Chapter 77: Calamity 077 – 4K

"Sir, I truly don't know..."

"Cut off his hand." Si Tu Jin interrupted Xi Men Pei's words, took a bite of the dessert that was brought over, and handed another portion to Wang Wu beside her.

"Thank you." Wang Wu took the dessert, thinking this woman really can't forget this thing no matter where she goes? But it is indeed quite tasty, I must admit.

As for what Xi Men Pei will experience in front of him, Wang Wu didn't care at all.

Ahhh!!!!

Si Tu Jin's command this time was clearly not a joke; with a single order, the Demon-Subduing Army member who had been standing nearby immediately drew a waist knife and sliced off Xi Men Pei's left hand.

"Will you speak?" Si Tu Jin asked, looking at Xi Men Pei whose face was twisted in agony, panting heavily.

Then without waiting for Xi Men Pei to answer, she ordered again:

"Cut off his other hand as well."

Another slash, both hands were severed.

"Now will you speak?" Si Tu Jin asked, and after asking, did the same as before, but this time she didn't have the hand cut off again, instead she snapped her fingers.

Soon, a stunning woman was dragged up; Wang Wu recognized her, having seen her before—she was Xi Men Pei's beloved concubine, Can Niang.

When Can Niang appeared before Xi Men Pei, his pupils dilated instantly.

At this moment, Si Tu Jin also rose from her seat, approached Xi Men Pei, and looked down at him from above:

"I've heard that you dote on this demon concubine so much that you even killed your wife because of her."

While speaking, Si Tu Jin walked to the Can Niang that had been brought over, lifted her chin, and said, "The appearance of the demon race is indeed extraordinary; it's normal that you become utterly infatuated."

Screech—

As the words fell, the clothes on Can Niang's body slipped off with a harsh tearing sound. Her perfect figure was revealed to everyone present at that moment.

The Demon-Subduing Army members naturally showed no reaction; besides them, others were also standing guard nearby.

The allure of demons is strong; after all, each one is exceptionally beautiful, like flowers and moonlit faces.

Terms like "stunning enough to topple a nation" are tailor‑made for them, and it's not just about the face, but also the figure.

They are top‑class, and such top‑class beauties are, for these county‑level officials, something they are unlikely to ever see in a lifetime.

But today they are very lucky.

"You, you, and you." After stripping Can Niang's clothes, Si Tu Jin pointed at the three constables gathered at the edge of the clearing and ordered, "You three, come here."

"M-Master," the three constables hurried forward, and despite trying to restrain themselves, their peripheral glances kept drifting over Can Niang's body, with one of them already showing an obvious physiological reaction.

"Want it?" Si Tu Jin smiled at the three men and asked.

"If you want it, right now, here, you may do as you please with her. I will even give you a reward."

After speaking, Si Tu Jin made a gesture, and two Demon-Subduing Army members immediately released their grip on Can Niang. Once she was no longer being held, Can Niang didn't regain mobility; instead she collapsed limp on the ground.

"And you all," Si Tu Jin looked at the others, "if you desire, you may come. Not only can you taste the fragrance of this peerless beauty, but this Colonel will also pay you silver as a labor fee—what's not to enjoy?"

The moment those words fell, many could be seen with a glint of desire in their eyes.

Si Tu Jin wasn't in a hurry; after speaking, she returned to her seat, crossed her legs, propped them on the table, and waited quietly.

A Demon-Subduing Army member came over to refill the tea cup on the table, then respectfully placed it beside Si Tu Jin. Wang Wu glanced at the person and realized the Demon-Subduing Army member was a woman, and she was quite pretty.

However, the distance between Si Tu Jin and the Can Niang on the ground was certainly far greater.

All basic soldiers of the Demon-Subduing Army are "hundred-man commanders", i. e., leaders of a hundred households. Yet from his observations in the barracks, Wang Wu noticed that some Demon-Subduing Army members treated others with great respect and humility, even though, rank‑wise, they should be equals.

This inevitably made Wang Wu think of a word: retainer.

Combining that with the identities of the Demon-Subduing Army members, Wang Wu quickly formed a count in his mind.

It simply meant that a noble Demon-Subduing Army enlisted and brought along one or two attendants to serve him, like the one now serving tea to Si Tu Jin.

As the tea in Si Tu Jin's cup dwindled, Wang Wu clearly heard the surrounding people's breathing grow heavier. Clearly, Si Tu Jin's words had stirred certain desires within them.

