51: Chapter 51 Magistrate Qian and Clerk Liu

On the official road of Guanhai County, a sedan chair swayed leisurely toward the direction of the county seat.

The two sedan bearers kept their pace steady and walked firmly, sweat dripping down their necks and soaking their collars.

A corner of the sedan curtain was lifted, and a plump, fair face poked out from inside, squinting into the distance.

He was none other than the magistrate of Guanhai County, named Qian Wanyuan.

Ever since becoming a magistrate, he had slacked off in martial arts, and as a result, he had even grown some fat on his body.

Magistrate Qian looked up at the sky and muttered.

"Walk faster, this weather looks like it is going to rain."

Before his voice died away, the weather changed.

It was not dark clouds, nor a strong wind, but a black dot.

It emerged from the horizon. At first, it was only the size of a sesame seed, but in the blink of an eye, it grew to the size of a bowl, and in another blink—

Magistrate Qian's eyes widened.

Because he saw that it was growing larger and larger, accompanied by a roaring wind, and smashing straight toward him.

"Stop—!"

Magistrate Qian cried out with a cracking voice.

Before the sedan bearers could react, that thing had already smashed down three zhang in front of the sedan chair.

With a loud boom, soil splattered, gravel flew everywhere, and a large pit was smashed out on the official road.

The dust and smoke dissipated.

A giant weasel was squatting in the pit.

Its three-zhang-long body crouched in the pit, its fur golden-brown, emitting a chilling gloss under the sunlight.

It raised its head, its dual golden pupils contracting vertically as they stared at the sedan chair.

Seeing such a huge weasel, the legs of the two sedan bearers turned to jelly, and they collapsed directly to the ground.

Once the bearers collapsed, the sedan chair lost its balance.

Magistrate Qian rolled out of the sedan chair.

His entire body tumbled out through the sedan door, rolling twice on the ground.

Magistrate Qian looked up and saw the giant weasel that had fallen from the sky, saw those golden eyes, and saw that face that was somewhat human yet not.

Naturally, he also knew that he had run into a monster today!

Huang Zu walked out of the pit, came to the front of the sedan chair, and lowered his head to look at the trembling magistrate.

"So you are the one called Magistrate Qian."

Huang Zu spoke, his voice carrying a hint of playfulness.

"Um, Lord Monster, you might have the wrong person. I am not the magistrate, my surname is Xia."

Magistrate Qian spouted nonsense.

Hearing Magistrate Qian's nonsense, Huang Zu did not speak, but simply stretched out its tongue and licked its paws.

Knowing that the other party did not believe him, Magistrate Qian had no choice but to squeeze out a smile uglier than crying and said,

"Lord Monster, are you tired from flying? Would you like to take the sedan chair?"

As he spoke, he crawled to the side, making way for the sedan door.

Huang Zu ignored Qian Wanyuan. It reached out its claws, picked up the two sedan bearers collapsed on the ground one by one, and shoved them into its mouth.

The sound of bones cracking, mixed with short, shrill screams, echoed across the official road.

After chewing a few times, it swallowed them down.

Lying on the ground, Magistrate Qian watched those two twitching legs disappear into the corner of Huang Zu's mouth, and suddenly felt a warmth in his crotch.

He peed right there.

A warm current flowed down his thighs, soaking a large area of his robes.

He swallowed his saliva and once again squeezed out that smile uglier than crying on his face.

"A good meal! The sedan bearers had good leg strength; eating them replenishes leg strength. Lord Monster's leg strength must have fully recovered now."

"Walking won't be tiring anymore. Why don't you take a couple of steps?"

Huang Zu lowered its head to look at Magistrate Qian, whose tear-streaked face was reflected in those golden pupils.

The corners of its mouth split open, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth.

"Then what does eating you replenish?"

Magistrate Qian was stunned for a moment, his brain spinning at high speed.

Replenish what?

What was there on his entire body worth replenishing?

He thought of his concubines, and the words they said behind his back.

Although it used to be the subject he avoided the most, today it seemed to have become his straw to cling to for survival.

