The Supporting Male Characters Who Died Alone All Those Years Later

In He Dongchen’s eyes, a small pig with wings was flying above everyone’s heads, holding a pork knuckle in one hand and a chicken leg in the other, eating happily and thoroughly enjoying itself.

The system circled around the little flying pig a few times, puzzled, [Isn’t it a pig demon? Eating pork knuckles? Isn’t that cannibalism?]

He Dongchen replied calmly, “To demons, those without spiritual intelligence aren’t considered their kind. It’s like how humans don’t see monkeys as equals.”

The waiter leading the way twitched his ears and said, “Demons? Sir, do you enjoy reading storybooks too? Coincidentally, our tavern has a storyteller this afternoon.”

He Dongchen didn’t respond. He adjusted his robes and sat down, ordering a pot of hot tea.

“Would you like anything else, sir? Our pork knuckle is quite good!” the waiter enthusiastically recommended.

“No, thank you,” He Dongchen declined. The waiter, understanding, didn’t push further.

By this time, the hall had gradually quieted down. People resumed their meals, and after finishing, most stayed, sipping tea and waiting. A thin, white-bearded man took the stage and began animatedly telling a story.

“Last time, we left off with the scholar Zhu Jue unexpectedly finding a river mussel, inside of which was a beautiful maiden. Her jade feet were only three inches long, her skin as white as snow, delicate and exquisite…”

The audience listened, entranced and spellbound.

***

He Dongchen stood up, silently and unnoticed, and slipped into the kitchen to find the manager.

The manager was furiously scolding his staff, convinced there was a mole among them who had been bribed by the rival tavern across the street to ruin their reputation by stealing so many dishes over the past few days.

When He Dongchen suddenly appeared in the room, the staff were stunned, pointing at him in shock.

The manager, who had his back to the door, was bewildered. Turning around, he saw a man standing there with a sword on his back, looking peculiar.

He puffed out his chubby belly and demanded, “Who are you? This is a restricted area. No unauthorized persons allowed! Who let you in here?”

He Dongchen replied with a mysterious tone, “The one who will solve your problem.”

The manager was utterly confused and was about to speak when the man before him raised his hand, touched his own forehead, and a flash of spiritual light appeared. Then he extended that hand towards the manager.

“What are you doing?” the manager exclaimed, stepping back in fear. His forehead suddenly felt cool, and he froze in place, blinking in disbelief. Trembling, he pointed to the spot diagonally in front of him. “I think I see a flying pig eating a pork knuckle!”

The other staff quickly looked but saw nothing, scratching their heads in confusion.

The plump Flying Pig Demon, nibbling on a pork knuckle, trembled slightly. What’s this? Could this human see me?

Seeing this, the manager screamed even louder, “It’s looking at me! It must have heard me! A demon!”

He Dongchen said, “This demon has been stealing food. I happened to pass by and came to subdue it.”

“Quick, quick! Subdue it!” The manager was terrified. This was a real, living demon!

He Dongchen smiled and spread his hands. “I’m traveling far from home and am rather short on funds.”

The manager hesitated. In storybooks, demon slayers upheld justice, eliminated demons, and left gracefully, without asking for money.

Seeing this, He Dongchen remained unhurried.

By now, the Flying Pig Demon realized the two could see it. Its fat body tensed, ready to flee.

It finally remembered that there were certain humans called demon slayers who specialized in killing demons like it.

The Flying Pig Demon quickly prepared to escape, but being gluttonous, it grabbed two sesame cakes from a basket on its way out.

The manager watched the sesame cakes disappear before his eyes, stunned. Now completely convinced, he grabbed He Dongchen, crying out, “Master, please eliminate the demon! I’ll offer 100 taels as compensation!”

He hurriedly pulled out several silver notes from his sleeve and stuffed them into He Dongchen’s hand.

He Dongchen was satisfied. For such a minor demon, he didn’t even bother to draw his sword. He casually picked up a chopstick from the side and threw it.

“Ah!!! My butt!”

