Swordholder

"Evil...evil spirit?"

"Or... a demon?!"

Master Liu was so frightened that his soul almost left his body and his heart was shattered!

He didn't even have the strength to run away.

But as soon as he finished speaking, a large, bluish-black hand suddenly reached out to grab his face!

Suddenly, all five fingernails grew longer and became as sharp as knives!

Swish!

The heads of Master Liu and the guard were instantly torn to pieces like watermelons!

Blood and brains were splattered all over the ground!

At this point, Master Liu and the ten guards he brought with him were all dead!

Nuomi, who had been protected behind Lu Chengfeng, suddenly jumped out from behind him.

The fear on her face had vanished, replaced by a sly and excited expression.

She rushed forward, rummaged through the corpses for a while, then frowned, revealing a look of disappointment.

"Hmph, only brought this little bit of Star Copper? They're so poor, not even a single Moon Silver!"

Little Nuomi pouted indignantly and sighed helplessly.

As she spoke, she turned and ran into the kitchen next door, took out cleaning tools, and skillfully began to clean up the bloodstains on the floor.

The coldness on Chen Yuan's face gradually faded.

He touched his nose and went over to help.

"Throw it in the back mountain, where there are evil spirits that eat corpses, so as not to leave any trace."

Lu Chengfeng spoke calmly.

Chen Yuan nodded and, together with Xiao Nuomi, quickly cleaned up the traces at the scene.

……

It was almost evening by now.

The black sun had not yet set, but the red moon, which looked as if it had been soaked in blood, gradually rose, almost filling most of the sky, making the whole world feel suffocatingly oppressive.

The village of Qingshan was eerily silent, while the distant mountains and forests were pitch black, with occasional eerie howls and wailing sounds echoing through the air.

After throwing the body into the back mountain, Chen Yuan and Xiao Nuomi quickly ran home.

Inside the room, Lu Chengfeng sat in a chair with a gloomy expression, his long, messy hair covering most of his face.

Only his scarlet eyes were visible, exuding an eerie and chilling aura.

"A-Yuan, I don't have much time left. From now on, Nuomi is in your care."

Lu Chengfeng's voice was hoarse and deep.

Chen Yuan was taken aback, then said firmly, "Uncle Lu, hang in there. I will definitely find a way to suppress the evil energy in your body."

Nuomi quickly tugged at Lu Chengfeng's sleeve, her eyes reddening, "Daddy, Brother Ayuan will definitely save you, you have to hold on!"

"Nuomi is already from a single-parent family; she doesn't want to become an orphan!"

Chen Yuan smiled helplessly and rubbed Xiao Nuomi's little head.

Lu Chengfeng looked at his daughter, the bloodshot in his eyes gradually fading, and his tone softened considerably: "Alright, Daddy will listen to Nuomi and persevere a little longer."

After speaking, he looked at Chen Yuan again, his expression darkening further.

"The Liu family won't let this go. They're so eager to capture Nuomi this time... Could it be that they know Nuomi has an evil spirit seed within her?"

"So, they wanted to bring glutinous rice to Black Mountain to be offered as a 'lucky pig' to the evil god?"

The so-called "lucky pig" is a ritual in which a living person is used as a roasted pig to sacrifice to the blood-red moon in the sky.

As for Heishan, it is a notorious and ominous place in Wuqiao Town.

On the mountain lives a monstrous tree that has been corrupted, known as the Black Mountain Granny.

Upon hearing this, Chen Yuan's gaze sharpened.

He also guessed that the Liu family had always colluded with the evil spirits on Black Mountain.

Today they seized his position as a law enforcement guard, and then Liu Sanye and his men came to arrest him... It's obvious that the Liu family wants to destroy them.

Its purpose should be glutinous rice.

Lu Chengfeng continued, "Perhaps the garrison commander and the head of the law enforcement department are in cahoots with Granny Black Mountain."

