Signs of Demons

Early in the morning, at the city gates of Xiangyun County.

Yang Xiao led his horse, followed by four young Yamen Runners: Zhao Tieniu, Sun Ming, Zhou Qiang, and Zhou Gang.

These four men were the subordinates who had previously accompanied Yang Xiao on his patrol to Wang Village, and now they completely admired him.

Hearing that Yang Xiao was going to Li Family Hamlet, they galloped over to assemble without a second thought.

"Head Constable Yang, are we going to Li Family Hamlet today?" Zhao Tieniu asked.

"Right." Yang Xiao nodded. "There's a missing persons case in Li Family Hamlet, and the situation is quite serious."

Sun Ming blinked, recalling Yang Xiao's divine and mighty display, and said with a trace of disdain, "I heard Constable Li Tie has been stationed over there and hasn't solved this matter after three months. What a complete waste of space."

Brothers Zhou Qiang and Zhou Gang followed behind in silence.

Yang Xiao mounted his horse, cutting short the idle chatter of the group.

"Let's move out."

The four men mounted their horses one after another and followed Yang Xiao along the official road toward the northern suburbs.

Li Family Hamlet was located in the northern suburbs of Xiangyun County, about thirty miles from the county seat.

The group rode on horseback, moving at a fast pace.

About an hour later, Yang Xiao saw the outline of a village in the distance.

"That's Li Family Hamlet," Zhao Tieniu pointed ahead.

Yang Xiao narrowed his eyes, sizing up the village.

The village was not small, with around a hundred households, their houses scattered in an orderly fashion at the foot of the mountain.

Surrounded by farmland and woods, it looked no different from any other village.

The group pressed on, soon arriving at the village entrance.

On the road at the entrance, several villagers were laboring away.

Seeing Yang Xiao's group, they halted their work, their gazes landing on Yang Xiao.

Yang Xiao noticed that the eyes of these villagers carried an emotion that was difficult to conceal.

It was not awe toward officials, but rather... alienation.

"Do their eyes seem a bit off when they look at us?" Sun Ming asked in a low voice.

Yang Xiao did not answer, a trace of doubt rising in his heart as well.

The reaction of these villagers was indeed somewhat strange.

Under normal circumstances, villagers seeing Yamen Runners and constables from the County Yamen might not be full of awe, but at the very least they shouldn't be alienated.

Yet the gazes of these villagers were like undisturbed ripples on water, utterly numb.

"Head Constable Yang is here!"

A familiar voice reached them.

Yang Xiao looked up and saw Li Tie walking out from the village with a smile on his face.

"Thanks for the effort, thanks for the effort." Li Tie walked up and patted Yang Xiao's shoulder. "You've traveled such a long way, get some rest first."

"No rush."

Yang Xiao said, "Let's understand the situation first."

"Uh, right." Li Tie's expression paused, as if he hadn't expected Yang Xiao to be so conscientious.

"Then let's head to the Runner Guardroom first, and I'll brief you on the situation here."

Li Tie led Yang Xiao and his group into the village.

The group arrived at a house in the middle of the village, with a sign reading "Runner Guardroom" hanging at the entrance.

Li Tie pushed the door open to find several Yamen Runners resting inside.

"Get up, all of you, and pay your respects to Head Constable Yang," Li Tie called out.

The several Yamen Runners stood up one after another and saluted Yang Xiao.

"Head Constable Yang."

Yang Xiao nodded, his gaze sweeping over these Yamen Runners.

There were about eight or nine of them, their realms ranging from the Body Forging 4th Layer to the Body Forging 6th Layer.

Their strength wasn't formidable, but it was enough to handle ordinary Demons.

"Head Constable Yang, sit down and rest for a bit." Li Tie invited Yang Xiao to sit and then began to brief him on the situation.

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"The missing persons cases in Li Family Hamlet started three months ago at the earliest."

"At first, it was chickens and ducks going missing, and we thought wild beasts were acting up, so we didn't pay much attention to it. Later, horses and cattle started disappearing too, which made us start taking it seriously."

"We sent people out to patrol and investigate, but we never found any clues."

"Then later... people started going missing."

Li Tie sighed, fatigue showing on his face.

"Up until now, fifteen villagers have gone missing."

"They are neither seen alive nor dead as corpses—not even their bodies can be found."

Yang Xiao frowned slightly. "Were there any traces at the scenes?"

"None." Li Tie shook his head. "There were no signs of a struggle at any of the scenes, and the missing people just vanished into thin air."

"We suspect Demons are at work, but we've never found any trace of a Demon."

"I arranged for Yamen Runners to patrol and investigate during the day, and I kept watch and stood guard myself at night."

"But one person simply can't handle it all. Running back and forth day and night without a break, my energy can't keep up."

Hearing this, Yang Xiao pondered inwardly.

No signs of a struggle, people vanishing into thin air...

This certainly looked like the work of Demons.

Yet what kind of Demon could pull off something to this extent?

"Are there any clues regarding the Demons?" Yang Xiao asked.

"None."

Yang Xiao nodded, thought for a moment, and asked.

"Constable Li, how is the daily patrol schedule arranged?"

"I usually arrange for the Yamen Runners to be split into two groups—one group patrols during the day, and one group keeps watch at night." Li Tie crossed his arms. "I generally stay around day and night, occasionally returning to the County Yamen to report back."

"Now that Head Constable Yang is here, you can help share some of the burden."

"Good." Yang Xiao nodded.

Li Tie stood up and walked toward the door. "I'll arrange a room for you first. Later, you can join our patrols to get familiar with the surrounding environment."

"Since you've had a tiring journey, you won't need to patrol tonight."

Yang Xiao nodded and said nothing more.

Li Tie led Yang Xiao and his group to a house in the southern part of the village.

Yang Xiao walked inside and looked around.

The house was not large, but it was reasonably clean, with a few beds and simple tables and chairs.

In the afternoon, Li Tie led Yang Xiao and the five of them to familiarize themselves with the environment around the village.

"This is the east of the village; most of the missing people lived around this area," Li Tie pointed at several houses as he spoke.

"This is the west of the village. Several households raise cattle and horses—this was also where livestock first went missing."

"The north of the village borders the mountain forest. We suspect Demons might be coming out from the mountains, and many nearby villagers have already moved away." Li Tie gestured vaguely into the distance without going in deep.

Yang Xiao listened while observing the surrounding environment.

The layout of the village was not complicated, with over a hundred households distributed at the foot of the mountain.

It was surrounded by farmland and woods, and the north of the village bordered the mountain forest.

If Demons were coming out of the mountains, it was indeed possible for them to enter the village.

Yet the strange thing was that ever since the disappearances began, people in the village basically stopped leaving it altogether, yet people still kept going missing.

Could this indicate that the Demons were very likely lurking right within the village?

Yang Xiao pondered silently, but did not voice his thoughts.

The group continued to tour the village, and Li Tie gave a detailed introduction to the situation in each area.

Judging solely by his earnest explanation, one truly could not spot anything out of the ordinary.

The sky gradually grew dark, the setting sun dipped below the horizon, and the village was enshrouded in twilight.

"It's getting late. I've already arranged some food and wine—would Head Constable Yang be willing to grace us with your presence?" Li Tie invited with a smile.

Just as Yang Xiao was about to speak, his brow suddenly furrowed.

A faint aura drifted into his nostrils.

That was... Demonic Qi!