Liangzhou?

On the long street, the sound of the wind suddenly ceased.

A tiger claw appeared out of thin air, gripping Jiang Yuechu's hand before slowly melding into her flesh.

Buzz—

In the blink of an eye.

Jiang Yuechu's appearance underwent a heaven-and-earth transformation.

The muscles beneath her skin bulged. Fine crimson tiger stripes spread upward from her wrist all the way to her shoulder.

Her long black hair was stained blood-red from the roots.

Her pupils, too, turned into golden vertical slits in an instant.

Overbearing. Savage.

As though a ferocious, baleful aura from the primordial wilderness had erupted from her body!

The Pig Demon froze.

It actually sensed the aura of its own kind from the girl before it!

A demon?

No!

Not a demon!

Yet even more fearsome than one?!

"What... what exactly are you?"

Jiang Yuechu did not answer.

Her vital energy and blood probably could not sustain this for more than a few breaths.

She had to end this quickly!

The next moment.

Boom!

It was as though thunder had exploded beneath her feet.

A huge hole was stamped into the pitted bluestone road!

Her entire body became a crimson streak of light, tearing through the air as she shot toward the Pig Demon, which was still reeling in shock.

Too fast!

So fast that everyone present, including the Pig Demon, only had time to glimpse an afterimage.

The five fingers of her right hand clenched into a fist, and she threw a plain, unadorned punch!

"The thing that will kill you."

Her icy voice seemed to sound right beside the Pig Demon's ear.

The fist arrived.

Bang—

Under the force of her fist, the Pig Demon's fat rippled in layer after layer of waves.

Its expression changed as it instantly sensed that something was wrong.

"Spare me!!!"

Worthy of being father and son—even their pleas for mercy were exactly the same.

But what answered it was the next punch.

Boom!

The air was torn apart once more.

This time, nothing blocked it. The blow brutally ripped through flesh and pierced its thick chest!

"Urgh..."

A few breaths later.

Its enormous body swayed, then toppled stiffly backward.

Bang—

Dust flew across the long street.

"..."

Liu Chen knelt on the ground, mouth hanging open as he stared blankly at the scene.

The surviving Demon Suppression Office mounted constables behind him were all dumbfounded, every last one of them.

"This..."

"What just happened?!"

That terrifying great demon which had left them helpless moments ago, and had even gravely injured Lord Xu of the Bone-Chiming Realm to the point of death.

Had just...

Died?

The heart-palpitating ferocious aura receded like the tide.

The crimson tiger stripes on Jiang Yuechu's body slowly faded, while her blood-red hair returned to black.

Her body went limp. She dropped to one knee and began gasping violently.

[Slain a Bone-Chiming Realm creature. Obtained 350 years of Dao Cultivation.]

[An unrecorded demon has been detected. Consume Dao Cultivation to record it?]

"Yes..."

Exhaustion and agonizing pain swept through her entire body.

She raised her head and happened to meet the uncertain, startled gazes of the Demon Suppression Office mounted constables in the distance.

The next second, darkness filled her vision.

Chang'an.

The foremost land under heaven, the heart of the Great Tang.

Its one hundred and eight wards lay scattered like stars, their walls towering high and their boundaries as distinct as the Jing and Wei rivers.

The imperial city, Daming Palace.

The new emperor had ascended the throne over a year ago. That breathtaking palace coup now seemed like an affair from a previous life.

Within the palace walls, red walls, yellow tiles, soaring eaves, and carved brackets remained as they had always been.

The eunuchs and palace maids kept their heads lowered, their footsteps light as they moved through the empty palace paths, not daring to make the slightest unnecessary sound.

The imperial study.

A young man in dark casual robes stood by the window with his hands behind his back, looking outside.

He appeared to be around thirty, with handsome features and a tall, straight figure.

Behind him, an old eunuch stood bent at the waist, seemingly reporting something.

After a long while.

"Still nothing?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty... everyone we sent out has returned. There is still... still no news."

"..."

They said serving a ruler was like serving a tiger.

At this moment, the old eunuch truly got a taste of what that meant.

What did silence mean?

Say something, will you!

After a while, the old eunuch stole a glance at him, gritted his teeth, and said, "There is... there is something this servant has heard. I do not know whether I ought to report it."

"Speak."

"I heard... Her Majesty the Empress Dowager has been in excellent health lately. She often worships the Buddha in the prayer hall and has copied many sutras, saying that she wishes to pray for the common people of the realm."

The young man picked up a jade paperweight from the table and idly turned it over at his fingertips. "She certainly has plenty of leisure."

"Your Majesty is mistaken. Is the Empress Dowager's position today not entirely thanks to Your Majesty's benevolence, filial piety, and magnanimity? Back then—"

"Enough."

His voice was not loud, yet it lodged the latter half of the old eunuch's flattery firmly in his throat.

"This servant deserves death! This servant has spoken out of turn!"

The emperor ignored his pleas for forgiveness and merely closed his eyes.

"Convey my decree."

The old eunuch hurriedly lowered his head even further. "This servant awaits Your Majesty's command."

"Keep looking."

"See the person if alive; see the corpse if dead."

Liangzhou Prefecture.

Wind chimes rang beneath the eaves, their sound crisp and clear.

Jiang Yuechu opened her eyes.

Before her was an unfamiliar ceiling, and the air was thick with the pungent scent of medicine.

She blinked.

Hm?

Wait...

Don't tell me I transmigrated again?

At a thought, the ancient scroll quietly unfurled.

[Host: Jiang Yuechu]

[Realm: Perfected String-Hearing]

[...]

Thank goodness.

The panel was still there.

That meant she had not become someone else.

She breathed a sigh of relief, only then belatedly feeling the weakness radiating through her entire body.

Just as she was wondering where exactly she was, the door opened.

A woman in a white dress entered, carrying a bowl of medicinal soup.

Seeing Jiang Yuechu's eyes open, she paused, surprise appearing on her face.

"You're awake?"

Jiang Yuechu braced herself, wanting to sit up, only to find that she could not muster even a shred of strength.

"You are...?"

Seeing this, the woman hurriedly set down the bowl, stepped forward, placed a soft pillow behind her, and helped her slowly sit up.

"Don't move too quickly."

The woman smiled, her eyes curving into crescents. "My name is Wei Qing. This is Liangzhou Prefecture."

"Liangzhou?"

Jiang Yuechu's pupils contracted slightly.

How had she ended up in Liangzhou?

Wei Qing seemed to see her confusion. As she brought over the still-steaming bowl of medicine, she explained, "People from the Demon Suppression Office brought you back. Your vital energy and blood were severely depleted. You were unconscious for five whole days. If not for your strong foundation, you probably would have already..."

She did not continue, merely bringing the spoon to Jiang Yuechu's lips.

Only then did Jiang Yuechu remember.

She had used the power of Demon Transformation at the end, killed that Pig Demon, and then everything had gone black. She knew nothing after that.

She did not open her mouth, only silently watched the woman before her.

Fortunately, the people of the Demon Suppression Office had at least some conscience. They had not left her there to feed the stray dogs.

Wait...

The Demon Suppression Office?

Fuck! My identity hasn't been exposed, has it?!