Chapter 257: 249 A Temporary Conclusion

The reason for taking out the Demon Cave only when Jiang Shenyi was present was, in itself, a tacit understanding.

Logically speaking, the Land Inspection Division bears the danger of dealing with Demon Caves and is willing to risk life and limb for it; therefore, the output of the Demon Cave is naturally their spoils of war. In fact, this is the case; although there is no explicit regulation, the Land Inspection Division has priority in disposing of the harvest from a Demon Cave, even for something as precious as a Sword Seed, let alone other materials. If a Demon Cave is not closed in time and transforms into a long-term Demon Prison, only then would it be handed over to the government for further arrangements.

However, Mai Shiyu called Tang Zhao over to handle the Demon Cave and tacitly allowed him to relocate it, which effectively gave him the right to dispose of the Demon Cave. This is actually quite generous and not entirely compliant with the rules; after all, while Tang Zhao's individual strength is important, other members of the Land Inspection Division also provided various forms of cooperation, so it is not fair for him to take it all. Therefore, this must never be stated explicitly; it is a matter of tacit understanding.

Likewise, if there are dangers in the Demon Cave later, whether it be Heavenly Demons or Phantoms, they all need to be handled by Tang Zhao. If he fails to handle them well and lets those Heavenly Demons escape to wreak havoc, he will certainly have to bear the blame. If he cannot defeat them and calls for the Land Inspection Division's assistance, then the right to dispose of the Demon Cave must be transferred, and he would at most get a share, not the whole thing.

Therefore, Tang Zhao waited until Mai Shiyu and the others returned to the city before calling Jiang Shenyi to take a look at the Demon Cave together.

In fact, this Demon Cave could have been dealt with after returning, but with a "Heavenly Demon" tied at the entrance whose origin is still unknown, it is an unstable factor that Tang Zhao must deal with in a timely manner.

Opening the Demon Cave from the layers upon layers of wrapping, one could see the entrance sealed airtight with chains crisscrossing in every direction. Through the gaps in the chains, one could still see those two hands still shackled, but they seemed different compared to just a moment ago.

Jiang Shenyi said first, "This is a dead person, right?"

It certainly looked like it was dead.

A dead person's hands are different from a living person's; the knuckles were clearly stiff and limp, which both of them could see.

Tang Zhao was very curious: why did this Heavenly Demon die? He hadn't dealt a killing blow, had he?

After all, living Heavenly Demons are hard to come by, and Tang Zhao wanted to keep it to see if he could conduct experiments or something.

Could it also be faking death?

Tang Zhao carefully removed two chains, and Jiang Shenyi used his Qi to condense a claw to drag the Heavenly Demon out from the space on the other side. Tang Zhao immediately backhanded the entrance shut. The two of them worked together with fluid movements, and no accidents occurred.

The Heavenly Demon landed and slumped to the ground; its limbs were stiff and devoid of any instinctive life reactions. It was indeed dead through and through.

Tang Zhao paused and flipped it over.

The Heavenly Demon lay splayed out; it had a tall, sturdy build, but its appearance was really no different from a human's. Only its facial features were slightly uncoordinated, but it wasn't as if there were no people in the world with such deformed features; it was just that it had a head of dark green long hair, combed into curly braids, which did not look like a normal person.

A thought stirred in Tang Zhao's heart: although this hair color cannot be produced normally, people from Yinhuo Township, when polluted by the Yin Qi in a Demon Cave, might grow hair of various colors; who is to say there isn't green?

For a moment, he even thought this was a normal person who had mistakenly entered the Demon Cave on the other side and, after being infected by the demonic energy, wanted to escape...

That possibility was not high. Tang Zhao felt that this was still a Heavenly Demon; he had heard that there were human-like Heavenly Demons in the Outer Realms, and there were even different races, so this green hair might just be one of them.

Apart from the hair color, this person's facial features and limbs were no different from a human's, and it was also wearing clothes. It was draped in a fur skirt-garment similar to a burlap sack; although very crude, it was clearly tailored and not a primitive person who had just torn off a piece of animal hide to wrap around themselves.

