After a long moment, Magistrate Chen lowered the feather in his hand and said, "Bird Demonic Beasts are already rare around Linshan County, and to kill four Ironclad Corpses in such a short time, its strength must be at least Late Body Tempering."
"Brother-in-law, you mean..."
Qin Ganglong and Qin Ganghu spoke at the same time. They exchanged a glance, and Qin Ganglong said, "A bird Demonic Beast with at least Late Body Tempering strength... The only one that fits is that crow on Mount Qu."
"But what if it was just a bird Demonic Beast passing through?" Qin Ganghu asked, looking bewildered. "What then?"
"Are you a pig? Why are you still arguing at a time like this?" Qin Ganglong pointed angrily at his younger brother. "It just happened to fly past our mansion, and it even knew where the mechanism was."
"No, that's not right. I clearly remember the door was shut when we left. Could that mangy beast have been watching us the whole time? It must have some ulterior motive."
"Exactly, exactly." Magistrate Chen stroked his beard. "A few days ago, I already thought the Fox Commander was acting strangely."
"Now I see what a clever scheme it was. On the surface, he was asking us for benefits, but really, he was forcing us to speed up the blood sacrifice."
Magistrate Chen's eyes gleamed as he continued, "He was secretly keeping watch on us. He really did treat us like monkeys."
"This must have something to do with the Howling Moon Demon King. That little Tiger Demon on Mount Qu couldn't have come up with such a scheme."
After hearing Magistrate Chen's analysis, the two Qin brothers couldn't help stomping and cursing.
"Brother-in-law, now that we've figured it out, what should we do?"
Magistrate Chen regained his calm. "This is a matter between the Howling Moon Demon King and the cult. We can only report the facts."
"That means we can avoid most of the blame, too." The Qin brothers' expressions eased, and they let out a heavy sigh of relief.
"Perhaps." Magistrate Chen's tone turned cold. "That crow isn't weak, and we don't know how far it's flown by now. We won't be able to catch it."
"We've already figured out who's behind this. The Left Protector is in Wan'an Prefecture, so I'll contact him now."
Magistrate Chen hurried back to his mansion. Not long afterward, he returned to Qin Mansion with a dark expression.
"Brother-in-law, what did the Left Protector arrange?" Qin Ganglong hurried over to him.
"Sacrifice Linshan County and gather its blood and flesh essence. That might let us survive."
Before the Qin brothers could speak, Magistrate Chen continued, "The situation is urgent. The Green Bamboo Sword Sect's founder has returned from Demon Suppression Pass and joined forces with the Demon Suppression Division. The cult is under great pressure."
"Gang Hu, release all the Corpse Demons in the mansion at once. Ganglong, come with me to the county yamen and activate the Blood Refining Great Array."
The array had originally been prepared for the Demon Suppression Division. Now, to make up for their mistakes, Magistrate Chen had no choice but to activate it early, hoping to refine more blood and flesh essence and lessen his own culpability.
Magistrate Chen spoke gravely. "This blood refinement concerns the lives of all three of us. Brothers, we must give it everything we've got."
"Don't worry, Brother-in-law. We'll give it everything we have."
The four gates of Linshan County had long been sealed. Most of the townspeople were asleep, and only the main street where Drunken Flower Pavilion stood was still brightly lit.
Suddenly, streams of black mist surged up from beneath streets all over the county. More black-robed figures appeared on the stone-paved roads. They darted into the houses on either side.
As doors and windows shattered, screams rang through the night.
"Monsters!"
"Help..."
Screams rose one after another, shattering the county's peaceful night. The townspeople, roused from their sleep, poured into the streets, houses, and courtyards. Many ran about with lanterns in hand.
When the townspeople died, their lanterns fell to the ground, setting everything flammable ablaze. In just the time it took to burn two incense sticks, flames blazed across Linshan County, turning night into day.
