Wait a minute, where is my master?

"I don't know."

"I don't recognize."

"I've never seen."

After a brief inspection of the Ox Demon, the three men shook their heads like rattle-drums.

"Truly do not recognize?"

Jin Xu lifted his foot and kicked at the thigh of the Ox Demon, then confirmed with the three Confucian Practitioners once again.

"Taoist, we truly do not recognize this Ox Demon, we haven't even heard about Qingmu Academy sending undercover agents to the Demon Clan."

The trio only wished to leave the place quickly, and indeed, they did not recognize the Ox Demon.

"Very well, then I shall slay this Ox Demon, and you three may go as you please."

The young Taoist spoke to the burly man with ox horns, then waved his hand at the three men, signaling that they could leave.

"Taoist, we take our leave!"

With respectful farewells, the three Confucian Practitioners dashed toward the entrance of Xuanxu Temple as if fleeing from disaster.

"Wait!"

"Are we even able to leave today!!!"

The hearts of the three Confucian Practitioners who had just reached the front courtyard of the temple wailed in unison.

They turned around and looked back at the hall, only to discover that the one who had stopped them this time was the horned demon lying on the ground.

The burly minotaur, who had been unconscious just moments before, was now sitting up, waving at the three men who had turned around.

He had actually woken up earlier, but out of fear of losing face, he kept pretending to be unconscious. The minotaur had planned to wait for the three young men from Qingmu Academy to leave and then feign having just awakened, to give a good explanation to the young Taoist.

But the Taoist's words about "slaying the Ox Demon" forced him to put aside his pride; preserving his life was the top priority.

Jin Xu too realized that the bull-horned strongman had been awake all along, his sentence was intentionally addressed to the Ox Demon.

"Awake, are you? You claim to be an undercover agent sent by Qingmu Academy to the Demon Clan, yet these three Daoist friends from the Academy do not recognize you, nor have they even heard of this. How do you explain that?"

The young Taoist's face bore a smile that did not resemble a smile as he appraised the Ox Demon at his feet.

"Temple master, how timely the Ox Demon has awoken, just as you spoke of slaying him!"

Little White suddenly interjected with surprise.

Jin Xu glanced sideways upon hearing Shiqi's remark, wondering when his demon pet learned to be sarcastically biting.

However, when he saw the utterly amazed expression on the other's face, he realized he had misunderstood.

Little White was genuinely shocked.

If she had even a hint of mockery, it would be an insult to the intelligence of the Snow Wolf Clan.

"Heh... hehe, what a coincidence. Taoist, these three juniors surely won't recognize me in this guise, but if I revert to my true form, they will definitely know."

The bull-horned strongman chuckled foolishly as he rose from the ground and walked toward the main hall of Xuanxu Temple.

The young Taoist did not stop him; he wasn't worried about the Ox Demon escaping, for how could the creature be swifter than his Hand Palm Thunder?

In the front courtyard of the temple, the three Confucian Practitioners stood by the bronze cauldron unmoved, turning their gazes toward Jin Xu when they saw the Ox Demon emerge.

Cradling a teacup, Jin Xu walked out with the two ladies.

With a polite gesture toward the three men, he said.

"Gentlemen, you have heard what the Ox Demon claims. Now I must trouble you to recognize his true form."

"Hehe, no trouble at all, as long as you let us go."

Senior Brother Feng responded cheerfully, the latter part of the sentence he kept to himself.

The young Taoist nodded then turned to look at the Ox Demon, nodding his chin to signal the creature to quickly reveal its true form.

"Don't worry, Little Taoist, as soon as I turn back into my true form, they'll definitely recognize me!" the Ox Demon said as it spurred its spiritual power, and in the blink of an eye, a normal-sized black and white Ox Demon appeared in the courtyard of Xuanxu Temple. "Youngsters, do you recognize old me in this form?"

The Ox Demon flicked its tail and said to the three Confucian Practitioners.

Liu Ziliang and Liu Dongqing looked on with blank faces; they had arrived late and had not seen the other before.

Senior Brother Feng was puzzled at first but then had a sudden realization, slamming his right fist into his left palm.

Excitedly, he said to the Ox Demon, "You're that Taiji Bull that got expelled from Qingmu Academy for failing to sneak a peek at Mister Lan's bath!?"

"Pfft!"

The Ox Demon hadn't even refuted yet.

When Jin Xu heard the remark, he spewed out a mouthful of tea.

"Shouldn't this thing be called a Milk Cow Demon? Is Qingmu Academy too creative with names, or has Nine Provinces Realm got an issue with naming species!

Calling a Husky a Snow Wolf is one thing, but a Milk Cow a Taiji Bull!? Besides the black and white pattern, where does it have anything to do with Taiji? Can't just slap the Taiji name on anything black and white, right!?

And what's this nonsense about getting expelled for peeping at someone's bath." The Little Taoist internally ranted with wild mockery.

Yu Yaoer, standing off to the side, blinked her clear yet somewhat foolish big eyes, feeling relieved that she was behind Jin Xu this time; otherwise, she'd probably be sprayed in the face again, as usual.

"Little Taoist, don't listen to their nonsense. What does this youngster know? The tale of old me sneaking a peek at the bath is false. Pretending to be expelled to infiltrate the Demon Clan undercover is the truth."

The Milk Cow Demon shook its head vigorously, afraid that Jin Xu would mistake it for a bad cow, and hurriedly voiced its rebuttal to Senior Brother Feng's words.

"Mister Lan beat your master half to death over this back then, the whole academy knew about it. If it weren't for the academy head stepping in, we could've had beef for dinner that night at the academy. And you dare say it's fake..."

Senior Brother Feng murmured quietly, and Liu Ziliang, who was beside him, clearly caught the scent of gossip and leaned in, his eyes filled with eagerness.

Even Liu Dongqing, who was comparatively more composed, cast a curious glance toward them.

Although Senior Brother Feng spoke softly, everyone present was a Cultivator and naturally heard him.

"You need to commit to the act completely, don't you understand? If I didn't play it convincingly, how could I deceive others and make the Demon Clan believe I was truly expelled from the academy? Besides..."

The Taiji Bull wanted to say more, but was interrupted by Jin Xu.

After mentally complaining about the absurdity of the names for a while, then listening to the dialogue between the cow and the man, he confirmed that this Milk Cow was indeed from Qingmu Academy.

However, whether it was an undercover mission or peeking at someone's bath was still up for debate.

"Alright, since you recognize it, that makes things easier. Send a communication to Mister Lan, telling her about this cow, and we should be able to get our answers in the remaining time."

Jin Xu said to Senior Brother Feng in a straightforward manner.

"Little Taoist, about that... Mister Lan is usually very busy with cultivation. It's best not to disturb her. How about letting this practitioner send a communication to my master instead?"

The Taiji Bull, upon hearing this, gently tried to dissuade him.

However, the Little Taoist did not heed what the other said, but instead, looking at Senior Brother Feng who hadn't moved, asked, "What's wrong, is there a problem?"

"There is."

The bearded Cultivator replied weakly.

"Huh?"

"I don't have Mister Lan's Communication Jade Token."

"..."

Senior Brother Feng, just a Golden Core Confucian Practitioner in Qingmu Academy, was merely an older student. How could he possibly have the Communication Jade Token of Mister Lan, the leader of all the instructors at Qingmu Academy?

"...Who is your master?"

Jin Xu resignedly turned to ask the Taiji Bull.

"My master is none other than Song Xili, one of the Three Cold Friends!"

The Milk Cow Demon replied proudly.