Chapter 20: Demon Bandits?

Inside the Sanhe Tower, it was a scene of bustling activity, while the buildings behind presented an entirely different sight.

Autumn sunlight spilled on the tiles; several servants were busy in the water room, and the residence where the master lived was silent, not a single sound or movement.

Xie Jinhuan followed the brief sound from before, moving deeper into the courtyard, and soon arrived outside a small yard.

The courtyard had white walls and green tiles, not part of the Sanhe Tower, yet the voice of the servant fetching medicine came from within, accompanied by a scent of blood.

The blood scent was faint, nearly imperceptible mixed with the drizzle, but Xie Jinhuan could confirm it was human blood, mixed with some unpleasant odor.

Xie Jinhuan frowned tightly, quietly entering the yard, and saw it was not a dwelling but a small medicine workshop.

Under the eaves on all sides were stacked many empty boxes, with some unidentified herbs drying; in the side building, one could see a medicine grinder, small scales, and other medicinal tools, yet not a single person was visible, while the blood scent came from the crack under the main room's door.

Xie Jinhuan pressed against the wall, slowly approaching the building; upon reaching the window, he could hear faint chewing sounds inside, like a wild beast gnawing on meat.

"Chk~ chk..."

?

Xie Jinhuan frowned tightly, his hand resting on the Tiangang Jian, moved along the wall to the door, and peered through the crack.

The room should have been an accountant's office; inside stood a desk and bookshelves, several large boxes placed against the wall containing rows of small black bottles, undoubtedly all sealed packages of Deng Xian San.

Beside the boxes lay a corpse; judging by the attire, it was likely a scribe, its head shattered, brains spilled across the floor, and its body chewed into a mutilated mess.

The servant who had just run over to fetch medicine had his neck torn open, blood gushing everywhere, and his body dragged by a shadowy figure to the corner of the room.

The shadowy figure, with disheveled hair and a brocade robe covered in blood, squatted with its back to the door in the corner, holding one of the servant's hands and tearing at it with its head down, emitting nauseating swallowing sounds:

"Gulp... gulp-gulp..."

Xie Jinhuan suddenly witnessed a human eating another human; his brow furrowed as he realized the situation exceeded expectations. He quietly retreated, intending to notify Yang Dabiao and the others, but unexpectedly, a wind-breaking sound suddenly came from behind:

Whoosh~

Xie Jinhuan frowned, glanced sideways toward the courtyard wall, and discovered a cold, beautiful silhouette landing upon it, looking inside with curiosity.

"Shh~"

Xie Jinhuan quickly raised his index finger, signaling with his eyes.

Linghu Qingmo had come to find Xie Jinhuan; having also smelled the faint scent of blood, she came to investigate. Seeing the scene, she immediately suppressed her aura and asked with her eyes what was happening.

But the shadowy figure squatting inside possessed extraordinary perception; like a wild dog, it lifted its head to sniff, then pushed off the ground with both hands, turned around, and gazed toward the courtyard wall.

Only after the figure turned its head did Xie Jinhuan realize in shock that its face was completely distorted: its nose had become two vertical Kong Dong, its cheekbones protruded and covered with yellow hair an inch long, its eyes were blood-red with no whites visible, and its mouth, stained red with blood, still bore canine teeth.

And the hands supporting it on the ground had twisted, thickened knuckles, looking somewhat like a monkey's arms, no longer resembling human palms at all.

Damn it...

Xie Jinhuan had originally thought this person had gone mad from practicing martial arts incorrectly and thus started eating humans; only now did he realize this creature seemed on the verge of transforming into a demon.

Having known since childhood the terror of demons, Xie Jinhuan dared not be the slightest bit careless and quickly flew backward:

"Move!"

Boom—

At that same moment, a tremendous roar erupted from inside the room.

The disheveled demon-human kicked the ground fiercely with both legs like a frog jumping; though appearing utterly unstructured, the force was terrifying, leaving two deep pits in the solid ground, instantly smashing the window and lunging directly toward the courtyard wall outside.

