Chapter 373: The Disaster Rose from Within

"Monster… a monster!"

The officers of the Commandant's Office jumped in shock, raising their spears.

The thing on the beam was the same color as its surroundings, and with the dim candlelight inside the Buddhist hall, it was impossible to notice unless one deliberately looked up.

The creature resembled a gecko, but its size was astonishing—comparable to a crocodile dragon—and clearly practiced dark arts.

With each breath it took, the faces of the men and women in the hall grew paler.

"Sss—!"

Seeing it had been discovered, the demon suddenly opened its massive mouth and let out a threatening hiss toward them.

Boom!

Without hesitation, Li Yan fired.

At such close range, he could not miss.

The demon's huge head exploded instantly, spraying blood and flesh everywhere.

The Commandant's Office officers also instinctively fired, a rapid series of gunshots accompanied by flashes of flame, illuminating the entire hall.

Though their weapons were not new-style firearms, each bullet struck deep into the demon's body, spraying blood.

With a heavy thud, the demon's corpse fell from the beam.

"Stop!"

Cheng, the Battalion Commander, quickly ordered them to halt, then drew his blade and peered warily, still shaken: "Li Li Shaoxia, what is this thing?"

"A demon that feeds on essence to cultivate…"

Li Yan blew across the barrel of his flintlock pistol, removed the rear magazine, and replaced it with another from his waist pouch, sneering: "This demon has some skill, but it's never seen the power of firearms."

He was right—the demon on the beam could conceal its aura, spew toxic mist, and cast mind-controlling spells; it had killed more than one martial artist. So when they entered, it showed no fear.

Too bad, it never got the chance to act before its head was blown off.

At that moment, an elderly nun, naked but still alluring, slowly stirred. Seeing the scene, she let out a piercing scream, stumbling toward the demon's corpse and wailing:

"Master! Master… how dare you!"

Before she finished speaking, a wisp of black smoke rose from the gecko's corpse and surged entirely into her mouth.

The nun's eyes rolled back, her body trembling violently.

"Don't rush!"

Li Yan blocked Sha Li-fei from firing, his cold gaze fixed on the hall: "Let's see what this thing says."

The scene before him gave him an immediate suspicion.

He had assumed a human was raising the demon—but now he realized it was the demon controlling the human, staging such a grand spectacle. Where did it get the nerve?

Indeed, after another violent shake, the nun suddenly lifted her head—her eyes now pure black, crouching like an animal, baring her teeth at them, her tongue clicking rapidly.

So it's just a puppet…

Li Yan instantly lost interest, raising his Duanchen Blade to press against her forehead; the tassel's talisman coins jingled.

Sensing the killing intent, the demon froze instantly.

Lu San stepped forward, muttering in the Upper Tongue, interrogating it.

After a long exchange, Lu San turned, face twisted in disgust: "This demon came from the nearby mountains, gained forbidden methods in a cave, and controls this old nun—allies with that Zhao Young Master."

Li Yan frowned: "Ask it—what's its connection to An Fade? Is it from the Ghost Sect?"

Lu San asked again in the Upper Tongue.

Unfortunately, the demon first fell silent, then its eyes flashed with malice; suddenly, it surged forward with all four limbs, shooting toward the exit to flee the hall.

But Li Yan was faster—he unleashed hidden force from his feet, lunging after it, hand outstretched.

To the others, it looked like he simply reached out and pulled.

In truth, he had used the Soul-Grabbing Cord—a wisp of black smoke was ripped from the demon, drawn by the cord's contraction toward his palm.

At the same time, lightning crackled in Li Yan's palm, and he slammed it forward.

Instantly, cold winds scattered, making the candles flicker wildly; faint roars of wild beasts echoed in everyone's ears.

This demon had killed too many—it could not be allowed to escape.

Meanwhile, the old nun collapsed with a thud, waking up trembling, bowing her head repeatedly: "My lord, spare me! My lord, spare me!"

As the demon died, the men and women in the hall stirred awake, stared at the bloody scene, and screamed, retreating in terror.

"Who are you?!"

"What are the Commandant's Office doing here?"

One pale-skinned young nobleman, his eyes glazed blue, casually threw on his robe and demanded angrily: "I am Lu Jia's Lu Kang. May I ask, my lords, why have you stormed this place?"

"Mr. Lu…"

Cheng, the Battalion Commander, stepped forward with a cold gaze and slapped him hard: "You've committed a grave crime—even your Lu family can't save you!"

"How dare you!"

