Demonic Creatures of Zhao Family Village

A month without return.

The courtyard was already covered in dust.

Song Chengan took out a broom and began to clean.

He still liked it here.

Only here could he feel at ease.

"Though I was taken for over a month, it wasn't without gain."

"I've become a Qi Refiner."

"A heavenly immortal opportunity."

"But this must never be known—the crime of colluding with demons is one I can't bear."

The Chen Kingdom had the Demon Suppression Division.

It governed all demonic matters under heaven.

If the Demon Suppression Division learned that Song Chengan had been taken by a demon and returned unscathed, they'd likely haul him in for interrogation.

With Song Chengan's backbone, a few strokes would probably have him confessing even that he was a transmigrator.

As Song Chengan pondered, a knock sounded at the door.

"Scholar Song, where have you been this month?"

Outside the door

stood an old man holding a tobacco pipe.

He looked impatient at Song Chengan's slow opening of the door.

Song Chengan put on a smile. "It's Old Man Ge. I went to Sanjiao Prefecture, hoping to find some long-lost relatives."

Old Man Ge

was the landlord of the house Song Chengan rented, the biggest property owner in this area—it was said this whole street belonged to him.

Hearing this, Old Man Ge said, "Everyone thought you'd been done in by some bandit somewhere!"

"Good thing you're back, or I'd have thrown out all your things this month."

"After all, I can't just leave this courtyard empty."

"Yes, yes."

"I'm here to collect the rent. Even though you didn't stay last month, the silver still has to be paid."

"Last month plus the next five, you owe me one tael and two maces of silver."

"I'll get it for you!"

In the remote and impoverished Lingqiu County, rent was cheap.

"Wait a moment!"

Song Chengan said and walked inside.

Luckily, First Boss Bai had given him a pottery jar full of copper coins.

Soon, Song Chengan came out carrying a pair of cloth-wrapped bundles of copper coins.

"Why are they all copper coins?"

"Are they the right count?"

The old man said, pouring all the copper coins out of the cloth bag and counting them one by one.

"Not short."

Old Man Ge gathered the coins.

"Next time, use broken silver."

"Keep the copper coins for everyday use."

"You're right, sir!"

Song Chengan nodded in agreement.

"By the way, since you're back, go see your sister."

"She's been looking for you everywhere every day since you disappeared."

"She even filed a report at the government office. Now that you're back, you need to go there too."

"I understand, Old Man Ge."

After seeing off Old Man Ge, Song Chengan hurried toward the An Mansion.

His sister, Song Cui, had married Steward An of the city as his third concubine—she was Song Chengan's only remaining family.

"Scholar Song, you're not dead?"

The moment Song Chengan appeared at the Song residence, the gatekeeper gaped in surprise.

"You vanished for a whole month—everyone thought you were dead."

"I went to Sanjiao County to look for relatives."

"You incorrigible gambling addict, what, couldn't borrow money in Lingqiu to gamble, so you thought you'd go to Sanjiao County to hunt down old relatives and shamelessly beg for silver to blow at the Gambling House?"

"Haha, you jest."

"Is my elder sister in?"

"Hmph, no." The gatekeeper's friendly face turned sour.

"You always come looking for Third Madam to borrow money."

"The master of the house has given orders—if you show up, beat you out with clubs!"

"Get lost now, or we'll beat you to death."

Several gatekeepers brandished clubs, eyeing Song Chengan with ill intent.

Song Chengan quickly waved his hands. "Don't hit me, don't hit me—I'm leaving right now."

He couldn't really blame the gatekeepers.

Every time he came before, he'd find some excuse to borrow money from his sister Song Cui.

Each time, he'd swear on his life he'd never gamble again.

And each time, he'd take the money straight to the gambling den.

"Chengan!"

Just then, someone called out, her voice tinged with panic.

Song Chengan looked up.

It was a woman around forty years old.

His elder sister, Song Cui.

Song Chengan was a late-life child for his parents, so his sister was ten years older than him.

A smile spread across Song Chengan's face.

"Third Madam!"

"Third Madam!"

The gatekeepers quickly stepped aside.

Though Song Cui was only a concubine, she wasn't someone they could offend.

"You wretched thing—where have you been!"

"I thought you were dead!"

"How am I supposed to explain this to Mother and Father!"

Song Cui burst into tears, pounding Song Chengan's arm repeatedly.

Song Chengan took the blows without flinching.

In this world, she was probably the only one who truly cared about him.

"I went to Sanjiao County, to see if I could find any of the Song family's old relatives."

Song Cui, still crying, froze for a moment.

"You went to Sanjiao County?"

"Yes, I walked the whole way." Song Chengan nodded. That was the excuse he'd come up with.

Otherwise, he couldn't explain his month-long disappearance.

Sanjiao County was far away, and it was the place his family had fled to.

"Did you find them?" Song Cui asked anxiously.

"No."

"Good!"

Good?

What did that mean?

"Father's family was a big clan. When the floods came back then, Mother and Father had a falling out with them—they were abandoned."

"Why didn't Mother tell me this?"

"Mother said you were too petty and was afraid you'd start a fight with the Song family."

"The Song family has too much power. I'm afraid they'll harm you."

Song Chengan shook his head. "Sister, you're looking at me through a crack in the door—you've got me all wrong. I'm not that petty."