Crash—

Linghu Qingmo was still observing the situation when, caught off guard, she saw a thing neither human nor ghost leap out from the window; startled, her hair stood on end, her drawn sword unleashed a brilliant Lei Guang, slashing toward the intruder's neck.

Whoosh—

But Linghu Qingmo was already injured; the demon's sudden attack was overwhelmingly inhuman. Its twin claws seized the sword shimmering with Lei Guang, its hands not severed; the brute force even made Linghu Qingmo lose her balance, pushing her stumbling into the corridor.

Facing the hideous, unknown demon, Linghu Qingmo's mind reeled with shock; she immediately intended to abandon her sword and escape, but at that very moment, a sharp wind-breaking sound came from the side!

Whoosh—

As the demon-human lunged, Xie Jinhuan had already charged out at full speed, nearly colliding mid-air with Linghu Qingmo's side, carrying her by the waist as he flashed past the demon.

Thud!

The disheveled demon lunged forward into empty space, crashing between the trays drying herbs, sliding over a zhang before hitting the courtyard wall, barely stopping its momentum; but immediately it flipped back up, its eyes blood-red, emitting a low roar, and leaped forward on all fours:

"Howl—"

The demon's speed was astonishing; the moment Xie Jinhuan landed while holding Linghu Qingmo, that blood-filled maw was already pressing down before them.

Seeing this, Xie Jinhuan reacted with incredible speed; his hands braced the Tiangang Jian, his entire body exploding with force, his feet rooted to the earth in the posture of 'Panlong Henggang'!

The demon appeared to have no consciousness, yet its impact force was utterly unimaginable.

Having felt the opponent's impact force, Linghu Qingmo had expected Xie Jinhuan to be knocked over; the instant he landed, she supported his back.

But unexpectedly, as the lunging demon-human threw its full force against the Tiangang Jian, Xie Jinhuan stood like an iron-cast statue; the floor tiles beneath his feet cracked from the vibration, yet his form remained as steady as a rock, not even his arms shifting a fraction.

Bang—

Under the reactive force, the demon-human was forcibly knocked backward, falling to the ground as if it had crashed headfirst into a city wall!

Seeing such a technique capable of resisting ten thousand pounds, Linghu Qingmo felt admiration in her heart, but in this critical moment, she had no time to think of anything else; she quickly stabilized her stance, formed the Thunder Seal with her fingers, a visible green light flowing along her arm, then suddenly slammed her palm onto the ground:

"Shake!"

Boom—

In an instant, a muffled thunderclap echoed through the courtyard.

A twisted lightning snake, as thick as a wrist, shot out from her sleeve, tearing through the ground and instantly striking beneath the demon's feet.

The demon, its face as hideous as a vicious beast, immediately stiffened, but this lasted only an instant before it flipped up, clawing and biting, and lunged at Xie Jinhuan once more.

But Xie Jinhuan was not foolish enough to stand rooted in place; after using 'Panlong Henggang' to strike the demon, he顺势 took a large step forward and delivered a heart-stabbing elbow strike:

Thud—

The heavy, powerful elbow strike, like a siege hammer, crashed into the demon's chest; the blood-stained brocade robe instantly exploded, and its ribs shattered and caved in simultaneously.

The demon, which had just risen, under the heavy blow, was transformed into a cannonball fired from a barrel, flying straight backward amidst a shower of debris, smashing through the main room's wall, with tables, chairs, and wooden boxes also reduced to fragments.

Had a normal person taken such a hit, even if not dying instantly, their internal organs would have been shattered, making it impossible to rise again.

But the demon's physique within the house was exceedingly formidable; after crashing inside and rolling once, it quickly rose, landed on all fours, and lunged outward again, emitting a low, guttural roar:

"Howl—"

Linghu Qingmo struck the demon with a palm of Lei Ting, only to find the demon unharmed; she still intended to seize the moment while Xie Jinhuan drove the demon back to unleash her killing move.

Yet Xie Jinhuan's explosive power was even more absurd than the demon's; while knocking the demon flying, he had already slid his feet apart, swept his left hand across the thirty-six segments of the Great Expansion Staff, and gathered his true Qi throughout his body to the absolute limit, his form like a bowstring snapping:

Hiss~

The sound of Qi gathering flashed and vanished!

