Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 32 Don’t Say You’ve Seen Me
Sheng Yuanyao led the crowd to chase after the evil spirit. The demon was seriously injured, and the evil spirit was easy to track, so it was certain that it could not escape.

She cursed the dead kid for cheating her out of two taels of silver, but she never blamed him in her heart. Even this time, it seemed that the demon ran away because of Anuo's trouble, and Sheng Yuanyao didn't blame her.

The situation was already set to be fatal, and no one wanted anything unexpected to happen. The most serious injury suffered by the demon was inflicted by An Nuo, whose punch collapsed the demon's sternum.

I really can't understand how that little baby's soft body can burst out with such strong power. It's incredible.

The dead cripple also said that it was "a Taoist practice that has entered the realm of the highest order." Is that really a Taoist practice that has entered the realm of the highest order? Yes, it has.

Sheng Yuanyao was grumbling inwardly as she chased after him. After all, hunting down demons was the job of her Demon Suppression Division. If he could still escape despite being so injured, the Xiazhou Demon Suppression Division would be wiped out.

The demon was chased so fast that it fled to the mountains and forests outside the city. As it fled, it suddenly felt a palpitation in its heart.

Demons and monsters are actually two different things, but humans just call them monsters and monsters.

Leaving aside demonic creatures, demons are generally some kind of exotic beast, or even plant spirits, which are relatively rare. As exotic beasts, their intuition is often much sharper than that of humans, and they can often sense dangers that ordinary people cannot perceive.

It was as if there were extremely terrifying beasts in the mountains, as if he had once met the Demon King from afar... Just a glance from afar, and the throbbing and horror in his heart penetrated deep into his bones.

It stopped in shock and looked up.

On the hill ahead, a woman in a purple dress stood quietly at the top, with a ghost face of the King of Hell on her face.

The mountain breeze blew past, causing her skirt to lift slightly, highlighting her graceful figure and outstanding temperament. Although her face could not be seen clearly, she always gave people the impression of being peerless and unrivaled.

The demon, however, had no mood to appreciate the beauty. The cold murderous intent almost penetrated into his bones. He couldn't help but cry out: "Yan Jun!"

Outsiders only know her as Lord Yan, and only a very few people in the world know her name.

Yuan Muyu.

Yuan Muyu suddenly appeared in front of it from a distant hill. His eyes were icy cold beneath his mask, and his voice sounded like it came from the underworld: "It's you who made him lose his composure like this..."

demon:"?"

Yuan Muyu stretched out her slender hand and grabbed its neck: "How dare you!"

The demon's eyeballs were pinched so hard that they bulged out, and he made meaningless "ho ho" sounds. He didn't even have the strength to struggle, let alone speak.

Yuan Muyu pressed his other hand against its chest and abdomen, causing the demon to twist in agony, its chest and abdomen visibly bulging. Not long after, a demon pill burst out of its abdomen, unexpectedly being sucked out of its body through the air.

This move alone is shocking.

"Bang!" The demon's corpse was thrown beside the mountain road like garbage. Yuan Muyu had disappeared without a trace, as if he had never existed.

The next moment, Sheng Yuanyao and his men caught up and saw the corpse on the side of the road. He was shocked and asked, "Who killed it? There wasn't even a fight?"

A constable came forward to inspect and was also horrified: "The demon core is gone... It seems that it was taken out alive... No, there is not even a wound to the abdomen. It's like it was sucked out alive from the inside out!"

Everyone in the Demon Suppression Division was horrified and broke out in cold sweats.

What kind of spiritual practice is that? Why don't you try sucking out a person's internal organs through the air and see what happens?

Sheng Yuanyao took a deep breath and stared at the demon's corpse in silence for a long time before saying, "It doesn't matter who killed him. He deserved it for trespassing into the human country and being killed to take the elixir. We have no obligation to investigate the case for the demon. Bring the body back and we can close the case."

Everyone nodded silently, knowing in their hearts that this wasn't a question of whether to help the demon investigate the case, but rather that this demon-absorbing pill was a bit sensational. If it was a terrifying demon cultivator, then Xiazhou...

Forget it, let’s deal with this matter first. We don’t know what’s going on with the city lord yet.

On the hill, Yuan Muyu quietly watched the backs of Sheng Yuanyao and others as they left. Her beautiful eyes were fixed on Sheng Yuanyao's dashing figure for a long time before she uttered an ambiguous cold snort.

A large group of Yama Hall assassins were kneeling behind him, not daring to raise their heads.

The Xiazhou branch was especially terrified. When rumors spread that the Judge had left, everyone wondered what had happened and assumed a falling out with Lord Yan. Now, it seemed like a falling out was a lie. Fortunately, Yuan Muyu probably didn't know someone had gone to kill Lu Xingzhou, otherwise everyone here would have been reduced to ashes.

Yuan Muyu had indeed just arrived. Before this, she didn't know where Lu Xingzhou had gone. When she heard that Xiazhou had transferred strong men from the county, Yuan Muyu thought that Lu Xingzhou's hometown was Xiazhou, so she came to see him.

In other words, let's see why Xiazhou needs to transfer people. It has nothing to do with those two ungrateful people.

A purple fire was rising faintly in Yuan Muyu's hand as he was refining the demon pill with his bare hands. After a while, it had changed its form, and the demonic energy was gone. Instead, it looked like a special fruit.

Only after the ritual was completed did Yuan Muyu say calmly, "It's none of your business. This mission was completed well, and everyone will be rewarded."

Everyone was delighted: "Thank you, Lord Yan."