"Anyway, it's good that you didn't find them."

"I figure the Song family didn't go back after they left."

"Mm."

"In a bit, come with me to the yamen. I'm worried you filed a report."

"Alright." Song Chengan nodded.

"By the way, why didn't I see Mingxu?"

An Mingxu.

Song Chengan's nephew.

Song Cui's son.

"Your brother-in-law took him to Xuanqing Temple to pray for blessings."

"Oh, right. Do you still have any money on you?"

"I've got some private savings."

"Sis, I have some."

It had been about a month since they last met.

This time, Song Chengan didn't even need to make an excuse. Song Cui was the one offering him money.

This must be what family is—no matter how rotten you were before, as long as you're willing to turn back, they're willing to forgive.

"Chengan, how about we stop gambling?"

"It's a bottomless pit. No matter how big the family fortune, it'll never fill it."

"Find some way to make a living. You don't need to earn much—if it's not enough, I'll chip in. Just as long as it's an honest trade."

"Then after a while, when I've saved up some money, I'll go to the Zheng family and settle your marriage with Miss Zheng."

"Alright!" Song Chengan said with a smile.

The way he was.

It made Song Cui pause. "You've changed a lot."

In the past, whenever she said things like this, Song Chengan would always look annoyed.

"Sis, I'll never gamble again."

After leaving the yamen.

Song Cui was picked up by the An family, because Steward An had returned.

Before she left, she gave Song Chengan some silver and told him not to gamble, but to find an honest job.

In the past, she used to urge him to study hard and earn Fame and Achievement.

But after a few years, she must have realized Song Chengan had no real talent. Now she just wanted him to stop gambling.

"How do I make money?"

Song Chengan looked around as he walked down the street.

Blacksmith's apprentice?

Tailor's apprentice?

Teacher?

Hunter?

Fisherman?

Hunting and fishing both require permits. Otherwise, they'd be a good way for me to earn money, since I'm a cultivator.

All land under heaven belongs to the king.

Fishing and hunting require a hunter's permit or a fisherman's permit, or else it's considered theft.

But Song Chengan had neither a hunter's permit nor a fisherman's permit. In name, the government issued them every year, but in reality, ordinary people could never get their hands on them.

Instead, a few would pop up now and then with the brokers.

But the prices were sky-high.

Forget tailor's apprentice or blacksmith's apprentice.

Those really were three years of servitude.

Even if you made it through, all you'd get was a life of barely scraping by.

No matter the era, ordinary people could only manage to fill their bellies. Getting rich was out of the question.

But cultivation required spending money.

Song Chengan needed a way to make money.

"Can't think of anything."

Song Chengan wandered around for a while.

Finally, he walked into a noodle shop.

Unable to come up with a good way to earn cash for now, he decided to grab a bite first.

"A bounty of a hundred taels of silver, seeking a cultivation master to kill that demon!"

"A hundred taels? That much?"

"You bet. That demon's already taken three lives. If we let it keep going, who knows how many more it'll claim."

Song Chengan was about to eat his noodles when he chimed in.

"Brother, what's this about killing a demon?"

The man saw it was Song Chengan and spoke up.

"It's that Zhao Family Village down below. Lately, a demon's been causing trouble. Three people are dead."

"The villagers pooled together a hundred taels of silver, asking someone to kill the demon."

Hearing this, Song Chengan asked, "Isn't there a lord from the Demon Suppression Division stationed in the city?"

"Why not ask him?"

"Little brother, you wouldn't know. The Demon Suppression Division was just established, and they're short on hands. Lingqiu City only has one lord holding the fort."

"If he left Lingqiu City, and some demon or monster stirred up trouble in town, what then?"

"What if those demons hurt the big shots in the city?"

"I see."

Song Chengan understood.

It made sense—the Demon Suppression Division was newly founded and understaffed, and the lives of the city's nobles were clearly more precious than those innocent villagers below.

That just meant the folks down there had to fend for themselves.

"Any idea how strong this troublemaking demon is?"

"That, I don't know."

The man shook his head.

Song Chengan's awareness returned to the Void Heaven Mirror space.

The phantom body studying the Summoning God Technique had stopped moving, standing there blankly.

That meant the study was complete.

With a thought from Song Chengan, the phantom instantly turned into a Dao fruit light orb, which he absorbed.

A surge of insight flooded in.

It felt like he'd truly trained in this Summoning God Technique for years.

Summon mountain spirits, wild monsters, and gods from the heavens to possess him and borrow their power?

Song Chengan walked out of the noodle shop and headed toward the city gate.

At the gate, a man in plain clothes sat alone, with a conspicuous notice beside him seeking a master to slay the demon.

Song Chengan approached.

"What's the deal with this demon?"

"It's a demon that came from who knows where. Calls itself Great King Pinghe. It wants the village to gather five pairs of virgin boys and girls for it, or it'll kill one person every day."

"We had no choice, so we came to the city to find a master."

"You... do you know any masters?"

Song Chengan smiled faintly.

He circulated his true qi, filling his eyes, and they turned purple.

"I am the master!"

The man saw this and dropped to his knees in excitement. "Please, Immortal Master, save us!"

"Get up first."

"Tell me more about this demon."

Song Chengan was dead set on that hundred taels of silver.

It was risky.

But a hundred taels was just too much.