"Only a Demon Slayer can check the information for the entire region," Cui Fan said.
A Demon Slayer can also lead a team to hunt demons, but they only handle small towns and villages. However, he didn’t mean to refuse Li Hao; he quickly added with a smile, "But since you’ve come from far away and are eager to hunt demons, I can’t refuse your request. Please follow me."
With that, he led Li Hao and the others into a side room of the Demon Slayer Office. There were guards in the room, and Cui Fan was very familiar with them. After greeting them, he took a few people inside.
In the room, there was a map hanging on the wall, showing the territory of Cangyu City, which included several small towns and many villages in the surrounding area. Cui Fan pulled a book from a shelf and turned to hand it to Li Hao.
"This is the record of demon hunts near Cangyu City over the past six months. Take your time to read it. After lunch, I’ll take you on a patrol," Cui Fan said with a smile.
Li Hao opened the book and began to read carefully. Li Yuanzhao was also curious and leaned in to look closely.
...
In a wealthy mansion on the outskirts of the city.
"Yanshi, ten coins."
"Zhangshi, eight coins."
A plump young woman was reclining on a soft couch, slowly flipping through an account book. She spoke to the accountant beside her, "This year, there have been frequent demon troubles, and the farmers' harvests haven't been good. Please ask the master to reduce their taxes; they are suffering too much..."
The accountant was taken aback and lowered his head, saying, "Madam, you are kind, but this year, the business of the various families is also tough. If we reduce taxes further, the household income will shrink."
"We can be frugal; let the farmers have a good year," the woman said gently.
Hearing this, the accountant nodded, "I will mention it to the master."
"Madam, you are pregnant. You've been looking at the account book all morning; you must be tired. You should rest now," a beautiful maid said with concern.
The woman gently stroked her swollen belly, her eyes filled with tenderness. She closed the account book and, with the maid's help, slowly got up and returned to her bedroom.
"I'll go to the kitchen and bring you some snacks," the maid said, helping the woman lie down on the bed.
The woman nodded slightly.
As the maid left and quietly closed the door, she gently caressed her belly and murmured softly, "Child, the new year is coming soon; I will see you soon."
Her eyes were filled with gentle anticipation.
Suddenly, a strange child's voice, sharp and eerie, broke the silence in the room. "Hehe, do you want to see me that much?"
The woman snapped back to reality, her eyes widening in shock as she looked at her belly. She heard it clearly; the voice was coming from her eight-month pregnant stomach.
"You..."
Before she could comprehend what was happening, her belly suddenly bulged, expanding larger and larger, accompanied by intense tearing pain.
With a pop, her belly burst open at the navel, but no blood sprayed out; instead, it was like an airbag exploding, quickly deflating.
A wet, blood-covered, skinny head slowly emerged from her belly, but behind the head was a long, snake-like appendage that resembled both a snake and a legless centipede, twisting gently.
Seeing this horrifying scene, even with her years of managing the household, the woman couldn’t help but scream and faint on the spot.
"How hypocritical! Your child is already out, and you don’t want to see it?" The skinny head grinned, revealing a mouth full of sharp teeth.
Then, it crawled up to the woman’s upper body and suddenly opened its mouth, biting down on her head.
It swallowed her entire upper body, and its own slender body began to swell.
"Beast!!"
Suddenly, an angry voice rang out. A flash of golden light swept through, and a slender figure darted through the wall, directly entering the room. It was Song Yueyao.
"Hmm?"
The monster, caught mid-bite, was startled. Its expression changed, and it hurriedly spat out the half-eaten woman, then quickly slithered away like a venomous snake, trying to escape through the window.
"Golden Lock to Trap the Dragon!"
Song Yueyao's face turned icy as she quickly formed a hand sign. Although her spirit could leave her body and couldn’t harm the physical form, she could use her powers to counteract the strange techniques of demons.
The golden light surged, trapping the snake-like demon inside, preventing it from escaping.
Soon, hurried footsteps approached. Song Yueyao's main body rushed to the window and leaped down, slashing at the demon trapped in the golden light.
"Spare me..." the demon pleaded in panic.
But the sword light was sharp, and it directly severed its head, which rolled to the ground.
Song Yueyao swung her sword twice more, cutting its body in half. She quickly moved to the bed, only to find the woman’s face was already a bloody mess, showing signs of decay.
Looking at her abdomen, it was completely empty; the organs had been devoured.
Too late... Her expression turned grim. Despite her experience in hunting demons, she still felt a surge of anger.
At this moment, the house servants and maids rushed in, along with the master of the house, a middle-aged businessman in his forties.
Song Yueyao immediately instructed her companions to seal the room to prevent ordinary people from seeing inside.
"Are you from the Demon Slayer Office?!"
The master of the house, who had seen a lot, immediately recognized the official uniform of Tian Congzhi and his expression changed. He hurriedly asked, "Where's Lian'er? What happened to Lian'er?"
"There’s a demon inside; please don’t come near," Tian Congzhi said in a deep voice. He was a disciple of the Black Hall, and his task was to assist Song Yueyao in handling the case. He had already seen the horrific scene inside.
