Black Bear Gully Village

Chen Fan had joined the Jinyiwei only a year ago, yet with the Body Tempering Fist, he had gone from a complete novice in martial arts to a Spirit Concealment Realm Peak martial artist who had broken through five gates.

If the Left Commander of the Longyuan Prefecture Jinyiwei Commander's Office learned of such talent, he would surely make an exception and grant Chen Fan a Spirit Aperture Realm Cultivation Method. He would also keep him in Longyuan Prefecture and personally nurture him.

"So it can be done like that."

"But I only reached the Spirit Concealment Realm Peak recently. I need some time to consolidate my cultivation, so I'm not in any rush to get a Spirit Aperture Realm Cultivation Method."

"Besides, until I find the person who tried to kill me, I won't be able to eat or sleep in peace!"

Chen Fan sighed and spoke.

Lu Xuenning also found it strange. With Chen Fan's strength, how had he fallen into the Demonic Creatures' ambush some time ago and nearly lost his life?

Or had he realized that the Demonic Creatures' attack had been orchestrated by someone, so he'd deliberately pretended to be injured, hoping the mastermind would let their guard down before he tracked them down?

But there was no reason for him to watch four of his comrades die at the hands of the Demonic Creatures, was there?

Or had the Demonic Creatures picked them off one by one, killing his four comrades first and then encountering him?

No matter how she thought about it, she couldn't work out the key to it. The whole thing just didn't seem to add up.

How could she know that the Chen Fan before her had already become a different person—and that he had only gained his current strength over the past few days?

When he'd encountered the Toad Demon, he'd still been a nobody!

"Maybe we'll have an answer after a little more time."

"Besides, there aren't many people in the Jinyiwei. Ordinary Jinyiwei members and Xiaoqi Officers wouldn't be in a position to collude with Demonic Creatures."

"That leaves one Baihu and two Zongqi Officers. I know Huang Chengyue fairly well. He's upright and hates evil, so that leaves Cao De and Li Mo."

"You just need to be a little careful around those two. If they really dare to come after you, kill them. With your current strength, killing them wouldn't be difficult!"

Lu Xuenning said casually.

In her view, Cao De, the Baihu of the Ping'an County Jinyiwei Baihu Office, was definitely suspicious. She just didn't yet have enough evidence to prove that he was colluding with Demonic Creatures.

Once she confirmed it, she could take action against him directly!

Or she could report the evidence. Someone in Longyuan Prefecture would naturally deal with him!

"If Huang Chengyue is so upright, why don't we just have him come forward and identify the evidence that the Jinyiwei and the Government Office are colluding with Demonic Creatures and harming the people? Then we can move in and kill them all. Wouldn't that be satisfying?"

Chen Fan offered the rather fanciful suggestion.

"Much of what I know came from him. He only knows that Cao De and Li Mo are acting strangely, and that they may well be secretly colluding with Demonic Creatures."

"But Cao De is very wary of him and doesn't trust him, so he has no direct evidence that Cao De is colluding with Demonic Creatures and harming the people."

"He can't even count as a witness, and we don't have any physical evidence. How could we just kill Cao De and the others?"

Lu Xuenning shook her head at that.

If things were really that simple, it would be wonderful.

If she and Chen Fan weren't officials, but merely wandering heroes who righted wrongs, they could sneak into Cao De's residence in the middle of the night and kill him without much fuss.

But the worst thing you could do in officialdom was throw caution to the wind. You had to follow the rules!

After a simple lunch, Chen Fan and Lu Xuenning decided to investigate the Separate Courtyard beside the County Magistrate's Residence that night. They agreed to meet at the courtyard's back gate at midnight.

Afterward, one returned to the Government Office, while the other went back to the Jinyiwei Barracks.

Chen Fan had barely returned to the Jinyiwei Barracks when the Jinyiwei were urgently called to assemble.

"Brothers!"

