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

However, at this moment, Qin Lie had no time to concern himself with how Xu Qinghe knew what he was thinking.

His right hand slowly rested on the Snow-Shattering Blade at his waist, his gaze fixed on the grove of trees, while he glanced at Gu Qianji at the same time.

Gu Qianji was sitting next to a rock, holding a wine gourd in his hand.

He would occasionally tilt his head back and take a sip of wine, looking quite relaxed, seemingly unaware of anything unusual in the woods.

Qin Lie hesitated for a moment, just about to get up and go check.

The next moment, Gu Qianji suddenly put down the wine gourd.

He casually wiped the wine from the corner of his mouth, not even bothering to lift his head.

"The one hiding in the woods, must be tired by now, right?"

"If you want to kill someone, then hurry up and do it. If you don't have the guts, then get lost and stop stomping around here, making so much noise that I can't even enjoy my drink."

After saying that, Gu Qianji yawned, his tone full of impatience, as if the person hiding in the woods was not a dangerous person at all.

There was still no response from inside the woods.

Gu Qianji was too lazy to urge him any further, and simply lowered his head and shook the wine gourd in his hand.

Upon discovering that there wasn't much wine left, his face darkened even further.

"It's almost gone again."

He sighed and muttered a couple of curses under his breath.

As for whether he was cursing the guy in the woods or cursing himself for drinking too fast, no one could tell.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from the woods.

Immediately afterwards, a dark figure rushed out from inside.

The person wasn't moving fast, but their movements appeared very flustered.

After rushing out of the woods, he didn't even head towards Qin Lie and the other two. Instead, he turned around and ran in the other direction, clearly intending to escape under the cover of night.

"stop!"

Qin Lie pushed off with his feet and shot forward instantly.

They had just left Duanfeng Pass and were still carrying the gatekeeper's seal.

At this time, it's highly suspicious to see a sneaky person suddenly appearing nearby.

Upon hearing the sound, the person in front not only did not stop, but ran even faster.

However, Qin Lie soon noticed something unusual.

The man's left leg seemed to be injured; every time he landed, his body would uncontrollably tilt to the side.

Their speed was already slow, and now it's even less likely they can shake off Qin Lie.

In just a few breaths, the distance between the two sides quickly closed.

Qin Lie only took a few steps before he was behind the other person.

The Snow-Shattering Blade wasn't even drawn; the scabbard was already pressed against the opponent's back.

"Don't move. If you move even one more time, I'll assume you're a demon spy and kill you on the spot."

Upon hearing the words "demon spy," the man froze, standing motionless.

It was only at this moment that Qin Lie realized that the other person seemed to be holding something in their arms.

The thing kept struggling.

A few low, whimpering sounds could be faintly heard coming from inside her arms.

Xu Qinghe and Gu Qianji also quickly came over. Gu Qianji walked behind, straightening her clothes as she went.

Looking at him, Qin Lie didn't think he was there to arrest someone at all. Instead, he seemed annoyed that Qin Lie had gone too far and made him walk an extra distance.

"Turn around!"

Qin Lie did not sheath his sword, and his voice turned colder.

After hesitating for a moment, the man finally turned around slowly.

When Qin Lie saw his face clearly, his expression immediately changed.

Xu Qinghe, who was standing to the side, also frowned subconsciously.

This was a tall man, probably around forty years old, wearing a courier's uniform covered in patches.

His left side of his face was still relatively normal, but his right side was completely ruined.

The skin and flesh were stuck tightly to the bone, the corner of the mouth was pulled to near the ear, the right eye was cloudy, and only half of the nose remained.

Coupled with his blood-stained clothes, at first glance, Qin Lie almost thought he had caught a monster that had failed to transform.

When the man noticed that Qin Lie and the other two were staring at his face, he immediately lowered his head and used his shoulder to cover the right side of his face.

At the same time, she hugged it even tighter, and the thing in her arms struggled even more fiercely.

"Who are you?"

"Qingshi Post Station...post station worker."

The man's speech was somewhat slurred, and his right lip was clearly not under control.

He raised his left hand, pulled a wooden plaque from his waist, and handed it over.

Qin Lie reached out and took it.

The wooden sign was very old and worn, with the edges badly worn. It had the three characters "Qingshi Post Station" engraved on it, and another name on the back.

Zhao Tieshan.

Qin Lie glanced down at the wooden sign, then looked up at the other person.

"If you're a courier from Qing Shi Post Station, why are you hiding in the woods spying on us?"

"Why did you turn and run away after spotting us?"

"What, feeling guilty?"

Zhao Tieshan did not answer, keeping his head down and tightly protecting the thing in his arms, as if it were the most important thing.

Xu Qinghe took a step forward at this moment, her right hand already placed on the Soul Sealing Book.

"What are you hiding in your arms?"

Zhao Tieshan's expression changed immediately, and he almost instinctively took half a step back.

