Chapter 45

"Clang!"

Zhang Jiu reacted with lightning speed.

Drawing his blade, turning, and slashing—it was all done in one fluid motion!

However, the blade he raised did not strike out; instead, it was frozen in mid-air above his head.

Behind the two men.

A terrifying monster, standing a full two meters tall and wreathed in black mist, was opening its blood-stained maw, filled with jagged fangs, to snap at Zhang Jiu's head!

Zhang Jiu's blade had been seized by the monster's sharp claws.

A moment of life or death!

He immediately released his weapon and shouted, "Brother Luo, run!"

As he spoke, he grabbed Luo Qingchen, who was standing beside him, and shoved him directly toward the monster.

Seizing the opportunity, he turned and bolted.

Although Luo Qingchen had been on guard, he had not expected such treachery, nor that Zhang Jiu would use his full strength.

At the very moment he was about to be delivered into the monster's gaping maw, he twisted his body urgently, narrowly dodging the strike!

The monster seemed momentarily stunned.

However, before he could regain his footing, the monster swung a claw and swiped him away.

He crashed heavily to the ground.

Strangely, the monster's scarlet, terrifying eyes merely glanced at him before it lunged past him, continuing its pursuit of Zhang Jiu.

"Help! Help me—!"

Zhang Jiu screamed at the top of his lungs while fleeing for his life.

As he reached the entrance of the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion, a flurry of rapid footsteps suddenly echoed from the street nearby.

The monster that had been chasing him just moments ago vanished into thin air.

"Gu-Guard Zhang, what happened?"

The two young women standing at the entrance were thrown into a panic by his frantic cries and terrified expression.

Just then, Zhou Qingyang arrived with his men.

"What is going on?"

Zhou Qingyang asked in a deep, stern voice.

Zhang Jiu was already scared out of his wits, his legs trembling uncontrollably as he pointed toward the darkness behind him, gasping, "A... a monster! A monster!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qingyang immediately led his men toward the darkness.

At this moment, Luo Qingchen was walking toward them, clutching his blood-soaked shoulder.

Seeing him, Zhou Qingyang and his men drew their blades and asked, "Where is the monster?"

Luo Qingchen's face was pale with pain; he shook his head and said, "The monster was chasing Head Zhang just now. I don't know where it went."

Hearing this, Zhou Qingyang immediately led his men further into the darkness ahead.

Zhang Jiu stood trembling in the dim light of the entrance, afraid to enter the building yet terrified to flee into the pitch-black street, looking utterly petrified.

The two women beside him were also huddled together, shivering.

When Luo Qingchen emerged from the darkness, clutching his wound, Zhang Jiu froze for a second before hurriedly stammering an explanation, "Brother Luo, are you alright? I intended to pull you along to escape just now, but in the panic, I failed to grab you."

Luo Qingchen reached the entrance and remained silent.

Zhang Jiu said nothing more, his eyes fixed on the darkness ahead, still haunted by the encounter.

A short while later.

Zhou Qingyang returned with his men. He swept a sharp, piercing gaze over the two men before walking up to Luo Qingchen to inspect the wound on his shoulder.

A claw mark deep enough to expose bone was etched there.

"Did you see what the monster looked like?"

He asked in a low voice.

Zhang Jiu quickly replied, "It was tall, huge, covered in black mist, and its mouth was full of terrifying fangs!"

Luo Qingchen added, "Its eyes were scarlet."

Zhou Qingyang pondered for a moment, then turned his gaze toward Zhang Jiu, asking suspiciously, "Why would that monster chase you? If it were hungry, it could have easily killed Guard Luo, who was lagging behind. Why was it so fixated on you?"

Zhang Jiu pulled a long face and said, "How would I know? I'm just as baffled! Could it be because I'm a bit sturdier?"

Zhou Qingyang raised his eyes and scanned the surroundings, his expression grave. "It was chasing you a second ago, and the next, it vanished. How could it be so fast?"

His sharp gaze suddenly locked onto the interior of the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion.

"Unless it jumped over the courtyard wall!"

This sentence immediately made Zhang Jiu and the two young women tremble in fear.

