Tang Dynasty Demon Suppression Division

At dawn, a strange group set off from the Devil City.

Leading the way was the Flame Demon King. Its wounds had been treated, and it had changed into a clean cloak to cover the injury on its back.

Behind it followed a group of strange little demons, including jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards, all with animal heads and human bodies.

They drove several horse-drawn carriages, shouting as they headed towards Juyan Lake.

Juyan Lake is sparsely populated and extremely desolate. At dawn, the Fire Demon King and his party arrived at the shore, where a group of people were already waiting.

The leader was a scholar in a blue robe, with a thin face, a goatee, and triangular eyes with a cold gaze. Behind him were several strong men with knives at their waists, clearly from military backgrounds.

The scholar Zhang Ping saw the Flame Demon King from afar, cupped his hands in greeting, and said with a smile, "Brother Flame, you've worked hard. How did this shipment go?"

Upon hearing this, the Flame Demon King's face immediately darkened, and he began to curse.

"Smoothly my ass! Didn't you guys say you lured that guy surnamed Li away? I almost ran into him. Luckily, I ran fast, or I would be dead here today."

Zhang Ping frowned: "Li Yuan? No way, my men saw him head north with their own eyes."

"What do you mean?"

The Flame Demon King roared, "Would I lie to you?"

Seeing his anger, Zhang Ping quickly calmed him down: "Brother Huoyan, please calm down. Something must have gone wrong. I'll go back and have someone investigate."

After saying that, he asked with a forced smile, "Is the goods alright?"

The Flame Demon King said impatiently, "Anyway, I don't want to run into that guy surnamed Li again. Keep a close eye on him next time."

"The goods are all here. Take a look, and if there are no problems, then distribute the goods."

It pointed to the carriage behind it.

Zhang Ping hurried over, lifted the tarpaulin, and carefully inspected the contents. After confirming that everything was correct, he smiled with satisfaction.

Just then, another sound of footsteps came from afar, and Du Sheng walked over quickly with a trusted subordinate.

"How's it going? Has the goods arrived?"

Zhang Ping nodded: "We've arrived, but Brother Huoyan encountered a bit of a setback this time, but thankfully we've escaped unharmed."

"What happened?"

"For some reason, Li Yuan turned back again, and almost ran into Brother Huoyan."

Du Sheng was taken aback, and his face immediately turned somewhat embarrassed: "I saw him walk more than a hundred miles north with my own eyes. I didn't expect this kid to turn back so quickly. It seems we can't let our guard down next time."

A captain behind Zhang Ping sneered, "This Li Yuan, does he really think he's so great? He's just being played like a fool by us."

"Exactly! What kind of bullshit inspector is he? He's just a hothead with some talent!"

Du Sheng immediately began to flatter him, and a group of people laughed unrestrainedly, completely unaware that a wolf-headed demon beside them had a cold gaze.

This wolf demon was actually Li Yuan in disguise. Looking at Du Sheng's smug face, he sneered inwardly.

Laugh, laugh! Take advantage of the moment and laugh a little longer.

Because soon, you won't be laughing anymore.

"It's getting late, hurry up and divide the things, I have other matters to attend to."

The Flame Demon King urged impatiently, "You don't think there's something wrong with the goods, do you?"

"What are you saying? I naturally trust Brother Huoyan to handle things."

Zhang Ping took out a storage bag from his sleeve and handed it over: "These are the pills we agreed on. Same as always, you get seven and I get three."

"Great, next time something like this happens, just contact me at the same place as before."

The Flame Demon King took the storage bag, weighed it in his hand, and said with satisfaction.

"Of course, Brother Huoyan, rest assured, you will enjoy endless benefits by cooperating with us."

"By the way, that kid surnamed Li, you got tricked this time. How are you going to get rid of him next time?"

The Flame Demon King looked uneasy. "If it's this dangerous again next time, I'm quitting."

Zhang Ping and Du Sheng exchanged a glance, a fierce glint flashing in their eyes.

"Brother Huoyan, you're overthinking it. Li Yuan is just a young man who's new here. Even if he has some skill, he can't cause any trouble in Hexi."

"How could a newcomer like him possibly shake our network of relationships that we've cultivated over decades?"

"Alright, it's getting late. You should hurry up and leave so you don't get caught."

Zhang Ping didn't want to argue with him anymore, so he made an excuse and kicked him out.

"A network of relationships cultivated over so many years? Tell me about it, I'd like to know who's in this network."

A cold, clear voice rang out, landing in the ears of the group like a bombshell.

The group's expressions changed drastically at the same time, and they turned their heads sharply to see a wolf-headed demon reach out and remove his leather cloak, revealing a cold and stern face.

Du Sheng's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and his face instantly turned deathly pale: "Li Yuan? How could you...?"

How did I get here?

Li Yuan finished the sentence for him, a mocking smile on his face, "Gentlemen, I'm truly sorry to have disappointed you."

Zhang Ping reacted much faster than Du Sheng. He almost instinctively turned around to run away, but as soon as he turned around, he found that his back was blocked.

A group of demon-hunting guards wearing monster-shaped headgear were eyeing him menacingly.

Zhang Ping abruptly stopped, his face turning extremely ugly. He darted around, looked at Li Yuan, and forced a smile: "Inspector Li, this is all a misunderstanding..."

"Misunderstand?"

Li Yuan raised an eyebrow. "Then tell me, how did I misunderstand?"

"Is it a misunderstanding that you're doing business with the demon race, or that you've betrayed the reinforcements' route to the demon race?"

The mockery on Li Yuan's face intensified.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Ping's forehead was covered in cold sweat, but he still tried to remain calm: "Inspector Li is joking. I was just preparing to lead men to lure and capture this monster."

"Oh?"

"So I really misunderstood you?"

"Yes, yes, men, seize this wicked thief!"

While pretending to be serious, Zhang Ping kept giving Du Sheng meaningful glances.

Unfortunately, Du Sheng was a disappointment. His face was as white as paper, and he was trembling all over. As a member of the Demon Suppression Division, he naturally knew that colluding with the demon race and betraying his compatriots was enough to kill his whole family ten times over.

"Youth, did you record everything?"

Li Yuan didn't look at them anymore, and turned to speak to those behind him.

"It's all recorded."

A figure emerged from behind the mound; it was Ji Fanghua, holding a fist-sized recording stone in her hand.

"Not a single word was missed from beginning to end," Ji Fanghua said, emphasizing each word.

Finished!

This time, Zhang Ping was utterly desperate. With the photographic stone as irrefutable evidence, they had absolutely no chance of overturning the case.

But in an instant, Zhang Ping's eyes turned fierce again, glaring menacingly at Li Yuan.

"Hey Li, you'd better think this through. You're on my Anxi army's territory now. No matter how powerful you are, can you protect all your men?"

He spoke sternly, "Besides, do you really think the court doesn't know about these things? If you send these things up, plenty of people will want to get you."

"Yeah?"

Li Yuan remained calm. "This isn't the first time they've tried to kill me. Unfortunately, I'm very stubborn and I like to go against people."

Seeing that he was not threatened at all, Zhang Ping was in utter despair. He knew that if Li Yuan took the recording stone back, not only would he die, but it would also implicate the people behind him.

At that point, his entire family will be doomed.

Thinking of this, a glint of madness flashed in his eyes.