Chapter 64: Chapter 61 Black Wind Mountain Range
“Only Martial Artists assigned to monster suppression can access the full territory’s intelligence,” Cui Fan said.
Monster Suppressors also lead teams to eliminate demons but are only responsible for rural villages and towns.
However, his intention in saying this wasn’t to refuse Li Hao. His tone shifted as he smiled and said, “But since you’ve traveled from afar, eager to hunt demons, naturally I cannot decline your request. Please, follow me.”
With that, he led Li Hao and the others into a side room of the Monster Suppression Department.
There were guards in the room, with whom Cui Fan was very familiar. After a greeting, he took the group inside.
In the room hung a map, the Geomantic Chart of Cangyu City, covering over a dozen small towns and numerous villages in the vicinity.
Cui Fan pulled out a record book from the shelf and handed it to Li Hao.
“This is the record of demon hunting in and around Cangyu City for the past half year. Take your time looking through it. After we’ve had lunch, I’ll take you all on a patrol this afternoon,” Cui Fan said with a smile.
Li Hao opened the record book and started to read carefully.
Li Yuanzhao also leaned in out of curiosity and examined it closely.
In a wealthy estate on the outskirts of the city.
“Ms. Yan, ten Copper Coins.”
“Ms. Zhang, eight Copper Coins.”
A young and full-figured beauty reclined on a lounge, slowly flipping through an account book. She spoke to the account keeper beside her:
“The demon calamities have been frequent this year, and the tenant farmers’ harvests are poor. Please tell my husband to waive some of their taxes; they are suffering too much…”
The account keeper paused, bowing his head and said, “Madam is merciful, but with the businesses of the various households also struggling this year, further tax reductions would shrink the estate’s revenues.”
“We can be frugal. Let the farmers have a good year,” the beautiful lady spoke softly and gently.
Hearing this, the account keeper nodded and said, “I’ll discuss it with the master.”
“Madam, you are pregnant and have been looking at the account books all morning. You must be tired. It’s time to rest,” said the delicate and pretty maid beside her with concern.
The beautiful lady gently caressed her protruding belly, her eyes filled with tender love, closed the account book, and, with the help of the maid, slowly rose and returned to her own bedroom.
“I’ll go to the kitchen and bring you some snacks,” the maid said obediently after helping the beautiful lady lay down on the bed.
The beautiful lady nodded gently.
As the maid left and the door gently closed, she softly caressed her stomach and murmured, “Child, New Year’s is coming soon. Mother will soon be able to see you.”
Her eyes were like water, filled with gentle expectations.
“Hee hee, you’re so eager to see me, aren’t you?”
Suddenly, a strange child’s voice echoed in the quiet room, sharp in tone.
The beautiful lady snapped back from her thoughts, her eyes widening in shock as she looked at her belly.
She heard it clearly; the voice came from inside her eight-month pregnant belly.
“You…”
Before she could comprehend what was happening, she saw her belly suddenly swell up, growing larger and larger, accompanied by waves of tearing pain.
With a pop, it burst from her navel, but there was no blood spray. Instead, it deflated quickly like a burst balloon.
A wet, withered head, covered in fresh blood, rose slowly from the lady’s belly. Yet behind the head was a serpent tail-like elongated limb, resembling both a snake and a centipede without legs, gently twisting.
Confronted by this horrific scene, even with her years of managing the household, the beautiful lady screamed in terror and fainted.
“How hypocritical. Your child has come out, yet you don’t want to look anymore.”
The withered head chuckled strangely as it split its mouth, revealing all its sharp teeth.
Then, the creature swiftly moved, climbing to the upper body of the beautiful lady, and suddenly bit her head with its mouth.
It proceeded to swallow her entire upper body, its elongated limb swelling as it did so.
“Evil spawn!”
Suddenly, an angry voice sounded. A streak of golden light flashed, and a slender figure darted through the wall, entering the room. It was Song Yueyao, her posture light and graceful.
“Hmm?”
The creature that was devouring the beautiful lady paused, its expression changing dramatically as it quickly spat out the half-eaten body and, like a venomous snake, hurriedly slithered toward the window, trying to escape.
“Golden Lock Trapping Dragon!”
Song Yueyao’s face was ice cold as she quickly cast a spell.
The Divine Soul, although it couldn’t cause physical damage, could wield Divine Skills, particularly adept at countering the strange Demon Arts of demons.
This Golden Lock Trapping Dragon was a binding skill belonging to the Divine Travel Skill.
Golden light suddenly burst forth, trapping the withered, serpentine demon within, unable to break free.
Before long, hurried footsteps approached, and Song Yueyao’s physical body arrived outside the window, leaping down and striking towards the demon entrapped in the golden light with her sword.
“Spare me…” the demon pleaded in panic.
But the sword light was unforgiving, decapitating its head, which rolled onto the floor.
Song Yueyao slashed twice more, cutting its body into pieces, then quickly moved inside the room, approached the bed, and saw that the beautiful lady’s face was already a bloody mess, showing signs of rot.
Looking at her stomach, it was hollow, the organs having been eaten away.
She was too late… Her expression darkened, a look of displeasure crossed her face. Despite her experience in slaying demons, she was still filled with rage.
At this time, all of the house servants and maids within the mansion rushed over, along with the master of the house, a middle-aged merchant in his forties.
Song Yueyao immediately ordered the accompanying people to seal off the room to prevent ordinary people from seeing inside.
“You are from the Monster Suppression Department?!”
The master of the house, although knowledgeable and experienced, recognized the official uniform on Tian Congzhi at a glance. His face changed drastically as he hurriedly asked, “What about Lian’er? What has happened to Lian’er?”
“There is a Demon inside, please do not approach.”
