Peace Nowhere in the Vast Qi Kingdom

Han Anbo smiled and observed secretly. He noticed that Ye Han was always smiling. He glanced at the four people with cold attitudes, then observed their figures, hands, shoes and other details, and watched their actions out of the corner of his eye.

More and more Night Guard arrived at the training ground, soon exceeding one hundred.

A group of high-ranking officials walked onto the reviewing stand, and five Eighth Rank Commandant wearing Iron Rhino Breastplate lined up together, forming five teams in front of the reviewing stand.

Li Qingxian looked towards the reviewing stand and saw only a Principal Sixth Rank official in the Demon-Hunting Office, but the Division Chief Song Yanxue was not there.

The clerk read from the script, first explaining the harm caused by the demon scourge, then the needs of the court, followed by some precautions for hunting demons, and finally encouraging the Night Guard who were hunting demons.

After the ceremony, the five teams left the small training ground in turn.

The group first went to the barracks to get an oxcart and some supplies. Everyone put their heavy belongings on the oxcart and, led by Wu Jingtian, left the Night Guard and walked towards the North Gate.

At first, everyone was quiet, but after a while, some people started chatting.

Seeing that Wu Jingtian ignored them, the others began to chat quietly.

Li Qingxian asked in a low voice, "Brother Han, why aren't we riding horses? Are we, the Night Guard, going to travel on foot?"

"Six months ago, they naturally rode horses when they went out, but the Night Guard are no longer the same Night Guard. The Imperial Horse Bureau Stud has cut off the supply of horses, so they can't get any. Now, unless it's an emergency, the Night Guard walk like ordinary soldiers."

"I see. If only there were Puppet Cultivator, we could ride in their Puppet Cultivator; it would be much more convenient than walking."

"Those are all good stuff. How could the higher-ups possibly use those for us ordinary Night Guard? Look closely, let alone Tenth Rank guards, how many Ninth Rank or Eighth Rank guards are like you, covered in magical artifacts?"

"That's true. Besides Ye Han, it seems only Wu Commandant has a magical artifact, right?" Li Qingxian said.

"Once the demon hunt is over, Wu Commandant will have to return the magical artifacts. How many people do those sects support? How many does the imperial court support? We really can't afford it."

The group chatted as they left the capital and headed north.

Divine Capital Office, Chunfeng Residence.

Zhou Chunfeng stood by the window, gazing northward.

Zhou Hen, who often stood at the door, disappeared.

On the roads north of the capital.

Wu Jingtian walked to the middle of the group, saying as he went, "Our destination this time is Dadong County in Guangtong Prefecture, Yan Prefecture. There is a Dong Water there that connects to the Great River, and small demons often drift downstream to attack people. We'll probably travel for five days, about a hundred li each day, and stay there for a month until the demon problem subsides before returning to the capital."

Li Qingxian calculated that a normal walking speed is about 10 li in half an hour. If one walks 100 li a day, it would take 10 hours. If one walked like this for five days in a row, wouldn't one's legs break?

On second thought, with my current physical condition, let alone walking for ten hours, even running for ten hours would be enough; a good night's sleep and I'd be back to full of energy.

Li Qingxian glanced at the chubby Yu Ping and thought to himself that this kid was going to be in big trouble.

Even after setting up camp late at night, Yu Ping didn't complain about being tired. When asked, it turned out that Yu Ping had been traveling around with Daren Yu Ping he was a child. Although he had gained weight in recent years, he still had a good foundation.

The next day, the twenty-one people became much more lively, chatting as they walked.

Fearing that Li Qingxian would suffer, Han Anbo recounted the precautions for traveling and hunting demons along the way, using his own experiences as examples.

Wu Jingtian didn't stop them; instead, he encouraged everyone to listen.

Han Anbo talked the whole way, and Li Qingxian and the other Night Guard listened the whole way.

Han Anbo's status in the team rose accordingly, and during each rest period, someone would bring him water and food.

