Chapter 28 - 22: Snake Demon
"..."
Ling Ye was speechless for a moment.
She had never seen someone so brazenly admit to getting in through connections.
’Looks like the Hu State Demon-slaying Bureau is just a ragtag operation, even worse than I imagined.’
’No wonder a Great Demon managed to slip in while their guard was down the other day.’
She suppressed the flicker of impatience in her heart and said coldly,
"Gather all the registered members of your Eighth Hall immediately. I have a mission that requires your cooperation."
A Patrol Envoy’s Cultivation Level was typically at the Seventh Realm or higher, their strength roughly equivalent to a Bureau Chief.
They had no interest in official posts, preferring to travel and slay Demon Fiends.
Occasionally, they would assist in capturing Demon Fiends that had escaped from the city.
If they encountered trouble while dealing with a Demon, they had the authority to commandeer the local Demon-slaying Bureau for support.
However, a portion of the final credit had to be shared with the commandeered bureau.
"Um..."
Jiang Mu blinked. "My lady, you’re looking at the entire staff of the Eighth Hall."
?
Ling Ye froze. "Three people?"
"That’s right."
"..."
The woman felt a tightness in her chest, the front of her robes trembling violently.
"A whole hall, and there are only three of you? This is absurd! Is the Hu State Demon-slaying Bureau slaying demons or playing house?!"
’What a complete waste of time.’
The woman turned and walked away, her tight-fitting clothes tracing a seductive curve along her slender, shapely waist as she moved.
The three men looked at each other, nonplussed.
However, she had only taken a dozen or so steps.
The alluring yet icy figure in black suddenly stopped, then abruptly turned back.
She asked Zhang Daxie,
"Are there any other halls nearby? Which one is the closest?"
Zhang Daxie quickly bowed.
"Lord Patrol Envoy, the closest is the Third Hall. It’s on Changle Street in the East Market, about three li from here."
Ling Ye took the Token from her waist and tossed it to Jiang Mu.
"Go to the Third Hall. Tell them to mobilize everyone immediately and rendezvous at Heitu Village, ten li from here."
She pointed at Zhang Daxie and Zhang Xiaokui, her fingertips a pearly white. "As for you two, you’re with me."
Jiang Mu had just caught the Token when Zhang Xiaokui snatched it from him.
"My lady, let me handle this sort of grunt work."
Without waiting for Ling Ye’s approval, he grabbed the Token and vanished in a flash.
Ling Ye pursed her red lips.
"Fine. Then you two will come with me."
Jiang Mu followed, saber in hand, and asked casually, "My lady, what exactly is the mission?"
Ling Ye didn’t break her stride, only turning her head slightly. Her cold eyes, seen through the black veil, swept over him.
"You’ll know when we get there."
"Don’t worry, a young master like you who got in on ’merit’ won’t get hurt."
...
「Heitu Village.」
The sky was a hazy gray, with flecks of paper ash drifting down.
The air was filled with a scent like scorched earth.
Weeds grew rampant along both sides of the village path.
Most of the houses were collapsed and dilapidated. Only a few scattered huts had faint wisps of cooking smoke rising from them.
Few villagers could be seen moving about.
Occasionally, one could spot some villagers, little more than skin and bones in ragged clothes, squatting under eaves or leaning against walls.
Most of these people had deformed faces and skin of a strange, ashen-gray color. Some even had bellies swollen as if they were ten months pregnant, a truly bizarre sight.
Seeing Jiang Mu and the other two well-dressed outsiders, the villagers said nothing, just stared at them blankly.
Their gazes were gloomy and numb.
They exuded an aura of lifelessness and hostility.
A few of them had bloodshot eyes, like starving wolves in the wild that had spotted their prey. If not for the fact that all three newcomers were carrying sabers and had an imposing presence, they likely would have pounced already.
Zhang Daxie lowered his voice and warned Jiang Mu,
"Sir, be careful. These people... I’m afraid they’ve all eaten ’Yama’s Grain.’ Don’t provoke them."
