Chapter 107: 102 Taking Charge Again

After a good while, the four bailiffs arrived late, only to see Tang Zhao's small figure lost in thought before the high pile of rubble.

They recognized Tang Zhao as someone from the Land Inspection Division; although they hadn't seen this child demonstrate any ability, he was at least brought by the Land Inspection Division, so even if he were a student brought along to see the world, they had to be polite. The most experienced one among them greeted him: "Little brother, how is the situation?"

Tang Zhao bowed politely and said, "Deputy Envoy Peng has gone inside. The fighting within is very intense, and I don't know how things are. Sigh, it's a pity I can't help at all." His expression was extremely dejected as he said this.

The four bailiffs glanced at each other, all thinking: You're just a little kid, what help could you possibly provide? What is there to sigh about? We can't help either, why aren't we sighing?

Tang Zhao asked again, "Are you all locals, brothers? Do you know if there are any villages or towns in this valley?"

The experienced bailiff pondered, "There shouldn't be. The wilderness is not peaceful these days, and no one lives in the mountains anymore. The County Magistrate ordered us to go into the mountains to drive people out, and I searched the mountains thoroughly. At most, there are only two bandit strongholds left here, and they are the kind that don't amount to much. There is also a Black Spider Villa, but that is not in this direction."

Tang Zhao naturally knew this wasn't Black Spider Villa, otherwise, could he still be so calm? At this moment, he recalled the desolate villages he passed after leaving Xue Fu, which were almost ruins. He figured they were all remnants of mountain folk moving away. He thought: So they are bandits inside? Then that's no problem; as long as they aren't civilians, the bandits can live or die as fate dictates.

He relaxed all at once, when suddenly he heard a desperate scream from behind the stone wall!

It was a child's voice!

Tang Zhao felt a chill in his heart—it wasn't as simple as mountain bandits!

Immediately after, a thumping sound came from the stone wall; clearly, someone had reached the valley entrance on the other side, only to find the path blocked, and was desperately pounding on the giant rocks.

Gravel and dirt were knocked loose, and the stone wall, which had just been hastily blocked, was teetering.

Tang Zhao observed that even if the stone wall collapsed, only the upper part would fall; not only would it not open an exit, but it would thicken the obstruction, making the road even harder to traverse, and the falling rocks would hit people. He immediately knocked on a giant rock suspended near the ground, not touching the top or bottom and bearing no weight, and shouted, "Can you hear me? Let's move this rock out together, open an opening here, and crawl out from inside!"

He was weak and short of breath, and his voice was not loud, but the four bailiffs helped him shout together, and finally, there was a gradual response from inside.

The pounding in other places stopped, but that particular giant rock was struck repeatedly, as if confirming the position. Tang Zhao hurriedly followed suit and shouted, "That's the one!"

The surrounding gravel began to shake; clearly, the people inside were pushing that rock, but the rock itself did not budge for a moment. Tang Zhao asked the four bailiffs to help dig away the dirt beside the rock, and he joined in to help, careful not to disturb the surrounding rubble.

The sounds of battle in the valley did not cease, and the actions here did not stop. The situation inside was intense with explosions and roars, while outside, they were cautious, treading on thin ice.

Dust fell incessantly from both sides, and Tang Zhao's head was covered in gray ash; he was nearly grazed by debris falling from the mountain wall, but he still braved the danger to clear the debris beside the large rock bit by bit.

Then a cheer was heard from inside, and Tang Zhao and the four bailiffs dodged to the side. A large rock was pushed and rolled to the ground, revealing an escape opening in the blocked high wall.

Someone inside shouted, "Friend outside, please catch them, there are children!"

Tang Zhao was startled; this person's voice was not old, he was in the midst of a voice change, at most fifteen or sixteen years old. The children he spoke of were...

At this moment, a bailiff reached forward and caught a child, small in stature, at most five or six years old.

Tang Zhao was stunned, thinking: In these deep mountains and wild forests, where did such small children come from?

Looking at the child again, he had red lips and white teeth, delicate skin, and exquisite clothing, with a gold collar around his neck; he was clearly a child from a wealthy family. Could it be that some noble family was living in seclusion in this valley?

He was puzzled, while the children inside crawled out one after another, the older ones ten or so, the younger ones even four or five; although everyone was covered in dust, looking closely, they were all children from wealthy families. Tang Zhao was even more confused; let alone a family, even a village couldn't gather so many children. Was this some kind of clan school?

The Flood Dragon really knew how to pick a place to fall!

When a chubby boy of ten or so crawled out, Tang Zhao suddenly wondered, "Eh, aren't you that... Pei Renhu from the Pei Family?"

This was Pei Shoujing's younger brother, who had been at the gathering in the Daoist temple; he had tried to be clever and was nearly possessed by the White-Haired Person, only to be saved by Pei Shoujing later. Tang Zhao had naturally watched from behind and had a vague impression.

Pei Renhu was stunned for a moment, looking closely at Tang Zhao, feeling he looked familiar but unable to recognize him. At that time, Tang Zhao had used a bit of makeup; although his appearance hadn't changed much, they had only met once, and he had left early, so it was too much to ask for him to recognize Tang Zhao.

