Tang Dynasty Demon Suppression Division

"However, because of this incident, the monster has become much more restrained. Although it still controls the villagers and drains their life force, at least... it no longer eats people indiscriminately."

Li Yuan was deeply shaken. He had never imagined that there was such a complicated secret behind this water monster.

With a sudden thought, he communicated with the bronze palace and began exploring the village. In the deathly silent village, only a magnificent blue-brick house in the center concealed an evil aura.

Sure enough, there was another monster hiding in the village, so it seems Huai Xue wasn't lying.

"By the way, what about the people from the Demon Suppression Division? Where did they go?" Li Yuan asked, recalling what Deputy Chief Han had said. "There should have been two groups of people. One group only managed to bring back one seriously injured person, and the other group went missing."

Li Yuan sensed that the monster from earlier shouldn't have been able to wipe out both teams of demon-suppressing guards; there must be another reason behind it.

Huai Xue's face turned deathly pale instantly, her lips trembling. "The first few people who came were all very young. They were tricked into coming to the village chief's house, where they were drugged during the meal. They were all... sacrificed to the monster."

"What?!"

Li Yuan was taken aback. "You mean all those demon-suppressing guards were...?"

Those who could serve as demon-suppressing guards were all talented individuals, possessing martial prowess far exceeding that of ordinary people, and each of them took it upon themselves to protect the common people. Unexpectedly, they did not die at the hands of demons, but rather at the hands of a group of greedy mortals.

Huai Xue's face paled even more: "The second group came in larger numbers and were much more wary. The villagers tricked them into going upstream, where there's a great demon... They went there and never came back..."

After Huai Xue finished speaking, she burst into tears, curled up on the ground, and trembled all over.

Li Yuan stood there, stunned, feeling a chill rush from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, and his limbs instantly turned icy cold.

Those seemingly numb and listless villagers actually joined forces to kill two groups of demon-suppressing guards. For a moment, he was in a state of utter confusion. Perhaps they were simply being controlled by the demons and had no choice in the matter.

But he remembered the villagers he had met before. Although they were numb, they did not have any demonic aura. At that time, the group had suspected it and secretly investigated, but the results showed that they were all normal.

At that moment, Li Yuan suddenly felt a chill run through his body. Even the ugliest monsters were not as disgusting as this truth.

Demons eating people is their nature.

But what about humans who, in order to survive, send their own kind into the mouths of demons?

No wonder the water monster hides here disguised as a small stone. It may not be a kind creature, but in this village, in front of the so-called villagers, it has become an anomaly.

The human heart... can sometimes be a hundred times more terrifying than demons.

"Boom! Boom!"

Suddenly, a violent magical explosion came from the direction of the Wushui River outside the village, accompanied by the loud roar of surging water, indicating that the battle was exceptionally fierce.

Huai Xue suddenly raised her head, her face ashen, and lunged forward, grabbing Li Yuan's sleeve: "My lord, please, please save it! It's not an evil demon. It can't fight off so many people, please!"

Li Yuan glanced down at her, his expression complex. Since he began cultivating, he had never shown mercy to any demon, but at this moment, he suddenly changed his mind.

"Alright, Miss Huaixue, stay here and don't wander off." Li Yuan instructed, then his figure shot off like an arrow towards the direction where the battle had broken out.

In a few leaps, Li Yuan arrived at the banks of the Wushui River. There, he saw the river surging with waves, and Chen Shuo, Xu Sheng, Fang Yan, and Shi Yong had surrounded the water monster in the center, each using their own methods to launch a relentless attack.

The water monster had several deep, bone-revealing wounds on its body, with dark green blood dripping continuously. It roared furiously and charged left and right, but it could not break through the encirclement of the four people. Its breath was clearly weakening.

Chen Shuo's expression was grim. He held his long sword high, and blinding lightning gathered on the blade. He was clearly preparing for the final blow to completely end this monster.

"Lord Chen, spare his life!" Li Yuan shouted, his figure flashing as he blocked Chen Shuo's blade.

Chen Shuo's sword strike faltered, his brow furrowing: "Li Yuan? What do you mean by this? This demon is wreaking havoc on the village, abducting living beings; it cannot be allowed to live!"

"Lord Chen, there is more to this than meets the eye. This water monster may be innocent."

Li Yuan briefly recounted what Huai Xue had said.

Upon hearing this, Chen Shuo and the others were all greatly surprised: "Such a strange thing has happened?"

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances, all somewhat incredulous. Li Yuan then said, "I have already investigated, and there is indeed another monster hiding in the village."

While they were hesitating, Huai Xue stumbled over and saw the water monster covered in blood and on the verge of death. She immediately cried out and rushed over, grabbing the water monster's huge head and kowtowing repeatedly to Chen Shuo and the others.

"Sir! Please! Save it! It's really not an evil demon. It saved me, and it saved so many lives in the village!"

The water monster opened its weak eyes and recognized Huai Xue. The fierce light in its eerie green eyes subsided slightly, and it let out a low "woo-woo" sound. It struggled to raise its claws, wanting to touch Huai Xue, but then it drooped down weakly.

Chen Shuo and Xu Sheng exchanged a glance, their expressions grave. If what Huai Xue said was true, then the water monster had indeed not done anything evil.

"Fang Yan, stop the bleeding and stabilize the injury first." Chen Shuo finally put away his knife and gave the order in a deep voice.

Fang Yan quickly stepped forward, took out pills and ointment, and treated the water monster's wounds. Huai Xue hugged the water monster the whole time, watching it longingly.

After some simple treatment, the water monster's breathing stabilized a little. It struggled to lift its head, looked at Chen Shuo, and then at Huai Xue.

"Thank you for sparing my life."

"No need to thank me. Tell me, what exactly is that monster in the village that controls the villagers and eats people as sacrifices? And where is it hiding now?" Chen Shuo asked in a deep voice.

The water monster panted for a few moments and said resentfully, "It's a weasel, its strength is not as good as mine. If I hadn't been seriously injured before, I would have slapped it to death long ago, and it wouldn't have been able to act so arrogantly."

It was actually a weasel demon? Everyone understood; this kind of monster was indeed skilled at bewitching people.

"It was also injured and is now hiding in the village chief's house, spreading rumors and inciting the villagers every day."

"What about the great demon upstream that injured you? What happened to it?" Li Yuan pressed. This water monster was probably at the peak of the demon general level before. A demon that could injure it so badly must be of a very high level.

The water monster's body trembled visibly, and fear appeared in its eyes: "It's a Blackwater Serpent. It's very strong, much stronger than me. If it hadn't been injured when it arrived, I wouldn't have survived at all."

Blackwater Serpent?

Upon hearing the name, the group was taken aback; it seemed too much of a coincidence.

The Blackwater Serpent is a very rare species, said to live in the cold, far north. How come it keeps appearing in the Tang Dynasty?

"Tell me in detail how it came to be? What does it look like?" Li Yuan's heart tightened.

"That black water serpent appeared suddenly from downstream more than a year ago. It seemed to be injured at the time, and it immediately tried to take over my territory... I couldn't beat it... and it almost swallowed me whole..."

The water monster looked at Huai Xue, its eyes softening, and said, "If I hadn't met Sister Huai Xue, I probably would have died back then."