You Broke the Rules

Two days later, Cui Lang had just returned home from patrol when he saw Constable Li sitting on a stone bench in the courtyard.

Delight immediately appeared on his face. "Constable Li, what brings you here?"

"Little sister, why haven't you made tea for Constable Li? Forget it, go buy some food and wine first. Go to Great Fortune Tower, not one of those little eateries."

"Constable Li, it's rare for you to visit your subordinate's home. You must stay for a meal."

Cui Ling hurriedly took the money and left, leaving only Cui Lang and Constable Li in the courtyard.

"Cui Lang, I came to see you about something. Have you seen them these past few days?"

Cui Lang blinked. "Them? Constable Li, your subordinate hasn't even left the city. How could I have seen them? Did something happen?"

"Is it time to collect Blood Pills again? Then should your subordinate go alone this time, or go with you?"

Constable Li's brows drew tightly together. "Cui Lang, help me think through what could be causing this."

"Several demons we had intimidated suddenly gathered together yesterday, and they still haven't returned to their own territories today."

Cui Lang asked curiously, "Constable Li, has this happened before?"

Constable Li shook his head slightly. "They used to follow the rules well. They all lived in different villages and may have had contact with one another, but never had so many gathered together like this—so brazenly, too!"

Those demons had occasionally met in private before, but only at night, returning to their respective residences before dawn. A gathering of several demons at once like this had never happened even once.

What were these demons trying to do?

"Constable Li, could they think the monthly Blood Pills are too much and want to renegotiate the amount? Or perhaps they simply don't want to give them anymore?" Cui Lang deliberately asked.

"They dare?!" A fierce glint flashed across Constable Li's face. "A few demons who haven't even condensed demon cores think gathering together means they can turn heaven upside down?"

Without Blood Pills, or with fewer of them, how could his strength increase quickly?

"Then why don't we go take a look? Rather than guessing here, we might as well ask them directly. It's just that your subordinate worries those demons are wild and hard to tame. If a fight breaks out, it could be very dangerous."

Constable Li nodded. "You have a point. Take your blade and come with me. We'll go see them shortly and find out what exactly they want."

"Demons may be wild and hard to tame, but it's not as though I've never tamed them before."

Without hesitation, Cui Lang followed Constable Li out. When they passed Great Fortune Tower, he went in and found his sister. "Little Ling, I need to leave the city on official business. Take the food and wine home and eat them yourself. Bolt the door when you get home. Don't wait for me."

"Ah? I've already ordered the dishes. You're leaving without eating? This food and wine cost three taels of silver!" Cui Ling had no idea why her elder brother and Constable Li were in such a hurry to leave.

"There's no time. Don't go spreading word of today's matter. If I'm not back by tomorrow morning, take out my quilt and air it in the sun."

"Be careful, Brother." Cui Ling called after him, then immediately turned to the shopkeeper. "Shopkeeper, make the dishes as usual, but I don't want the wine. You can refund one tael, right?"

Cui Lang soon returned to Constable Li's carriage, which sped toward the outskirts of the city.

Cui Lang was somewhat puzzled. So many demons had gathered together, yet Constable Li was so confident that bringing only him would be enough?

Were there really no one else among the constables whom Constable Li had recruited?

Could just he and Constable Li handle those demons?

No, there was one more person—the driver.

The last time Constable Li had brought him to meet those demons, it had been this very driver. Clearly, the driver also knew about Constable Li's collusion with the demons.

Knowing full well that they were going to meet demons, yet showing not the slightest fear, the driver had to be a martial artist as well, and not a weak one.

Sure enough, when the carriage arrived, the driver took out a blade and silently stood behind Constable Li.

Constable Li glanced at Cui Lang. "Watch my signals once we go inside. If they remain stubbornly unrepentant, then let them understand what it means to follow the rules!"

If these demons merely wanted more blood food, he could agree. But if they wanted to reduce the Blood Pills, absolutely not!

At the main gate, the steward tremblingly opened the courtyard door. "C-Constable Li, the master and its friends are waiting for you in the back courtyard."

The steward led the way. They had just reached the entrance to the back courtyard, before he could even announce them, when a claw suddenly punched through the door panel—and through the steward's chest.

The steward's face was filled with disbelief. He had served these demons with every possible care. Why had they still killed him?

With a crash, the door panel exploded apart, revealing a tusked pig's head with a blue-green face.

"Constable Li, the brothers gathered together, and there isn't enough to eat. I'm adding a dish for everyone. You don't mind, do you?"

The pig demon pulled its claw from the steward's chest, licked the blood from it, and looked provocatively at Constable Li.

Constable Li remained calm, as though he had seen this sort of thing countless times. "If Pig Sixth Brother wants some blood food, of course there's no problem."

"I came today only to ask why everyone has gathered together. This does not follow the rules."

Standing behind Constable Li, Cui Lang thought, They weren't even pretending anymore. He had personally admitted what blood food was.

He looked up. Six demons sat in the courtyard: a pig demon, wolf demon, dog demon, ox demon, and rabbit demon, each with unmistakable traits. Yet the last was Peony, the leading courtesan of Dark Fragrance Pavilion. She looked like nothing but a beauty. What kind of demon was she?

The pig demon casually flung the steward's corpse toward the other demons. "You talk to us about rules? By the old rules, if government officials were planning to harm us, you needed to notify us in advance and help cover for us."

"But people from the prefectural government office will be here soon. Did you ever notify us?"

"What, after collecting Blood Pills for so many years, you want to wipe out us brothers and keep being an official?"

Yesterday, they had met at Peony's invitation and discovered that none of them had known about this news.

So that was why their blood food had suddenly increased by thirty percent earlier, allowing them to refine more Blood Pills. They had thought it was because their hard work was being recognized. In truth, it was to collect more Blood Pills before they died—to squeeze out every last bit of their value!

Constable Li frowned. "What did you say? People from the prefectural government office are coming? Impossible. I never received any such news. Who fed you this nonsense?"

No wonder these demons had gathered together. They believed the prefectural government office was coming to purge them, so they had assembled to protect themselves.

But there was no such thing at all. They had backers in the prefectural office too. How could they possibly have received no word?

All the demons looked toward Peony. Peony had told them this news. Could it have been false?

Cui Lang saw Peony raise her eyes toward him. He could not let Peony speak, or once everything was laid bare, he would become the target of all arrows.

He instantly drew his blade and lunged at the nearest pig demon. "Constable Li, they're clearly just making excuses because they don't want to give us Blood Pills."

"Kill two first, and the rest will naturally learn the rules."