Changing Targets

"Xiao Liu, see that? People like this enjoy the fruits of others' labor, yet stand on the moral high ground and criticize them. They eat a man's grain, then curse his mother. Isn't that shameless?"

"Seems like it!"

Lu Xiaoliu answered, half understanding and half confused.

Gao Fei did not explain. If there had not been two of them and he had not feared being unable to beat them, he would have made his move long ago.

Constable Zhang was tall and lean, standing opposite Gao Fei with a saber in his arms the entire time without saying a word.

Now that he saw both sides at a complete impasse, he took several steps back, leaned against the wall, and spoke lazily.

"The County Magistrate and the Registrar have long since vanished without a trace."

"All the officials have shirked responsibility, claiming illness and staying home. None of them are handling affairs. There are only three constables left now; even maintaining order in the county town depends on the 'white runners.' Everything outside the county town has been abandoned. Do you think we'll be able to stay out of it afterward?"

"We're grasshoppers tied to the same rope. Don't think that just because you did nothing, there'll be a way out for you! Do you know what it means to silence witnesses?"

Zhang Constable's words made Gao Fei regard him more highly. This square-faced man in his thirties was somewhat extraordinary.

Lu Xiaoliu was confused at this point.

"If those officials refuse to handle affairs, won't they fear punishment from the prefectural authorities afterward?"

"They won't. So long as people remain, someone will be needed to govern them. The government needs stability. They'll execute the ringleaders, symbolically punish the rest, and that will be the end of it."

Zhang Constable glanced at the person asking the question and still gave an explanation.

"There are only a few experts in the entire county town. Send word and summon them back."

"The Martial Suppression Guard's summons will be difficult to return... Calling them back would be easier than escaping Yueyang County."

The fat Constable Liu was no longer angry. "You can't even run out of the Dog Demon's territory!"

Gao Fei watched Constable Zhang and Constable Liu snap at the coward. It seemed they were not on the same side either.

The two paused for a moment, then Constable Liu turned to Gao Fei.

"If two Viscera Peak experts attacked together, it should work."

"Why are you looking at me? Even if I leave, I'll only have to hide everywhere. I'm not leaving. I'm going to kill demons."

"Haha! Ha... I've just heard the funniest joke in the entire county."

Constable Liu laughed so hard that the fat on his face trembled. He staggered back repeatedly and had already begun supporting himself against the wall.

After laughing for a while, he pointed at the young man who had just gotten to his feet.

"You're even worse than those two brothers. If it weren't for your second uncle, you'd have long since been turned into the constable chief's achievement..."

Constable Zhang, holding his saber, thought for a moment before interrupting the fat man who was still laughing.

"Every time we kill a demon, we can parade its corpse through the streets so the neighbors see it and build up a reputation for killing demons. That is also a way to survive."

"Everyone has family. If we leave our homes and are wanted by the imperial court, can we really live well?"

The unknown was the greatest fear. Constable Liu steadied his smile, but the fat on his face was still twitching from how wildly he had laughed.

"This can really work?" His eyes were fixed on Constable Zhang's square face.

"It's extremely dangerous! If we only kill those Minor Monsters that skulk about and have only just Awakened Intelligence, there's still a chance."

"Everything is dangerous. We have to do something."

Constable Liu tightened his grip on his saber and spoke to the young man who had just climbed up.

"Go. Out of the city!"

From the moment the kicked young man climbed off the ground until he left, he did not say a single word. Yet even his furtive glances could not conceal the hatred in his eyes.

Constable Zhang stood beside the mission wall, looking through the reports submitted to the county yamen by every village.

He tore down one sheet, then turned and left.

At this point, only Xiao Liu and Gao Fei remained in the county yamen, staring at each other.

"What are you looking at me for? Let's go!"

"Sir, where are we going?"

Gao Fei gave Xiao Liu a slap on the head.

"Kill demons!"

"I didn't bring a weapon..."

"The county yamen has them!"

"Can I not go?"

"No. I don't have much time left!"

