When Lan Ling fled Chimera Tribe with A Li, he did not forget to bring along her daughter.
In truth, when Gou Fu died, his daughter Gou Ling was not especially heartbroken.
When A Li took Gou Ling and escaped, Gou Ling’s heart was filled with restless excitement and an indescribable thrill.
Although she had always looked down on the outsiders, and naturally looked down on Lan Ling and the others, she still found Lan Ling’s reckless actions that night incredibly exciting.
When her mother’s affair with Lan Ling was exposed and she was about to be burned alive, Gou Ling had even gone to plead with her aunt, Gou Li.
So, deep down, she still had some feelings for her mother, A Li.
However, after Lan Ling led the outsiders into the Ghost Domain and declared the establishment of the Flame Demon Tribe, everything changed.
Everyone worked desperately, building the tribe with all their strength. Even her mother picked up a needle and thread and began sewing clothes.
She was already thirteen years old. Besides practising swordsmanship every day, she was also expected to do whatever work she could.
She had been spoiled and lazy since childhood. How could she possibly endure hardship? When she was criticised during sword training, she tried to slap her instructor and eventually refused to train altogether.
As for making her work, that was even more unbearable.
She had imagined she had come to enjoy a luxurious life. Her mother was the chief’s woman, so she believed that made her the chief’s daughter as well. She expected to live like Nini An.
Instead, reality was completely different.
She had to live in a shabby house, and every day she ate nothing but fish and wild vegetables.
She had had enough of such a life, so she constantly complained.
Naturally, Lan Ling, as chief, never heard about such trivial matters. Di Na dealt with them quietly.
Thinking Gou Ling was still young, Di Na secretly gave her the venison, goat’s milk, fresh fruit and other delicacies that had originally been reserved for Little Ya Ya.
After tasting them, Gou Ling became even more jealous.
One day she saw Little Ya Ya happily playing with the baby griffin. She walked over, kicked the little griffin, shoved the little girl to the ground, then pinched her hard around the waist.
When Di Na found out, she was furious and reported it to A Li.
A Li tried to discipline her daughter, only to be scolded until tears streamed down her face.
After all, regarding Gou Fu’s death, A Li felt guilty. Faced with her daughter’s accusations, she had no words with which to defend herself.
Her daughter cursed her as an adulteress who had conspired with Lan Ling to murder her own father, Gou Fu.
As a result, A Li completely lost control over her daughter.
From then on, Gou Ling believed she had found the perfect weapon against both her mother and Lan Ling. She repeatedly accused Lan Ling in public of violating her mother and murdering her father, swearing that one day she would avenge him.
Unable to endure it any longer, Di Na placed her under house arrest.
However, everyone in the Flame Demon Tribe was busy with construction. There was no one available to guard her. Di Na’s heart was also too soft. She felt Gou Ling was still only a child, and as A Li’s daughter, she did not want others to think she could not tolerate her. So she asked A Li to watch over her own daughter.
But kind and innocent A Li was no match for her.
After only a few harsh words from Gou Ling, A Li burst into tears, overwhelmed by endless guilt.
By then, Gou Ling was filled with hatred towards the Flame Demon Tribe, towards Lan Ling, and even towards her own mother.
More importantly, she wanted wealth and luxury.
So she came up with what she believed was a brilliant plan.
She would betray the Flame Demon Tribe and Lan Ling to her uncle, Chief Constantine. That way she would surely receive a generous reward while also taking revenge on Lan Ling.
But why exactly did she want revenge?
Because of her father’s death?
Probably not.
On the night Gou Fu was killed, when Lan Ling led the outsiders in rebellion, she had felt far more excitement than grief.
Her hatred came from shattered expectations.
When Lan Ling announced the creation of a new tribe, she had imagined herself becoming the chief’s daughter, living the same luxurious life as Nini An.
Instead, the Flame Demon Tribe was nothing but a miserable place where everyone had to work.
Even the chief’s wife and concubines worked with their own hands.
That enormous disappointment turned into anger and hatred.
So she easily knocked her mother unconscious. While everyone else was distracted, she stole a horse that had been grazing freely and escaped from the Ghost Domain with her mother slung across its back.
Originally, she intended to go directly to her uncle Constantine.
But after some thought, she decided to visit her aunt Gou Li first, believing she would receive even greater rewards.
Ordinarily, a little girl should never have been able to steal a horse and escape successfully.
But…
The Flame Demon Tribe had too few people. Everyone was occupied with construction, and nobody suspected betrayal from within. They owned nearly two thousand warhorses, yet proper stables had not even been built. Most of the horses were simply tied among the trees to graze.
Anyone with ill intentions could easily steal one.
After all, the entire tribe was united in purpose. Who would have expected such a traitorous girl to emerge?
…
Chimera Tribe, the chief’s castle, still under repair.
