What, are you trying to tell me what to do?

"Guards!"

Wang Sheng's sword-like brows shot up, veins bulging on his forehead as his furious roar echoed through the blue bricks and gray tiles of the Jiaofang Si. "Assemble!"

A chilling, murderous aura coiled around him, saturating the entire Jiaofang Si.

"Yes, sir!" The captains and officers of the Demon Suppression Division moved at the sound, their orderly footsteps thudding across the ground like muffled thunder, swiftly gathering before him.

"Li Kun, take your men and hold the scene."

Wang Sheng's gaze was like a blazing torch as he swept coldly over the crowd, enunciating each word, "If these people dare to move, kill them all without mercy."

His words carried an unassailable authority.

This was the suppression of the lower by the higher.

"Yes, sir!" Li Kun stood tall and solemn, immediately clasping his fists in salute.

As he turned, his robes fluttered, and he led his men to quickly occupy advantageous positions.

Wang Sheng waved his hand, his sleeves snapping in the wind. "The rest of you, follow Captain Chen. His orders are my orders."

The crowd's eyes followed his gesture, all turning in unison toward Chen Bin.

Among them were Captains, officers, constables, White Officers...

"First, surround the remaining three establishments of 'Yan Hua Alley' entirely."

Chen Bin's eyes were sharp as an eagle's as he swept his gaze over the crowd, his voice low and firm. "Anyone who dares to obstruct, kill them without mercy."

"Yes, sir!" The crowd roared in unison, the sound piercing the clouds, then marched in orderly steps, filing out of the Jiaofang Si.

The night was as dark as ink, and a long dragon of torches wound through "Yan Hua Alley," the orange-red flames leaping on the bluestone path like a burning serpent.

The firelight illuminated the upturned eaves and corners of the alley, encircling "Yun Yu Xuan" completely, the golden characters on its sign flickering in and out of the glow.

Excitement gleamed in the captains' eyes; raiding such places was their favorite task.

"Not bad, seven fox demons, eighty-nine points of merit." Chen Bin muttered to himself, his gaze fixed on the sign of "Yun Yu Xuan."

"Go!" Chen Bin waved his hand.

The Demon Suppression Division men surged toward the gate. "Demon Suppression Division on official business!"

"Who are you? Oh, dear sirs,"

The madam twisted her willowy waist, swaying seductively as she approached, her face plastered with a fawning smile. "Oh, isn't this..."

Chen Bin's brow instantly furrowed into a deep crease, his hand moving like lightning to grip his saber hilt, fingers closing as he drew the blade.

The pitch-black knife shot out like a viper from its lair, carving a frigid arc through the air. With a "pfft," the madam's unfinished words were cut short, her body cleaved diagonally in two by a single stroke.

Thick demonic aura billowed out like black smoke, rank and pungent.

Chen Bin moved with the agility of a hunting leopard, leaping over the expanding corpse, his gaze like lightning sweeping across the courtyard.

The chaotic, clamorous scene, after that single slash, plunged into dead silence, as if time itself had frozen.

"There really are demons," someone shouted.

"They really dare to kill," they panicked.

The Demon Suppression Division men, blades drawn, immediately charged into the courtyard, seizing all key positions.

Chen Bin stared at the silent crowd, his voice cold as ice, each word hammering into their hearts like a heavy mallet. "See that fox demon? Anyone who doesn't cooperate will be treated as an accomplice to the demons and killed without mercy."

"Kill!" The captains and officers roared in unison, their voices shaking the entire courtyard. Their weapons gleamed coldly in the firelight, radiating overwhelming intimidation.

The people in the yard were so terrified their Adam's apples bobbed uncontrollably, each one silent as a cicada in winter, not daring to breathe.

"What's going on? Has that domineering Demon Suppression Division come back?" someone muttered quietly in the crowd, but the words were quickly drowned by fear.

Just then, "Bang!" The sound of a window breaking shattered the silence.

Chen Bin's expression shifted instantly, his form turning into a phantom-like blur as he dashed over in the blink of an eye.

