Chapter 123
Chapter 123
“Awooo! Awooo!”
Agony jolted the Fiend Dragon awake. He thrashed wildly, but the pole pinning him in place made movement impossible.
He opened his eyes and saw a man holding a thick black pole, forcing his jaws apart and ramming it deeper. Whatever the pole was made from, it could grow longer and thicker without end. It had pierced him from mouth to tail.
“What are you doing?”
The man and woman on his head woke and roared at Liu Ye.
Liu Ye acted as though he heard nothing and continued shoving. The pain nearly drove the Fiend Dragon mad.
He tried to release poison gas, only to discover that the black pole in his mouth was voraciously devouring his yin energy. He could not gather any power. Gradually, he lost even the strength to struggle.
Eunuch Wu and the others hid nearby, trembling. They had believed the little Fiends were already terrifying. Only after encountering the Fiend Dragon did they understand what true terror meant.
Then Liu Ye stepped forward, and they realized how naive they had been when they thought the Fiend Dragon was frightening.
Liu Ye wanted to eat him.
The Fiend Dragon glared at the dazed little Fiends nearby, rage boiling inside him.
I ordered you to provide Protection. Is this your idea of protecting me?
I am your master, and your master is about to be roasted! Forget stopping him-couldn’t you at least shout a warning?
Instead, you’re handing him tools! Are you afraid I won’t die quickly enough?
“Stop him!” the Fiend Dragon shouted.
At his command, red light flashed through every little Fiend’s eyes. They roared and lunged toward Liu Ye.
Liu Ye flew into a rage.
“You’re cheating now?”
He reached into the bundle he always carried and pulled out an object.
The instant the little Fiends saw it, they stopped despite the control over them. Then they retreated in a frenzy and crushed together in a terrified mass.
Even Qiqi looked fearfully at the object in Liu Ye’s hand.
It was none other than the ultimate weapon against children: a feather duster!
The Fiend Dragon nearly exploded with rage. It was only a feather duster. What was there to fear?
“Attack! Kill him! Kill him!”
The man and woman’s overlapping voices made Eunuch Wu and the others dizzy.
Liu Ye finally seemed to notice the two of them.
Their bodies went rigid. For one instant, they felt as though a natural predator had fixed its gaze upon them.
“Wh-what are you going to do?” the woman screamed, shielding her face.
The man squeezed the pustules covering his body. Green pus sprayed toward Liu Ye.
White light flashed across Liu Ye, and the pus vanished without a trace.
The two stared in terror.
Then Liu Ye spoke.
“The big snake even grew horns. If I take them home and soak them in wine, they’ll make one powerful tonic.”
He drew a kitchen knife, jumped onto the dragon’s head, and walked toward them.
“Stay away!”
They struggled desperately to retreat, but both were rooted directly into the Fiend Dragon’s head and could not move.
They tried to channel the Fiend Dragon’s yin energy into Liu Ye and corrode him. The moment the energy touched him, however, he swallowed every trace of it.
Next, they activated the howling resentful souls embedded in the Fiend Dragon’s scales, hoping to launch a mental attack.
Unfortunately, the souls saw the feather duster tucked behind Liu Ye and pulled their heads back inside one after another. They left only their backsides exposed, trembling without pause.
Liu Ye’s shadow soon fell across the pair.
They clung to one another and gazed at him in despair.
After a series of bloodcurdling screams, Liu Ye climbed down carrying half of each corpse over his shoulders.
“Give me a hand! Do none of you know how to make yourselves useful? Are you just sitting around waiting to eat?”
We don’t want to eat that!
The little Fiends hurried over anyway and helped Liu Ye lower the two “dragon horns” to the ground.
“Look at them,” Liu Ye said admiringly.
Some people simply knew how to be useful.
Then he stared at the enormous snake and frowned.
“How should we eat it? I can’t make the Dragon-and-Tiger Feast without a tiger.”