"Yama’s Grain?"
Jiang Mu was taken aback. "What’s that?"
Zhang Daxie explained in a low voice,
"These are hard times, and in some places, people are starving to death everywhere. A folk remedy started spreading, saying that eating a special kind of ’Yama’s Grain’ can stave off hunger."
"There’s a children’s rhyme in the countryside that goes like this: ’Face of white stone, a heart black and torn, eat the Yama’s Grain, and your parents will mourn. Body of dead wood, a spirit of steel, too foul for even a Demon Fiend’s meal.’"
"Eating it does fill your stomach and makes you feel no pain or hunger. But over time, you go insane, become violent and bloodthirsty, and your body slowly deforms.
Because your flesh and blood become so full of that earthy essence, even Demon Fiends find the taste disgusting and won’t bother to take a bite. That’s why it’s called ’Yama’s Grain.’"
A chill ran through Jiang Mu’s heart as he listened.
He turned his head to look under the eaves of a nearby house.
An emaciated woman with disheveled hair was sitting cross-legged, holding a baby in her arms.
She was clutching a dark clod of earth and stuffing it into her mouth.
Then, she broke off a small piece and pushed it into the mouth of the child in her arms.
Jiang Mu looked away, his heart heavy.
For some reason, he was reminded of the time he went to the countryside to collect taxes, and that same feeling of frustration washed over him.
Ling Ye led the two men to an old well within the village.
The stone railing of the well was mottled, and the water inside was black, emitting waves of a foul, rotten stench. It was impossible to know what lay at the bottom.
She waved a fair hand.
A bucket of turbid, stinking water was drawn from the well.
She then took out a packet of pale yellow powder from her robes and poured it all in.
Next, she found two empty wooden buckets and poured the mixture of powder and well water into each.
"HISS—"
White smoke rose from the buckets. The murky water began to boil, then rapidly solidified and expanded.
Finally, it transformed into two full buckets of white, granular crystals.
It gave off a pungent smell of sulfur.
"Sulfur powder?"
Zhang Daxie sniffed the air, seeming to understand something.
Ling Ye pushed the two buckets in front of Jiang Mu and Zhang Daxie, her voice cold and flat.
"Take these to the outskirts of the village and sprinkle a circle around it. Remember, it must be a solid, unbroken line. Seal this entire village off."
Jiang Mu and Zhang Daxie exchanged a glance, then each picked up a bucket and went their separate ways.
...
「Half an hour later.」
Just as the two returned to the well after spreading the powder, they saw Zhang Xiaokui arriving with the men from the Third Hall.
There were about a dozen of them.
Most had Cultivation Levels in the Second or Third Realm.
Their leader was a middle-aged man at the Fourth Realm named Wang Ershang.
However, the Hall Master, Wen He, was nowhere to be seen.
Ling Ye’s gaze fell upon Wang Ershang, her beautiful eyes darkening as the chill around her seemed to intensify.
"You’re the Hall Master of the Third Hall?"
’Is there really no one left in Hu State City? Did they all get in through the back door?’
Wang Ershang hurriedly bowed and replied,
"My lady, the Hall Master is away on urgent business. Though our Cultivation Levels are lacking, we will do our utmost to assist you."
The front of Ling Ye’s ample chest rose and fell twice as if she were suppressing her anger. Finally, she waved her hand in resignation.
"Fine. At least you’re slightly better than this Eighth Hall."
Jiang Mu: "..."
Zhang Xiaokui started to speak but was pulled back by his brother’s arm. He fell silent, his face sullen.
The men from the Third Hall stifled their laughter, their expressions mocking as they looked at the trio.
The woman led them to another nearby well, this one dry. She pointed into it, her sleeve sliding up slightly to reveal a wrist of pearly white skin. Her voice was as cold as ever.
"Hidden at the bottom of this well is a Snake Demon that has been cultivating for several hundred years. I tracked it for many days before confirming its location."
"Today, we will slay this beast!"