Several men nearby moved to intervene.

Cheng laughed bitterly: "Waste them all!"

The Commandant's Office soldiers surged forward, blades flashing, blood spraying—no mercy shown, all the men cut down.

These young nobles from Xiangyang were all useless wastrels—otherwise, how could they gather here?

This Mr. Lu had taken Five-Stone Powder and drunk himself into a stupor; seeing this, he broke into a cold sweat: "My lord, please, let's talk calmly—my father…"

"Don't mention your father!"

Cheng pressed his blade against Lu Kang's throat, coldly: "I ask you—did you send men from Xiangyang to gather intelligence and send it here?"

The Lu family held great power, and had patrons in court—otherwise, with such a scandal, the Prefect would have been removed long ago.

Since he'd acted, he must make the case undeniable.

The Commandant's Office had ample experience dealing with the kin of court officials—must press hard, never let them recover their wits.

"This…"

Lu Kang's mind went blank—he sensed he couldn't admit anything, yet panic crept in; he glanced nervously at another young noble beside him.

Cheng turned and kicked the other nobleman down, pressing his blade to his throat, eyes blazing: "Oh? Mr. Liu, is this connected to Commandant Liu?"

"It has nothing to do with my father!"

The young noble panicked, pointing at the old nun: "It was this old hag—she feared someone would investigate, so I sent a few men to the garrison to gather news…"

As soon as he spoke, he realized his mistake, then glared venomously at Lu Kang: "He seduced me and threatened me—it's not my fault!"

"Idiot!"

Lu Kang turned pale and cursed.

Sha Li-fei sneered: "No wonder Xiangyang has decayed so badly—with these nobles covering for them, what can't they do?"

"Arrest them all!"

Cheng roared; the Commandant's Office surged forward, tying ropes around the young nobles, binding them tightly.

Remembering their fallen comrades from the plague, they took cruel pleasure—tightening the ropes painfully, making the nobles scream and beg.

Lu Kang pleaded: "My lords, we surrender—can we at least put on our clothes?"

Cheng ignored him, leading his men to drag the old nun into a side chamber for harsh interrogation. Though she was a practitioner, she had no real skill—only mind-control and love potions.

Her only support was the demon and Lu Kang; after one round of torture, she was beyond suffering and confessed everything.

As expected.

The nun's dharma name was Qingyue—she was no saint, but a former member of Yanmen's Black Sect, who fled into the monastic life to escape capture.

This nunnery had once been a quiet place, inhabited only by suffering souls—not cultivators.

She was a seasoned woman of the Some Jianghu, eloquent and cunning; she quickly seized control and by chance encountered the demon, taking it as her master.

Lu Kang built the Peach Garden nearby; after only a few meetings, they became lovers.

According to her, they originally only sought orgies and wealth, helping the demon absorb essence for cultivation.

But last year, her demon master introduced her to several allies—An Fade was one of them.

Many deeds were ordered by these people.

This place seemed merely a den of debauchery, but in truth, it was under the Ghost Sect's control—using these nobles to plant agents in key locations across Xiangyang.

!.

Even Yuchengzi of the City God Temple had been invited here by Lu Kang, under the guise of drinking and feasting, slowly corrupted…

"Who are these people?"

Li Yan sensed he'd caught a big fish—he personally interrogated her.

After brutal torture, the nun dared not hide anything.

"Originally, the leaders were Lu Lin Fuzi and An Fade—but they distrusted each other, weren't allies, even fought secretly. I heard they were cooperating to find something in Xianshan…"

"Later, more arrived—a terrifying old man named Huang Huang Liushi, who made even my master bow his head, and a woman from Miaojiang, whom others called Princess…"

"Where did they go?"

"I don't know—but An Fade is from the Snake Sect, and has a powerful disciple named Yu Yu Faling, who is now in Xianshan…"

After this interrogation, Li Yan had a clear picture.

Lu Lin Fuzi was likely a hidden Ghost Sect master—possibly Zhao Zhao Changsheng's secret agent in Xiangyang, even remaining concealed after Tongtian San's death.

They had disrupted the Ghost Sect's plot in Near Wuchang, but Huang Huang Liushi revived, rallied the river demons, activated Lu Lin Fuzi as a hidden agent, and triggered the plague.

Meanwhile, An Fade and his disciple were hiding here, secretly searching for the "Wang Chan Donghu Laozu's Scripture Grove," and had allied with the Ghost Sect…

While they interrogated her, the Commandant's Office troops scoured the area.

