The mink demon transformed back into a human on the upper level, clinging to the window's railing. The tiger demon below threw a steel knife up to her. The mink demon used the tip of the knife to furiously stab at the protective plate inside the railing. The plate was likely metal, and sparks flew as she gouged it, but due to the good quality of Shabiya's steel knife, she managed to pierce a small hole. The mink demon then slid the knife through the hole and, transforming back into her animal form, nimbly squeezed through the opening.
Two minutes later, I saw all the demons circling around to the front. The mink demon must have opened the door from the inside.
After a few more minutes, three men were escorted out by the demons, returning the way they came up the mountain.
They didn't look familiar at all. I pulled out my phone and compared them against the information He Lanxue had given me. To my surprise, none of these three men were high-ranking members of the Mohe organization, nor were they any of the "Eight Vajras." I felt a bit perplexed, so I descended the mountain to meet them.
Upon encountering them in the woods, I immediately questioned the identities of the three men.
A fat man with an oily face, his neck sticking out, gruffly declared, "I'm the head of the Song family, Song Shanhe!"
"Song your ass," I retorted, showing him the photo on my phone. "Did you get plastic surgery or something?"
The Song Shanhe in my photo was a tall, slender middle-aged man who was quite handsome, somewhat resembling a "long-legged oppa," with an excellent demeanor. He was nothing like the obese pig in front of me.
The fat man, however, insisted he was Song Shanhe. I then asked the other two. One claimed to be Song Benshui, and the other Song Jinmu, both stating they were core figures of the Song family.
Of course, they were all impostors, completely inconsistent with the photos.
"It seems they're just three small fry," I guessed.
"You're the small fry! I am Song—"
*Slap.* I smacked him, getting oil all over my hand. Disgusted, I wiped my hand on his suit and sighed, "Tie them to a tree, then withdraw!"
Since the enemy had deliberately left three useless sacks of flesh at their headquarters, it meant they had anticipated our surprise attack. If that was the case, what was the point of our raid? We could only retreat.
Perhaps the enemy employed the same strategy as us, "strike first"? Except, we left Yaoyao behind to defend while I led the eight demons in an attack, whereas the Mohe chose to disguise their numbers by leaving some behind, when in reality… they were all out attacking?!
I sensed a hint of danger and immediately called Yaoyao.
She didn't answer, likely busy setting up formations outside. I then called Chen Lu and asked if anything unusual had happened at her place.
Chen Lu said nothing unusual had occurred, except that Song Wenzhi had called her a few minutes ago, asking where she was.
"What did you tell him?" I quickly asked.
"I said I was at home."
"...Why were you so honest?" I frowned.
"Didn't we want to lure him over? If he didn't come, wouldn't Yaoyao's grand formation be set up in vain?" Chen Lu said with a chuckle, not yet realizing the gravity of the situation.
I couldn't explain too much to her. I told Chen Lu to go outside and hand the phone to Yaoyao.
A moment later, Yaoyao answered. After I explained the situation on my end, Yaoyao's judgment was similar to mine. She also believed the enemy had likely detected our plan to attack and deliberately exposed their headquarters as a weakness. However, there was another possibility: Shabiya's intelligence might have been inaccurate. The Mohe could have provided them with such detailed information to lull Shabiya into a false sense of security, meaning the Mohe headquarters were not actually there but elsewhere.
But I felt this possibility was unlikely. If they were deliberately "disguising" their presence, why would they build their manor in such a hidden location, and why would the architecture be so understated? They could have been more ostentatious, which would have served as better camouflage.
I looked down the mountain again. The more I thought about it, the more something felt wrong. Just then, the clouds that had obscured the sun dispersed, and the sun emerged. I squinted at the sun, successfully activating my "Xiang Qi" technique, and looked down the mountain again.
Damn it! I almost fell for their trap!
"Who else is in the castle?" I asked.
"Just women. There shouldn't be anyone you're looking for, right?" the snake demon replied.
"Have you searched everywhere?"
The demons exchanged glances. "We searched every room."
"What about underground?"
"Is there an underground?" the mink demon countered.
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