As the demon lunged out of the doorway again, Xie Jinhuan had already moved with the staff, creating a thunderous boom that shook the entire courtyard!

Boom—

The Great Expansion Staff, wrapped in boundless sharpness, carved a vortex directly through the shredded fabric, its momentum like an unparalleled tornado!

The demon, having lost all sanity, faced the staff that could shatter cities and shake mountains without showing fear, and still charged head-on.

But fearlessness of death does not mean one cannot die.

The moment the Great Expansion Staff touched the demon's chest, the muscle-bound torso caved in and exploded, blasting a basin-sized hole in its back!

The residual force of the Qi impact struck the houses behind; walls and bookshelves instantly shattered into four pieces, and even the rear wall was blown through, while the demon's reckless charge came to an abrupt halt.

Thud—

Crash-crash...

Having struck a successful blow, Xie Jinhuan immediately flew back to stand before Linghu Qingmo, shielding her behind him.

Linghu Qingmo hadn't even finished chanting the "Five Thunder Exorcism Curse" when she saw Xie Jinhuan dismantle the demon with a fluid, seamless series of moves; her eyes could not help but widen in shock!

But to be safe, she still formed hand seals with both hands, then suddenly slammed them onto the ground:

Crackle-crackle...

In an instant, green light surged from her hands, transforming into two streaks of green-white lightning that tore through the ground and spread forward, converging beneath the demon's feet.

Boom-boom-boom...

A series of thunderclaps exploded in the courtyard, sounding like a string of firecrackers, causing the entire courtyard to flicker between light and dark.

The demon, whose chest and spine had been completely shattered, had its flesh and skin explode in the thunder; its brocade robe turned to ash, its body instantly blackened to a crisp, and it fell straight backward onto the ground, its expression even in death still resembling a ferocious ghost!

Splash—

After the dull thud of falling, the courtyard fell silent once more.

"Huff... huff..."

Linghu Qingmo breathed lightly, watching cautiously the demon that had already become a charred corpse; only after confirming it was completely still did she secretly sigh with relief.

Xie Jinhuan also knew some thunder techniques, but their power was at most suitable for bedroom play; now with his ears ringing from the blast, he added a complaint amidst his envy:

"It's already dead; was it necessary to go to such trouble to whip its corpse?"

Linghu Qingmo withdrew her hands and stood upright; regarding this teasing, she responded seriously:

"Martial artists cannot kill ghosts and spirits; who knows if this thing is hiding some yin-evil object on its person."

Xie Jinhuan offered no rebuttal to this and stepped forward to examine it closely:

"What happened to this person?"

Linghu Qingmo hadn't seen clearly either; upon a slight inspection now, she discovered the person was wearing a brocade robe, obviously having been transformed from a human, and could not help but frown tightly:

"He likely came into contact with something evil, was infected and corrupted, and thus turned into this state; the specific situation can only be clarified by examining the corpse. Were you injured just now?"

Xie Jinhuan had indeed been startled by this thing that was neither human nor ghost, but regarding the combat process, it was hardly perilous; now he patted his blood-stained sleeve:

"A mere minor demon, nothing worth mentioning."

"..."

Linghu Qingmo opened her mouth, not knowing how to respond.

The two had exchanged only a few words when the sound of wind being broken rang out above the buildings:

Whoosh-whoosh...

Liu Qingzhi and Yang Dabiao had been waiting outside; hearing the commotion, they had already rushed over, and now landing on the roof, seeing the scene in the courtyard, both had their expressions change slightly:

"My Lord Linghu, what is happening?"

"There may be evil creatures lurking here; notify the government office and the garrison guards to come, watch the surroundings carefully, and do not let the evil creatures escape."

"Yes..."

Liu Qingzhi immediately accepted the order and began patrolling the surroundings.

Yang Dabiao then took a signal firework from his waist and pointed it toward the sky.

Whoosh~

Boom—

The firework trailed its tail flame straight into the deep sky, visible across the entire city...

(End of this chapter)