Demon Appears

Deep in the night, within the inner courtyard of the yamen.

Dong Fu, who had long since gone to bed and fallen into a deep sleep, was suddenly awakened by a call from outside the house.

Before he could reprimand the person for disturbing his pleasant dreams, the person outside immediately said, "Sir, Lord Ning is here at the yamen, and he's brought a corpse. He specifically asked for you to come and take a look."

Upon hearing that it was Ning Xiu, Dong Fu's full anger instantly subsided.

Given Ning Xiu's status as a Demon Subduing Captain, let alone being woken up in the middle of the night, even if he had set the yamen ablaze, Dong Fu wouldn't have dared to utter a single complaint.

Quickly changing into his official attire, Dong Fu followed the messenger to meet Ning Xiu.

At that moment, Ning Xiu was standing in the county yamen's main hall. Beside him on the ground lay a corpse, thoroughly soaked. Its hair was disheveled, making it impossible to discern who it was.

"Greetings, Lord Ning." Dong Fu entered the hall and immediately paid his respects to Ning Xiu.

"No need for formalities, Lord Dong. Please take a look and see if you recognize this person."

"This is..." Dong Fu walked over to the corpse, quite puzzled. A constable used his scabbard to push aside the long hair covering the corpse's face so Dong Fu could get a better look.

However, facing a corpse whose entire face had swollen from being submerged, Dong Fu couldn't tell what it was at all. He could only shake his head and say, "This subordinate does not recognize this person."

Just then, a constable nearby suddenly muttered in surprise, "Huh, this looks like the waiter whose body disappeared in the end."

Ning Xiu asked, "You recognize him?"

"Sir, when we recovered this waiter's body floating in the Changxia River, I was the one responsible for it. This person had a birthmark on his chest and neck. I remember it very clearly. Even if his face is disfigured like this, I can still identify him."

Hearing the constable say this, Ning Xiu recalled that before the multiple drowning cases in Wendeng County, the initial incident was the drowning of a waiter from an inn.

Later, when his family brought the body back and placed it in their courtyard, it disappeared overnight. The waiter's family searched the entire Wendeng County without finding any trace, and eventually, it was left unresolved.

This incident then triggered a series of subsequent major events. Unexpectedly, this missing corpse has now reappeared in the form of a drowned ghost in the Changxia River.

Ning Xiu also found traces of curse markings on a certain part of the drowned ghost's body.

"Lord Dong, I need you to help me with something."

"Lord Ning, please tell me whatever you need. As long as it can be of help to you, this subordinate will do his utmost to assist."

"Investigate the residents of Wendeng County over the past half-month. Record the names of all non-local, unfamiliar faces and give them to me."

"This subordinate understands."

Ning Xiu pointed at the drowned ghost on the ground and said, "Also, tomorrow morning, have someone hang this fellow at the entrance of the yamen. Announce that the previous drowning cases were all caused by this malevolent spirit, and that you secretly organized constables to patrol the Changxia River at night and successfully eliminated the drowned ghost. This will reassure the public that they no longer need to live in fear."

Dong Fu was delighted. This was a great achievement! This Demon Subduing Captain was offering him credit; where else could he find such a good opportunity?

However, he still feigned humility and asked, "Sir, why not tell the people of Wendeng that you were the one who eliminated the malevolent spirit? That way, everyone would surely be grateful to you and remember your prestige forever."

Ning Xiu glanced at him and said sternly, "I have my reasons for asking you to do this. Remember not to expose my existence to outsiders. Otherwise, if anything goes wrong, neither you nor I can bear the consequences."

"Yes, yes, this subordinate understands."

Once the drowned ghost disappeared, the demon lurking in the shadows would surely become vigilant.

By publicly announcing in Dong Fu's name that the drowning was eliminated by the yamen constables, the demon would not be prompted to leave Wendeng County.

If Ning Xiu revealed his identity, the demon would likely flee Wendeng County the very day it received the news.

The next day.

"So this is the malevolent spirit that was hiding in the Changxia River and harming people. It looks truly terrifying."

"If I encountered this thing by the river late at night, I'd probably faint on the spot, let alone run away."

"It harmed seventeen innocent people. Letting this malevolent spirit die so easily is too good for it."

"Magistrate Dong usually lives a mediocre life with no achievements, but I didn't expect him to do such a satisfying deed this time."

On a tall pole at the entrance of the county yamen, the drowned ghost's corpse was tightly bound with rope and hung there.

