Journey to Qingshan Town

Chu Jiang unfolded Assistant Magistrate Liu's note. There were only a few dozen words on it.

"Died at Black Tiger Mountain. The corpse was burned beyond recognition..."

Black Tiger Mountain?

Within Baishi County, there were four great demons, and the Black Tiger was one of them.

Black Tiger Mountain had originally been called Great Green Mountain. Over the past three years, reports of the Black Tiger attacking civilians had risen sharply, and the mountain was suspected to be its gathering ground.

After that, the people no longer dared to climb the mountain and renamed it Black Tiger Mountain.

The demons of Black Tiger Mountain were not native demons of Baishi County. They had migrated here from elsewhere in recent years and counted as a newly established demon force.

The original owner of this body had not dealt with them often. He only knew that they were vicious and overbearing, utterly disregarding any so-called rules. Once, they had devoured two-thirds of an entire village.

When they had wanted to keep eating, the original owner had said one sentence and been beaten into a dog-eating-shit posture.

From then on, he never spoke too much again.

Li Feng's death was most likely inseparable from those demons of Black Tiger Mountain.

Those bastards feared neither Heaven nor earth. Killing the Head of the Demon Hunting Office was hardly impossible.

This mission was a hot potato.

But he liked it. Dealing with demons meant vast amounts of lifespan were beckoning to him.

Over the next three days, Chu Jiang consolidated the four meridians he had already opened, practiced his martial arts, thoroughly stabilized his realm, and raised himself to his peak.

Inside the Demon Hunting Office.

Chu Jiang said in an even tone, "Liu Guangwu, Ma Han, each of you select five capable Demon Hunters and follow me to Qingshan Town."

After being promoted to Head of the Demon Hunting Office, he had promoted Ma Han as well, making him the chief constable of the Demon Hunting Office.

What Chu Jiang valued was naturally his unwavering loyalty.

"Li Ding, Liu Dagang, you two watch over the Demon Hunting Office. Let the people rest and recuperate. When I return, I hope to see a different Baishi County."

Chu Jiang's final sentence was delivered with great weight. How could the two of them fail to hear the meaning behind it?

Ever since Chu Jiang had taken office, he had abolished the Demon Extermination Tax in just a few short days, then lowered the taxes of ordinary citizens by a third.

The key was that the entire county supported Chu Jiang's decision.

They understood that the situation had changed.

The wind was about to turn. Otherwise, they would not even know how they died.

"Lord Chu, rest assured! We guarantee that when you return, you will absolutely see a different Baishi County!" the two answered in unison.

Once upon a time, they too had ideals in their hearts and had wanted to serve the people.

But the environment was murky, leaving them no choice but to let the tide of the age dye them black.

Chu Jiang nodded in satisfaction. If these two failed to recognize the times, he would not mind replacing them.

Half an hour later.

The group of thirteen rode the Demon Hunting Office's fast horses out of Baishi County City.

At that moment, Chu Jiang did not know that in the county yamen's rear courtyard, a black-clothed middle-aged man and an old man were playing chess.

"Clerk Hu, make your move!"

The black-clothed middle-aged man's eyes were as still as an ancient well. He said lightly, "Assistant Magistrate Liu, there will not be any mishaps this time, will there?"

Assistant Magistrate Liu sighed.

"Chu Jiang, considering how diligently he had handled matters these past years, I originally wanted to give him a dignified death and let him retain a good name."

"Now, it seems he no longer has that opportunity."

"Two consecutive Heads of the Demon Hunting Office dying at Black Tiger Mountain should be enough to draw the attention of those above. The more people who come, the better."

Clerk Hu fell silent, then slowly placed a white chess piece with his fingers.

"Your adopted son, Liu Guangwu, was taken away by him. Aren't you worried? He is crucial to the plan and cannot be lost!"

Assistant Magistrate Liu's lips curled slightly into a smile of certain victory. "Rest assured. Everything is within my control. He will definitely be fine."

Chu Jiang, Chu Jiang. Did you know what a great background that sheep demon you killed had? Even if you returned alive, endless troubles would await you.

Only if you died would everything be perfect.

The thirteen rode at full gallop without rest and finally reached Qingshan Town before nightfall.

Qingshan Town was a place that lived off the mountain. Its economy had been fairly prosperous, but after rumors spread of demons appearing there, it had gradually declined, and the population loss had been severe.