Tang Zhao confirmed it himself and said, "Are these all children of the Pei Family? Did you move into the mountains to live? Or did the family originally live here?"

He figured they couldn't have originally lived here, otherwise, how could the local bailiffs not have thought of it?

So the Pei Family moved? Moving into the mountains where there is a Demon Cave at a time like this? Has the Pei Family gone crazy from the blow?

Pei Renhu didn't know how to explain for a moment. At this time, all the children inside had crawled out. The last youth to crawl out already had his hair tied up, and the last one, a sixteen or seventeen-year-old who was already sensible, stepped forward and bowed, "Many thanks to this friend and the official officers for your help."

Tang Zhao recognized him as the youth who had spoken to him in the valley, likely the one in charge of these children, and said, "You're welcome, it was a small effort. This is not a safe place, arrange for the children to leave first."

The youth nodded and said, "Exactly. Everyone gather, line up and leave in the order we just had."

He was indeed capable of managing things; these children were not old, but they were all obedient, lining up quietly and filing out. Although a few were injured and had blood on them, crying in pain, no one made a sound, and they all looked very well-behaved.

Seeing the children gradually leave the narrow valley passage and escape danger, Tang Zhao's mood improved, and he nodded to the youth remaining at the end, saying, "You all go out first, we will cover the rear."

The youth bowed and said, "How could I trouble you, officers? Let the children go out first, I will cover the rear with you."

Tang Zhao smiled and said, "Why be so polite at a time like this? Although I am not old, being in the Land Inspection Division, I have the responsibility to eliminate demons and pacify the people, let alone protect the old, the young, and the weak. Brother, don't be so polite with me."

Hearing the words "Land Inspection Division," the youth's expression changed, losing the pleasant look from before. He bowed slightly with a dark face and followed the group of children away in silence.

Suddenly, Tang Zhao sensed danger, his hair standing on end, and he shouted loudly, "Watch out—"

Boom!

Just as the two words left his mouth, the stone wall behind him collapsed with a roar, large rocks tumbled, and mud and sand poured down over their heads.

Something was coming out!

Tang Zhao didn't have time to think; he grabbed the nearby children, shielded them beneath him, and shrank into a depression nearby.

A huge monster squeezed out from the valley entrance, spewing a damp, icy Yin Qi.

The Flood Dragon head!

Compared to the Flood Dragon that had a bit of dragon aura before, it was now in a wretched state; its face was burned beyond recognition, scales had fallen off, and there was no flesh left, looking simply like a skeleton. It roared loudly, spewing Yin Qi incessantly, even creating a thick fog at the valley entrance, crashing against the mountain walls to widen the narrow exit. As it rammed, large rocks fell continuously, and even the previously intact mountain body was cracked and shattered, tumbling down piece by piece.

Finally, it completely broke through the blocking giant rocks and squeezed out from the cracked valley entrance.

When the head was completely squeezed out of the valley, what followed was not a body, but a section of charred, withered bone.

This withered bone only had two segments, almost only the cervical vertebrae remaining. This massive Great Heavenly Demon had been burned by the sun until only its head remained. Yet, this Flood Dragon head was actually not dead, still able to move nimbly and stir up trouble. Behind it, Peng Yiming stumbled out, his steps uneven and his movements awkward; clearly, his legs were no longer agile.

The man and the demon left the valley, leaving a mess behind.

After a long time, a large rock was pushed aside, and Tang Zhao spat out a mouthful of blood.

After a brief moment of disorientation, he tried to move his body to determine the extent of his injuries, only to feel that although his hands and feet were grazed, no bones were broken, but his chest and abdomen were in excruciating pain, as if he had been hit hard, especially his chest, which hurt severely; it seemed two ribs were broken.

"Damn you..." he mumbled, his heart suddenly tightening.

The situation was critical at the time; he had been holding several children.

Trembling, he reached out to touch; sure enough, there were two children beside him, one lying on his chest and abdomen, still being held by him.

The two children beside him were both battered and bleeding, but because Tang Zhao had blocked the incoming large rocks, they hadn't suffered fatal injuries; they were just lying there sobbing. One of them had been hit in the foot and couldn't pull it out, crying even louder.

And the one he was holding.

This seven or eight-year-old child, held in Tang Zhao's arms, was covered in blood.

Tang Zhao cupped his face; a look of terror remained on the youthful face, but the expression had frozen forever.

Because he had been alive just a moment ago, his body temperature was still warm, and the blood flowing out was also warm; the temperature only living people possess remained on Tang Zhao's skin.

Tang Zhao did not know what expression he wore, but he felt his blood flow in reverse for an instant.

Sorrow? Pain? Anger?

He barely perceived any emotion, feeling only a blankness in his mind.

Climbing up from the large rock, Tang Zhao felt almost no pain and said very calmly to the children behind him, "Stay where you are and wait for rescue."

Then, he touched a Bracelet on his hand.

"Chief of Punishment, grant me Remission."

The sword marks on the Art Tool were clearly visible.

Turning the Time Jar over, a black-and-white sword appeared, and his hand pressed onto the Sword Sheath, firm and steady.

The Xiezhi on the Sword Sheath was lifelike. Its eyes shone brightly, as if repeating the absolute rule of this sword:

Killer Dies.