He glanced at Si Tu Jin, and the woman happened to return her gaze toward him.

"Brother Wang, why not give it a try?" The two locked eyes, and Si Tu Jin asked with a smile.

"No." Wang Wu's reply was very brief.

"I—I'll do it!! I'll do it!!!" At that moment, at the edge of the clearing, a constable huffed and came forward. He walked while taking off his clothes, his eyes from head to toe never moving away from Can Niang's body.

He couldn't even finish taking them off, because his movements grew more frantic, and at the end he just lunged straight at her.

"I, I speak!! I speak!!!!"

But at that moment, a voice finally came from the ground—Xi Men Pei, trembling as he lifted his head and said to Si Tu Jin.

His lips had turned pale from massive blood loss, his eyes reddened, with blood vessels spreading across them.

"I say..." But as his mouth opened, before he could utter two or three words, his entire skull exploded with a 'bang', brain tissue and shattered bone spraying everywhere.

"Lord—!!!" Can Niang on the ground let out a wail.

"Damn it!" Seeing the headless corpse on the ground, Si Tu Jin's face instantly changed, and she cursed.

However, the anger now displayed on her face didn't seem to stem from the informant being killed, but from something else.

Immediately after, Si Tu Jin's gaze swept to the two true humans of the Xi Men family, especially the female one.

"Damn, they're really weak; I wanted to play longer," Si Tu Jin said coldly, looking at the female true human who hadn't lifted her head.

"If Lord Si Tu wishes to kill, then kill; why resort to such humiliation?" the female true human replied, lifting her head to look at Si Tu Jin. She remained calm, as if already prepared for her fate.

Si Tu Jin completely ignored her, waved a finger and ordered, "Take these two true humans back to He Xi."

"Understood." Two Zhenjing Demon-Subduing Army members immediately stepped forward, dragging the two true humans away from the site.

After Xi Men Pei's skull exploded, the constable that lunged was blocked by a Demon-Subduing Army member. Can Niang was pulled up from the ground again and brought to Si Tu Jin's side.

"Brother Wang," Si Tu Jin said to Wang Wu with a smile, "I'll leave this Can Niang to you to deal with."

"Hm?" Because his phone could still connect to the internet, Wang Wu, who was scrolling through a chat group, heard Si Tu Jin's words, snapped back to look at her, then glanced at the Can Niang that had been brought before him.

"Me?" he asked, a bit puzzled, "Why?"

"If Brother Wang has no interest, then I'll handle it according to the rules," Si Tu Jin said upon seeing Wang Wu's uninterested demeanor, and then prepared to have her subordinates take the demon away.

"Hold on a moment." Wang Wu walked up to Shu Niang, reached out and took hold of her face, staring at her.

Seeing Wang Wu's action, Si Tu Jin leaned back in her chair, hands behind her head, watching the situation develop with interest.

"You still seem to love your master quite a bit." After staring at Shu Niang with a puppet‑like gaze for a while, Wang Wu asked.

This monster's body was surprisingly clean; it hadn't eaten a single person.

Shu Niang said nothing, and she no longer needed to. There's a saying: "There is no greater sorrow than a dead heart, and a person's death comes next." Shu Niang's current state exemplifies that saying perfectly.

"How about I send you to accompany him?" Wang Wu asked.

In an instant, upon hearing those words, Shu Niang's eyes lit up; she looked at Wang Wu, her gaze regaining its sparkle and beginning to flicker.

Meanwhile, Si Tu Jin, still leaning in her chair, changed expression upon hearing Wang Wu's words. She looked at him, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

"If the young hero is willing to fulfill Shu Niang's wish, such a great kindness will surely be repaid by Shu Niang in the next life…"

Tears slipped from the corners of Shu Niang's eyes as she trembled and said.

"No need." Wang Wu cut her off, his hand moving to clamp around her neck and then squeezing.

"Kara"

Shu Niang's gaze dimmed, losing all color.

Geng‑metal Qi surged into her body, rushing at breakneck speed to every part of Shu Niang, instantly destroying her demon core and heart.

A broken cervical vertebra isn't fatal to a monster, but a shattered demon core and ruined dantian will swiftly cause the monster's death.

"Much… hoho… thank you…"

Releasing his grip, Shu Niang's body slipped to the ground, spitting out her final words.