"Our Jinyiwei's Ten Year Inspection is coming up, so we need to send more people to patrol inside and outside the county seat. We also need to inspect the villages and towns under Ping'an County."

"Starting today, we'll divide the villages and towns under Ping'an County into patrol zones. You'll patrol in squads, protect the people, and slay Demonic Creatures!"

"I'll now announce which towns and villages each squad is responsible for."

Jinyiwei Zongqi Officer Li Mo took out a list he'd prepared in advance and began assigning the missions. Chen Fan's Ninth Squad had fewer members, so they only had to patrol a few villages under Black Stone Town.

They were to patrol once every three days. Riding at a fast gallop, they could complete a round trip in just three hours if nothing went wrong, so it shouldn't be too exhausting.

But Chen Fan had a feeling things wouldn't be so simple. If Li Mo was one of Baihu Cao De's men, and Cao De really was colluding with Demonic Creatures—and if the person Chen Fan had seen at the wealthy merchant's courtyard that day had been Cao De—then Cao De would surely come after him again.

If nothing went wrong on this patrol, that would suggest Cao De might not be colluding with Demonic Creatures. But if they ran into another powerful Demonic Creature, then Cao De would be highly suspect.

"Complete one patrol of your assigned areas before sunset today. I'll wait here for you to return. Anyone who dares to falsify their report or do a half-hearted job will regret it if I find out!"

Li Mo's gaze swept across the Jinyiwei as he spoke with authority.

"Yes!"

The Jinyiwei answered in unison.

Li Mo waved them away. Everyone headed to the stable to choose a horse, while the Ninth Squad, led by Wang Chao, rode straight toward Black Stone Town.

"Black Stone Town is the town closest to Black Mountain, and it's often attacked by Demonic Creatures. We don't have many places to patrol this time, but the danger is considerable, so stay alert."

"If things get out of hand, return to the Jinyiwei Baihu Office for reinforcements right away. Don't try to tough it out!"

"While the green hills remain, there'll be no shortage of firewood. As long as you're alive, anything is possible. If you end up like our four brothers did, then you'll have nothing left."

Wang Chao spoke to Chen Fan and the others as he galloped along.

"Don't worry, Chief Wang. We know what's at stake."

The others chimed in.

"Our Ninth Squad has seven villages to patrol this time, and there are seven of us. To save time, let's split up when we reach Black Stone Town."

"If you spot any Demonic Creatures, don't play the hero. Pull back immediately and regroup with the others. Once we've discussed it, we'll decide whether to fight or retreat!"

Wang Chao reminded them again. As he spoke, he glanced at Chen Fan from the corner of his eye.

He then casually assigned the seven villages among Chen Fan and the others.

Chen Fan was assigned Black Bear Gully Village in Black Stone Town. Black bears had once roamed the village long ago, which was how it got its name.

After entering Black Stone Town and receiving his orders, Chen Fan rode straight to Black Bear Gully Village.

As soon as he entered the village, a foul stench wafted out to meet him. The entire village was quiet, and the few people coming and going all had dull, numb expressions.

A ragged, filthy child sat at the village entrance. He glanced at Chen Fan, quickly lowered his head, and began drawing circles in the dirt.

"Little brother, why are you here alone? Where are your parents?"

Chen Fan dismounted, walked up to the child, and asked.

"Dead."

"The Big Lords ate them all."

"They ate my parents, then my grandparents. Yesterday they ate my older brother and sister, too. Maybe they'll come for me today."

The seven- or eight-year-old child looked up at Chen Fan and spoke in a hoarse voice.

Chen Fan saw that the child's eyes were utterly bleak, their light long gone.

"With me here, you won't be eaten."

"Tell me, where are the Big Lords?"

A cold glint flashed in Chen Fan's eyes. He did his best to rein in his anger as he spoke.

"At the village chief's house. The one with the Blue Brick Grand Tile House."

The child pointed toward a house in the heart of the village and spoke.