The Demon Lord Wants a Vacation - Chapter 12: Too Many Fish

As the flying boat distanced itself from Beichen Sect, both Luo Xianyun and Song Gui exhaled in relief.

Duanmu Wuqiu, however, remained grim-faced.

He cared little for Beichen Sect’s well-being. His sole concern was the safety of his secluded valley.

Should anything befall it, Song Gui and Beichen Sect would have to atone with their lives.

If someone dared destroy his home, he would destroy theirs in kind. A life for a life—a perfectly equitable exchange.

Yet, if Song Gui and Luo Xianyun succeeded in protecting his valley…

No, even if the valley was reduced to ash—so long as they could save his fish, his sparrows, his Wangcai, and perhaps even his wicker chair, which Wangcai had taken a particular liking to—then all would be forgiven.

He could always find another valley. If his hut burned down, he could rebuild. But his animals—those living companions—were irreplaceable.

If they were spared, then Beichen Sect would have earned his protection. From that moment forth, if anyone dared harm even a dog, a bird, a fish, or a disciple of Beichen Sect, he would raze their entire sect to the ground.

Even the Sect Master, for whom he felt no particular fondness, would be permitted to live.

After all, the Carefree Demon Lord was a man who abided by principle. He carried a tiny abacus in his heart, and weighed every debt accordingly.

As he slid the beads of that mental abacus back and forth, Duanmu Wuqiu’s face grew increasingly solemn.

Luo Xianyun, unaware of the calculations playing out in Duanmu Wuqiu’s mind, mistook his expression for concern about future danger.

“What worries you, Daoist Duanmu?” he asked. “If you share it with me, I will do all I can to assist.”

Duanmu Wuqiu would never admit to struggling with arithmetic. He couldn’t possibly confess that he was trying to tally the total number of living creatures in his valley, just to determine what he owed Beichen Sect should they succeed in saving it.

Even after considerable effort, he still couldn’t settle on a precise figure.

It wasn’t that his mathematical abilities were lacking—those blasted fish simply reproduced too quickly!

The thought made him scowl.

Seeing Duanmu Wuqiu’s face darken further, Luo Xianyun grew more alarmed. “Song Gui, pick up the pace,” he said. “Also, raise a soundproof barrier. Daoist Duanmu and I have something to discuss in private.”

Song Gui complied without hesitation, giving the two men privacy.

“Daoist Duanmu,” Luo Xianyun said, “you may now speak freely. I alone can hear your words. If there is any trouble weighing on your heart, please share it with me. Though my cultivation is limited and my intellect pales in comparison to yours, I may still be of use.”

Duanmu Wuqiu could discuss inner demons. But his struggles with numbers? Never.

“This Lord is merely concerned for his valley,” he said vaguely.

He was worried he wouldn’t finish counting everything before the danger struck.

“It’s a serious concern indeed,” Luo Xianyun replied. “But there is something I’ve long been curious about. Song Gui has never been to your valley, yet you knew he would one day set fire to it. This one has some knowledge of divination, but has never encountered a prophecy so precise. How did you come to this conclusion?”

Ah, finally, a question Duanmu Wuqiu could answer.

He sighed and recounted the series of events that had unfolded after the Destruction System had reconstructed itself.

As he spoke, the Destruction System issued more warnings, threatening him with further penalties.

This time, Duanmu Wuqiu took note, but rather than fear them, he welcomed them.

The previous punishment had revealed the impending destruction of his valley, allowing him to act in time. Perhaps the next would offer another crucial glimpse into the future.

Even if the Destruction System was a malicious entity, he had found a way to use it.

“This Lord knows well how to tame inner demons,” he thought with pride. “Even the vile ones fall into line. I am the master of the demonic path. Inner demons are demons all the same—sooner or later, they too shall become members of my Taoyuan Sect.”

Luo Xianyun listened in silence, his mind racing.

He was beginning to suspect the true nature of the Destruction System.

In his view, the Destruction System and the Savior System were two aspects of the same force.

Setting aside the Savior System’s eccentric speech patterns, its nature was strikingly similar to that of its counterpart.

Both could foresee the future with uncanny accuracy. Both had emerged in response to the looming great calamity.

Yet the Savior System was fueled by compassion. Naive as it might be, its intentions were pure.

