Chapter 25 The Lost Black Earth City

Leaf Feng was just about to pursue the Fierce Claw Beast when he suddenly heard three gusts of wind behind him—someone was launching a sneak attack. He quickly dodged aside, then turned to see it was the two young men, one tall and one short, from before.

He was about to rebuke them when Xu Yaozu shouted from afar, “Qing’er, Bao’er, you’ve got the wrong person! This is Leaf Feng, the young master of the Leaf family whom you wanted to meet!”

The two immediately dropped to their knees and apologized. Before Leaf Feng could raise them, Xu Yaozu hurriedly asked, “Feng’er, have you seen my son, Leaf Zhihui, or my disciple, Yan’er?”

Leaf Feng replied, “No, I haven’t. I left the camp a bit late!” Turning back, he looked for the Fierce Claw Beast, but its figure had vanished.

He quickly helped the two young men to their feet and urged Xu Yaozu, “Now isn’t the time for talk—let’s chase them! Don’t let the demon soldiers escape!”

He recalled his original spirit, shot into the air, twin hammers in hand and whips at his feet, and sped after the fleeing demon soldiers.

In this pursuit, the demon soldiers wailed like ghosts and howled like wolves, leaving countless dead and wounded.

Leaf Feng and his companions chased the enemy for over a hundred miles, driving them to the banks of a river and trapping the demon soldiers and the Fierce Claw Beast in a tight encirclement.

Leaf Feng shouted, “Demon Marshal Fierce Claw Beast, you have nowhere left to run. You might as well surrender! Look at your soldiers—if you continue this pointless struggle, many will die in vain. Wouldn’t that be a pity?”

Seeing no way forward or back, the Fierce Claw Beast grew desperate and cursed loudly, “Leaf Feng, you scoundrel! Now that I’ve fallen into your hands, there’s nothing more to say. If you have the guts, come and take my life!”

He brandished over a dozen weapons, preparing for a final, desperate fight.

Leaf Feng glanced at the two young men and instructed, “Heroes, I leave the Fierce Claw Beast to you. Be careful—he’s fierce and formidable. If you can’t handle him, Xu the Elder and I will step in.”

The two young men replied nonchalantly, “Leaf... Leaf... Young Master Leaf, you... you can rest assured! We... we just fought him a moment ago—he’s nothing special!”

Little did they know, the Fierce Claw Beast had already been worn down fighting Leaf Feng and was near exhaustion, which is how they gained the upper hand. In a normal fight, the two would not be his match.

The pair raised their weapons and advanced on the Fierce Claw Beast. Though his heart was wavering, the beast gritted his teeth and barked, “You two brats, if you’re real heroes, face me one-on-one!”

“Oh ho! You... You’re still not convinced, are you? I, Wang Erbao, will test your strength myself!” the tall, chubby youth stammered, swinging his wooden staff and rushing forward.

The shorter one, more cunning, scoffed, “Old... old demon, I, Li Yiqing, won’t fall for your tricks. If it’s a duel you want, you shouldn’t be resorting to so many underhanded moves. Let’s use both hands and feet to see who wins!”

Despite their stammering words, their feet moved swiftly, and in a few bounds, they closed in.

The Fierce Claw Beast, seeing the two young men upon him, had no choice but to brace himself for combat. In his panic, a sudden shout rang out: “Marshal Fierce, fear not—Xiao Ling is here!”

Looking toward the voice, they saw a man clad in white armor and helmet, wielding a silver spear, riding a white-winged silver fox, flying from the far bank. Behind him trailed a thousand lesser demons—green-winged sky dogs, purple-winged lightning cats, yellow-winged spotted wolves—all with full plumage, snarling fiercely.

Xiao Ling crossed the river, and before he’d even landed, leveled his spear and shouted, “If any of you dare approach, you’ll face my silver spear!”

The demon soldiers followed across, instantly forming a protective wall around the Fierce Claw Beast and his troops.

These demons bared their fangs, emitting piercing screeches that grated on the nerves of Leaf Feng, his soldiers, and the common folk, making their hair stand on end.

“Retreat!” Leaf Feng, seeing no further advantage, quickly ordered the withdrawal of troops and civilians. Under the cover of the army, the retreat was orderly.

On the way back, Leaf Feng was troubled—how did Xiao Ling arrive so timely? The Fierce Claw Beast truly was hard to kill; if left alive, he might become a future threat.

But where had Xiao Ling come from? As it turns out, after being struck by Leaf Feng’s whip, Xiao Ling had fled back to the capital of the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom to heal and atone for his failure.

After recovering, the demon king, the Golden Ape Sage, aware of Leaf Feng and Murong Yan’s prowess in Black Earth City, ordered Xiao Ling to redeem himself by leading ten thousand Eagle Army troops to attack from the air. But Xiao Ling arrived too late, only in time to rescue the Fierce Claw Beast.

