Tracking the Trail

Hengyang County.

Hooves thundered, and the soldiers at the city gate spotted two riders charging toward them from afar.

The man in front was a hulking black mass, with iron spears fanned out like umbrella ribs across his back, seeming to bare their fangs and claws as he galloped.

"Stop!"

"Who goes there?"

"Close the gates! Close the gates!"

The gate officer shouted at the top of his lungs. Jing Prefecture lay on the northern frontier and had suffered repeated invasions by the Northern Rong.

This man was even bulkier than the strongest Northern Rong warrior they had ever seen. Had there not been a man in a brocade robe beside him, the guards would have loosed a few arrows to test him.

Neigh!

Both horses reared, coming to a halt before the gate.

"Haha, Brother Yan, you're not very welcome here."

The appearance Zhou Yi usually assumed was that of a handsome middle-aged man, slightly weathered, with a few gray strands in his black hair.

Surviving ten years in the Punishment Office Prison was already a miracle unmatched in the Demon-Slaying Bureau. If he still looked like a handsome youth, even a ghost would know something was wrong.

"You get used to it."

Yan Chixiao tossed over the token at his waist. "Demon-Expelling Commandant, Yan Chixiao."

The gate officer verified the token's authenticity and, examining Yan Chixiao up close, saw that he was no Northern Rong barbarian. He hurriedly called for the gates to be opened.

"Your token, Commandant."

The gate officer bowed as he returned it. The Demon-Slaying Bureau carried considerable weight anywhere in Great Qian.

"Well done."

Yan Chixiao flicked his reins and entered the city alongside Zhou Yi.

Hengyang was a major county in Jing Prefecture, second only to the commandery seat. After more than a year of demons and ghosts running rampant, it had become cold and deserted.

The streets, which should have been bustling, were almost empty. The occasional passerby hurried along with back bent and head tucked down.

Most shops had their doors and windows tightly shut, with signs announcing that they were temporarily closed. Some had even locked their main doors, their owners having fled elsewhere for refuge.

Zhou Yi and Yan Chixiao rode around the city, yet failed to find a single inn where they could stay.

"Brother Yan, how do you plan to track down the demons and ghosts?"

"Naturally, we'll go to Guning Commandery City and ask the Demon-Slaying Bureau branch," Yan Chixiao said. "They've managed to capture the creatures every time, so they must have some means of detecting them."

"A round trip would take three to five days. Someone else might be killed in the meantime."

Zhou Yi shook his head. "Before joining the Ministry of Works, I spent ten years as an executioner. I'm extremely sensitive to the scent of demons and ghosts. We need only ride around the county town once, and I'll know immediately whether any ghosts are here."

"An executioner?"

Yan Chixiao gave Zhou Yi a long look, then nodded in agreement. "That would be excellent."

They had ridden hard from Coiled Snake Mountain for three days and two nights to reach Hengyang County. Each had his own concerns, so the sooner they subdued the demons and exorcised the monsters, the better.

Hengyang County had three north-south thoroughfares and two running east-west. Riding along them all took only a little over two hours.

Zhou Yi's nose could not smell demons. He had merely invented an excuse while secretly employing a Heavenly Gang divine ability.

Wind-Calling and Rain-Summoning.

Magical power surged out of him, consuming nearly a tenth of his reserves.

Dark clouds gradually gathered in the previously clear sky, covering all of Hengyang County.

The wind howled, and thunder rumbled.

With his previous lesson in mind, Zhou Yi would not lightly bring down rain. He merely made use of the scents carried by the wind.

The wind swept through Hengyang County, reaching every hidden alley and every chamber and channel concealed underground.

Spirit Eye Technique, Qi-Reading Technique.

Wisps of aura drifted before his eyes, ninety-nine percent of them useless assorted scents.

A moment later, a faint wisp of red-black baleful intent drifted past on the wind.

South of the city!

Zhou Yi's mind settled. This was his first attempt at using a Heavenly Gang spell to track demons, and he had not been entirely confident.

Having found the source of the baleful intent, Zhou Yi remained silent and continued riding through the county town.

As they reached the southern part of the city, the aura on the wind grew increasingly strong, leading them to a large residence called the Cui Mansion.

Zhou Yi stopped his horse. "There's corpse aura."

The corpse aura felt somewhat familiar. He had slain a Silver Corpse not long ago, and its aura had been extremely similar.

"Let's take a look inside."

Yan Chixiao sprang up, his massive frame as nimble as a cat, slipping over the wall and into the residence without a sound.

Zhou Yi simply knocked on the front gate.

Knock, knock, knock, knock.

"Who is it?"

The gatekeeper opened a narrow crack. Only after seeing the shadow at Zhou Yi's feet did he ask, "What do you want?"

Zhou Yi displayed his token. "Demon-Slaying Bureau business. Open the gate!"

"Lord Commandant? Please, come in! I'll fetch the master."

The gatekeeper's face was filled with respect. Having repeatedly captured demons in Hengyang, the Demon-Slaying Bureau enjoyed a resounding reputation and had become the people's guardian deity.

