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Page 227
“I have control over the territories of all the half-demons, so I know several places that half-demons don’t usually go. Don’t you think it would be easier to find Onmyoji if we eliminated these areas?”
Dou Tang smiled upon hearing this: "I see. You're afraid we'll kill you after we figure out the location of the Onmyoji?"
Old Wolf chuckled, exuding a roguish charm.
"Of course, who in this world wants to die?"
Kotaro, who was standing nearby, suddenly spoke up: "So what do you want?"
Old Wolf still smiled, seemingly remaining calm even though his life was in someone else's hands. However, Dou Tang could still see a hint of fear in his eyes.
It wasn't that he was afraid of Kotaro or Xueqing, but simply that he was afraid of Doutang alone.
Old Wolf glanced at Dou Tang, then looked at Kotaro and said, "It's simple. I can guarantee that I have never killed an innocent person. You can go and verify this with my partner. After proving that I am a good person..."
He reached out, his fingers transforming into sharp claws, which struck the iron cage bars as if playing a musical instrument.
"I want to join you."
Kotaro slammed his fist on the table and said in a deep voice, "Impossible!"
Dou Tang looked at him with surprise, while Xue Qing smiled.
Kotaro stared coldly at Old Wolf and said, "Perhaps you haven't harmed any ordinary people, but Old Wolf, you've been instigating battles between various half-demons. Do you really think that Urayasu City's current situation has nothing to do with you?"
Upon hearing this, the old wolf suddenly sat up, his expression turning cold, followed by a disdainful sneer.
"And what about you? My dear knight, do you think upholding justice will stop those guys? If I hadn't set the rules, Urayasu City would have been a river of blood long ago! Whether it's you or any other half-demon, we would all have been torn to shreds by the exorcists from Tokyo who came after us! How could we possibly be as peaceful as we are now?"
Dou Tang sensed something amiss and sat down to watch as well.
Kotaro stood up, walked to the iron cage, glared at the old wolf inside, and roared, "I'd rather die at the hands of exorcists than watch these bastards disrupt the peace of this city."
"Ha!" Old Wolf laughed disdainfully: "Ah, great knight, so great. I've fought you many times, but I never thought you would actually be so upright."
Kotaro snorted and sat back down, staring intently at the old wolf in the cage without looking away for a moment.
Old Wolf shook his finger and said, "The method I used can maintain the stability of Pu'an City for the longest time, while preventing large-scale chaos among the half-demons."
"Large-scale battles will drag in even more ordinary people, Knight. You still have a lot to learn."
"It's better to guide than to block."
Kotaro gritted his teeth and roared angrily, "You!"
Dou Tang quickly pressed him back down: "Alright, alright, if we have different ideas, we don't have to force ourselves to talk about them."
Then, Dou Tang looked at Lao Lang and said, "You said you've never killed an innocent person, is that true? That sounds unbelievable."
Old Wolf explained, "Because in my opinion, being driven by desire to attack ordinary people to obtain physical or psychological satisfaction... that's just too low-class."
He pointed to himself; although his suit was tattered, it was still clearly very expensive.
"Isn't it good to enjoy life as a human being like me? With superhuman strength, I can live a very comfortable life in this city."
"Now I no longer see myself as a beast, but as a human being. And for this reason, I need to restrain my bloodlust like a human being."
So that's how it is... A wolf demon who is very self-disciplined? That sounds quite special. Perhaps that's one of the reasons why he was able to break free from the crown's power?
Dou Tang nodded secretly.
Kotaro's eyes were gloomy. His face was very upright, and his short black hair made him look energetic and capable. But when he lowered his eyes, he suddenly had a sinister aura and was no longer as upright as before.
"whispering sound!"
Suddenly, he scoffed, leaned back in utter disappointment, and turned his head away from the sofa.
Dou Tang looked at Xue Qing, who returned a slight nod.
At this point, both of them had actually expressed their opinions.
Kotaro might have done it because Dou Tang saved him, while Xue Qing was mainly concerned with Dou Tang because of the incident itself.
Dou Tang thought for a moment, then stood up and said, "You two wait here for me for a while, I'll be right back."
After saying that, he left the house, ignoring the three people's surprised looks.
About fifteen minutes later, he returned to the warehouse. When he came in, he was blowing on his hand. The three of them looked at it and it looked like a strange pill.
