Demonic Spy

Late at night,

At Qingyang County's four main gates, squads of well-equipped, rigorously trained soldiers replaced the city guards stationed at the gates.

The Demon Suppression Division was brightly lit. All Demon Suppressing Guards had awakened from their dreams, fully armed, and gathered at the drill ground.

In the Demon Suppression Division's main hall, experts of Little Banner rank and above gathered once more.

Other than Sun Wude, who sat quietly in his seat with his eyes closed, everyone else had no idea what had happened and whispered among themselves, each making their own guesses.

"Deputy Commander Sun, why have we been summoned at such an hour? Has something happened?"

A Chief Banner came up behind Sun Wude and asked softly.

The noisy hall instantly fell silent, and every gaze turned toward Sun Wude.

"I don't know."

Sun Wude shook his head with his eyes closed. After receiving the County Governor's order, he had sent out notice to gather everyone.

As for what exactly had happened, he truly did not know.

The hall erupted once more.

Just then, the County Governor slowly walked in through the doors, carrying two unconscious people in his hands.

Once everyone saw the two men's faces, their hearts jolted. They stared at the County Governor in disbelief.

They wanted to know why.

Sun Wude's expression did not change, though a glint of excitement flashed through his eyes.

Xiao Qiaofeng and Ye Xiaofan!

Looks like I have a chance to get rid of the word "Deputy."

The County Governor's demonic face was covered in frost. He casually tossed the two people onto the floor, then strode straight to the seat of honor and sat down.

His cold eyes swept across the hall. Everyone lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze.

"Everyone, I never expected that during my period of seclusion, Qingyang County would become riddled with holes, and even the Hundred Commander of the Demon Suppression Division would become a demonic spy."

"What?"

"Impossible!"

Everyone was incredulous. Some of Xiao Qiaofeng's steadfast supporters even rose to their feet and spoke up in rebuttal.

Although Xiao Qiaofeng had not managed the Demon Suppression Division's affairs for the past two years, it was impossible for him to betray humanity and side with demons.

"Humph!"

The County Governor snorted coldly. A terrifying aura instantly erupted and blanketed the entire hall. The people who had stood up turned pale, spat blood, and collapsed to the floor.

The expressions of those still seated were no better. They looked at the County Governor in terror.

Although the County Governor had not targeted them, they had still suffered some injuries beneath that pressure.

"Throw these people into the dungeon and keep them under strict guard."

"Yes!"

Sun Wude hurriedly rose and accepted the order, while signaling to those who had pledged allegiance to him with his eyes.

At once, eight people stood up and seized the utterly powerless Xiao Qiaofeng and his supporters.

After a short while, Sun Wude and the others returned to the main hall.

The County Governor spoke again.

"Demons are now hiding within the city. I want you to find them and kill them as quickly as possible."

After speaking, the County Governor ignored everyone's reactions and discussion. He picked up Xiao Qiaofeng and Ye Xiaofan and left.

"Everyone, I never expected Commander Xiao and Ye Xiaofan to be demonic spies either. But now is not the time to discuss that. The County Governor says there are demons in the city, so we must act immediately and find them, lest large numbers of civilians suffer casualties."

Once the County Governor had completely disappeared from sight, Sun Wude sat in the seat of honor with a gloomy expression and spoke in a low voice.

Carrying the fake "Xiao Qiaofeng" and "Ye Xiaofan," the County Governor silently returned to the County Yamen compound. He then entered a hidden passage through his secluded cultivation chamber.

Not long after,

Wails, curses, and crying faintly drifted from ahead.

As the County Governor continued deeper into the passage, it gradually widened. At the same time, hideous demons began appearing one after another.

After walking for a while longer,

A light appeared ahead. An underground hall filled with gray mist came into view, as large as three football fields and sixty zhang high.

Through the gray mist, white bones could be seen carpeting the ground, while countless stone caves densely covered the surrounding walls.

Countless humans were imprisoned inside those caves, suffering endless torment at the hands of demons.

Wails, curses, and cries continuously rang out from those stone caves.

It was like the most vicious melody from the depths of hell.

The County Governor stood at the entrance to the underground hall, narrowed his eyes, and slowly took a deep breath, his face filled with intoxication.

