Li Qingxian looked at the old man. Dressed in mourning clothes, his skin was dark and weathered, his face etched with sorrow, and his eyes were deeply sunken.
"My name is Wang Laoshu, and I’m one of the headmen of Fangyuan Village. Just a few days ago, one of the village’s hunters went out and didn’t return for several days. We formed a search party and only found shattered bones. The experienced elders in the village knew at a glance that a demon was the killer. Then yesterday, Liu Laosan, who was farming outside the village, also met a terrible end..."
Headman Wang Laoshu recounted the whole story.
Wuu Jingtian scanned the crowd and said, "A few of you, come with me to open the coffin and examine the body. Let’s see what kind of demon we’re dealing with. Brother Han, I’ll need you."
Han Anbo nodded.
Wang Laoshu said hurriedly, "He’s about to be buried. Opening the coffin for an autopsy... I’m afraid that’s inauspicious..."
"The Night Guard is on official business. Step aside or be considered an enemy!" Wuu Jingtian produced his Night Guard waist token.
Wang Laoshu nodded helplessly. "I’ll take you, sirs. He hasn’t been buried yet, so it’s better to open it now. It’s certainly more auspicious than digging him up to do it later."
The Night Guards followed Wang Laoshu to open the coffin and examine the corpse before the burial.
Wuu Jingtian identified it as a Wolf Demon with a single glance. He then asked Han Anbo, who confirmed his assessment.
Ignoring Liu Laosan’s wailing family as they nailed the coffin shut again, Wuu Jingtian frowned and said, "Since the aggrieved party has filed a report, we must investigate for at least two days."
Wang Laoshu said quickly, "Thank you, sirs from the Night Guard! Thank you! It’s high noon and the sun is scorching. Why don’t you gentlemen come rest in our Fangyuan Village? You can search for the Wolf Demon after the worst of the heat has passed. You are our saviors, so we will of course welcome you with good food and wine."
"No need for the wine. A meal with fresh meat and vegetables will suffice," said Wuu Jingtian.
"Of course. I’ll lead the way for you sirs."
Under Wang Laoshu’s guidance, the Night Guard Team headed toward the village with their oxcart. The funeral procession busied themselves for a moment before following from a distance.
Ye Han walked up to Wuu Jingtian’s side and whispered, "Brother Wuu, I feel uneasy. I have a feeling something is wrong here."
"First time on a Demon Hunting mission? Getting scared?"
"It’s not that. I just feel... off. My intuition is usually spot-on," Ye Han said.
Wuu Jingtian nodded and shouted, "Everyone, stay alert! This demon might not be ordinary. Don’t let your guard down, even inside the village!"
The others all voiced their agreement.
Ye Han kept his head down, not saying a word.
Li Qingxian shot Han Anbo a look, and the two of them dropped back to the end of the line.
"When it comes to things like this, I trust Ye Han," Li Qingxian asked. "Brother Han, do you think there might be something wrong with this village?"
Han Anbo hesitated. "It’s hard to say. In the lands of the Daqi Empire, anything is possible. Besides, we can’t talk Captain Wuu out of it. We just need to be extra careful."
Li Qingxian then called Yur Ping over and whispered, "The three of us need to be careful. Once we’re in the village, don’t eat the food and don’t drink the water. Are your Talismans in place?"
Yur Ping and Han Anbo gave a slight nod.
As Li Qingxian followed the team forward, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d forgotten something important, but for the life of him, he couldn’t recall what it was.
The team crossed a bridge and crested a slope, revealing a vista of farmland laid out below like a neat grid. The crops were a lush, pleasing green, a sight that could broaden one’s spirit.
In the fields, men and women were chatting and laughing, their voices as crisp as bells, carried along by the wind.
At the far end of the fields stood the village, dense with buildings.
Some were huts of thatch and wood, others were houses of brick and tile. In the very center of the village stood a three-story wooden building painted white, looking stark and chalky from a distance.
Li Qingxian asked, "What is that White Tower used for?"
Wang Laoshu smiled. "That is where the Five Goddess resides."
Just as Li Qingxian was about to ask another question, Han Anbo tugged on his sleeve, stopping him with a look. Han Anbo then said, "Wang Laoshu, tell us about your village."
Wang Laoshu glanced at Han Anbo and gave a kindly smile that crinkled his entire face. "Our village population was dwindling, so we built the Five Goddess Temple. After the Five Goddess came, our population gradually began to flourish. With more people, we started to have hope for the future..."
