Three Demons Mountain by Night; Someone from the Demon Suppression Bureau Arrives

Yang Xiao stood in the courtyard, looking up at the night sky.

Dark clouds obscured the moon, stars were hidden, and the night wind carried a hint of chill.

The ape demon was dead, but there was still a bull demon of unfathomable strength within Three-Demon Mountain, one that even the ape demon and the pig demon held in absolute dread.

Thinking of the ape demon's threat before its death, how many common folk in Xiangyun County would suffer if it came down the mountain?

Yang Xiao took a deep breath; he simply refused to consume the psychological pressure brought by such a hidden danger.

He turned and went back inside.

He changed into a new set of chief constable robes, hung the Spring Embroidery Saber at his waist, and stuffed a few dry rations and a waterskin into his bosom.

After equipping the ape demon's inner core, his realm had already broken through to Twelfth Qi Gathering Orifice Perfection.

Perhaps there would be greater certainty once the people of the Demon Suppression Division arrived.

Yet this step, he did not wish to wait for.

Rather than waiting for the bull demon to descend the mountain and cause irreversible disaster, it was better to take the initiative now while it still did not know the ape demon was dead.

Yang Xiao pushed open the courtyard door, his figure melting into the night.

At the city gates.

Two gate-guarding soldiers were yawning, leaning against the wall and dozing.

Suddenly, a dark figure walked over from within the city.

"Halt! The city gates are closed, leave the city at daybreak tomorrow!" one soldier barked, tightening his grip on the hilt of his saber at the same time.

The dark figure stopped, revealing a young face.

"I am Yang Xiao, leaving the city on urgent business."

The two soldiers started, recognizing Yang Xiao's face through the dim lamplight.

"Head Constable Yang? Where are you going so late?"

"Three-Demon Mountain."

The pupils of the two soldiers abruptly dilated; was that not the place where demons infested?

"Head Constable Yang, there... there are great demons there!"

One soldier's voice trembled slightly.

"I know."

Yang Xiao's voice was calm. "That is why I must go."

The two soldiers exchanged glances, both seeing shock in the other's eyes.

Head Constable Yang was going to slay a great demon?

And alone in the middle of the night?

"Head Constable Yang, sh... should we call a few more men?"

"No need." Yang Xiao waved a hand. "Right, help me tell the magistrate tomorrow not to waste manpower searching for me."

"I should be able to come down the mountain before sunset tomorrow."

With that, not waiting for the two of them to respond, his figure vanished into the night.

The two soldiers stood blankly at the city gates, watching the direction in which Yang Xiao had departed, unable to collect their thoughts for a long time.

"He... he actually went?"

"Head Constable Yang... he has such daring!"

The following day, early morning.

On the official highway leading to Xiangyun County, a party of eleven was riding forward.

Leading them was a middle-aged man in dark-ink martial attire, a long saber hanging at his waist, with a stern countenance and eyes like a hawk.

The ten men behind him were all elites of the Demon Suppression Division, every one of them exuding steady auras—clearly all skilled fighters.

"Flag Officer Shen, ahead is Xiangyun County."

"Mn."

Shen Qingyang nodded, taking a volume of records from the pack on his horse's back and flipping through it.

"Xiangyun County, frequent demon activity recently."

"Rat calamity in Liu Family Village to the west suburb, packs of dog demons in Wang Village to the east suburb, missing persons cases in Li Family Hamlet to the north suburb..."

"According to the records, at least four Qi Gathering Realm demons are entrenched here."

Another tough fellow clicked his tongue. "Four Qi Gathering Realm demons? It's not easy for this Xiangyun County to have lasted until now."

"Sir, you are in the Liquid Condensation Realm, so taking them down should be effortless by comparison."

"We must first figure out the demons' situation before formulating an encirclement plan," Shen Mo said indifferently. "These packs of demons live extremely long lives, and it is inevitable they will have troublesome methods."

He was always steady and never arrogant.

"By convention, this scale of demon plague takes about two or three days to finish handling." Shen Qingyang closed the case files, lightly nudging his horse's flanks.

"By the way, let's see if Xiangyun County has any suitable candidates to bring back to the Demon Suppression Division."

"Does the flag officer reckon we can pick out a few?"

"At most two or three, and that's lowering the bar."

Shen Qingyang's tone was very flat. "In a remote little county like this, it's already quite something if a young man at the Seventh Layer of Body Forging can be produced."

The group nodded, unsurprised by this.

The selections of the Demon Suppression Division had always been strict; not just anyone could enter.

"Right, the records mentioned there is a new constable in Xiangyun County named Yang Xiao..."

One member was looking through the materials in his hands. "He is said to be a young man who has beheaded quite a few demons recently."

"Oh?"

Shen Qingyang grew somewhat interested. "How many has he beheaded?"

