Chapter 41

A distance of ten miles, when galloping at full speed, can be covered in an instant.

The soldiers at the city gate of Mianyuan County watched as a cloud of dust and a formation of troops approached, their faces filled with shock.

Especially this formation, fully armored and fully armed.

For a moment, the soldiers guarding the city gate were in chaos: some hurried to close the city gate, some ran to move the barriers, and some, mustering their courage, shouted in a trembling voice, "Who are you? Stop immediately!"

The Night Watchmen flanking Xue Qingshan and Qin Shaoyou held up the token of the Demon Suppression Bureau and loudly responded,

"The Demon Suppression Bureau is on official business. Unrelated people must immediately step aside and not obstruct us, or they will be killed without mercy!"

"The Demon Suppression Bureau?"

The leader of the city gate soldiers, upon seeing the token in the Night Watchmen's hands, changed his expression drastically and quickly turned to his subordinates, shouting, "Move the barriers, open the city gate, and do not obstruct the officials of the Demon Suppression Bureau from conducting their business!"

He was also experienced, and after giving the order, immediately hid to the side of the city gate, fearing that he might be beheaded for obstructing the Demon Suppression Bureau's advance.

That would truly be a death in vain, without even a penny of compensation.

The city gate soldiers, upon hearing their leader's order, followed suit, opening the city gate and moving the barriers, then hiding to the side.

However, a few crows that had been perched on the barriers and the wall suddenly took flight, heading towards the city.

Qin Shaoyou, seeing this, urgently shouted, "Kill these crows! Do not let them fly away!"

Although he could not be certain that these crows were spies for the Black Lotus Sect, in this situation and under these circumstances, it was better to err on the side of caution and not let them go!

As he shouted the warning, Qin Shaoyou also threw the war saber in his hand.

His archery skills were not yet developed, but his throwing was very accurate.

Especially when he threw with all his might, the war saber was not only extremely fast but also very powerful, instantly cleaving two crows and embedding them with a 'clang' into the brick wall of the city gate.

As it caused a shower of broken stones, it also pinned the two crows to the spot, leaving two pools of dark red blood.

The Night Watchmen skilled in archery then drew their bows and shot arrows.

Under a rain of arrows, not only the crows but also other birds were shot down, and none were allowed to escape.

The city gate instantly fell silent.

It was truly a literal silence.

As they galloped past the city gate, Qin Shaoyou reached out and pulled the war saber embedded in the brick wall, leaving the two crow corpses deeply embedded in the bricks.

Xue Qingshan, as he rode into Mianyuan County, instructed a chief banner officer beside him, "Leave a few people to guard here, and send a few to the other city gates to take over the defense!"

The chief banner officer immediately made arrangements, and soon several riders left the formation, galloping to the left and right.

After the entire formation entered the city, a few more Night Watchmen reined in their horses, called over the city gate soldiers to arrange the defense, and closed the city gate.

To the surprise of the city gate soldiers, the defense lines set up by the Night Watchmen were clearly to prevent people inside the county from escaping!

What had happened in the county? Why had so many Night Watchmen been dispatched? Hadn't the case of the missing children already been solved?

"Sir..."

The city gate soldiers, mustering their courage, wanted to inquire, but were immediately interrupted as soon as they opened their mouths.

"Do not inquire about what you should not. Otherwise, you will be killed without mercy!"

The city gate soldiers quickly shut their mouths, wishing they could sew them shut with a needle.

Killing without mercy at the slightest provocation, who could afford to provoke them!

After charging into the city, the Night Watchmen did not slow their galloping speed.

They only shouted at the pedestrians on the road, "The Demon Suppression Bureau is conducting business. Everyone must retreat to the side of the road, crouch down, and not move until ordered!"

The pedestrians on the road were greatly alarmed and obediently retreated to the side of the road, crouching down and not daring to move, with those carrying children hugging them tightly.

However, some people tried to run into the side alleys or shops amidst the chaos.

Whenever such people were encountered, several Night Watchmen would leave the formation to chase them down, capture them, and shackle them to the pillars of the roadside shops, leaving them for later questioning.

If anyone dared to resist, they would be executed on the spot!

Along the way, Qin Shaoyou's subordinates gradually returned, bringing new intelligence.

Based on this intelligence, Xue Qingshan dispatched several more riders to prevent the residents of Mianyuan County from eating wild dogs.

In a moment, they reached a fork in the road.

