Black Wind Stronghold

Wei Fan left home early in the morning.

With his current status as a constable captain, he no longer needed to report to the yamen on time. But years of the nine-nine-six grind had long since made punctual work a habit.

"Give me a bowl of plain noodles, and add two eggs!"

He did not have meat buns today. No matter how delicious something was, one would grow sick of it after eating too much.

"Lord Wei's presence brings glory to my humble stall. Please have a seat, Lord Wei. Your food will be ready at once."

The vendor recognized Wei Fan.

On this road he often took to "work," there were not many people left who did not know him.

After finishing his noodles, the vendor did not ask for money, but Wei Fan still insisted on paying.

"Not resting for a few more days?"

The moment he stepped into the constables' office, he saw Zhou Qi had returned. After Zhou Qi had been beaten by the E Shen Gang, Wei Fan had granted him several days off.

"Just superficial wounds. They're almost healed!"

"Then go on patrol later."

Wei Fan nodded and soon arrived at Luo Wen's workplace. He pulled over a stool and dropped onto it. "My saber is broken. Get me a new one."

Luo Wen nodded, his face full of gloom.

"What? In a bad mood? Did that bastard Wei Qingyuan make things difficult for you?" Wei Fan raised a brow.

It would have been better if he had not asked. Once he did, Luo Wen looked even more troubled. "Isn't it all your fault? I took Great Immortal Huang's corpse to claim a reward for you. Not only did I get no reward, he gave me this instead. See for yourself."

As he spoke, he tossed over an official document.

Wei Fan opened it and read softly, "Luo Wen, squad chief of the East District Yamen, is ordered to join Constable Captain Wei Fan in taking Black Wind Stronghold within seven days. Failure to do so by the deadline will result in dismissal and investigation.

You're worried over something this small? Is this Wei Qingyuan's move?"

Luo Wen's eyes widened. "Shouldn't I be worried? Black Wind Stronghold has occupied Cloud City for years. There are countless bandits in the stronghold—even those demons dare not provoke them.

Three years ago, Cloud City deployed over a thousand troops. Several Aperture Opening Realm commanders led the force together, yet they still failed to take Black Wind Stronghold and suffered heavy casualties.

Now our East District Yamen has barely seventy or eighty constables. How are we supposed to take Black Wind Stronghold?

That bastard Wei Qingyuan is utterly shameless. Even the military could not accomplish this, yet he's handed it to a pack of yamen runners like us."

Luo Wen sighed repeatedly. Bandit suppression was indeed within the constables' duties, but it depended on the scale.

Their seventy or eighty men were not even enough to fill the gaps between Black Wind Stronghold's teeth. And when it came to actual operations, there was no way they could take everyone with them. Wei Qingyuan was clearly using public office to avenge a private grudge—giving them an impossible task, then dismissing them from their posts.

Wei Fan naturally knew about Black Wind Stronghold's situation, but he showed no reaction. As long as Wei Qingyuan played by the rules, he would take the move. Once Black Wind Stronghold was wiped out, he would go collect his merits from Wei Qingyuan.

If Wei Qingyuan could not produce a fitting reward then, he would settle the score with him. "This is part of our duty to begin with. I understand. Gather information on Black Wind Stronghold for me over the next few days."

Seeing that Wei Fan was not overly concerned, Luo Wen gained some confidence as well. "Are you confident? Good, as long as you are. I'll gather more information about Black Wind Stronghold for you.

That bastard said that if we can destroy Black Wind Stronghold, the reward for killing Great Immortal Huang will be issued together with it. If we fail, you and I can pack our things and go home.

Killing Great Immortal Huang and wiping out Black Wind Stronghold—let's see what he can possibly offer as a reward then. Even surrendering his clerk position probably won't be enough."

He had also begun to understand. Wei Fan had brought back Great Immortal Huang's corpse and had him claim the credit from Wei Qingyuan precisely to make trouble for Wei Qingyuan.

Others might not understand, but he knew Wei Fan all too well. When it came to enemies, this fellow wanted nothing less than to seize their homes and wipe out their clans.

After clashing with Wei Qingyuan, it would be stranger if he did not rack his brains trying to get Wei Qingyuan killed.

"Gather the information. I'm going to patrol the streets."

After receiving a new saber from the armory, Wei Fan went out to patrol with Hu Qing.

"I'll tell you something. Something major happened in the inner city yesterday."

Something major?

Wei Fan looked at Hu Qing. "A demon appeared?"

Only the appearance of a demon could count as a major event.

Hu Qing nodded. "My father told me this in secret. He said that if I'm assigned to the inner city in the next two days, I must not go even if it kills me."

As she spoke, Hu Qing lowered her voice. "I'll tell you something that hasn't spread yet. One of the four commanders died last night, and they still don't even know what the demon looks like."

"How did he die?"

Wei Fan's expression shifted slightly. Among Cloud City's four commanders, Song Jinsong was the weakest, merely at the True Qi Ninth Level.

The other three had served as commanders for many years and had long since become Aperture Opening Realm experts. Even such an expert had died—could it be that he had killed Great Immortal Huang, and other demons had come for revenge?

That did not seem right either. If they had come for revenge, they would not kill others without coming after him.

"No one knows how he died. I heard that people at the City Lord's Manor started dying first. The City Lord sent the commanders to investigate, but they found nothing, and people at the manor kept dying.

Last night, the City Lord had the commanders secretly hide in the courtyard. But early this morning, one commander was found dead right where he had been hiding, without the slightest trace of a struggle.

My father guessed that a demon without flesh and blood may have appeared."

Wei Fan's gaze sharpened. He had killed quite a few demons, but he had never seen one without flesh and blood.

It was said that such demons were terrifying. One absolutely must not let them touch one's body, or no matter how high one's cultivation was, one would be unable to bring out even the slightest bit of it.

"Now that even a commander has died, they may very well come looking for you. You absolutely must not go. No one in the City Lord's Manor is any good. It would be best if they all died—best of all if the City Lord died too, so they could replace him with a new one.

Once the City Lord dies, the Demon Suppressing Division will naturally send experts to handle this matter."

That was Hu Qing's true purpose in telling Wei Fan all this.

Wei Fan nodded faintly. He had no desire to meddle in other people's affairs. If ordinary civilians had died, or if it had happened in an area under his jurisdiction, then naturally he would not shirk his duty.

But those dying were people from the City Lord's Manor. What did that have to do with Wei Fan?

He had earned so many merits—how could the City Lord of Cloud City not know? Yet from beginning to end, the City Lord had not given him the slightest benefit.

Even this constable captain position had been obtained by Luo Wen on his behalf. Whether the City Lord lived or died had nothing to do with him.

Though he was interested in the demon at the City Lord's Manor, he could simply wait until everyone there was dead before making his move.

Even Hu Qing wished for that incompetent City Lord to die quickly. Wei Fan was naturally not someone overflowing with saintly compassion.

"Constable Captain Wei, the squad chief says you should stop patrolling and hurry back. He says there's official business."

Hu Qing had actually guessed right. After the two had walked for a while, a yamen runner came to summon Wei Fan back to the constables' office.

At the constables' office, Wei Fan met the City Lord's Manor messenger, who ordered him to immediately set aside all official duties and assist in investigating a case.

"No time."

Wei Fan took a sip of tea and coldly gave the messenger those two words.