After blowing the dust off the pill, he handed it to the iron cage and said, "I think you should know the sincerity required to surrender, right? We can choose to kill you now, or we can choose to control you first, and perhaps release you after everything is over, considering that you have made amends."
Just as Old Wolf was about to speak, Dou Tang interrupted him.
"I know what you're trying to say. We are decent people, that's true, but we don't mind using some dirty tricks. As long as you eat this, we'll let you join us. It's that simple."
Old Wolf took the pill, examined it carefully, and frowned, saying, "You didn't just pick this up off the ground, did you?"
Dou Tang turned his head away and coughed twice: "How could that be? This is a special product belonging to exorcists, it's absolutely impossible for it to have been picked up on the road."
The old wolf bared his teeth, utterly speechless, and then said, "So... after everything is over, will you decide whether to spare my life or not based on my performance?"
"At least don't kill me now..." His voice trailed off.
After hesitating for a moment, he took a deep breath.
He exhaled, as if having made up his mind, and threw the pill, or rather the candy, into his mouth, swallowing it with a gulp.
Although Kotaro was also curious about what method could be used to control half-demon, he chose to respect Dou Tang. The three of them had not yet figured out each other's backgrounds and had only saved each other's lives. He did not want to offend Dou Tang because of his actions.
After watching the old wolf swallow the candy, Dou Tang looked at Kotaro and said, "Kotaro, alright, you can rest assured now. I assure you, if the old wolf does anything... evil, I can judge him."
Kotaro remained silent for a long time before nodding with some doubt.
It's impossible to make him believe in Dou Tang or Lao Lang so quickly; it seems it will take some more time.
Chapter 41 So it's normal that the four riders were exonerated.
To be honest, Kotaro's life is very stylish.
His rooms looked quite tidy, with a dedicated storage room and practice room, as well as a small garage for repairing motorcycles.
After releasing the old wolf, Kotaro found a map of Urayasu City and delineated the territories of the half-demons he knew.
Urayasu City, sandwiched between Edogawa Ward and Ichikawa City, is like a piece of land protruding from the mainland. The area near the sea is mostly filled with various ports and schools, while the more inland areas are the central urban area.
Thanks to Lao Lang's excellent memory, the lines drawn with the red pen were pieced together to form a large net that enveloped the entire city. At first glance, it looked as if the entire city of Urayasu had been divided into new districts.
Dou Tang glanced at it and frowned.
These areas are very particular, and the half-demons are not fools. They bypassed the various shrines and temples, carefully avoided the well-maintained downtown areas, and each enclosed a block, driving away the evil spirits within and instead controlling the darkness in the block themselves.
Old Wolf clicked the pen cap back on, grinned, and said, "Alright, these are all the half-demons I know of in the entire Pu'an City so far."
"Aside from those who escaped Urayasu City and didn't participate in the fighting, everyone here should be someone who has already participated in the proxy war."
"By the way," he suddenly raised his hand, looking at the other three, "would you mind if I went to pick up my partner?"
"Although it's okay for me to be separated from that guy now, other half-demons might come looking for her and ask her questions, so I think it's better to... just be on the safe side, right?"
His smile suddenly became somewhat obsequious.
Kotaro squinted and said, "You're not going to take this opportunity to run away, are you?"
Old Wolf quickly waved his hand: "How could that be? I ate that thing given to me by this exorcist. Even if I escape, I'll still die in the end, right? It's better to cooperate with you."
Dou Tang suddenly raised his head.
"...Is she your girlfriend?"
The fawning smile on Old Wolf's face suddenly froze.
"Huh? What are you saying, detective knight...?"
Dou Tang smiled smugly, straightened up, and stroked his chin, saying, "You like living as a human, don't actively kill half-demons, have a female partner, and are usually quite conscious of your image. You must be dating your female partner, right?"
The old wolf whimpered resentfully, like a wronged dog.
"Ugh... ahh, yes, I admit it, I'm dating my partner." He clenched his fists in annoyance.
Kotaro opened his mouth in surprise, while Toudou chuckled.
"It's just as I expected."
Xueqing, standing to the side, kept glancing sideways.
What's going on? Why is the atmosphere so good now? Weren't we on the verge of conflict just a moment ago?
Old Wolf spread his hands and said, "Now that I've told you even such private things, you can believe that I genuinely want to join, right?"
Dou Tang sat down again, crossing his legs: "Whether you join or not won't change because of how many secrets we know about you. Once you take my pill, you'll definitely have no chance of escaping our control."