This victory filled Leaf Feng and his men with excitement as they collected spoils along their march—but after ten miles, they found nothing but demon corpses, with all valuables gone. Clearly, someone had already stripped the battlefield. But who?

While Leaf Feng pondered, Xu Yaozu suddenly exclaimed, “This is bad!” Abandoning his horse, he summoned his weapon, soared into the air, and called back, “Feng’er, I’ll return to the city ahead!” He rushed off as if possessed.

Seeing Xu Yaozu’s haste, Leaf Feng sensed trouble. He instructed the two youths, “Wang Erbao, Li Yiqing—follow him quickly and see what’s happened. I’ll come soon!”

The two agreed and bolted off—despite running on foot, they vanished in a flash, leaving only a cloud of dust.

Leaf Feng ordered the troops to discard heavy equipment and march at double speed toward Black Earth City.

When they arrived, they found Xu Yaozu cursing furiously at the city gates. Atop the walls stood a tall, thin general, seven feet in height, with a pale face and a long three-part beard. Spotting Leaf Feng, he laughed with a hoarse, duck-like voice, “Is this General Leaf? You’ve worked hard! Better set up camp outside the city. Look at Old General Xu—though aged, his temper is fierce! Rest here for two days, then we’ll discuss your surrender.”

These words baffled Leaf Feng, so he asked Xu Yaozu, “Who is this?”

Xu Yaozu, fuming, replied, “Shameless wretch! He’s Zhang Jixian, the infantry commander brought by Meng Lianshan as reinforcements. People say my face is thick, but I never thought anyone could be thicker! He claims all credit for defeating the demon army belongs to them, and that without their help, victory would have been impossible. He demands we surrender to Meng Lianshan, or else we’re traitors!”

Leaf Feng was even more perplexed. Black Earth City had never submitted to anyone—how could they be accused of treason? No one in the volunteer army had any grudge with Meng Lianshan, so how had Zhang Jixian taken over the city and cut off their retreat?

He pressed for details, and Xu Yaozu explained:

After escaping the enemy camp, Xu Yaozu had fled wildly in the direction of Meng Lianshan, but not knowing its precise location, he searched for hours, flying over mountains for more than four hours until he saw a vast, perilous mountain range ahead.

Landing, he asked the locals and learned it was indeed Meng Lianshan. Standing before the towering peaks, listening to the wind rustle through the pines, feeling the cool breeze, he was overcome with excitement. Inwardly, he prayed: “Meng Lianshan! I, Old Xu, have finally found you! May you help save the people of Black Earth City. Let me bow before you here.”

He knelt and kowtowed three times, not caring about the pain in his forehead. Then, rising, he looked for the volunteer army—but where to start? He had no choice but to ask everyone he met.

He searched the mountains for two days. One day, as he walked alone through the forest, the ground suddenly gave way beneath his feet.

With a crash, sand, branches, and grass tumbled down with him into a deep pit, leaving Xu Yaozu covered in dirt and unable to open his eyes.

He coughed and sputtered, then reached to wipe the grit from his eyes—only to feel something sharp hook into him. As the hook yanked, pain shot through his flesh, and before he knew it, he was hoisted into the air.

“Ow! Easy, easy, take it easy!” Xu Yaozu cried in pain, but before he could finish, he was dumped onto the ground with a thud.

Squinting through the dirt, he could just make out a dozen armed men surrounding him.

“Don’t move! Move and you’re dead!” Cold, sharp blades pressed against his throat.

Terrified, Xu Yaozu stammered, “I won’t move, I won’t! You say don’t move, I don’t move!” He lay still as a dead fish.

The men quickly bound him tightly, the ropes biting into his flesh, making him grimace and hiss in pain.

He pleaded, “Hey! Hey! Brothers, take it easy—I’ve got no quarrel with you! No need to be so rough!”

They ignored him, blindfolded him, and shoved him along a rocky path that climbed ever higher and rougher, until at last it leveled out. All was silent, and they arrived at what seemed to be a house.

There, they removed his blindfold, and Xu Yaozu was momentarily blinded by the bright light. After a while, he adjusted and saw a burly, broad man seated at the center, wearing iron helmet and armor, with a beef tendon belt at his waist. His face was sallow, his small eyes flashed like lightning, his nose was hooked, lips thick, and twin whiskers hung at his mouth—when he drew back his lips, he exuded an unspoken authority.

He slapped the table and barked, “Kneel!”

Men of all shapes and sizes—tall, short, fat, thin, ugly, handsome—some dressed as scholars, some as warriors, even a few as priests and monks, all roared, “Kneel!”

Their thunderous shouts echoed in the room, leaving Xu Yaozu feeling his luck had run out.

Would Xu Yaozu manage to bring back reinforcements? Find out in the next chapter.

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