Chapter Nine: Demonic Forces

The previous chapters have been revised for greater coherence; the reactions to the first mission have been written in, so if you’re interested, you can go back and have a look, though skipping them won’t affect what follows. Today’s update is to a chapter that was previously posted, with minor changes.

———

Lu Zhou had not left the Inspector’s Residence for three days.

He’d taken leave from the Prefect’s Office, and had his subordinates deliver the intelligence from the Fragrant Pavilion directly to him. Ever since he’d solved the Scythe Murders at Qingxi Village, he hadn’t set foot outside. He didn’t need Li Zhilan or Gao Zhuang to remind him—after ruining an Embroidered Guard’s plans, if he swaggered about openly now, wouldn’t that be like an old man tying a noose for himself—courting death?

Every day, he sent a crow to keep watch on Shen Changbai, but so far everything was calm. Yet the more peaceful things seemed, the more uneasy Lu Zhou felt, for Gao Zhuang’s predictions had always been uncannily accurate.

He hadn’t been idle these past days. He’d scrutinized the courtyard carefully. Setting up an array in the yard was clearly unwise; secluded as the place was, if anyone happened upon it by chance, it would spell trouble.

The best place for an array, then, was his bedchamber. Even if guests came, they’d seldom go beyond the outer hall; few would ever enter another’s private room. Thus, the array had to be especially… refined.

With the array’s concealment, he could cultivate within without fear of being noticed. Lu Zhou could sense that there were eight Nascent Immortal experts in the residence. Being noticed by any of them would be disastrous.

Sensing the cultivation of those around him was one of Lu Zhou’s gifts. But this ability was not always reliable, as many in this world possessed treasures that could conceal their true strength.

He placed more trust in his other gift: the ability to mask his own cultivation level.

But when cultivating, it was hard not to let a bit of one’s aura leak out. Without the array’s protection, Lu Zhou always felt uneasy—especially since he’d been stuck at the first level of the Tribulation Crossing stage for over twenty years. At any moment, a heavenly thunder could descend. He could not afford to be careless.

Fortunately, his gift allowed him to even evade the pursuit of the Heavenly Dao. Otherwise, having suppressed his cultivation for two decades, he should have long since reached the third level of Tribulation Crossing and suffered the third thunder punishment.

What choice did he have? All these years, surviving in Shuo Kingdom’s domain meant lying low for as long as possible.

“The first layer of the array is finally set,” Lu Zhou murmured, tapping his fingers on the table as he checked the placement of each spirit stone. Once satisfied, he drew a jade slip from his robe, poured his true energy into it, and a complex array diagram floated above the table.

“With three thousand six hundred and fifty-seven spirit stones left, I can lay down five more layers. I’ll reserve some for cultivation and use the rest for another two—no, three—layers of the array.”

Yes, one more layer meant one more measure of safety.

———

Three more days passed.

Lu Zhou finally stepped out of his room, savoring the feeling of sunlight on his face. For someone like him, standing openly in the sun was no small feat.

He opened the gate to his courtyard. He’d been at the Inspector’s Residence for some time now and had yet to properly explore its grounds. At the very least, he ought to get a sense of the layout—and see if there were any no-fly zones.

He strolled along the flagstone path, passing through several walled yards, making mental notes as he went. A few servants huddled together, whispering among themselves. Out of habit, Lu Zhou paused to listen.

“Have you heard? There’s talk of ghosts haunting Liu Village outside the city!”

“Is that true?”

“Of course it’s true! Several strong men in the village have gone mad, raving about ghosts and shouting, ‘Ghosts! There are ghosts!’ Many people have seen it.”

“Could it be the work of an evil cultivator?”

“Would an evil cultivator really dare to stir up trouble near Shuo Kingdom’s city?”

“That’s true… then could it really be ghosts?”

Lu Zhou chuckled to himself. Ghosts? In this world?

Cultivators were numerous as the stars, but whether they were righteous, Confucian, Buddhist, Daoist, demonic, or even evil, they were all human. When cultivators died, they too entered the cycle of reincarnation. The idea of ghosts had long been denounced as heresy by all the major sects.

Even for those who achieved immortality, death was simply the end; there were no wandering spirits in this world. Most likely, it was the mischief of a beast or an evil cultivator unfamiliar to common folk.

Evil cultivators were adept at pretending to be gods or ghosts, their methods cruel—draining life force was just the most common. Those strong men driven mad had likely crossed paths with a particularly audacious evil cultivator unafraid to stir up trouble near Shen Prefecture.

Lu Zhou listened no further and walked on, passing through another courtyard.

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks.

He saw a woman in a pale yellow shawl and plain dress standing in the yard with her back to him, trimming dead branches.

His gaze fell on her hands.

Lu Zhou had never seen such beautiful hands—like flawless mutton-fat jade, delicately carved, without a blemish.

