Without quite noticing, Xiao Mo had already been in Quicksand City for nearly half a month.
During this time, in addition to sitting quietly in the courtyard each day to cultivate, Xiao Mo also spent time going around and learning about the situation in and around Quicksand City.
When he learned that the previous commander at the front had been the ruler of the Heavenly Demons Kingdom, he had already had a quiet sense that his days in Quicksand City were not likely to be easy but he did not let it trouble him too much.
And Xiangniang in the courtyard continued as she always had, swaying her waist in front of him every day and finding moments here and there to tease him but Xiao Mo also continued as he always had, maintaining exactly the right distance from her.
The woman named Xin Xiao'er was by contrast cold and distant. She came and went on her own each day, never greeting anyone, never initiating a single word of conversation.
Xiao Mo felt that everyone had their own nature, and he made no effort to disturb her.
Xiangniang, however, would catch sight of this and mutter under her breath, "Who does she think she is?" with an expression full of disdain.
Fifteen days later, Xiao Mo received his first assignment since arriving in Quicksand City. The Heavenly Demons Alliance ordered him to go and serve as a scout, gathering intelligence on the Heavenly Demons Alliance's military dispositions.
When the administrator handed Xiao Mo the assignment, Xiangniang's brow immediately drew tight. One hand on her hip and the other pointing straight at the administrator, she unleashed a stream of criticism. "Are you people not going too far? My man only arrived in Quicksand City half a month ago and does not even know his way around the place yet, and you are sending him out as a scout? Are you not just sending him to his death?"
"Hey! Stay where you are! Are your ears stuffed? Hey!" Xiangniang went after them with fierce determination, insisting they give an explanation but her arm was caught by Xiao Mo.
"Xiangniang, let it go." Xiao Mo shook his head.
"How can you just let it go?"
Xiangniang was shaking with fury, her voice pitched noticeably higher.
"Of every ten cultivators who go out on scouting missions, not even one survives. When has anyone ever sent cultivators who have only just arrived in Quicksand City on something like this? Are they not obviously picking on someone? The kind of people who would do this must have been born of some dog demon their mother was up to no good with!"
"But Xiangniang, what would it change if you go after them? It would be wasted effort."
Xiao Mo gave a quiet smile, turned and walked back into the courtyard, without looking the slightest bit worried about his own safety.
"Come on, it is already noon. Let us go inside and eat first."
"Sir, Xiao Mo, you are going to die!" Xiangniang stamped her foot in agitation, grabbed her skirt, and ran furiously into the courtyard.
Inside the courtyard, Xiangniang continued reasoning earnestly with Xiao Mo.
Xiao Mo listened to all of it with genuine attention, but Xiangniang always had the feeling it was going in one ear and out the other, as though he held not the slightest concern for his own safety.
After finishing lunch, Xiangniang told Xiao Mo she had something to take care of and went out.
When she came back that afternoon, a jade tablet carved with the character for "scout" was hanging at her waist.
"Xiangniang, this was not necessary." Xiao Mo's tone carried a note of resignation.
He understood that Xiangniang had voluntarily joined the scouting party for the following day, and that it was very likely because of him.
"That is my business, not yours." Xiangniang gave a huff and went back into her room.
Xiao Mo looked at her closed door, gave a quiet sigh, and shook his head.
The following day, before dawn had broken and the night was not yet fully past, Xiao Mo and Xiangniang made their way to the base of Quicksand City's walls.
By that point, eight other cultivators were already waiting there.
Among the eight, six were human and two were demon and today's scouting mission did not consist only of this group of ten. They were just one team among several.
Some of the teams had nine humans to every one demon.
This alone made clear that in the eyes of the Ten Thousand Demons Alliance, human cultivators were little more than a step above cannon fodder.
It was only because the chaos of this age had gradually made even the demon alliances aware that human cultivators had a certain value worth cultivating, that the treatment of human cultivators had been raised at all but in the hearts of those demons, they still looked down on human cultivators.
"I will be leading this team."
The demon cultivator named Zhou Huayu said to the group, his manner steady and cold.
"The task today is primarily to map out the Heavenly Demons Alliance's defensive formations. This mission carries extreme danger. Everyone must prioritize keeping yourself alive."
Xiao Mo and the others gave a nod, and they set out together.
The morning wind carried a slight chill. At the horizon the first pale line of dawn had just begun to show, and ten figures slipped silently away into the dim world outside Quicksand City.
During the journey, the other members of the team turned their gaze toward Xiangniang from time to time, many of them visibly eager for an excuse to speak with her.
With a few words here and there, Xiangniang lightly and deftly drew out the general character and background of each of them.
Most had participated in several scouting missions before. Only Xiao Mo and Xiangniang were new.