The Wendeng County residents gathered below could see it clearly, cheering with satisfaction.

For the past half-month, the Changxia River incident had been like a stone pressing down on everyone's hearts, casting a shadow over every resident of Wendeng County.

Now that the truth was revealed and the cause of disaster resolved, everyone could finally breathe a sigh of relief and feel much more at ease.

Among the crowd, a man with a blank expression stared intently at the drowned ghost's corpse, a stark contrast to the joyful expressions of the other onlookers.

After a while, the man squeezed out of the crowd and quickly moved away from the yamen.

No one noticed that at a tea stall on a nearby street, a young man was holding a cup of tea, quietly observing everyone gathered outside the yamen.

The young man's pupils were slightly pale, indicating he was using the Spiritual Eye Qi Observation Technique. It was Ning Xiu.

When the man with the peculiar behavior left, Ning Xiu's gaze followed him the entire time. Among all the people present, only this man had a trace of evil qi on him, making him highly suspicious.

Therefore, Ning Xiu had been keeping an eye on him from the start. If the demon intended to remain in Wendeng County, it would definitely come to check the situation personally or send someone else after the drowned ghost was displayed by the yamen.

By following this man, he could find the demon's hiding place.

Putting down his teacup, Ning Xiu quietly followed.

Weaving through streets and alleys, the man finally entered a back door of a large courtyard. The courtyard looked expensive, and its owner must be a wealthy individual.

Ning Xiu surveyed the surroundings, then leaped up, climbing over the high courtyard wall.

A very faint trace of evil qi wafted from within the courtyard, likely left behind by the man who had just passed through.

However, for reasons unknown, this evil qi quickly began to dissipate at a visible rate, eventually vanishing completely.

If Ning Xiu had arrived even a moment later, he might not have even seen any of the evil qi.

Ning Xiu had never encountered such a method of concealing evil qi before. If the demon could use this method to hide himself, then Ning Xiu's Spiritual Eye Qi Observation Technique would be completely useless.

Seeing the man's retreating back disappear around a corner of the corridor not far away, Ning Xiu immediately gave chase.

Lu Chuan hadn't been in a good mood lately. Ever since his father was transferred to Wendeng County as the County Magistrate, he had become strange.

Every time Lu Chuan tried to talk to him, his father would either stay in his room and refuse to come out, or he'd leave after only a few words. It made Lu Chuan feel like he was talking to a completely different person, as if his father had been replaced.

Two days ago, he had sent his subordinates to forcibly seize Huang You's treasure. However, they returned empty-handed, reporting that the other party had an incredibly strong fighter who wielded a hammer and had scared them away with a single move.

With one setback after another, even though his father had become the local County Magistrate, Lu Chuan couldn't help but feel that his time in Wendeng County was incredibly dull.

"Young Master, the Master has been in the study all day again and hasn't come out. Except for the first day when he went to report to the county office, he hasn't left the mansion for the past few days. People from the county office have already come to urge him several times," the old housekeeper of the Lu mansion said to Lu Chuan, unable to help himself.

He had been with the Lu family for fifteen years and had always been dedicated to them. This time, Master Lu had pulled strings and spent a considerable amount of money to get promoted to County Magistrate in Wendeng County.

But for some reason, as soon as they arrived in Wendeng County, Master Lu had become like a different person, no longer taking the County Magistrate position seriously.

They had been in Wendeng County for nearly half a month, and Master Lu had only visited the yamen once. The rest of the time, he had stayed in the mansion.

He was as elusive as a divine dragon, and even the maids and servants in the mansion rarely saw their master.

"Young Master, although Master has become the County Magistrate, if this continues, I'm afraid the people in the county office won't stand for it, and he won't be able to hold onto the position of County Magistrate for long," the housekeeper reminded him.

After taking a sip of tea, Lu Chuan nodded and said, "Alright, I understand. I'll go and see my father now and ask him what difficulties he's encountered."

Leaving the pavilion, Lu Chuan immediately headed towards his father's residence.

Skillfully arriving at his father's door, Lu Chuan knocked and said, "Father, are you in there? Your son wants to talk to you about something."

Soon, a rather hoarse and cold voice came from inside the room.

"Father is busy. We'll talk next time."

Lu Chuan grew anxious. "Father, no matter how busy you are, you can't lock yourself in your room all day. Our family moved to Wendeng County because you were going to be the County Magistrate, but you've only been to the county office once in half a month. This won't do."

