To Slack Off

To Slack Off

Star River County, outskirts

The evening wind howled through the darkness.

The trees on the outskirts swayed in the wind, their shadows flickering like ghosts as wails echoed through the night.

The wind stirred the lanterns, too.

The lanterns at the funeral home.

They swayed, casting a blood-red glow.

Beneath that red light, straw mats lay in neat rows, each bearing a corpse recently brought in. There were twenty-eight corpses.

Every one of them was in a pitiful state. Only bones remained between their legs and waists; their abdomens had been ripped open, their organs completely gone. Even their faces were pitted and mangled. Were it not for the personal ornaments on some of the corpses, there would have been no way to identify them by their appearance.

At that moment, the county deputy of Star River County was watching the corpses with a grave expression.

The coroner was still examining them, but there was hardly any need. They had all died at the hands of ferocious beasts.

Just then, a yamen runner hurried over with some information. It was a missing-person report that Chenxiang Pavilion had submitted several days ago, with detailed descriptions of each person's appearance, clothing, and personal ornaments.

Their faces could no longer be matched, but their belongings still could.

The county deputy of Star River County crouched slightly, comparing the report while scanning the corpses.

Just then, footsteps sounded at the gate to the funeral home's front courtyard.

The county deputy turned and saw a kindly-looking old man with sharp eyes stepping inside.

"Old Han." The county deputy cupped his hands from afar.

The newcomer was none other than the Eight-Armed Elder, Han Ba.

"Of the ten people missing from Chenxiang Pavilion, seven are here," the county deputy said. "The other three were probably reduced to nothing but bones."

"The rest should be the woodcutters, hunters, and travelers who've gone missing in your county lately," Han Ba said. "Oh, and Old Ma, the porter. Now that it's spring, he often goes into the mountains to pick flowers and sell them in the county for a little money. I didn't expect him to die, too."

"You seem to know them well."

"Like you, I've spent my whole life watching this county. How could I not know who comes and goes around here?"

The county deputy snorted but didn't dwell on it. "We followed your instructions and kept the missing-person cases under wraps before, but we can't keep them hidden today.

"Two hunters' bodies were found near the county gate, and a crowd saw them.

"The people here aren't fools. Once they saw those bodies, how could they not understand what had happened to everyone who'd gone missing?"

"Where were the bodies found?"

The county deputy took a sheet of paper from his clothes and handed it over.

Han Ba opened it. Red circles marked various locations, each labeled with a number corresponding to the order in which the bodies had been found. In the lower-left corner were notes from the coroner estimating the times of death.

The more Han Ba looked, the graver his expression became.

The county deputy glanced at the many people inside the funeral home, then looked toward the door. "Old Han, shall we take a walk?"

Han Ba nodded.

They went outside and walked beneath the funeral home's ancient locust trees. Dense shadows hung overhead, bringing with them a deeper, chilling gloom.

The county deputy frowned. "The way you people do things is nothing like Old Master Ning. He's a great benefactor to everyone for ten li around. Even I admire him deeply.

"But you... Ever since the first corpse was found, you've insisted that we keep quiet, let things happen, and wait for more bodies.

"I know you're hoping to get a clearer picture of the beasts' movements, but these are living, breathing people."

"I'll remember who they were. Ning Manor will help their families, so they won't be left without a livelihood."

The county deputy's frown deepened. "Did Old Master Ning teach you that?"

Han Ba shook his head. "Old Master Ning would never do such a thing."

Then he said, "You say we hid information and got a lot of people killed. But do you know we're going to risk our lives, too? How many of my brothers—and how many of us—will come back alive?

"The more information we gather about them, the better our chances of success. If we fail, the whole county will fall. Then it won't be me facing them. It'll be you."

As he spoke, Han Ba slapped the map marked with the order of deaths firmly against the county deputy's chest, then let out a long sigh.

The county deputy fell silent, gazing into the distance with a solemn look. "Where did they come from?"

"You'd have to ask a geomancer or a yin-yang master with real skill. I don't know."

The county deputy sighed. "We owe everything to Old Master Ning. Without him, we wouldn't have seen this coming until it was too late, and who knows how many more would have died. Old Han, why are they picking people off one by one around the outskirts?"

"If I were going to attack a village or town, I'd send people to test the place first and see what it was made of, whether it had any experts.

"First, I'd send people in to scout. Second, I'd kill a few people around the outskirts to draw the villagers out.

"If people have died, they have to send experts, right?

"Once I've tested them, I'll know whether I can attack the town. Isn't that right, County Deputy?"

"Those damned things can think?"

"They can."

He sighed, then said, "Have you heard the idiom about the donkey at the end of its tether? They're fierce tigers, but Old Master Ning says they've only just arrived and don't understand the situation yet. So... they're testing us."

"So if we kill them, it'll all be over?"

Han Ba suddenly burst into laughter, shaking with it as he pointed at the county deputy. "Have you never heard of disappearances, natural disasters, and man-made calamities in the prefecture and elsewhere? Old Master Ning said this is only the beginning."

The county deputy lowered his gaze, lost in thought. Then he asked curiously, "How are you going to fight them?"

"Don't ask what you shouldn't."

The county deputy nodded, then shook the map marked with the order of deaths. "Have you noticed anything?"

"One place is strange. People have died all around it, but that particular area has been untouched.

"It's deeper in the mountains, but people who gather medicinal herbs should still go there.

"If nothing has happened there, then there's something unusual about the place. Don't worry, County Deputy. Once reinforcements arrive, we'll investigate. With this map, we have a better idea of where they're moving. It's time to make our move."

Curiosity showed on the county deputy's face.

