Chapter 396: Stealing a Bite (Combined Three Parts)

The old goat flew into a rage, jamming the boning knife into the cutting board and roaring at the malevolent entity: “If you won’t buy, don’t touch!”

“These are all fresh, live humans!”

“Your aura of deceit seeps in and devalues the meat!”

With a furious snarl, the hairs and wool on its face erupted into eerie green demonic flames.

“Take what’s on the board—or get out!”

“When I sell out what’s here, I’ll kill new ones.”

The malevolent entity dared not offend it, cowed by the scolding but glancing again at the human flesh on the board: “These should be cheaper…”

The old goat, worn down, reluctantly agreed: “Fine, I’ll give you a discount.”

Xu Yuan watched from the shadows, already activating “Gaze at Fate.”

Inside the shop, apart from the old goat and the malevolent customer, all the rest were fakes.

The humans hanging from the hooks and the meat on the board were all mutton.

Xu Yuan recognized it: this butcher shop was the same one at the eastern end of the dock.

Adjacent to the butcher shop was a eatery selling mutton soup with flatbread and offal soup with coarse grain cakes.

There was also locally brewed grain liquor.

The former was slightly more expensive; the latter cheaper.

Men from the Canal Guild and Fishing Guild were regular customers.

But the true malevolent entity was not the old goat.

It was the shop itself.

Under “Gaze at Fate,” the old goat had no fate—it was merely a prop within the shop.

Xu Yuan quietly gripped the “Yin-Yang Guillotine”; in his right eye’s vision, the entire human-meat shop blazed a blinding crimson.

Yet for some reason, tonight it had suddenly changed.

But he could be certain it had encountered Xu Miao and others before.

A sixth-tier malevolent entity.

Xu Miao was also sixth-tier.

The last encounter must have been a fierce battle.

Suddenly, hurried footsteps echoed down one street of the three-way intersection—a group of Shanhe Bureau Captains surged forward.

“The malevolent entity fled here!” someone shouted.

The Captains charged toward the butcher shop.

Leading them was Xu Miao!

The old goat cackled shrilly, snatching up an axe and striking the chain with its back.

CLANG! The “humans” hanging from the hooks tumbled to the ground.

They sprang to life, charging straight at the real Xu Miao and her team.

Chaos erupted instantly.

No matter what Xu Miao did, the “Xu Miao” opposite her mimicked it exactly!

The same went for all the other Captains!

Xu Yuan frowned in the shadows: What kind of trick is this?

He needed to observe further—no rash action yet.

The old goat laughed triumphantly, its hair and beard blazing with wild, swaying demonic flames.

After fighting for a while, Xu Miao grew increasingly uneasy.

The first time she encountered this entity, she and her Captains had charged in—but the old goat suddenly raised its hand, and the entire butcher shop vanished, folding into a giant chest.

The old goat slung the chest onto its back and leapt away in an instant, disappearing.

But last time, the old goat had no “puppet mimicry” ability.

How had it suddenly gained this power in this second encounter?

It was this power that had put her and her team on the defensive.

Unable to find a countermeasure, Xu Miao began to consider retreat.

She had already slain three Dragon Malevolents.

But tonight’s target was not some ordinary anomaly like the old goat.

Xu Miao had no intention of fighting it to the death.

During battle, she signaled a retreat with a hand gesture.

But the “Xu Miao” opposite her made the same gesture!

As the chaos dragged on, she and her team could no longer tell who was human and who was a puppet.

Previously, they had distinguished them by the faint yin aura on the puppets.

But gradually, the puppets’ yin aura faded, while her own aura grew heavier.

“Trouble!” Xu Miao thought, then shouted: “Retreat! Fall back! The malevolent entity cannot stray far from this shop!”

Her Captains understood at once.

The result: everyone—whether puppet or real—rushed down one street together.

Behind them, the old goat cackled wildly, suddenly lifting its arms to heave the entire butcher shop onto its shoulders, then sprinted after them, its whole body wreathed in green demonic flames, thudding heavily.

