Demon Suppression Army (Please Vote)

Demon Suppression Army (Please Vote~)

After Shi Lan gave a rough account of the Demon Race's invasion, Du Baisheng seemed to recall something. He stood up and paced back and forth across the hall, his expression grave.

Du Yue'er stood to one side, listening in bewilderment.

"Did the Demon Suppression Army not tell you about these things?"

Du Baisheng shook his head. "If you hadn't told me today, this old man wouldn't even have known these people were that so-called Demon Suppression Army."

Shi Lan was taken aback.

"These black-armored soldiers suddenly arrived in Shuangyue City half a month ago. According to the city lord, they're his private troops. Things have been unsettled nearby lately, so he brought them here to keep the peace in his domain."

As he spoke, Du Baisheng furrowed his brow. No wonder rumors had sprung up in the city a few days earlier about beasts eating people, only to die down soon after. It seemed someone must have suppressed them.

"What about the martial artists here? Haven't any of them gone to check out the situation nearby?" Shi Lan still found it unbelievable. This was no small matter; it shouldn't have been possible to keep it hidden.

Xiantian Realm martial artists could travel thousands of miles in a day, soaring high and ranging far. Word should have spread by now.

Du Baisheng shook his head. "Martial arts training is grueling and exhausting. You also have to eat a great deal of meat and take nourishing medicines of the finest quality. How could an ordinary family afford to train? Nearly all the martial artists in Shuangyue City have joined the city lord's residence. The rest can do little more than throw a few punches and kicks; they're not proper martial artists."

Shi Lan was at a loss for words. She hadn't expected the city lord's residence in Shuangyue City to wield such enormous power.

It was completely different from Tenglong City, where the city lord's residence was little more than a figurehead and every word and deed depended on Shi Tianlu's say-so.

What was more, apart from the city lord's residence, there seemed to be hardly any martial artists in Shuangyue City. That was even more unexpected. Though the Shi Clan held Tenglong City in its grip, plenty of martial artists belonged to other forces. There were simply fewer of them above the Xiantian Realm.

"Here in Shuangyue City, we mainly rely on notices posted by the city lord's residence to learn about major events in the outside world. We're so cut off from news..." Du Baisheng sighed deeply, then waved a hand. "Forget it. We can talk about this later. It's getting late. Yue'er, go prepare dinner."

Du Yue'er answered and left. A little while later, she had set out a table of food.

Shi Lan declined Du Baisheng's invitation. Though she was somewhat hungry, ordinary food no longer did her any good.

After dinner, Shi Lan followed Du Yue'er to bring another simple wooden bed out of the back room. Du Yue'er then carried out two quilts and placed them on the bed.

"The clinic's rather bare-bones. I hope you won't mind."

"You're too kind, Miss Yue'er." Shi Lan shook her head.

After a day of hard work, and with his age catching up to him, Du Baisheng couldn't keep his eyes open much longer. After chatting for a little while, he washed up and went to bed. Du Yue'er soon followed suit.

Shi Lan lay on the wooden bed with her eyes closed. Her body was tired, but sleep wouldn't come.

Worry weighed on her mind, and she couldn't drift off. Shuangyue City wasn't safe, either. She and Shi Feng had encountered a shapeshifting Demon King nearby; there was no telling whether another Demon King might be roaming the area.

But Shi Feng was now gravely wounded and unconscious, while she was only at the seventh level of Body Tempering Realm. Leaving Shuangyue City and wandering about would be far too dangerous.

As she thought it over, Shi Lan turned her attention to Samsara again.

Samsara seemed to know what she was thinking and spoke first. "Shi Lan, I need to remind you that my energy is limited. I can save you for a time, but I can't protect you forever. My last intervention already cost me a great deal of energy. A few more times, and I might not even be able to keep the system running normally."

Cut off before she could ask, Shi Lan sighed helplessly.

[Side quest triggered: Find out the truth behind the Demon Suppression Army's concealment of information.]

[Quest completion reward: One basic lottery draw. Quest failure: No penalty.]

[Accept?]

Hearing the voice in her mind, Shi Lan was momentarily at a loss. Why was the system being so lenient this time?

Not only was there no penalty for failing the quest, she could even choose not to accept it?

"Accept."

Shi Lan accepted without hesitation. Either way, she had nothing to lose.

At dawn, Shi Lan got up and washed her face.

After Du Baisheng rose and examined Shi Feng, confirming that nothing was amiss, Shi Lan was about to go out and gather some information when two black-armored soldiers entered the clinic. One of them carried a wooden box.

Du Baisheng's expression shifted. After composing himself, he stepped forward with a smile. "May I ask what brings you two here?"

The black-armored soldier carrying the box asked, "Do you have a granddaughter who's thirteen or fourteen?"

"This... Yes. What do you want with her? She's still just a child. Whatever it is, you can—"

"There's no need for all that. Call your granddaughter out." The other soldier raised a hand to cut Du Baisheng off, his tone hard.

Shi Lan frowned slightly and stepped over to stand beside Du Baisheng.

A sheen of sweat appeared on Du Baisheng's forehead. Just as he was about to speak, Du Yue'er lifted the curtain and came out from the back room.

Seeing her, Du Baisheng's expression changed.

Du Yue'er spotted the two black-armored soldiers in the hall and looked at Du Baisheng in confusion. "Grandpa, who are they?"

The two soldiers walked toward Du Yue'er. One set the wooden box on the table and opened it, carefully taking out a stone slab and a thick ledger.

The other carefully took the slab in both hands and held it out to Du Yue'er. "Put your hand on it."

Du Baisheng took two steps forward, smiling ingratiatingly. "What exactly is this about? Could you explain it to this old man?"

"Do as you're told." The black-armored soldier holding the slab was terse.

Du Yue'er looked at the expression on Du Baisheng's face, then at the two soldiers. She stepped forward and placed her hand on the stone slab.

"Yue'er!" Du Baisheng called out in a worried voice.

As soon as Du Yue'er's hand touched the slab, a faint red glow spread across its surface.

The two black-armored soldiers exchanged a glance. The one holding the ledger opened it and readied his brush, then asked, his tone much gentler, "What's your name?"

"Du Yue'er." Du Yue'er glanced nervously at Du Baisheng beside her and answered quietly.

"How old are you this year?"

"Thirteen... years and nine months."

"Who else is in your family?"

"My grandfather, and my parents."

"Are all three of them in Shuangyue City?"

"Yue'er's parents aren't in Shuangyue City. It's just this old man looking after her," Du Baisheng replied with a smile.

The soldier with the brush carefully recorded each answer, then exchanged a look with his companion and nodded.

After carefully putting the stone slab and ledger back in the box, one of the soldiers picked it up and warned them, "Don't leave the city for now. It's very dangerous."

Then the two black-armored soldiers left the clinic.

Watching them walk away, Shi Lan considered it for a moment, said a few words to Du Baisheng, then followed after them from a distance.