"After all, in recent years, there have been frequent disappearances of young boys and girls in Wuqiao Town, but their whereabouts have never been found..."

"The reason for this is either official incompetence, or that the officials are also partners."

Chen Yuan pondered with a gloomy expression, "Damn, that's really shady!"

He then looked at Lu Chengfeng, his eyes cold, and said, "That's possible. Otherwise, given that Third Master Liu's character, he wouldn't be so eager to come and arrest us as soon as we got back."

At this point, Chen Yuan clenched his fists. "Uncle Lu, don't worry, I won't let them succeed."

A meaningful smile played on Lu Chengfeng's lips. "So, what do you plan to do?"

Chen Yuan's eyes flashed with murderous intent. "Since they want my whole family dead, then I'll kill their whole family too!"

These words were clearly extremely ruthless... but in front of a seemingly ordinary father and daughter, they appeared unusually calm.

"Yes, kill his whole family!"

Nuomi, in particular, excitedly shouted, her little face full of fierceness, "Dare to use Nuomi as a lucky pig to sacrifice to an evil god? We'll beat the crap out of him!"

Lu Chengfeng's expression was cold; he stared at Chen Yuan with a blank expression and asked in a deep voice, "When are we going?"

"There's no time to lose, let's go now."

Chen Yuan looked at him and responded.

Lu Chengfeng nodded, the crimson light in his eyes seemingly impossible to suppress.

He looked at Chen Yuan and then licked his lips.

But soon, he seemed to suppress his emotions and immediately turned and went into the inner room.

The next second, a series of deep, beast-like roars came from inside the house.

This is completely different from his usual honest and simple nature.

Chen Yuan stood silently in place, his expression complex.

Little Nuomi ran to the doorway, peeked inside, then turned to Chen Yuan, stuck out her tongue, and said playfully:

"Brother Yuan, Daddy is eating the pheasant he hunted yesterday. Oh dear, eating it raw! That's so cruel."

Chen Yuan said helplessly, "Take good care of yourself. I'm going out for a bit. Also, stay away from your father for now."

Little Nuomi's eyes narrowed into crescent shapes, her pupils sparkling like diamonds.

She tugged at his sleeve excitedly, pleading, "Kill the entire Liu family? I want to go too!"

Chen Yuan gently shook his head, refusing her.

"Don't underestimate me just because I'm small. I might not be able to beat them, but I can shout '666'!"

Glutinous rice was persistent and continued to plead and entice.

These witty remarks were all taught to her by Chen Yuan, and she found them amusing, often using them as a joke.

Chen Yuan shook his head again, repeatedly telling her to take good care of Lu Chengfeng at home, before picking up a kitchen knife from the kitchen.

He tucked the kitchen knife into his waistband and went out alone.

------

At this moment, only the scarlet moon remained in the sky, its dim red light enveloping the earth, creating an oppressive and gloomy atmosphere.

Chen Yuan glanced at the Qingshan Village in front of him.

There are about forty or fifty households here, and the houses are scattered very much.

Therefore, the fighting inside the house did not alert the other villagers.

Even if someone vaguely hears a sound, they will simply pretend that nothing happened.

After all, it's not surprising that anything strange could happen on such a night or in the early morning.

Chen Yuan moved quickly and soon disappeared into the forest, heading towards the town of Wuqiao.

The surroundings remained dark, and a biting wind howled past.

He tightened his tattered cotton-padded coat, and involuntarily, the history and experiences of this world that Lu Chengfeng had once told him came to mind.

"Three thousand years ago, the moon in the human world was tainted by blood and evil spirits, turning into a red moon, and the sun was corrupted by demons, turning into a black sun."

"Whenever night falls and the red moon hangs in the sky, the heavens and earth are shrouded in blood and evil. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth condenses into evil spirits, which corrode all things, causing strange occurrences and evil spirits to emerge everywhere."