Xu Miao glanced back, cursed under her breath, raised her hand, and wrote a talisman:

Discern True from False.

But the other “Xu Miao” wrote the exact same talisman!

The two talismans collided midair and exploded into countless streams of fire—golden-yellow and eerie green—burning down around them.

Xu Miao gritted her teeth and hurled out her talisman, the Brush Mountain.

But the other Xu Miao threw out an identical Brush Mountain!

The two talismans clashed again in midair with a thunderous boom, like two mountains colliding.

Xu Miao’s throat turned sweet; she nearly spat blood.

She vaguely understood: this malevolent entity had somehow made it so that, though she thought she was fighting the puppets, she was likely fighting herself.

But in the heat of battle, she could not find the trick’s flaw.

All she could do was flee and think as she ran.

The old goat laughed triumphantly, chasing even harder.

The chains and hooks inside the shop clattered loudly.

The hooks stretched forward, dragging chains, as if ready to snatch someone at any moment.

“Trouble!” Xu Miao thought, ready to act—but the “herself” opposite her locked eyes on her.

Unexpectedly, the old goat stumbled in its sprint, tripped, and nearly fell.

But the old goat had astonishing lower-body stability, adjusting instantly to regain balance.

From the darkness came a soft “Huh?”

Then a rope suddenly rose from beneath the old goat’s feet.

No more pretense—it instantly transformed into a vast grid, locking the old goat and the butcher shop inside.

And the grid kept spreading outward.

Soon, it trapped not only the old goat but also the fleeing Captains—including Xu Miao.

Xu Yuan slowly stepped out of the darkness.

Both Xu Miaos shouted at once: “Master Xu, lend me your aid!”

Then the two Xu Miaos glared at each other within the grid: “Malevolent! Don’t confuse the truth!”

The real Xu Miao finally exhaled in relief.

Though the puppets were flawless, indistinguishable from the real,

as long as Master Xu controlled the situation, time was on her side.

She’d find a way to tell true from false.

Xu Yuan, without hesitation, spat a torrent of fire into the grid.

How the butcher shop’s malevolent entity created so many fakes and made them so convincing—he couldn’t figure it out.

So he stopped trying.

What was the point of his hard-won fifth-tier cultivation? Wasn’t it to crush low-tier malevolents with raw power?

If you can crush them, why bother with tricks?

So he burned it all clean.

Xu Yuan could tell true from false—“Gaze at Fate” showed him clearly.

But Xu Miao and the others didn’t know.

Seeing the fifth-tier’s belly-fire surge in, the Captains screamed in despair.

Even Xu Miao let out a shriek as the flames rushed toward her.

Then she realized: the fire had cleanly bypassed her, reducing the fake on her left to ash.

“How did Xu Yuan tell them apart?” Xu Miao wondered.

If Xu Yuan couldn’t tell, she wouldn’t have been surprised.

Now, true and false stood side by side—even Xu Miao felt like she was staring at a mirror.

“No doubt Xu my lord has secretly mastered some sinister art…”

“Though young, he’s hidden many hidden cards,” Xu Miao said with admiration.

She couldn’t help but think of the suitors her family had arranged for her.

All of them were trash like Zhu Zhanlei.

Their character had no major flaws; among great clan youths, they were decent enough—though utterly lacking in ability, relying entirely on ancestral favor.

And they had zero foresight for preserving peace in times of safety.

Around her burned bright flames, but Xu my lord controlled them perfectly—Xu Miao didn’t even feel the heat.

After a bout of idle thoughts, the flames suddenly retracted.

The grid that had trapped everyone retracted with them.

Xu Miao’s captains, still shaken, patted themselves down and found everything intact—not a single hair burned off—finally letting out a long breath of relief.

Xu Miao noticed Xu Yuan picking up a piece of wood, soaked in blood for who knew how many years.

This was material left over from a butcher’s shop after being burned.

Xu Yuan had packed it in a blood-wrapped pouch.

