"When I introduced it to Xia Pingzhou earlier, he set his eyes on the Furious Demon from the Seven Deadly Sins, that skeleton thing chained to a cross. He said... uh, he wanted it as his third Contracted Demon."

He paused, "Captain, didn’t you mention earlier that the Seven Deadly Sins from Northern Europe might not have good intentions? They could be detrimental to Bai Tanlang and the Year Beast Monarch, and it’s best to eliminate them to avoid disrupting the plan, right? Letting Xia Pingzhou and Jack the Ripper handle it is just perfect."

Xia Pingzhou thought to himself, is this the benefit of having good connections? Others speak on his behalf without him needing to open his mouth.

Though in a few days, his connections could get even better, and the entire White Crow Travel Brigade would have to chase after him.

Urushibara Osamu remained silent, then slowly lifted his head, his deep eyes unwaveringly staring at Xia Pingzhou.

"Don’t play too recklessly." He left with these simple words and didn’t speak again, only sitting at the counter, quietly flipping through that yellowed ancient text.

The ancient text seemed to be related to the twelve beasts from the "History of the Later Han," which had connections to one of the Celestial Drivers in Lake Hunting.

Xia Pingzhou nodded silently, feeling assured with the captain’s permission.

"Let’s go, I’m already tired." The Bloodline stretched lazily, curled the corners of his mouth, and turned his crimson eyes towards the sea outside the window, "Can’t sleep on the train, those passengers are too annoying."

"Old people tend to get drowsy," the Hacker said.

"Electronic pets are just asking for death," the Bloodline smiled slightly.

And so, after that, they temporarily left the antique shop, walked down the mountain along the long street, and headed towards the inn at a leisurely pace.

Xia Pingzhou looked at the sea.

The tide whispered gently, where the sea and sky met, presenting a hazy color between blue and amber.

"Why not go with me?" Ayase Origami asked after a long silence.

"Because it’s unnecessary." Xia Pingzhou shook his head, "The four fierce demons among the Seven Deadly Sins are already dead, the abilities of the remaining three demons are all supportive, their combat abilities are so-so."

He paused, "Trust me, you don’t need to accompany me this time."

Ayase Origami nodded silently, without asking any further.

"So, can you find the demons of the Seven Deadly Sins?" Yanmo Lin asked expressionlessly, "If not, aren’t we being a joke going up the mountain?"

"Of course I can," Xia Pingzhou said.

"What explanation?"

"After reaching Tier Three, the Queen’s Statue’s sense of smell for demons has become stronger," Xia Pingzhou said, "Didn’t I tell you before? Back in Tokyo, she could already help me locate demons, let alone now that I’m Tier Three."

"If you hadn’t mentioned it, I’d forget you’re Tier Three," Yanmo Lin mocked, "Mentioned it twice, right?"

"Yes... I am Tier Three, Tier Three is me," Xia Pingzhou said without expression.

"Needs a beating," Yanmo Lin slightly unsheathed her weapon.

At this moment, Xia Pingzhou suddenly paused.

It wasn’t that he was scared by Yanmo Lin, but he noticed someone was watching him.

So he turned his head slightly, using the corner of his eye, he saw a girl with a high ponytail, wearing jeans and a t-shirt, looking at him sideways.

Su Zimai.

Clearly, Su Zimai recognized him too. She silently retreated into the shadows of the store.

"What’s wrong?" Ayase Origami asked.

"Nothing." Xia Pingzhou shook his head.

.....

.....

By the shores of Spirit Heart Lake, just as the Little Nian Beast crossed the water to reach the other side, the Lotus Leaf Demon suddenly awoke.

"Achoo...!" It twitched and sneezed, shivering violently as it looked across the lake, seeing the Little Nian Beast and the Furious Demon of the Seven Deadly Sins standing face to face.

Now, the Little Nian Beast stomped on the turf, extinguishing the purple-red flames, then lifted its head to look at the Furious Demon bound to the cross.

Rather than "bound to the cross," it’s better to say that the silver cross is actually a part of the Furious Demon’s body. The demon’s body structure is bizarre, never judge by appearances.

"Child of the Year Beast... is there something you need from me?" the Furious Demon asked slowly.

"I’ve spent some time over in Europe before, and the demons there said that your Seven Deadly Sins lost to the previous Lake Hunting. The previous Lake Hunting people killed four of you, and used some power to impose some sort of rule on the remaining three of you that you must follow," the Little Nian Beast said, nibbling on a blade of grass.

"What are you trying to say?" the Furious Demon asked.

"The rule set by the previous Lake Hunting for you is..." the Little Nian Beast paused, "once a war between demons and humans breaks out, you must stand on the side of humans."

"What nonsense are you spouting?" The skull on the cross remained silent for a long time before letting out a wrathful and hoarse voice, "Such nonsensical rumors, coming from the mouth of the Child of the Year Beast? Do you not understand how noble your status is?"

"Indeed, it’s nonsense. After all, the humans have a saying, ’You can never wake someone who is pretending to be asleep’... to those pretending to sleep, everything sounds like nonsense. Hmm, I can certainly relate to that," the Little Nian Beast mocked.

"You’ve stayed in the human world for too long, and your mind has been polluted by those inferior beings," the Furious Demon said, "If I report what you said to your father, he’d surely fly into a rage... yet in your China demons, there are even those who mate with humans, let alone you..."