Chief’s wife Gou Li had grown noticeably thinner.
She had not stepped outside for a long time, remaining inside the castle every day.
She no longer had the courage to face anyone. Even when she saw a servant, she felt they were secretly laughing at her behind her back.
That beast Lan Ling had not only defiled her, he had also humiliated her before an enormous crowd.
Worse still, ever since that night, she dreamed of him every night.
In those dreams, Lan Ling repeatedly violated her.
Each time she awoke, her entire body felt as though it were burning, consumed by endless emptiness.
She had finally experienced the same poisonous obsession her daughter Nini An had described.
Unlike a young girl, however, she did not mistake that feeling for longing.
She transformed every bit of that torment into hatred, making revenge her sole reason to live.
Gou Li stared viciously at A Li and sneered.
“You little bitch, you’ve fallen into my hands again. This time, I’ll truly make you wish you were dead.”
She then looked at her niece and smiled.
“Gou Ling, escaping on your own would have been enough. Why did you bring your mother with you?”
Only then did Gou Ling realise the question herself.
Yes.
She could have escaped alone.
Why had she brought her mother?
Deep down, she knew perfectly well that whether A Li fell into Gou Li’s hands or Constantine’s, she would suffer a fate worse than death.
Yet she instinctively felt she needed something like proof of loyalty in exchange for greater rewards.
Hearing the question, Gou Ling answered,
“Because I’m a daughter of the Rakshasa Clan and a daughter of the Chimera Tribe. From the moment my mother slept with that bastard Lan Ling, she became my enemy. She also murdered my father. For the sake of the Chimera Tribe, I’m willing to sacrifice even my own family.”
“Excellent,” Gou Li laughed. “You truly are one of our family. No wonder I’ve always doted on you.”
Gou Ling immediately knelt beside Gou Li.
“Auntie, Sister Nini has gone to Rakshasa City. From now on, can I be your daughter? Can I call you Mother?”
Gou Li smiled.
“Of course, my good daughter. Now tell me, what plan do you have for getting rid of that bastard Lan Ling?”
Gou Ling said,
“Auntie, can I stay with you in this castle on the mountain from now on?”
“Certainly. I could use someone sweet to keep me company.”
“Since Sister Nini isn’t here anymore, can I live in her room? Can I wear her clothes?”
The greedy and foolish girl immediately began demanding even more.
Gou Li’s beautiful eyes flickered.
“Of course. Everything that belonged to Sister Nini is yours from now on.”
Gou Ling widened her eyes, pretending to be innocent.
“My father said he left me one thousand gold coins. Now that he’s dead, they’ve disappeared. Lan Ling must have stolen them.”
Her greed and stupidity were almost identical to Gou Fu’s.
People might call her clever, but in reality she was shortsighted and foolish.
She did not even attempt to hide her greed, a sure path to her own destruction.
Gou Li narrowed her eyes.
“I’m your aunt, and from now on your mother. One thousand gold coins is far too little. I’ll give you at least two or three thousand.”
Overjoyed, Gou Ling said,
“Then please prepare a griffin for me straight away. I’ll go and tell Uncle Constantine exactly how to destroy that bastard Lan Ling.”
Gou Li sneered inwardly but calmly ordered a griffin rider to escort Gou Ling to Constantine’s military camp.
…
Inside Constantine’s camp.
“Uncle, there’s a Demon God’s ruin inside the Ghost Domain, something called the Mirror Demon King. I don’t know how, but Lan Ling somehow broke its power, so the people of the Flame Demon Tribe aren’t affected by the Ghost Domain’s barrier.”
“The Flame Demon Tribe?” Constantine asked.
Not only Constantine was present. Alfonso, chief of the Chimera Tribe, and the female shaman Yin Ji were there as well.
Gou Ling replied,
“That bastard Lan Ling created something called the Flame Demon Tribe. He keeps talking about restoring the glory of three thousand years ago and rebuilding the homeland of the Near Humans.”
Yin Ji explained,
“Three thousand years ago, in the Northern Wilderness, the Flame Demon Emperor established a powerful Near Human Empire that ruled almost half of the region. Since then, the Flame Demon Empire has become the spiritual homeland of countless Near Humans.”
Constantine sneered.
“Trying to rebuild the Flame Demon Empire within His Majesty the Rakshasa King’s territory. What a ridiculous fantasy.”
Gou Ling continued,
“But the barrier won’t last much longer. They said it would remain for three months. I counted, and there are only about twelve days left before it disappears.”
Constantine frowned.
“Why will it disappear?”
“I overheard them saying that the Mirror Demon King was injured and had run out of spirit slaves, so his energy is nearly exhausted. That’s why everyone in the Flame Demon Tribe is working like mad. They’ve already built over a mile of wall, and dozens of houses inside it.”
“Impossible,” someone nearby interrupted.