Xu Miao’s heart stirred, and she stepped forward: “If Xu my lord trusts me, give me this material—I’ll have someone craft a superior artisan artifact for you.”

Xu Miao wanted to repay the favor.

After all, Xu Yuan had just saved her from the demonic entity.

Calling it a life-saving debt might be exaggerated.

Xu Miao still had some survival tricks—she couldn’t save all the captains, but escaping herself was no problem.

But those tricks were precious—use one, lose one.

So she truly recognized Xu Yuan’s debt.

Artisan cultivators were hard to find; she’d heard he was on bad terms with Gao Wanli, who certainly wouldn’t help him.

Xu Miao had an elder among the artisan cultivators who adored her—she only had to ask, and he’d never refuse.

But the moment she spoke, she saw Xu my lord pause, his expression strange, then decline: “No need.”

Xu Miao, sensitive as she was, said no more.

If she appeared too eager, it would look like she was scheming for his sixth-rate material.

But Xu Miao felt slighted: You’re underestimating me—it’s just a sixth-rate material; I’m not that shallow.

So her cheeks puffed out, her little face resembling a pufferfish.

Xu Yuan asked: “How did you come across this demonic entity, Xu my lord?”

Xu Miao replied briefly; Xu Yuan asked casually: “Since it’s settled, I’ll be off.”

Xu Miao wanted to urge him to stay—his presence would make things far safer.

But Xu Yuan had already vanished in a flash.

Xu Miao was annoyed—why run off so fast? As if I really wanted to swindle your material.

Xu Yuan didn’t want to be with anyone—he still needed to secretly control the Skin Dragon.

Still, Xu Miao felt that since he hadn’t been assigned night watch, yet had stepped forward without hesitation to slay the demons, she’d been right about him—he was a truly public-spirited official.

“If even a third of the empire’s officials possessed Xu my lord’s sincerity, the people’s lives would be far better.”

She gazed at the direction Xu Yuan had vanished, unable to stop thinking.

One of her captains crept forward cautiously: “my lord?”

Xu Miao snapped back to attention and waved: “Continue patrolling.”

…

In the back courtyard of the Canal Office, the Fu family hadn’t lit lamps, but none of them slept.

“It’s getting chaotic.”

“So what? They can’t trace it back to us.”

“Even if they did, so what? We deny everything—what can Luo Gongqiao do to us?”

The dark room fell silent again.

Not one of them felt they should go out to hunt those spawn and do their part.

At this hour, even for fourth-rank cultivators, it carried some danger.

…

Xu Yuan secretly observed for a while.

Seeing that the Skin Dragon’s consumption of the Dragon Demons hadn’t drawn out the Fu family, he relaxed.

He then directed the Skin Dragon to consume a few more.

He encountered Miao Yu and Zhu Zhanmei once each—Xu Yuan didn’t show himself.

They too were patrolling with their teams.

Only Lu Renxing dared not emerge.

The three patrol teams continuously slaughtered demons; the docks gradually grew quiet.

Just before dawn, the Skin Dragon had consumed twelve Dragon Demons.

Xu Yuan quietly withdrew; the Skin Dragon slithered back into the canal.

Twelve Dragon Demons barely filled a tooth.

The Skin Dragon’s “Transformation into Dragon” technique advanced slightly.

Much faster than usual—roughly equivalent to three months of steady cultivation!

“No wonder Fu Shuanghui and the others went to such lengths to hunt high-grade Dragon beings.”

Even the Fu family had a specialized method for hunting them.

Like that fishing net.

Xu Yuan returned and took a short nap.

But Xu Miao and the other three didn’t rest—they gathered at the Canal Office to report.

Luo Gongqiao was delighted, lavishing praise on Xu Miao.

Without these four patrol teams last night, half the people on the docks would’ve died!

All thanks to my keen eye.

I promoted Xu Miao, and when she proposed this idea, I immediately adopted it.

In the official records, we must write down tonight’s achievements multiple times.

Of the four teams, Lu Renxing’s contribution was smallest—they dared not patrol, only killing four Dragon Demons.

