Madam Bamboo

"You're right!" Jin Jun, who had just been looking grief-stricken and at a loss, stood up and burst out laughing.

"The emperor's life really is valuable. If someone told me killing someone could extend the emperor's life, I'd take that person's life for him immediately. But if it took my life in exchange, I think the emperor should be the one to die."

"General Li, what do you think?" He spread his hands slightly and looked at the military cultivator.

The military cultivator's face turned cold again, his eyes filled with nothing but a vast, murderous aura.

"The military school is loyal to the Great Yong dynasty and to every reigning emperor."

"Since His Majesty has reached the point where he needs a Three Corpses Pill to extend his life, he is no longer the emperor. Our true sovereign is His Highness the crown prince. Killing the Human Cook today means purging the crown prince's court of an evil influence."

With that, he turned his saber around and placed its hilt in the hand of the Demon-Slaying Bureau squad leader who had suffered a mental collapse.

A fierce, murderous aura entered the squad leader's body. He stopped crying at once, and violent feelings rose in his heart.

"Kill the Human Cook and put His Majesty on the throne!" he shouted.

The military cultivator's weapon, filled with murderous aura, passed from hand to hand. Before long, the violence in everyone's hearts had been magnified, and they were all clamoring to go out and kill the Human Cook.

Seeing that the people could be put to use, Jin Jun waved his hand and said:

"Form your own teams, five to a group, and spread out toward the blood pool and meat forest. Remember, if you encounter the weird, avoid fighting them head-on whenever possible. Deal with the Human Cook first. Destroy the Blood-Boiling Grand Array.

"Remember, the Human Cook is the core of the Blood-Boiling Grand Array. Killing him will stop everything."

With that, he picked three people at random from the crowd and had them join him and the military cultivator. Their team was the first to slip away toward the blood pool and meat forest.

Xu Chunliang pulled Shi Qin aside and picked three colleagues he usually got along with reasonably well. Together, they left the Demon-Slaying Bureau.

He had accomplished what he had returned to the Demon-Slaying Bureau to do. Now that he knew the source of all the problems, what he could do was keep trying, making mistakes, and rolling back. Find a chance to kill the Human Cook, then put an end to it all.

As for the others in the Demon-Slaying Bureau, as long as they could create confusion for the enemy and clear out the lackeys, that would solve a major problem.

The emperor... heh heh.

Xu Chunliang sneered inwardly.

If you don't die on your own, I'll find you and send you to your death myself...

He once again burst into silent laughter.

Outside the Demon-Slaying Bureau, the city remained shrouded in darkness. Screams and shrill, dreadful laughter echoed through the night from time to time, making all of Fan City look like a vast hell.

"Xiao Liang, do you think we can deal with the Human Cook this time? Someone from the imperial palace must be very powerful, not to mention all those weird creatures brought forth by that Weird Madness Qi," Shi Qin said worriedly.

"The Human Cook..."

"We'll deal with him."

A vast blood-colored light and murderous aura rose ahead to the left, along with a Solar Halo bright as sunlight. Xu Chunliang knew that meant Flag Officer Jin Jun's team had encountered the weird.

He pointed ahead to the right and whispered, "The weird should be drawn to the commotion they're making. We'll go this way."

With that, Xu Chunliang led the way into the darkness. Shi Qin and the other three hurried after him.

Perhaps Jin Jun and his team really had drawn the weird away. Xu Chunliang and his companions walked two blocks from the Demon-Slaying Bureau without encountering any.

As they entered the third alley, Xu Chunliang quietly stopped.

A bamboo grove had appeared at some point on what should have been a broad road, with a bamboo house nestled among the stalks.

Looking ahead, he saw that the bamboo house was brightly lit and full of moving figures, yet not a sound came from it.

Xu Chunliang pointed to the right and said in a low voice, "Let's go around."

They traveled a hundred meters south and reached the next alley, where Xu Chunliang stopped again.

They had clearly changed alleys, yet the bamboo grove was still there, and so was the bamboo house.

It stood quietly in the middle of the alley, blocking Xu Chunliang and the others' path.

"Let's try another way around." Xu Chunliang led the four of them farther south.

Five minutes later, Xu Chunliang stopped and sighed. "Looks like we can't get around it."

He drew his small brass knife and led the way toward the bamboo grove. Shi Qin and the other three drew their blades as well. With Xu Chunliang at the front, the five formed a flying-geese formation and quietly made their way into the grove.

As soon as they entered the bamboo grove, whoosh!

A breeze blew past, sending bamboo leaves falling from overhead.

"Xiao Liang, those bamboo leaves seem to be telling us something." Watching the falling leaves, Shi Qin slowly read aloud:

"Pass~ through~ the~ bamboo~ sea, come~ to~ the~ bamboo~ house, meet~ Madam~ Bamboo, and~ you~ may~ pass."

Madam Bamboo? What a show of spooky tricks. Xu Chunliang mocked her inwardly and led the way in.

The lights in the distant bamboo house went out, and the grove gradually grew dark. Black bamboo leaves bared their claws in the darkness like tiny blades.

Xu Chunliang and the other four spread out, keeping five paces apart as they advanced slowly and carefully, steady and determined. The only sound left in the grove was the quiet tread of the five as they made their way onward.

Only after venturing deep into the bamboo grove could they sense how vast and towering it was.

Its tops were out of sight, its depths beyond measure.

After walking for who knew how long, Xu Chunliang looked up. The bamboo around him seemed to be thick and tall enough to pierce the sky. Even the nearest leaf appeared to be thirty or forty meters above him.

The bamboo house that had just been right before their eyes had become a small mountain on the distant horizon.

"This bamboo is so tall." Shi Qin, beside him, had noticed the same thing. He reached out and patted a bamboo stalk thicker than a car.

The bamboo gave a crisp sound.

"Yeah. How did we not notice before? This bamboo is so tall and thick." A squad leader named Chen Ge spread his arms to measure a bamboo shoot beside him, then added, "A bamboo shoot this big could feed me for two months."

As he spoke, the bamboo leaves at his feet began to tremble, making a continuous rumbling sound. A leaf twice his size heaved.

Startled, Chen Ge raised his saber in front of him and stood guard.

Then he saw an enormous monster.

It was blackish gray, fat and thickset. Its front claws were scarlet, and its five spread toes looked like five huge red tentacles.

Above a pair of withered yellow fangs were two black eyes, each several times larger than a human head.

Even lying on the leaf, it was five times taller than Xu Chunliang and the others.

Chen Ge backed away repeatedly.

Xu Chunliang gazed thoughtfully at the monster before him. It looked somewhat familiar.

He frowned and thought it over before slapping his forehead.

"Oh, it's you."

So it was you...

A friendly trickle of drool ran from Xu Chunliang's mouth.

The huge monster could not help trembling.

The voice of a friend he had never met sounded in his ears:

"Guys, this bamboo rat got heatstroke. We tried to save it, but it still didn't make it, so we had no choice but to roast it by the river..."