As night fell, Wu Jingtian gathered everyone around the campfire, his face cold as he scanned them.

The firewood crackled and popped as it burned, the flames leaping and dancing.

No one knew what was happening, and they dared not utter a sound.

After a long while, Wu Jingtian pointed to the Divine Capital and said, "That's the capital city. You saw the boundary marker this evening. We're over 120 li from the capital. This means we've completely lost the protection of the Divine Capital, and it also means we could encounter Demon Race, Evil Sects, Devil Sect, and notorious bandits at any time. You've all heard the saying, 'Of the ten thousand Qi Kingdom, Baili Ping'an.' Now, we're in that unsafe place, nine thousand nine hundred li away."

Wu Jingtian snorted and said as he walked, "In the capital, in the city, our armor might scare people, but in the wilderness, we're nothing. A few Seventh Rank experts can wipe us all out. Do you know how many of the hundred demon-hunting teams that went out in the past six months came back? Sixty, and some were seriously injured."

Everyone was horrified.

"Old Han, you were afraid of scaring them before, so you didn't say anything scary. Now, tell me what's scary," Wu Jingtian.

Han Anbo sighed and said, "There's nothing to be afraid of. Once you leave Baili Ping'an, half will live and half will die. It's all up to fate."

Everyone broke out in a cold sweat.

Li Qingxian glanced around at the pitch-black surroundings, where even the originally melodious chirping of insects seemed to carry an eerie undertone.

Wu Jingtian and Han Anbo worked in unison, and the whole team behaved themselves.

The excitement of my first monster hunt vanished without a trace.

The night passed peacefully.

The journey on the third day was somewhat dull. Unlike the previous two days when everyone was chatting and laughing, people frequently gripped their weapons and surveyed their surroundings.

After passing the Yan Prefecture boundary marker and going around Guangtong Mountain, it was already late at night. We found a clean and flat spot by the roadside, lit a fire, and set up camp.

As everyone gradually fell asleep, Li Qingxian, Yu Ping, and Han Anbo kept watch.

In the dead of night, Han Anbo called the two men outside the camp and pretended to patrol the surroundings.

Seeing that no one had followed, Han Anbo lowered his voice and said, "Ye Han is suspicious. Keep a close eye on him."

"What?" Li Qingxian asked.

"You asked for leave, and Ye Han also asked for leave; you went to hunt demons, and he came too. It's all too coincidental. I've been observing carefully these past two days. Most of the people in the team are veterans of the Night Guard, and four of them who are on good terms with Ye Han are newly transferred. I've seen the backs of two of them before; they used to follow Ye Han. The other two are either skilled fighters in the army or high- Entry Rank experts kept by wealthy families, at least Ninth Rank, and even Eighth Rank wouldn't be surprising."

"Ye Han trying to harm me?" Li Qingxian had also been secretly on guard against Ye Han.

"It won't directly harm you, but it might indirectly. Also... Ye Han's True Essence is stronger than I imagined; he's probably already at the Ninth Rank."

Li Qingxian, recalling Ye Han's powerful Fate Mold, nodded and said, "There's a high probability he'll advance to the Ninth Rank."

"You don't need to worry about them normally; they won't be stupid enough to suddenly attack. But once you encounter Demon Race and a battle begins, you need to be extra careful. They might very well use the Demon Race to severely injure you. I've personally witnessed this at least ten times," Han Anbo said.

Yu Ping whispered, "How about I find an opportunity to pretend I missed while hitting the Demon Race member, and then knock Ye Han unconscious with a single blow?"

Han Anbo and Li Qingxian both rolled their eyes at him.

Li Qingxian and Han Anbo discussed the matter at length and basically concluded that Ye Han would not dare to act openly or kill him, otherwise he would surely incur the wrath of Zhou Chunfeng and the imperial court. However, Ye Han would definitely try to harm him indirectly.

Li Qingxian worked even harder to produce another batch of Thunder Talisman, and after each batch was made, he divided half between Han Anbo and Yu Ping.