Magistrate Qian blurted out,

"Lord Monster, I am impotent! Please don't eat me! You are what you eat!"

Huang Zu's smile froze on its face.

It looked down at the trembling magistrate and fell silent for a breath.

Then it picked him up and shoved him into its mouth.

A fishy stench exploded in its oral cavity.

Not the stench of blood, but another kind of stench.

Huang Zu quickly realized that it was the stench of urine. Its brows knitted together into a ball, and a muffled grunt carrying anger rolled from its throat.

It chewed once, then chewed again, feeling that its entire mouth was filled with that disgusting taste.

"Pui—"

It spat that lump of the magistrate's robes onto the ground and wiped the corners of its mouth with its paws.

Next, Huang Zu closed its eyes and began its human transformation.

Demonic power surged out from its body, wrapping around it completely.

That body more than three zhang long shrank inch by inch in the green light; its fur receded, its bones reorganized, and its limbs stretched.

A moment later, the green light dissipated.

Standing in place was a plump, fair middle-aged man, wearing that regurgitated official robe, with the magistrate's black gauze cap crookedly perched on his head.

It lowered its head to look at itself, extended its white and plump hands, examined them back and forth, and then touched its own face.

It smiled.

That smile was identical to the smile on Magistrate Qian's face just moments ago.

It straightened the tilted black gauze cap and wore it properly.

Then it raised its head and gazed in the direction of the county seat.

Those eyes were still golden and vertical, and on that plump and fair face, they looked chillingly bizarre.

It leaped up, transforming into a foul wind, and swept toward the direction of the county seat.

Behind it, on the official road, only a smashed sedan chair, two headless corpses of the sedan bearers, and a pool of chewed-up robes remained burning in the green demonic fire, quickly reducing to ashes.

...

Guanhai County.

The backyard of the county yamen was dead silent.

The on-duty bailiffs did not know where they had hidden themselves.

Huang Zu transformed into a foul wind and drifted in through the back door.

When the wind landed in the back hall, it was already a plump, fair middle-aged man, wearing that tidied-up official robe and the magistrate's black gauze cap on its head.

It stood in front of the bronze mirror, sizing itself up.

The face in the mirror was clean and fair, with very light eyebrows, small eyes, and the corners of its mouth naturally turning downward.

It tried to smile.

The corners of its mouth pulled upward, and its eyes narrowed, looking exactly like Magistrate Qian's flattering appearance just now.

It smiled again. This time it was different; the corners of its mouth split wider, revealing the sharp teeth inside that had not yet been completely retracted.

It quickly closed its mouth, pulled those teeth back inward, and smiled again; then it was just a plump, fair middle-aged man.

As it adjusted its expression facing the mirror, footsteps came from outside the door.

Unhurried and leisurely, boot soles stepped on the blue stone slabs, emitting a rhythmic tapping sound.

Huang Zu pulled back the corners of its mouth, narrowed its eyes, and adjusted its face into a lazy expression.

The door was pushed open.

Coming in was Clerk Liu, who had stayed in the county yamen for twenty years, longer than any magistrate.

He pushed the door open and stopped for a moment upon seeing the magistrate standing in front of the mirror.

"County Magistrate, when did you arrive?"

There was a hint of surprise in his voice, and his gaze swept across the magistrate's face.

Huang Zu turned around and yawned.

"Just arrived. The road was terribly bumpy, so I rested here for a bit upon arrival."

His voice was identical to Magistrate Qian's.

Clerk Liu nodded and did not ask further.

He had stayed in the county yamen for twenty years and had seen five magistrates—some diligent, some lazy, some greedy, and some foolish.

Magistrate Qian belonged to the lazy and foolish kind.

Today's behavior was still considered normal.

"County Magistrate, it's good that you're back."

Clerk Liu's tone became a bit more formal.

"The head constables and patrolmen sent to various coastal villages to investigate the demon infestation a few days ago have all returned, and they have matters to report."

"Your subordinate was just about to invite you to listen together."