"When the body dies, all things vanish; if the body is already dead, what grudges can remain?" Wang Wu said, looking at the giant silkworm on the ground that had reverted to its original form.

"Clap, clap, clap"

At that moment, applause sounded from behind; Wang Wu turned his head, needing no guess to know who it was.

"The young hero truly is extraordinary." Si Tu Jin looked at Wang Wu, laughing, "I indeed didn't mistake you for anyone else."

"Flattering." Wang Wu replied, lifting the giant silkworm from the ground and placing it beside Xi Men Pei's headless corpse.

"It's not that I ask to be born on the same year, month and day, only that we die on the same year, month and day." he said.

"Haha, Brother Wang always manages to say something interesting." Si Tu Jin's voice came from behind; Wang Wu turned back to her, bowing his hand toward her:

"General Si Tu, flattering, now that this matter is settled, I will head to the other side."

"I still have a few words for Brother Wang." Si Tu Jin rose from her chair, came to Wang Wu's side, and looked at the hairpin on his head.

Wang Wu noticed her gaze and realized what she wanted to say.

The hairpin on Wang Wu's head was the one Zi Yuan gave him, the very one she had taken from her own corpse and presented to him.

"If the general refers to the celestial vessel in the Shang Dynasty princess tomb, I'm afraid the general will be disappointed," Wang Wu said. "That vessel was taken long ago, and the hairpin on my head was a gift from someone else; I have never been to that tomb."

"I know that already." Si Tu Jin sat back down, crossing her legs.

"That thing," she pointed at the hairpin on Wang Wu's head, "if you can avoid wearing it, it's best not to."

"It is indeed extraordinary, but Yin artifacts are notoriously sinister, and moreover your hairpin was likely taken from a Yin royal corpse; if you don't remove it quickly, it may attract some undesirable forces."

"Furthermore, the Yin people practice the Demonic Path extensively, and every Yin royal is a demon‑cultivator who transforms their body into demonic form. As an accessory treasure, it naturally focuses on boosting demonic Qi and refining a demonic body."

"For cultivators like us today, that's not a good thing at all."

"Um…" After hearing Si Tu Jin's words, Wang Wu felt a moment of awkwardness, but his mind cleared a bit of doubt.

After all, when Zi Yuan gave him the trinket, she never explained its purpose, only that it was something she used to wear and now gave to him.

At the time, Wang Wu thought it was just a token of affection between lovers, but it turned out the item actually had a beneficial effect.

No wonder wearing it always felt comfortable; Wang Wu had previously assumed it was merely a mental illusion.

The same object, when given by someone you like versus bought with your own money, obviously feels different.

"Thank you." Wang Wu removed the hairpin from his head, giving her an awkward yet polite smile, until he saw the sly look on Si Tu Jin's face.

"I wasn't joking with you about this, Brother Wang." Seeing Wang Wu about to re‑insert the hairpin, Si Tu Jin chuckled lightly, "Everything I said was true, though perhaps a bit exaggerated."

Wang Wu said nothing, just holding the hairpin in his hand, staring at her without moving.

"Ha…" Seeing Wang Wu's action, Si Tu Jin shook her head, then looked to the other side. "Brother Wang, the matter over there has been resolved; won't you go take a look?"

"Mm." Wang Wu nodded, re‑inserted the hairpin, bowed to Si Tu Jin, and turned to leave.

"Sir." At that moment, the Demon‑Quelling soldier who had earlier served tea to Si Tu Jin approached her and whispered, "How should we deal with the He Dong Xian magistrate?"

"Have all the family members been captured?" Si Tu Jin asked, looking at the kneeling He Dong Xian magistrate, who never lifted his head, standing like a statue.

"All captured. Colonel Hong's unit has led the He Xi Xian garrison into the city; now both He Dong and He Xi are under our control."

"Good." Si Tu Jin nodded.

"Search first." She ordered, "Then report to the prefecture, have them send more troops—not only the Demon‑Quelling Army but also the Southern Prefecture Army. The disaster that the Banquet of Summoning Demons will unleash may be beyond what our two Demon‑Quelling cavalry units can handle."

"Yes." The female attendant replied, then turned to leave, but Si Tu Jin called her back as soon as she turned.

"Wait."

Si Tu Jin looked at the returning attendant, "Tell my father and have him send a few people over."

"Yes, miss."

(End of Chapter)