The little Fiends raised a sign. It showed a long snake above an enormous cooking pot.
The Fiend Dragon stared at them.
“We ate hot pot yesterday.” Liu Ye shook his head. “Too much of that gives you internal heat.”
The little Fiends produced another board. This one showed a tiny figure slicing the Fiend Dragon’s flesh with a kitchen knife and dipping the pieces in sauce.
The Fiend Dragon stared at them again.
“Raw slices? You can’t eat this kind of snake raw. It’ll upset your stomach.”
The little Fiends huddled together for another discussion, then presented a third drawing. The Fiend Dragon had been skewered on an iron spit over a fire.
Liu Ye’s eyes lit up.
“Barbecue works! Let’s barbecue it.”
The Fiend Dragon had nothing to say.
Was I truly such a failure as a master? I created every one of you little Fiends. I always treated you well and let you eat the best food first. Even if you can’t save me or plead for mercy, you could at least run away!
Instead, you’re eagerly giving him cooking suggestions. Barbecue? Good heavens!
The Fiend Dragon writhed desperately. Eunuch Wu and the others could see pleading in his eyes.
They fell silent.
Don’t look at us. We can’t do anything either.
Then Liu Ye shouted, “Advisor Qi!”
Qiqi held her hat in place and hurried over.
“Boss!”
“Advisor Qi, you’re already seven. You’ve started school later than other children, but you still need an education. Today, I’ll use this opportunity to teach you how to prepare a snake.”
Eunuch Wu and the others stared at him.
No school teaches this to a seven-year-old!
“First, we remove the scales.”
The moment Liu Ye finished speaking, the infant heads formed from resentment across the Fiend Dragon’s body transformed into little Fiends and fled at top speed.
Liu Ye stood there with his kitchen knife raised.
“Ah. As you can see, we have to be selective when catching snakes. Try not to catch underdeveloped ones like this in the future.”
The Fiend Dragon stared at him.
This is cruelty even by Fiend standards! You’re already planning to eat me, and now you’re complaining that I’m underdeveloped?
Then he looked down and saw the little Fiends taking notes.
The Fiend Dragon fell silent once more.
Selling me out once wasn’t enough? Are you planning to turn this into an industry?
“Once the skin is removed, we come to the most important part. A snake’s body contains many parasites. If you eat it directly, you’ll get sick.”
At the mention of an upset stomach, Qiqi covered her little belly fearfully.
The Fiend Dragon felt a terrible premonition.
Liu Ye produced a flamethrower and inserted it into his mouth.
“That’s why you always roast it from the inside. We can use this tool to help.”
Qiqi and the surrounding little Fiends stared at the flamethrower with shining eyes.
“This one is mine. If you want one, buy your own when you get back,” Liu Ye said irritably.
The Fiend Dragon shook his head desperately, but it did no good. Liu Ye pressed the switch.
At first, the Fiend Dragon was afraid. Then he remembered he was a Fiend. Ordinary human flame could not harm him, and he immediately relaxed.
In the next instant, the flames in his mouth clung to the pole and flooded his entire body. They reacted violently with the yin energy inside him, then erupted all at once.
BOOM!
The Fiend Dragon exploded. The tremendous blast swept across the county, reducing every building to ruins in an instant.
Fifteen minutes later, Liu Ye stood in the center of the county and stared around him.
Nothing remained but rubble.
With the Fiend Dragon dead, the little Fiends transformed into white light. They thanked Liu Ye, then slowly dispersed between heaven and earth.
Liu Ye did not notice their gratitude. He was too busy staring blankly at the destruction.
Qiqi tugged on his trouser leg.
“Boss, is this part of the lesson too?”
“Mm. Exactly. See? The meat is cooked now. Try it-completely safe and parasite-free! Hahaha…”
Liu Ye laughed awkwardly.
Burnt meat was the least of his problems. He was the county magistrate, and now the county was gone.
What was he supposed to do?