"What demon could possibly be in my house? You must be mistaken! Let me see Lian'er!" The master pushed Tian Congzhi, gritting his teeth.
Song Yueyao stepped out, having sheathed her sword. She glanced at the middle-aged man and said, "Your wife is dead; she was killed by a demon. I have slain the demon, so please give her a proper burial."
"Dead? She’s dead?"
The master was stunned into silence, then he frantically pushed to enter the room.
Tian Congzhi couldn’t use force against an ordinary person and could only try to stop him. Seeing this, Song Yueyao shook her head slightly, signaling him to let go.
He would have to see it eventually, especially since they would need to bury her later.
The middle-aged man burst into the room and was immediately struck by the tragic scene, as if struck by lightning, standing frozen in place.
Song Yueyao instructed Tian Congzhi, "You stay here to handle the aftermath. I’ll check on the city guard."
"Understood," Tian Congzhi replied.
Before Song Yueyao could leave, the middle-aged man suddenly grabbed her arm, his eyes red with anger as he shouted, "Why? Why didn’t you come sooner? Why?!"
"Bring back my Lian'er! Bring back my Lian'er!!"
Song Yueyao’s expression changed slightly. She instinctively pulled away, her hand flicking out to knock the man down to the ground.
He fell hard, not trying to cling to her anymore, but instead sat on the ground, holding his head and crying out in despair, "She said she was going to be a mother for the first time, and she even thought of a name for the child. Why? Why did this happen to Lian'er? Heaven, you are unfair!!"
His wails echoed through the courtyard, shaking the servants and maids who were blocked outside the door.
Song Yueyao felt a twinge of guilt as she looked at the nearly broken middle-aged man. She knew he wouldn’t listen to anything at this moment. Tightening her grip on her sword, she said nothing and quickly turned to leave.
Yes, why couldn’t they have come sooner... She bit her lip slightly.
...
At the City Lord's Office.
Song Yueyao hurried over, moving swiftly.
"Mr. Yue, you called for me?"
She saw the city guard, who was responsible for the safety of all of Cangyu City.
Yue Shuhong was in his forties, exuding an air of elegance. He looked at the rushing woman, a hint of emotion flashing in his eyes.
Reaching the realm of spirit travel in her early twenties and nearing perfection, this was the gap between top talents and ordinary people.
"Inspector Song, thank you for your hard work. You arrived yesterday and had to deal with demons right away. Thanks to you, a town was spared from disaster," Yue Shuhong said with a light smile.
Song Yueyao had just come from that mansion and was in a bad mood, her expression dark. "Exorcising demons is our duty as warriors; it’s nothing. I wonder why you called for me?"
Yue Shuhong, having been in a high position for a long time, had seen many people. He noticed that she wasn’t the type to seek flattery, which made him feel favorably towards her. His expression turned serious.
"I believe Inspector Song has seen the recent demon hunting records from our city. There have been frequent sightings of demons over the past six months, and about half a month ago, many demons began gathering in the Black Wind Mountain Range, a hundred miles east of the city. The escort teams passing through have suffered losses."
Yue Shuhong spread out a regional map on the table, pointing to a mountain range on the east side. "I sent people to investigate, and we lost four Demon Slayers before we gathered some information."
He looked at Song Yueyao, his gaze serious and frightening. "Among these demons, there is a powerful one that wants to lead the smaller demons and invade the entire Cangyu City!"
Song Yueyao was taken aback, her expression changing. Cangyu City had millions of citizens. Did this demon want to massacre the city?
Such things were rare, even at the borders.
"Have you notified the Xia family?" Song Yueyao immediately asked.
The Xia family was one of the four great generals, and Qizhou was the territory they guarded.
Yue Shuhong smiled wryly. "I notified them, but it seems the Xia family is engaged in battles elsewhere. They said they would send people to deal with the demon only if it really attacked, advising us not to act rashly."
A flash of anger crossed Song Yueyao's eyes, but she knew she couldn’t speak ill of the General's residence. If her words were overheard and reached the Xia family, it could be detrimental to the Tang Palace. She asked, "So, how true is this information?"
Yue Shuhong’s expression turned serious. "It is indeed true."
Then he added, "But I can’t be a hundred percent sure, so... if possible, could you, Inspector Song, go and ask the Xia family for help?"
Song Yueyao frowned. She wasn’t familiar with this city guard and didn’t want to be used as a pawn.
After thinking for a moment, she said, "I only have the title of inspector; I may not be able to persuade them. Let me first investigate the truth of the matter."
Yue Shuhong seemed to expect her response and nodded. "Alright, how about I accompany you? The Black Wind Mountain Range is too dangerous with a powerful demon lurking."
"No need, I’ll just scout the edges," Song Yueyao said, then took her leave.
Watching her depart, Yue Shuhong gazed for a long time and let out a long sigh.
...
Meanwhile, at the Demon Slayer Office.
Li Hao had finished reading the recent records of demon hunts and also found some information about other demons.
"Black Wind Mountain Range, a gathering of demons..." Li Hao narrowed his eyes.
(End of Chapter)