It was late November.
Liangzhou was bitterly cold.
Winter always came earlier here than in Chang'an.
At the gates of the Demon Suppression Bureau,
several Demon Suppression Guards on duty stamped their feet now and then.
"Bloody hell, it's cold."
A younger guard sniffed and breathed out a cloud of white mist.
"Still, it's strange. This time in past years, we'd have been run off our feet. But for months now, I haven't even heard of a proper Great Demon."
The older veteran beside him shot him a look. "Isn't it good that there are no Great Demons?"
"You've only been at this a few years, boy. You don't know how dangerous it gets. In this line of work, we carry our heads at our belts. A quiet spell is a blessing from the founding master."
The young guard chuckled.
"Chief, I just think it's odd."
"Every winter, those beasts in the mountains run out of food and come nosing around people. Why have they all turned into turtles hiding in their shells this year?"
The veteran scoffed. "That's what you don't understand."
"Beasts fear death too."
He glanced around to make sure no outsiders were listening, then whispered, "Our General of the Guard Jiang went on a killing spree not long ago."
"First she killed True Monarch Pingtian outside Yumen Pass. Then she slew a Core Formation Realm Flood Dragon in the Black River all by herself. I heard... she even killed a Core Formation Realm Tree Demon. Her fearsome name has spread across Longyou."
"Those beasts may have no humanity, but they keep well informed."
"They know the Longyou Regional Command has someone they can't afford to provoke. Who'd dare show their face now? That'd be like an old man eating arsenic because he'd lived too long."
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