Miao Yu killed nine; Zhu Zhanmei killed twelve.

Xu Miao killed the most: thirteen.

When Zhu Zhanmei heard Xu Miao’s number, her smile vanished.

Then came verification of results.

When a Dan cultivator kills a Dragon Demon, their internal fire burns it, leaving behind some bones.

So faking achievements was impossible.

As Xu Miao’s results were verified, Zhu Zhanmei stood nearby, straining her neck, silently counting several times, then grew disheartened.

Xu Miao was baffled—why are you staring at me?

“Dragon Demon” was the name Xu Yuan secretly coined.

Xu Miao and the others still called them “demonic entities after second transformation.”

But nearly everyone saw how much they resembled “dragons.”

Where did they come from?

Everyone had guesses, but no proof—and no one spoke up.

The Fu family was not to be trifled with.

Luo Gongqiao ordered all achievements recorded for now, to be submitted to the court after returning from Ghost Wushan.

He then told the four to prepare immediately for departure to Ghost Wushan.

The Fu family finally emerged.

Two fourth-ranks stretched lazily: “We slept soundly last night—heard some noises, perhaps…”

Luo Gongqiao snorted, speaking coolly: “You two, prepare as well. We’re leaving.”

Zhu Zhanlei arrived too, listless—he had to be the bait, and looked utterly defeated.

…

Xu Yuan had slept only an hour when he was woken to depart.

Luo Gongqiao, honoring last night’s heroes, arranged several carriages—they could nap inside.

But only two carriages were available.

Not too many—this was a fishing expedition; the party couldn’t be too large.

So Xu Miao and Zhu Zhanmei shared one; Miao Yu and Lu Renxing shared another.

Xu Yuan, Zhu Zhanlei, and Gao Wanli were the first team, departing first.

Behind them came the two Fu family fourth-ranks.

Finally came Luo Gongqiao’s main force.

Miao Yu was utterly miserable.

Lu Renxing, this soldier, snored loudly enough to shake the heavens.

It made Miao Yu utterly unable to sleep.

Inside Zhu Zhanmei and Xu Miao’s carriage, however, it was perfectly quiet, filled with the faint, sweet scent of women.

By noon, both women awoke, but had nothing meaningful to say, leaving the atmosphere awkward.

Xu Miao suddenly spoke up: “Do you know Zhu my lord well?”

Zhu Zhanmei glanced at her and gave a slight nod: “Fairly well.” Then she asked casually, “What would Miss Xu like to know?”

Xu Miao, unaware of any hidden meaning, said: “my lord Xu is exceptionally capable, but too rigid—he may face hardships ahead.”

Zhu Zhanmei smiled faintly: “Do you wish to help him?”

“The strategy I came up with was refined by my lord Xu’s accidental guidance. Yesterday, it was my lord Xu who reminded me to warn Inspector Luo—that’s how I earned this great merit.”

Not to mention last night, when my lord Xu saved me once again—I owe him a great debt.”

Zhu Zhanmei: “He saved you last night?”

Xu Miao, completely trusting, recounted the entire incident, then chuckled bitterly: “But I was too forward—I fear my lord Xu might think I’m after that fabric of his…”

For a moment, Zhu Zhanmei considered letting her believe it.

Yet in the end, she was too kind to resort to such petty tricks, and shook her head with a soft sigh: “No. His grandmother is a master Artisan Cultivator—he doesn’t need your help.”

“Oh?” Xu Miao was surprised: “Master Artisans are exceedingly rare.”

Zhu Zhanmei then explained Lin Wanmo’s background.

What Zhu Zhanmei knew was only what could be easily found out.

But it was enough to prove Lin Wanmo had the ability to handle sixth-tier materials.

After hearing this, Xu Miao’s face lit up with a smile: “I was overthinking it.”

The small grievance that had clung to her since last night vanished, and she felt ashamed for having wrongly accused Xu Yuan.

Zhu Zhanmei held back, but couldn’t resist asking: “Miss Xu, do you have feelings for my lord Xu?”