It loved this world, and wished to spare it from suffering. That was why it urged Luo Xianyun to redeem Duanmu Wuqiu with love.

The Destruction System, in contrast, was a creature of hatred. Everything it did was meant to push Duanmu Wuqiu into loathing the world, so that he might one day shatter the Heavenly Pillar and hasten the apocalypse.

Duanmu Wuqiu had the potential to bring about the end, but he was merely a vessel. The true threat lay elsewhere.

Saving the world would require more than simply stopping him from destroying the Heavenly Pillar.

The path ahead remained obscured, but one thing was clear—if he could separate Duanmu Wuqiu from the Destruction System, he could buy the world time.

And time meant hope.

Therefore, Duanmu Wuqiu’s plight took precedence over the greater catastrophe.

He must preserve the valley, and safeguard the man’s heart.

Turning his thoughts back to the immediate threat, Luo Xianyun considered the timeline of the valley’s destruction.

Judging from what both Duanmu Wuqiu and Song Gui had said, the attack would come soon—likely within ten days.

After all, Song Gui already knew that conspirators were moving against the valley.

The situation was chaotic, but Luo Xianyun quickly identified the critical insight: the future shown by the Destruction System was one in which it had never intervened—one in which Duanmu Wuqiu had not gone to Beichen Sect for help.

In other words, it was the future that would have unfolded naturally, had the Destruction System not existed.

Only by eliminating its influence could they reclaim the world’s proper fate.

“What would you have been doing, had this inner demon not emerged?” Luo Xianyun asked.

Duanmu Wuqiu cast his thoughts backward, recalling the moment the Destruction System had first latched onto him.

“This Lord was in his valley,” he replied, “testing out a new fishing rod and chair, and pondering what improvements could be made.”

“What sort of improvements?” Luo Xianyun prompted, hoping to jog more specific memories. “What were you planning to do next?”

“As this Lord reclined beside the pond, he was reflecting on how rapidly the fish multiplied,” Duanmu Wuqiu said. “It had been only a few days since they were introduced, yet they had already spawned several times. The pond is too small, and with no natural flow of water, it would soon be overrun with corpses if things continued unchecked.

“This Lord can separate the larger fish from the smaller ones and feed them daily, but such maintenance is tedious. This Lord is not inclined to so much work.”

Duanmu Wuqiu had intended to sleep for several months. If he gave Wangcai an elixir beforehand, the creature could go a year without sustenance.

The birds in the forest had arrived with the valley itself and could forage for insects on their own.

But the fish had been introduced by Duanmu Wuqiu. Without his care, they would surely perish.

“Of course, this Lord can let them die—that would be their destiny. Yet when this Lord sits by the pond and throws pieces of steamed bun into the water, they gather around with their mouths wide open, begging for food.

“Even when this Lord closes his eyes, he can still see them swarming around, opening and closing their mouths. Their hungry expressions haunt this Lord, making rest impossible. It is vexing,” Duanmu Wuqiu confessed, his tone aggrieved.

Luo Xianyun’s expression softened as he looked at him.

“You are truly a man of virtue, Daoist Duanmu,” he said earnestly.

Eh? Praise again? Duanmu Wuqiu’s ears twitched.

He had only been lamenting his trouble with the fish. Why did that merit praise?

Was Luo Xianyun trying to flatter him?

He disliked flattery.

He had been flattered before—plenty of demonic cultivators had done so.

Those people would say anything, no matter how shameless, if it meant sparing their lives.

Whenever Duanmu Wuqiu took someone’s life, they would applaud him in secret, claiming his foes deserved it, lauding his peerless cultivation and formidable might.

At first, such words had made Duanmu Wuqiu uneasy, though admittedly pleased.

But later, when those same cultivators encountered someone more powerful than Duanmu Wuqiu, they would promptly defect and slander him with every insult imaginable. Hearing such things had left Duanmu Wuqiu deeply wounded.

Eventually, he ceased to trust the flowery words of his peers.

But Luo Xianyun wasn’t like them.

He did not speak idly. Every compliment he gave had clear reasoning behind it.

In the beginning, Duanmu Wuqiu had been suspicious of his honeyed speech, but when Luo Xianyun had stood before the Beichen Sect Master and still spoke up in his defense, he had come to believe him.

In Duanmu Wuqiu’s experience, once a demonic cultivator found a new ally and thought they could overthrow him, they would stop offering praise altogether.