"But when the day comes, the dark sun rises, and all things in heaven and earth are illuminated by demonic light. Pure spiritual energy is polluted into demonic spirits, which infect all living beings and cause demons to run rampant."

"From then on, the world became a living hell, and people lived worse than pigs and dogs..."

······

Chen Yuan clearly remembered that when Lu Chengfeng said those words, his eyes were filled with extreme pain, as if he could see the tragic deaths of his relatives and friends.

However, looking back, Chen Yuan felt that Lu Chengfeng was a bit strange.

The other person seemed to be someone with a profound faith...

He said at the time that even though the world is in decline and the lower classes are treated like pigs and dogs,

But as long as we live, humanity will help and support one another, and one day, we will see the light of day again!

"This doesn't sound like something an ordinary civilian would say. Could it be... that Uncle Lu has an unusual background?"

Chen Yuan murmured, his thoughts wandering.

Suddenly, strange sounds came from the mountains and forests behind him... there was the crying of an infant, the sobbing of a woman, and soon after, a mournful song echoed softly.

Countless scarlet eyes stared intently at his back, calling his name over and over again, making his hair stand on end and his spine go cold.

If this were Chen Yuan at the beginning, he would have been so frightened that he would have collapsed and been unable to walk.

But by this time of year, it had become commonplace.

Lu Chengfeng had taken him on countless wilderness training sessions, which had already honed his courage and confidence.

He didn't turn around, but took out the paper money he had prepared beforehand from his pocket, and scattered it along the way as he walked quickly, muttering incantations:

"Amitabha Buddha, great fortune and auspiciousness, all taboos are lifted, all evil spirits are warded off..."

"Don't be surprised if anything seems strange; may you be safe and sound. May evil spirits retreat and may your yang energy remain forever..."

······

Chen Yuan kept walking and soon emerged from the forest onto a wide official road.

The discomfort of being watched by countless eyes behind him vanished instantly.

He breathed a sigh of relief, wrapped his tattered cotton-padded coat tighter around himself, inhaled the damp, bone-chilling air, and quickened his pace toward Wuqiao Town.

"I can't let the Liu family hurt Uncle Lu and Nuomi. They are my only family in this world, and I absolutely cannot let anything happen to them!"

Chen Yuan's resolve was firm, and his steps quickened.

Over the past year, Lu Chengfeng not only taught him cultivation, but also became his only family member in this world.

"Uncle Lu..."

Chen Yuan felt melancholy. He could roughly guess that Lu Chengfeng was probably already dead.

Because there was no sign of life in the other person.

But its soul is conscious.

Chen Yuan guessed that the other party might be an evil spirit, or—a zombie.

He was transformed after inhaling a large amount of evil spirits and malevolent energy while his body was still intact and his soul had not completely dissipated.

"Oh dear, how can we save Uncle Lu?"

Chen Yuan murmured to himself, slowly raising his hands and looking at his palms...

As he gazed, a crescent moon shape slowly appeared in his left palm, blood-red—a moon mark.

On the right palm, a circular, black mark with flame-like patterns on the edge appeared—a sun mark.

······

By the time Chen Yuan arrived at the Liu family's residence, it was already noon.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, he scaled the wall and quietly dealt with a servant who was serving dishes, then changed into the servant's clothes.

After a moment's thought, he picked up the plate, concealed the cleaver at his waist beneath it, and walked slowly toward the Liu family's living room with his head down.

The Liu family home wasn't large. Chen Yuan followed the source of the lively noise and soon entered the Liu family's living room.

The Liu family's living room was exceptionally lively tonight, with five tables set up for a banquet.

There were about twenty or thirty people sitting around the table, clinking glasses and chatting happily.

Perhaps it was because Liu Ruyan had become a law enforcement officer during the day, and they were celebrating.

At the same time, they were entertaining someone.

Chen Yuan pondered for a moment, then glanced inside without making a sound.

