Demon-Seeking Art

Chen Zhuo busied himself in the kitchen for quite a while, finally managing to scrape through the meal under the bewildered gazes of the others.

The taste was questionable, but it was certainly cooked through.

"Master Chen, ever since you arrived in the kitchen, our lives have visibly improved."

When manpower was short, Chen Zhuo had to help serve the food. He didn't need to worry about the White-Uniform Runners, but the yamen runners were a different story; they required meat for lunch every single day.

To provide him with practice for his dissections, Yan Ming had recently been purchasing plenty of old hens from poultry vendors.

In normal times, even if the yamen runners could get meat, it was usually just fatty pork; they would only get a taste of chicken or duck once every ten days or half a month.

Hearing the praise in his ears, Chen Zhuo smiled knowingly: "Only by eating well can you have the strength to work."

They were all working for the yamen, after all.

But speaking of work, why were there so few people today?

Chen Zhuo glanced to the side and discovered that the number of yamen runners present was not even half of what it usually was.

Could it be that they were tied up with some errand and couldn't return?

After he finished distributing the chicken soup and meat to each of them, he suddenly heard a runner say:

"Eat up quickly, we need to go relieve the shift."

Relieve the shift?

Since when was the yamen so busy?

Chen Zhuo looked at the two runners in confusion.

"It really is strange, you know? Suddenly, a huge wave of people came to report to the authorities, all claiming their daughters had gone missing."

"If they can't even look after their own daughters, do they expect the yamen to conjure them out of thin air?"

"Don't say that. When someone loses their own child, anyone would be anxious and upset."

"Forget it, drink some chicken soup and cool your temper."

Just then, another runner rushed over, shouting in a panic:

"Stop eating! Another group of people has suddenly arrived. Follow me to the courtroom immediately, it's about to turn into a riot."

The runners hurriedly shoveled a few more bites of food into their mouths before jogging off.

The matter regarding that residence in the Ghost Market had finally begun to ferment.

Chen Zhuo ladled a scoop of chicken soup from the large pot for himself and gulped it down in a few swallows.

The situation at the Ghost Market was within his expectations.

It was just that the families reporting to the authorities seemed a bit too concentrated.

It felt too deliberate.

The method wasn't particularly clever and the traces were too obvious, though it could also be a diversionary tactic.

Chen Zhuo pondered for a moment before deciding not to dwell on it.

Focus on martial arts; as for everything else, if he saw something he could manage, he would, but if he didn't see it, he would just pretend it never happened.

"Master Chen, give me a bowl."

While Chen Zhuo was deep in thought, a familiar voice rang out abruptly beside his ear.

He looked up and saw a tall, broad-shouldered Fatty Sun slowly walking toward him, the fat on his face wobbling with every step.

"Brother Sun?!"

Chen Zhuo exclaimed.

"Hahaha, Brother Chen, how have you been lately?"

Fatty Sun greeted Chen Zhuo with a hearty laugh the moment he arrived, taking the liberty of ladling out two bowls of chicken soup.

He downed one bowl in one go and handed the other to the person behind him.

Chen Zhuo looked over in surprise and only then noticed that a delicate and pretty woman was standing behind Fatty Sun.

"It's been many days, I didn't expect that Brother Sun would bring back a young lady after a trip out."

Chen Zhuo teased.

At the same time, his gaze swept over the woman without a trace.

He had seen this woman before.

Right there in that residence in the Ghost Market.

Sun Fei ladled another bowl of chicken soup and explained before taking a sip:

"Brother Chen, you jest. This young lady is a poor soul I encountered on my way back. She was once trapped in a prison and suffered unimaginable hardships. After hearing her story, I decided to give her a hand."

With that, Sun Fei gave him a vigorous wink.

The delicate woman remained silent.

A flash of inspiration struck Chen Zhuo, and he immediately smiled in understanding.

So, all this trouble today was actually the work of Fatty Sun.

With this turn of events, Huang Yuan'er was certainly going to have a headache.

"I have things to attend to, let's catch up another time. Tomorrow at noon, I'll take you to a good place."

Sun Fei set down his bowl and turned to leave.

The pretty woman behind him followed closely in his footsteps.

Watching Fatty Sun's hurried and impatient manner, Chen Zhuo felt he was truly acting a bit differently.

He waved over a few of the Dunzi to start cleaning up.

The yamen runners were destined to miss their meal for now, but as for all this chicken and broth, it wouldn't go to waste; saving it for the evening would spare the kitchen some effort.

Chen Zhuo carried the food box and returned to his small courtyard.

However, he did not see Yan Ming.

