At that very moment, the two Dog Demons were directing their descendants to charge at Chen Fan and the others, snapping and tearing at them. They themselves stayed hidden, not daring to show themselves lightly.
Chen Fan swung the Embroidered Spring Blade in his hand, cutting down one Dog Demon with each slash. Killing these Dog Demons at the Spirit Concealment Realm First Pass was as easy for him as eating and drinking.
Lu Xuenning and Huang Chengyue were no less eager to act. They both joined the fray, and with their strength, killing minor demons at this level was a piece of cake.
The three of them attacked, and after just a few exchanges, more than half of the twenty-odd Dog Demons lay dead or wounded. The rest scattered like monkeys fleeing when a tree fell, bolting in every direction to hide in the corners of the County Magistrate's Residence.
"Head Constable Lu, how dare you surround my residence and send your people to lay siege to it? Are you trying to rebel?"
Just as Chen Fan and the others were searching everywhere for the Dog Demons and killing them, County Magistrate Li Shouyi emerged with the household servants and guards from his residence, marching out in a fury. The moment he spotted Lu Xuenning, he launched into a scathing reprimand.
"County Magistrate Li, you harbored demons and colluded with Demonic Creatures. You deserve to die for your crimes."
"The Jinyiwei answer directly to His Majesty. We monitor the noble clans and sects, and we slay demons and monsters. Anyone who dares to obstruct us can be executed first and reported afterward. We will show no mercy!"
"Would you like to find out whether the Embroidered Spring Blade in my hand is sharp, County Magistrate Li?"
Chen Fan stepped before Li Shouyi, resting a hand on the Embroidered Spring Blade at his waist as he spoke coldly.
"You—you—you... Don't you dare get cocky!"
Chen Fan's imposing presence frightened Li Shouyi into taking several steps back.
Although he was the magistrate of a county, at heart he was a scholar well versed in the classics of the sages. Faced with a martial artist like Chen Fan, whose strength and presence were so formidable, he was instantly cowed.
"Take all these people into custody."
"Anyone who resists is to be killed without mercy!"
Lu Xuenning glanced at County Magistrate Li Shouyi, then swept her hand through the air. The runners, constables, and soldiers behind her hesitated at first, but immediately surrounded Li Shouyi and his men.
"How dare you!"
"I, Li Shouyi, am the father and mother official of Ping'an County! I am its magistrate, the one who feeds and clothes you—and you dare draw your blades against me?"
"You have some nerve!"
County Magistrate Li Shouyi glared at the runners, constables, and soldiers surrounding him, then thundered at them.
Everyone pretended not to hear him. No matter how viciously he cursed, they didn't answer back, nor did they lay a hand on him. But they also didn't let him out of their sight for even a moment.
Just then, two towering Dog Demons, walking upright like men, emerged from the main hall. The moment they saw Chen Fan and Lu Xuenning, they lunged at them.
[Slain a Dog Demon at the Spirit Concealment Realm Fourth Stage; stole its remaining lifespan: twenty-eight years!]
[Slain a Dog Demon at the Spirit Concealment Realm Fourth Stage; stole its remaining lifespan: thirty years!]
Chen Fan swiftly and neatly dispatched the two Dog Demons. Seeing the notifications on his status panel, he couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.
An ordinary dog generally lived only a dozen or so years. After gaining intelligence and becoming a demon, its lifespan increased, but compared with the Demon Race, born with ample lifespans, Dog Demons still didn't measure up.
At County Magistrate Li Shouyi's residence, Chen Fan and the others killed two Dog Demons at the Spirit Concealment Realm Fourth Stage and twenty-four at the Spirit Concealment Realm First Pass. In the back courtyard, where the Dog Demons had lived, they also found a heap of white bones piled as high as a small hill.
"Li Shouyi deserves to die!"
Chen Fan spoke in a low voice.
"We can't kill him, but I'll report his crimes to Longyuan Prefecture. The Great Zhou Law will take care of him."
Lu Xuenning spoke up.
If County Lieutenant Liu Xuan had merely been forced to go along with the Demonic Creatures, then County Magistrate Li Shouyi was a thoroughly corrupt official.
He had willingly become the Demonic Creatures' lapdog to fight Cao De for power. He kept Dog Demons in his home, letting them devour countless prisoners who should never have died and driving countless families to ruin!