At the head table, the old patriarch of the Liu family, Liu Zheng, was speaking to a middle-aged man dressed in an official robe with a cold and stern face.

As they drew closer, their conversation became clear, causing Chen Yuan's expression to freeze instantly.

"Haha, Lord Wang, thank you so much for giving our Liu family a spot in the Enforcement Guard!"

Liu Zheng, his face flushed from drinking, said excitedly, "The Liu family members will definitely follow Lord Wang's lead!"

"You tell us where to attack, and we'll attack there. From now on, Lord Wang will lead us to wealth."

The middle-aged man in the official robes, his head held high, his face flushed from drinking, waved his hand smugly, "Heh, a trivial matter, nothing to mention."

This middle-aged man was Wang Feng, the director of the law enforcement department.

He felt relaxed and at ease, and the image of Liu Ruyan's graceful, snow-white figure in the town government office during the day involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

The girl served him to his heart's content, almost draining him dry.

With the Liu family's exceptional hospitality tonight, he was overjoyed.

"Yes, yes, yes! In Wuqiao Town, Lord Wang is practically all-powerful!"

Liu Zhengyuan quickly flattered him, his face full of obsequiousness, "A mere enforcement guard position is naturally not worth mentioning!"

But for my Liu family, this is an immense favor!

Wang Feng narrowed his eyes, took a sip of his drink, and, thinking of the day's plan, coldly instructed:

"You must capture Chen Yuan and those three, Lu Chengfeng and the others, as soon as possible!"

Especially the little girl named Nuomi, who was also quickly sent to Heishan.

"Ah, yes, yes, yes!"

Liu Zheng quickly agreed, then glanced at the living room doorway with a puzzled look.

"Third Master Liu went to arrest people a long time ago, and he should be back by now."

During the meal, a high-ranking member of the Liu family hesitated before speaking, "Could something have gone wrong?"

"What could possibly go wrong?" someone immediately retorted. "Lu Chengfeng is just a lowly commoner; does he think he can defy the heavens?"

Everyone nodded in agreement, feeling that this was the proper way to do it.

The lowly commoners are at their mercy.

At this moment, an elder from the Liu family spoke up to remind them: "Don't forget, that kid named Chen Yuan passed the Enforcement Guard's assessment. He might actually have some skills."

"Hmph, what skills? Just a bit stronger. Aren't there plenty of these kinds of troublemakers in this world?"

Wang Feng suddenly spoke, his tone full of disdain, "A powerless, lowly commoner with no connections dares to challenge us?"

Liu Qing laughed and said, "What you say is true, sir. If they don't want to maintain their dignity, then we'll help them do so!"

Wang Feng nodded, "We might as well go all the way and kill them all quickly to prevent future trouble!"

Upon hearing this, everyone from the Liu family at the table burst into laughter.

Wang Feng squinted, then suddenly seemed to remember something, and said again:

"However, Chen Yuan and Lu Chengfeng are ultimately registered in the Great Xiang Empire and are protected by the imperial laws."

"If you're going to do it, do it cleanly and don't leave any evidence that could cause panic among other troublemakers."

"After all, the credibility of the Great Xiang Empire on the surface still needs to be maintained."

After he said that, the others nodded in agreement.

Above this Great Xiang Empire, there is also a super power.

That is "The Divine Court".

The High Priest of the Divine Court once said, "All living beings are God's children, and all beings are equal."

However, in the face of this divine law, the Great Xiang Empire has issued a law instead.

Household registration of all people.

If you are not registered as a member of the general population, then you have been separated from the general population, and therefore you are not equal.

"Hehe, Lord Wang, rest assured, we will handle things cleanly and efficiently!"

Liu Zhengyuan immediately responded obsequiously, then gave a wink to the Liu family executive beside him.

At that moment, Chen Yuan, carrying a plate of dishes, had just walked to the main table when he overheard their conversation. His eyes instantly turned icy cold!