Chapter 193: Clouds Clear, Fog Scatters

They rested briefly in the fishing village for one night.

The group then boarded the carriage heading back to the Zhen Mo Si General's Mansion.

The old master Chen Qiankun seemed very satisfied with the letter he had written; he even arranged fine demon horses for his subordinates, the Captains, and instructed them to deliver the letter as soon as possible.

Fang Heng stared suspiciously at the other carriage.

As General Shen stepped onto the carriage, Jiang Shijie Jiang followed up with a composed expression; although neither showed any sign of the unusual, this tacit understanding was enough to shock him.

"..."

Fang Heng remained silent for a long time, then suddenly borrowed paper and ink from the old master, intending to send a letter to Jiang Shijie Lin.

The brush tip dipped in ink and had just touched the paper when he recalled Senior Brother Bai's tragic state from a few months ago.

His hand trembled slightly; after hesitating for a while, he sighed, crumpled the letter into a ball, and hid it away.

"Warm yourself up."

Inside the carriage, Jiang Qiulan took two small wine jars from her waist.

"I've quit."

Shen Yi raised his eyebrows slightly; she always used this thing to torture people.

"Oh." Jiang Qiulan put the wine jars away, took a small sip herself, and a bit of color appeared on her Bai Xi and exquisite face; she was truly beautiful and captivating.

Shen Yi sank into internal observation and discovered that the previously thin incense and vow power had, after just one night, become much more dense.

If not for the restrictions, nurturing the Yin Spirit would be countless times easier than nurturing the Dao Infant.

The hooves clattered, and they soon entered Juncheng.

They arrived at the Zhen Mo Si General's Mansion.

Before Chen Qiankun could even get off the carriage, two middle-aged men in long robes suddenly rushed up, their waist silver bells ringing softly: "General Chen, there is an urgent matter to discuss in Qingzhou City; please return to the city immediately, do not delay!"

The old master was slightly stunned.

Using silver bell demon catchers to deliver a message was already an extremely extravagant matter.

Moreover, these two even used a tone of command toward him, the Zhen Mo Great General.

That could only prove the message came from that Regional Commander Jiang.

The carriage curtain was lifted slightly.

Two figures in black armor were revealed.

The silver bell demon catchers seemed somewhat surprised: "So my lord Jiang and General Shen are also here; please, you two, return to Qingzhou City quickly as well!"

Fang Heng frowned tightly, and some bewilderment surged in his eyes.

The last time the Twelve Great Generals gathered was when his master returned from Jingcheng and needed them to return to the city to report on their duties.

Only this short time has passed, yet they are gathering all the Zhen Mo Great Generals again.

What kind of great matter could possibly require such a massive mobilization?

Clearly, Chen Qiankun also sensed the anomaly; his mood, which had relaxed for a day, suddenly became solemn.

He blew a loud whistle.

A crimson streak of light swept across the sky and landed at the mansion gate.

"You two stop being particular for now; share a ride, and I will arrive shortly."

If this truly was an emergency, these two were infinitely more important than himself.

Jiang Qiulan said nothing more, mounted the horse, and looked toward the young man.

Shen Yi shook his head slightly, then turned into a clear breeze and vanished on the spot; with his current cultivation, the speed of the Carefree Wind Technique far exceeded that crimson steed.

Qingzhou City, Zhen Mo Si Office.

Before a pavilion.

Jiang Yuanhua stood expressionless at the door, looking at the tightly closed gate.

Bai Ziming stood awkwardly behind him; he should have known better than to use a hand seal to notify his master.

A Regional Commander of an entire province being turned away at the door; in all of Qingzhou, probably only that mad old woman Aunt Aqian would have the guts to do that.

Nine Zhen Mo Great Generals stood side by side, yet they still could not get that door to open.

Until Shen Dao You walked quickly from outside the crowd, and Jiang Chengyun pushed open a crack from inside: "General Shen, please enter."

"What is this?"

Shen Dao You glanced at his master, then looked at the other colleagues.

He walked in with a face full of confusion.

Jiang Chengyun didn't even bother to look at these old things and casually tried to close the door.

Just then, a clear breeze descended from the sky.

Seeing this familiar scene, Jiang Chengyun showed surprise: "General Shen! Please, come in quickly!"

Shen Yi took in the surroundings with a glance, said nothing, and walked straight into the pavilion.

"What the hell is going on here!"

The other Generals all showed strange expressions; if Shen Dao You could enter while they could not, that could at least be barely explained.

How could this newly promoted General Shen also enter?

Allowing only the young to listen in; was Aunt Aqian planning to incite this group of new talents to seize the Regional Commander's position?

As if to verify their thoughts.

After a long while, accompanied by a streak of red light, Jiang Qiulan was similarly welcomed inside.

And the most speechless part was...

Nothing compares to that wounded bald man.

Old Yang is a Golden Bell Demon Hunter, practically Aunt Aqian's colleague, yet even he was barred from the door.

……

Inside the spacious pavilion.

Aunt Aqian sat in the main seat, her face wearing a rare expression of indifference.

Beside her sat a muscular, bald old man.

The old man's name was Wu Feng, the third Golden Bell Demon Hunter of Outside Qingzhou.

You Longtao sat silently in the side seat, facing Jiang Qiulan and Shen Yi.

«…»

Aunt Aqian glared at her grandson—she had never invited Shen Yi in.

"There is nothing in Outside Qingzhou that General Shen cannot hear."

Jiang Chengyun stood with his hands behind his back, utterly unyielding.

He then turned his gaze upon them, the fire in his eyes burning even hotter—this was the scene he had long dreamed of!

He had finally…

"Get out." Aunt Aqian snapped at him.

"Huh?" Jiang Chengyun's face instantly fell. After a few breaths of hesitation, he obediently stepped out, though his back looked distinctly desolate.

Once the great door closed again.

Aunt Aqian pulled out two silver bells and handed them to Jiang Qiulan and You Longtao.

She then formed a hand seal and transmitted the message into each of their bells.

Seeing her solemn demeanor,

You Longtao's doubts grew heavier—until he infused his qi into the bell and received its concise message.

His steady palm suddenly trembled slightly.

"Ambush the Little Demon King."

The other Golden Bell Demon Hunter's eyelid twitched uncontrollably.

Even Jiang Qiulan slowly lifted her gaze: "…"

The long-standing peace of Outside Qingzhou had been shattered—the nightmare that haunted every Zhen Mo Si member, the reason Jiang Qiulan had trained relentlessly since childhood.

In truth, there was only one.

That was the sudden appearance of a Little Demon King in this place.

Countless ambushes had ended in failure; each defeat cast a thick shadow over every heart.

That arrogant Ox Demon loomed like a sword hanging above their heads.

No one knew when it would fall.

But before it fell, none of them could ever rest.

Yet this was the first time—after it had been wounded—that someone had proposed ambushing it… Not because no one had thought of it before, but because whenever this Little Demon King was wounded, it would never let anyone know its hiding place.

"I have only two pieces of information."

Aunt Aqian's voice came again from the silver bell.

"First, the Howling Moon Wolf King is not with it—he took its guards away."

"Second, its current location."

"This information came too easily—even too easily, as if I were dreaming. I suspect a trap, so the choice is yours."

(End of Chapter)