There was no response from inside.

Lu Chuan directly pushed the door open and stepped inside.

It was strange. Although it was broad daylight, Master Lu's room was pitch black and extremely gloomy.

Lu Chuan looked around but didn't see his father. He figured his father must be deeper inside the room, so he walked over, lit the candle on the table, picked up the candlestick, and walked towards the inner part of the room.

"Father, if you're truly facing any difficulties or troubles, you can tell me. What's the point of locking yourself in your room all day?"

Seeing the figure lying on the bed, Lu Chuan walked over and forcefully pulled back the covers.

In the candlelight, Lu Chuan instantly saw his father's appearance on the bed.

His entire body was shriveled, his skin clinging tightly to his bones. The skin on his face had been torn off, revealing a bloody mess.

A large number of maggots writhed frantically in his eye sockets, nostrils, and lips, devouring all the edible flesh on the corpse.

Even though the person had become a horrifying sight, Lu Chuan could still recognize him as his father at a glance.

"Ah!!!!"

The candlestick immediately fell to the ground, and the last trace of light in the room dimmed, returning to its initial darkness.

Hiss hiss hiss!

In the darkness, the sound of flesh being torn apart could be heard, and then silence fell again.

Seeing the man with evil qi enter a room, Ning Xiu bent down and slowly moved along the bottom of the window frame.

When he reached the window of that room, Ning Xiu stopped and strained his ears to listen to the sounds inside.

"That Drowned Ghost has already been killed by the yamen constables. Now we need a new target to help us absorb mortal essence."

"Your method isn't good to begin with; it's slow and easily attracts suspicion. What if we attract the Demon Subduing Captain? Then how will we complete the goals set by our superiors?"

"Then let's try your method. What do you plan to do next?"

"I have my own clever plan, so don't ask too many questions. When I complete my objective, I'll inform you."

Listening to the conversation inside the room, the situation was very clear: they were the real culprits behind the dozen or so drownings in Wendeng County.

However, what Ning Xiu never expected was that there wasn't just one demon hiding in Wendeng County, but two.

Fortunately, he had discovered one of the demons today and followed him to his hiding place. Otherwise, Ning Xiu might never have uncovered this secret.

Now that they were caught red-handed, it was time to act and eliminate them completely. This would be considered a successful completion of the mission that Su Qianqian had assigned him to Wendeng County.

Bang!

Instantly, Ning Xiu broke through the window and saw two people standing in the room.

One of them was the person Ning Xiu had been following, while the other was strangely and bizarrely disfigured.

Half of his body was covered in dark green scales, and his head was completely devoid of hair, replaced by a layer of milky white, transparent membrane.

Ning Xiu could even see the brain patterns within the membrane.

The moment Ning Xiu burst in, the two demons in the room were clearly stunned, obviously not expecting someone to be hiding outside.

"Did you bring him here?!" the scaled demon roared.

"Don't worry about that now, kill him quickly."

The two demons lunged at Ning Xiu. The scaled demon's claws were as sharp as a beast's; it was clear that if caught, and unable to resist, he would be riddled with holes on the spot.

The other demon looked ordinary. He simply drew a short sword from his bosom and made to stab Ning Xiu.

With the ninth layer of the Golden Bell Shield, Ning Xiu was not flustered at all. His fists exploded as he met both demons, the profound internal energy of the ninth layer of the Great Sun Profound Scripture erupting instantly.

Bang!

The scaled demon's body shook as Ning Xiu punched him back, and the other demon's short sword flew out of his hand and fell to the ground.

It was clearly visible that several distinct nicks had appeared along the edge of the sword's blade, shattered by Ning Xiu's Golden Bell Shield.

"Martial Dao Eighth Rank!"

The two demons exclaimed in unison.

Ning Xiu's movements were swift. He grabbed the weaponless demon's arm, instantly channeling internal energy into his palm, and violently threw him over his shoulder.

Crack!

The demon had no ability to resist; his strength was much lower than Ning Xiu had imagined.

However, something strange happened.

The moment the demon was slammed heavily onto the ground by Ning Xiu, his body, like shattered porcelain, instantly developed numerous cracks.

Finally, with a crack, he shattered into pieces on the ground.

There were no internal organs or blood within this person; it was just a void.

He was just like a clay figurine.

Thanks to 'Clown King' for the 100 fan value.

Thanks to 'SM Little Bookworm' for the 100 fan value.