cunning demon

“These tokens…” Ao Ming stared at the black wooden plaques in Qian Jin’s hand, his expression more solemn than ever before, a hint of lingering fear flashing in his eyes, “I’ve seen these things before.”

All eyes immediately turned to him.

“That mission was in an extremely yin place,” Ao Ming’s voice lowered, as if he were lost in some unpleasant memory. “The power of this law itself is not strong. But the problem is that it seems to be able to absorb and amplify the yin and death energy in the environment to a great extent. In yin and evil places, its effect… can multiply, becoming very terrifying, almost endless. We almost died that time.”

He paused, his brows furrowing even more deeply: "Later, we discovered that a local force, similar to a local tyrant from the underworld, was operating in the shadows, attempting to encroach on the mortal realm. But the forces of the underworld are deeply entrenched, like weeds, impossible to eradicate completely. After the report was submitted, nothing came of it. Moreover, the underworld has always been dissatisfied with the flow of worldly wealth managed by our God of Wealth's Palace, especially regarding matters involving karmic retribution, and always wants to take its place."

The atmosphere suddenly became heavy. The involvement of the underworld meant that the nature of the matter could become extremely complex and dangerous.

Tu Shanlan pondered for a moment before making a decisive decision: "The matter of the Netherworld is too complicated for us to handle on this mission. Our primary objective is to ensure the smooth reopening of the Northern Border trade route. As for the death warrant and clues in this battle," she looked at the half-talisman and the soul-guiding grass, "we need to record them in detail and bring them back to the manor for our superiors to decide."

“Not bad!” Ban Ge’er immediately chimed in, scratching the spot on his face that had been tainted by the foul odor with his paw, looking disgusted. “Put all that nonsense aside for now! I’m mainly here to catch that stinky scoundrel who stole the tribute!” He glanced at Lan Jie’er after he finished speaking, “And I’ll also help you solve the problem at hand.”

Just then, Qian Jin blinked and suddenly spoke, her voice clear and calm: "I have some deductions that seem reasonable now."

She held up the brocade pouch in her hand and shook it: "First, this cunning demon may not be from the Netherworld. Look, it was so scared when it saw us that it ran away in a panic. This thing looks like it stole or picked it up in its haste, or more like it just happened to take someone's things while it was on its escape, and then it was chased by us and the people from the Netherworld."

“Secondly,” she held up her second finger, “our plan to restart the Northern Trade Route may not only affect the interests of the local tyrants in the Underworld, but also the interests of certain merchants and the black market in the mortal realm.”

“Third,” she said, her gaze sweeping over the half-finished talisman, “I have a feeling that this mysterious middleman might be very close to us. He seems to only want to muddy the waters…”

Qian Jin's analysis was clear and logical, instantly broadening everyone's thinking.

Tu Shanlan gave Qian Jin an approving look: "Junior Sister Qian is right. With friend and foe unclear and clues mixed up, it's too early to make any judgments." She turned her gaze to the cave entrance, "It seems that, in any case, finding that cunning demon is a key link in solving the current mystery. It may hold more clues."

"Leave it to me!" Ban Ge'er immediately perked up, sniffing the air hard. He still managed to detect a faint trace of demonic energy. "Over here! That stinky thing is terrified, and the smell is even stronger now! It's run deeper into the cave!"

He took the lead and ran towards the darker, deeper side of the cave. The other three immediately followed.

The fork in the road became increasingly narrow and rugged, descending further and further downhill, and the air grew increasingly damp and cold. Finally, they heard a faint sound of flowing water.

Suddenly, a view opened up before them, revealing an underground river hidden beneath the mountain!

The river water was as black as ink, so viscous that it seemed not to be flowing water, but rather the slow-flowing, cold blood of some kind of creature, exuding a chilling, deathly aura that could penetrate to the bone marrow.

Specks of eerie green phosphorescence floated on the water's surface, like countless peering ghostly eyes, swaying silently with the ripples, barely illuminating the slippery, rugged riverside path beneath our feet.

The air was filled with stale, damp vapors that hadn't seen sunlight for a thousand years, along with a faint, nauseatingly sweet and rotten smell.

The surroundings were eerily silent, save for the monotonous, repetitive gurgling of water from an unknown source. This only amplified the chilling atmosphere of this underground world.

The jagged rocks cast distorted shadows under the phosphorescence, as if they might come to life and pounce on the crowd at any moment.

"Be careful," Tu Shanlan warned in a low voice, "the yin energy here is extremely heavy, and it has probably bred a lot of filth."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than several dark figures suddenly leaped out of the river! They were distorted, semi-transparent water ghosts and vengeful spirits, emitting silent howls and rushing towards the group with a chilling aura of death!

"Get out of the way!" Ao Ming shouted, his dragon roar carrying a majestic aura of righteousness. He threw a punch, and the supremely yang and powerful dragon essence instantly shattered the several vengeful spirits!