Xu Miao laughed and shook her head: “I don’t want to marry so soon and be stuck raising children and serving my husband.”

For some reason, Zhu Zhanmei felt a quiet relief.

…

At the front of the column, Gao Wanli wore a grim expression.

She had been forced to become one of the decoys.

And now she had to operate alongside Xu Yuan.

Worse still, Xu Yuan had brought along that annoying goose.

Gao Wanli felt Xu Yuan was nothing less than her personal demon—ever since meeting him, misfortune had followed her.

“Could this man be using some strange art to drain my fortune?” she even wondered.

Zhu Zhanlei was also frustrated.

He wore a human-skin mask.

It had been crafted by Gao Wanli at Luo Gongqiao’s order, and resembled Fu Yuhuan.

His clothing, posture, and every movement were required to mimic Fu Yuhuan exactly.

Before departure, Luo Gongqiao had warned him sternly: “Your responsibility today is critical! I know you’re unhappy, but this is not your Zhu family! You are a Police Inspector of Shanhe Office—put away your aristocratic brat’s arrogance!

If your actions cause this mission to fail, I swear even the Zhu family will suffer the consequences!”

So Zhu Zhanlei had spent the journey enduring disgust as he curled his fingers into a lotus-hand gesture.

He swayed his waist as he walked.

Xu Yuan wanted to laugh, but held it in.

When they reached Qihetai Town, Xu Yuan said: “Let’s stop by the public office first and ask about recent conditions in the mountains.”

Gao Wanli scowled: “What’s there to ask? I still remember the way to Gao Family Village—let’s ride straight there, capture Gao Guanzi, and interrogate his soul to find the villain’s hideout!”

Gao Wanli was terrified—what if the villain was still at Tongguan Cliff? Would the four sixth-tier cultivators even break through Tongguan Cliff?

But Zhu Zhanlei naturally followed Xu Yuan’s lead.

“First, the public office.”

As the group passed through town, crossing by a roadside inn, a tall Wu Xiu from a merchant caravan whistled at them.

His companions burst into laughter.

Gao Wanli flew into a rage, whipping her reins to charge over and lash them.

Xu Yuan suddenly spoke: “They’re not whistling at you.”

Have you looked in a mirror lately?

Gao Wanli was plain-looking and short and stout.

After returning from Ghost Witch Mountain, her face bore many scars; though she’d used Alchemist’s remedies, they hadn’t fully faded.

Who in their right mind would whistle at you?

Gao Wanli froze. Xu Yuan continued: “That man’s eyeing Fu Yuhuan.”

In the Huangming Empire, male-male affection was common.

Though Xu Yuan deliberately said “Fu Yuhuan,” Zhu Zhanlei’s face flushed crimson!

Gao Wanli’s human-skin mask was exquisitely made—Zhu Zhanlei’s complexion and expressions showed clearly.

Gao Wanli had already raised her whip, but slowly lowered it.

Then she burst into wheezing laughter—her first genuine laugh since the journey began.

Zhu Zhanlei shot the Wu Xiu a furious glare.

“Oh my, this young master’s got fire, hahaha!” the Wu Xiu laughed.

Xu Yuan told Zhu Zhanlei: “Beat them up.”

Zhu Zhanlei blinked. Xu Yuan said: “You’re playing Fu Yuhuan now—we’ve arrived. We need to make some noise so the villain in the mountains knows you’re here.”

Zhu Zhanlei beamed, wheeled his horse, and charged toward the Wu Xiu.

The Wu Xiu roared with laughter: “Oh? You’re throwing yourself at me—”

But the next instant, he was flung into the air.

His companions grabbed their weapons and shouted: “You’re asking for death!”

Xu Yuan leapt from his horse, his sword pellet flying out—not transforming into a blade, but simply striking them with its weight, thudding each man into the air one by one.

“Blind dogs! How dare you offend my young master!”

Xu Yuan landed, one foot crushing the Wu Xiu’s chest, radiating the arrogant, brutal aura of a powerful clan’s henchman.

(End of Chapter)