"The Liu Family Village rat calamity saw nine rat demons slain, the Wang Village dog demon calamity saw thirty-seven dog demons plus a Qi Gathering Realm old dog slain; the records stopped writing here three days ago."

The member grew more astonished the more he read. "This... this battle record, is it true?"

A trace of surprise flashed in Shen Qingyang's eyes.

If true, this Yang Xiao indeed possessed some skill.

"We will verify it when we reach Xiangyun County." He spurred his horse to accelerate, having worked up a bit of interest. "To the county yamen first."

By the time Shen Qingyang and his party arrived, the county magistrate was anxiously gazing out from the city gates.

"My lords have finally arrived!" The magistrate hurried forward to greet them, his face full of eager enthusiasm. "This official has been waiting for a long time!"

Shen Qingyang dismounted in one fluid motion and cupped his fists. "Shen Qingyang, Flag Officer of the Qingzhou Demon Suppression Division under Cuiyun Circuit."

"Sorry for the trouble, Flag Officer Shen!"

The magistrate repeatedly cupped his fists. "Please come inside, please come inside!"

The group entered the county yamen, and the magistrate ordered people to prepare tea and pastries, entertaining them with extreme servility.

Shen Qingyang looked around, his brow slightly furrowed.

"Magistrate, where is your esteemed county's constable roster?"

The magistrate's expression shifted, and he heaved a sigh.

"You wouldn't understand, Lord Shen, but yesterday evening, the county town suffered a surprise attack by demons..."

Shen Qingyang's pupils contracted.

"What demons were they?"

"They were ape demons from Three-Demon Mountain, great demons of the Qi Gathering Realm!"

The magistrate's voice carried a hint of trembling. "Head Constable Zhang Hu was heavily wounded and his life remains uncertain, while Second Constable Li Tie... colluded with the demons and died on the spot."

Shen Qingyang's expression sank.

Qi Gathering demons had actually grown arrogant enough to directly launch a surprise attack on the county town?

The demon plague in this Xiangyun County was even more severe than what was recorded in the files!

"And that ape demon?"

"It has already been slain by Yang Xiao." A trace of pride flashed in the magistrate's eyes as he added, "Yang Xiao did it alone, striking down the ape demon right in the main hall of the county yamen."

A trace of surprise flashed in Shen Qingyang's eyes.

Mere runners of a small county slaying a Qi Gathering demon all alone?

This Yang Xiao truly had some skill; he suddenly found himself looking forward to meeting this young man.

"Where is Head Constable Yang right now?"

The magistrate's expression turned peculiar.

"This..." He hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Last night, Head Constable Yang left the city."

"Left the city?"

Shen Qingyang furrowed his brow. "Where did he go?"

"Three-Demon Mountain."

The magistrate's voice lowered, carrying a trace of helplessness on his face. "He didn't tell me, he left the city alone under the cover of darkness last night..."

Shen Qingyang's expression abruptly shifted.

"He went alone?"

"Yes."

Shen Qingyang took a deep breath and abruptly stood up.

"Folly!"

His voice dropped low. "What kind of existence is the bull demon? That is an ancient demon that has lived for hundreds of years, its strength far surpassing ordinary Qi Gathering Realm!"

"A Qi Gathering realm cultivator going to throw his life away alone?"

The numerous Demon Suppression Guards below looked at each other, their expressions even more bizarre.

"Entering the demon mountains alone at night, just how many guts does this kid have growing in him?"

"Leaving aside whether he can come back alive, this fellow has real guts! He's a true man!"

"Let's go search earlier, maybe we can still pick up his corpse..."

Listening to everyone's words, the magistrate turned pale, his hands trembling slightly.

Shen Qingyang turned his gaze toward the door, his eyes profound.

It was now the hour of Si, four or five hours having already passed since Yang Xiao left the city.

At Yang Xiao's pace, he should already be deep within Three-Demon Mountain by now.

"Flag Officer Shen, we..." a man asked inquiringly.

Shen Qingyang did not hesitate, directly issuing an order.

"Everyone, depart immediately!"

"Target Three-Demon Mountain! Make sure to find Yang Xiao—alive we want to see the man, dead we want to see... his corpse."

The ten Demon Suppression Guards answered in unison, "Yes!"

Shen Mo strode quickly into the courtyard, mounted his horse in one leap, and cast his gaze toward the direction of Three-Demon Mountain.

That young man had great daring, and no small amount of skill either.

Yet if he truly faced the bull demon alone... it was far from enough.

"Hyah!"

Shen Mo squeezed his horse's flanks, his warhorse letting out a neigh as it rushed out through the gates of the county yamen.

The ten team members followed closely behind, their hoofbeats sounding like thunder and kicking up a trail of dust and smoke.

The magistrate stood at the door, watching the retreating backs of the Demon Suppression Division party, pressing his palms together in a silent prayer.

"Head Constable Yang, you must hold on..."