Volume One: Menial Work in Changshui County Chapter Eighty-Seven: Yuan Wufeng’s Death

That was Director Bai’s punch, carrying immense power.

Yuan Wufeng felt as if his back was being eaten away by a pain that pierced to the bone.

“Today, do you still think you can escape from our hands?” The slayer from Nanwu County, who had reached the eighth rank of martial arts, spoke coldly.

“We are all from the Demon-Slaying Division. Aren’t you afraid that the Anxi Prefecture Demon-Slaying Division and the Beilu Commandery Demon-Slaying Division will find out? By then, don’t talk about being eighth rank—whether you’re fifth or even fourth, you won’t escape the Demon-Slaying Division’s pursuit,” Yuan Wufeng shouted angrily, making a desperate stand.

“Foolish. If we didn’t have something to rely on, if we weren’t absolutely sure, do you think we would act?” Director Bai laughed. “Today, we send Director Yuan to the heavens. Let’s hope that in eighteen years, he’ll still be a true man.”

“Yes, a true man, and not this disgusting, effeminate figure,” another chimed in.

The situation changed too quickly; Yuan Wufeng could only defend himself passively.

Two fists were no match for four hands. Surrounded and attacked by two eighth-rank and four or five seventh-rank martial artists, Yuan Wufeng was soon covered in wounds, collapsing to the ground, barely breathing.

…

Not far away, the servant members of the Changshui County Demon-Slaying Division stared in shock, mouths agape at the scene before them.

What was happening?

Why had the people from Nanwu County suddenly erupted and tried to kill Yuan Wufeng?

“All fighting stops now. Detain the people from Changshui County here and await further orders. As for Director Yuan…” Director Bai glanced at Yuan Wufeng. “What comes next will be even worse than death for him.”

Director Bai laughed heartily, then led the eighth-rank martial artists from Nanwu County, along with nearly half of the seventh-rank martial artists, away at once.

The remaining people from Nanwu County formed a ring, trapping the servant members and ninth-rank martial artists of Changshui County in the center.

At the very center lay Yuan Wufeng, barely clinging to life.

“Such a despicable person is unworthy of being one of us from Changshui County,” a servant shouted.

“Beat him to death!” another echoed.

One voice after another rose. It was unclear who struck first, but soon the servants all began to attack the dying Yuan Wufeng.

Already gravely wounded, his defenses were negligible. Under the rain of fists and kicks, his life ended.

Poor Yuan Wufeng, once a deputy director of the Demon-Slaying Division, once an eighth-rank martial artist, ultimately died at the hands of these lowly servants.

Some say it was fate.

Others say that those to be pitied always have something detestable about them.

…

On the other side, Director Xue was already leading his men toward the target location.

This was a den of monsters; as soon as he set foot on the mountain range, he sensed the thick scent of beasts.

“Something’s not right,” Director Xue muttered to himself.

“Director Xue, did you notice a problem?” Lu Jiuzhang came closer and asked.

“We have another team as well. With such a large group climbing the mountain, it’s impossible for the monsters not to notice,” Director Xue said calmly. “But until now, have you heard any commotion from the mountain?”

Director Xue was extremely cautious; this was only his suspicion for now.

“Woof…” The big black dog suddenly barked.

This was the secret signal between the dog and Lu Jiuzhang.

The big black dog wanted to speak; when there were many people around, he would bark.

Lu Jiuzhang quickly accompanied him to a quiet spot.

Only after making sure no one else was present did the big black dog speak slowly. “Master Jiu, there is indeed a problem, and it’s a big one. This mountain is extraordinary—that’s the first issue.”

“The second is that there aren’t many monsters on this mountain.”

Not many monsters? What did that mean?

Lu Jiuzhang looked at the big black dog. “What do you mean?”

“This is a land of great evil; there might be something incredible buried underground. That’s the first issue,” said the big black dog. “The second is, while the monster aura is strong on this mountain, there actually aren’t that many monsters.”

After thinking for a moment, the big black dog continued, “There are fewer than ten monsters.”

Fewer than ten monsters?

Lu Jiuzhang glanced toward the mountaintop, where a sect had once stood. It was not a grand construction.

But with the passage of time, the sect had long since vanished, leaving only broken walls and overgrown weeds.

The monsters now occupied the summit, hiding among the ruined walls.

“What rank are these monsters?” Lu Jiuzhang asked.

He hadn’t expected the big black dog to be so formidable, able to detect the monsters on the mountain. That would certainly prove useful.

“Hmm… The strongest one is close to seventh-rank, very powerful,” the big black dog replied. “There are three more at eighth-rank, and six at ninth-rank.”

Close to seventh-rank, but not quite there yet.

Zhong Zhengming had already reached seventh-rank in martial arts, so dealing with the strongest monster should be possible.

The rest of the group could handle the eighth and ninth rank monsters without too much difficulty.

Lu Jiuzhang quickly did the math—the chances of victory this time were virtually one hundred percent.

“Master Jiu, I still feel something’s off. Maybe we should retreat for now,” the big black dog suddenly said, a sense of foreboding rising in him.

“Don’t jinx it!” Lu Jiuzhang glared at him.

“But my intuition—” the big black dog tried to protest, but Lu Jiuzhang cut him off.

“If we retreat now, what will people think of me? They’ll say I, Lu Jiuzhang, fled in the face of battle, that I’m a coward.”

“We’ll wait and see how things play out. If anything seems wrong, we’ll slip away quietly. Safety comes first,” Lu Jiuzhang added. “By the way, how accurate is your intuition?”

“Most of the time it’s pretty accurate. But if the enemy has a sorcerer or a formation that blocks fate, then there’s nothing I can do,” the big black dog said.

“You just said this is a land of great evil. Could your sense of foreboding come from that?” Lu Jiuzhang asked.

“That’s possible!” The big black dog nodded. “If there’s something extremely dangerous here—even if it’s sealed or asleep and poses no threat to us—I would still get that sense of foreboding.”

That made sense.

Lu Jiuzhang nodded slightly. “Let’s rejoin the main group for now; we’ll see what happens next.”

With that, the two returned to the group.

Director Xue stood at the very front, gazing at the ruins atop the mountain, lost in thought.

Lu Jiuzhang looked over the assembled team and noticed that there seemed to be fewer people than before.

“Director Xue, why are we missing several dozen people?” Lu Jiuzhang inquired.

“The people from Nanwu County said that being mixed in with our group would only cause more conflict, so they decided to return to their own team,” Director Xue replied. “I agreed—it’s true that conflict is likely.”

“Last night, Director Zhong summoned me to discuss this. He told me plainly, if the people from Nanwu County dared to be disrespectful, I was to order the people of Changshui County to be ready to attack at any moment.”

“But I thought about it—no matter what, we should avoid conflict if we can. The chief of the Anxi Prefecture Demon-Slaying Division is about to retire. If any trouble breaks out now, Director Zhong’s promotion will be jeopardized.”

Director Xue let out a long sigh. In the end, he had gone against Director Zhong’s orders.

He simply felt that this was a rare opportunity, and once missed, it would be gone forever.

It was still best to avoid conflict for now—exterminate the monsters first, then deal with internal strife. Even if it came to a showdown with Nanwu County afterward, so be it.