"Senior Brother, time to eat."

He called out a few times, but there was no response, so he simply knocked on the door a few times.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Senior Brother, are you in there?"

Chen Zhuo's nostrils flared slightly, and he frowned.

He could smell that pungent medicinal scent wafting from the room, yet there was still no response from Yan Ming.

Chen Zhuo shook his head, walked alone into the courtyard, and began to eat the chicken and drink the broth in a desultory manner.

At this time of day, just a few days ago, the scorching sun would have nearly melted the tables and chairs in the courtyard; he certainly didn't want to be roasted in the midday heat.

However, there was a sudden chill in the air today that made one feel refreshed and invigorated.

The sun was no longer as fierce as before.

There were many more withered leaves on the ground, and the cicadas in the trees were gradually falling silent.

Summer was departing, and autumn was arriving.

The Autumn Hunt on Dangyun Mountain was also fast approaching.

After Chen Zhuo had his fill, he took out the Inheritance Manual he had kept hidden in his robes.

Senior Brother Yan's warnings still echoed in his ears, and now that the Autumn Hunt was drawing near, it was about time he finished reading the remaining content.

He began to flip through the pages.

He glanced briefly at the first two pages, focusing his attention on the third.

Blade-Catcher: catching demons, refining demons, consuming demons.

Refining and consuming demons went without saying; this third page recorded the very method for catching them.

It was called: Demon-Seeking Art.

"To seek a demon, first bathe in demon blood, then observe with qi..."

After Chen Zhuo went over it a few times, it felt as if a warm current flowed into his mind.

At the same time, a line of tiny, gnat-like characters appeared before his eyes.

<strong>[Technique: Demon-Seeking Art: 2/10 (Entry)]</strong>

"It actually went straight to the entry level?"

Chen Zhuo pondered for a moment and suddenly realized why.

The Demon-Seeking Art was based on bathing in demon blood; before this, he had already bathed in True Blood twice and False Blood once.

No wonder he had been able to faintly detect the scent of demon blood on Zhou Sheng back at the Ghost Market.

"For me, the way to improve is simple and brutal—I just need to bathe in demon blood, no need to practice deliberately."

"But for others, this would truly be hellish in difficulty."

Chen Zhuo sighed softly.

Ordinary people wishing to cultivate this technique not only needed to bathe in demon blood but also had to constantly perceive the aura of every type of demon blood.

The aura of False Blood was relatively weak, so True Blood was preferred.

"It really burns through silver."

Chen Zhuo shook his head to himself, suddenly recalling the warning Yan Ming had given him.

"No wonder Senior Brother Yan didn't suggest I read the third page back then. If I had finished the manual earlier, I likely would have poured all my focus into this technique and demon beasts, which would have been of no benefit to my martial path."

Counting the time, there were at most ten days left until the Autumn Hunt.

If he bathed in all the demon blood he had on him, the Demon-Seeking Art could advance even further.

"I just don't know what the secret to the Aperture Opening stage is, and Senior Brother Yan isn't here."

Chen Zhuo shook his head to himself and flipped the booklet further.

The fourth page recorded a secret technique.

"Grind the shell of a Spirit Turtle into powder to seal Demon Blood..."

After reading through this secret technique, Chen Zhuo's eyes suddenly lit up.

He had always thought that while False Blood was easy to obtain, True Blood was hard to come by.

This was mostly because live demon beasts were extremely difficult to capture.

If he had the Spirit Turtle shell powder, he could kill a demon beast and seal its wounds to preserve the blood.

With this thought in mind, Chen Zhuo continued flipping through the pages.

The fifth page, the sixth page...

The following pages contained no secret techniques or spells, only introductions to various demon beasts.

Tiger demons, snake demons, dog demons, monkey demons...

Their appearances, habits, and weaknesses were all recorded in meticulous detail.

"With this, I have much more confidence for the Autumn Hunt."

Soon, Chen Zhuo reached the final page.

When his gaze fell upon that last page, his pupils suddenly constricted.

"This is... Master's handwriting?"

"Nine Chapters of Heaven Gate, this is the first chapter. This volume only records a portion of first-rank demon beasts. To know more in detail, one must visit the Demon Prison of the Northern Suppressing Faction."

"Northern Suppressing Faction?"

Chen Zhuo chewed over these four words carefully.

The objective of this Autumn Hunt happened to coincide perfectly with these four words.

Just as his thoughts were swirling, an old man with a cold expression and a thin, frail frame appeared silently before him.

Chen Zhuo fixed his gaze on him, his long fingers gradually clenching until they turned white.