"This place is strange!" Liu Guangwu stared intently at the town before them, his face full of suspicion, as though he had seen something impossible to comprehend.

He had come here on patrol just last month, and there had barely been anyone around.

Chu Jiang noticed it too. There was not the slightest sign of desolation here. Instead, people streamed back and forth, and the place was exceptionally lively—a most abnormal sight.

"My lord, I'll go investigate!" Ma Han had naturally noticed the oddity as well and prepared to step forward and ask around.

Chu Jiang nodded slightly.

The others dismounted one after another and followed Chu Jiang into Qingshan Town.

A group of thirteen was already conspicuous, and with the Demon Hunting Office's Black Cloud uniforms, it was impossible for them not to draw attention.

"Why has the government come? This place is really lively now. There'll be a good show to watch!"

"Our shabby little town suddenly has so many people. Several Martial Sects have come, and now even the government's Demon Hunters are here."

"Nothing good ever comes when these government runners arrive. Stay far away!"

Chu Jiang ignored the jumble of voices and headed to the largest tavern in town. After traveling so long at breakneck speed, he was already hungry.

Entering the Xiantian Realm only made one more resistant to hunger than ordinary people. One still had to eat.

Without needing him to say anything, his subordinates had already arranged everything.

That was the benefit of being the boss.

Chu Jiang looked toward several nearby tables. There were lone wanderers and Martial Sects.

Three groups wore matching attire and stood out sharply within the tavern.

The first group was entirely bald, numbering seven or eight people. The leader had a scar across his face, while a green snake coiled around his hand, a chilling sight.

The people around them did not dare approach.

The second group wore yellow brocade robes and carried no weapons. When they saw Chu Jiang and his party, they showed no reaction at all and simply drank in silence.

The third group consisted of two young, beautiful women in white.

One was white as snow, her long hair cascading like a waterfall, a cool and aloof air between her brows and eyes.

The other had eyes like fire, alluring and radiant.

One cool and aloof, the other gorgeous and bewitching, each possessed her own charm and drew the eyes of most people in the tavern.

He recognized that group of bald men. They were the largest underworld organization in Baishi County, called the Poisonous Snake Gang, active outside the county city.

Their gang leader was only half a step away from the Xiantian Realm.

He did not recognize the other two groups.

"Do you know them?"

Faced with Chu Jiang's question, Liu Guangwu nodded.

"I heard my adoptive father mention them before. Annan Commandery has countless martial forces, with the six great sects standing above the rest. Each possesses Vajra Realm experts, and more than one at that."

"Judging by their attire, those wearing yellow are most likely members of the Yellow Robe Gang. Their gang has three Xiantian Realm experts, while their leader is even in the late Xiantian Realm."

"It is said that the Yellow Robe Gang's leader took an elder from the Huangji Sect, one of Annan Commandery's six great sects, as his godfather. I don't know whether that is true or not."

Liu Guangwu was clearly deeply familiar with the various martial forces of Annan Commandery. He knew exactly how many Xiantian Realm experts they had and whom they had taken as godfathers.

Hearing this, Chu Jiang's interest was immediately piqued. Previously, he had had no channels through which to learn about Martial Sects. If he could obtain some martial arts manuals from them...

Liu Guangwu seemed to guess Chu Jiang's thoughts. He knew Chu Jiang had recently been searching everywhere for martial arts, but trying to obtain anything from their hands was harder than ascending to Heaven.

"These Martial Sects are very hostile toward people from the imperial court and government. Once you complete this mission and are promoted to the official Head of the Demon Hunting Office, those above will naturally send someone to teach you martial arts and cultivation methods."

Chu Jiang's actions over the past few days, especially abolishing the Demon Extermination Tax and lowering the people's taxes, had changed Liu Guangwu's opinion of him.

Some of the prejudice in his heart had faded as well.

Otherwise, he definitely would not have said these things to Chu Jiang.

Chu Jiang continued, "What is the background of those two women?"

"Those two women should be from the Hundred Flowers Sect. Twenty years ago, the Hundred Flowers Sect was Annan Commandery's seventh great Vajra Sect. Later, it was attacked by a mysterious expert, its upper ranks perished, and it fell to the second tier."

"Now, the current sect master of the Hundred Flowers Sect, Sikong Miaoyin, possesses extraordinary talent and ranks fourth on the Human Ranking. She is expected to lead the Hundred Flowers Sect back to its former glory!"

Liu Guangwu continued.

"The Human Ranking?"