The Supporting Male Characters Who Died Alone All Those Years Later

The gate to the realm opened, with dark clouds pressing down, swaying and on the verge of collapse. Baiyang City resembled a small boat adrift in a vast ocean, battered by fierce winds and giant waves, insignificant and helpless.

“Master, what’s going on!?” Gao Lang, carrying his elderly mother on his back, struggled to stand against the wind. When he spoke, the wind rushed into his mouth, twisting his originally handsome face into a contorted expression.

He Dongchen said, “Your wife couldn’t defeat us, so she sought help.”

Gao Lang, a scholar who had naturally read many stories in his spare time, felt his face grow paler as he imagined the scene of demons invading. The destruction and suffering that would ensue, all because of him. How could he ever compensate for the world’s suffering?

“Bing Lan! Stop right now!” Gao Lang quickly set his mother down, handing her over to Lin Yan, and struggled through the howling wind towards Bing Lan.

Having been consumed by demonic madness, Bing Lan was beyond stopping, “Gao Lang, wait for me. Once I’ve dealt with these troublesome people, we can live carefree together.”

With that, Bing Lan let out a long cry, transformed into his true form, and soared into the sky. The crowd saw a brilliantly colored blue peacock, flying high, circling the gate with repeated loud calls, as if summoning something.

The Fox Demon huddled in the corner became excited. Unexpectedly, the peacock, which had been solely focused on romance, was now cornered and furious! The Fox Demon, thrilled, eagerly anticipated the arrival of the other demons to tear the bothersome demon slayers apart! It wanted to avenge that single glance!

The appearance of the gate had already thrown Baiyang City into chaos. With such a large peacock in the sky and its ominous cries, the people’s hearts chilled with dread. The citizens were panic-stricken, fleeing and hiding, afraid to show their faces.

“Sir He, what should we do?” Bai Ling, anxious and at a loss, could only place her hopes on He Dongchen.

Before He Dongchen could speak, a roar emerged from the pitch-black gate. Then, a massive, sinister claw extended from within, gripping the gate. Following it, a second claw, then a third, revealed a total of eight claws, with the ghastly patterns on them clearly visible, making everyone’s scalp tingle.

“Is that a Spider Demon?” Du Hua asked with difficulty.

Before he could finish speaking, a roar filled the air. After the eight claws, a green and sinister head emerged, resembling a snake’s head but not entirely. It opened its mouth, revealing rows of sharp, giant teeth. Its crimson tongue flicked, and the dripping slime fell from the sky, landing in the Gao family’s swaying courtyard, causing a jolt.

Bai Ling and the others, seeing that even a drop of its saliva was bigger than a small hill, felt their scalps tingle with dread and despair. How are we supposed to fight this?

In the sky, Bing Lan called out to the first demon, saying with excitement, “Thousand-Legged, come into the Human Realm quickly!”

The Thousand-Legged Demon, initially imposing upon its appearance, now peeked cautiously, asking, “Bing Lan, how is the Human Realm?”

Bing Lan glanced at He Dongchen unconsciously and shouted, “Aside from one slightly troublesome one, the rest are useless and not to be feared!”

Bai Ling and the others: ??? Useless?? What happened to your manners?

The Thousand-Legged Demon glanced at the ground, seeing only four demon slayers, and immediately relaxed. “Bing Lan, you did well. I’ll summon my subordinates now and flatten the Human Realm. Hahaha.”

As it spoke, more saliva dripped from the sky, this time targeting He Dongchen and his group. They scrambled to dodge, and Bai Ling even remembered to pull the weak Gao Lang along.

In the sky, Bing Lan, seeing this scene, sighed with relief and shot a cold glance at the Thousand-Legged Demon. The Thousand-Legged Demon, oblivious, continued summoning its minions, opening its mouth wide and making strange roaring noises, with a foul stench wafting out.

***

“Sir He, what should we do? This Thousand-Legged Demon is no good!” Bai Ling said, setting down the pale-faced Gao Lang with a grave expression.

He Dongchen turned to look at Bai Ling and the despairing Gao Lang beside her and said meaningfully, “The simplest solution is right here.”

Bai Ling and Gao Lang: ???

“Sorry about this.” Without waiting for their reactions, He Dongchen grabbed Gao Lang and threw him toward the gate, or rather, into the gaping maw of the Thousand-Legged Demon.

“Gao Lang!!!” Bing Lan, who had been secretly watching Gao Lang, turned pale with rage. “How dare you!”

A burst of blue flame surged from the ground, with a destructive force. He Dongchen raised his hand, creating a white-glowing protective shield that surrounded them. With a loud boom, the flames descended, turning the surrounding 10 meters into scorched earth, leaving only those inside the shield unharmed. Amidst the chaos, a white figure seemed to scream and fly out.

He Dongchen thought it was the Fox Demon?

“Ah, ah, ah, ah!” Gao Lang screamed as he flew toward the Thousand-Legged Demon’s giant mouth.

The Thousand-Legged Demon naturally wouldn’t refuse the food delivered to it and extended its tongue to wrap around and swallow him.

“Stop it!!!” Bing Lan roared in fury, flying up to shield Gao Lang with its wings and blasting fire at the Thousand-Legged Demon.

The Thousand-Legged Demon, deprived of its meal and unexpectedly scorched, was furious and roared, “Bing Lan! What is the meaning of this!”

Bing Lan retreated with Gao Lang to a distance of more than ten meters and coldly said, “Do you dare to touch my person?”

Seeing the man Bing Lan protected, the Thousand-Legged Demon sneered. The man was pale and weak-looking. “Just an insignificant mortal. If you want him, I can spare a few for you.”