The saber's gleam streaked like a shooting star chasing the moon, tracing a brilliant arc through the night, plunging into the white-clad figure's back and pinning the fox demon to the roof beam.

The fox demon on the beam struggled desperately, limbs flailing wildly, letting out piercing screams, but its strength waned, until its limbs hung limp and lifeless.

Chen Bin smoothly withdrew his blade, looking down from above with an icy gaze. "Anyone else want to move?"

His voice echoed through the empty courtyard, lingering long.

[You have slain four Body Tempering Realm fox demons. Gained merit: 38. Remaining merit: 698.]

[You have slain three Qi Gathering Realm fox demons. Gained merit: 51. Remaining merit: 749.]

Inside the Jiaofang Si.

A towering, powerfully built man in gleaming armor strode in with heavy steps; a fat, big-headed man with a bulging belly followed, panting and wheezing.

They went up to the second floor and entered the Heavenly Character type room.

Staring at the corpse on the ground, their faces instantly turned deathly pale, as if the sky had collapsed.

Qian Yu's legs gave way, and he knelt tremblingly.

His eyes nearly split as he looked at the horrifying hole in his son's chest, at the black blood oozing from the seven orifices of his son's terrified face, at the eyes that refused to close, filled with pain and despair.

His coarse hands trembling, he reached out to pull his son into his embrace, but the moment before he made contact—crack! A faint sound of grinding bone, and Qian Du's head dangled limply from his neck as if boneless.

Qian Yu recoiled as if struck by lightning, his hand jerking back, and Qian Du's body hit the floor with a thud.

Lu Hanwen's three-hundred-jin bulk crashed to the ground with a plop, the wooden floorboards shuddering beneath him.

"My son, my son..."

His pudgy hands shook uncontrollably, yet he dared not touch his son's corpse. Tears fell like beads from a broken string, pattering from his fat face to the floor. "Waaah... waaah..."

Heart-wrenching wails echoed through the room, grating and unpleasant.

The two men wept freely, tears streaming down their aged faces, lost in the depths of their grief over their sons' deaths.

"Who was it?" Qian Yu suddenly roared, slamming his fist into the wooden floor, punching a gaping hole straight through it.

He shot to his feet, bloodshot eyes fixed on Wang Sheng. "Who, exactly?"

His voice brimmed with fury and hatred.

Wang Sheng's face was pale. He covered his mouth with a light cough, wiped a trace of blood from the corner of his lips, and smiled weakly. "Can Captain Qian not see the wounds? Can you not sense the demonic aura within your son's body?"

Qian Yu froze, then ground his teeth. "I'm asking, in this operation, who led the Demon Suppression Division?"

"That's right!" Lu Hanwen, supported by two attendants, struggled to his feet and echoed the accusation. "Your Demon Suppression Division bungled the operation and cost my son his life to demon claws. You bear full responsibility."

Wang Sheng lifted his gaze, and in that instant, his eyes turned icy cold, a chill radiating from his entire being. "Oh? Are you teaching me how to do my job? Or is the County Office trying to rein in the Demon Suppression Division?"

His words carried undisguised menace.

"You..." Lu Hanwen gnashed his teeth in fury but could do nothing.

The two sides answered to different superiors, fundamentally at odds from the start.

The City Defense Division, the County Office, and the Demon Suppression Division each operated independently, with no authority over one another.

But when demonic incidents were involved, the Demon Suppression Division could command the other two.

Now, conflict was on the verge of erupting.

"Fine. The Demon Suppression Division. We'll remember this." Qian Yu wiped the tears from his face with his hand, his eyes brimming with venom. "Brother Lu, let's go!"

Lu Hanwen rolled up his wide sleeve, roughly wiped the tears from his face, and straightened his back with effort. In that moment, he seemed to become once again the lofty supreme authority of the county.

Qian Yu and Lu Hanwen descended the stairs and left without looking back, not sparing another glance at their sons' bodies.

As if, in their eyes, those were not their sons' corpses, but merely the carcasses of stray dogs by the roadside.

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