Night Patrol!

Wang Lang chose a path leading to the side-wing corridor.

He did not walk quickly, yet his gaze carefully swept over the shape and direction of every bloodstain.

The farther inward he went, the more what he saw confirmed Patrolman Li's earlier description of bodies chopped into minced meat. It had been no exaggeration.

In the open space outside the accounting room, he saw the remains of a middle-aged man dressed in brocade... so mangled that it was difficult to recognize a complete human form.

Beside the moon gate leading to the training ground, he found several more shattered corpses dressed as manor guards.

Without exception, the corpses all belonged to men, and every one of them had been mutilated beyond recognition.

As though some enormous force had repeatedly hacked and smashed them.

Yet strangely, there were no signs of large amounts of flesh and blood having been taken from the surroundings.

In other words, the demon had chopped them so thoroughly... but apparently not to eat them?

Was it simple sadistic slaughter? Or did it have some peculiar preference or ritual? Wang Lang pondered.

He continued his investigation and discovered chopping dents in the ornamental rocks and tree trunks that had not been caused by sharp blades. The force behind them had been immense.

Now and then, where the bloodstains were especially thick, he could sense traces of frenzied demonic aura lingering behind.

Half an hour later, everyone returned to the front courtyard one after another to regroup.

No one looked well.

Jiang Wan's lips were especially pale, and the lingering fear had not yet faded from her eyes.

Centurion Zhao was the first to speak. "In the main hall, study, and main courtyard... the male corpses were all shattered beyond recognition. There were almost no intact bodies."

"There are signs that valuables were rummaged through, but the gold, silver, and jewelry were not all taken. It seems the killer's purpose was slaughter rather than plunder."

"There were also no obvious signs of fighting. Nearly all the victims were killed while fleeing in terror."

Patrolman Li added, "Some account books in the accounting room were torn apart, but the seals on the storeroom remain intact. It does not seem to have been robbed."

Master Huineng spoke gravely at the proper moment. "The east and west wings, as well as the servants' quarters, showed much the same. All the male servants were brutally slaughtered, and their corpses were torn apart."

"Some rooms bore signs of struggle, but it ended quickly. The demon is immensely strong and extremely fast."

Jiang Wan took a deep breath and suppressed her discomfort. "In the rear courtyard... there were seventy-two bodies in total, including the female members of the household, maids, and old serving women."

"All of them were violated before death. Their fatal wounds were identical: their chests were torn open, their hearts removed, and those hearts are nowhere to be found."

Wang Lang summarized his findings. "The demon is enormously powerful. Its route of movement appears chaotic, but it has an extreme tendency to sadistically slaughter men, while it has a specific purpose for women."

"The demonic aura left at the scene is extremely faint and intermittent. Either this demon excels at concealing its aura, or it cleaned up the scene afterward."

It treated men and women differently—shattering the men's bodies and taking the women's hearts...

Combining all the information, the image of a cruel, powerful, and bizarrely behaved demon gradually came into focus.

Centurion Zhao's expression was grave as he swept his gaze over everyone. "This creature's methods are vicious. And judging from its actions, as well as Fairy Jiang's report that the women's hearts were taken, this was likely not a killing spree born on a whim. It may have some sinister purpose."

"The Liu Manor massacre took place last night. This demon is highly likely to strike again tonight."

After a brief pause, he said, "To guard against any eventuality and seize the initiative, we must split into groups and patrol the city tonight."

"The moment anyone discovers anything unusual, send a signal immediately. The others will rush over at once to provide support. What do you say?"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Centurion Zhao continued, "Since that is settled, the six of us will divide into two groups and watch over one another."

"Patrolman Li, Young Master Wang, and I will form one group."

"Daoist Songyunzi, Master Huineng, and Fairy Jiang will form the other."

"We must keep within a distance where we can respond promptly to each other's signals."

As he spoke, he took several specially made firework signal tubes from his robes and handed them to Song Yunzi and the other two.