"Wonderful~ But it's still not enough."

After greedily inhaling several mouthfuls of gray mist, he walked into a stone chamber with human skin spread across the floor and skulls serving as lampstands, his expression still unsatisfied.

At that moment, three humanoid demons and one avian demon knelt inside the stone chamber.

"Arrange for twenty demons to slaughter freely in the city every day. Send demons out of the city to hunt down these two people. Within two days, I want to know where they are."

The County Governor tossed the fake "Xiao Qiaofeng" and "Ye Xiaofan" onto the ground, sat in the seat of honor, and spoke.

"Yes, Venerable One!"

The four demons answered solemnly.

The silent darkness was shattered by a shrill scream.

Sleeping people awoke from their dreams. Terrifying demons crawled out from dark corners one after another, roaring as they ravenously devoured ordinary people.

Endless fear, despair, and wailing began gathering over Qingyang County City at that moment.

A flock of avian demons took flight from a small mountain outside the city under cover of night, scattering in all directions.

Atop the tallest building in the County Yamen, the County Governor stood with his hands behind his back, the corners of his lips slightly raised as he looked toward the west side of the city.

"After devouring Ye Xiaofan and turning Xiao Qiaofeng into a demon, it will be time to leave Qingyang County."

The County Governor narrowed his eyes and muttered to himself.

Fear, despair, and wailing in the air continued to grow, and the smile on his face became increasingly radiant.

Demon Suppression Division council hall.

"Report! Deputy Commander Sun, demons have suddenly appeared in the west of the city and are currently slaughtering people!"

A Demon Suppressing Guard with a pale face, drenched in cold sweat and wearing a panicked expression, suddenly rushed in, interrupting the people who were discussing how to find the demons hidden in Qingyang County City.

"What?"

The many higher-ups of the Demon Suppression Division abruptly rose to their feet. Just moments ago, they had not entirely believed that Xiao Qiaofeng had sided with demons or that demons were hiding in the city.

Now, they had no choice but to believe it. They no longer questioned the County Governor.

"Twenty demons have suddenly appeared in the west of the city. The civilian casualties are severe."

The Demon Suppressing Guard repeated himself.

Everyone came back to their senses and looked toward Sun Wude.

"Everyone, time waits for no one. Chief Banner Liu, Chief Banner Wang, I order the two of you to lead twenty men each to kill the demons. Chief Banner Sun, lead the logistics personnel to relocate the civilians in the west of the city to a safe place and treat the wounded."

Sun Wude rose from his seat, his expression stern. Looking at everyone, he spoke in a tone that seemed to carry boundless fury.

"Yes!"

The three Chief Banners who had been named accepted their orders and departed.

The sky gradually brightened, and the first ray of morning sunlight brought infinite vitality and hope.

The demons attacking the west of the city were not particularly strong and were quickly wiped out.

The exhausted Demon Suppressing Guards helped transport the demons' massive corpses to the western plaza for centralized destruction.

The demonic aura emitted by demon corpses was nothing to cultivators, but to ordinary people, it was deadly slow poison.

At best, it would drastically alter one's temperament. At worst, it would make one lose all reason and turn into a bloodthirsty humanoid beast.

The headquarters of the Black Tiger Gang, which had once dominated the west of the city for years, had now become a camp for housing civilians who had narrowly escaped the demonic attack.

Their faces were pale, their eyes hollow. They sat blankly in the plaza, waiting for arrangements.

Gradually, whispers began to spread among the crowd.

The voices grew louder and louder. No one knew whose mouth it had first come from: the reason demons had been able to infiltrate the city without a sound was because Xiao Qiaofeng, the Hundred Commander of the Demon Suppression Division, had sided with the demons.

No one knew how many demons were still hidden within the city.

Despair, fear, and resentment spread through the crowd like wildfire.

Qingyang County City had lost its former bustle. Everyone knew that Xiao Qiaofeng, the Hundred Commander of the Demon Suppression Division, was a demonic spy who had hidden an unknown number of demons within the city.

Every Household shut its doors and barred its windows, hiding in places they believed were safe.

Only patrolling Demon Suppressing Guards and city guards remained on the streets.