Human cubs cry often. I’m a demon. How could humans possibly hurt me?”

Looking at Tuo Tuo’s swollen face, and the dark marks showing on his arms and legs, this was not the same as what Lord Tuo Tuo said. Humans really had hurt Lord Tuo Tuo.

But how could they expose Lord Tuo Tuo, who had worked so hard and achieved so much?

The little deer gathered its courage and asked, “Lord Tuo Tuo, why did the humans only hit you?”

Tuo Tuo knew the reason. The mad woman and Ma Daming had both said it was because he had sold them rabbits for one tael of silver each, so they hit him.

Thinking of this, Tuo Tuo was still angry. “It was obviously because they were stupid and didn’t bargain. They actually blamed me instead. They’re so unreasonable.”

“Chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp.” Bad humans really are stupid. Lord Tuo Tuo is so amazing. He saved fifteen human children.

“Ah, Lord Tuo Tuo really is amazing.” The little squirrel clasped both hands into fists, its face full of worship.

“That’s right. He really is an amazing Lord Tuo Tuo,” the little deer agreed.

The monkey spirit moved swiftly, picked flowers, and wove them into a wreath, then obsequiously presented it to Tuo Tuo. “Lord Tuo Tuo, you are a hero.”

Xiao Cong said enviously, “Tuo Tuo, you really are brave. If I were the only demon, I definitely wouldn’t dare go. I only dared because Dou Ming was with me.”

Tuo Tuo’s vanity received enormous satisfaction. The spotlight that had been stolen by Hua Qi suddenly returned to his head. At this moment, the grievance hidden in his heart vanished completely.

He tried hard to restrain himself, but the curve of his mouth kept growing wider and wider, betraying him the whole time.

He put on the flower wreath offered by the little demons and happily ran wildly around the mountaintop amid their cheers. He, Tuo Tuo, was a hero! Humans were always blinded by appearances. Demons were the truly clever ones!

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