Cheng Family Town

Chu Zhe led the resident elder and a crowd of disciples out to subjugate demons. In the Daoist temple, Xu Ling was like a pig that had rooted its way out of its pen—now climbing onto rooftops for a look, now wandering through the front hall, even slipping into the crowd of commoners to burn incense and pray for blessings.

Though Mount Hua also had shrines where people could worship and pray, the mountain was high and the roads perilous, leaving few willing to climb it. Those who came up to pray were either believers of Great Perseverance or members of the imperial family offering sacrifices to Heaven. How could it compare to this place, so close to Du City, where commoners came in an unending stream and incense offerings flourished? Whether people had troubles or not, it was always good for them to come burn incense.

Xu Ling, mingling among the crowd, was especially praised by the commoners for her ethereal, otherworldly bearing.

Bai Yujun reclined in a chair and read a book. Two plates of sweets sat on the table beside her, both gifts from wealthy families at the foot of the mountain to the Daoist temple's cultivators, in hopes of drawing closer to them and protecting their entire households from the harm of wicked cultivators.

Recently, Bai Yujun had been studying how to control a flying sword.

The Sword Control Technique was a foundational art of Chunyang Palace, one that could be learned on Zuowang Peak. It required a certain level of cultivation as a foundation. Controlling a flying sword to kill enemies was formidable, but Bai Yujun, who currently possessed only the cultivation of a snake spirit, found it difficult to achieve.

Rather than waste vast amounts of spiritual energy playing with a flying sword, she might as well learn swordsmanship like Yang Mu and fight at close range. At least it consumed less and lasted longer. Last time, Xu Ling had exhausted a great deal of spiritual power by unleashing a major move and received a scolding from Eldest Senior Brother.

She drew her treasured sword and examined it. The one Chu Zhe had given her was no ordinary weapon, but a sword was not suited for close combat. She decided that once she returned to the mountain, she would ask the Jin Xu disciples to help forge her a saber. Tang-style hengdao sabers were quite good.

She was bored, so she fetched a flute and practiced playing it.

A piercing, dreadful flute melody rose in the courtyard. Yang Mu could no longer meditate and cultivate. Then he watched with his own eyes as Bai Yujun angrily seized the bamboo flute and smashed it viciously onto the ground...

With a crack, the flute shattered into pieces.

The corner of Yang Mu's mouth twitched.

"Big White, I remember that you bought fifteen bamboo flutes in Liu City, three in Qingyun County, one from a cowherd boy on the road, and stole three more at Liuyun Market. That makes twenty-two in total. So far, you've smashed eighteen. Four remain. Green bamboo does not grow easily—use them carefully, and cherish them."

Bai Yujun froze in shock, her little mouth slightly open. She did not even notice a sweet falling from her hand.

The reason she wanted to practice the flute was because Yu Rong had instructed her to. According to Yu Rong, Bai Yujun, as a Fierce Beast from the Hundred Thousand Mountains, possessed too much killing intent in her nature. She was excessively savage and bloodthirsty. If she did not cultivate her state of mind, she could easily stray onto an evil path in the future. Practicing song, dance, and musical instruments could temper her temperament and pacify the Beastly Nature within her body.

Bai Yujun rarely felt embarrassed.

The front hall.

A constable in dark clothes was anxiously speaking to the temple keeper responsible for incense offerings in the Daoist temple's front hall, his expression frantic and panicked.

Soon after, the temple keeper brought the constable to the rear courtyard.

"The Chunyang cultivators went to Mount Luoyun this morning to eliminate demons. Only three young cultivators who came down the mountain on business remain. Whether they can help you, I cannot say. This way, please."

The temple keeper and the constable arrived in the rear courtyard.

"Three Immortal Elders, this is the head constable of Du City. He has a matter for which he begs the Immortal Elders' assistance." The temple keeper respectfully addressed Yang Mu.

Though Yang Mu did not know what had happened, he still maintained his icy expression so well that no one could read him. Those unaware of the truth might have thought Yang Mu was an unruffled expert, calm as drifting clouds and a gentle breeze.

"Oh? What is it? Tell us."

The head constable stepped forward and bowed. Though the three before him were only youths of around fifteen, he had no other options. He could only clutch at this life-saving straw and hope it would prove useful.