But he also knew that many women with perfect figures could have unattractive faces, let alone hands that outshone the rest of them.

He had no intention of disturbing her and quietly withdrew.

Just as he left the courtyard, the woman turned her head. Her face was exquisitely beautiful—it was Chao Jin’er.

Her tightly pressed lips betrayed her tension.

After a long time, she sighed.

At that moment, Lu Zhou’s voice drifted in from outside the courtyard. Her brows furrowed unconsciously as she circulated her true energy to eavesdrop.

No sooner had Lu Zhou left the courtyard than he bumped into Angell.

“Captain Lu, why are you wandering around instead of staying in your quarters?” Angell glanced at the courtyard behind Lu Zhou, a trace of annoyance in his eyes.

Lu Zhou replied with a light laugh, “No one told me I couldn’t walk about as I please.”

Angell suppressed his irritation. “I’m telling you now.”

“Then I’ll return to my courtyard at once,” Lu Zhou said.

Angell blocked his path. “No need. Come with me outside the city.”

Lu Zhou shook his head. “Just now you told me not to wander. Now you want me to go with you? What am I, a donkey, to be led about at whim?”

Angell’s face darkened. “It’s Commander Chao’s order. The two of us are to go to Liu Village and apprehend the demon. Disobeying Commander Chao’s orders, are you?”

“Demon?” Lu Zhou was taken aback. “Demon” was different from beast or evil cultivator.

In this world, there existed a type of creature born in the Reincarnation Secret Realm—demons. Yet demons only existed there; how could one appear in Shen Prefecture?

“That’s right. A demon has appeared in Shen Prefecture. Commander Chao wants to avoid panic,” Angell explained.

Lu Zhou glanced at him and nodded. “Let’s go, then.”

With that, the two departed together.

In the courtyard behind them, Chao Jin’er’s brow furrowed tighter. “If it really is a demon… can he handle it?”

After a while, only the trimmed branches and discarded scissors remained in the courtyard.

———

“Can’t you go any faster?” Angell shot along on his dazzling sword, flying through the air, with Lu Zhou trailing behind at a snail’s pace.

“Captain Angell, I’m only at the Core Formation stage—how could I keep up with your flying sword? Besides, I’m just using a common flight talisman; this is my top speed. If you’re in such a hurry, you can go ahead, and I’ll catch up,” Lu Zhou replied.

“…”

“Or is Captain Angell afraid I’ll get lost? I’ve lived in Shen Prefecture for decades; I know where Liu Village is.”

“I’ll wait for you,” Angell said, slowing his sword to a crawl, his mood sour. He hadn’t flown so slowly in a hundred years.

“Captain Angell, the Scythe Murders in Qingxi Village were rather strange. I’ve recorded my suspicions in the report. Any idea what Commander Chao thinks?”

“Someone’s been sent to investigate.”

“And did they uncover anything?”

“Not yet… Could you talk less?”

Flying so slowly was bad enough; did he have to distract him with conversation, too? Angell itched to drag Lu Zhou onto his sword, but the thought of letting such a man stand on it was an insult to the sword itself. The sword would probably object as well.

Lu Zhou was unhurried, occasionally commenting on the scenery, much to Angell’s annoyance.

The two flew out of Shen Prefecture, heading straight for Liu Village.

Liu Village was an outlying settlement, over a hundred li from Shen Prefecture. For several days, strong men had been succumbing to madness. At first, local cultivation sects thought it the work of an evil cultivator. But today, rumors spread that the culprit was not an evil cultivator but a demon.

The news sent a ripple of excitement through the cultivation sects—demons were usually found only in the perilous Reincarnation Secret Realm. A demon’s body parts and bones were prized materials for alchemy and forging, and they often carried treasures. Now, with a demon appearing near Shen Prefecture, every sect sent its experts, and even the Inspector’s Office dispatched Angell and Lu Zhou.

As soon as Lu Zhou entered the village, a clear voice called out behind him.

“Senior Brother, you’re here too?”

Lu Zhou turned to see Li Zhilan, dressed in a pale green dress, hesitating before approaching.

“Did you come for the villagers suffering from the demon’s mischief?” she asked.

Lu Zhou felt as though an arrow had pierced his chest. He quickly changed the subject, “Are you here to catch the demon?”

Li Zhilan shook her head. “No, I just wanted to see what the legendary demon looks like.”

“Did Li Murong come?” he asked.

Her eyes dimmed—he’d never addressed their master by name before. She shook her head. “My father has been in seclusion. Senior Brother Huang brought us.”

Lu Zhou nodded and looked toward Liu Village.

So many people?

Following his gaze, Li Zhilan explained, “The villagers have found some so-called immortal to perform a ritual. But any cultivator can see that he’s just an ordinary man. The villagers are about to be deceived again…”

Lu Zhou frowned. Another ordinary man?