Following the principle of making up for insufficient strength with brains, Cheng Yu did not immediately let on that he had recognized Ji Han's voice.
He asked cautiously,
"Who are you?"
The voice sounded somewhat weak. She said self-mockingly,
"I'm Ji Han."
What followed was the real Ji Han's account, which more or less matched Cheng Yu's guesses. The fake Ji Han was an important figure in the Demon-Worshipping Cult. Just how important was unclear, but presumably her position in the cult was far from low.
At the fake Ji Han's direction, the Demon-Worshipping Cult had kept stirring up trouble around the county town, diverting the attention of its Demon Suppression Bureau. Then, when the real Ji Han went to investigate, the impostor captured her and took her place.
What Cheng Yu had not expected was that barely anyone in the county town's Demon Suppression Bureau was a genuine member anymore. The Demon-Worshipping Cult had replaced them all!
Cheng Yu frowned and asked,
"How can you be sure?"
The real Ji Han said self-mockingly,
"To avoid repeating what happened to Stillwater, I took every expert in the county town's Demon Suppression Bureau with me that time. Now I've been captured. If the situation in town really hasn't changed at all, as you said, then that's the only possibility."
The cell on Cheng Yu's other side seemed to hold Gongliang She and his junior martial sister. He had no idea when they had woken up, but apparently they had heard his conversation with the real Ji Han, because Gongliang She interjected,
"If that's true, the Demon-Worshipping Cult has probably changed its means of survival."
Without waiting for anyone to ask, Gongliang She continued speaking from the neighboring cell.
"From year ten of the Peacock Calendar until now, the Demon-Worshipping Cult has