Everyone I Could Kill in the Account Book, You Already Killed

The County Yamen's gates stood wide open.

Yang Xiao walked shoulder to shoulder with Shen Qingyang, six Demon Suppression Guards behind them. Farther back, four men led horses laden with the Bull Demon's corpse.

The group crossed the main street. Along the way, townspeople stopped to bow.

"Head Constable Yang is back!"

"Is that Head Constable Yang? Walking with someone from the Demon Suppression Division?"

"Good heavens, Head Constable Yang's on equal footing with a lord from the Demon Suppression Division now..."

Whispers followed them without end. Yang Xiao's expression remained unchanged; he merely nodded in acknowledgment.

He showed almost no sign of injury. His clothes were a little dirty, and his cuffs bore grease stains from roast meat and black marks from charcoal. He looked more like he had gone on a picnic.

But the Bull Demon's head on the cart behind him was bigger than a millstone.

The guards at the city gate had been struck dumb. They even forgot to inspect the group and simply watched them enter.

The County Yamen.

News had arrived before the men did.

Word that the Ape Demon had attacked the County Yamen, Zhang Hu had been badly wounded, and Li Tie had betrayed them and been killed had spread through the compound last night.

This morning brought news that Yang Xiao had gone alone to Three-Demon Mountain in the dead of night to kill the Bull Demon. The entire County Yamen was in a panic.

The Head Constable lay gravely wounded, his fate uncertain. The Second Constable had betrayed them and been killed. The Third Constable was still recovering, and the Fourth Constable had gone alone to kill a great demon of the Liquid Condensation Realm...

The remaining Yamen Runners were at a complete loss.

Just then, footsteps sounded at the courtyard gate.

Everyone looked up. Yang Xiao walked in.

Behind him came a stern-faced middle-aged man in black fighting clothes, a long saber at his waist. His presence was as steady and deep as an abyss.

The more perceptive Yamen Runners felt that pressure at once and instinctively held their breath.

"The Demon Suppression Division!"

No one knew who shouted it, but the courtyard erupted.

Yamen Runners poured out from every corner. Some still carried the stone locks they had been training with; others had not even dressed properly. All of them stared into the courtyard.

Then they saw Yang Xiao walking beside Shen Qingyang.

The courtyard fell silent for a moment.

"Head... Head Constable Yang?"

A young Yamen Runner stammered, disbelief in his voice.

Yang Xiao nodded to him. "Mm. I'm back."

Just three simple words, yet they struck everyone with the weight of a thousand jun.

He had come back from Three-Demon Mountain.

He had come back alive from a great demon of the Qi Gathering Realm.

"Head Constable Yang!"

A hoarse, excited voice rang out from behind the crowd.

Wang Dagui hobbled out of the Side Room on crutches. Bandages still covered his face; his wounds were far from healed.

His eyes reddened and his lips trembled. He stared at Yang Xiao for a long time before finally forcing out a sentence.

"I knew it... I knew you'd come back alive!"

Wang Dagui's voice caught in his throat.

He had seen Yang Xiao slaughter thirty-seven Dog Demons single-handedly. Even then, he had known this young man was no ordinary man.

But going alone to kill a Bull Demon of the Qi Gathering Realm?

Truth be told, he had not slept a wink after hearing the news last night. He had tossed and turned, thinking it over, and the more he thought, the more certain he became that Yang Xiao was unlikely to survive.

Now Yang Xiao stood before him. No reassurance could have done more.

Yang Xiao looked at Wang Dagui and gave a small nod.

"Head Constable Wang, how are your wounds healing?"

"They won't kill me!" Wang Dagui wiped his face, his voice rough. "But you... that Bull Demon..."

His gaze went past Yang Xiao to the enormous head on the cart outside the courtyard gate. His pupils contracted sharply.

Those curved horns were thicker than his thighs.

"You really killed it?"

"I did."

Wang Dagui drew a deep breath, his chest rising and falling violently. Only after a long while did he slowly exhale. He patted Yang Xiao's shoulder, unable to say another word.

The County Magistrate arrived quickly.

He practically ran out from the rear hall, too hurried even to straighten his crooked official hat.

"Yang Xiao!"

The County Magistrate seized Yang Xiao's arm and looked him over several times. Only after confirming he was unhurt did he let out a long breath of relief.

"How... how dare you go to Three-Demon Mountain alone!"

The County Magistrate was both anxious and angry, his voice rising out of pitch. "Zhang Hu is badly wounded, Li Tie betrayed us, and if anything had happened to you too, Xiangyun County... Xiangyun County would have been finished!"

Yang Xiao could feel the County Magistrate's hand trembling.

Though the man came from a civil official's background, he genuinely cared for the County Yamen's Yamen Runners.

Years ago, Yang Dayong had died protecting the people. In recognition of his service, the County Magistrate had allowed Yang Xiao to follow in his father's footsteps. Yang Xiao had never forgotten that kindness.

