Chapter 15: The Pig Cage Mountain Stronghold

The woman in the purple dress climbed nimbly over the red brick wall and leaped across. What was it with women these days? Li Changlu couldn’t help but sigh—each one seemed more like a bandit than the last. How was he supposed to catch anyone like this? Maybe he’d have better luck catching a lollipop. Even if she was a demon, couldn’t she leave him a shred of dignity? Was he supposed to jump over the wall too?

But to his surprise, Heiwa, who was running last, flashed a confident smile. In a blink, her hands and feet transformed into hamster paws. Scritch-scratch—she clung to the red bricks and scaled the wall with ease. Li Changlu had always thought Heiwa’s greatest talent as a hamster monster was gnawing on corn, maybe unleashing her ultimate move: a corn machine gun to mow down enemies. He never imagined this pudgy hamster could climb walls so skillfully.

Not only that, but Qing leaped over his head and cleared the wall as well. If the fat hamster could make it, fine. But what was the young lady up to? Couldn’t they leave him a little dignity? They were monsters, but so was he!

Maybe… possibly… he could give it a try. Who knew, perhaps he’d sprout a pair of wings? Harboring a sliver of hope, Li Changlu took a running start and jumped—

Clang!

Of course, Li Changlu didn’t make it. He crashed heavily against the red brick wall. As a monster, where was his signature skill?

But then, Qing hopped back onto the wall. Seeing Li Changlu squatting in defeat, she shook her head and scolded, “You really are hopeless.”

And without a second thought, she scooped him up in a princess carry. Li Changlu sighed—Qing was truly considerate, though he was a bit afraid of heights. Yet, nestled in her arms, he feared nothing.

“Could you maybe jump a bit lower…?” he murmured, preparing to enjoy this rare, blissful moment.

Boom!

A thunderous crash sounded as the red brick wall burst open. Qing, holding a bewildered Li Changlu, charged straight through. Li Changlu emerged covered in dust, only his eyes visible, and turned to Qing in disbelief.

“Miss, I meant lower—not crash through the wall. If you’re going to smash it, couldn’t you do it yourself? Why bring me along? It hurts…”

And so, Qing cradled the dusty Li Changlu as they chased after the woman in purple through the alley. A delicate, adorable girl carrying a grown man, striding swiftly through the twilight.

Li Changlu felt deeply embarrassed, wishing he could burrow into the earth. He had no idea how long they ran. Eventually, in front of a dilapidated building, they lost track of the woman in purple.

“Could you let me down now?”

“Oh, alright!” With that, Qing casually tossed Li Changlu aside, smoothed her hair, and brushed the dust from her clothes.

Li Changlu rolled twice on the ground before scrambling up, covered in dust, stomping in frustration.

With each stomp, a cloud of dust rose around him.

“Li, did you awaken some new power? You’ve got special effects now,” Heiwa asked, eyeing the dust swirling around him with wonder. “It’s like a fairy mist!”

“Brother Hei, when did you learn such advanced phrases?” Qing praised him.

Heiwa blushed and scratched his head. “You’re too kind. I’m just an exceptional mess.”

Qing looked at his modest expression, resisting the urge to correct him—it should be ‘exceptional talent.’

“That’s enough, you two. Enough. Following you on missions—is there any chance I’ll live to enjoy wine and food?”

“Qing, are you doing this on purpose? Trying to finish me off and inherit my fruit knife?”

“Don’t even think about it,” he warned. “And where’s that fox demon?”

Li Changlu tried to calm his agitated heart—after all, he couldn’t beat any of them. All he could do was complain. What else could he do? Challenge Qing, kill that snake spirit, kick the black hamster?

“She disappeared around here. There aren’t any other hiding places nearby,” Heiwa said, pointing at the rundown building.

They finally got a good look at the place. At first glance, Li Changlu thought of the ‘Pig Cage Alley’ from Kung Fu Hustle—the old-style apartment block, dilapidated and a relic of the last century.

“Is there really such architecture in Licheng? Did we stumble onto the wrong set?” Li Changlu couldn’t believe his eyes. These old buildings should only exist in movies—a product of their era. Even the workplace apartments from the seventies and eighties were rare, yet here this building stood, real and inhabited.

Residents could be seen passing through the hallways. It was already dusk, and lights were flickering on.

In front of the building was a wide open space where people were dancing, playing chess, and children ran about.

Three floors and a ground level, laundry and bedding hung everywhere, the walls battered and worn.

“Let’s go in and ask around,” Li Changlu said. The area looked like an urban-rural junction. If the fox demon had come here, there really was nowhere else to hide. He led Heiwa and Qing inside.

“I suddenly remember—I’ve got internal injuries from when Qing crashed into me,” Li Changlu clutched his chest, groaning in pain as they approached the front door.

“Li, you don’t want to go in, do you?” Heiwa saw right through him.

“These people have no demonic energy,” Qing observed, her white eyes sweeping over the crowd.

Li Changlu coughed, his gaze resolute. “Even if there’s a mountain of blades and boiling seas ahead—even if I’m gravely wounded—I’ll accompany you. However…”

He looked at Qing.

“Hmm?” Qing replied.

“Well, if we run into danger, could you… do what you just did?”

Qing answered without hesitation. “Oh, sure!”

And so, the three entered the iron gate of the apartment block.

The people relaxing outside were mostly elderly men and women. Young folks rarely enjoyed themselves with dance and chess like this—they were probably inside, glued to their phones and chasing dramas.

No one paid attention as Li Changlu and his companions entered. Everyone kept doing their own thing—dancing, playing chess. Nothing seemed amiss. These were ordinary, living people.

“Excuse me, gentlemen—have you seen a girl in purple?” Li Changlu asked the group playing chess.

“Oh, you mean Zi—she’s in the third room on the left, second floor,” a spectator replied without turning his head, casually revealing the fox demon’s location.

Li Changlu was surprised. Even a cunning rabbit has three burrows, yet a fox was living in such an obvious spot? Was the fox less clever than a rabbit? It didn’t seem right. It was as if the fox demon was flaunting herself: I’m right here—come get me!

Well, since she was so brazen, he couldn’t let her down. Time to confront her.

“The hallways here are all connected—should we split up?” Heiwa asked, pointing at the building.

“What are you talking about?” Qing was puzzled.

“No need,” Li Changlu understood the point. Each floor had multiple entrances; escaping would be easy.

“That’s not like you, Li.”

“If she tries to run,” Li Changlu grinned slyly, “I’ll burn her wardrobe—every last piece of clothing and all her bags.”

Qing shuddered—this handsome man was truly a devil.

They wound their way up the stairs and heard anxious voices calling out.

“Uncle Wang, have you seen my mom?”

“Your mom? Next door.”

“Xiao Lin, my husband’s phone won’t connect—have you seen him?”

“He just finished my hair, probably went home.”

“Honey, I won’t call you useless anymore—with so much money in your account, our son can be saved…”

The apartment block buzzed with life. This was the essence of daily living—oil, salt, soy, vinegar, and tea.

Li Changlu laughed until his stomach hurt—was this some massive family reunion?