The Flying Pig Demon, holding a sesame cake in each hand and hovering near the window, let out a scream and fell to the ground. The two sesame cakes rolled to the manager’s feet, causing him to step back repeatedly in fear.

The room fell silent, then erupted into chaos. Several staff members huddled in the corner, staring in terror at the Flying Pig Demon writhing on the floor.

There’s suddenly a pig in the room! And it has wings!

The manager had been right!

Everyone then looked at He Dongchen with admiration. What a master!

He Dongchen walked over, picked up the now-revealed Flying Pig Demon, and in a flash, disappeared from the room.

Having received the money and captured the demon, there was no reason to stay.

Behind him, the manager and staff screamed in shock and excitement, waving their arms and turning red with enthusiasm. They then rushed into the main hall, shouting that they had just seen a demon; a small, pink pig that could fly! It was the one stealing all the missing dishes!

The diners exchanged glances and then burst into laughter. “Manager, you could say someone stole the food or a dog ran off with it, but blaming it on a demon? Who are you trying to fool?”

“Exactly, a flying pig? That’s such a wild story that even a storybook wouldn’t dare write it.”

The manager and staff were sweating profusely in their desperation. “It’s true! Just now, a master subdued the demon!”

“Yes, yes! The man who was sitting by the window drinking tea, carrying a sword on his back. He just threw a chopstick and caught the demon, without even drawing his sword, and then disappeared with the demon in a flash.”

Everyone recalled seeing such a person, so they became half-convinced. The news spread quickly, and many people started looking for the man with the sword, but he never appeared again.

***

Meanwhile, He Dongchen had already left the town, carrying the wailing Flying Pig Demon. No matter how much it struggled, it couldn’t break free.

At first, the Flying Pig Demon begged for mercy, crying pitifully. When He Dongchen remained unmoved, it began cursing, “Damn demon slayer! I just stole a few bites of food! I didn’t kill anyone or set fires! Is this really necessary?”

Reaching a clearing, He Dongchen casually tossed the Flying Pig Demon onto the ground.

“Ouch!” The pig demon cried out in pain as it hit the ground, rolling a few times. Its eyes darted around as it deliberately rolled a few more times, planning to escape.

He Dongchen saw through its plan and smirked. With a flick of his foot, he kicked a pebble that shot towards the Flying Pig Demon.

“Ah!!! My butt!!!”

“Wuwuwu, why is it always my butt? I shouldn’t have been so greedy and taken those two sesame cakes! They were my downfall!”

The Flying Pig Demon laid on the ground, wailing and covering its butt. It regretted not leaving earlier when the manager didn’t believe in demons, but its greedy hands had to grab those two sesame cakes!

The system floated expressionlessly above the demon’s head, feeling annoyed that this creature was even better at playing dumb and acting cute than it was.

He Dongchen stood with his arms crossed, watching for a while. The pig demon’s sobbing gradually stopped, and it peeked at the powerful demon slayer with one eye.

Their eyes met, and the pig demon quickly shut its eye, drooping its wings, looking both cowardly and pitiful.

He Dongchen casually plucked a leaf from a nearby tree and said indifferently, “Tell me, how did you get through the barrier? How long have you been here? How many other demons are in the Human Realm?”

The original owner died too early to know anything, and the original plot focused mostly on the beautiful love story between the Peacock Demon and the scholar, without mentioning the formation and its aftermath.

The Flying Pig Demon hesitated.

Then…

“Ow!!!! My butt!!!!”

He Dongchen picked another leaf, playing with it in his hand, and spoke meaningfully, “This tree, this entire mountain, how many leaves do you think it has? Enough to shave you into thin slices?”

“I’ll talk, I’ll talk!” The Flying Pig Demon shivered, quickly spilling everything it knew.

“My demon power is weak, and my bloodline is low. I don’t know much. I just heard that a hole had opened in the barrier, and the spiritual energy from the Human Realm was leaking into our Demon Realm. Many demons followed the trail of spiritual energy into the Human Realm. I came along too, but I haven’t harmed anyone! I just ate a few bites of food! Really!”

