The catfish demon had finally been subdued.

Decades ago, it had followed a horde of demons into the human city, later hiding in the small river near Yinma Town, where it had lurked ever since. At first, it knew only to feed. Back then, the human city was in chaos, and it, along with the other demons, devoured hundreds, even thousands of people without consequence.

But as it consumed more humans, its intelligence gradually grew.

And then, one day decades ago, a man wielding a hammer arrived with a group of demon hunters, storming their lair.

Those men were no ordinary warriors—they wielded powers nearly akin to demons themselves!

Especially their leader, drenched in blood, hammering one powerful being after another to death.

It was terrifying.

Fortunately, the lair had a hidden underground river, which gave the catfish demon a chance to escape.

From then on, as a demon, it learned the value of patience. It struck a deal with the boatmen—they would scheme for wealth, while it took lives.

It had assumed today would be another feast.

But never in its wildest dreams did it expect these "mercenaries" to actually be demon hunters from Mo City in disguise. It had been found out after all.

Even more shocking was the fact that a passing youth turned out to be so strong—just one hammer strike had wounded it.

Still, it remained unafraid.

This was the water’s domain. Now that it had broken free of the fishing net, once it submerged, no one could touch it.

Yet, as if bewitched, it caught a familiar scent—the aroma of fish meat.

And there, unhurriedly sipping fish soup, sat a woman.

Rage surged in the catfish demon’s heart, and reckless fury overtook it!

That second uncle of his had been raised to help it ascend to greater heights—and now, it had been cooked and eaten!

How dare she?!

It opened its maw, ready to chew the entire carriage to pieces and swallow it whole.

Then, the woman suddenly looked up at it.

She wasn’t running.

Was she frozen in fear?

Wait a second…

Why did it suddenly feel like it couldn’t move?

No—it wasn’t that it couldn’t move. Time itself had slowed around it. Even the droplets of water fell at a crawl.

By the time it realized this, even its thoughts had ground to a halt.

All it could do was watch helplessly as the shadow of a hammer rapidly expanded in its vision.

The hammer’s wind pressed against its body like a mountain bearing down.

Wait.

This strike felt even stronger than the last. Had that brat been holding back earlier? Had he not used his full strength?

No… something wasn’t right.

A long-buried memory surfaced. The young man before it, hammer in hand, seemed to overlap with the shadow from its past.

It had escaped fate once, but not this time.

BANG—

The hammer struck squarely on the catfish demon’s forehead, instantly stiffening its body. The sheer force sent ripples cascading across its bloated form.

A rain of blood scattered across the river.

Silence fell over the waters.

Dong Geyu and the disguised demon hunters stood frozen, wondering just who the real monster here was.

Dong Ao stared at the youth on the boat’s prow, his lips parting wordlessly.

His grandfather’s memory had been failing him lately—age was catching up.

But one person’s deeds, personality, and words remained vivid in the old man’s mind, recounted time and again.

The figure he had pieced together from those stories seemed to faintly resemble the young man before him.

But that person had died before Dong Ao could even form memories—and this youth looked barely past adulthood!

Strange. Too strange.

"Are… are you human or a ghost?" Dong Geyu asked, voice trembling.

"Keh keh…"

Li Mo smirked, making her flinch slightly. He sighed.

"You dare fight demons, yet you’re this superstitious?"

"No, I mean—seeing you is like seeing a ghost."

Dong Geyu gave him a disbelieving look, glancing between the hammer in his hand and her own.

"Who taught you that hammer technique?"

"What hammer? I was clearly using swordplay just now."

Li Mo smoothly stowed the hammer away and gave his sheathed sword a casual swing.

Dong Geyu: "…"

He seemed oddly insistent on whether he used a hammer or a sword…

Before she could press further, Li Mo had already returned to the carriage. Seeing Ying Bing sitting there, unperturbed, he let out a quiet sigh of relief.

She was so calm.

He had initially assumed she was some young mistress from a noble family in Di City, given her skills. But now, he reconsidered.

Truth be told, facing a demon for the first time had rattled him more than he cared to admit.

Yet she hadn’t so much as blinked.

That alone made her all the more enigmatic…

"How does it feel to play the hero?" Ying Bing ladled out a bowl of still-warm fish soup, smiling faintly.

"Honestly, the jianghu isn’t quite what I imagined."

Li Mo clicked his tongue, a bit disillusioned.

But catching the quiet serenity in Ying Bing’s gaze, he grinned.

"Though saving a beauty was pretty fun."

"…"

Ying Bing blinked, then pressed her lips together.

Following her gaze, Li Mo looked outside the carriage.

Dong Geyu had long shed her noble lady act—her sleeves were torn off for ease of movement as she interrogated the surviving boatmen, hammer swinging threateningly.

"Talk. How many lives have you lot taken? Lie, and I’ll squeeze the piss out of you."

"??"

Well, wasn’t she just a younger, fiercer version of a certain beauty?

"You didn’t think… the ‘beauty’ I meant was her, did you?"

"Then who else—"

Ying Bing’s lashes flickered as she realized her mistake.

Being too strong, she never considered herself the one in need of saving.

And it was all Li Mo’s fault.

Even with his memories gone, he was still this shameless.

Yet the way he looked at her made it seem like he truly meant it.

Li Mo had been like this in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.

Li Mo had been like this in the Heavenly Phoenix Domain, across two lifetimes.

Li Mo…

The Frost Immortal was usually as serene as she appeared—but if she seemed a bit slow, it was because her mind had been poisoned.

"I’ve thrown those accomplices into the river for the fish. We’ll dock soon—any plans? Want to come with me to Mo City?"

Li Mo snapped back to attention and nodded. "Sure, we’ll go together."

"That easy?" Dong Geyu was taken aback, her prepared arguments left unsaid.

"I was already hitching a ride with her to Mo City anyway. And…" Li Mo shrugged sheepishly. "I don’t know the way."

"Oh…"

Dong Geyu glanced at Ying Bing, momentarily stunned by her beauty.

Then it hit her.

You’re hitching a ride… because you don’t know the way.

But she doesn’t either?

Just what were you two doing wandering around? Did you expect to stumble into Mo City by accident?