Slaying demons and eliminating evil, a martial saint among mortals.

"Han Zhaoshan, a first-rank martial artist?"

Qin Lie was somewhat surprised upon hearing the name.

"Yes, Commander Han is indeed a first-rank martial artist."

"If the thing under the old pass really awakens, it won't be something we can handle. We'll need a first-rank garrison commander to handle it."

"That's why I said earlier that if I went there, I would only be cannon fodder."

"Oh, and I should remind you, kid, don't just go and chop at anything you see. With things like that, you risk dying if you even get close."

Lu Chen looked at Qin Lie and gave him a word of advice.

"Don't worry, Boss Lu, I'm not that desperate. I'm not even a seventh-rank cultivator yet, let alone a first-rank demon. Even if a demon soldier realm cultivator comes along, I'll try to run away first."

"It's good that you think that way, kid. I'm taking you there simply so you can give me directions, not so you can go and die."

"Once this mission is over, as long as everyone is alive, we'll definitely get a long vacation, and then you can go do your own thing."

Qin Lie looked up at Lu Chen.

"Will Boss Lu really get a vacation?"

"When have I ever lied to you?"

"Not at the moment."

Li Hu couldn't help but chuckle.

"You're really bold, kid."

Lu Chen wasn't angry.

"Qin Lie, before we set off, I have to remind you of something: you are now a formal demon hunter, and a formal demon hunter is different from an apprentice demon hunter."

"When you're an apprentice demon hunter, you might be protected by others and have to follow their orders. But a formal demon hunter must have their own judgment, knowing when to advance and when to retreat. That's up to you."

"This is your first real official mission at Broken Wind Gorge."

"During the previous assessments, the monsters were all kept in cages. At Wolf Fang Mountain, Li Hu and I were there to protect them. But Broken Wind Gorge is different; no one can predict what might appear there."

"I can only promise to bring you back as soon as possible. If anything unexpected happens, you'll have to survive on your own."

Qin Lie listened attentively to Lu Chen's words.

"Don't worry, Boss Lu, I understand. I won't entrust my life to someone else."

Old Zhao looked at Qin Lie, and his tone softened a little.

"That's right. It's good for young people to be bold, but you can't live long just by being bold."

"You were just promoted yesterday, so you should be able to rest properly today. But that's how the Demon Suppression Division is. Demons won't come when you're ready, and missions won't wait for your convenience."

"Now that you've received the iron token, you must understand its weight. It can give you merit, status, and responsibility."

"You just need to investigate thoroughly on this trip, and you must come back alive."

Lu Chen and the others all bowed to Elder Zhao.

"yes!"

Old Zhao rolled up the map and handed it to Lu Chen.

"We will be out of the city within half an hour. There are three villages and towns near Duanfeng Gorge. I have already sent word to be on guard."

"We can't let the news spread widely at this time. There are still many elderly people around Dongxuan City who remember what happened to the Broken Wind Camp."

"If word gets out about the war drums at the old pass, it will cause panic among the people. You should also be careful on the road and not mention the mission details to outsiders."

Lu Chen took the map.

"clear!"

Seeing that Elder Zhao had not given any further instructions, Lu Chen turned to look at the others.

"Let's go, let's set off."

After the group left the office, the thin mist outside had not yet completely dissipated.

The morning market in Dongxuan City has already started, and you can hear vendors hawking their wares in the distance.

But Qin Lie felt that those voices were a bit far away from him.

He suddenly felt a little uncomfortable, but he could only suppress his anger for the time being.

You must come back alive!

After leaving Dongxuan City, the group headed northwest.

At the beginning, there were quite a few pedestrians on the official road.

Various vendors carrying loads on their shoulders, and farmers driving oxcarts.

The further northwest you go, the fewer people there are on the road.

Later on, the trees on both sides of the official road became denser and denser, and when the wind blew, it was much cooler than in Dongxuan City.

Qin Lie sat on his horse, his hand resting on the Demon-Slaying Blade at his waist.

Li Hu was at the front, glancing into the woods on both sides every now and then.

Although he didn't say anything, Qin Lie could tell that Li Hu wasn't as relaxed as usual.

Qin Lie rode up to Li Hu's side.

"Brother Li, don't you think it's a bit too quiet around here?"

Li Hu did not answer immediately. Instead, he glanced at the woods by the roadside and then at the distant mountain shadows before speaking.

"It should be quieter here, since we're approaching the outer edge of Broken Wind Gorge from here."

"The local residents must have heard some noise and are afraid to come this way, so it's normal that there are few people around."

"Then why are you looking left and right?"

"Are you stupid? Normal doesn't mean safe!"

Qin Lie paused for a moment, then realized that Li Hu's words made a lot of sense.

"There's a tea stall up ahead, let's go there and rest for a bit."

Following his gaze, everyone saw a small tea stall beside the official road ahead.

The tea stall was small, with a few wooden stakes supporting an old tarpaulin, and four or five tables set up under the tarpaulin.

On the table were a rough porcelain bowl and a teapot, and next to it was a water vat.

A middle-aged man in his forties stood in front of the stall, scooping water into a bucket with a wooden ladle.