If he didn't die, the people would never be appeased!
As a ninth-rank Black-Robed Head Catcher, Lu Xuenning had the seventh-rank magistrate of Ping'an County locked up in the jail to await Longyuan Prefecture's judgment.
Next, they went to the homes of the County Assistant Magistrate, the registrar, the Teaching Official, the Master of Ceremonies, and others. They found Demonic Creatures in every one of their homes, in greater or lesser numbers.
The Wolf Demon at the registrar's home was the most vicious. When it realized the County Soldiers had surrounded the house, it assumed the registrar had betrayed them and promptly bit the entire family to death—more than a dozen people, young and old alike.
The Teaching Official had two Ape Demons in his home. They had tormented the women of his household until they were half dead.
After Chen Fan and the others slew the two Ape Demons, the Teaching Official took a knife and killed every woman in his home who was still alive, then took his own life as well.
At the County Assistant Magistrate's home, there were several female Snake Demons. They didn't just eat people—they also absorbed yang energy to nourish yin. As a result, nearly all the male servants and guards had been drained dry, one by one reduced to skin and bones, their steps unsteady.
Some had even died beneath the female Snake Demons, their bodies swallowed whole.
"I've gotta say, if these female Snake Demons take human form, they're quite the lookers!"
Geng, the County Assistant Magistrate's burly, bearded guard, spoke with a touch of wistfulness.
Ye, the County Assistant Magistrate, promptly kicked him. Geng staggered and nearly fell flat on his face.
"And you've got the nerve to say that? You were the one getting cozy with a whole pack of female demons in my residence."
"When you first came to serve as my guard, you were broad-shouldered and powerful enough to lift a thousand-catty stone mill. You had the courage of ten thousand men. Now even a kick from a frail scholar like me nearly knocks you off your feet."
"Aren't you ashamed of yourself?"
Ye Jichuan looked utterly exasperated as he pointed at his childhood friend and household guard.
"Heh, heh, heh."
"I was just shouldering some of the burden for our household servants and guards."
"Surely you couldn't bear to see these brothers die in the bellies of those female Snake Demons, Magistrate Ye?"
"Those with greater abilities should do more. I'll just need to build myself back up."
Geng sheepishly scratched his head as he spoke.
Looking at Geng, Chen Fan thought the man was a real character.
What a grassroots hero, Geng!
This guy wasn't going to let that notorious Ning Caichen, the necromantic knight, steal the whole show!
"Many thanks to Chen, Head Constable Lu, and everyone here for rescuing me from dire straits. I, Ye, am deeply grateful!"
Ye Jichuan clasped his hands and bowed to everyone. He didn't put on any airs as an official, nor did he fly into a rage because Chen Fan and the others had slain the Demonic Creatures.
It seemed that although the Demonic Creatures had held Magistrate Ye hostage, he had never chosen to collude with them or become their accomplice.
County Lieutenant Liu had also praised him as upright and incorruptible. Clearly, Magistrate Ye was truly a lotus rising unstained from the mud!
Still, he wasn't a fool. With Ping'an County under the Demonic Creatures' control, he had chosen to protect himself. He wouldn't help the Demonic Creatures prey on the people, but neither would he openly take them on.
He had chosen to wait for the right moment.
And now, the moment had come!
"Today we killed seventy-five Demonic Creatures. The largest number came from the Dog Demons in the County Magistrate's home. After today's battle, most of the Demonic Creatures in Ping'an County have probably been wiped out."
"Even if some are still left, they've probably hidden far away and won't dare show themselves again. This is an unprecedented victory for us!"
Huang Chengyue couldn't help exclaiming.
It was as if time had suddenly turned back thirty or forty years.
Back then, he had only just become a Jinyiwei in Ping'an County. The demon troubles there hadn't yet grown too severe; sometimes, a whole year would pass without a single demon appearing in the city.
Their main duty was patrolling the countryside. Sometimes, they wouldn't find a single Demonic Creature for months on end, which made it very difficult to accumulate merit.
Whenever they heard of Demonic Creatures causing havoc somewhere, those young men would practically howl with excitement, eagerly volunteering for missions to slay them, no matter the danger!
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