“Building over a mile of wall and dozens of houses in less than three months? That’s absurd.”
Gou Ling immediately became anxious.
“I swear on my life it’s true. They work like they’re possessed. They even wanted me to work with them, but I refused.”
Constantine waved his hand to silence the doubters.
“What else?”
“Lan Ling isn’t in the tribe. I don’t know where he went. I once overheard him arguing with the chief of the Wild Horse Tribe about centaurs or something, but I was too far away to hear clearly.”
Constantine said,
“So Lan Ling went searching for reinforcements. He wants to recruit the Centaur Tribe to rescue his outsider army?”
“I don’t know. But after twelve days, when the barrier disappears, you can charge straight in and slaughter Lan Ling and every member of the Flame Demon Tribe.”
Yin Ji asked,
“How many people are there?”
“About a thousand.”
“What do they eat? Are there enough wild animals inside?”
“They eat fish. There’s a cave where about thirty people catch several thousand pounds of fish in less than half an hour every day. I’m sick of eating fish, but those idiots enjoy it.”
Yin Ji asked,
“Are the fish salty or muddy? Do they taste like freshwater or seawater?”
“They’re salty. You don’t even need to add salt.”
Yin Ji nodded.
“Then there’s an underground lake connected to the sea. Their food supply is practically endless. No wonder they never need to leave the Ghost Domain.”
Constantine dismissed Gou Ling.
“Go outside for now. You’ve done well.”
After she left, Constantine asked Yin Ji,
“Did she lie?”
Yin Ji replied,
“I monitored her breathing and mental state. Every word she spoke was true. But I can’t rule out the possibility that this is one of Lan Ling’s schemes, and that even Gou Ling herself is being used.”
Indeed, Lan Ling was cunning enough to devise any plan imaginable.
If this were another trap, then after twelve days, once the barrier disappeared, their army might rush in only to walk into an ambush.
Yin Ji then asked,
“The woman called A Li really has fallen into the chief’s wife’s hands?”
Constantine nodded.
“Yes. She’s already suffered terrible torture.”
Yin Ji continued,
“Based on your understanding of Lan Ling, what are the chances he deliberately sacrificed his own woman to deceive us?”
“Almost zero,” Constantine replied.
“He’s a madman who can’t be judged by common sense. He may be ruthless and cunning, but he would never sacrifice one of his own.”
Yin Ji nodded.
“I agree. Someone with Lan Ling’s character would never use one of his own women as bait. I believe everything that little girl said is true.”
The last time, she and Nini An had judged Lan Ling correctly, while Constantine and Alfonso had been wrong, allowing Lan Ling and the outsiders to escape into the Ghost Domain.
Would they trust her judgement this time?
“You’re certain?” Alfonso asked.
“I’m certain,” Yin Ji answered.
Constantine and Alfonso exchanged glances.
“Then prepare the army. Twelve days from now, when the Ghost Domain’s barrier disappears, we’ll wipe out Lan Ling and every last one of those bastards.”
…
Inside the Flame Demon Tribe.
“Mirror Demon King, Gou Ling escaped with A Li. No one else noticed, but you certainly did,” Lan Ling said.
“I did,” the Mirror Demon King replied.
“I saw everything, how she knocked her mother unconscious, how she stole the horse, even every thought in her mind. She took your woman, A Li, to the Chimera Tribe.”
Lan Ling’s expression turned icy.
“Why did you allow it?”
“I believed it would become the perfect deception, making Constantine’s thirty thousand soldiers far more confident when they attack in twelve days.”
“You knew A Li might die because of it.”
“Yes. She’s only one woman,” the Mirror Demon King answered.
“For the sake of a great cause, what does one woman matter?”
Lan Ling’s heart grew cold, yet he found himself unable to blame him.
Di Na anxiously asked,
“Husband, what did you discover?”
Closing his eyes, Lan Ling replied,
“A Li is most likely already in the Chimera Tribe, in Gou Li’s hands.”
“What should we do?”
Lan Ling remained silent for a moment before saying,
“The greater cause comes first. I can’t abandon the tribe’s most important matters to rescue her. But I’ll do everything I can to ensure she stays alive.”
The person he meant was naturally his second wife, Si Si.
The Chimera Tribe was undoubtedly waiting with countless traps for him to attempt a rescue.
Lan Ling was not foolish enough to walk into them.
If he had been alone, he might have gone.
But now he carried the future of the entire Flame Demon Tribe on his shoulders.
The Mirror Demon King then said,
“Master, you’ve obtained the Ghost King’s Eye. Next, we’ll begin absorbing its power. Prepare yourself. Most of its energy is spiritual power, but it also contains a considerable amount of dark magic that should greatly increase your cultivation.”
At that moment, Lan Ling was only one step away from becoming a Great Demon Warrior.