Gao Fei picked through the reports of villages near the county town in the eastern direction, toward the Dog Demon, and began studying them.

Afterward, both of them carried large spears over their shoulders and Tang Sabers on their backs.

They had been starved badly last time, so this time, when they left the city, they bought some food to take along.

Gao Fei also intended to pay the steamed-bun money he had owed the breakfast stall since the first time he entered the city.

When Gao Fei said he was repaying the debt, the owner froze for a moment before taking out the account book.

"One hundred and thirty-two copper coins?"

Gao Fei looked completely dumbfounded. "Then I'll keep owing the rest!"

He tossed out ten copper coins, grabbed that day's steamed buns, and pulled Xiao Liu toward the city outskirts.

Just after passing the fork in the road outside the city gate, they saw five burly men leading five boys and girls of sixteen or seventeen northward.

The temples of the middle-aged burly man at the front bulged slightly. His Blood-Qi was vigorous, and his skin was somewhat pale, as though he spent his days soaking in water.

"Xiao Liu, let's change direction. Follow them."

The sight before them was all too familiar: delivering blood food.

If they went to the village, they might not find any demons. But if they followed these people, they would definitely find them.

The sun hung overhead, scorching and unbearable,

The boys and girls had to stop for water and rest after walking only a short distance. They were now hiding beneath a tree, unwilling to move.

"This is already the third rest. Get up, we're leaving right away. Otherwise, we won't make it back by nightfall."

The burly men were extremely impatient and hurriedly urged them on.

"These demons are such a nuisance. They actually demand them alive. What a bother."

"Stop grumbling. If the demons hear you, I won't be able to save you."

"Clever! Leave him behind, and you can go back."

At that moment, ten Rat Demons burst out from the grass beside the road. They stood on two hind legs, were around a meter tall, wielded short metal blades, and were small and nimble.

The burly man who had just complained was surrounded by Rat Demons that sprang from the grass. Wounds rapidly appeared on his legs, as though flesh were being carved away from bone, until white bone was quickly exposed.

A great deal of blood splashed out, while several rats stuffed the meat into their mouths.

"Smack! Smack!"

"The flesh of a Blood-Qi Realm cultivator is good. Nice and chewy."

"Ah!"

Only then did the burly man whose leg flesh had been stripped away feel the pain. He could not help crying out as he collapsed onto the ground. He drew his longsword and hurriedly guarded himself, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.

They had been close to the roadside, caught unprepared by a planned ambush. The burly men around him did not even have time to rescue him.

The leading burly man hurriedly shielded him. "He isn't blood food. Those few are."

A one-meter-tall Rat Demon walked out and pointed at the burly man sitting on the ground.

"Leave him behind, and you can go."

"We are servants of the Lin Family. This is merely a transaction. You'd best not bring trouble upon Yellow Great Immortal."

"Hmph! The Lin Family? They'll soon be unable to protect themselves. The county on the other side of the mountain has already become a blood-food breeding ground for our Demon Race. Soon it will be your turn. It's only a matter of time."

The leading burly man's face twisted with conflict. Amid the despair of the man sitting on the ground with his legs ruined, he stepped aside.

"We're leaving!"

"Let's fight them..."

The other three could not bear it, after all. They had grown up together in the Lin Family.

"Sir, I don't think we can beat them."

Lu Xiaoliu watched the Rat Demons' speed and spoke uneasily.

"You don't need to fight."

Gao Fei and the other stood behind a large boulder thirty zhang away.

As he spoke, he raised his spear and slowly moved closer.

He wanted to first ambush the Rat Demons' retreat route and save those boys and girls.

There were too many Rat Demons, and they were fast. Without an ambush, they would be difficult to fight.

After Gao Fei finished setting the ambush, the four remaining Lin Family servants had just retreated.

The remaining man was like a monkey laid out on a dining table, a can opened for the freshest first bite.

"So fresh! What a pity it can only satisfy the appetite and won't increase Blood-Qi."

In the end, the others still abandoned their brother.