He Dongchen pondered.

The balance of spiritual energy between heaven and earth meant that while only a few demon slayers cultivated in the Human Realm, the spiritual energy was abundant. Meanwhile, in the Demon Realm, numerous demons vied for resources, causing fierce competition. With the Human Realm reopened, it was natural for many demons to be eager to invade.

Demons like the flying pig, who couldn’t even take human form, were likely cannon fodder sent to test the waters, to see how many demon slayers remained in the Human Realm.

Given time, if the Demon Realm confirmed that the Human Realm’s demon slayers were no longer a threat, they would swarm in to plunder the spiritual energy, wreaking havoc.

Thinking of that, He Dongchen frowned and said, “Take me to the entrance, and point out the other demons along the way.”

The Flying Pig Demon trembled even more, cautiously asking, “Will you kill them?”

He Dongchen glanced at it. “I’m a demon slayer.”

“However, demons like you who haven’t taken any lives will only be banished from the Human Realm.”

The Flying Pig Demon’s eyes brightened! Its life was spared!

“I know a Rat Demon 10 miles away! I’ll take you there!” The Flying Pig Demon, rejuvenated, led the way enthusiastically!

That Rat Demon had always stolen my food! Finally, someone is going to deal with it!

The system watched in speechless amazement. [So it was worried about its own safety all along. Look at how quickly it sells out its kind, and with such eagerness.]

He Dongchen wasn’t surprised. Demons fought even more fiercely among themselves, and expecting them to be united was a dream.

Without further ado, the Flying Pig Demon led He Dongchen to the Rat Demon’s lair. 2 hours later, they captured a Rat Demon that was plundering the villagers’ food.

The Rat Demon, once caught, cursed loudly, “You stinking flying pig! How dare you bring a demon slayer to catch me! I’ll tell the other demons and have them kill you!”

The Flying Pig Demon shrank back, a hint of malice in its eyes, ready to suggest that the demon slayer kill the Rat Demon. But then it saw the Rat Demon suddenly drop to its knees and cry, “Master, I know where other demons are! I’ll take you there.”

The Flying Pig Demon was dumbfounded. Who had just sworn to expose me? Now, it was competing for credit! Shameless!

The two demons started arguing, each vying for the honor of leading the way.

He Dongchen was speechless.

With a wave of his hand, he sent both demons flying three meters away with a burst of spiritual power, saying emotionlessly, “I prefer silence and fewer words.”

The two demons immediately nodded like pecking chickens, pointing in the same direction.

He Dongchen nodded, casting a demon lock on the Rat Demon. With just a thought, he could strip it of all its power.

The Flying Pig Demon had one on its neck as well.

***

Half an hour later, He Dongchen found a snake demon that had just swallowed a person, its belly bulging. A flash of disgust crossed his eyes as he swiftly killed it on the spot. Cutting open its stomach, he found the remains reduced to an unrecognizable bloody mass.

Frowning, he burned it to ashes, leaving only a copper lock and a few copper coins lying quietly on the ground.

He picked them up and quietly went to a nearby village, where he saw two elderly people anxiously searching for someone, asking everyone they met…

“Have you seen my son? Have you seen my son?”

The two were distraught, their faces streaked with tears, evoking deep sympathy.

He Dongchen left the copper lock, the copper coins, and a silver note in their house before silently leaving.

The Flying Pig Demon and the Rat Demon were terrified by He Dongchen’s cold and efficient manner of killing demons. They followed him quietly, clinging to each other and trembling, trying their best to remain unnoticed, fearing that one wrong move would lead the ruthless demon slayer to kill them in a fit of rage.

Wuwuwu, the Human Realm is so dangerous; we want to return to the Demon Realm!

Leaving the village, He Dongchen was in a foul mood, his face stern, spiritual energy leaking out, causing the surrounding air to stir.

The two demons didn’t dare to breathe loudly.