Chapter 9

As night fell again, Changyuan Street became very quiet. After two consecutive murders, the residents of the street had become very cautious. After dark, they dared not make any noise, and they secured their doors and windows. They even placed self-defense tools, such as rolling pins and kitchen knives, by their beds.

The county office was tight-lipped. Those who were well-informed only knew that two murders had occurred on Changyuan Street, and the methods of the victims' deaths were suspicious, but they did not know for sure that it was the work of a monster.

Therefore, there was no widespread panic in the county.

In the darkness, at one end of Changyuan Street, County Magistrate Mi Ke and a group of constables were squatting, nervously watching the street in the night.

"Where is Commander Chen? Why hasn't he arrived yet?"

Mi Ke turned his head to look into the distance, but saw no one. His heart was pounding. It was almost midnight, and why wasn't this guy here yet?

He had staked his life on Chen Chao. If this guy wasn't reliable, his life would be over.

Zhang Zhubu, holding a steel knife, had no fear in his eyes, but rather excitement. He lowered his voice, "Commander Chen is a martial arts expert. He might have already arrived, but to avoid alarming the monster, he hasn't met with us."

Despite his rough appearance, Zhang Zhubu was actually very meticulous. Otherwise, he wouldn't have held the position of chief clerk for so many years.

Mi Ke nodded, somewhat doubtful, "This time, the monster shouldn't be too difficult to subdue, right? Do you know what level Commander Chen is at?"

Zhang Zhubu shook his head and whispered, "He should be a pure martial artist, but I can't specify which level."

In the Great Li Dynasty, cultivators and martial artists coexisted. Martial artists were straightforward, with only one path, but the schools of cultivators were complex, with various skills and techniques. Those who hadn't entered the path of cultivation couldn't understand the intricacies. Zhang Zhubu, an outsider, only knew that the cultivation levels were roughly divided into six stages, applicable to both cultivators and martial artists.

The six stages were often referred to as "one stage, one heaven."

As for which stage the young commander was at, he didn't know.

However, the peaceful years had constantly reminded them that the mysterious young commander was definitely of a high level.

There was also no need to think too much: if Chen Chao couldn't handle the monster, they wouldn't stand a chance either.

Mi Ke might not have thought about the day Chen Chao would leave, but whenever Zhang Zhubu thought about it, he felt immense pain.

Just as Zhang Zhubu was lost in his own pain, he suddenly noticed that County Magistrate Mi Ke also looked pained.

Zhang Zhubu was taken aback and felt somewhat moved. Could it be that he and the magistrate were so in tune?

Just as Zhang Zhubu was about to shed tears, Mi Ke's hand was already on his shoulder, applying a little pressure, giving Zhang Zhubu a feeling he had never experienced before.

His face, covered in a beard, turned slightly red, and he felt a bit shy.

In that moment, countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

"Magistrate, what's wrong?" Zhang Zhubu asked with concern.

"My leg is numb," Mi Ke frowned, his face relaxing as the pain subsided. He tried to lean on Zhang Zhubu to relieve the strain on his legs.

Zhang Zhubu felt a sense of loss, as if something had drifted away.

---

"It's almost the second watch. Where is that Chen Chao? Why is there no sign of him!" Mi Ke gradually became restless and impatient.

...

...

When Chen Chao left, it wasn't dark yet. Xie Nandu had already moved the new stove she had bought out onto the porch, sat in the old chair, and lit the charcoal inside.

This was her first time doing it, and she was a bit clumsy at first, but soon she became proficient. After lighting the stove she had bought with her own money, Xie Nandu grabbed a handful of snow to wash her hands, sat back down, and extended her hands. Two small, white hands began to emit a warm mist.

Looking at the new stove, she felt a bit disappointed, perhaps because it was new.

Compared to the things she had eaten before, it was really insignificant, but the sweetness was something she had never experienced.

Her hands quickly dried.

But a gust of wind came from behind.

The wooden gate of the courtyard was slammed against the walls on both sides with a creak.

The wind and snow rushed into the small courtyard.

With the wind and snow came a figure.

He crossed the courtyard, came to the porch, and shook off the snow and wind from his body.

Xie Nandu didn't turn her head, but kept her hands over the stove, silent.

Only when the person was a few yards behind her did she withdraw her hands, stand up, and sit on the bench opposite the stove, facing the person.

The person who arrived was a young man with a gentle and delicate face, pale complexion, and a thin build, dressed in a thick white cotton robe.

"You are indeed the most outstanding of the Xie family of White Deer. Just this calmness alone suggests that you will have no problem standing firm in the capital," the young man smiled, his voice full of admiration.

"But since you have guessed some things, why aren't you always with the young commander? Are you trying not to involve him?" The young man smiled again, "The Xie family of White Deer is ultimately a step behind the Xie family of the capital."

The girl on the bench replied calmly, "This is our business, and we don't need to involve others."

"I thought you would die in that mountain temple, but it seems you had some luck," the young man's voice was indifferent, as if he was just stating a fact, not something worth worrying about.

"That old man Song Lian seems to have some skills."

Bringing the blood demon to kill the group on the mountain was his original plan, but he didn't expect the already weakened Song Lian to leave the girl a chance to survive.

"Since you're so afraid of being known, wouldn't killing me here leave more clues? Aren't you afraid?" Xie Nandu looked at the young man and said calmly, "Raising a monster to create the illusion of a monster eating people, but once the big shots from the capital come, they will surely see through the flaws."