Blood gurgled from the corpses on the ground and seeped through the cracks between the paving stones. Su Ye immediately sensed something wrong with the flow of the blood.
It was as if something underground were sucking it all down into the earth, yet the leaves and other debris on the ground were completely unaffected.
He thrust out his Ghost Head Saber and pried up a paving stone. A great mass of black mist surged out at once.
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"Boss, something's wrong. Linshan County's in chaos. There are Corpse Demons everywhere."
Big Black spun through the air, sweeping his gaze over the surroundings as he dodged the roiling black mist. "What is this...?"
"It must be the Corpse Demon Cult's handiwork. They're desperate now. Lead the way."
Su Ye followed beneath Big Black, Ghost Head Saber in hand. Just past the corner, he saw a young woman about a hundred meters away, clutching a two- or three-year-old child as she stumbled and fell onto the street.
"Help!"
When the woman saw him in his constable's uniform, she seemed to grab hold of a lifeline. She dragged herself forward, scraping her bloodied hands along the ground without even noticing.
Su Ye took in the scene. He planted his feet and leaped forward. In midair, golden light flashed from the Ghost Head Saber in his hand. A black-robed figure had suddenly appeared behind the woman, but before it could react, the blade split it in two.
Killed [Early Body Tempering · Corpse Demon]. Gained 12 Assistance Points
Twelve points weren't even enough to whet his appetite. He shook his head.
Then again, even the tiniest mosquito was still meat. Was he really getting picky now?
"Thank you, sir, for saving my life!" The woman hurriedly kowtowed, her voice full of gratitude.
He motioned for the woman to hide, then hurried after Big Black with his saber.
His blade flashed back and forth, cutting through enemies as easily as chopping melons and vegetables. None could withstand even a single move. Cries and wails rang in his ears, mixed with the crackling of flames.
"Help! Somebody, save me!"
"Who is that?"
"I remember him! A few days ago, he was outside the city gate, holding a wolf demon's head!" a young man exclaimed.
"It's Su Ye, Constable Su!"
"Su Ye, you have to stay and protect us!" A richly dressed young man blocked Su Ye's way and shouted.
"That's right! As a government official, you have to stay and keep us safe. These monsters are in the city because you neglected your duties!" In their panic, the crowd seemed to have found an outlet for their anger.
"Boss, what should we do?" Big Black circled overhead, asking through their mental connection.
"What should we do?"
Su Ye's gaze was as sharp as a blade. These people dared to stop him from collecting Assistance Points. It seemed they didn't know how to spell "death." The Ghost Head Saber swept casually out, and the richly dressed young man in front of him burst apart.
The sight sent the people around him into a fury.
"You—you dare kill people just like that? Aren't you afraid the County Lord will punish you?"
"Kid, I advise you to turn back while you still can!"
Su Ye had no time to answer. He shifted, his punches fierce and powerful, sending sprays of blood flying. In moments, a wide space had cleared around him.
Seeing that things were going badly, a pockmarked man turned and ran, shouting, "He's a monster in disguise! Run!"
Su Ye couldn't let them get away. Those fleeing people would spread rumors and ruin his reputation, which would only cause trouble later. Since he'd already made his move, he had to finish it cleanly.
"Is anyone from the yamen here? I'm the Xu Family Patriarch!" A voice came from the neighboring street. Su Ye quickly sent the last man who had been shouting to his death, then vanished in a flash.
Along the way, he kept encountering townspeople fleeing in panic, as well as richly dressed people searching for somewhere to hide, surrounded by their servants.
"Young friend, please wait! I'll pay you a thousand taels of silver. Will you protect my family?"
Su Ye acted as if he hadn't heard and dragged his saber toward another street. Firelight flickered around him, and golden flashes appeared from time to time. He had no idea how many Corpse Demons he'd killed; only the cold numbers on his panel kept changing.
Killed [Mid Body Tempering · Corpse Demon]. Gained 24 Assistance Points
Remaining Assistance Points: 953
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