Liangzhou?

On the long street, the wind suddenly fell still.

A tiger claw appeared out of thin air and clasped Jiang Yuechu's hand, then slowly merged into her flesh and blood.

Hum—

In the blink of an eye.

Jiang Yuechu's appearance underwent an earth-shaking transformation.

The muscles beneath her skin bulged, while fine crimson tiger stripes spread upward from her wrist to her shoulder.

Her long black hair was stained crimson from the roots.

Her pupils, too, became golden vertical slits in an instant.

Savage. Tyrannical.

A fierce, baleful aura, as though it had come from the primordial wilderness, exploded from her body!

The pig demon froze.

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

A demon?

No!

Not a demon!

Yet even more terrifying than one?!

"What... what exactly are you?"

Jiang Yuechu did not answer.

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

She had to end this quickly!

The next moment.

Boom!

Beneath her feet, it was as though thunder had exploded.

The uneven bluestone pavement was stomped into a huge crater!

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 see an afterimage.

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

"The thing that'll kill you."

Her icy voice seemed to sound right beside the pig demon's ear.

The fist arrived.

Bang—

Beneath the fist's edge, the pig demon's fat rippled in layers.

Its expression changed as it instantly realized something was wrong.

"Spare me!!!"

Truly father and son—even their pleas for mercy were exactly the same.

But its answer was the next punch.

Boom!

The air was torn apart once more.

This time, there was nothing to stop it. The blow forcibly ripped through flesh and pierced its thick chest!

"Urgh..."

A few breaths later.

Its enormous body swayed, then fell straight backward.

Bang—

Dust flew across the long street.

"..."

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

The surviving Demon Suppression Office riders behind him were no better; every last one of them was dumbstruck.

"This..."

"What just happened?!"

The terrifying great demon that had left them helpless moments ago, even grievously wounding Lord Xu of the Bone-Chiming Realm to the point of death.

Had just...

Died?

The heart-palpitating fierce, baleful aura receded like the tide.

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

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

[Killed a Bone-Chiming Realm creature. Obtained 350 years of cultivation.]

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

"Yes..."

Exhaustion and searing pain swept through her entire body.

She raised her head and happened to meet the uncertain, suspicious gazes of the Demon Suppression Office riders in the distance.

The next instant, everything before her went dark.

Chang'an.

The foremost land beneath Heaven, the heart of Great Tang.

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

The imperial city, Daming Palace.

More than a year had passed since the new emperor ascended the throne. That thrilling palace coup now seemed like a matter from a former life.

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

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

The imperial study.

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

He was around thirty, handsome of face and upright of build.

Behind him, an elderly eunuch stood bent at the waist, saying something inaudible.

After a long while.

"Still nothing?"

"Your Majesty... everyone we sent out has returned, but there is still... still no news."

"..."

They said serving a ruler was like serving a tiger.

At this moment, the old eunuch truly felt the meaning of those words down to his bones.

What did this silence mean?

Say something, would 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 should speak of it."

"Speak."

"I heard... Her Majesty the Empress Dowager has been in excellent health lately. She often worships in the Buddhist hall and has copied many scriptures, saying she wishes to pray for the people under Heaven."

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

"Your Majesty is mistaken. How could Her Majesty the Empress Dowager have what she has today without relying wholly upon Your Majesty's benevolence, filial piety, and magnanimity? Back then—"

"Enough."

The voice was not loud, yet it made the latter half of the old eunuch's flattery choke dead in his throat.

"This servant deserves death! This servant has spoken too much!"

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

"Convey my decree."

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

"Keep looking."

"Find her alive, or find her corpse."

Liangzhou Prefecture.

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

Jiang Yuechu opened her eyes.

An unfamiliar ceiling met her gaze, and the air was thick with the smell of medicine.

She blinked.

Hm?

Wait...

Don't tell me I transmigrated again?

At the stirring of her thoughts, the ancient illustrated scroll quietly unfolded.

[Host: Jiang Yuechu]

[Realm: Perfected String-Hearing]

[...]

Good.

The panel was still there.

That meant she had not changed bodies.

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

Just as she was wondering where she was, the door was pushed open.

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

When she saw Jiang Yuechu's eyes open, her steps halted and a trace of surprise appeared on her face.

"You're awake?"

Jiang Yuechu braced herself and tried to sit up, only to find that she could not muster even the slightest strength.

"You are...?"

Seeing this, the woman quickly set down the bowl, stepped forward, placed a soft pillow behind her, and helped her slowly lean back against it.

"Don't move in a hurry."

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

"Liangzhou?"

Jiang Yuechu's pupils shrank slightly.

How had she ended up in Liangzhou?

Wei Qing seemed to see her confusion. As she brought over the bowl of steaming medicine, she explained, "The Demon Suppression Office sent you back. Your qi and blood were severely depleted, and you were unconscious for five whole days. If your foundation had not been strong enough, you probably would have already..."

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

Only then did Jiang Yuechu remember.

She had used the power of demonification to kill that pig demon. After that, everything had gone dark, and she knew nothing more.

She did not open her mouth, merely silently watching the woman before her.

At least the people of the Demon Suppression Office still had a bit of conscience. They had not left her there to feed wild dogs.

Wait...

The Demon Suppression Office?

Fuck! Has my identity been exposed?!