As night gradually descended, the garden of the Lei residence grew livelier than ever, as though the sheer cacophony might scare the pig away.
In truth, since none among these eccentrics could deal with the beast alone, their initial standoff gave way to a strange sort of camaraderie.
No one quite knew where the beer had come from, but soon enough, a lively drinking session began. As the evening wore on and spirits ran high, it was only natural that tales of personal glory began to flow.
"Back in the day, I once passed through Mount Jingyang when I was ambushed by a ferocious tiger—uh, no, a grizzly bear!" exclaimed Li San, face flushed with drink, as he tore open his shirt in an attempt to make the scars on his chest appear even more dramatic.
"In that moment of peril, I popped one of my Mighty Power Pills, and guess what? Instantly, the pain in my back and legs vanished. I could've sprinted up five flights of stairs without breaking a sweat!"
"Wait, what?" Chen Mo stared in stunned silence. First came Wu Song weeping tears of blood, now it seemed the Harbin Pharmaceutical Factory was next.
Before he could say more, Lin De of the Xuandao Sect—unwilling to be outdone—suddenly cast his eyes skyward and struck a pose brimming with Daoist flair. "Ah, in my younger days, I roamed the martial world with sword in hand, slaying demons and rescuing the oppressed. Countless maidens fell hopelessly in love with me…"
"Pfft!" Before the words had fully landed, at least ten people simultaneously spat out their beer.
They exchanged glances, then looked at Lin De's squat, five-by-five frame. For such a man to win hearts, those women must've been blind indeed.
In fact, little Xun'er tilted her head and asked innocently, "Daddy, is it true that any girl could like Uncle Lin?"
"Er…" Had she not been a child, Lin De might have lunged forward in a fury.
But the cruelest blow was yet to come. Chen Mo took a leisurely sip of beer and chuckled, "Of course. At least one woman in this world loves him dearly—his mother."
The crowd erupted with laughter, while Lin De flushed scarlet and wished he could vanish into the earth.
Fortunately, the man was thick-skinned. After a few seconds of awkwardness, he changed the subject. "Xun'er, my dear, you're too young to understand the allure of a mature man… Ahem, but tell me, why do you like demon hunting?"
"I don't!" Xun'er bit her thumb thoughtfully, then gave an unexpected reply.
Lin De blinked in confusion. Hadn't she been the one crying to come demon hunting just moments ago?
"Well, it's because…" Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she explained, "Grandpa said that if I defeat a thousand demons, Mama will fly back to me!"
At that moment, the noisy garden fell abruptly silent, as though someone had cast a silencing spell. Even Lin De, who had been full of fire just moments ago, softened with a hint of sorrow.
Chen Mo sighed and shook his head. He'd caught the nuance of that word "fly." Adults often told children, "Mama has flown away." And when they said that… they usually meant she was never coming back.
"You can do it! You must!" Lin De forced a broad smile and gently patted her head. "Good girl. If you try hard enough, your mother will return… So, how many demons have you taken down?"
"Um… half of one." She raised a finger, then quickly bent it down again.
The group froze in place. Lin De rolled his eyes and swallowed whatever words of praise he'd prepared.
Chen Mo shook his head with a wry smile, recalling something from earlier. Half a demon? Could she mean the beef demon they'd all dined on together?
"But I'll work really hard!" Xun'er straightened up earnestly, her little face full of resolve. "Once I defeat the pig demon, I'll travel the world to find more demons!"
"No way!" the crowd cried in unison before she even finished. What a joke—an eight-year-old girl wandering the world to challenge monsters? The real danger wasn't demons. It was people.
"But I have to hunt demons," she protested, eyes blinking in confusion. "There aren't any left in the southern city!"
Chen Mo patted her head and smiled wickedly. "Who said that? I saw four of them just yesterday…"
Perfect timing. The four small electrical devices hiding in his pocket all shivered at once, then made a rude gesture—if they had fingers, that is.
Xun'er blinked in bewilderment, not quite understanding, but her lips tightened as if she'd made a decision.
Her determination aside, the touching tale seemed to dissolve the lingering tension, bringing the group into a rare state of harmony.
After much chatter and laughter, and with no sign of the so-called pig demon, everyone eventually lay down where they stood, drifting off into a tipsy slumber.
Chen Mo rolled his eyes at the starfish-sprawled Lin De, then carried the sleeping Xun'er to a quieter spot behind the residence.
Once shielded by the rockery, the four mechanical companions leapt out and began whispering plans to exterminate the demon.
"Darn it, is that pig scared or what?" muttered Guo Guo, peering into the still night sky. Ever since roasting that beef demon, he'd developed an interest in gourmet cooking—like, say, a braised pig's head…
"Be patient! Lei Zhen said the pig shows up like clockwork. More punctual than a government worker!" Chen Mo chuckled, fiddling with the fragment of jade in his hand.
Since obtaining the shard, he had finally had time to examine it—and it yielded great insights. Essentially, it worked like an energy socket, drawing power from the natural world within certain limits.
And Chen Mo was the cable. Using the jade, he could siphon energy and transmit it to his artificial demons, which explained the recent evolution of his mechanical creations.
Moreover, while powering them, he could also redirect a portion of the energy to enhance his own lightning abilities.
Now that he possessed two shards, his energy intake had increased, and his attacks had begun to resemble genuine thunderbolts.
"So, to boost my power, I'll need more shards." Watching the sparks dance on his fingertips, Chen Mo nodded thoughtfully. Then, as if sensing something, he instinctively looked to the sky.
Almost at once, a malevolent wind howled down. A dense black cloud rolled overhead and dropped into the garden like a heavy curtain.
An invisible wave of demonic pressure surged through the area, snuffing out every light. Amid the mist, guttural roars echoed, drawing steadily closer to the sleeping quarters.
"It's here!" someone shouted, and the dozens of demon hunters awoke at once, springing to their feet.
But when they saw the black mist surging forward, they froze like a flock of quail, none daring to charge.
After a stunned pause, Lin De finally gritted his teeth, drew a few talismans, and growled, "To hell with it! We're going in together! Spells, bricks, whatever you've got—there's enough of us to take down one pig!"
Whether from his words or the lure of the two-million-yuan bounty, the crowd finally found their courage.
With a sudden roar, Li San tilted his head back and downed ten more Mighty Power Pills. "To hell with fear! Cowards stay back!"
Before anyone could react, he seized a massive guandao and spun into the fray like a human top.
"Wait… is that pill even legal?" Chen Mo murmured, watching Li San charge like a rabid tiger. That stuff had to contain meth.
The crowd wisely stepped back. Lin De, being slower, nearly got cleaved in two.
"Target the damn demon, not us!" he shouted, as Li San stormed into the mist-shrouded flowerbed like an incarnate deity.
The group braced themselves for an epic showdown, but just as the drama peaked, Li San suddenly cried out—and then fell silent.
"Wait… could he be…" Someone gulped.
Then Lin De let out a shriek and dashed forward, brandishing his peachwood sword. "Rescue him! Call the cops!"
Chen Mo rolled his eyes. Really? Now they wanted to call the police?
Before the words had left his mouth, those who had just charged in all screamed and stumbled back out.
Though Li San and Lin De appeared unharmed, the looks on their faces defied description.
"T-that thing…" Lin De pointed a trembling finger into the darkness, unable to form words.
Chen Mo, startled, surged forward in a burst of electric energy.
And then he, too, froze solid at the sight of what emerged from the mist…