Yet Luo Xianyun, even in the tense standoff with the Beichen Sect Master, who had a hidden trump card, had insisted on speaking well of him. That had made Duanmu Wuqiu trust him.

But why the praise now?

With a cold expression, Duanmu Wuqiu replied, “They’re only fish. What virtue is there in that?”

“As you yourself said,” Luo Xianyun answered sincerely, “they are merely fish. Yet you fret over their survival. That alone proves you are a person who treasures life.

“You caught them, yet you feel responsible not only for them but for their progeny. That reveals a profound sense of duty.

“There are no people in your valley—only fish, birds, a dog, and other unintelligent creatures—yet their potential deaths cause you grief. That speaks of your universal compassion, your belief in the equality of life. You do not exalt yourself merely for being human. You do not look down upon the weak. You accept your place in the world without arrogance or resentment. Is that not virtue?”

Hearing this, Duanmu Wuqiu felt as though he’d swallowed a celestial elixir—warmth spread through him.

Luo Xianyun’s already elegant appearance now struck him as nothing less than divine.

And Luo Xianyun wasn’t done yet.

“I’ve seen children tear insects apart for sport. I’ve seen righteous cultivators use tigers, bears, and elephants as training dummies, slaughtering them without cause. I’ve seen disciples in my own sect raise turtles, birds, and lizards from birth, only to neglect them for a year of seclusion, emerging to find their pets long dead.

“Though such things disturbed me, I knew they were commonplace. If people are too tightly bound by rules, they may rebel and commit even greater wrongs.

“You, Daoist Duanmu, are the first cultivator I’ve met who cannot bring himself to cultivate because he is preoccupied with the fate of some fish.

“If I kept a fish pond, I doubt I would have thought of these matters.

“To hear what burdens your mind is to recognize the limits of my own compassion.”

Duanmu Wuqiu was nearly overwhelmed with joy.

He wanted to ask, “Are you being serious?” but Luo Xianyun had given such detailed explanations, he had no grounds to question him.

He simply turned away, discreetly casting a spell to summon a cooling breeze over his face.

Too embarrassed to inquire further, Duanmu Wuqiu let the Savior System do it for him.

[Host, were you serious about all that? Do you really think that way?]

Luo Xianyun responded lightly, ‘Of course I was sincere. Did I not justify everything thoroughly?’

The Savior System buzzed with static, struggling to find its voice.

At last, it replied, [This system has resolved to stop pushing the host to initiate romantic contact. The host should proceed according to his own judgment. That will likely yield better outcomes.]

Relieved by the system’s vow to cease its incessant suggestions about intimacy, Luo Xianyun exhaled.

It had been pestering him all day about kissing, to the point where he automatically stared at Duanmu Wuqiu’s mouth upon seeing him. Utterly inappropriate!

Once Duanmu Wuqiu had cooled his face, he continued, encouraged by Luo Xianyun’s attentive expression. “Before this Lord was disrupted by his inner demon, he had conceived a plan.

“This Lord intended to install an array at the bottom of the pond and use it to connect with a river outside the valley.

“That way, the pond’s water would be refreshed. When the fish became too numerous, the excess would naturally swim into the river. At the same time, the current would carry in small shrimp and aquatic insects, ensuring the fish had a steady food supply.

“The array would only permit small creatures to pass, preserving the tranquility of the valley.”

“This would not be a powerful array, but it would demand many conditions,” Luo Xianyun noted. “Its construction would be complicated.”

Duanmu Wuqiu nodded. “This Lord does not possess knowledge of such intricate arrays. He was planning to steal some manuals on the subject.”

Luo Xianyun chose to ignore the glaring issue of Duanmu Wuqiu’s intent to commit theft and said instead, “In that case, you would need to leave the valley for a time. Perhaps your enemies took advantage of your absence to slip in and set a trap.

“If Song Gui noticed an intruder, he might have feared for your safety and entered the valley himself. Then, the fire broke out…”

As he said this, Luo Xianyun suddenly understood.

“I see it now!” he exclaimed. “Someone with designs on your life planted an array within the valley—one that would ignite divine fire upon entry.

“When Song Gui entered, it triggered the trap. He and the valley bore the consequences of an attack meant for you!”

—

Author’s Note:

Song Gui: My name has been cleared! (wipes sweat)