Chapter 86 Shocking Change at the City Gate

In the faint light of dawn, three figures shuffled along the official road toward the city gate.

Chen Mu was in the lead, his clothes torn in many places and stained with dark red blood, yet his steps remained steady as his sharp gaze swept across the surroundings.

Liu Ziming leaned almost his entire weight onto Chen Mu's shoulder; while his face showed the relief of having survived a disaster, it was dominated by worry for the uncertain future.

Walking at the very back, with a face ashen and grim, was Qi Huan.

He gritted his teeth with every step, his chest wound aching dully with the movement. While carrying the corpse with disdain and wiping cold sweat from his forehead, his gaze toward Chen Mu's back flickered with gloom.

The three of them moved forward in silence, each lost in their own thoughts, but all of them had their nerves strung tight.

Regardless of how things unfolded last night, the mask had been torn off.

How would Xu Changze react?

Would he be like a cornered dog jumping over a wall, gathering officers to surround and capture them? Or would he feign ignorance and secretly lay an even more sinister trap?

No one knew, but regardless of the reaction, this matter could not be brushed aside easily.

However, just as they were still a hundred paces from the city gate, a sudden, noisy commotion came from the direction of the gate.

"Dong—qiang! Dong—qiang!"

"Crackling!"

The sound of gongs and drums? Firecrackers?

Chen Mu's footsteps faltered, his gaze instantly becoming incredibly sharp as he raised his hand to signal a stop.

Liu Ziming looked toward the city gate with uncertainty and asked after a long while.

"Could someone be getting married?"

Qi Huan, carrying the corpse, pondered for a moment and shook his head.

"That's not right. Even if it were a wedding, the city gate wouldn't be opened at this hour. Are they just going to leave the bride waiting at the gate?"

Liu Ziming nodded, but a moment later, as if he had realized something, he shuddered violently.

"It... it couldn't be..."

The three of them understood what he left unsaid.

The scene of the Ghostly Creature wreaking havoc at the Zhao residence's ghost wedding last night was still fresh in their minds. At such a sensitive moment, it was hard not to draw associations with this sudden sound of gongs and drums.

Chen Mu hesitated slightly, his right hand already resting on the hilt of his sword, though he did not loosen his grip on Liu Ziming, preparing to move forward.

"Let's go and see."

"If it's a blessing, it's not a disaster; if it's a disaster, it cannot be avoided. Once we reach the gate, the truth will naturally be revealed."

Qi Huan took a deep breath, nodded, and followed quickly.

The closer they got to the city gate, the clearer the sound of gongs and drums became, mixed with the noise of a crowd.

The city gate stood wide open, with brand-new red lanterns hanging on both sides, appearing exceptionally jarring in the pre-dawn light.

Over a dozen officers were lined up on either side. Although they were sleepy-eyed and yawning, they were still vigorously beating gongs and drums, putting on a forced display of welcoming someone.

Directly in front of them, a figure wearing a bright red official robe and a black gauze cap was walking slowly toward the three of them.

The man was of medium build, with a fair complexion and three neatly trimmed wisps of beard, wearing a perfectly balanced, genial smile.

Who else could it be but Xu Changze?

Chen Mu's pupils constricted, his right hand still gripping the sword hilt tightly, while Qi Huan's expression changed drastically, the corpse on his shoulder nearly slipping off.

The two quickly exchanged a glance, both seeing shock and doubt in each other's eyes.

What kind of medicine was Xu Changze selling in his gourd?

Head Constable Wang had just died, and the Ghostly Creature at the Zhao residence had been destroyed. By all logic, Xu Changze should be furious.

Either he should be closing the city gates for defense or secretly setting traps to murder them; why would he put on such a display of welcoming a returning hero?

When things are abnormal, there must be a demon at work.

The alarm bells rang in their hearts, but their faces remained calm as they walked right up to the city gate.

"Hahaha, the heroes have returned!"

Xu Changze hurried forward a few steps. Before the three could speak, he laughed loudly, his gaze landing first on Chen Mu, as if he had completely failed to see the headless male corpse on Qi Huan's back.

Then, he reached out to pat Chen Mu's shoulder and shook it vigorously, his smile becoming even more sincere and impeccable.

"Chen Mu, little hero Chen, you are indeed a great benefactor of our Yunmeng!"

"When I heard of the incident at the Zhao residence last night, I was burning with anxiety. Unfortunately, that Ghostly Creature was fierce and was even able to deceive the Underworld! I was just about to gather the strength of the entire city for a desperate fight to eliminate the evil for the people."

"Never did I expect that Heaven would bless our Yunmeng by producing such a capable and righteous warrior as little hero Chen!"

Xu Changze's voice was highly infectious, and he did not spare any flowery praise, piling one accolade after another onto Chen Mu's head, as if Chen Mu were not his greatest threat, but his carefully cultivated protégé.

"I have already heard the report from the officers who escaped; little hero Chen actually killed that terrifying evil spirit in the Zhao residence, which was on the verge of becoming a Ghost King, all by himself."

"You truly turned the tide and saved our Yunmeng people from fire and water. As the saying goes, heroes are born from the youth; it seems this saying is true! Magnificent, truly magnificent!"

Ghost King?

Chen Mu's eyelid twitched. Although the Paper Person Ghostly Creature at the Zhao residence was powerful, it was far, far away from the Realm of a true Ghost King.

Was Xu Changze exaggerating like this to roast him over the fire? Or was he laying the groundwork for some upcoming act?

Qi Huan listened from the side, his facial muscles twitching, nearly sneering out loud.

This Xu Changze's ability to distort the truth and claim credit while shifting blame was truly peak. Just last night, he had delayed reporting, attempting to use the Ghostly Creature to eliminate them, and now he had become the worried, public-serving official ready to fight to the death.

Moreover, in his words, he only mentioned Chen Mu slaying the ghost, said nothing of Head Constable Wang's actions, and treated him like he didn't exist. He immediately felt the corpse on his shoulder grow heavier and his chest wound ache more, making it almost impossible to hold back.

He immediately thrust the corpse forward and slammed it heavily onto the ground.

"Bang!"

With a dull thud, Head Constable Wang's headless corpse was thrown onto the official road. Immediately after, he threw his right hand, and the head he had been holding rolled onto the ground, eyes wide open, face covered in mud.

This shocking scene caused the joyous gongs and drums to come to an abrupt halt, and the surrounding officers all let out suppressed gasps.

The atmosphere instantly plummeted from fake festivity into a cold, dead silence.

Qi Huan pointed at the corpse on the ground, his eyes fixed firmly on Xu Changze.

"Lord Xu, this brother-in-law of yours, a Squad Leader of the Demon Suppression Division, attempted to throw his colleague Liu Ziming into a death trap last night. After I stumbled upon it, he even set an ambush to assassinate us, attempting to silence us."

"How does his behavior differ from that of a demon? This person has been executed by me on the spot. What do you have to say about this?!"

He finished speaking in one breath, his gaze fixed tightly on Xu Changze, wanting to see how he would react.

Would he be furious, make excuses, or feign shock?

However, Xu Changze's reaction was far beyond everyone's expectations.

He watched as the appreciation and excitement on his face receded like the tide, replaced by sorrow and shock, which then turned into raging fury.

The speed of his face-changing was truly a masterpiece.

He looked down at Head Constable Wang's corpse, his body trembling slightly with anger, and immediately let out a sharp, heartbroken shout.

"That beast! How did I teach you every day? I told you to be loyal to the royal cause and protect the people!"

"To think you would commit such a deranged, heaven-defying atrocity!"

"Bring me a blade!"