But more shadowy figures emerged from the river and from the shadows on the bank, including some low-level Netherworld Water Demons with pale skin and rusty iron weapons!

The battle erupted instantly!

Tu Shanlan moved with agility, her fingertips shimmering with azure light, her foxfire precisely scorching the approaching vengeful spirits and purifying their yin energy. Ban Ge'er roared, its claws tearing the water demon's body apart, its tiger's howl echoing through the underground river, causing even the incorporeal vengeful spirits to tremble.

Qian Jin did not rush forward to examine the materials this time; the enemies here were clearly more elusive.

She gripped the fire poker tightly, hovering on the edge of the battle, mainly disrupting and defending, occasionally tossing out a few modified exorcism talismans. Although not very powerful, they were cheap and could barely temporarily repel approaching vengeful spirits.

However, the number of Netherworld creatures seems endless.

Just as Qian Jin was focused on dealing with the water monsters in front of her, a very subtle and cold aura quietly gathered beneath the surface of the river to her side and rear, transforming into a jet-black water arrow that shot silently toward her back!

"Watch out!" Ao Ming caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of his eye, his heart tightened, and he rushed over without thinking!

He shoved Qian Jin away, but he didn't have time to dodge completely!

"Pfft!"

The chilling water arrow grazed his arm, leaving a trail of blood. The dragon's blood dripped onto the dark water, hissing and seemingly repelling the surrounding yin energy. But where the water arrow had struck, his skin instantly turned black, and a chilling death aura spread rapidly along the wound!

"Ao Ming!" Qian Jin stumbled as he was pushed, and when she turned around, she saw the rapidly spreading black mark on his arm and his instantly pale face. Her heart felt like it had been violently clenched.

"Stupid dragon!" she cursed, but her movements were as fast as lightning. She immediately took out a jade bottle from her storage bag, poured out a few antidote pills that exuded a strong vitality, and stuffed them into Ao Ming's mouth without saying a word. At the same time, she frantically tried to find gauze to bandage him.

Ao Ming swallowed the pill and felt a warm current temporarily suppress the spread of death energy within his body.

Looking at the undisguised anxiety and worry on Qian Jin's face, the stinging pain in his arm seemed to lessen considerably, and a strange sweetness even welled up in his heart, but he still spoke toughly: "...Stop talking nonsense! You think I want to save you? I'm afraid that if you die, no one will compensate me for my emotional distress! Ouch..." The movement aggravated his wound, and he gasped in pain.

"You!" Qian Jin was both angry and anxious. Seeing his forced composure, she swallowed back the harsh words that were about to come out. She could only carefully treat his wounds first, her movements were gentler than ever before.

On the other side, in order to protect Tu Shanlan, who was casting a spell to purify a large number of vengeful spirits, Ban Ge'er carried a rusty iron anchor that was slammed down on his back by a water demon.

The anchor was clearly imbued with a ghostly aura, causing him to groan as it struck him, his back burning with pain, and blood seeping through his dark green outfit.

"Brother Ban!" Tu Shanlan finished her spell and turned around to see him injured. Her gentle face immediately turned frosty. The jade ruyi in her hand shone with a burst of blue light, instantly clearing away the several vengeful spirits and water demons around her. She quickly helped him up and asked, "How are you?"

"N-nothing!" Ban Ge'er grinned, trying to appear relaxed, but his expression was distorted by pain. His wheat-colored cheeks seemed a little red, and his eyes darted away, avoiding Tu Shanlan's gaze. "Sister Lan, it's alright! Just a minor injury! I'll protect you... no, no... I'm here, I'm here!"

Tu Shanlan looked at his forced appearance and sighed helplessly. A gentle, healing blue light emanated from her fingertips as she gently pressed them against his wounds: "Don't move. Let me stabilize your injuries first."

Lan Jie'er's gentle touch and caring gaze made Ban Ge'er's ears turn bright red. He stood obediently in place, completely devoid of his usual unruly demeanor.

After quickly bandaging and treating their injuries, the group dared not linger and continued their pursuit along the underground river.

The further we went, the more complex the terrain became. We even triggered several crudely laid traps, including falling rocks and poisonous stingers. Fortunately, they weren't very powerful, so we escaped unharmed.

Finally, at a sharp bend in the underground river, Ban Ge'er stopped, his nose twitching violently, and his face turned extremely pale.

"The smell... gets really strong here... but..." He pointed to a blurry black shadow on the riverbank ahead, "...something doesn't seem right!"

Everyone's hearts sank, and they quickly stepped forward.

Among the jumbled rocks on the riverbank lay the very cunning demon!

But it had completely stopped breathing, its body twisted in an unnatural position, its mane had lost its luster, and the fear in its small eyes still lingered before it died.

The strangest thing is that its demon core... was dug out.

The only remaining lead was cut off.

Qian Jin crouched down and carefully examined the cunning demon's corpse and wounds. Her small face tensed. She stood up and looked at the other three:

"It seems someone doesn't want us to get anything out of them."

"Moreover, they are much faster than us."