Wang Laoshu rambled on about household gossip and the trivial affairs of the village.
Li Qingxian whispered, "Why did you stop me from asking?"
Han Anbo replied, "It’s a rule of the Jianghu. Out in the wilds, when you encounter powers that hold court, powers that occupy temples, or powers that rule mountains, you don’t ask about them casually. Countless people have met their end by breaking this rule."
"I see," said Li Qingxian.
Han Anbo lowered his voice. "There’s something... off about that tower."
Li Qingxian’s heart skipped a beat. ’That’s right, I only asked because I thought it was strange, too. Who builds an all-white wooden tower? It feels so funereal.’
Li Qingxian frowned and whispered, "Should we try to persuade Captain Wuu not to enter the village?"
Han Anbo gritted his teeth. "I’ll do it."
Han Anbo strode forward and said quietly to Wuu Jingtian, "Captain Wuu, this village has a temple power, while you represent an imperial one. It would be best for them not to meet."
Wuu Jingtian frowned. "We have to investigate the Wolf Demon, so we have to enter the village. We’ll just stay out of the White Tower. Don’t worry, I get it. I’ll keep my wits about me."
Han Anbo nodded, said no more, and returned to Li Qingxian’s side, giving a slight shake of his head.
Li Qingxian sighed and murmured, "Ever since that incident at the Imperial Prison West Courtyard, I’ve become a bit... afraid. No, that’s not it. I just value my life more now. Maybe I’m overthinking things."
"Let’s just take it one step at a time," said Han Anbo.
Everyone descended the slope and followed the dirt path toward the village. Partway there, Ye Han approached Li Qingxian and asked in a low voice, "You believe me?"
Li Qingxian smiled. "Of course I do. If I can’t trust you, who can I? I agree, something feels wrong about this place."
"If trouble starts, we have to stick together," Ye Han said.
"Definitely."
They looked each other in the eye, their gazes sincere.
The funeral procession behind them crossed the bridge and started its slow ascent up the slope.
Just as the funeral procession started down the other side of the slope, a figure appeared by the Small River.
Zhou Henn gazed at a corner of the White Tower’s roof, his brow furrowed. Secretly channeling his True Essence, he began to walk across the surface of the water. As he crossed the river, a black fog suddenly swirled before him, and innumerable Demon Fiends charged out, their roars shaking the heavens.
Zhou Henn drew his scimitar and Cone Sword and began to cut down the Demon Fiends.
The funeral procession came to a sudden halt. Liu Laosan’s widow slowly turned, walked back up to the crest of the slope, and gazed toward the riverbank.
She saw Zhou Henn standing by the river, dressed all in black. His hands were clenched around the hilts of his blade and sword, his head was slightly bowed, and his eyes were shut tight.
Threads of True Essence wove together into a white mist that coiled and swirled around his body.
Within a thirty-foot radius around him, the sand and gravel on the ground trembled and bounced, making a constant rustling sound.
Other than him, the riverbank was deserted.
The widow glanced at Zhou Henn with her glistening dark eyes, then turned and walked away.
After passing through the road that cut through the farmland, the twenty-one-man Night Guard team stopped at the village entrance.
Wang Laoshu sent a villager to prepare their meal, then smiled and said, "Sirs of the Night Guard, the village has several large public houses, more than enough room for all of you. Shall we head there now?"
Wuu Jingtian remained silent, standing at the entrance to the village.
At the village entrance stood an old locust tree so massive it would take five or six people with linked arms to circle its trunk. Its heavy, dark green leaves cast a wide patch of shade.
Beneath the tree, six or seven elders sat enjoying the cool air, fanning themselves with cattail-leaf fans and smiling as they watched the newcomers.
The gravel road ahead was flat and wide. A few women walked along, chatting as they carried wooden basins filled with laundry. Beside the main road, three or four children were playing hopscotch in an open patch of dirt.
Along the sides of the road were scattered wooden huts, earthen houses, and brick homes. Some were new, while others were dilapidated and overgrown with weeds. It looked no different from any other ordinary village.
At the end of the road, in the very center of the village, sat a large compound with red walls and a black gate. Three Guards in coarse red robes stood before the gate, each holding a White Tassel Spear. They wore white sashes around their waists and stood motionless, their expressions wooden.
The White Tower was inside the compound.
The compound walls were low, and from a distance, one could see twenty-one white lanterns hanging from the third story of the White Tower.
Wuu Jingtian looked toward Han Anbo.
Han Anbo gently shook his head.
He couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.