"So, you're allowing me to pick up my partner?"
Just as Kotaro was about to nod, Xueqing suddenly spoke up, her eyes icy cold: "Aren't you afraid we'll kidnap your partner and take him hostage?"
The old wolf said without hesitation, "The fact that you didn't kill me immediately after you finished drawing this map shows that you are more upright than the other half-demons I know."
“If my partner stays in the hideout, he will only be killed by the half-demons who come looking for him. My place is not exactly a secret.”
“Besides…” He looked at the window at the top of the warehouse. It was already daylight outside, almost noon. “What happened last night has probably been known to the surrounding half-demons. Soon, the annexation activities targeting those forces from last night will begin. Puan City is going to be in chaos.”
At this point, he shuddered with lingering fear, glanced warily at Dou Tang, and said, "You probably don't know how big of a mess things got into last night..."
He picked up his pen again and drew on the map, connecting several areas with a black pen. He said, "Last night, the half-demons in these nearby areas all went to the gathering, but they were wiped out by you. In other words, such a large area suddenly opened up on the outskirts of Puan City. Those half-demons who love to expand their territory will definitely not let this opportunity pass."
"Of course, it's estimated that some groups that were originally united will split up because of these suddenly vacant territories."
The situation, which had been stable for six months, was about to change again.
"Split up?" Dou Tang interrupted him. "Those groups that were originally merged, how could they split up?"
Old Wolf nodded and said, "In the end, these groups are only able to gather together because the enemy is strong and they themselves are weak. Once there is no external threat, these groups will start to weaken and divide themselves. Aren't humans the same?"
"Wolves that discover new territory will split up, and humans who see a new continent will also form different countries. The laws of nature that belong to animals also apply to humans, only in a different form."
After listening, Dou Tang smiled and looked at the old wolf, saying, "It seems you have your own unique insights into half-demons and humans."
Upon hearing such praise, the old wolf bowed somewhat extravagantly, straightened his tattered suit like a nobleman, and said loudly, "I was once a monster, and now I am a human. It is my pleasure to think about what these two identities have in common."
"Getting back to the main topic, when are we going to pick up my partner?"
Dou Tang nodded and said, "Anytime is fine."
Old Wolf seemed somewhat excited, and then said, "So... do I need a suit?"
Dou Tang was taken aback upon hearing this.
Kotaro, standing nearby, asked in surprise, "What do you need the suit for?"
Old Wolf snapped his fingers and said casually, "Isn't this obvious? Since we're partners, it would be normal for me to become a Kamen Rider too, right?"
"I know the rule of being weak when you're innocent, but at worst I just won't transform, right? The four of us knights are here to uncover the truth behind Urayasu City... isn't that great?"
Kotaro snorted coldly and said angrily, "Don't even think about it! Do you really think you're a good person?"
Dou Tang remained silent for a moment, then looked at Xue Qing, seemingly wanting to gauge his attitude.
Xueqing turned her face away: "I don't care."
...Does it feel like my lines were stolen?
So Dou Tang looked at Old Wolf and said, "Well... my opinion is, no problem."
"Wearing a leather leash is a form of self-discipline and a farewell to the past. If you have this mindset, I welcome it."
Upon hearing this, Kotaro, who had always prided himself on being a righteous man, was speechless and could only scoff.
Chapter 42 Save those words for when you're dead.
Old Wolf is a smart man, very smart.
Dou Tang understands this deeply.
He has rarely met anyone who can quickly accept their failures, or even quickly change their identity and stance.
Dou Tang has seen too many people who are desperate and ready to fight to the death. For evil spirits, the idea of "as long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood" is probably an incomprehensible behavior. From the moment they are born, they are immersed in obsessive resentment and evil intentions. Their obsession has clouded their reason, and they will never stop until they fight to the death for their goals.
But monsters seem different, especially old wolves.
The division of territory, the hunting among themselves, and the old wolf's swift surrender after realizing that the situation was hopeless all indicate that although these monsters possess great power, they are more like primitive animals.
So, the monsters that like to hunt humans seem to have a new explanation.
"Killing" behavior and picky eating.
Killing behavior refers to an animal killing another animal without any reason such as hunger or fighting.
For example, red foxes or leopards sometimes kill far more prey than they can eat in one go, then leave the prey behind and walk away.