The Chaos in Wendeng County

"Sir, a distinguished official from the yamen has come to visit you," the old housekeeper said to the chamber door.

Initially, there was no sound from within the room. It wasn't until everyone felt something was amiss that a hoarse voice suddenly spoke.

"I wonder which official has come. I am unwell and truly unable to rise to meet guests. I hope the official will understand."

The old housekeeper quickly said to Ning Xiu, "This official, my master has likely just arrived from another region to Wendeng County and is suffering from acclimatization, which is why he fell ill. I hope the official will forgive him."

"Open the door. Let me see what kind of illness County Magistrate Lu has contracted," Ning Xiu said calmly.

"This..." The old housekeeper was stunned.

Normally, at this point, wouldn't one seize the opportunity to say, "Since your master is gravely ill, let him recuperate, and I will visit another day"?

Why did the person before him still want to enter the room to see?

"Open the door," Ning Xiu commanded.

Fang Ping, standing nearby, immediately pushed the door open with a slap, and Ning Xiu stepped inside.

Although it was broad daylight, the room was inexplicably dim and eerie. Ning Xiu's gaze immediately fell upon a figure sitting by the tea table in the room.

This person sat there motionlessly, and it was unclear what was happening.

The old housekeeper, who followed Ning Xiu in, quickly lit the candles in the room. With the candlelight, everyone could finally see the true appearance of the figure by the tea table.

It was a man with a pale complexion.

"Young master, you're here too," the old housekeeper said.

This person was somewhat strange. Ning Xiu immediately used the Spiritual Eye Qi Observation Technique to look at him, and found him to be entangled with Evil Qi.

Ning Xiu's eyes immediately sharpened. It seemed that County Magistrate Lu's residence indeed had problems.

"There's no water in the room. I'll go fetch some," Lu Chuan said, getting up and heading towards the door.

Putting him aside for now, Ning Xiu walked directly towards the bed. He saw a man with a haggard face lying on the bed.

The quilt covered most of his body, leaving only his head exposed. This person was Lu Dengke.

"County Magistrate Lu, what kind of illness do you have that you haven't been able to go to the yamen for half a month? Illness should not be prolonged. Have you seen a doctor in the city?" Ning Xiu stopped by the bedside and asked, looking down.

"This official looks unfamiliar. I didn't see you when I first went to the yamen. However, I appreciate your concern. I've just caught a cold and only need to rest well. It's a minor illness, a minor illness."

The old housekeeper hurried over with the candlestick and added, "This official, when my master served in other counties, he was also like this, frail and often ill. Please inform Magistrate Dong when you return to the yamen that my master is definitely not intentionally avoiding his duties at the yamen."

"Mm, it's easy to say, easy to say," Ning Xiu smiled.

Suddenly, his expression changed drastically. He reached out and grabbed Lu Dengke's shoulder.

As Ning Xiu's right palm instantly turned crimson, Lu Dengke's face immediately showed a pained expression, and his entire being transformed dramatically.

"Roar!"

His skin began to wither at a visible rate, eventually turning completely into a mummified corpse.

While in pain, Lu Dengke's mouth opened to an extent that defied normal human anatomy, his jaw almost dislocating.

He lunged to bite Ning Xiu's arm.

"Be careful, sir!" Fang Ping shouted upon seeing this sudden change.

But it was too late. Lu Dengke's mouth had already fiercely bitten Ning Xiu's arm.

However, in the next instant, the situation made him dumbfounded. Ning Xiu's arm was like an iron rod, incredibly hard.

He bit down on it without any effect. Not only could he not bite off the arm, but he couldn't even break Ning Xiu's skin.

"Not pretending anymore?" Ning Xiu grabbed Lu Dengke's neck and then lifted him directly off the bed.

When Lu Dengke's body, hidden beneath the quilt from the neck down, was pulled out by Ning Xiu and exposed to everyone's sight, Fang Ping and the old housekeeper were both dumbfounded. Neither could imagine what they were seeing.

Lu Dengke's torso from the neck down had already become a skeleton with remnants of flesh and sinew.

A one-foot-tall dwarf with limbs but no hands or feet was curled up within Lu Dengke's rib cage, its brain fused with Lu Dengke's heart.

What was most chilling was that this dwarf's face looked exactly like Lu Dengke's, which was utterly unbelievable.

"Sir!" the old housekeeper cried out, so startled that he fell to the ground.

Fang Ping also felt a chill down his spine, having never witnessed such a bizarre scene.

Even though this fellow's method of concealing Evil Qi was extremely skillful, Ning Xiu, having advanced the Spiritual Eye Qi Observation Technique to the fifth level, could still detect traces of Evil Qi on him.