Yan Chixiao climbed back over the wall and came in through the gate, puzzled. "Brother, why did you reveal yourself?"

"We're from the Demon-Slaying Bureau. Why shouldn't we use the front gate?"

Zhou Yi twitched his nose, sniffing this way and that. "The corpse aura comes from the rear courtyard..."

The inner quarters in the rear courtyard generally housed the women of the family, but with a demon to eliminate, there was no time to worry about etiquette.

Following the aura carried by the wind, Zhou Yi reached a dry well in the rear courtyard. Now, even without his wind-calling magic, the Qi-Reading Technique revealed a vicious, baleful corpse aura rising from it.

"The corpse demon is in this well..."

Before Zhou Yi could finish speaking.

Yan Chixiao drew an iron spear from his back. His muscles knotted as he poured true qi and strength into it.

Whoosh!

The iron spear tore through the air with a shriek.

Boom!

"Roar-"

Along with the crash came a corpse's roar.

Master Cui, who had just arrived, saw the Silver Corpse leap out of the dry well. His legs went weak, and he fled, stumbling and scrambling.

The Silver Corpse stood at the mouth of the well, his eyes crimson and his arms hanging to his knees. His silver-gray sinews and muscles lay exposed, and an iron spear protruded from his abdomen.

"Roar..."

Boom-

Another iron spear pierced the Silver Corpse's mouth with perfect accuracy, forcibly choking off the rest of his roar.

"Brother Zhou, stay back!"

Yan Chixiao's arms moved like the wind as he hurled eight iron spears in succession, pinning them into the Silver Corpse's body. Then he drew his massive sword and leaped into the air.

The simple, brutal stroke of Cleaving Mount Hua seemed truly capable of splitting a mountain in Yan Chixiao's hands.

"Hrr... hrr..."

Bristling with spears like a hedgehog, the Silver Corpse instinctively tried to leap aside as the massive sword descended.

"Halt!"

Yan Chixiao bellowed in midair. Rune Restrictions appeared on the iron spears, disrupting the Silver Corpse's movements.

Rrrip!

From left shoulder to right hip, the Silver Corpse was cleaved clean in two. Black corpse blood fell to the ground with a corrosive hiss.

"Whew-"

Yan Chixiao let out a long breath. In that flurry, swift as a hare springing and a falcon swooping, he had exhausted most of his strength.

"Impressive!"

Through the Spirit Eye Technique, Zhou Yi could see that Yan Chixiao's aura was a notch weaker than the Silver Corpse's. With the zombie's naturally copper-hard skin and iron bones, the Silver Corpse should have held the upper hand.

Who would have thought the Silver Corpse would fail to last even one exchange?

"Most demons aren't very bright. What's the point of roaring in a fight to the death? Kill enough of them, and it becomes easy."

Yan Chixiao planted his foot on the Silver Corpse and pulled the iron spears out one by one, not a drop of blood clinging to them.

"Hiss!"

The Silver Corpse, who should have been thoroughly dead, suddenly twisted his neck and bit toward Yan Chixiao's calf.

Corpse poison was among the most difficult deadly toxins to cure. Even if one barely managed to expel it, the meridians and flesh would suffer irreversible damage.

Crack-

A flash of lightning struck the Silver Corpse's face.

Dao Attainment increased by two years.

Having killed thousands upon thousands of demons, Zhou Yi could confidently say that he had long since mastered hundreds of techniques for stealing kills.

Yan Chixiao cupped his hands. "Thanks."

"Even if I hadn't intervened, Brother Yan, you wouldn't have been hurt."

Zhou Yi had seen the full armor worn by Demon-Expelling Commandants. Beneath Yan Chixiao's cloth garments, there was surely a layer of black iron leg armor.

Just then, a succession of footsteps approached, accompanied by noisy shouts.

"Where's the corpse demon?"

"Go investigate, quickly!"

"Ready the Demon-Capturing Net! Don't let the zombie escape!"

"The Corpse-Binding Chains! Keep them taut!"

"Put on your face guards! Watch out for corpse poison..."

A dozen or so Demon-Slaying Commandants arrived in the Cui household's rear courtyard, clad in full armor, their face guards exposing only their eyes.

They had brought a full complement of equipment: a Demon-Capturing Net specially designed for physically powerful demons, and Corpse-Binding Chains with four ends.

"So fast."

"Fully equipped, too. They're all skilled men of the Demon-Slaying Bureau."

Zhou Yi and Yan Chixiao exchanged a glance. Neither said anything more.

The dark clouds above Hengyang County gradually dispersed, and the sky cleared without a single drop of rain having fallen.

The anxious, frightened City God and Earth God finally relaxed. They dispatched the ghostly officers and servants under their command to investigate which ignorant Daoist had been running wild.

Anyone who brought rain without permission would be punished as a rebel. The previous warning remained vivid before their eyes.

Yan Chixia is one of Ergeng's favorite film and television characters: a big beard, a love of drinking, skilled swordsmanship, a chivalrous nature, a fondness for making friends, and a slayer of demons~