About one hour later, Xiao Mo's group slipped quietly into position at the target location.
Everyone concealed their presence, and from a distance they kept careful watch on the Heavenly Demons Alliance's military encampment, recording and sketching the layout of the camp continuously, estimating the number of cultivators, and mapping out the terrain and roads surrounding the camp.
Just as Xiao Mo was beginning to feel that things were going relatively smoothly, one member of the team was careless and exposed their presence and from past experience, the moment one person was spotted, it would not be long before the others were drawn out as well.
"Move!" Zhou Huayu called urgently through the communication talisman.
Without the slightest hesitation, Zhou Huayu immediately flew off by himself in one direction.
Almost simultaneously, the other cultivators scattered and fled in different directions.
"Damn it, they just ran?" Xiangniang cursed under her breath. She had not even fully processed what was happening.
"We go too!" Xiao Mo said sharply to Xiangniang beside him, immediately activating his technique and flying away into the distance but even though Xiao Mo had already moved with considerable speed, the Heavenly Demons Alliance's cultivators had quickly closed in to surround them.
"Well now, did not expect to run into such a pretty little fox today." The lead cultivator of the Heavenly Demons Alliance licked his lips, his eyes full of greed. "Kill the male, and we can all enjoy some fun with this female fox."
"Big brother, the man looks rather pretty too, if you ask me. Why not let me have a taste of him first?" A snake demon twisted forward, flicking out a crimson forked tongue.
"Bah!"
Xiangniang spat with full force and unleashed a barrage of curses.
"You should take a good look at your own sorry faces before thinking about touching this one! You are worthy of that? Ugly as you are, I bet what you have under your belt is just as disgusting as an earthworm!"
"Whether it is an earthworm or not, you will get to find out soon enough!" The lead cultivator gave a cold laugh, swept a hand through the air, and called out, "Take them!"
"Sir, I will hold them off. You run!" Xiangniang lowered her voice and spoke urgently to Xiao Mo beside her.
"I do not think you need to protect me yet." Xiao Mo raised his hand, and a breath of clear wind swept through.
In the next instant, Xiangniang watched with astonishment as every one of the cultivators closing in on them came to a sudden halt.
It was as though they had seen something unspeakably terrifying. Their eyes were filled with boundless terror, every face drained of color.
"No! Do not kill me! Please, no!"
Without any clear reason, the Heavenly Demons Alliance cultivators began to scatter and flee in all directions but before any of them had fled half a li, they all perished utterly, soul and spirit alike, leaving behind nothing but empty shells that made no further sound.
Xiangniang turned to look, and saw Xiao Mo still standing where he had been, yet from around him strange ripples of spiritual energy were spreading outward in rings, one after another.
Xiangniang could not help thinking back to that day she had given Xiao Mo the drug, believing she had finally gotten what she wanted, only to find herself lost in an illusory technique.
Now she had seen firsthand just how terrifying Xiao Mo's illusory arts truly were.
"Let us get away while we can." Xiao Mo said to Xiangniang calmly.
"Right, yes, right away." Xiangniang snapped back quickly, hurriedly collected the demon cores from the Heavenly Demons Alliance cultivators one by one, then flew out of the danger zone alongside Xiao Mo.
Back in Quicksand City, Xiao Mo and Xiangniang waited for two full hours, but their fellow team members never returned.
In their hearts they understood, that those people had most likely met with a grim fate.
By the rules, after two hours beyond the deadline without return, Xiao Mo and Xiangniang could consider them dead and go to the administrative hall of the city lord's manor to report.
The Ten Thousand Demons Alliance's administrative halls numbered nine in total.
The one Xiao Mo went to was presided over by a Nascent Soul cultivator from the Shanhe Sect.
"Xiao Mo, it has been a long time." In the administrative hall, Chen Jue, who was seated beside the elder, looked up at Xiao Mo with a faint curve at the corner of his lips, a certain unreadable quality in his smile.
Chen Jue seemed to have been waiting here for Xiao Mo long before he arrived.
Of course, what he had been waiting for was more the news of Xiao Mo's death than the appearance of the living man.
"It has indeed been a while."
Xiao Mo looked at Chen Jue without surprise.
"Who would have thought that even a book attendant of the august Tushan Holy Woman would come to the front lines to throw his life away?" The open mockery in Chen Jue's tone was unmistakable.
"In a time of chaos like this, who can truly keep themselves apart from it?"
Xiao Mo had no desire to waste words with him, and simply brought out the map of the encampment's defensive formations he had drawn, along with the topographical charts of the surrounding area, and presented them along with the ten demon cores, giving a respectful bow toward the elder in the main seat.