"Reporting to the Immortal Elders, Cheng Family Town lies half a day's journey from Du City. More than a dozen people died there one after another last night. An entire family was wiped out. Our preliminary investigation indicates that demons were responsible. We have no choice but to seek aid from Chunyang Palace."

In the secular world, cultivators were addressed as Immortal Elders, while Cultivation Sects were called immortal palaces. To ordinary people, cultivators' methods were no different from those of immortals.

"More than a dozen dead, an entire family..."

Yang Mu pondered, doing his best to analyze what had happened from what he had learned.

Xu Ling came running back from who knew where. Upon hearing that a demon was causing trouble, she immediately clamored to go down the mountain and eliminate the evil. They had accomplished nothing on their journey so far, and it had been far too boring. Now that there was something to do—and it was urgent—how could she not go?

"Quick~ let's go quickly~ before the demon gets away." Xu Ling clutched several talismans in her hand, wishing she could fly there at once.

After some thought, Yang Mu felt they should go take a look. Besides, it was not some great demon lord. With that in mind, Yang Mu looked at Bai Yujun. An extra snake spirit would surely be of some use.

Bai Yujun shrugged and said only one word.

"Fine."

The three rookies left behind at the Daoist temple unanimously approved. They immediately took up their weapons and followed the constable down the mountain. Government horses waited below, allowing them to reach Cheng Family Town more quickly. Yang Mu and Xu Ling could only glide for a short distance with their swords, their cultivation being insufficient for sustained flight, so they had to travel on horseback.

Only Bai Yujun's horse inexplicably shuddered every so often.

Animals possessed keen senses. The horse clearly knew that the thing on its back was absolutely a Fierce Beast—and one that particularly loved meat...

Cheng Family Town.

The remote Cheng Family Town was peaceful. Roosters crowed and dogs barked amid little bridges and flowing streams. The town lay between three verdant hills arranged like the character pin, with a river running through it. There was an ancient, weathered stone archway, stone-slab roads polished smooth by countless feet, and two or three women carrying wooden basins to wash clothes by the stream. Ducklings waddled past in groups. It did not look like the sort of place haunted by demons.

"This way, please, you three."

The head constable led the way.

"The family that was wiped out belonged to a local gentryman surnamed Cheng. Most of the people in Cheng Family Town are also surnamed Cheng. The courtyard ahead, with all those people gathered at its entrance, is the murder scene."

The moment Yang Mu and Xu Ling appeared in their Chunyang Daoist Robes, the uneasy commoners immediately felt reassured.

They dismounted, and the constables came forward to pay their respects. Upon seeing Bai Yujun and Xu Ling, they were unsurprised to be stunned as if gazing upon Celestial Beings. It could not be helped. In ancient times, under harsh conditions, one rarely saw beautiful women except for sheltered young ladies of wealthy households who never stepped beyond their gates. If not for their status as Chunyang Disciples, some men would likely have risked everything.

The head constable led the two humans and the snake into the courtyard.

"Three Immortal Elders, every victim is in their own room. They should have been killed by the demon last night. Without exception, each victim has two bloody holes in their neck, and we also found demon beast fur at the scene."

A constable brought over a small tuft of gray beast fur wrapped in white cotton cloth.

Yang Mu looked at it, then passed it to Xu Ling and Bai Yujun. The two fellow disciples confirmed that it was demon beast fur. Demon fur was still easy to distinguish from that of ordinary wild animals. Yet Bai Yujun held the fur for a long while before sniffing it. The constables did not understand what she could smell from it; only Yang Mu had complete confidence in Bai Yujun.

They entered a bedroom, presumably the residence of the household head. A middle-aged husband and wife lay on the bed, their faces dark blue.

Bai Yujun stepped forward to inspect the wounds on the two bodies, then touched the corpses. She carefully sniffed her jade-like hand after touching them. Too many people had entered the house, making the scents somewhat jumbled. Had no one come in, Bai Yujun could have found more clues by scent.

"Is there another victim's room that no one has entered?" Bai Yujun asked.

The head constable thought for a moment.

"Yes. The maid's room. It faces away from the sun, so sunlight never reaches it. It is gloomy and eerie."

"Lead the way."

The group left the master bedroom and headed straight for the maid's room.