Clear-Eyed Demon Duan

Night had fallen completely, yet these martial artists did not slow down. They hurried along as if Yellowwater City were inhabited by evil ghosts.

So many people had died today. If they all turned into ghosts, that would indeed be quite terrifying.

Duan Yun could only urge Little Gray to pick up its pace and blend in among them.

The martial artists on the road traveled in twos and threes, and there were quite a few of them. Of course, there were also many lone wanderers of the jianghu like Duan Yun.

It had to be said that martial artists had more vigorous blood and qi.

The wilderness at night was originally gloomy and terrifying, but with such a crowd walking through it, it did not seem quite so frightening.

They traveled for a full three hours, until the middle of the night. Only after they had put a considerable distance between themselves and Yellowwater City, and heard wolves howling in the distant mountains and forests, did the martial artists stop in twos and threes to build fires and rest.

At this time of year in Cloud Prefecture, the temperature difference between day and night was considerable. It was clearly hot during the day, yet the nights had turned somewhat chilly.

Of the four seasons in Cloud Prefecture, spring had the best weather. Even autumn, which ought to have been crisp and refreshing, was not much good. The days were scorching, like an autumn tiger squatting over the land, while the nights brought heavy frost and dew that made people feel cold.

It was said that the name Springwatch City came from the people of Cloud Prefecture placing their longing for spring within it.

It had to be said that those in the martial world were in good physical condition. Even after traveling for most of the night, and with some of them injured, there were still people full of spirit who did not sleep.

Duan Yun built a fire near several jianghu wanderers, barely managing to blend into the edge of the group.

There were five or six jianghu wanderers there, chatting among themselves.

The firelight illuminated their faces.

Clearly, they still had lingering fear over what had happened in Yellowwater City today.

"Brother Han, you only joined the Yellow Fish Gang not long ago. My brother and I had wanted to rely on you to make an introduction and see whether we could join the gang too. Who would have thought the gang would just be gone like that?" a young man could not help saying.

That Brother Han wore a sorrowful expression as he said bitterly, "Who knew the killing would become so vicious all at once? I was born and raised in Yellowwater City. My gang and the Red Crane Sect have fought plenty of times, and people have died before, but I've never seen anything as outrageous as today."

"They were all like madmen, hacking at each other without caring for their lives. Both sides' leaders are gone, and us little lackeys are nearly gone too."

Another man sighed. "Their blood was up. None of them could stop."

"I still don't understand how they suddenly started hacking at each other?" the young man asked again in confusion.

Brother Han fell silent for a while before saying, "I wasn't right at the front, but I did get a clearer picture of what happened. They said some expert suddenly emerged from our gang and killed Hong Laowu's biological younger brother from the other side. Then the fighting began."

"But Hong Laowu's younger brother was a renegade monk from Dusk Temple. Just how powerful must that expert have been?"

One of them answered, "Who knows? He must have been as tall as several floors."

At this point, Brother Han could not help saying, "The reason I told you to leave overnight was because I asked around before and after. Our Yellow Fish Gang and the Red Crane Sect ended up like this because of that person."

"We think that person was a demon."

"What? A demon!"

"Keep your voice down! Think about it—without that person, could our Yellow Fish Gang and the Red Crane Sect have ended up like this?"

"Now that you mention it, that really does make sense. We could never figure it out. Territory had always been negotiated over. Even if there was fighting, it would only be small skirmishes for a while. How could it suddenly become an all-out battle between entire gangs? Once Brother Han said 'demon,' it all made sense.

There were some demons in the jianghu like this. They delighted in seeing blood flow into rivers, and the more people died, the happier they became. With only a slight move, this demon brought down the two greatest powers in Yellowwater City. He was truly terrifying."

"Yes. It wasn't just that he possessed terrifying methods capable of killing a demon monk. More frightening was his ability to casually bring disaster upon an entire region."

"Then... are we in danger right now?"

At this point, the young martial artist could not help looking around as he asked in a trembling voice.

By now, everyone around the fire had grown faintly nervous. Fear filled their eyes, and some even felt a chill. They could not help rubbing their hands before the fire, as if the demon of legend might suddenly stretch out a hand and drag them into the darkness to violate and murder them.

Even Duan Yun himself felt that this demon sounded rather terrifying.

If he had not been the person involved, he truly would have believed their nonsense!

He was merely an honest man who had been singled out for bullying. How had he become a demon who made Yellowwater City run with blood?

When all was said and done, he had merely been chosen by that demon monk and forced to kill in self-defense. He was just a pitiful victim who knew nothing else.

Claims that he had infiltrated them, made a slight move, and deliberately caused over a thousand people to bleed into rivers were utter slander pulled out of thin air!

The cruelest thing he had done so far was wipe out the Black Bear Gang's entire household.

Why were these people like that lowly goddess constable, always fucking making wild assumptions?

At this point, they began asking for details again. "Brother Han, what exactly does that demon look like?"

"As far as I know, that demon infiltrated the group under the pretense of helping in the fight. Think about it—what decent hired fighter would stand so far at the front? Wasn't he plainly there to stir up trouble?"

"Brother Huang from our gang, the one missing a leg, told me that he was right at the front. He said the demon had fine features, carried an ordinary-quality iron sword, and had clear eyes. If not for the sword in his hand, he would have been more inclined to think the man was a young physician.

"They say that before killing the Red Crane Sect leader's younger brother, the demon even specifically had someone from the gang settle the two taels of silver he was owed for helping in the fight. Only then did he make his move and kill the man."

"What! Before killing someone and stirring up trouble, he still did not forget his two-tael reward? That is simply utterly insane! Who knows how many disasters this demon has provoked to be so utterly at ease, playing people in the palm of his hand?"

"That is what makes this demon so strange and terrifying. He was about to make the two gangs' corpses float into a river, yet he still did not forget those two taels of silver. He was obsessively terrifying. That's why I told you to flee with me. Who knows what other terrible plans this demon might have?"

Hearing this, everyone could not help feeling their scalps tingle.

Duan Yun: "..."

"Oh, and one more thing. Besides looking harmless and having clear eyes that easily misled people, that demon was also leading a donkey at the time."

"What? He even had a donkey with him?"

A clear-eyed man leading a stupid donkey, making two gangs bleed into rivers and leave corpses strewn everywhere with a mere gesture.

The more they thought about that image, the more sinister it seemed. For a moment, even the donkey following that demon appeared mysterious and frightening.

As if by coincidence, a donkey suddenly brayed.

Everyone's hearts jolted, and they could not help looking toward the sound.

Not far beside them, a gray donkey was grazing. Next to it stood a handsome young man with clear eyes, an iron sword in hand, looking very much like a physician.

At almost the same moment, everyone's hearts skipped half a beat.

Because the young man was looking at them then, giving them a "sinister" smile.