This was a fairly large area behind the county yamen.
It had both a Martial Arts Arena for training and side rooms for lodging.
Some of those here were constables who had only recently taken office and had yet to move out, while others were young people still training to become constables.
When Mu Yang had first replaced an old constable and become a new constable, he had trained here for his first month.
At that moment, more than a dozen young constables stood in the yard, drilling under a gray-haired instructor.
This was Old You, the head instructor of the Constable Office. Now in his sixties, he had never had children. After being injured on a mission, he had remained in the Constable Office's rear courtyard as an instructor.
"Old You! Old You!"
Mu Yang and Wu Cai respectfully greeted him.
"So it's Little Mu and Little Wu. Here to pick some people?" Old You set down the training rod in his hand and said with a cheerful smile.
The young constables around them, who had been practicing the Tiger-Subduing Blade Technique, stopped their drills and looked enviously at Mu Yang beside Wu Cai.
Qingxi County's yamen was not large. News of Mu Yang slaying a Monster yesterday, exchanging it for merit, and being promoted to squad leader had long spread throughout the Constable Office.
Being young men themselves, they naturally envied him.
The recruitment process went smoothly. Nearly everyone eagerly signed up.
After all, Mu Yang had genuine merit from slaying Monsters. Moreover, he had just become squad leader and had no one under him. Joining now was the perfect time to build ties with him.
For many young constables with quick minds but average talent, this was undoubtedly more worthwhile than practicing martial arts bitterly.
And that suited Mu Yang perfectly.
With his strength, he naturally did not care whether his underlings had any fighting ability.
He only hoped that they would be clever and quick-witted, preferably skilled at gathering information and helping him collect intelligence on Monsters.
As for fighting, he would handle that himself.
Thus, with Wu Cai and Old You helping, Mu Yang quickly selected four newcomers to join the Fifth Squad.
The one who left the deepest impression on Mu Yang was a short youth with bright eyes named Lin Xiaoqi.
Rather than the usual Tiger-Subduing Blade Technique, he practiced a movement-based Lower-Grade Martial Art called Gecko Wall-Climbing.
The other three were fairly ordinary, all practicing the Tiger-Subduing Blade Technique.
That was normal. Most constables in Qingxi County practiced the Tiger-Subduing Blade Technique. After all, they only had one chance to learn martial arts for free, and most would choose a means of protecting themselves.
Considering that the entire Fifth Squad consisted of newcomers who had been on the job for less than half a year, Wu Cai even transferred two veteran constables from his own Fourth Squad to Mu Yang.
They were also Mu Yang's old acquaintances: Old Ye, who loved playing Leaf Card Game but always lost money, and Old Fang, who always won money from him.
"Squad Leader, from now on, we brothers will make our living under you. Please take good care of us."
After Wu Cai left, Old Fang smilingly pulled Old Ye over to greet Mu Yang.
The Constable Office had always valued strength over seniority.
Besides, if they dared disobey just because they were older, Mu Yang would not even need to deal with them himself. Assigning them a few hard jobs with no profit and plenty of danger would be enough to finish their days.
"No need for formalities. We're old acquaintances. Each of you take two men and familiarize them with the patrol districts. Keep your ears open, especially for news such as missing persons—anything suspected to be connected to Monsters," Mu Yang said bluntly.
"Monsters?"
Old Fang and Old Ye exchanged a glance.
Other constables avoided such terrors like the plague, yet their own squad leader was charging headlong toward them?
Had he gotten addicted to killing Monsters?
Mu Yang had the strength and was unafraid, but after practicing for half their lives, the two of them had only barely reached the third layer of the Skin and Flesh Realm. Against a Monster, even protecting themselves would be difficult.
Before the first seven days of mourning had even passed, their wives might run off with someone else.
No, for the sake of their wives and their lives, they had to persuade the squad leader.
Old Fang began racking his brains, organizing his words in his heart.
"Squad Leader."
Just then, a muffled voice suddenly rang out.
They turned toward the sound and saw that the speaker was a sturdily built young man among the four newly recruited constables.
His name was Li Chuang. Among the dozen or so young constables, he had practiced the Tiger-Subduing Blade Technique the best and worked the hardest. Having trained for just over a month, he had already reached minor mastery and begun trying to temper his skin and flesh.
"Squad Leader, I... I have news about a Monster!" Seemingly unaccustomed to being watched by everyone, Li Chuang subconsciously clenched his fists. Even his words came out haltingly.
Mu Yang paid no attention to that. He looked at Li Chuang with curiosity.
How could someone practicing martial arts in the Constable Office's rear courtyard have information about a Monster?
