Black Bear Gulch Village

Chen Fan had only been with the Brocade Guard for a year, and he had already transformed from a martial arts novice into a Divine Treasury Realm peak martial artist who had leaped over five levels, all thanks to the Body Tempering Fist.

If the Left Chiliarch of the Dragon Abyss Prefecture Brocade Guard Precinct were to learn of such talent, he would certainly grant Chen Fan the Divine Aperture Realm cultivation method out of turn, and keep him in Dragon Abyss Prefecture, nurturing him carefully by his side.

"So, that's another option."

"But I've only just reached the peak of the Divine Treasury Realm, and I still need some time to settle down. I'm not in such a hurry for the Divine Aperture Realm cultivation method."

"Besides, I won't be able to sleep or eat in peace until I find the person who harmed me!"

Chen Fan said with a sigh.

Lu Xuening also found it a bit strange. With Chen Fan's strength, how could he have been ambushed by demons a while ago, almost losing his life?

Or did he see that the demon attack was artificially guided, so he deliberately pretended to be injured, wanting the person behind the scenes to relax their vigilance, and then expose them?

But there was no need for him to watch his four colleagues die tragically at the hands of the demons, right?

Or were the demons picking them off one by one, killing his four colleagues first, and then encountering him?

No matter how she thought about it, she couldn't figure out the key to this, and it always felt illogical.

In fact, how could she know that the Chen Fan in front of her had long been replaced by another person, and his strength had also been improved in the past few days.

When he met the Toad Demon, he was just a nobody!

"Maybe there will be results in a while."

"And the Brocade Guard is just those people. Ordinary Brocade Guard members and Squad Leaders are not qualified to collude with demons."

"What's left is one Centurion, two Chief Squad Leaders. I know Huang Chengyue well. He is upright and hates evil, so only Cao De and Li Mo are left."

"You just need to be careful of these two. If they really dare to attack you, then you can just kill them directly. Anyway, with your current strength, it's not difficult to kill them!"

Lu Xuening said nonchalantly.

In her opinion, Cao De, the Centurion of the Ping An County Brocade Guard Precinct, must have a problem, but now she has not grasped enough evidence to prove that he is colluding with demons.

Once confirmed, then she can directly attack him!

Or she can report this evidence, and someone in Dragon Abyss Prefecture will naturally deal with him!

"Since Huang Chengyue is so upright, then why don't we just let him come out and identify the evidence of the Brocade Guard and the government colluding with demons to harm the people, and then we can directly kill all these people?"

Chen Fan said a little whimsically.

"A lot of the information I know was provided to me by him. He only knows that Cao De and Li Mo are a bit abnormal and are very likely to be colluding with demons in secret."

"But Cao De is very wary of him and doesn't trust him very much, so he doesn't have any direct evidence to prove that Cao De is colluding with demons to harm the people."

"He doesn't even count as a witness, and we don't have any physical evidence. How can we directly kill Cao De and others?"

Lu Xuening shook her head and said.

If things were really that simple, that would be great.

If she and Chen Fan were not official people, but just chivalrous rangers, then breaking into Cao De's mansion in the middle of the night and killing him would be nothing.

But the most taboo thing in officialdom struggles is to be unscrupulous, you have to abide by the rules!

After Chen Fan and Lu Xuening had a simple lunch, the two decided to explore the other courtyard next to the County Magistrate's mansion at night, and agreed to meet at the back door of the other courtyard in the middle of the night.

After that, one person returned to the yamen, and the other returned to the Brocade Guard station.

Chen Fan had just returned to the Brocade Guard station when the Brocade Guard was urgently assembled.

"Brothers!"

"The ten-year monitoring period of our Brocade Guard is coming, so we need to increase manpower to patrol inside and outside the county seat, and also inspect the towns under Ping An County."

"From today onwards, divide the towns under Ping An County into areas for patrol, in Squad units, patrol the towns, protect the people, and kill demons!"

"Now I will announce the towns responsible for each Squad."

Li Mo, the Chief Squad Leader of the Brocade Guard, began to distribute tasks with a pre-written list, and Chen Fan's Ninth Squad only needed to patrol a few villages under Black Stone Town because of its small number.

A patrol every three days, at full speed, and if there are no accidents, it only takes three hours to complete a round trip, which is not too hard.

But Chen Fan felt that things were not that simple. If Li Mo was Cao De's man, and Cao De was really colluding with demons, and the person he saw in the rich merchant's other courtyard that day was Cao De, then Cao De would definitely attack him again.

If there is nothing wrong with this patrol, then it proves that Cao De may not be colluding with demons. If he encounters powerful demons again during this patrol, then Cao De's suspicion is too great.

"Before the sun sets today, complete a patrol of your patrol area. I will wait for you here to come back. Anyone who dares to be perfunctory and sloppy, once I know about it, I will never forgive you!"

Li Mo glanced over the Brocade Guard members and said very majestically.

"Yes!"

The Brocade Guard members shouted in unison.

Li Mo waved his hand, and the crowd dispersed, heading to the stables to select steeds, and the Ninth Squad also went straight to Black Stone Town under the leadership of Wang Chao.

"Black Stone Town is the closest town to Black Mountain, and it is also a town that is often attacked by demons. Although we are not patrolling many places this time, the danger is not small, so everyone must cheer up."

"Once things are impossible, immediately return to the Brocade Guard Precinct to move reinforcements, and never resist!"

"As long as the green hills remain, there is no need to worry about firewood. As long as people are alive, there are infinite possibilities. If it is like the previous four brothers, then there is nothing left."

Wang Chao said to Chen Fan and others while riding his horse.

"Don't worry, Chief Wang, we know what's at stake."

The others chimed in.

"Our Ninth Squad needs to patrol seven villages this time, and we happen to have seven people. To save time, let's split up after we get to Black Stone Town."

"If you find any trace of demons, don't try to be a hero. Retreat immediately and regroup with the brothers. We'll discuss it and decide whether to kill or retreat!"

Wang Chao reiterated, his eyes glancing at Chen Fan as he spoke.

Then, he casually assigned the seven villages to be patrolled to Chen Fan and the others.

Chen Fan was assigned to Black Bear Gulch Village in Black Stone Town. The village had been named so long ago because black bears used to appear there.

Chen Fan entered Black Stone Town and headed straight for Black Bear Gulch Village after receiving his orders.

As soon as he entered Black Bear Gulch Village, a stench wafted out from within. The entire village was eerily quiet, and the few people he saw moving about had vacant, numb expressions.

A ragged, filthy child sat at the entrance of the village. He glanced at Chen Fan, then quickly lowered his head, drawing circles on the ground.

"Little brother, why are you here alone? Where are your parents?"

Chen Fan dismounted and asked, approaching the child.

"Dead."

"They were all eaten by the lords."

"My parents were eaten, my grandparents were eaten, my older siblings were eaten yesterday, and it'll probably be my turn today."

A seven- or eight-year-old child looked up at Chen Fan, his voice hoarse as he spoke.

Chen Fan saw that his eyes were filled with darkness, devoid of light.

"With me here, you won't be eaten."

"Tell me, where are the lords?"

A cold glint flashed in Chen Fan's eyes as he spoke, trying to suppress the anger in his heart.

"At the village chief's house, that house with the blue brick and tile roof."

The child pointed to a house in the core of the village, saying.