By the end of his speech, old tears streamed down his face, and he was sobbing uncontrollably.
The men of the Demon Suppression Division exchanged glances, none of them able to utter a word.Tiger Zhao opened his mouth, wanting to curse a few times, but seeing the old man's face streaming with snot and tears, he couldn't curse a single word.
After a long while.It was Jiang Yuechu who finally spoke, "So, that Demon is seeking revenge for her?"
"Revenge?"The old man was stunned, then suddenly laughed, "Yes! Revenge! It ruined my daughter, ruined the reputation of my Zhang family, and now, it has cut off the livelihood of our entire village! This water is undrinkable! The land cannot be farmed! Our entire village, young and old, can only wait for death!"
"Official Sir!" He dropped to his knees with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly to Liu Chen and the others. "I beg you, kill that beast! Please, I beg you!"
Liu Chen dismounted, helped him up, and maintained a grave expression."Old man, please get up first.That Demon is hidden underwater, and we are not skilled in swimming, so how can we..."
The old man wiped the tears from his face and suddenly said, "Official Sir, don't worry. That beast... although it is a Demon, it is also deeply devoted. My poor, unfortunate daughter was sunk in the Eddy Bay at the west end of the village. That Demon... that Demon often lingers around that bay late at night."
"As long as the Official Sirs set up an ambush at Eddy Bay, you will surely wait for that beast to show itself!" Liu Chen and Old Wang exchanged glances, both seeing the stirring interest in the other's eyes.
This was indeed a method.Waiting for the rabbit by the stump was better than running around the riverbank like headless flies.Moreover, the people from the Yellow Character Battalion had been here and certainly asked about Xing'er being sunk in the pond.
Given their style of operation, they would definitely follow the clues and investigate Eddy Bay.But now, they are missing, neither alive nor dead bodies found.
That Demon is, nine times out of ten, in that Eddy Bay!Liu Chen looked at the trembling old man kneeling before him, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
"I understand."He turned around and said to the people behind him, "We shall depart immediately and head to Eddy Bay." Seeing this, the Village Head's face flashed with joy. He quickly scrambled up from the ground and repeatedly bowed to everyone."Thank you, Official Sir! Thank you, Official Sirs, for eliminating this great scourge for Black Water Village!"
"This old man will go prepare some wine and meat now to send off the Official Sirs!" Liu Chen waved his hand, interrupting him."There is no need for wine and meat. We are people of the Demon Suppression Division. Slaying Demons and eliminating evil is our duty. You do not need to thank us."
The smile on the Village Head's face grew brighter. "Yes, yes, the Official Sir is right." But Liu Chen's next sentence instantly froze the smile on his face.
"However..."Liu Chen's tone suddenly turned cold. "Although the matter concerning your daughter Xing'er was caused by a Demon, your use of private execution to sink her in the pond is intolerable under the laws of the Great Tang."
"After we deal with that Demon, we will truthfully report this matter to the County Office. At that time, the court will decide what crime you are guilty of. You all... look out for yourselves."The Village Head opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something, but looking at Liu Chen's cold eyes, he couldn't utter a single word.
"Hah!" Liu Chen said no more, shook the reins, and the Red-Eyed Colt whinnied, taking the lead and galloping toward the west end of the village.
Jiang Yuechu and the others silently followed suit.
Only the villagers of Black Water Village remained standing dumbfounded, watching the eight receding figures with complex expressions...
Eddy Bay was only seven or eight li away from Black Water Village.Though called a bay, it was actually a deep pool formed where the Black River took a turn and the current slowed down.
Everyone dismounted, tied the Red-Eyed Colts far away, drew their respective Sabers, and cautiously approached the edge of the pool.The mud on the edge of the pool was slick and muddy; stepping on it felt soft and squishy, leaving a series of footprints of varying depths.
"Everyone be careful and look for clues." Everyone responded affirmatively, splitting into pairs to search.
After only a few steps, Tiger Zhao suddenly stopped."Boss, look what this is?" Everyone followed the sound and gathered around.
They saw a section of black material exposed in the mud, looking like the sole of some kind of leather boot.
Liu Chen frowned and gave a look to the man beside him.That man stepped forward, used his Scabbard to push aside the rotten mud, and then pulled with his hand.With a squelch.What was pulled out was not just a standard black boot of the Demon Suppression Division.
There was also a lower leg attached to the boot, already soaked white and swollen, cleanly severed at the knee.
"..."
An indescribable chill ran up everyone's spine.
"It's one of ours..." Tiger Zhao took a deep breath, rushed to the edge of the pool in a few steps, ignoring the rotten mud, and began digging through the silt by the water with his bare hands.Soon, he dug out a severed arm.
The hand of the severed arm was still tightly gripping half of a broken hilt.
"Shit!"Tiger Zhao slammed his fist into the ground, splashing mud everywhere.
The standard Sabers of the Demon Suppression Division are all forged from Profound Iron; even when directly clashing with Demons, they rarely break but this Saber was forcefully snapped in half.
What kind of terrifying Demon did the people of the Yellow Character Battalion encounter?
"Boss, there's something here too!" Not far away, Old Wang pointed to a dead tree.
Hanging on the branches of the dead tree was a piece of black and red cloth, faded from being soaked—a corner of a Demon Suppression Division uniform.
Liu Chen walked over to the severed arm, squatted down, and carefully examined the half-hilt."It's the Squad Leader of the Yellow Character Battalion, Wang Xian." He recognized the unique pattern formed by the fine string wrapped around the hilt.
"Wang Xian was also a master of the Hearing The String Later Stage. With his Wind-Chasing Saber technique, even a Demon in the Hearing the String Late Stage would be helpless... But now..."
A Martial Artist in the Wen Xian Later Stage, along with his entire squad, died silently in this muddy pool.
However.
One thing was now confirmed.That Demon is definitely lurking here!
"Then... what should we do now?" one of the men couldn't help but ask.
"Wait."Liu Chen narrowed his eyes, looking at the foul-smelling river water.
"Since the brothers of the Yellow Character Battalion met their end here, the Demon will naturally appear here. Everyone, retreat ten zhang and find positions to conceal yourselves! Draw your Sabers, hold the Medicinal Pills in your mouths, and act immediately upon any movement!" At his command, everyone immediately sprang into action.
The eight Demon Suppression Guardss quickly dispersed, using dead trees and rocks as cover, concealing their figures in the shadows.
~Clang~
Clear, ringing sounds of sabers being drawn echoed by the silent pool, then quickly faded away.
Time passed, bit by bit.The sun gradually sank in the west, painting the clouds on the horizon a magnificent blood-red. The light by the pool also dimmed accordingly.
Just when everyone was about to lose patience.
~Gurgle... gurgle...~
A faint sound came from the shallow water near the pool.
A string of fist-sized bubbles rose in the murky, muddy water.
A stench, mixed with the smell of rotting aquatic plants, spread through the air.It's here!