Upon seeing Qin Lie and his group approaching, he quickly put on a smile and called out from afar, "Gentlemen, you must be tired from your journey. Would you like to stop and have a drink of water?"

"If we walk another thirty li, there will be nowhere to rest."

Li Hu reined in his horse and looked back at Lu Chen.

"Boss Lu, are you saying we should stop or not?"

Lu Chen didn't speak, but glanced at the tea stall and then at the woods behind it.

There were two other people next to the tea stall. One was a young waiter serving tea, who looked to be in his early twenties.

The other was an old man sitting under the shed drinking tea, his back slightly hunched, and he was holding a pipe in his hand.

"We won't go into the shed, we'll just stop by the roadside. We won't drink tea, but we'll give the horses water."

Li Hu nodded.

"clear."

Qin Lie dismounted and held the reins in his hand. He didn't go into the tea stall, but just stood by the roadside.

Seeing that they didn't enter the shed, the middle-aged shopkeeper's smile remained unchanged, and he even took the initiative to carry the water buckets over.

"These gentlemen are quite cautious, but that makes sense; this area has indeed been rather unsettled lately."

"A few days ago, someone said they could hear drumming sounds coming from the mountains at night. How could there be drumming sounds coming from the mountains? We small business owners are quite scared."

Lu Chen glanced at him.

Have you ever heard the sound of drums?

The middle-aged shopkeeper gave a bitter smile.

"How could I not hear it? In the middle of the night last night, the dog behind my tea stall suddenly started barking incessantly. I went out to take a look, but there was no one there."

"But there were several loud thumping sounds coming from the other side of the mountain. At the time, I thought it was someone holding a funeral and playing drums."

"But then I thought about it and it didn't make sense. Who would be banging a drum in the middle of the night in this desolate wilderness? It scared me so much that I couldn't sleep a wink all night."

Li Hu stared at the shopkeeper.

"You didn't sleep well last night, and you're not even going to rest today? How dare you open your stall?"

The shopkeeper sighed.

"Sir, you're joking. I'd like to rest too, but my whole family needs to eat. If this tea stall isn't open, there's no income for my family."

Li Hu blushed upon hearing the shopkeeper's reply.

Thinking back to my own impoverished background, how did I end up making such a ridiculous statement like "Why don't they eat meat porridge?"

"Xiao Liu, bring a few buckets of water for these old men."

The waiter immediately responded.

"Hey, here it comes!"

He walked over carrying a bucket of water, a smile on his face.

"Don't worry, gentlemen. We're just a small business. We've been setting up our stall on this road for years, and all the passing caravans know us."

"I can't guarantee anything else, but I'll at least have a sip of clean water."

Li Hu didn't respond to him. He first tested the water in the tank with a silver needle, and the silver needle did not change color.

He scooped up some water and fed it to one of the spare horses that accompanied them. The horse lowered its head and drank a few mouthfuls, and there was nothing unusual about it.

Li Hu looked at Lu Chen.

"The water should be fine."

Lu Chen nodded, gesturing for everyone to drink water, and then looked at Qin Lie.

"Qin Lie, we're not far from Broken Wind Gorge now."

Qin Lie immediately understood what Lu Chen meant; they were already close to the outer edge of Broken Wind Gorge.

If something really happened at the old pass of Duanfeng Gorge, the surrounding Qi (vital energy) may have already been affected.

This is to let him get used to the airflow near Duanfeng Gorge in advance.

Qin Lie didn't make it too obvious. He simply stood next to the horse and quietly used his Qi Observation Technique, causing the tea stall in his line of sight to slowly change its appearance.

The shopkeeper, the waiter, and the hunchbacked old man all had no demonic aura, and there was nothing unusual about the water vat.

There was no obvious trace of demonic energy remaining in the woods behind the tea stall.

This looks like an ordinary tea stall.

"Gentlemen, your tea is here."

The waiter came over carrying several bowls of water.

Qin Lie's gaze swept across the area and suddenly stopped on one of the bowls, whose rim emitted a faint grayish-black aura.

It was very fine and shallow; if he hadn't been using his Qi Observation Technique, it would have been almost invisible.

However, it was different from the demonic energy he had encountered before, which was mostly murky and carried a distinct ferocity.

However, this wisp of grayish-black aura seemed more like the aura emanating from an inanimate object, deeply hidden, almost clinging to the rim of the bowl.

Qin Lie didn't know what it was, but he knew that normal water shouldn't have this smell.

However, Qin Lie did not make a sound at this time. He wanted to see who the waiter wanted to give the bowl of water to.

"Sir, here is your tea."

The waiter handed several bowls of tea to Lu Chen and the others, while the bowl of tea with a blackish odor was placed in front of Qin Lie.

Qin Lie was startled; he hadn't expected that they were coming for him!

Just as Li Hu was about to drink his tea, Qin Lie raised his hand to stop him.

"Wait a minute, there's something wrong with this water!"

Although only the bowl in front of me had black smoke, I'm not sure if everyone has the problem.

For now, all we can do is stop them from drinking water.