The formation would split here, with the main group following Xue Qingshan to the city temple, and a smaller group led by Chief Banner Xie heading to the residence of Zhang Shilang.

The Su sisters would also part ways with Qin Shaoyou here.

Su Tingyu looked at Qin Shaoyou.

Although they had not known each other long, she did not want anything to happen to him.

But she did not know how to express her concern.

Seeing Qin Shaoyou ride away, she called out in a hurry, "Qin Xiaoyou, take care! You must not die! As long as you live, I can share a portion of the captured demons with you after the battle."

She thought Qin Shaoyou, like her, enjoyed experimenting with demons. Offering a share of demons was already a significant gesture for her, an enthusiast of experiments.

Qin Shaoyou, however, misunderstood: This girl really likes eating demons!

I eat demons because I have a mysterious recipe that can turn unpalatable demons into delicious and effective dishes.

But why does this girl like eating demons? Does she enjoy the taste?

Tsk... I didn't expect her to be so unconventional, yet have such a strong taste!

Moreover, he couldn't help but think: The way this girl talks, it feels like she's jinxing me. I'm almost being turned into an old general on the stage, can't she stop jinxing me?

If you give, you must receive.

Qin Shaoyou turned and waved at Su Tingyu, "Take care, your teacher and fellow disciples at the Jade Emperor Temple are waiting for you to return."

Jinxing is jinxing, and everyone does it. It's a pity this girl has no partner, otherwise, he could have given her a harsher jinx, making her return alive to marry her lover...

Su Tingyu did not know what Qin Shaoyou was thinking, and assumed he was genuinely concerned about her. She suddenly felt a strange sensation, her heart beating rapidly.

She wanted to say something more, but Qin Shaoyou had already disappeared from sight.

On the way to the city temple, Xue Qingshan glanced at Qin Shaoyou and suddenly smiled, "Daoist Su is quite a good person."

"Indeed, she is." Qin Shaoyou nodded.

He genuinely felt that Su Tingyu's talismans and Daoist arts were very powerful, making her an excellent assistant.

However, the 'good' Xue Qingshan was referring to seemed different from what Qin Shaoyou meant.

Xue Qingshan did not continue the topic.

Because the city temple was now in sight.

At the same time, the Black Lotus Sect sentries outside the city temple also noticed the fully armed cavalry formation and were greatly alarmed, hurriedly sounding the alarm.

But as soon as they sounded the alarm, they were immediately detected by the Night Watchmen, and several riders galloped out to engage them in battle.

Although the Black Lotus Sect sentries were not weak, the Night Watchmen outnumbered them, were better equipped, and caught them off guard, so they were quickly cut down!

As for the main formation, they did not stop, heading straight for the city temple.

So, when the Black Lotus Sect demons inside the city temple received the news of the attack, Xue Qingshan and Qin Shaoyou were already leading the Night Watchmen to the gates of the city temple.

"Shaoyou, let's charge in together!"

Xue Qingshan, after spearing a Black Lotus Sect sentry who tried to block him, burst into laughter and charged forward, determined to break through the temple gates.

Faced with Xue Qingshan's leading the charge, Qin Shaoyou could only grit his teeth and follow.

After all, Xue Qingshan was his brother-in-law, and if he did not keep up, leading to Xue Qingshan's flank being exposed and causing any unexpected incidents, even if his family forgave him, he could not forgive himself.

Moreover, Qin Shaoyou truly wanted to save the poor children who had been turned into dogs inside the city temple!

Although Qin Shaoyou wanted to be cautious, he knew that sometimes caution was not an option, and he had to face the situation!

Since he could not be cautious, he would join everyone in their efforts to slay all the Black Lotus Sect demons in the city temple!

This would ensure safety!

And he could also gain new recipes.

A win-win situation.

Faced with the tightly closed gates of the city temple, the Night Watchmen, led by Xue Qingshan and Qin Shaoyou, did not slow their speed and charged directly at the gates!

"Boom!"

The gates of the city temple were instantly shattered by the hooves.

Xue Qingshan and Qin Shaoyou, one wielding a spear and the other a saber, charged through the broken gates and into the temple.

The Night Watchmen followed closely behind, flooding in.

Their advance was as swift as the wind and as powerful as thunder, and all who stood in their way were killed!

The Black Lotus Sect demons never expected them to arrive so quickly and so fiercely!

They also never expected that Qin Shaoyou and the others had not died!