Jiang Shenyi followed up and inspected it, saying, "Bleeding from the seven orifices; could it be poisoned?"

Tang Zhao thought it looked like that too, saying, "Could it be suicide?"

Jiang Shenyi shook his head and said, "I don't know, but that also makes sense. Perhaps it committed suicide out of despair after being captured by you?"

Tang Zhao felt that didn't make much sense. The Heavenly Demon had been charging around earlier and was very energetic; it had struggled incessantly after being shackled by him. It didn't look like a fellow who would resign itself to fate, so how could it just commit suicide after being locked up for only an hour or so?

But neither of them was skilled in medicine or poisons, so they were just guessing blindly here. This was a matter that couldn't be explained unless more information was known.

Tang Zhao concluded, "Since it's dead, let's store it for now and find someone who understands medicine and poisons to analyze it later. This Demon Cave..." He glanced at the space entrance, which looked like frosted glass, "... is a bit troublesome. Let's seal it up first and wait until we figure it out before going in."

Compared to the fact that there was a Heavenly Demon inside, the fact that the Heavenly Demon died in such an inexplicable way was even more concerning.

In fact, when the two of them were discussing suicide just now, they had already unconsciously viewed this "Heavenly Demon" as a sentient being like a human; after all, only sentient beings know how to commit suicide.

Since it is a sentient being, the implications are complicated. There are "people" in the Demon Cave, possibly a "civilization" and a "society," so the natural conditions might be a hundred times more complex than the wilderness ecology. Both of them were very unfamiliar with the Demon Cave, and the rumors they had heard were of unknown veracity. At this moment, having just gone through a battle and not being in their prime state, they did not want to venture in rashly.

From another perspective, this kind of Demon Cave runs deeper, and there are many areas to explore. If they could successfully enter or even completely master the Demon Cave, there might be unexpected gains.

They had found a treasure this time.

"We can ask Zhang Xiansheng; he compiled the 'Records of the Outer Realms' and is very familiar with things outside. As for the cause of the Heavenly Demon's death... we still need to find someone to examine it."

Jiang Shenyi said, "If only the Second Senior Brother were still here. He knows a lot and is also very knowledgeable about poisons."

Tang Zhao asked curiously, "The Second Senior Brother knows poisons? Isn't he from the Daoist sect, practicing pure cultivation and health preservation?"

Jiang Shenyi laughed, "Exactly. In addition to his pure cultivation, he also practiced alchemy. Later, Master scolded him, 'Practicing alchemy, my ass; everything you refine is poison.' He wasn't convinced, but later he really specialized in poisons and became quite adept at it."

"..." Tang Zhao was speechless for a moment. "It's a pity the Second Senior Brother isn't here. Let's just ask the Third Senior Sister to examine it..."

Jiang Shenyi asked curiously, "Third Senior Sister? Is she capable of examining it?"

Tang Zhao said, "Of course. Senior Sister's medical skills are truly miraculous and uniquely gifted."

Jiang Shenyi clicked his tongue in wonder. He hadn't even seen what the Third Senior Sister looked like, let alone what she was good at. It was not strange that Tang Zhao hadn't seen the Second Senior Brother, because he had joined the sect late, but he had only been there for three years and was already so familiar with the Third Senior Sister; it was truly strange upon strange. Jiang Shenyi suspected that if the Second Senior Brother were on the mountain, Tang Zhao would be able to get along well with him just the same.

By the way, what was Senior Sister's name again... Zhu Ying... right?

Once the two had agreed, Tang Zhao packed up the Demon Cave, sealed it together in the Lotus Pond, and stuffed it into the Time Jar. He then used another jar to hold the Heavenly Demon's corpse. They searched the surrounding area again to ensure no enemies were left behind before both returned to the city. Jiang Shenyi's wings had consumed too much lightning and looked quite unbalanced, so he simply gave up on flying back and hitched a ride on Tang Zhao's carriage to return to the city.

Upon returning to Xun City, they saw at a glance that the city walls were already filled with soldiers; order was maintained both inside and outside the city, and it had returned to its normal state.

