The following afternoon, the three arrived at Qingxi County, travel-worn and dusty.
The guards at the county gate saw the Demon Suppression Division tokens hanging from their waists and did not dare show the slightest negligence, respectfully ushering them inside.
Inside the county office, Prefect Zhang Hao had been waiting for quite some time.
He was a man in his forties, slightly plump, with a warm smile piled across his face. Though dressed in official robes, his steps were steady and firm, revealing that he had some foundation in martial arts.
"My lords, you have endured a hard journey. This humble official has prepared some simple wine to welcome you and wash away the dust of travel," Zhang Hao said with cupped hands.
Li Zimo returned the gesture and got straight to the point. "Prefect Zhang, you are too courteous. The wine and food can wait. Please first tell us the specific details concerning the demon."
The smile on Zhang Hao's face faded somewhat, replaced by a grave expression.
He led the three into the main hall, dismissed the attendants, and only then lowered his voice.
"This matter began half a month ago."
"At Wang Family Village, thirty li west of the city, strange happenings have been occurring one after another."
"At first, the villagers would often smell a thick stench of blood at night. Later, someone gathered the courage to investigate and claimed to have seen a black shadow in the village, far larger than an ordinary person, flash past."
"This humble official once sent a squad of constables to investigate, but... overnight, every one of them vanished without a trace."
"This humble official is incompetent. I knew this matter was no longer something ordinary people like us could handle, so I dared report it to the Demon Suppression Division."
After hearing this, Li Zifeng slapped the table, making even the teacups jump.
"Hmph, some thing pretending to be a ghost!"
He lifted the bowl of wine from the table and drained it in one gulp. In a booming voice, he said, "Enough of this empty talk. Tonight, we'll go to Wang Family Village. I want to see what kind of demon or monster it is, then punch its head apart!"
Li Zimo frowned, but did not object.
Their mission this time was to slay demons. The sooner it was settled, the sooner they would be done.
"Very well, then I shall trouble the three of you, my lords." Gratitude appeared on Zhang Hao's face. "This humble official will immediately prepare some dried provisions and water for you."
"No need." Li Zifeng waved a hand. "Killing a minor demon won't take that long."
The three reached a consensus and decided to set out for Wang Family Village that very night.
Before they departed, Shen Che noticed that Prefect Zhang Hao had changed into a set of fitted clothes and was followed by three saber-bearing guards.
"Prefect Zhang, what is this?" Li Zimo asked, somewhat puzzled.
Zhang Hao sighed. "To be frank with you, my lords, as long as this demon remains alive, this humble official cannot eat or sleep in peace. I wish to see it slain with my own eyes, if only to put my mind at ease."
"As for these three, they are this humble official's personal guards. They will protect my safety and absolutely will not burden you, my lords."
The Li brothers exchanged a glance and said nothing further.
What trouble could a prefect incapable of trussing up a chicken, accompanied by three guards, possibly cause?
The group of seven rode through the night toward Wang Family Village.
By the time they reached the village entrance, the moon had been covered by dark clouds, and the land in every direction was pitch-black.
The entire village was deathly silent. Not even the bark of a dog could be heard, while a faint, rancid stench permeated the air.
Everyone dismounted and walked along the village's only dirt road.
Large patches of dark brown bloodstains, long since dried, covered the ground.
Li Zifeng kicked aside a clump of weeds by the roadside with the tip of his foot, and a human head rolled out.
Its eyes were wide open, its mouth agape, and an expression of extreme pain and terror had frozen on its face.
The atmosphere turned eerie.
Li Zimo's expression grew more solemn. "Everyone, be careful. This demon is likely no simple matter. Stay together and do not separate, lest we be picked off one by one."
Everyone nodded and began searching the village houses one by one along the main road.
Just after they had passed three houses.
"Urgh..."
Li Zifeng, walking at the front, suddenly staggered, his body swaying.
Immediately afterward, Li Zimo beside him let out a muffled groan, his face turning deathly pale in an instant.
"Big Brother, my stomach... hurts so much." Li Zifeng clutched his abdomen, beads of sweat the size of soybeans seeping from his forehead. It felt as though an invisible hand were violently wrenching and twisting his internal organs, while his limbs began to go weak.
"Poisoned!" Li Zimo gritted his teeth and forced out the three words.
At that very moment, the worried expression on Prefect Zhang Hao's face vanished, replaced by twisted ferocity.
He drew a poison-coated short sword from his waist and, without the slightest hesitation, thrust it fiercely toward Li Zifeng's back as he faced away from him.
The strike was swift and vicious, aimed straight for his life.
Yet a figure moved even faster.
Shen Che moved the instant Zhang Hao drew his sword.
He did not draw his saber. Instead, he held his fingers together like a blade, the muscles in his arm bulging as he poured ten thousand jin of force into it and chopped viciously at Zhang Hao's sword-wielding arm.
Pfft!
A dull sound of flesh tearing rang out.
Zhang Hao's entire right arm was forcibly severed at the shoulder, flying away with the short sword before crashing to the ground.
"Aah—!!!"
A piercing scream tore through the deathly silence of Wang Family Village.
Clutching the gushing fountain of blood at his severed arm, Zhang Hao collapsed to the ground and rolled about madly.
Li Zifeng's reactions had been half a beat slower due to the poison, yet precisely because of that, he happened to evade the fatal blow. The short sword only sliced through the clothing on his back.
He turned around and looked at the wailing Zhang Hao on the ground, his eyes bloodshot as he roared, "Zhang Hao! Why the hell are you colluding with demons!"
Hearing this, Zhang Hao suddenly turned toward the three guards who had been standing to one side with expressionless faces and shouted, "I did what you told me to do! As agreed, spare me! Spare me!"
At his words, the corners of the three guards' mouths curved into eerie smiles, exposing their pale white teeth.
It was a cold, sinister smile that did not belong to humans.
Shen Che's mind was crystal clear as he instantly connected every clue.
Zhang Hao had been coerced by the demons, using his position as bait to lure members of the Demon Suppression Division here.
And these three so-called guards... were not human at all.
The "guard" standing in the middle began to glow with strange blood-red light in his eyes. He stared at Zhang Hao rolling on the ground and grinned viciously. "Prefect Zhang, you have done very well. We will honor our promise to you."
"Once we slaughter these three Demon Suppression Division trash first, we will naturally let you leave."
He extended his scarlet tongue and licked his lips.
"Our target was never trash like you. It is the stronger Demon Queller Envoys who will be drawn here after eating you."
Another "guard" on the left spoke as well, his voice sharp and grating. "What a pity. Only three little Body Tempering Realm brats came this time—not even enough to fill the gaps between our teeth. The flesh and blood of True Meridian Realm Demon Queller Envoys, now that is truly nourishing."
Shen Che stood where he was.
He felt the immense, surging vitality and blood within him, endlessly coursing through his body now that both the Golden Bell Shield and Iron Shirt had reached perfection.
So that was how it was.
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