The Demon Person Behind the Scenes

In Ning Xiu's memory, the Drum Beating Golden Hammer was the foremost of the Four Fierce, Eight Great Hammers,

its force fierce and savage. One blow to the head would leave a man dead, never to rise again.

And if a True Person had wielded it as a weapon, then its power was all the more impossible to underestimate.

When Ning Xiu took the Drum Beating Golden Hammer from the Myriad Treasures Merchant Caravan's men, he immediately experienced what it felt like to hold a hammer weighing three hundred and twenty jin.

Heavy—unbelievably heavy!

If he hadn't been able to grip and lift it with Internal Energy, Ning Xiu wouldn't have been able to pick up the golden hammer at all, much less swing it around at will.

Seeing that Ning Xiu could lift the Drum Beating Golden Hammer by himself, the muscular man in fitted clothes from the Myriad Treasures Merchant Caravan nodded in admiration. "Young brother, your Internal Energy is quite profound. May I ask your name?"

Warriors were usually forthright by nature. Seeing that the young man was strong, the man naturally wanted to make his acquaintance. Ning Xiu replied, "My surname is Ning, and my name is Xiu."

"Even with the help of Internal Energy, it's impressive that someone so young can lift this Drum Beating Golden Hammer. A Ninth Rank warrior couldn't manage that, even with Internal Energy. Brother Ning, your strength must be at least Martial Dao Eighth Rank. Would you be interested in joining the Myriad Treasures Merchant Caravan? We welcome young talents like you, and the benefits are certainly generous."

Seeing Ning Xiu's strength, the muscular man had developed a desire to recruit him into the Myriad Treasures Merchant Caravan.

For anyone, joining the Myriad Treasures Merchant Caravan was a great honor. Once inside, one could obtain all kinds of resources and treasures.

Few people would turn down an invitation from the Myriad Treasures Merchant Caravan, a name as good as gold.

But what the muscular man could never have imagined was that Ning Xiu had the Demon Subduing Bureau—the number one name in the world—behind him.

"Sorry, big brother, but I have no intention of joining another faction," Ning Xiu said, politely declining.

"No matter. My invitation stands. Whenever you decide you want to join, you can find me at the Myriad Treasures Merchant Caravan in Chaotian Capital."

The muscular man was exceptionally frank and easygoing. Ning Xiu nodded, then carried the Weng Jin Hammer out through the back door of Moon Embracing Tower.

Huang You was already waiting for him outside in the carriage, which was packed with the treasures he had won at auction that evening.

Ning Xiu had originally planned to stay at an inn in Wendeng County for a few nights, then return to Chaotian Capital after investigating the truth behind the drowning cases.

When Huang You learned that Ning Xiu had nowhere to stay, he took the initiative and invited him to stay at his mansion, where maids would attend to him.

That was much more convenient than staying at an inn, so Ning Xiu accepted.

"So this is the hammer that weighs three hundred and twenty jin? With Lord Ning, it looks so imposing and domineering. As they say, flowers belong to beauties, and treasured hammers to heroes. My four thousand taels tonight were well spent—money well spent!"

Seeing Ning Xiu swagger over with the hammer slung over one shoulder, Huang You immediately launched into the most extravagant flattery he could muster.

Smooth without being greasy, sweet without growing tiresome.

Ning Xiu smiled. "Young Master Huang, I'll remember your kindness in giving me this hammer. If you ever run into trouble, be sure to ask me for help, so I can repay you for tonight's gift."

"Lord Ning, you're too kind! Please, get in the carriage. We'll head back to the mansion now."

"No, no. This hammer is too heavy. If I got in with it, your carriage might not be able to take the weight, Young Master Huang. I'll walk behind it instead. I ate too much earlier, so this will help me digest."

"Then I'm sorry to put you out, Lord Ning." Huang You turned to the coachman. "Back to the mansion."

The night was pitch-black. Four Huang Mansion guards followed the carriage, each with a saber at his waist and a wary look on his face.

Knowing he would be buying many things that night, Huang You had deliberately brought the guards along to ensure his safety.

After all, he had lived in Wendeng County for more than ten years. In his impression, it was a very peaceful place, and four guards should have been more than enough.

What he had never imagined, however, was that the new County Magistrate Lu's son wasn't a local.

Rumble!

The carriage trundled slowly along the road. Just as everyone was immersed in the quiet of the night, a great crowd suddenly poured out of the alleys on both sides of the road ahead.

Armed with weapons, they blocked the road in both directions and quickly surrounded the carriage on all sides.

"Protect the young master!" Huang You's attendant shouted in a hurry.

The four guards drew their sabers and faced the attackers, but it was obvious at a glance that they were no match for that mob.