Soon, a soldier hurried in, bowing: "My lord, we found something."

Upon hearing this, Li Yan and the others immediately left the Buddha hall.

The nun's convent was built in a secluded spot halfway up the mountain, and below it lay a luxurious estate, its wooden carvings and brick reliefs exquisitely crafted, with small bridges over flowing streams—clearly a fortune had been spent.

It was precisely the Peach Study built by Master Lu.

Coincidentally, this estate lay directly on the only path to the convent, and Master Lu had stationed guards along the route to bar unauthorized access.

If they had come by the main road, even if the guards could not stop them, the people inside the convent would have received word and escaped through the secret tunnel.

But An Fade, stubborn and foolish, believed his own schemes could kill Li Yan—yet he never expected to be ambushed and killed in turn, as they slipped through the tunnel and caught him off guard.

Inside the estate, lanterns burned brightly; several guards lay dead on the ground, while maids and servants cowered in corners, trembling with fear.

The elite troops of the Commandant's Office scoured the premises.

Under the lead of a Commandant's Office squad leader, Li Yan and the others hurried into the estate and reached the secret tunnel behind the main residence.

Before they even drew near, Li Yan's expression darkened.

Inside the hidden chamber, crocodile hides filled the room in dense layers—some already fashioned into armor, others clearly freshly peeled.

In addition, there were numerous firearms and gunpowder.

Cheng, the Hundred-Unit Captain, sneered: "Hmph, hoarding armor and firearms—this is the end of the Lu family!"

Li Yan, however, shook his head slightly and said to Lu San: "It seems the Crocodile Master was ambushed because of these."

Lu San's face was grim as he gazed toward Xianshan. "I made a pact with the Crocodile Master—I can faintly sense he's still alive."

Li Yan patted his shoulder. "No time to waste—let's move at once. The Crocodile Master is still somewhere within Xianshan."

He turned to the side. "Cheng, handle this place for now. Also, send word to Commander Zhou of the Garrison—I've found the opening. Hurry to Xianshan."

"Remember—deal with the traitors first…"

…………

Before dawn, Xiangyang City was in chaos.

The Commandant's Office launched a massive operation, storming the Prefect's Office and arresting the Prefect of Xiangyang, then sweeping through every government office to seize suspects.

Even at the Garrison Camp, Wu Wu Degui arrived in person, wielding the imperial seal, and arrested Commander Liu for investigation.

Anyone who resisted was shot on the spot.

The officials of Xiangyang finally remembered the terror of the Commandant's Office; all fell silent, cowering in their homes, daring not to move.

They did not yet know that this entire disaster had been triggered by their own disobedient sons.

Even powerful clans in Xiangyang, like the Lu family, dared not stir, for even the Daoists of the City God Temple had personally come to suppress the unrest.

As dawn broke, the chaos in Xiangyang had already subsided—over thirty officials and wealthy gentry had been thrown into prison.

The Ghost Sect's hidden agents were either dead or captured, not a single one escaped.

On the river, warships sailed one after another toward Xianshan…

………………

In the mountain forest, Li Yan and the others moved cautiously forward.

Wang Wang Daoxuan looked at the emerald mountains around them and murmured: "Xianshan is said to be the cave-dwelling and sacred ground of Chi Chi Songzi—there may be hidden celestial realms here, but they shouldn't lie within Yunmeng Marsh. Then why would Wang Chan's Scripture Grove be here?"

Li Yan shook his head. "We'll know when we find it. Right now, saving the Crocodile Master comes first—those people must already have clues."

He turned to the side. "Lu San, can you sense anything?"

Lu San immediately formed a hand seal and blew a slow, low whistle into the air.

The whistle drifted through the forest, carried by the mountain wind, spreading in all directions.

"Huu~"

A sound came from the wind—as if the forest itself whistled back.

Lu San listened intently, his brow tightening. "Strange—I can still faintly sense something beyond the mountains, but why has it vanished since we entered?"

"Go to hell!"

At that moment, Wu Ba suddenly spoke.

Li Yan's face darkened. "Shut up. If you can't speak properly, keep your mouth closed. Don't cause trouble—or I won't feed you."

Wu Ba looked wounded, scratching his head and pacing anxiously. He suddenly dropped to the ground, pounding it repeatedly, then pointed downward and whispered:

"Go to hell… little people, little people!"

Li Yan's eye twitched slightly, but he understood Wu Ba's meaning.

"You mean there are little people underground?"

(End of Chapter)