"Snake-Person?"
Zhou Yun's expression changed drastically. He grabbed the Black Iron Great Spear beside him and thrust it at the Snake-Man disguised as a street vendor.
The martial artists all looked alarmed and swiftly closed in on the Snake-Man.
At almost the same moment, a cold smile appeared on the Snake-Man's face. One of his snake-like hands instantly pierced his own chest, and dark red blood gushed out.
"He killed himself?"
Li Kui furrowed his brow. Apart from Zhou Yun, he had been the first to rush over when the incident broke out.
The authorities had searched this street before, and there had been no sign of a large number of Snake-People. But now they could disguise themselves as street vendors. Clearly, they had already infiltrated deeply.
They had even taken their own lives the moment their identities were exposed.
"Lord Li, I'll leave this matter to your authorities."
Zhou Yun's spear had just been about to pierce the Snake-Man's chest when the latter beat him to it.
After all, killing a Snake-Man counted toward one's merit record...
But compared with the Snake-People who had already infiltrated Black Stone County, this was only a minor matter.
"Of course. We'll pay this brother's burial expenses according to the task's standard... You're an Outer Courtyard disciple of the Sky Sea Martial Arts Hall, right?"
Li Kui glanced at Zhou Chuan, whose eyes were vacant and whose body was still trembling. "He's a six-aperture martial artist. Under the authorities' special burial allowance during this extraordinary period, we can give you six taels of silver. You can pass it on to his family for us."
With that, Li Kui took out a purse and tossed it to Zhou Chuan.
"Y-yes..."
Zhou Chuan answered blankly. Only after feeling the cold silver in his hand did he come back to his senses.
Six taels of silver—enough to buy the Taboo Medicine needed to knock on the Bright Force gate... with some left over, even.
As for actually giving this money to Li Futian's family? As if!
Li Futian had died at the hands of a Snake-Man, not Zhou Chuan. If they wanted burial expenses, they could go ask the Snake-People!
At the thought, Zhou Chuan's mood settled further, and he even felt a faint thrill.
Soon, he would knock on the Bright Force gate. That was worth more than a hundred Li Futians!
The other martial artists said nothing, but the mood inevitably grew more subdued and tense.
They had thought this was just a minor patrol assignment. They hadn't expected to run into a disguised Snake-Man by such a coincidence. This had been exceedingly rare in Black Stone County's history.
Even these seasoned veterans had never heard of such a thing. Now it had happened right beside them, sending a chill down their spines.
They couldn't help wondering: what if they had been the ones to visit that stall? Could martial artists like them, who had reached Bright Force or hadn't even knocked on the gate yet, have withstood the Snake-Man's attack?
Almost certainly not.
In the end, everyone but Zhou Yun was grateful to have escaped the jaws of death.
The two-hour patrol passed quickly. They encountered no more Snake-People afterward. It seemed the only one hiding in Black Stone County had been the creature that died earlier.
"Everyone, that's the end of today's assignment."
Li Kui distributed the silver according to everyone's strength, then added, "Today's incident is of great importance. I must report it to the Black Stone County authorities immediately... You're all martial artists who took part in this assignment, so you should know what this means. Please don't cause any unnecessary panic."
Everyone nodded silently. No one would be foolish enough to spread unfavorable rumors during such an extraordinary time.
Unless they only discussed it in private circles, that grandmaster of Transformation Force in the authorities would trace it back to them. To people as insignificant as them, he would need only a single palm strike.
"Lord Zhou, here's your pay for this assignment."
Li Kui handed Zhou Yun a silver coin. It was heavier than one tael. "The authorities place great importance on Dark Force martial artists. I hope you'll take part in more major assignments issued by the authorities in the future..."
"Certainly."
After taking the silver, Zhou Yun resolved to check the almanac before leaving home next time.
He'd heard that the Snake-Person Race feared sunlight during the day and hated going outdoors... Yet he'd barely stepped out and walked down the street before running into a Snake-Man disguised as a street vendor.
If anyone found out, they'd probably think he was born with a knack for attracting trouble and keep well away from him.
"No, when I get back, I need to ask Bai Qingzhi more about the Snake-People... No, this has nothing to do with what the Snake-People dislike anymore. The more important thing is that their invasion of Black Stone County is unprecedented."
After thinking it over, Zhou Yun grew even more determined to head to Xiang City.
There were only a few days left before the Three Halls Martial Tournament, and Master Liang would probably have news soon, too.
He just didn't know whether the tournament would be postponed now that the Snake-Person Race had begun infiltrating Black Stone County. They would have to wait for the three martial arts halls to discuss it and issue a notice.
Of course, if the authorities really spent a fortune to hire martial artists, it wouldn't be a big deal for the Three Halls Martial Tournament to take a break for a while.
After all, who would turn their back on silver? Not even grandmasters of Transformation Force like Master Liang and the others.
Never mind how much qi and blood one had to expend each day after reaching Transformation Force—the authorities had completely stopped their subsidies to the three martial arts halls.
Otherwise, in the past, the three halls would never have accepted the authorities' assignments so eagerly. They would have much rather kept their distance from them.
The relationship between the authorities and the martial arts halls had always been one of mutual independence. Unless the imperial court issued an edict, the halls could remain beyond the authorities' control to a certain extent.
That included privately owning farmland and growing medicinal herbs... even raising cattle, sheep, chickens, and ducks to replenish their martial artists' qi and blood.
In exchange, however, the halls had to protect the safety of their local area. Otherwise, the imperial court would surely strip them of all those privileges.
"Better to steer clear of trouble..."
Zhou Yun didn't want to get involved in a war between humanity and the Demon-Humans. Black Stone County was fairly large, but if the Snake-Person Race truly paid any price to flatten it, a bloody battle would be unavoidable.
The main city—going to the main city was the best way out for small-time martial artists like them.
For the turmoil to reach the main city, all six surrounding counties would have to fall first. Otherwise, the main city wouldn't be shaken in the slightest.
"Back to the martial arts hall."
Zhou Yun didn't linger. He hurried back to the hall.
There was nothing else to do. He just had to keep up with today's training.
Now that he had successfully knocked on the Dark Force gate, he could attempt the second-turn spear technique of the Thunder Meteor Spear Art.
Though the first-turn spear technique hadn't seen any use at all, it could serve as a trump card. Naturally, the more powerful a trump card was, the better.
Before long, Zhou Yun rode back to the courtyard in a carriage.
He opened the door and saw Bai Qingzhi still sleeping on the floor, her mouth hanging wide open.
Oh, right. He seemed to have forgotten to take the gag out of her mouth... But she was a snake, so surely it didn't matter if she kept her mouth open?
After tidying up, Zhou Yun went out to the courtyard to practice his spear.
Night fell before someone came knocking.
"Junior Brother Zhou, it's me."
Shen Qingxue knocked on the door from outside, her voice carrying a hint of urgency.
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