"The reconnaissance assignment has been recorded in full in these charts, and ten demon cultivators of the Heavenly Demons Alliance have been killed. I ask the senior to review them."
"Mm." The Elder Jin in charge of the administrative hall gave a small nod, curled a finger, and the topographical charts and ten demon cores settled steadily into his palm.
"Two demon cores from Golden Core realm cultivators, three from Dragon Gate realm, five from Cave Mansion realm. And these charts are drawn quite well." Elder Jin gave an approving nod, then swept a hand through the air, and the jade tablets at Xiao Mo's and Xiangniang's waists each gained two hundred merit points.
"You have completed this mission well. You may go." Elder Jin waved a hand, his tone flat, asking nothing about why only the two of them had come back alive.
It seemed that in the eyes of the Ten Thousand Demons Alliance, as long as the mission was completed, it hardly mattered if only one person returned.
"Yes, Elder." After Xiao Mo and Xiangniang gave a bow, they withdrew.
Chen Jue watched Xiao Mo's retreating figure, his expression gradually darkening, a resentful killing intent flashing through his eyes.
"All right, put that look away." Elder Jin spoke without urgency. "This Xiao Mo is no simple matter. Not only was he spotted, but he killed ten demon cultivators and broke out of the encirclement. Clearly he is no ordinary person."
"Hmph! He was probably just lucky!" Chen Jue gave a cold laugh, his eyes full of contempt. "I want to see whether he will be so lucky next time!"
"Ha ha ha, lucky or not, since that person wants him dead, uncle will naturally help you see it through." Elder Jin lifted his teacup and took an unhurried sip, his manner perfectly composed.
"Your father has told me everything. That person holds you in high regard. If you can kill Xiao Mo, she will arrange a marriage between you and Tushan Jingci."
"This is not only a rare opportunity for you personally, but for the Heavenly Demons Kingdom as well."
"But before that, you must be patient. Do you understand?"
Chen Jue descended from his seat and gave Elder Jin a deep and formal bow, his tone grave and resolute. "Yes! Uncle Jin, I understand!"
…
"Sir, that First Prince of the Heavenly Demons Kingdom, Chen Jue, does sir perhaps have some history with him?"
After leaving the administrative hall, Xiangniang turned her head and asked Xiao Mo with curiosity.
"It goes back to things that happened at the Hanshan Academy in those years."
Xiao Mo said it briefly.
"At that time I gave his book attendant a beating, and Chen Jue, in order to make a good impression on Jingci, went on his own initiative to offer Jingci an apology. Jingci instead had him come and apologize to me."
Thinking back on those things from their younger years, a faint smile rose at the corner of Xiao Mo's mouth.
Xiangniang paused slightly at that, her eyes blinking with some surprise as she pressed further. "And did Chen Jue actually apologize to you, sir?"
"He did." Xiao Mo gave a nod, his tone flat.
"..."
Xiangniang could not help lowering her head, her brow furrowing slightly, as though turning something over in her mind.
In her view, if Chen Jue had refused to apologize back then, she might have felt a little more at ease right now but the man was the prince of the Heavenly Demons Kingdom, and at that age he would have been at the height of his pride and unwillingness to yield. And yet he had genuinely lowered his head and apologized to a human.
Even if it was because of the Young Miss Jingci.
The capacity for patient endurance that suggested was enough to give anyone reason for wariness.
"No need to think too much about it. We need only do what we came here to do." Xiao Mo knew what she was thinking and spoke with a composed ease.
As he spoke, he transferred all the merit points accumulated on his jade pendant to Xiangniang.
"On a battlefield like this, the bare minimum for keeping yourself alive is having reached the Golden Core realm. Take these merit points for now, save them up, and exchange them for rare natural treasures. Try for your breakthrough. Otherwise, next time around you might not even know how you died."
Xiangniang stared at Xiao Mo in a daze, nearly certain she had misheard, and it took her a moment to come back to herself. "Xiao Mo... you... you have not fallen for me, have you?"
Xiao Mo gave a calm shake of his head, his tone candid. "These merit points are not without a condition."
"A condition?" Xiangniang immediately became interested and leaned a little closer, her gaze shifting with a playful quality. "What kind of condition? Do not tell me sir wants this one to offer herself. That is not entirely out of the question."
"Offering yourself is not necessary." Xiao Mo looked directly at Xiangniang. "I may simply need you to help me with one thing."
"What thing?" Xiangniang asked with puzzlement.
"It is not something I can say right now. But when the time comes, you will know naturally." Xiao Mo said nothing more and stepped forward to walk on.
Xiangniang watched his retreating back, her expression carrying a vague unease.
For reasons she could not name, Xiangniang had a feeling that would not leave her.
It seemed as though this time, coming to the front lines... he had never planned on coming back alive.