"Hand over everything in the carriage, and we'll let you live!" someone in the crowd shouted.

"What's going on?" Huang You poked his head out of the carriage window. Seeing the thugs outside, he was instantly dumbfounded.

Damn it, when had security in Wendeng County gotten so bad? People were bold enough to rob them in broad daylight—well, in the middle of the night.

Ning Xiu carried the Weng Jin Hammer over to the carriage. "Young Master Huang, I didn't expect your troubles to arrive so soon. Would you like me to drive them off?"

At that moment, Huang You felt as if ten thousand horses were galloping through his heart. He had planned to save Ning Xiu's favor for some future difficulty.

He hadn't expected to run into trouble so soon. If he didn't ask Ning Xiu to act tonight, he would lose both his money and his life.

"Lord Ning, I'll have to trouble you," Huang You said helplessly.

"What are you two wasting time talking for? Brothers, get them! Attack!"

The thugs had no patience. They raised their weapons and charged at the carriage. From the looks of them, if Huang You dared to resist, he probably wouldn't live to see the sun rise.

At the same time, Ning Xiu moved.

A figure leaped high into the darkness. Gripping the handle of the Drum Beating Golden Hammer with both hands, he slammed it down in front of the charging thugs.

Boom!

The stone-paved street shattered in an instant. Broken stones flew everywhere, and a huge section of the ground caved in.

Cracks spread out in every direction, extending eight or nine feet before finally stopping.

In the blink of an eye, a vast, cracked crater had appeared in the ground. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought a meteor had fallen from the sky.

The tremendous impact instantly stunned every thug who had charged forward. They stood rooted to the spot, not daring to take another step.

Just one blow from that hammer would leave a man in pieces if it hit him.

Smack!

Ning Xiu let the Drum Beating Golden Hammer rest on the ground, planted one foot on its head, and clasped his hands as he cracked his knuckles one by one with a grin. "Whoever takes another step forward will be killed without mercy."

The thugs fell silent. No one could possibly be unsure whether the ground was harder than their bodies.

Ning Xiu reached out and grabbed the hammer's handle. "I'll count to three. Anyone still in front of me after that gets a hammer blow as a reward."

"Three."

"Two."

Before Ning Xiu could say one, the thugs had already fled in a panic, vanishing from sight.

"Young Master, this Lord Ning really is... really is... nothing like he looks," Huang You's attendant muttered under his breath.

Huang You nodded in deep agreement. "I thought he was a frail scholar, but who could've guessed he was a hulking powerhouse behind the scenes?"

The carriage set off again. Back at the Huang Mansion, Ning Xiu went to the room Huang You had arranged for him. After reciting that day's portion of the Diamond Sutra to the Six-Word Golden Bead, he resumed cultivating several martial techniques.

The night passed uneventfully.

Early the next morning, Ning Xiu went to the post station. Given the Demon Subduing Bureau's efficiency, if they had discovered anything about the Runic Diagram, Su Qianqian should send someone with a letter to Wendeng County that day.

Sure enough, as soon as Ning Xiu entered the post station, the courier from the day before came over with a sealed letter and handed it to him.

"Sir, this was sent for you by that lady from the Demon Subduing Bureau."

Ning Xiu took it at once and opened it to read.

Su Qianqian wrote that the Runic Diagram was a forbidden evil art sealed away long ago by the Demon Subduing Bureau. When drawn on a person's body, it could absorb the person's vital essence, causing them to undergo a corpse transformation after death.

If her guess was right, a Demon Person was certainly hiding somewhere in Wendeng County. He was using the drownings as a cover, when in truth he wanted to obtain the people's vital essence.

If he was allowed to keep committing evil, Wendeng County would sooner or later become a dead land.

Su Qianqian also instructed Ning Xiu to continue investigating in Wendeng County. If he felt he was in danger, he could request reinforcements from the Demon Subduing Bureau. In any case, he had to expose and execute the hidden Demon Person.

Everything suddenly became clear.

A plan to lure out the Demon Person immediately took shape in Ning Xiu's mind. The only problem was that he couldn't carry it out during the day. He would have to wait until nightfall.

Ning Xiu immediately called up the Proficiency Panel.

Pure Yang Extreme Fist: Ninth Layer (32/5000) (+)

Golden Bell Shield: Eighth Layer (13/4000) (+)

Spiritual Eye Qi Observation Technique: Fifth Layer (22/3000) (+)

Great Sun Profound Scripture: Eighth Layer (3/4000) (+)

Universal Proficiency: 8500

After dealing with the seventeen corpses that had undergone corpse transformation last time, Ning Xiu had saved up another 8,500 points of Universal Proficiency.