Bing Lan shook her head, transforming into her human form. She gazed affectionately at Gao Lang in her arms. “I don’t want anyone but him.”

Gao Lang, startled by the situation, was somewhat moved by her words.

The two stared at each other, surrounded by an indescribable atmosphere.

The Thousand-Legged Demon looked puzzled. “Bing Lan, did you lose your mind coming to the Human Realm? Falling in love with a mortal and giving yourself a weakness?”

The Demon Realm was full of strife and bloodshed, fighting for resources. As a 1000-year-old demon, Bing Lan was no exception. Bringing along a burden like a mortal would only create more trouble for herself.

“Yes, the Human Realm is peaceful, and your Gao Lang’s life will go smoothly. But if you let the other demons in, how will you protect him?” He Dongchen said slowly. Perhaps the Peacock Demon had initially been whimsical, but it was clear now that its obsession with Gao Lang was deep; otherwise, it wouldn’t have acted so recklessly.

Bai Ling, upon hearing that, realized why He Dongchen was so calm. He had already seen through the Peacock Demon’s weakness.

He Dongchen wasn’t only highly skilled but also very perceptive, able to see through people’s hearts. Bai Ling was full of admiration.

Bing Lan was suddenly awakened, briefly stunned.

Indeed, mortals valued propriety, etiquette, and morality, always needing to maintain a facade. In contrast, the Demon Realm was a place of survival of the fittest, without any pretense of reason. Could I really protect Gao Lang if the other demons came?

When Gao Lang was about to be swallowed earlier, Bing Lan’s heart had stopped for a moment. She didn’t want to see such scenes again. If more demons came, if her enemies arrived, what would become of Gao Lang’s safety?

***

Bing Lan was in turmoil when the Fox Demon she had injured with indiscriminate attacks earlier crawled back, filled with hatred. It screamed at the Thousand-Legged Demon, “This Peacock Demon has gone mad for a man! It even tried to destroy the key! Master, come quickly and kill them all!”

“Shut up!” Bing Lan raised her hand and a burst of flame shot out. The Fox Demon was flung away, crashing heavily to the ground, and fell silent.

He Dongchen raised an eyebrow. The Fox Demon’s exit was even quicker than in the original story.

Seeing Bing Lan kill the Fox Demon, the Thousand-Legged Demon was astonished. “Bing Lan, you have truly lost your mind.”

It moved its claws and crawled out from the gate. “Since that’s the case, you can’t be left alive.”

Such an important thing as the key couldn’t be left in the hands of a mad demon obsessed with a mortal.

The Thousand-Legged Demon’s eight claws clung to the gate as it pulled out its massive body and pounced at Bing Lan. The eight claws were everywhere, forming an impenetrable net. Bing Lan had no choice but to revert to her original form, protecting Gao Lang as she struggled to escape, inwardly cursing the Fox Demon for causing such chaos.

In the blink of an eye, the situation changed dramatically. The two demons confronted each other in the sky, fighting fiercely. As a mere mortal, Gao Lang was overwhelmed by the scene and screamed in terror.

Bai Ling and the others watched in confusion.

He Dongchen crossed his arms and spoke nonchalantly, “You can’t handle a single Thousand-Legged Demon? If I were you, I’d hurry up and close the gate.”

Bing Lan was reminded that, with the demons arriving, she needed to figure out how to protect herself.

“Shut up!” The Thousand-Legged Demon, annoyed, extended one of its claws toward He Dongchen and the others. The massive claw loomed like a small mountain, bearing down like Mount Tai.

Bai Ling and the others dared not be distracted. They immediately took out their best skills to avoid and fight the claw.

He Dongchen set the unconscious Gao Lang’s mother down and established a protective shield.

Relying on its many claws, the Thousand-Legged Demon engaged in a fierce battle with both sides, seemingly gaining the upper hand. Bing Lan had to protect Gao Lang and was thus limited in her actions. Bai Ling and the others were simply too weak to inflict any real damage on the Thousand-Legged Demon.

“Hahaha! Are the demon slayers in the Human Realm so useless? They can’t even handle a single claw of mine!” The Thousand-Legged Demon laughed heartily. A thousand years ago, it had been reduced to only two claws by demon slayers and had to flee. Now, a single claw could subdue three demon slayers. What a delight!

Bai Ling, frustrated after only a small amount of damage output and being mocked by the Thousand-Legged Demon, angrily took out the flute from her waist and placed it to her lips.

He Dongchen, seeing this, decided not to stand idly by. He drew his long sword and flew up, stepping on the Thousand-Legged Demon’s claw, rapidly ascending like a white streak.

“Be careful, Sir He!” Bai Ling shouted, putting down the flute.

The Thousand-Legged Demon noticed another demon slayer on its body and felt provoked. It raised its claw high and slammed it down heavily, creating a resounding boom. The ground trembled, houses collapsed, and the nearby residents, unable to hide any longer, scrambled out of Baiyang City.

He Dongchen, calm and unhurried, lightly tapped his foot and jumped to another claw, continuing his ascent toward the Thousand-Legged Demon’s head. His sword, trailing a white glow, was poised for action.

“You’re quite arrogant!” The Thousand-Legged Demon, realizing He Dongchen’s intention, sneered. It thought cutting off its head was just a dream.

Seeing He Dongchen in action, Bing Lan faked a move to evade, retreating to a distance. She began casting a spell to retrieve the key and close the gate.

The Thousand-Legged Demon, understanding her intention, roared in fury, “Bing Lan! Are you betraying the entire Demon Realm?”

Bing Lan continued her actions without pausing and sneered, “You should worry about surviving first.”