The young man nodded, agreeing, "I was indeed wrong before, thinking I had to make your death flawless. But later I realized that once you're dead, there won't be so many problems. After all, who would make a big fuss over a dead person?"

Xie Nandu shook her head, "The Xie family of White Deer won't let their most outstanding member die so unjustly."

"You're wrong. If you were truly a genius, you wouldn't die here. If you die here, how can you be called a genius?" The young man's face was full of mockery, "If you're not a genius, who would care whether you live or die?"

Xie Nandu fell silent. At this point, she knew all the reasons.

There were people in the capital who didn't want her to appear there safely, but they couldn't influence the true big shots of the Xie family in the capital. Their methods couldn't escape the eyes of those big shots, so this must have been done with their tacit approval.

Even the number and level of her escorts when she left White Deer were decided with tacit approval.

Why the tacit approval?

Xie Nandu's eyes showed a hint of unusual emotion, but it quickly disappeared, and she returned to her calm state. "The big shots in the capital probably have no ill intentions toward me."

The young man nodded, "Yes, they just want to see. Otherwise, why would it be me?"

"Aren't you afraid of becoming a scapegoat in the end?" Xie Nandu looked at him, her voice calm, "I have another choice to offer you."

The admiration in the young man's eyes didn't fade, but he still shook his head, "What a pity."

Seeing the young man's determination, Xie Nandu smiled and said nothing.

The young man glanced at the sky and sighed, "I wish I could talk to you more, but time is short."

He shook his head with regret.

A black aura surged from the ground in front of the young man, and a monstrous creature with a hideous face, completely black and extremely ugly, appeared. The dense aura around it made people feel oppressed at first glance.

"A beauty like you being eaten by such an ugly monster is truly a pity, but it can't be helped," the young man sighed and waved his hand.

A strange aura emerged from his fingertips and slowly dissipated.

The hideous monster instantly started running!

The short distance of a few yards was enough for the monster to reach Xie Nandu and kill her, the most favored member of the Xie family of White Deer!

The young man narrowed his eyes, as if he could already foresee the outcome.

The next moment.

Bang—

A loud noise echoed!

The monster didn't touch Xie Nandu.

A black figure leaped from the roof and instantly collided with the monster.

The impact instantly pushed the monster away from the porch.

The monster let out a strange cry but immediately fell silent.

The sound of something blunt hitting flesh followed.

Continuous sounds, like thunder, echoed.

But it was still winter, wasn't it?

The black figure, carrying the monster, fell into the snow and instantly fell silent.

When the snow suddenly paused and then resumed, the black figure had already stood up from the snow.

It was Chen Chao.

The black-clothed youth, covered in snow, lifted his head. As the aura in his body flowed, the snow on his black shirt was instantly blown away, and no more snow could land on his body.

The black-clothed youth standing in the snow was full of vitality!

He looked at the young man standing on the porch, his eyes, like stars, devoid of any extra emotion.

The young man frowned, about to speak, but the black-clothed youth in the courtyard suddenly tensed his muscles, his already slightly bent body straightening like an arrow, and he leaped toward the young man!

The monster had been a few yards away from Xie Nandu, and now Chen Chao was a few yards away from the young man. The monster couldn't touch Xie Nandu and was killed by Chen Chao's punches. Would Chen Chao be able to touch the young man's body?

No matter how much cultivators looked down on martial artists, everyone knew that once a cultivator was close to a martial artist, it was not a good outcome.

After a brief moment of shock, the young man stepped back, returning to the courtyard.

Compared to the ferocious Chen Chao, his movements were much more graceful, fitting the image of a transcendent being.

The black-clothed youth, who had appeared out of nowhere, was known to the young man as the commander of Tianqing County, but he hadn't expected that the commander of this small county would be at a higher level than he had anticipated!

Was it the Spirit Platform or the Divine Treasury?

If it was a Spirit Platform martial artist, he still had a chance to fight, but if it was a Divine Treasury martial artist, then...

"Do you know..."

The young man floated in the air, aura swirling around his fingertips. He opened his mouth, but his words were cut short.

The black-clothed youth, like a ferocious beast, had already disappeared. Before he could react, the youth was already in front of him.

A clear face appeared before him.

The expressionless black-clothed youth just looked at him.

Before he could react, a fist, not too large, hit him in the face!

Crack—

A crisp sound, and the young man's nose shattered, the intense pain momentarily stopping his thoughts. Then, he felt pain all over his body.

The sound of bones breaking and fists landing echoed, like raindrops on the roof tiles.

It seemed like a short moment, but it also felt like a long time.

Finally, the sounds stopped.

Xie Nandu watched the scene in the courtyard, slightly lost in thought.

For a moment, it seemed to bring her back to that night in the mountain temple, where the same silent youth silently did what he had to do.

It seemed that only in battle did the black-clothed youth truly become himself.

When Xie Nandu came to her senses, Chen Chao had already dragged the young man, who was barely breathing, to the porch. His chest heaved as he exhaled a deep breath, adjusting his breathing.

Xie Nandu was about to speak.

But she quickly saw Chen Chao squatting in front of the young man, completely ignoring the blood still gushing from his mouth, and seriously searching through the young man's belongings.

He seemed somewhat excited.

Xie Nandu watched this scene and fell into a daze again.

She stood in the wind, somewhat disheveled.