Looking at the human-like, yet not quite human, spirit-like, yet not quite spirit-like entity squeezed into the chest cavity of the skeleton, Ning Xiu said, "Can you speak?"

"You're still alive. It seems Du Luo has fallen into your hands," the demon said hoarsely.

"So, you are the demon who operates through a puppet avatar."

Initially, Ning Xiu just felt that Lu Dengke was quite suspicious and decided to check the situation. Even if it turned out to be a wasted trip, it wouldn't be a loss.

He didn't expect Lu Dengke to be the big fish Ning Xiu wanted to catch.

However, from the current situation, it appeared that Lu Dengke had been persecuted by the demon and had long since died.

And this demon before him was using his body to do who knows what.

If Fang Ping hadn't discovered it himself, no one would have ever noticed this matter.

"Don't celebrate too early. Even if you catch us, Wendeng County won't return to peace just like that. In the half month since Lu Dengke arrived here, I've secretly done quite a lot," the demon sneered.

Ning Xiu frowned. The demon's words gave him a very bad premonition.

At the same time, throughout Wendeng County.

A vegetable vendor, carrying a basket of vegetables, walked through the streets shouting about his cheap produce. A few women walked over from not far away, intending to buy from him.

Just then, the vegetable vendor's expression suddenly turned vacant. He then dropped his carrying pole, drew a cleaver from his vegetable basket, and charged at the women, slaughtering them indiscriminately.

In the private school, an old gentleman who was reading suddenly stopped. He stiffly walked to the door and locked it.

Under the confused gazes of the students inside, the old gentleman removed his belt and began a brutal act of violence.

One by one, children were strangled to death under his hands, completely unable to struggle.

The former place of learning had now become a silent tomb.

Whenever someone died, a green shadow would suddenly fly out from their body, heading towards the Lu Mansion from all directions.

They finally landed inside the Lu Mansion and disappeared without a trace.

Screams, wails, and cries filled Wendeng County for a time.

The Wen Deng County yamen was thrown into chaos not long after the riots began.

When Dong Fu learned of the situation outside from his subordinates, he was instantly dumbfounded.

What was happening? How could any county magistrate witness such a scene in their lifetime?

Ning Xiu was unaware of everything happening outside. According to the regulations of the Demon Subduing Bureau, if a Demon Subduing Captain managed to capture a demon alive, it was best to bring the demon back to the Demon Subduing Bureau and imprison it in the Demon Subduing Prison for specialized interrogation.

This was to understand the demon's abilities and to extract all information the demon knew about the outside world.

Ning Xiu hadn't had the chance to save the scaled demon from before, but this demon could be brought back to Chaotian Capital, serving as an explanation to Su Qianqian.

He asked Fang Ping to fetch some rope, and Ning Xiu directly wrapped the demon along with Lu Dengke's corpse in a quilt, then tied it up with the rope.

During this time, the old housekeeper sat on the ground, trembling, unable to fully accept the truth that Lu Dengke was already dead.

"Sir, isn't it dangerous to handle this demon like this?" Fang Ping couldn't help but say as he watched Ning Xiu carry Lu Dengke's body.

"It's fine. I'm heading back to the capital today. I'll deal with it first." Ning Xiu slung Lu Dengke over his shoulder and was about to leave.

The moment he stepped out of the room, Ning Xiu witnessed numerous green shadows in the sky, whistling from all directions into the Lu Mansion, all disappearing in a specific location within the mansion.

"Huh!"

Seeing this, Ning Xiu felt a sense of strangeness and quickly rushed towards that direction with Fang Ping.

In the woodshed, Lu Chuan pulled open the trapdoor leading to the cellar and descended the worn wooden ladder.

At the same time, he muttered to himself, "A Demon Subduing Captain has quietly arrived in Wendeng County, and I didn't even notice. Fortunately, I set up a killing trap in advance. Today I can collect a lot of vital energy before withdrawing from this place. Otherwise, relying solely on Du Luo's clumsy skills, I'd definitely be reprimanded by the supervisor if I went back like this."

Descending into the cellar, he saw a white banner, as tall as a person, planted in the ground, emitting a soft white glow in the pitch-black cellar where sunlight never reached.

A large number of green shadows penetrated the ground and all poured into the white banner.

Upon closer inspection, one could see numerous human faces, each the size of a peach pit, densely covering the entire surface of the banner.

Beneath the banner, planted in the ground, was a massive runic diagram. If Ning Xiu were present, he would immediately recognize it as the same one he found on those corpse fiends.

