"The fifth is King Kinnara."
As soon as Bai Mo's gaze fell over, he found that the other party had been staring at him and looking him up and down. Hmm, good looks, good looks. No wonder he has the looks to play "three people" with Mu Yuan and Duan Xian'er... I just don't know how they handle Feng's problem. Feng doesn't seem like someone who would play "four people"...?
Bai Mo was bewildered by the unpredictable gaze. He saw that Kinnara was indeed handsome and had a good appearance, with skin as white as jade. However, the unpredictable light in his eyes fully showed that this person was fickle and restless.
Bai Mo could only laugh awkwardly. Long Jue continued, "The five people here, plus myself [King Naga], make up the seven members of the other eight tribes besides the Heavenly King and the Yaksha."
Bai Mo was about to nod when he felt something was amiss...
The others quickly noticed the problem as well—although the Eight Legions were called the Eight Legions, there were actually nine people. With two missing, there were indeed seven left... but here, there were clearly only six people.
Have you forgotten someone?
A flurry of glances flew between them—was someone missing? —It seemed so. —Who? Ning Xian? —No, she's extra, not one of the Eight Legions… —What? Someone's missing? Who's missing? …
Long Jue noticed the question between them and carefully scanned the area—indeed, someone was missing…
"...What about Mahoraga?"
"Well?"
"Huh?"
"..."
At this moment, in a small courtyard, a person dressed in black clothes and a black hat, whose face could not be seen, was happily digging up the potatoes he had planted before the New Year.
—Some call him "the forgotten Mahoraga king".
...
Gradually realizing that someone named Mahoraga seemed to be missing, Bai Mo wasn't particularly bothered. He was just a little puzzled and asked, "Isn't Ning Xian here?"
Long Jue replied expressionlessly, "The Sect Leader instructed that during Bai Dutang's tenure, all eight members of the 'Eight Divisions' must be under his supervision—Jialing is not one of the Eight Divisions." The Sect Leader had indeed mentioned this to Bai Mo, because Bai Mo might not stay here for long, perhaps a month, perhaps two months; he would eventually return. Taking control of everyone in such a limited time might be ineffective. Therefore, during this period, only the core Eight Divisions were under his personal supervision; the other members were led by the Eight Divisions and simply followed the rules he had established. As long as they didn't violate them, they were not subject to his control.
That makes sense, but Bai Mo hadn't expected Ning Xian to be a member of the Eight Legions. Perhaps this was just a slight oversight due to a difference in understanding between him and the leader… but to others, it would seem… that the leader did it on purpose? Knowing Bai Mo's true purpose in doing all this, yet excluding the most crucial figure—was he playing with his own subordinates while also fooling Bai Dutang?
White Supervisor Hall of the Year of Mouth...
However, Bai Dutang, who had been tricked, didn't seem to care much—since Ning Xian wasn't around, he would start doing what was at hand.
Bai Mo bowed to the group before him and said, “Although I may not stay here for long, I hope you will cooperate during this time. It will be difficult to change everyone’s old habits all at once, so let’s start with the most basic things. There aren’t many requirements, but I hope you will remember to strictly demand the same of your subordinates—firstly, internally: no gambling, no fighting, no rudeness, no foul language. Externally: no killing, no gang fights, no unprovoked injury, no robbery, no oppression of the people, no harassment of respectable women, no seduction of married women.”
Everyone was slightly taken aback... This place... is it still the Demonic Sect? No killing? No injuring? And no gang fights??
Amidst the crowd's surprise and hesitation, a voice chuckled leisurely, "It seems there's no ban on drinking with courtesans, so..."
"Yes, it's not forbidden." This wasn't just a matter of the underworld; even for him personally, when entertaining guests or conducting business, he occasionally visited places of entertainment. He knew that banning even leisure activities all at once would likely only cause greater resentment. "However, I hope everyone remembers that the curfew is at the end of 7 PM. Unless you have official business, you must return to the church by the end of 7 PM. The wake-up time in the morning is uniformly 5 AM. Please inform your subordinates to abide by this."
"..."
"..."
—This is the Demonic Cult, this is the Demonic Cult…
While this rigid and proper guy in front of them is the culprit, isn't the key to all this still their cult leader? Being played like this by the cult leader is just too unfair…
"Why are we the only ones who have to follow the rules, while the leader doesn't?" Kinnara hit the nail on the head, and everyone agreed—getting up at dawn? Damn that heartless leader!
Bai Mo thought for a moment and said, "The sect leader is weak and sickly, so naturally we cannot compare them."
"..."
"..."
—Is the cult leader frail and sickly? —I don't know, [it seems]...—But I've never seen the cult leader sick, have I? —Was he born looking so weak and sickly? —No, he wasn't like that before...—Are you faking illness? —Could you fake it like that? ...
The exchange was fruitless.
...
As soon as they turned and left the main courtyard, a few people whispered among themselves, "Hey, are we really going to listen to that guy surnamed Bai's opinions?"
“The surname Bai is nothing, but the person sent by the Imperial Army to assist him is Long Jue. Do you want to go against Long Jue?” Gandharva glanced at Kinnara, and there was no need to say anything more.
“Hey, you nymphomaniac, don’t you like men? And you even claim to be irresistibly charming, why don’t you go and seduce that guy surnamed Bai and let him enjoy his pleasures every day? Stop with all this nonsense.”
"I do like men, but I don't just eat any type. I only like delicate and beautiful young men, and I have absolutely no interest in men like him."
Kinnara: "Are we really going to be controlled by him? Does he think this is a monastery? What rules and regulations do we have to follow?"
Luo Hou: "Fool, just deal with him casually, he won't be staying here for long anyway."
Jidu: "That's true... but I really feel sorry for Jialing... is he going to spend his whole life guarding such a serious guy?"
Luo Hou: "Does she look like she intends to stay faithfully for the rest of her life?"
Jidu: "...That's really enviable. If you find a husband who can't even fight, you can have all the time you want, right?"
Kinnara: "..."
Are all women in the Demonic Cult like this?
...
In a certain hospital, on a rather sweltering day, a secluded room had its door tightly shut, from which came a deliberately hushed murmur: "Come on, come on—it's a no-brainer now, decide quickly, it's about to open—"
Before this side was even open, the door was already open. The people inside stared in astonishment at Bai Dutang appearing in the doorway, and Long Jue behind him—the air suddenly felt icy cold in the sweltering summer heat.