Since it was a parasitic beast she cultivated using the Demon Tree's life source energy, it was already branded with her unique natural spirit rune.
Therefore, there was no need for a contract; this little thing was born for loyalty, and its life and death were entirely at her whim.
“Hmm... Since you are this lord's loyal servant, I shall bestow upon you the true name 【Baikui】.”
Qimeng decided, stroking her chin.
“Thank you... Master, for bestowing this name. Baikui... obeys.”
“By the way, Baikui, can you read the memories of this body now?”
“Reporting to Master!”
Baikui stood up straight. Although his facial expression was stiff, his eyes were incredibly sharp.
“I have integrated all of this body's memories, thinking patterns, and lifetime instincts! There are absolutely no loopholes!”
“Oh? That's quite interesting~”
Qimeng's eyes rolled as she instantly became intrigued. She plopped down on a nearby tree trunk, positioning herself to enjoy some juicy gossip.
“Come on, tell me. What's the deal with this Demon Prince? And what's going on with the territory behind him?”
Naturally, Baikui held nothing back and explained everything in detail.
“This body's original name is Kalu. He is the thirteenth son of the Black Bone Demon Marquis, the ruler of the Black Bone Territory.”
“Black Bone Demon Marquis?”
Qimeng interrupted.
“Wait a minute... In the demon system, the term 【Demon Marquis】 is a pun, right? It represents both a land lord holding the title of Marquis and a candidate for the Demon King, correct?”
“Exactly.”
Baikui answered truthfully.
“Among demons, as long as one's strength reaches the Marquis Rank, they automatically gain the right to succeed the Demon King. Thus, they are collectively referred to as Demon Marquises. However, the right of succession only represents eligibility to compete. Demons do not care about closeness or relations; they only care about whose fist is stronger.”
“I see. So they just got a ticket.” Qimeng curled her lips.
“Yes. Currently, there are over eighty known Demon Marquises with noble titles.”
Baikui continued to spill the details.
“Although the Black Bone Demon Marquis is not considered powerful among the many Demon Marquises, he is still a major force in the Flourishing Forest. As for those top-ranking Grand Demon Marquises, most of them lead troops to guard the frontlines of the war between humans and demons, fighting the human legions to a standstill.”
“By the way, the reason the Black Bone Demon Marquis is gravely injured and on the verge of death is that he recently led troops to attack a human border town. In the human territory, he encountered a strange human woman. Who knows what secret art that woman used, but she actually summoned a terrifyingly powerful demon warrior out of thin air!
That demon warrior charged straight into the army of ten thousand, heavily injuring the Black Bone Demon Marquis with a single punch, forcing him to retreat...”
“Wait a minute!”
Qimeng's eyes lit up, as if she had caught the main point.
“The summoned demon warrior you mentioned... could it be the medicine-seeking man who asked me for life source energy in the forest earlier?!”
Oh boy! There was actually such inside information?!
In other words, the summoning spell cast by that human woman was essentially summoning her own demon husband to save the day?
What was this, husband-taming magic?
Or maybe, "Come forth, Demon Husband!"?!
“Heh, the Black Bone Demon Marquis's luck is truly something else.”
Qimeng shook her head with a grin.
“Since that old guy suffered such an irreversible heavy injury, he probably won't live much longer, right? So that fellow Kalu went to all that trouble to snatch the Sacred Spirit just to make a life potion to save his old man, and incidentally fight for the right of succession?”
However, Baikui only shook his head and sighed softly.
“That is not the case. The Black Bone Demon Marquis has over a dozen children, and Kalu is the youngest. In the demon race, which reveres strength and age, there is no way the title would ever fall to him. Even if he really saved his old man, he wouldn't get the slightest benefit.”
“Huh? Then what was he after? Could he actually be a peerlessly filial son?” Qimeng was shocked.
Baikui suddenly spat out two words.
“Poisoning.”
“...”
Qimeng's mouth twitched.
“Kalu didn't want to save him. On the contrary, he wanted to lace the spiritual medicine with a lethal poison to completely kill the Black Bone Demon Marquis!”
“My goodness... There really isn't a single good person among the demons!”
Qimeng couldn't help but complain, but she quickly became puzzled again.
“But even if he poisons his old man to death, there are still a bunch of older brothers and sisters pressing down on him. How is he going to seize power?”
“Kalu secretly found a double who looks ninety percent like the Demon Marquis.”
Baikui explained every detail of the plan.
“He originally planned to use the life potion as a pretext to save his father on the surface, but secretly assassinate the Demon Marquis. Then, he would use this opportunity to put the double on the stage, using the Demon Marquis's name to slowly encroach upon the military and political power of the territory. By the time his older siblings realized what was happening, he would have already seized military control and ruling power.”
“It sounds nice, but do the details hold up to scrutiny?”
Qimeng rested her chin on her finger, looking suspicious.
“How is he going to get close to the Demon Marquis? Won't there be anyone inspecting the potion? Besides... the Demon Marquis's wives and concubines aren't blind. Wouldn't they recognize a fake?”
Baikui directly revealed another conspiracy.
“The Demon Marquis has no official wife, only a manor full of concubines. Meanwhile, Kalu was having an affair with the Demon Marquis's most favored concubine. This plan to usurp the nest and commit patricide was actually discussed between the two of them in bed.”
“Pfft! Cough, cough!”
Qimeng was almost choked by the fruit she had just bitten into. She patted her chest, deeply shocked.
“Well... Well, well, well! What a messy social circle! As expected of the demons, their ethical dramas are wilder than anyone else's!”
Melodramatic plot and all, this certainly gave Qimeng a massive dose of juicy gossip.
“Anyway, this lord has no interest in the petty power struggles within the demon race.”
Qimeng's gaze turned serious.
“Right now, I only care about one thing. Since Kalu failed to snatch the Sacred Spirit, what should he do after returning to lift the covetous eyes on the Wood Elves?”
“This is very simple. I can just return to the territory in Kalu's identity and directly announce the cancellation of the bounty.”
Baikui answered very straightforwardly, but Qimeng rolled her eyes at him.
“Idiot! That would be way too obvious!”
“The personal guards and Extraordinary Rank officers Kalu took out were completely wiped out, yet he ran back alone without a scratch, and the very first thing he does is cancel the bounty? Doesn't that practically tell everyone there's a problem? When the time comes, anyone looking into it with half a brain will still suspect the Wood Elves.”
Qimeng pinched her chin and pondered for a moment, when suddenly a spark of inspiration hit her.
She reached into her Space Fruit and pulled out a 【Life Fruit】 bursting with rich life force, tossing it to Baikui.
“Since all you need is a fake medicine anyway, take this Life Fruit! Find someone to refine it into a life potion, claim to the public that it's a spiritual medicine made from the Sacred Spirit, and then continue executing Kalu's original conspiracy!”
Baikui caught the magic fruit. A green light flashed in his eyes, and he understood immediately.
“Understood! Master... to what extent do you wish for me to go? Do you need me to replace the Black Bone Demon Marquis and seize a demon territory for you?”
“Uh... Can you really go that far?”
“I can.”
Baikui nodded firmly.
“I have completely inherited Kalu's memories, thinking patterns, and interpersonal relationships. As long as I play along with his plan, the feasibility is very high.”
Rate on N.U.