Zhou Qingyang immediately ordered, "Liu Chang, go to the Town Guard Bureau at once, bring another squad of men here, and surround the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion! From this moment on, no one is allowed to leave the building!"

"Yes!"

A young man behind him responded immediately, turned, and ran off.

"Now, I want to inspect every single person and every single room in this building! Even if we have to dig three feet into the ground, we will find that monster!"

After Zhou Qingyang finished speaking in a cold voice, he immediately led his men into the building.

He then turned his head to look at Luo Qingchen and Zhang Jiu, saying, "You two come inside as well; you are not permitted to leave for the time being!"

In truth, there was no need for him to say it; Zhang Jiu was already following closely behind him, his nerves still shattered.

The two young women at the entrance hurriedly followed them inside as well.

Luo Qingchen tore off a piece of his clothing, simply bandaged his wound, and followed them into the building.

As he entered the lobby, he turned his head to glance at the pitch-black courtyard wall outside.

If he hadn't seen wrong just a moment ago, that monster had indeed jumped into the building.

"Sister Sun, have the girls and the guests in the building come out and stand at their respective doors. No one is to move!"

As soon as he entered the building, Zhou Qingyang gave the order in a deep voice.

Sun Ping frowned. Although she knew this would offend the guests, she dared not say much.

She had naturally heard their conversation while standing outside the door just moments ago.

If a monster had truly jumped inside, then the girls and guests currently in the building were all in great danger.

She hurriedly instructed her maids to go and call everyone one by one.

She also rushed up to the second floor to personally knock on the doors of rooms with guests to explain the situation.

For a time, the entire building was filled with the sound of panicked footsteps.

Many girls emerged from their rooms, asking in alarm what had happened, but no one offered an explanation.

Several guests were also badly frightened.

Zhou Qingyang took out the Demon Detecting Stone and began to inspect the rooms on the first floor one by one.

In addition to checking the people, he had his men go inside to inspect every corner of the rooms.

However, he seemed to have insufficient manpower, so he had to instruct Zhang Jiu, "Head Zhang, you take Guard Luo and go guard the second floor. You must ensure that the occupants of every room are standing at their doors. If someone hasn't opened their door, or if there is no one at the entrance, call me immediately!"

Zhang Jiu hurriedly replied, "Yes!"

He then said to Luo Qingchen, "Brother Luo, let's go, we're heading upstairs!"

Luo Qingchen endured the pain and followed behind him up to the second floor.

Sun Ping had already called out every girl from their rooms.

Several guests had also thrown on their clothes in a disheveled manner and were standing at their doors with panicked expressions.

"Sister Sun, what on earth happened?"

A guest asked.

Sun Ping had no choice but to explain, "The men from the Town Guard Bureau are here to conduct an inspection. As you know, during this period, everyone in town must be checked."

"The Town Guard Bureau?"

Upon hearing that it was the Town Guard Bureau, the guests dared not say anything more.

Luo Qingchen and Zhang Jiu walked around the second floor, confirming that every room door was open and that someone was standing at every entrance, before returning to the stairwell to stand guard.

Zhang Jiu was clearly terrified; his legs were still trembling at this moment.

He sat down on the stairs, let out a sigh, cursed under his breath, and began to ponder the situation.

At this moment, Luo Qingchen felt a burning pain radiating from his shoulder.

The blood from the wound had already stained his clothes and the cloth strips red.

Just as he was leaning against the wall, silently enduring it, Zhao Yun, who was standing at the entrance of the first room, suddenly noticed his condition. She immediately returned to her room, took out gauze and medicine, and called out, "Brother Chen, come here quickly, let me bandage that for you."

Luo Qingchen looked at her, hesitated for a moment, and walked over.

Zhao Yun hurriedly unwound the cloth strips. When she saw the wound underneath, she was startled. She hurriedly picked up the trauma medicine, sprinkled the powder onto the wound, and then quickly wrapped it with clean gauze.

"Brother Chen, does it hurt?"

Zhao Yun asked softly while bandaging him.

Luo Qingchen replied, "It's just a flesh wound."

At this moment, his gaze suddenly froze.

There seemed to be a smear of scarlet still lingering under the young girl's pink fingernails.