"Men!"
Wang Sheng's sword brows shot up, veins bulging on his forehead as his furious shout rang through the gray-tiled halls of Jiaofang Si. "Assemble!"
A bone-chilling aura of slaughter clung to him, filling all of Jiaofang Si.
"Yes!" The Demon Suppression Division's captains and runners sprang into action. Their synchronized footsteps thundered across the ground as they quickly assembled before him.
"Li Kun, take your men and secure the scene."
Wang Sheng's gaze swept over them, bright and cold. "If anyone dares to move, kill them without mercy."
His voice carried an unquestionable authority.
This was a superior suppressing his subordinates.
"Yes!" Li Kun stood ramrod straight, his expression solemn as he immediately cupped his fists in salute.
He turned, his robes billowing, and led his men to swiftly take up advantageous positions.
Wang Sheng swept his hand through the air, his sleeves snapping. "The rest of you, follow Captain Chen. His orders are my orders."
The crowd followed his gesture, every eye turning to Chen Bin.
Among them were captains, officers, runners, and constables...
"First, surround the remaining three courtyards in Yan Hua Alley."
Chen Bin's sharp gaze swept over them, and his voice was low and firm. "Anyone who dares to obstruct us will be killed without mercy."
"Yes!" The crowd roared as one, their voices breaking through the clouds. Then, in orderly ranks, they filed out of Jiaofang Si.
The night was as dark as ink. A winding dragon of torches snaked through Yan Hua Alley, their orange-red flames dancing across the bluestone road like a colossal burning serpent.
The firelight illuminated the alley's upturned eaves and swept around Yun Yu Xuan, where the golden characters on its signboard flickered in the flames.
Excitement gleamed in the captains' eyes. Raiding places like this was what they liked best.
"Not bad. Seven Fox Demons, eighty-nine Merit." Chen Bin murmured, his gaze fixed on Yun Yu Xuan's signboard.
"Move!" Chen Bin waved his hand.
The Demon Suppression Division's men surged through the gates. "The Demon Suppression Division is here on official business!"
"Who are you? Oh, sirs..."
The madam swayed over with a serpentine waist, her face wreathed in a fawning smile. "Oh, isn't this..."
Chen Bin's brows instantly knitted into a deep furrow. His hand flashed to his sword hilt, fingers closing around it as he drew his blade.
The black blade darted out like a venomous snake, carving a chilling arc through the air. With a wet chop, the madam's unfinished words died in her throat, and the blade split her in two.
A dense, foul reek of demonic aura billowed out like black smoke.
Chen Bin vaulted over the swelling corpse with the lithe grace of a leopard. His eyes flashed as he scanned the courtyard.
The panicked, clamorous scene fell instantly silent after that single stroke, as if time itself had frozen.
"There really is a demon!" someone shouted.
"They really dared to kill someone!" The crowd panicked.
The Demon Suppression Division's men rushed into the courtyard with their blades drawn, seizing all the vital positions.
Chen Bin stared at the silent crowd, his voice cold as ice. Each word struck their hearts like a heavy hammer. "Do you see that Fox Demon? Anyone who refuses to cooperate will be treated as an accomplice to the demons and killed without mercy."
"Kill!" The captains and runners barked in unison, their voices shaking the courtyard. Their weapons gleamed coldly in the firelight, a fearsome warning.
The people in the courtyard swallowed nervously, each of them as silent as a cicada in winter, not daring to make a sound.
"What's going on? Has that tyrannical Demon Suppression Division returned?" someone muttered, but fear quickly swallowed his words.
Just then, a window shattered with a crash, breaking the silence.
Chen Bin's expression changed. His figure blurred like a ghost as he dashed toward it in the blink of an eye.
His blade flashed like a meteor chasing the moon, tracing a brilliant arc through the night before sinking into the back of the white figure and pinning the Fox Demon to a roof beam.
The Fox Demon thrashed desperately atop the beam, limbs flailing as it let out shrill screams. Its strength dwindled until its limbs hung limp and it drew its last breath.
Chen Bin smoothly pulled his blade free and looked down over the courtyard, his eyes cold as frost. "Who else wants to move?"
His voice echoed through the empty courtyard, lingering without end.
[You killed four Body Tempering Realm Fox Demons. Merit gained: 38. Remaining Merit: 698.] [You killed three Qi Gathering Realm Fox Demons. Merit gained: 51. Remaining Merit: 749]
Inside Jiaofang Si.
A tall, burly man in gleaming armor strode inside, followed by a fat man with a fleshy face and a bulging belly, panting for breath.
They went up to the second floor and entered the Heavenly Character type room.
At the sight of the bodies on the ground, their faces turned deathly pale, as if the sky had collapsed.
Qian Yu's legs gave way, and he trembled as he fell to his knees.
His eyes nearly burst from their sockets as he stared at the horrifying hole in his son's chest, at the black blood that had streamed from his son's seven orifices, and at the pain and despair frozen in his unclosed eyes.
He reached out with his coarse, trembling hands, wanting to gather his son into his arms. But just as he was about to touch him—"Crack!" A faint grinding sound came from the bones, and Qian Du's head drooped sideways, hanging as limp as if boneless.
As if struck by lightning, Qian Yu jerked his hand back. Qian Du's body fell to the ground with a thud.
Lu Hanwen's three-hundred-pound bulk dropped to the floor with a thump, making the wooden boards shudder.
"My son, my son..."
His fleshy hands trembled, but he still didn't dare touch his son's corpse. Tears poured down his fat cheeks, pattering onto the floor. "Waaah... sob..."
His heart-rending wails echoed through the room, grating on the ears.
The two men wept openly, tears and snot streaming down their faces as they drowned in their grief.
"Who was it?" Qian Yu suddenly roared, slamming a fist into the wooden floor. A gaping hole appeared beneath his hand.
He sprang to his feet, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Wang Sheng. "Who did this?"
His voice brimmed with fury and hatred.
Wang Sheng's face was pale. He covered his mouth and coughed softly, wiping a trace of blood from his lips before giving a weak smile. "Captain Qian, can't you see the wounds?
Can't you sense the demonic aura inside your son?"
Qian Yu froze, then gritted his teeth. "I mean, who led this operation for your Demon Suppression Division?"
"Exactly!" With two servants supporting him, Lu Hanwen struggled to his feet and demanded, "Your Demon Suppression Division botched the operation and got my son killed by the Demon Claw. You're fully responsible."
Wang Sheng lifted his gaze. In an instant, his eyes turned cold as ice, and a chill radiated from him. "What, are you trying to tell me what to do?
Or is the County Office trying to bring my Demon Suppression Division under its control?"
His words carried an undisguised threat.
"You..." Lu Hanwen gritted his teeth in fury, but there was nothing he could do.
The two sides answered to different superiors, and their interests were fundamentally at odds.
The City Defense Division, County Office, and Demon Suppression Division each governed their own affairs and were not subordinate to one another.
But when it came to demonic incidents, the Demon Suppression Division could still command the other two.
Now, however, the conflict was on the verge of erupting.
"Fine. We'll remember this, Demon Suppression Division." Qian Yu wiped the tears from his face, his eyes full of venom. "Brother Lu, let's go!"
Lu Hanwen rolled up his wide sleeves and roughly wiped away his tears, forcing himself to straighten his back. In that moment, he seemed to have become once more the lofty sovereign of the county.
Qian Yu and Lu Hanwen left without looking back, not sparing another glance at their sons.
In their eyes, it was as if the body on the ground wasn't their son's, but merely a dead stray dog by the roadside.
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