Yueyang in Peril

Gao Fei did not answer, only looked at him.

"What are you staring at me for? I let you have it last time. This time, I have to go first!"

The middle-aged constable had not said a word the entire way, yet now he could not stop talking, as though he had been deeply dissatisfied with what happened last time.

"Aren't we handling a case? What the hell is this? Travel expenses?"

Gao Fei tossed the copper coins in his hand and looked at the man before him. He needed to know the truth behind this matter.

"Travel expenses? We're sending five people to Northern Mountain the day after tomorrow. Don't tell me you forgot?"

Gao Fei had forgotten many things. He did not even know who this middle-aged constable before him was.

He had not asked along the way because he wanted to know who had caused him to be drained to death by a fox spirit.

If he did not get to the bottom of it, he would not be able to sleep in peace.

Just as he did not know how to answer, the wooden door opened.

An old man with graying hair and a face full of wrinkles walked out from inside.

"Honored sirs, I am the village chief of Tao Hua Village. It is getting late. Why not stay here for the night, give us some time to discuss things, and set off early tomorrow morning?"

"Lead the way!"

The middle-aged constable seemed to have expected this. He spoke with complete ease.

The village houses were arranged in neat tiers. The village chief led the two of them into an entirely wooden loft.

It was also the village's only two-story wooden building with a small courtyard. A wooden table stood in the middle of the main hall.

The village chief excused himself for a moment, and three elderly women soon entered carrying dishes and wine jars.

Six small dishes were quickly laid out on the table.

Gao Fei sniffed, and the fragrance of rice wine filled his nose. It was home-brewed rice wine. Just as he was about to lift the bowl and take a sip—

He heard the middle-aged constable point at one of the elderly women. "You drink first. Take one bite from every dish!"

A chill ran down Gao Fei's back, and he immediately put down the coarse porcelain bowl in his hand.

In the villagers' eyes, he was a bad man. Drugging him was perfectly reasonable.

The old crone pointed at by the middle-aged constable spoke in a hoarse voice.

"My lord, these things are meant to entertain guests. This old woman would not dare touch the chopsticks!"

"If I say you can, then you can!"

The wrinkles on the old woman's face twitched. She bared her teeth in a smile. "Thank you, honored sirs. Such fine food—I am a lonely old woman, and even during the New Year, I could not eat this well."

After saying that, she took a bowl from the side, poured herself half a bowl, and drank it in one gulp. Then she swiftly sampled every dish on the table.

After eating, she swallowed and backed away several steps.

"Please enjoy yourselves, honored sirs. This old woman has many matters at home, so I shall not keep you company."

With that, she led the other two elderly women and prepared to leave.

"The two of them can go. You stay!"

The old woman did not reply. She nodded to the other two, found a small stool in the hall, and sat down against the corner wall.

The middle-aged constable poured himself a bowl of rice wine and smiled at Gao Fei. He neither moved nor spoke.

Gao Fei did not move either. He looked at the other man, and the two simply stared at each other.

Within ten breaths, the old woman leaned against the wall and began twitching intermittently.

"M-My... lord, this old woman... is feeling unwell. In a moment... I'll have my niece come over to attend to you..."

As she spoke, she rose tremblingly and headed out the door.

The Tang horizontal saber in the middle-aged constable's hand left its sheath. A smile remained on his face as he rose and followed her.

"Feeling terrible, aren't you? If you feel terrible, then don't leave. I'll go call your niece over—and add her name while I'm at it..."

His voice was soft, as though he were advising an elder in his own family.

The old woman persisted. Every step drained all her strength, and she no longer had the energy to answer. Her eyes remained fixed on the direction of the gate.

One step... two steps...

Gao Fei stood up, gripped his long spear, and followed them out.

"Even slaughtering poultry calls for giving it a quick death! What are you doing?"

"Last time, weren't you thrilled watching? Why are you suddenly trying to be a good man now? Did some wandering ghost possess you?"

