1: Dajing Town Demon Division

Great Jing, Pingyang Prefecture, Anping County, Demon Suppression Division.

"Drip... drip..."

Deep within the Dungeon, the sound of dripping water from an unknown source fell to the ground, unsettling the heart.

The gaps between the bricks were filled with dark brown, aged bloodstains that reeked of a fishy stench no matter how hard they were scrubbed.

"If you ask me, this world is becoming more and more sinister."

A thin, gaunt young man sat in the corner of the Dungeon, his cheeks flickering in the candlelight from both sides of the corridor. "Old Zhao, the night watchman on West Street, is gone. When they found him today, his heart and liver had been hollowed out. Everyone is saying it was a Corpse Ghost..."

Jiang Lan held a hog-bristle brush, dipped it into the wooden bucket beside him to get some water, and continued scrubbing the blood-stained blue bricks in front of him, though he applied a bit more force to his hands.

He was not from this world; he had arrived via Transmigration half a month ago.

This Great Jing Dynasty was somewhat similar to the feudal dynasties of his previous life.

The difference was that demons existed in this place.

...

'There is the Ghost Carriage, with nine heads and eighteen wings; where its feathers fall, ghost fire never ceases. On the night of the Zhongyuan Festival, it passed through Fengdu, and ten thousand households perished.'

'There is the Plague Ghost, formed from pestilent Qi, with neither eyes nor mouth; to see it is to go mad. During the Great Plague of Chongning, it became a dead zone.'

'There is the Teng Jiao, a hundred zhang in length; it passed over Mirror Lake, causing nine days of torrential rain that breached the dikes, with over ten thousand dead, all of whom sprouted fish scales.'

...

Thinking of the snippets he had seen in storybooks, a chill ran down Jiang Lan's spine.

The father of his original body had been a member of the Demon Suppression Division, but he had died in the line of duty a long time ago.

Once the original body—that is, he—turned twenty, he inherited his father's profession and became a member of the Demon Suppression Division as well.

The only consolation was that he was merely a menial laborer; he would not be called upon to actually fight demons.

Cleaning this disgusting Dungeon every day could barely be considered a job.

There was no help for it; he had Transmigrated suddenly and had not seen the standard Golden Finger that transmigrators were supposed to have. Being able to survive was already quite good.

"Hey... I say, Lan-geer, you haven't married yet, have you? You're already twenty. I heard from Lord Lu that you weren't married off before because you were young and living in poverty. But now that you've joined the Demon Suppression Division and have a job, it's not good to keep delaying it, is it?"

Jiang Lan smiled helplessly.

Besides demons, there was another difference between this world and the feudal dynasties he had known.

With demons running rampant, the male population of the Great Jing Dynasty was withering away.

To maintain the Dynasty and stimulate population growth, the imperial court decreed that regardless of gender, everyone must marry upon reaching the age of eighteen, otherwise, they would be subject to an additional thirty percent tax.

It was only out of consideration for his original body's father, who had died in the line of duty, that the county government hadn't made things difficult for Jiang Lan and had kept turning a blind eye.

But now that he had officially joined the Demon Suppression Division, he couldn't refuse anymore.

"I understand."

"Tsk tsk... When the county's matchmaking team arrives, I'll help you scout around and find a sturdy wife; at the very least, she can help you with your chores."

Jiang Lan did not reply.

In a ghost-forsaken place like this, he might die at the hands of some inexplicable demon any day; how could he have the heart to look for a wife?

By the time Jiang Lan finished cleaning the Dungeon, it was already a quarter past the Hour of the Rooster, the time to finish his shift.

Walking out of the Dungeon, Jiang Lan was preparing to go home.

But before he had taken a few steps, he was suddenly called out from behind.

"Jiang Lan."

Jiang Lan subconsciously turned his head, saw the person who had arrived, and bowed slightly, saying:

"Lord Banner Officer."

Standing before him was a young man dressed in a black robe.

The man had a gaunt face, an aura of chilling Killing Intent, and a long saber strapped to his waist.

An old scar ran across his brow bone, and his left eye was the color of a bewitching, dark gold.

This person was Lu Qingya, the Banner Officer of the Anping County Demon Suppression Division.

In this county's Demon Suppression Division, the Demon Suppression Envoy was the highest-ranking, followed by the Banner Officer, and then the Squad Leader.

Below them were the Demon Suppression Guards and menial laborers like Jiang Lan.

Menial laborers were not commoners; they were considered part of the establishment, though their duties differed from those of the Demon Suppression Guards.

As long as they learned martial arts, menial laborers could also become Demon Suppression Guards.

This world had demons, and it also had Martial Artists.

The Martial Dao could reach the level of gods.

If not for those powerful Martial Artists holding things up, this Great Jing would have long ago completely devolved into a playground for demons.

"There's no need to be so distant; I was an old acquaintance of your father," Lu Qingya said. "Today, there happens to be a matchmaking team just outside the county government office; you should go take a look."

Jiang Lan subconsciously wanted to refuse.

Lu Qingya seemed to have guessed Jiang Lan's thoughts, and before he could speak, he preempted him by saying:

"Everyone must follow the rules, not just you... whoever it were, it would be the same. The Division has already delayed this for two years out of consideration for your father, but if you delay any longer, you will have to pay that extra thirty percent tax."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Lan felt helpless.

He possessed the memories of the original owner of the body; his parents had died, and he could be said to have grown up relying on the relief from neighbors and the Demon Suppression Division.

Now that he had finally reached the age and joined the Demon Suppression Division, his life had just started to improve.

If he had to pay an extra thirty percent tax, he would be back to square one overnight.

Fine.

Lu Qingya was not wrong.

People must follow the rules.

Even if he married a wife, the food one woman ate would be much less than that extra thirty percent tax.

Besides, he would have someone to keep him company.

"I will go to the county government office right now."

Lu Qingya nodded, a flicker of appreciation appearing in the depths of his eyes.

Not bad, he's someone who understands the situation.

After bidding farewell to Lu Qingya, Jiang Lan left the Demon Suppression Division and walked along the street.

The distance between the Demon Suppression Division and the county government office was not far; even walking, it would only take a quarter of an hour.

Both sides of the street were quite lively, with many peddlers and commoners, and the sounds of hawking were endless.

Looking at the state of the passersby, they did not seem to worry about any demons.

With the Demon Suppression Division present, even if a demon appeared in the county town, it would be suppressed very quickly.

If it were a demon that even the Demon Suppression Division could not suppress, then for an ordinary person encountering it, there would only be one result.

Ten deaths and no life.

If they really encountered one, they could only consider themselves unlucky.

Therefore, there was nothing for everyone to worry about.

Just muddle along; living one day is not a loss, and living two days is a gain.

Walking along the street, after a while, Jiang Lan arrived at a high platform.

The high platform was surrounded, packed tightly with people.

On the platform stood about twenty young girls of marriageable age, facing the crowd below as if they were goods with clearly marked prices.

Jiang Lan's gaze swept over the twenty young girls.

Until his gaze fell on the last two women, when it suddenly trembled.

In this mere county, there were actually beauties like this?

Although their faces were a bit dirty, Jiang Lan could still tell that if these two women were cleaned up, they would definitely be Heavenly Immortal-like beings.

Even wearing long dresses, one could see the two women's curvaceous figures and their waists that could be grasped with one hand.

The long dresses the two women wore, judging by the material alone, must be quite valuable.

But what was strange was that their long dresses were covered in a layer of filth, and there were several grayish patches on them, looking quite jarring.

Are they Young Misses from a fallen family...