Watching the banner fill with more and more human faces, 'Lu Chuan' nodded with satisfaction, walked over, pulled out the banner, and prepared to take it away.

However, the moment he stepped out of the woodshed, he saw Ning Xiu and Fang Ping walking towards him.

"Hmm?!" Ning Xiu was surprised. Wasn't this the person who had been in Lu Dengke's room just now?

And that old housekeeper had called him young master earlier. Thinking of the demon's puppet transformation ability, Ning Xiu's mind instantly became clear.

A fish that had slipped through the net.

"How is this possible!"

'Lu Chuan's' expression was extremely grim. When Ning Xiu entered the room, he had already realized something was amiss.

That's why he specifically had Lu Chuan, who had already transformed into his avatar, quickly leave the room and go to the woodshed to retrieve the Spirit Gathering Banner hidden there beforehand, which was specifically used to collect vital energy.

As long as this item wasn't discovered by the Demon Subduing Captain, his mission wouldn't be considered a failure.

But for some reason, Ning Xiu had managed to find this place. One must know that even the servants of the Lu Mansion rarely came near this place.

This demon couldn't have imagined that Ning Xiu cultivated the Spiritual Eye Qi Observation Technique, a pupil technique that could see all sorts of 'qi'.

It just so happened that he noticed the vital energy of the common people flying into the Lu Mansion, which is why he came to catch them red-handed, catching them in the act.

"Put that thing down. Don't force me to act," Ning Xiu said calmly.

From their first encounter and his conversation with the demon just now, he had roughly analyzed the demon's abilities.

The other party was likely not skilled in combat, not a demon for fighting. However, their puppet transformation ability was very powerful. If given a stage to perform, the harm this demon could cause would undoubtedly be terrifying.

'Lu Chuan' clenched his fists, and in his mind, he immediately made the decision to fight Ning Xiu with all his might.

He immediately thrust the Spirit Gathering Banner firmly into the ground, rapidly chanting obscure and complex incantations.

Ghost Summoning!

"Wooooo!"

A chorus of wails suddenly erupted from the Spirit Gathering Banner, as if hundreds of people were crying out before Ning Xiu.

It was piercingly loud, making one dizzy.

As if moved by an unseen force, the banner fluttered on its own, and a massive ghost claw slowly extended from its surface. Immediately after, a colossal Two-Horned Evil Spirit broke free and crawled out from within the banner.

Although only its upper body was visible from the banner, this evil spirit's size already rivaled half a house.

In Ning Xiu's eyes, the Evil Qi emanating from this Two-Horned Evil Spirit was as profound as that of the Malevolent Spirits confined within the Xuan Zone of the Demon Subduing Prison.

"You, step back," Ning Xiu told Fang Ping.

He was just an ordinary person; even a trace of Evil Qi from a Malevolent Spirit of this caliber would be enough to leave Fang Ping with chronic illness for life.

Dropping Lu Dengke's corpse at his feet, Ning Xiu immediately began to furiously circulate the Great Sun Profound Scripture.

This was the first time he had encountered such a powerful Malevolent Spirit since leaving the Demon Subduing Prison, and he had to be cautious.

With the ninth layer of the Great Sun Profound Scripture in motion, robust Internal Energy surged through Ning Xiu's body. As 'Lu Chuan' activated the Spirit Gathering Banner, the Two-Horned Evil Spirit immediately raised its massive ghost claw and slammed it down with immense force towards Ning Xiu.

This ghost claw, as large as two door panels, descended with overwhelming pressure. Ning Xiu had no chance to evade and immediately employed the Pure Yang Extreme Fist with both hands, meeting the evil spirit's claw head-on.

BOOM!!!

In an instant, dust billowed and the ground trembled.

Ning Xiu's feet sank several inches into the ground, and the soil in the courtyard reached his ankles.

The clothes on his body ripped apart, unable to withstand the immense force generated by the ghost claw's strike.

Yet, Ning Xiu remained expressionless. With nothing but his fists, he had directly taken a blow from the Two-Horned Evil Spirit, which was more than ten times his size, and showed no signs of defeat.

This scene instantly left Fang Ping and 'Lu Chuan' stunned into silence.

Is this even human? Can a human possess such brute strength? Are you a Malevolent Spirit wearing a human skin?

Ning Xiu's back was to Fang Ping. The moment his clothes tore, Fang Ping saw it.

On Ning Xiu's muscular back, a Great Sun Golden Mark, red on the inside and gold on the outside, had appeared!

As Ning Xiu furiously circulated the Great Sun Profound Scripture, this Great Sun Golden Mark grew brighter and brighter.