But as soon as he made that move, a bright flash of a blade appeared beside his neck.

The Snowcutter's Blade was drawn half an inch from its sheath, the cold blade pressed against the skin.

"Take it out."

Qin Lie's voice was not loud.

Zhao Tieshan's body visibly trembled.

He gritted his teeth and stood there silently for a long while before finally slowly releasing his arms.

As the clothes came undone, a gray rabbit emerged from the bosom.

However, this rabbit was significantly larger than a typical wild rabbit.

It had two yellowed, sharp teeth in its mouth and a wound on its hind leg.

Blood kept flowing out, staining a large area of ​​Zhao Tieshan's clothes red.

Qin Lie's gaze sharpened slightly.

"A demonic beast?"

He could clearly sense that the rabbit possessed a demonic aura.

However, the demonic energy was very weak, at most it could only be considered as having just completed the demon transformation.

Let alone dealing with martial artists, he might not even be able to defeat an ordinary strong man.

But no matter what, once it's tainted with demonic energy, it becomes a demon beast.

According to the laws of the Great Qian Dynasty, he should be executed.

"It has never harmed anyone!"

Seemingly sensing Qin Lie's thoughts, Zhao Tieshan immediately spoke up.

"When I found it on the back hill this morning, it was already injured. I originally intended to take it back to the inn to see if I could find anything on it."

"I didn't expect to hear the sound of horses' hooves when I came back, so I hid in the woods for a while."

"Then why did you run away when you saw us?"

Zhao Tieshan remained silent for a while before raising his hand to touch his right cheek.

"Some people used to see my face and thought I was a monster. They shot arrows at me, and some even chased me with knives. I don't know who you are, so I wanted to stay away from you for now."

Qin Lie looked at the injuries on Zhao Tieshan's face and then at the postman's clothes he was wearing, and his guard relaxed a little.

However, they were on a mission and could not let any anomalies go unnoticed. Zhao Tieshan's few words alone were not enough to completely convince him.

At this moment, Gu Qianji finally walked up to them. He first glanced at Zhao Tieshan, then stretched out two fingers, pinched the back of the gray rabbit's neck, and lifted it up directly.

The gray rabbit immediately began to struggle desperately, opening its mouth to try and bite Gu Qianji's hand.

Gu Qianji raised his other hand and tapped it on the head. The gray rabbit immediately became obedient, and its four legs drooped limply.

"This little rabbit has indeed just undergone demon transformation, and no control methods have been implanted in its body."

Gu Qianji turned the gray rabbit over and looked at it a few more times, then reached out and touched the wound on its hind leg.

"This wound is a bit strange. It doesn't look like it was bitten by a wild animal. It looks like it was cut open by something sharp."

"Master Gu, do you mean there's a monster nearby?"

"I can't be sure if there are any monsters nearby yet."

As she spoke, Gu Qianji casually stuffed the rabbit back into Zhao Tieshan's arms and then pointed to the mud on the rabbit's body.

"However, this thing must have crawled out from underground. Look, the crevices of its claws are full of fresh soil, and it has a faint smell of decay."

"If it didn't have this flavor, it could have been grilled and served with drinks. What a pity."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Tieshan lifted his clothes and covered the rabbit with them.

"Is there a problem underground again?"

Qin Lie immediately grasped the problem in his statement.

However, Zhao Tieshan did not intend to continue hiding it.

"These past few days, wild animals near Qing Shi Yi have been running away. Rabbits, foxes, and deer from the mountains are all afraid to approach the back mountain. Some livestock even wake up in the middle of the night and keep howling at the ground. I suspect there's something wrong with the back mountain."

"Three days ago, a caravan passed through Qing Shi Yi. I asked them to take the message to Dong Xuan City. At this speed, they should be almost at Duan Feng Pass by now."

Qin Lie and Xu Qinghe exchanged a glance.

The caravan's speed was definitely no match for theirs, so what Zhao Tieshan said was pretty much true.

However, for an anomaly like Qing Shi Yi, where no casualties have yet occurred, even if the news is sent out, it's unlikely anyone will come to deal with it in the short term.

Gu Qianji didn't show much concern; he patted Zhao Tieshan on the shoulder.

"Since there are still couriers at Qing Shi Post Station, we won't have to camp out in the wilderness tonight."

"Hurry up and lead the way. I've been traveling all day, and this wretched horse is about to break my back. First, prepare a room for me to sleep in, and then feed the horse well."

Zhao Tieshan was startled by the pat on the head, then quickly nodded.

"The inn is still habitable, but I'm the only one guarding it. Many places haven't been cleaned up yet. If you don't mind, come back with me first, and I'll boil water and cook for you right away."

Qin Lie glanced at Xu Qinghe, but Xu Qinghe didn't offer any opinion. The group then followed Zhao Tieshan into the post station.

Although they had already entered the post station, Gu Qianji did not put away the formation he had set up earlier.