Han Ba patted his shoulder. "Stay close to the Ning Family. You'll learn more."

With that, he turned and disappeared into the darkness.

Dawn.

The sky was just beginning to lighten.

A carriage stopped near the city gate.

Inside, Xiao Jie pleaded, "Young Master, wherever you're going, please don't go.

"People have died. So many people.

"Young Master, if I hadn't listened to you and helped keep it quiet, you wouldn't even have been able to get out. First Madam still thinks you're off having fun at those places you used to visit..."

Ning Xuan picked up the bundle stuffed with gold, silver, and valuables and laid it across Xiao Jie's pale, shapely thighs. "I've brought everything with me. What are you afraid of?"

Xiao Jie lifted her legs and clamped his hand between her slippery thighs, refusing to let him pull away. Then she bit her lip, gazed at him, and said in a soft, coaxing voice, "I've got a new trick. It's really fun. How about..."

"Tonight." Ning Xuan pulled his hand free, then added, "Don't worry."

After saying that, he got out of the carriage and left the city.

Ning Xuan didn't actually want to go.

But he knew the deaths were likely connected to the Mountain Crashing Bear Demon.

The Mountain Crashing Bear Demon was nearby, and that filled him with a deep sense of danger.

He had to figure out what was going on so he could better understand the Heavenly Demon Scroll. Otherwise, the next time he encountered one, he'd still be completely in the dark.

Slacking off didn't mean waiting to die.

He wanted to slack off, but he didn't want to die.

So he had to find out what kind of place he was living in, what kind of world this was.

As usual, he invoked the Heavenly Demon Scroll, took the Beast Slaying Saber, and hurried toward his regular training spot.

He was almost at the waterfall when Ning Xuan suddenly frowned.

He stopped.

Like a wild beast, he sensed that something had entered his territory.

"Someone's scent... No, an outsider has come."

Ning Xuan knew the terrain well. After a few turns, he climbed to a high spot hidden by lush branches and leaves. It was steep and difficult to climb, but from there he could overlook the waterfall and the cliffs around it.

He climbed up, hid behind the leaves, and glanced around. Dozens of people stood in front of the mountainside where he practiced every morning. They wore armor, carried powerful crossbows, and had swords at their waists. They were fully armed.

He narrowed his eyes as he recognized some of them.

They were guards from Ning Family Manor, along with the Eight-Armed Elder, Han Ba.

He didn't recognize the rest, but since they were mixed up with Han Ba, they were probably on the same side.

"They're not enemies, but... I can't go there either."

Ning Xuan didn't want anyone to discover him.

He decided to find another place.

Terrifying claw marks climbed up the hard stone wall, gouging it with countless pits. They were everywhere.

Everyone standing beneath the sheer cliff felt a suffocating pressure.

Many were breathing heavily and rapidly, their faces either deathly pale or flushed red, filled with fear and a grim resolve to die.

Those claw marks...

That density...

Their opponent's physique had reached a level they couldn't even imagine.

Han Ba looked toward a Yellow Robe Daoist standing in the middle.

The Yellow Robe Daoist was calm, with two Daoist Boys at his side.

Han Ba looked around and barked in a low, stern voice, "Spread out! Widen the perimeter! Protect the True Person!"

At once, everyone widened their spacing and spread farther toward the outskirts.

The Yellow Robe Daoist studied the claw marks for a long while before finally saying, "This creature is immensely powerful. Old Han, I'm afraid this will be a bloody battle, one in which nine out of ten of us won't survive."

Ning Xuan was on the move.

He was looking for another place.

But as he ran, he suddenly heard the sound of strange footsteps.

They were rapidly retreating from him.

Ning Xuan frowned and quickly realized that someone had spotted him.

An idea struck him, and he turned to follow the footsteps.

The footsteps grew faster and faster.

He sped up as well.

Suddenly, the footsteps stopped.

Ning Xuan had already chased them to a deep ravine overgrown with vines.

He listened carefully and heard suppressed, heavy breathing, like someone panting.

Curious, he approached and stopped behind a hanging curtain of vines. He stood to the side of the cave, avoiding its direct line of sight, then slowly lifted the vine curtain with the Beast Slaying Saber held at an angle.

The moment the curtain rose a little, a whirlwind erupted inside, accompanied by a desperate roar.

A black shadow rushed out in a gust of rancid wind, shattering the vines into pieces.

Swish!

Bang!

The black shape, reeking of blood, was skewered straight through by the saber. Ning Xuan casually held it in one hand and pinned it to the cliff face.

Ning Xuan tilted his head, curiously studying the puny black bear he'd pinned down.

"Roar!"

"Roar, roar, roar!"

Human-like fear gleamed in the black bear's eyes as it roared furiously. Its mouthful of seed-like teeth weren't all that dense, and its body wasn't as terrifying as the bear demon in his nightmare.

Ning Xuan watched it for a while and confirmed that it was a Mountain Crashing Bear, though apparently just a lesser demon.

The Heavenly Demon Scroll had really come true, but what was coming might not be a single Mountain Crashing Bear. It might be a whole pack, or even an entire mountain, a whole species.

He didn't know.

Ning Xuan stared at it for a moment, then suddenly pulled out the Beast Slaying Saber.

The lesser demon froze.

Ning Xuan jabbed it twice more.

The lesser demon let out a pained, bewildered wail. Just as it leaned against the stone wall, ready to die, the terrifying human suddenly put away his saber and, without a word, turned and left.

The lesser demon hurriedly clutched its wound and scrambled toward a narrow passage.

Ning Xuan followed it.

He hadn't even noticed the lesser demon, yet it had managed to flee in advance. That meant demons and monsters could probably have Cultivation Techniques, too...