"This is the Demon Subduing Division's specially made Cloud Piercing Signal Arrow. Once ignited, it will shoot into the sky, displaying both sound and light for easy location."

Song Yunzi and the others each accepted one.

Centurion Zhao could only laugh bitterly to himself. He was a dignified centurion, and should have had dozens of elite men under his command. Yet now his superiors had transferred away so many that only Patrolman Li, a lone trusted subordinate, remained. Even when handling demon cases, he had to rely on outside Rogue Cultivators.

In these times, being an official was no easy task either.

In the blink of an eye, night fell, and the moon hung high overhead.

The daytime curfew order had long since been delivered to every household. At this moment, doors and windows were tightly shut, and only sparse lights glimmered within.

Before the City Lord's Mansion, six figures gathered briefly before splitting into two groups.

It was not that Centurion Zhao did not wish to divide their forces further. Their strength simply did not allow it.

Aside from Wang Lang, the other five were all at the middle to late stages of the Qi Induction Realm. Against a suspected Second-Order Demon, scattering too widely would be no different from serving themselves up on a platter.

Thus, Wang Lang, Centurion Zhao, and Patrolman Li took responsibility for the southeastern districts.

Patrol duty in the northwest fell upon Daoist Songyunzi, Venerable Huineng, and Jiang Wan.

As for these three, though they all came from Rogue Cultivator backgrounds and hovered around the sixth or seventh level of the Qi Induction Realm, making them far from the very best, they were by no means mediocre.

Each possessed some extraordinary trump card kept hidden at the bottom of the chest. They were confident that even if they could not slay the demon, they could at least preserve themselves and contend with it for a while without danger.

City Lord Zhou's offer of five hundred taels was certainly generous, but what truly moved them to risk danger was that one thing—chivalry, or perhaps the desire to save the world.

When they learned that the culprit might be a Second-Order Demon, the three merely pondered it briefly before readily agreeing.

They had seen plenty of wind and rain on the path of cultivation. If they weighed gains and losses in everything and dared not take a single step forward, then the original intent of tempering their hearts and natures would have long since been covered in dust.

The three walked neither quickly nor slowly.

Song Yunzi took a swig of wine, smacked his lips, and suddenly said, "Fellow Daoist Jiang, City Lord Zhou said during the day that Young Master Wang had already reached the ninth level of the Qi Induction Realm despite his young age. What do you think... how much of that is true?"

Jiang Wan walked half a step ahead of him at his side and did not turn around when she heard him.

After a moment of silence, she said calmly, "He conceals the aura within his body extremely well. I cannot see through him."

"However, his physique is exceptionally robust, and his steps have the steadiness of mountains. He most likely cultivates the path of Body Refinement."

"The ninth level of Qi Induction... may not be false either. And besides..."

She turned her face toward Venerable Huineng beside her. "A Buddhist disciple wielding a blade, while a worldly young master carries a monk's staff. That is rather novel."

Back at Liu Manor during the day, she had noticed at first glance the monk's staff in Wang Lang's hand, which seemed utterly mismatched with both his burly build and his identity as a young master.

Thinking of it now, she still found it strangely amusing.

Venerable Huineng, who had been singled out, softly recited, "Amitabha." He neither agreed nor disagreed with Jiang Wan's teasing.

In his simple and direct understanding, using a monk's staff to deliver demons was compassion.

Using a monk's blade to deliver them was also compassion. The latter was more efficient, and more satisfying as well.

Argue over that? Meaningless.

Song Yunzi chuckled and asked no further questions. The three fell silent again, with only their footsteps echoing through the empty streets and alleys.

Time passed into the hour of the ox.

In the utterly silent night, only the night wind occasionally passed through the streets, carrying a faint chill.

The disturbance Centurion Zhao had anticipated had yet to appear.

Yet this calm was instead like a string drawn ever tighter, causing the pressure in the hearts of those who knew the truth to accumulate bit by bit.

Tonight, in Qinglin City, those who could sleep peacefully probably did not even make up one in ten.