He was going to lure the Demon Person out that night, so he naturally had to improve his strength beforehand to ensure his safety. There was no need to keep saving those points.

Improving Pure Yang Extreme Fist now required a whopping 5,000 points of Universal Proficiency. If he upgraded it, he wouldn't have enough to improve either of the other two combat techniques. It wasn't good value for his points.

So Ning Xiu chose to upgrade Golden Bell Shield and Great Sun Profound Scripture together, trading for stronger defense and deeper Internal Energy.

Pure Yang Extreme Fist, Golden Bell Shield, and Great Sun Profound Scripture all reached the Ninth Layer. Now, even if Ning Xiu encountered a Seventh Rank Evil Spirit, he wouldn't bat an eye. His confidence had soared.

Ning Xiu had read the records in Dong Fu's study. They stated that all seventeen victims had been killed at night, which meant the Demon Person only struck in the dead of night.

Ning Xiu waited until nightfall at the Huang Mansion before heading out. He bought a jar of wine, planning to pretend to be a drunken fool before going to the Changxia River.

At night, the only sound on the banks of the Changxia River was the flowing water. Moonlight shimmered on its rippling surface. The drowning cases were so bizarre that no one dared to go near the river at night anymore.

After activating Spiritual Eye Qi Observation Technique, Ning Xiu wandered around the riverbank.

If the Demon Person really appeared and tried to attack him, Ning Xiu could turn the tables on him.

Half an hour passed. Holding the wine jar, Ning Xiu deliberately slumped down by the riverbank, occasionally getting up to stagger a few steps before falling over again.

Even after all that time, the whole Changxia River remained utterly quiet. Nothing unusual had happened.

It made one wonder whether the Demon Person had already left Wendeng County and gone somewhere else.

Gurgle, gurgle!

Suddenly, a mass of bubbles rose from the calm water by the riverbank. After bubbling for a while, they began streaming toward Ning Xiu.

"There's movement!"

Now that he was a warrior, Ning Xiu's senses were far sharper than an ordinary person's. The moment he heard bubbles coming from the Changxia River beside him, he sensed something was wrong.

Black, mist-like Evil Qi began to appear on the surface of the water.

"Something's about to emerge."

Ning Xiu quickly feigned calm, continuing to act as though he hadn't noticed anything. He took a sip from the wine jar, waiting for a good opportunity to strike.

Splash!

When the bubbles reached the riverbank, a pale arm suddenly thrust up from beneath the surface. It grabbed the bank, and something hauled itself out of the water.

In the moonlight, Ning Xiu quickly saw what it looked like.

It was a man with disheveled hair, his entire body swollen and waterlogged!

His eyes had bloated like balls from soaking in the river. His upper and lower eyelids were pressed tightly together, so no one could see his eyeballs at all.

"A Drowned Ghost?!" Ning Xiu exclaimed in surprise. Could it be that the one causing trouble in the Changxia River wasn't a Demon Person at all, but a Drowned Ghost?

Seeing Ning Xiu slumped on the ground, the Drowned Ghost opened its mouth wide and let out a strange roar before lunging straight at him.

Its mouth was full of sharp teeth, every one of them a shape no normal person should have.

Bang!

Without hesitation, Ning Xiu sprang up and punched the thing squarely in the face.

Pure Yang Extreme Fist, blazing red, was practically the bane of Evil Spirits.

The Drowned Ghost's face instantly reddened and began smoking with a sizzling sound. In pain, its first instinct was to flee back into the Changxia River.

But how could Ning Xiu let it get away? He poured Internal Energy into his right palm and clamped it around the Drowned Ghost's nape.

Crack, crack, crack!

Ning Xiu tightened his grip, and the Drowned Ghost's neck crunched. Since emerging from the Demon Subduing Prison, Ning Xiu had grown even stronger. A Ninth Rank Evil Spirit like this could never be his match.

At last, its throat bone snapped completely, and its body fell still.

Defeated Evil Spirit, Universal Proficiency +500

Ning Xiu looked toward the river. Aside from the Evil Qi brought by the Drowned Ghost, there was no trace of Evil Qi anywhere around the Changxia River.

If the Demon Person was still hiding in Wendeng County, then he certainly wasn't here.

"So you were the one drowning passersby," Ning Xiu thought as he looked at the Drowned Ghost's corpse in his hands.

That left them at a dead end. If the Demon Person was harming people and leaving Runic Diagrams to drain their vital essence without doing the killing himself,

but was instead ordering this Drowned Ghost to do it, then it wouldn't be easy to discover the hidden Demon Person's identity in a short time.