16: evildoer

The Old Woman's tone became a little indifferent: "If it weren't for the Demon Monkey you raised causing trouble, this matter might not have developed to this point!"

In her voice, dissatisfaction was almost overflowing.

The sweeping Old Servant corrected seriously: "That was a spiritual monkey."

The Old Woman became even more dissatisfied: "Precisely because of your Demon Monkey, it might lead the people from the Dongming Sect to think the demonic creature here has been eliminated and return to the Dongming Sect. At that time, how will we hunt down the people from the Dongming Sect?"

The sweeping Old Servant said with a cold face: "That demonic creature is still here. Even if the people from the Dongming Sect return, they will still come back. The only difference is that someone else from the Dongming Sect will be doing the hunting! But my spiritual monkey cannot die in vain. The person from the Dongming Sect who killed my spiritual monkey must pay blood for blood!"

...

Wuguan County, the County Office, underground.

A Copper Armor Dao Soldiers saw everything the Old Woman and the sweeping Old Servant did, but still did not leave. He just stood quietly underground, motionless, like a lifeless stone.

Lu Chen, far outside the county town, naturally heard and saw everything the Old Woman and the sweeping Old Servant did and said.

"So there's a bigger fish behind this."

He rubbed his chin, lost in thought.

They couldn't really be called big fish. Whether it was the Old Woman or the sweeping Old Servant, they were only at the Peak of the Spirit Transformation Realm.

But wanting to hunt down Disciple of the Dongming Sect, they were most likely those reckless rogue cultivators mentioned by Zhong Yi and Zhang Bingsong from the Law Enforcement Hall.

"Hunting down people from the Dongming Sect, are you!"

Just wait, I'll knock your head crooked.

Lu Chen silently took out a communication jade slip...

Night.

Occasionally, dark clouds drifted by, obscuring the bright moon, and the night became intermittently bright and dark.

Wuguan County, North of the city.

Captain Song returned home, rubbing his forehead, feeling as if needles were pricking his brain: "Strange, for no reason, why does my head hurt!"

Earlier, when he left the county office gate and encountered the sweeping Old Servant and the wiping Old Woman, he had inexplicably zoned out for a moment. It was strange, too, as he had never suffered from headaches in all these years.

"Could it be because I encountered the Demon Monkey today?"

It's not impossible. I heard that demonic energy carries malevolence and is most harmful. When ordinary people encounter demonic creatures, even if they aren't eaten, they'll still fall gravely ill.

"Daddy, look, the protective charm Mommy and I got for you."

A little girl of seven or eight years old excitedly ran out from the house, holding a small brocade pouch in her hand.

Captain Song's stern face immediately softened, replaced by a smile: "Then, Nannan, will you put it on for Daddy?"

He picked up the little girl and rubbed his chin stubble against her face a few times.

"Giggle..." The little girl kept leaning back, letting out clear, bell-like laughter: "Daddy's beard is so ticklish."

"So my Nannan is ticklish?" Captain Song raised his chin again, wanting to rub it against the little girl's tender pink cheeks. The father and daughter started playing together.

From the house, a young woman dressed somewhat simply walked out. She smiled as she watched the father and daughter playing. After a moment, she said softly: "Hurry and come inside."

Captain Song carried the little girl forward and asked softly: "Did you go out today?"

The young woman nodded lightly: "I just went to the temple in the city to pray for safety. Lately, the county has been plagued by demonic disasters, and you're running around outside every day, which makes people worry."

Captain Song chuckled: "The demonic creature in the county was slain by an expert from the Immortal Sect. From now on, it won't..."

Before he finished speaking, Captain Song's face stiffened little by little. Even the hands holding the little girl were trembling slowly.

Then, his body completely stiffened. Like a machine, he slowly raised his head inch by inch, looking towards the courtyard wall, where a massive figure silently descended!

"Demon..." He abruptly handed the little girl in his arms to the woman and quickly pushed her into the house: "Close the door, and don't come out no matter what you hear!"

"Old Song..." The young woman's panicked cries came from inside the house, but Captain Song couldn't hear a single word anymore.