Tian Congzhi, a disciple of Black Hall, was on a mission to assist Song Yueyao with the case. He had already seen the tragic scene inside and spoke with a somber voice.
“How could there be a Demon in my house? Are you sure you are not mistaken? Let me see Lian’er!” The master pushed against Tian Congzhi, his teeth clenched as he spoke.
Song Yueyao emerged from behind a door, her long sword already sheathed. She glanced at the middle-aged man and said, “Your wife is dead, killed by a monster. I have slain the creature. You should give her a proper burial.”
“Dead, dead?”
The master was so shocked he became stupefied, then frantically shoved past, trying to rush inside.
Tian Congzhi, reluctant to use force on an ordinary person, could only try his utmost to stop him. Seeing this, Song Yueyao shook her head slightly, signaling him to step aside.
After all, he had to see her — there were still burial arrangements to be made.
The middle-aged man burst into the room and immediately saw the horrific scene. In an instant, he was thunderstruck, standing petrified on the spot.
Song Yueyao instructed Tian Congzhi, “You stay behind to take care of the aftermath. I need to make a trip over to the city guard.”
“Okay.”
Tian Congzhi agreed.
Before Song Yueyao could leave, the middle-aged man suddenly grabbed her arm, his eyes red with rage, and roared at her,
“Why, why didn’t you come sooner? Why?!”
“Give me back my Lian’er, give me back my Lian’er!!”
Song Yueyao’s expression changed slightly. Instinctively, she struggled free, flung her arm, and sent the man tumbling to the ground.
The man fell sitting with a thud and didn’t continue to make a scene. Instead, he seemed to crumble, grabbing his head and bursting into deep sobs,
“She said it was her first time being a mother, she even had the child’s name picked out. Why, why do this to Lian’er, oh heavens, you are so unjust!!”
His wailing echoed throughout the courtyard, reaching the ears of all the house servants and maids blocked outside the door, leaving everyone deeply shaken.
A flicker of guilt passed through Song Yueyao’s heart as she looked at the now nearly deranged middle-aged man. Knowing that nothing she said would be heard by him at this moment, she just tightened her grip on her sword, said nothing, and turned to leave quickly.
Indeed, why couldn’t she have been faster… she bit her lower lip lightly.
Inside the city lord’s mansion.
Song Yueyao arrived swiftly, her movements nimble.
“Mr. Yue, you wanted to see me?”
Song Yueyao saw the city guard responsible for the entire safety of Cangyu City.
Yue Shuhong, in his forties this year, exuded an air of cultured elegance. As he watched the young woman dash towards him, a flicker of deep emotion crossed his eyes.
To have reached the Divine Travel Realm in her early twenties, and to be nearing perfection in that state, that was the gap between a top prodigy and himself.
“Governor Song, you have worked hard. You’ve been slaying demons since you arrived yesterday. We owe you a great deal for sparing the town from disaster,” Yue Shuhong said with a light laugh.
Having just come from the residence, Song Yueyao was not in a good mood, and she replied with a somber expression, “Exterminating demons is the duty of martial artists like us, it’s nothing. May I ask, Mr. Yue, the reason for seeking me?”
Yue Shuhong, having held high positions for a long time and being adept at reading people, felt a sense of appreciation towards someone who didn’t indulge in flattery. His expression turned serious as he said,
“Governor Song must have seen the recent monster-slaying archives of our city. In the past half year, monsters have been appearing frequently, and about half a month ago, a large number of monsters began gathering in the Black Wind Mountain Range about a hundred miles east of the city. The caravans passing by have all met with misfortune.”
Yue Shuhong spread out a Geomantic Chart on the table and pointed to a mountain range on the eastern side, “I sent men to investigate, and we lost four monster hunters just to gather some information.”
As he said this, he turned his serious gaze towards Song Yueyao, “Among these monsters, there is a Great Demon that wants to unite the smaller demons and devour the entire Cangyu City!”
Song Yueyao was taken aback, her face turned pale. Cangyu City had millions of residents; was this Demon planning to overrun the city? Was it intent on carrying out a massacre?
This was not a common occurrence, even on the border.
“Then have you notified the Xia Family?” Song Yueyao asked immediately.
The Xia Family was one of the four great Divine Generals, and Qi State was the large state under their protection.
Yue Shuhong gave a wry smile and said, “I did, but it seems the Xia Family is currently engaged in a battle elsewhere. They said to wait until the Demon actually attacks, and then they will send someone to deal with it, asking us not to chase shadows.”
A flash of anger crossed Song Yueyao’s eyes, but she knew the Divine General Mansion was not a place she could comment on. If words she spoke here were to secretly reach the Xia Family, it could be somewhat detrimental to Tan Palace. She asked, “Is this information true or false?”
Yue Shuhong’s face turned solemn, and he said seriously, “It is true, of course.”
Then he added, “But I am not one hundred percent certain, so… if possible, could you, Governor Song, take the lead in asking for the Xia Family’s assistance?”
Song Yueyao frowned; she wasn’t well acquainted with this city guard and didn’t want to be used as a pawn.
After thinking for a moment, she said, “I only hold the position of governor and may not be able to move them to action. So, I will investigate the situation first.”
Yue Shuhong seemed to anticipate her response and nodded, “All right, then. Shall I join you? The Black Wind Mountain Range is too dangerous, with a Great Demon lurking there.”
“That won’t be necessary, I will just scout the edge,” Song Yueyao said, and soon after took her leave of him.
Watching her go, Yue Shuhong watched for a long time, eventually letting out a long sigh.
Meanwhile, in the Monster Suppression Department.
Li Hao had just finished going through the recent monster-slaying records and had seen some other reports of monster activity.
“Black Wind Mountain Range, a gathering of monsters…” Li Hao’s eyes narrowed slightly.