But adhering to the principle of not letting even a single demon beast slip by, Mu Yang still spoke.
"Tell me."
"Yes, Squad Leader!"
Seeing that Mu Yang's voice was calm and that he had not rebuked him for interrupting, Li Chuang seemed greatly encouraged. His voice rose several degrees.
"The Monster is in Li Village!"
Mu Yang raised an eyebrow.
He knew Li Village. It was a village not far from Huang Village, adjacent to it, and only around a hundred li from Yellow Wind Mountain.
Could it be... another Rat Demon from Yellow Wind Mountain?
And just as Mu Yang had guessed, Li Chuang quickly told them everything he knew.
Two months ago, when he had gotten up in the night to look at the stars, he had accidentally witnessed the Li Village chief lead a Rat Demon into the village, where it devoured his parents, younger siblings, and entire family alive. He had escaped discovery by hiding in a well overnight. To avenge his parents and younger sister, he had taken his family's savings and secretly left the village that very day, resolutely joining the Constable Office to learn martial arts.
By the end, Li Chuang's eyes had turned completely red, and tears the size of beans rolled down his face.
Men did not shed tears lightly, only when their hearts had been wounded to the depths.
That was why he practiced martial arts every day until the latter half of the night, stopping only once he was utterly exhausted.
His progress in martial arts was also the best in the entire Constable Office.
He wanted revenge!
After hearing Li Chuang's story, the three youths who had joined at the same time all spoke to comfort him.
Old Fang, however, spoke after pondering for a moment. "Li Village, Rat Demons, Yellow Wind Mountain... Squad Leader, if those Rat Demons can collude with the Li Village chief, they are likely Rat Demons from Yellow Wind Mountain!"
"You know Yellow Wind Mountain?"
Mu Yang had previously heard Huang Laodeng mention Yellow Wind Mountain. He knew where Hui Jiu came from and that it had ties to the Wang Family.
"I only heard rumors in the streets," Old Fang said. "They say there is a Yellow Wind Mountain outside Qingxi County, where the man-eating Yellow Wind King lives. Quite a few people have died in the mouths of Rat Demons."
"Back then, the matter caused an uproar throughout the city. Dianshi Wang personally joined the chief squad leader and led a large group of constables up the mountain to eliminate the Monsters. They did kill several Rat Demons, but they never found the so-called Yellow Wind King."
"Still, after that, there really were no more rumors of Rat Demons eating people."
"I heard about that too," Old Ye said. "During that time, there were far fewer merchant caravans traveling through, and even the food at restaurants and Golden Silk Tobacco went up quite a bit in price."
"I'm afraid the reason those Rat Demons escaped Dianshi Wang and the chief squad leader's hunt back then was because of these traitorous humans who sold them out and tipped them off!" Lin Xiaoqi said indignantly from the side.
More than that—the greatest traitorous human was Dianshi Wang himself!
Mu Yang did not say that aloud. Before he was certain of Yellow Wind King's and Dianshi Wang's strength, secretly building up his power was the true hard path.
"Then... does that mean... we can't go?"
Li Chuang's voice was full of desolation.
He was not some fool with nothing but drive and no brains. Otherwise, he would not have managed to hide in the well in time and avoid the Rat Demon.
Though he did not understand Yellow Wind Mountain, he could tell from Old Fang and Old Ye's expressions and tone that the Rat Demons there were formidable.
Even the county's strongest chief squad leader had needed to bring a large group of people. They were merely newcomers who had not practiced martial arts for long—how could they possibly be a match for those Rat Demons...
As soon as Li Chuang finished speaking, the atmosphere in the room sank into heavy silence.
Old Fang and Old Ye lowered their heads without speaking. Lin Xiaoqi and the others wanted to say something to comfort Li Chuang, yet they did not know what they could say.
Only Mu Yang remained as calm as ever, his tone level. "Let's go."
Seeing that Mu Yang had not taken up the matter of the Rat Demons, Old Fang and Old Ye breathed a sigh of relief.
Lin Xiaoqi and the others thought Mu Yang was sending them away. Their expressions darkened, and they said nothing, merely preparing to head outside in silence.
Yet in the next instant, everyone's eyes widened, their faces filled with disbelief.
"If we move quickly, we should reach Li Village before noon."
Mu Yang's tone remained calm, as though the destination he spoke of was not a place where Monsters lurked, but some restaurant or tavern.
"Squad Leader!?"
Li Chuang lifted his head, his eyes red and his voice loud.
Lin Xiaoqi and the others were equally astonished.
"Why are you shouting? Wash your face and lead the way."
"Yes, Squad Leader!!"
Li Chuang nodded heavily.
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