His eyes were red, and his right hand gripped the hilt of the saber at his waist tightly.

On the courtyard wall, a giant wolf over ten feet long, with its green fur bristling like steel needles, watched Captain Song coldly with eerie green eyes. Only now did it suddenly speak in human language: "The child inside is very tender, the taste should be good."

Hearing this, Captain Song's blood surged. He drew his saber like a madman, putting strength into his legs. The saber flashed like cold light, slashing towards the Demon Wolf's head: "Go to hell, you beast..."

Before he finished speaking, a sudden surge of power came from beneath his feet, grabbing Captain Song and throwing him towards the house entrance.

He rolled upon landing, then looked up in shock and anger, only to see a familiar rock giant had appeared in front of him at some point.

The shock and anger vanished, replaced by surprise as if seeing a savior: "The expert from the Immortal Sect is here!"

He had seen this rock giant during the day. In just a few moves, it had beaten two Demon Monkey outside Baishui Town to death. It was exceptionally powerful.

"Gathering Earth to Form Soldiers, Earth Elemental Spell!" The Demon Wolf's eerie green eyes shifted from the small rock giant. It scanned around but saw no human figure. It immediately turned and ran: "Since I am facing a cultivator, I should retreat three steps."

"Just a beast that gained some intelligence and drinks blood and eats raw meat. What kind of formalities are you learning?" A dazzling Flying Sword appeared from nowhere, fast as lightning, carrying the sound of Wind and Thunder, instantly slashing towards the Demon Wolf's head.

At the same moment, the stone man raised its hand. From beneath the ground, surges of Earth Element churned up, like a tornado rising from flat ground, winding out, crashing towards the fleeing Demon Wolf like a collapsing mountain or a primal flood.

"Bang!"

The Demon Wolf slammed its front paw out heavily, batting away the Flying Sword. It actually made a "clang" sound of metal striking metal. Moreover, surging demonic energy wrapped around the sword energy and scattered, accompanied by sparks flying everywhere.

"So it's just a little guy at the Qi Condensation Realm who has grasped Sword Intent!" The Demon Wolf licked the front paw that had batted away the Flying Sword, then actually curled into a cruel, cold smile like a human, looking at the young man who had suddenly appeared in the courtyard.

The young man was naturally Lu Chen.

He glanced indifferently at the Demon Wolf's licking front paw: "Just a green-furred wolf, what kind of expert are you pretending to be? Your paw doesn't feel good, does it!"

The cruel, cold smile on the Demon Wolf's lips gradually receded. It lowered its front paw, only to see that a ghastly bloody gash had split open on its foot, deep enough to see bone. It had been injured by the Sword Intent of Lu Chen's Flying Sword.

"You deserve to die!" The Demon Wolf seemed enraged out of humiliation.

It, a dignified demonic creature at the Middle Stage of Spirit Transformation, was actually injured by this little Human Race cultivator at the Qi Condensation Completion stage, and even seen through by this green-clothed young man. What a great humiliation!

But before the Demon Wolf could erupt, the stone man formed by the Copper Armor Dao Soldiers had already disappeared. When it reappeared, it was already at the end of the winding Earth Element power, which was right in front of the Demon Wolf.

"Boom!" Immense power erupted. The Copper Armor Dao Soldiers' fist, as big as a winnowing basket, struck out, seemingly bursting the turbulent air and also rolling up heavy Earth Element power, hammering towards the Demon Wolf's forehead with a crash.

"Mere Earth Elemental Spell, how capable..." The Demon Wolf roared lowly. Its other front paw, which was not injured, lifted, stirring up demonic wind, and bravely met the Copper Armor Dao Soldiers' punch.

However, before it finished speaking, the Copper Armor Dao Soldiers' boundless power suddenly erupted, hitting the Demon Wolf so hard its eyeballs bulged out. Its entire front paw shattered inch by inch, emitting a clear 'crackling' sound of bones breaking.

It was the sound of bones snapping into sections, as if crushed by a falling boulder!

'What kind of monstrous strength is this?!' This last thought appeared in the Demon Wolf's mind, and then it let out a mournful howl: "Ow..."