The middle-aged constable began sizing Gao Fei up from head to toe, as though getting to know him all over again.

Gao Fei's heart skipped a beat. His transmigration and golden finger were his greatest secrets. Not even suspicion was acceptable.

"How could that be? Look at me—where do I look like someone who's been possessed?"

As he spoke, he gripped the middle of his spear with one hand and held it behind his back, its tip angled toward the ground. His gaze locked onto the middle-aged constable. He had already decided to leave him here.

"True enough. After being possessed, one can't move for three days, yet you were hopping about lively as ever that very day..."

Before the middle-aged constable could finish, Gao Fei cut him off.

"You were there yesterday too?"

"I wasn't in your group. You went with another fellow, and he still hasn't returned. Do you know where he is now?"

Ever since they had left the city, the middle-aged constable had kept his distance from him. It seemed he had been wary of Gao Fei for a long time.

Gao Fei glanced at the old woman collapsed on the ground. The middle-aged constable probably was not in league with the villagers.

"Who arranged for us to go?"

The middle-aged constable held his saber in one hand. Its edge gleamed coldly, its spine was thick and heavy, and its tip pointed diagonally at the ground.

"Looks like you encountered danger too. We're birds of a feather in the same boat. Just yesterday, out of more than fifty brothers, fewer than ten remained. I want to hear your thoughts!"

"My brain was injured, and my memory has some problems. I don't know the beginning or end of this matter. Can you clear things up for me?"

Since he had decided to act, he naturally needed to gather more intelligence. From the other man's manner, he was also collecting details about yesterday.

Even if Gao Fei said something wrong, dead men could not open their mouths to speak.

What Gao Fei asked about was no secret at all. The original owner of this body surely knew it.

The middle-aged constable did not hide anything and explained in detail.

Half a year ago.

A great war broke out where the empire's north bordered the Demon Race, and the Martial Suppression Guard were all redeployed.

Now, the only Spirit-Absorption Realm, Perfected expert left in Yueyang County was the county magistrate.

Yet around Yueyang County, there were three great demons at the Spirit-Absorption Realm, Perfected stage.

They were:

The Southern Mountain Fox Demon, closest to the county seat. Its cultivation was unknown, it had powerful backing, and no one dared provoke it.

Northern Mountain—Yellow Great Immortal.

Western Mountain—the Cat Demon.

It was said that their subordinates also included Spirit-Absorption Realm cultivators, though their numbers were unknown.

The eastern terrain was flat. Dog demons occasionally appeared there, but they were merely minor demons and amounted to nothing.

Yueyang County's connections with the outside world basically ran through the east.

With the Great Gan Empire serving as a deterrent, the demons were not stupid. They knew the stakes—if they caused too much trouble, experts from the provincial capital would come to exterminate them.

But in private, they secretly seized people through threats, coercion, and temptation.

So long as they did not kill too many people at once, the provincial capital would not concern itself with the affairs of the counties below.

Qing Province faced the Mangshan Mountains, where demons were numerous. The Martial Suppression Guards in the surrounding counties had all been stripped away. Many counties were in an even more dire state than this one, and it was said that the magistrate of the neighboring county had already died in battle.

During the first month, the demons only acted furtively, and people disappeared only from time to time.

Later, their courage grew greater and greater, and the villages closest to demon territory began vanishing one after another.

Now, they had already reached an understanding with certain people in the county. A batch of blood food was sent every fifteen days, and this village was already close to the edge.

Gao Fei gave a bitter smile.

The constables of Yueyang County had originally upheld order and captured criminals, yet they had become the ones transporting blood food for demons.

"So you're saying that everyone in Yueyang County with even a little strength knows about the blood food?"

"More or less! But they don't dare seize people from inside the county seat. The relationships there are tangled like hemp, so they can only leave the city to find these rustic mountain villagers."

Gao Fei was somewhat puzzled. "Aren't they afraid of settling accounts after autumn?"

Perhaps what he knew was only the tip of the iceberg.