When Tang Zhao and the others arrived above the city, they immediately saw someone maneuvering a Divine Machine Bow to aim at them. Tang Zhao did not want to court disaster, so he descended slowly. Before he could even speak, he heard someone shout, "Don't aim, they are our own people."

Landing smoothly on the city wall, they saw Mai Shiyu and another unfamiliar face walk up. That person was a man in his thirties, with a sturdy build; although he was not tall, he looked powerful and muscular, as if his whole body was filled with explosive strength. There was a curved scar on his face that drooped from the corner of his eyebrow almost to his ear, making him look somewhat ferocious.

Mai Shiyu had been trailing half a step behind, but at this moment, he stepped forward first to introduce, "This is Tang Zhao from Dongshan County, and that is his Senior Brother from Zhuoyu Villa." He then introduced to Tang Zhao, "This is the Inspector from Riyang Jun."

Tang Zhao was startled and hurriedly stepped forward to pay his respects. He hadn't expected the Inspector to arrive so quickly. Although he arrived after the fact, if it weren't for Tang Zhao and the others being so capable and resolving this crisis in a few swift moves, given the strength of a typical Land Inspection Division Town Guardian post, they would have been deadlocked with the Turtle Bandits for a while, and the Inspector would have had time to turn the tide.

He was not in Riyang Jun and was unfamiliar with this Inspector Qu, but he looked very dignified; with the scar, he even looked a bit fierce. Compared to Fu Xianchan, that cat... Li Hua Sword, this person was more like a proper Fourth-Rank Inspector guarding a region. Tang Zhao vaguely remembered that this Inspector's sword seemed to be the "Pan" sword, and he was also a powerful Sword Hero, though he probably wouldn't have the chance to see him in action.

Although Inspector Qu looked fierce, he didn't put on any airs when he saw Tang Zhao, saying, "Tang Zhao, eh? I've heard of this child. In my memory, he was still a little kid; I didn't expect him to be such a handsome young man."

Tang Zhao asked curiously, "I wonder how the Inspector knows the student's name? Could it be..."

Inspector Qu said, "It was Xiao Fu who mentioned it. She said that although you are young, you have both natural talent and a heroic spirit, and you will surely become a pillar of the state in the future."

So it was the Li Hua Sword. He had thought it was Xing Ji who had mentioned it; well, they were both Inspectors, so they might have had a friendship. Tang Zhao said embarrassedly, "The Inspector praises me too highly; how could this student be worthy of such words?" He then reported the situation of clearing the battlefield outside the city. Originally, he was going to report to Mai Shiyu, but at this moment, he took the Inspector as the primary person to address.

The Inspector nodded after listening and said, "Garrison Commander Mi has already sent scouts to explore the surroundings again, and the Town Guardian... Deputy Envoy has also sent a few brothers to follow. It will be safe once General Fei's army is deployed here. Xiao Tang, let's go down from the city wall. This is where the garrison army is exchanging, not a place for us in the Land Inspection Division to stay for long."

After the few of them descended from the city wall, Mai Shiyu said to Tang Zhao, "This time, the Turtle Bandits came abruptly, which is no small matter. We need to review it from beginning to end, make a record, and report it directly to the Lord. You may need to stay in the city for a few days until everything settles down before returning."

This was also a matter of course. The Turtle Bandits had a different significance for the government compared to martial arts factions like Longyuan; they were the primary great enemy. This time, their actions were also massive; it could be said that this was a true act of great treason, nearly causing a city to fall. After such an incident, it wouldn't be over without turning Riyang Jun or even Yunzhou upside down to investigate; there might even be quite a few heads rolling. Although the Land Inspection Division does not manage the Turtle Bandits, this time the Turtle Bandits took advantage of the Demon Cave destroying the city wall, and the Town Guardian was even captured by the enemy for a time. Before rushing to discuss rewards, they would inevitably have to check if everyone had neglected their duties.

Tang Zhao agreed, "I will naturally cooperate."

Inspector Qu led the way, saying, "This matter will naturally be brought to the Lord. Deputy Envoy Mai will inevitably have to return to Zhongtian Prefecture to report. Does Xiao Tang want to come along to pay respects to the Lord?"