Yuan Muyu handed the "fruit" to the fifth-rank assassin: "This is called... um, it's called the Blood and Flesh Revival Fruit. It contains very pure life force and is very effective for refining related elixirs. Most people in the world don't know it, and Lu Xingzhou certainly doesn't know it either." The assassin took the fruit with a confused look on his face.

Yuan Muyu said with his hands behind his back, "Give it to him and tell him you got it by accident. Don't tell him you've ever met me before."

The assassin lowered his head: "Yes."

If Lu Xingzhou could see the assassin's expression hiding underneath, he would think it looked like sweating soybeans.

Yuan Muyu was silent for a long time, muttering to himself, "The Huo family got tricked this time, so they'll be more cautious next time, and the difficulty will be doubled. With this thing, at least he doesn't need to take such risks and can be more calm."

"That kind of gaffe... shouldn't belong to him."

The voice faded away, the person disappeared, leaving only the fragrance of the wind.

In the end, she did not go into Xiazhou, which was so close.

On the other side, Lu Xingzhou didn't think it was a problem at all that the medicine he had been looking forward to for ten years was gone, and he didn't take it seriously at all.

As soon as An Nuo recovered, he seemed to be revitalized. He had already regained his composure and turned to Shen Tang and asked with a smile, "Where is the City Lord?"

Shen Tang stared at his legs for a long while, then looked at An Nuo, finally smiled and shook his head: "I killed him. Chief Chen can go and check. Xu Bingkun is full of demonic energy, and he has practiced it very deeply."

Chen Jinnian bowed and went in the direction Shen Tang pointed.

A moment later, he returned with Xu Bingkun's corpse. Without him saying anything, those around him with discerning eyes could see that Xu Bingkun's corpse was stained with a strong demonic aura. He even had hair growing on his hands...

Chen Jinnian looked at Shen Tang meaningfully.

Xu Bingkun's death, his bones shattered, was the result of an extremely powerful and overbearing attack from a technique, unlike the flying sword style Shen Tang had previously displayed. Ultimately, he said nothing, only sighing, "It seems the case can be settled. Xu Bingkun coveted the demon cultivation techniques, nurtured demons, and murdered Sixth Young Master Huo. Ten thousand people witnessed it, and there's no doubt about it."

Sheng Yuanyao returned carrying the demon's corpse and said wearily, "Yes, I have a recording, and the evidence is irrefutable. I would like to ask the Medicine Bureau to produce a report on the demonic cultivator found on the City Lord's corpse and submit it to the capital along with my evidence."

Chen Jinnian nodded and said, "As it should be."

Sheng Yuanyao's eyes fell on An Nuo's face. Seeing that An Nuo seemed to be fine, she couldn't help but feel a little surprised: "Are you okay?"

Ah Nuo smiled sweetly: "Pretty sister is so nice."

Sheng Yuanyao glared at her unhappily, then looked at Lu Xingzhou, wanting to say something but stopping herself: "Forget it, I'm glad you're alright. I'll talk to you in detail tomorrow."

That night was destined to be a sleepless one for Xiazhou. Having watched the earth-shattering events with their fill, the onlookers left, each with their own thoughts and conversations. In the end, only Lu Xingzhou and his apprentice, along with Shen Tang and Dugu Qingli, remained. The two pairs of people, pushing two wheelchairs, slowly made their way through the night streets.

Lu Xingzhou first gave Dugu Qingli a pill and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I was distracted by An Nuo's condition and forgot that Miss Qingli was also injured... This pill is somewhat effective in treating internal injuries."

Dugu Qingli wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and shook his head: "It's common for a swordsman to get injured when slaying demons. But I just suffered some internal injuries from the recoil. I can just meditate on my own."

"But you chose such a drastic measure because you wanted to help me. Otherwise, there would be no need to take such a risk."

Dugu Qingli thought about it and felt that it was indeed the case, so he took the pill.

Lu Xingzhou then turned to Shen Tang and asked, "I think I did something superfluous?"

Shen Tang laughed: "It's not necessarily superfluous, it's true that they corroborate each other."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

Lu Xingzhou deliberately had Huo Yu publicly expose Xu Bingkun's demon-raising activities, while Shen Tang deliberately forced Xu Bingkun to use his demon cultivation techniques before killing him, leaving behind a corpse as evidence. Both parties had the same goal. In fact, if only one of these two methods were present, the plan would have achieved its intended purpose. Lu Xingzhou's approach, in particular, was somewhat risky and could have been omitted.

But Lu Xingzhou didn't know Shen Tang would do this... The two of them had no idea what to do, but they did it together without any prior agreement, nailing Xu Bingkun's crime to the bone and making the future trouble almost disappear. Of course, Lu Xingzhou's move was not without benefits, as it cleared the blame for Huo Yu's death.

As Dugu Qingli was taking the pills, Sheng Yuanyao's evaluation flashed through his mind again: mistress.

She stayed with Shen Tang every day and couldn't understand how the two of them could be so in sync.

Shen Tang continued, "So if you had come clean with us earlier and discussed it, this matter would have been much easier, and you wouldn't have needed to contact Yama Palace... Will you still be so self-righteous in the future?"

Why does her tone sound like she's lecturing her husband... Lu Xingzhou coughed dryly, "Xu Bingkun's injuries don't seem to be caused by a sword cultivator. Even now, I still don't know the secrets of Miss Shen. Can we really discuss everything?"

Shen Tang chuckled: "Before you try to get my secret, you should first find out what happened to An Nuo. I will come to you for my matter...

(End of this chapter)