"Rest assured, my lord," Yang Xiao said calmly. "The Demon Plague on Three-Demon Mountain has been completely eliminated."

The County Magistrate opened his mouth to speak, but in the end, he merely gave Yang Xiao's shoulder a heavy pat.

He turned to Shen Qingyang, straightened his appearance, and bowed with clasped hands.

"The County Magistrate of Xiangyun County greets Flag Officer Shen."

Shen Qingyang nodded slightly. "No need for ceremony, County Magistrate. I was ordered here to deal with Xiangyun County's Demon Plague. From the look of things..."

He glanced at Yang Xiao, and the corner of his mouth twitched. "The situation is far better than I expected."

The County Magistrate smiled wryly, though his face was full of pride. "All thanks to Head Constable Yang."

In the courtyard.

The Yamen Runners gradually dispersed, but their eyes remained on Yang Xiao.

Those who had once looked down on him now felt pressured just meeting his gaze.

What sort of man had Yang Xiao been before?

Afraid of death, always slacking off, always shrinking back whenever a dangerous assignment came up. Who had not known Yang Xiao was a coward?

But now?

From the Body Forging Realm Rat Demon to the Dog Demons of Wang Village, from the man-eating Pig Demon to the Ape Demon that attacked the County Yamen, he had even gone alone into the distant mountains to slaughter a great demon.

Single-handedly, he had killed his way through the demons around Xiangyun County, from the weakest to the strongest!

Several Yamen Runners who had once mocked Yang Xiao alongside Hu Kai huddled in a corner, hardly daring to breathe.

They suddenly realized something: Yang Xiao was now an expert of the Qi Gathering Realm, while none of them had even reached the Body Forging Realm Seventh Stage.

The young man before them could crush them with one finger.

At the back of the crowd.

Hu Kai stood in the shadow of a corridor pillar, his fists clenched tight.

He watched Yang Xiao walk into the main hall beside Shen Qingyang. He watched the County Magistrate personally come out to greet him, Wang Dagui become so excited he could barely speak, and the Yamen Runners who had once laughed at Yang Xiao with him fall silent as winter cicadas.

His nails dug into his palms, drawing blood, but he did not notice.

He had once looked down on Yang Xiao, thinking him worthless, unfit even to carry his shoes.

Now, though, Yang Xiao had risen beyond anyone he could hope to catch.

The main hall.

The County Magistrate had tea served and invited Shen Qingyang to the seat of honor.

Shen Qingyang accepted. Once seated, he went straight to the point.

"County Magistrate, I have two tasks on this trip. The first is to clear the demons from around Xiangyun County. The second is to select suitable people to bring back to the Qingzhou Demon Suppression Division."

He paused, his gaze passing over the thick stack of demon records on the desk.

"First, tell me about the Demon Plague."

The County Magistrate hurriedly had the records brought over and handed them to Shen Qingyang himself.

Shen Qingyang casually opened to the first page. He paused, then kept turning. His eyes narrowed at what he found farther in, and he flipped through the pages faster and faster, all the way to the last one.

He was silent for a moment before looking up at Yang Xiao, his expression complicated.

"Before I came, I thought I'd have to clean up Xiangyun County's mess."

Shen Qingyang set the records on the table with a dull thud.

"But now, everyone in the Account Book I could have killed, you've already killed."

The County Magistrate gave a couple of dry laughs, unsure what to say.

Yang Xiao held his tea bowl, his expression unchanged. "You're too kind, Lord Shen."

"Too kind?" Shen Qingyang looked at him. "Do you know how many pleas for help Qingzhou receives from its counties every year? More than a few hundred.

"And how many of them manage to solve their own problems in the end?"

He held up one finger.

"Not one."

"Every county waits for the Demon Suppression Division to clean up after it. Xiangyun County is the only one where the job was done before I even arrived."

Shen Qingyang shook his head. Even now, it seemed a little unreal to him.

He opened the records again and studied them page by page, as though checking whether these feats had been made up.

Shen Qingyang closed the records and took a deep breath.

"Yang Xiao, how old are you this year?"

"Eighteen."

Shen Qingyang fell silent.

Eighteen years old, and already at the Qi Gathering Realm Twelve Apertures.

In all his years at the Demon Suppression Division, he had seen plenty of geniuses, but someone like Yang Xiao was as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns.

Shen Qingyang rose and swept his gaze over everyone in the hall. "Tomorrow, I'll select suitable candidates from the Yamen Runners to return with me to the Qingzhou Demon Suppression Division."

"Sorry for the trouble, County Magistrate, but please tell them to gather in the main courtyard."

The County Magistrate nodded repeatedly. "Rest assured, Flag Officer Shen. I'll arrange it now."

Shen Qingyang gave a slight nod, rose, and headed outside.

"Come on. Let's see how your Head Constable is doing. If his injuries are severe, we'll need to send for more people."