Volume One: Autumn Festival Chapter Five: Demons in Hun City

When Jiang Wang returned to the Marquis’s estate, the old steward was waiting at the entrance. He noticed that the steward’s gaze had become quite strange—an indescribable feeling.

After sending Xiao Yu back inside first, Jiang Wang looked at the steward and asked, puzzled, "Uncle Tong, are you alright?"

The old steward smiled and said, "Young Master, dinner is ready."

Watching Jiang Wang’s blank expression, the steward felt a sense of relief; the young master had grown up after all. He pondered the reasons for the young master’s concealment of his true self, perhaps realizing that the matters surrounding the late Marquis were perilous, and he was intentionally feigning incompetence until he had a full grasp of the situation. Although it was a fact that Jiang Wang was "ill," who was to say that being ill meant one couldn't be powerful?

The old steward had no intention of telling Jiang Wang everything just yet. He believed the young master surely had a plan, and it wouldn't be too late to speak when the young master was ready to be open and honest. If Jiang Wang knew what the steward was thinking at that moment, he would certainly be speechless. *Can we please stop guessing and just say what needs to be said?*

***

Late at night, Qixia Street was quiet, shrouded in a thick mist. Du Zicheng stumbled his way home. Thinking of how his father lavished praise on the man surnamed Su while beating and scolding him, he felt miserable. He tripped over his own feet, fell, and let out a string of curses before sitting on a rock to catch his breath. His eyes grew blurry, and he soon drifted off to sleep.

Before long, he was jolted awake by a loud commotion. Squinting into the dim street, he saw flashes of light, the melodious ring of metal clashing, and gradually, the scent of blood began to drift over, growing thicker by the moment. Du Zicheng sobered up instantly. Just as he tried to flee, a sword light struck him, and he knew no more.

When Du Zicheng woke again, he was in the dungeon of the Garrison Office. During the night, several murders had occurred in Hun City. One cultivator had even been killed in the East Market. One of the incidents happened right at the intersection of Qixia Street. When the constables arrived, they found Du Zicheng lying there with a broken sword nearby and bloodstains that were not his own on his clothes; naturally, he became the prime suspect.

The intersection of Qixia Street was immediately sealed off. The head constable of Hun City reported to the Garrison Commander, "According to my inspection, there is a deep gouge at the intersection of Qixia Street and Pinglan Street, roughly three feet deep. A commoner could never have caused such a mark."

The Commander understood the implication. Du Zicheng was merely a martial artist at the initial stage, essentially no different from an ordinary person. Yet, he was in a difficult spot. Cultivators had indeed been appearing in Hun City these days, and they were all people he could not afford to offend. If it were merely a dispute between martial artists or cultivators, it would be easier to handle, as those were matters beyond his jurisdiction. But now, ordinary citizens were being killed, and a cultivator had died in Hun City, leaving him in a massive dilemma.

***

Jiang Wang learned of the matter at the hour of the snake (9:00 AM). Looking at the two cultivators in green and white robes before him, his eyelids twitched uncontrollably. Finding someone extremely good-looking in Hun City was not difficult at all, but he remained calm, as the two had shown no malice. After all, being the young master of the Xunyang Marquis’s estate and a disciple of the Sword Pavilion were not mutually exclusive identities. Though Jiang Wang was unaware he had acquired the status of a Sword Pavilion disciple, that was exactly what the two men in green and white robes believed.

"Master Jiang, I trust you have heard of the murders in Hun City. Although the East Market is far from Qixia Street, to our knowledge, aside from you, no one else in Hun City could easily kill a Dongming-stage cultivator."

Jiang Wang was no longer calm. Only two of the three cultivators from "Moon Full of the West Tower" had come, which made the situation quite obvious. But what was the meaning of this? Was he being suspected? Just as he was about to explain, the green-robed cultivator added, "Unless there is some hidden expert in Hun City, which would be another matter entirely."

Jiang Wang opened his mouth, but before he could speak, the green-robed man continued, "Now only Master Jiang can help us. If you can help us find the killer hiding in Hun City, my brother and I are willing to follow your lead." With that, he and the white-robed man bowed deeply to Jiang Wang.

Jiang Wang was speechless. He hadn't even had the chance to speak, and they had already cornered him. Just as he was thinking about how to refuse, as if to show their sincerity, the two men knelt. "If Master Jiang does not agree, we will remain kneeling."

Jiang Wang: "..." *I want to help, but where am I supposed to find the killer? You are making things difficult for this young master!*

"Actually, you have misunderstood," Jiang Wang felt it necessary to tell the truth. "Back in that alley, I didn't do anything at all. That blue mist vanished on its own. While some unusual things have indeed happened to me recently, the facts are not as you think."

The white-robed cultivator looked up at Jiang Wang earnestly and said, "Master Jiang, I understand."

Jiang Wang smiled and said, "I'm glad you understand."

The white-robed cultivator said, "We are merely ascetic cultivators from 'Moon Full of the West Tower.' In the eyes of ordinary people and common martial artists, we might seem high and mighty, but in the eyes of someone like you, we are merely slightly stronger ants. We are just chance acquaintances; it was indeed overstepping our bounds to let you risk offending some great cultivator."

*You don't understand anything at all!* Jiang Wang nearly choked on his own spit. *Please, stop overthinking!*

The green-robed cultivator added, "We do not expect Master Jiang to take action personally. We only need you to find the killer; our lives will then have nothing to do with you. If we are lucky enough to survive, we will still dedicate our lives to Master Jiang. After all, that is the most valuable thing we have."

Jiang Wang felt tired. He waved his hand and said faintly, "I will help you find the killer, but I cannot guarantee that I will succeed."

The men in green and white robes exclaimed excitedly, "Many thanks, Master Jiang!"

***

Although Jiang Wang felt exhausted, since he had promised, he had to see it through. He sent the old steward thirty miles outside the city to mobilize the Black Flame Army. This was the first time the Black Flame Army had re-entered Hun City since the Marquis’s estate had supposedly fallen into decline.

The Black Flame Army soldiers, clad in armor and wearing grim masks, held gleaming silver spears. As they rode in, kicking up clouds of dust, their imposing momentum made the city guards feel as if they were facing a war. If they hadn't clearly seen the black flame banner held high by the leader, they would have sounded the war horns in panic.

The Garrison Commander learned of this immediately. Upon clarifying that it was the Young Marquis seeking the killer of the Hun City murders, he could only sigh, "The Young Marquis truly has his father's flair; it is admirable."

He remained polite to Jiang Wang, and ultimately, it was due to the existence of the Black Flame Army. The Black Flame Army were the Xunyang Marquis’s troops, and they currently took orders only from the Young Marquis—they were the largest force in Hun City. Although everyone said the Marquis’s estate had fallen, the Commander knew best: as long as the Black Flame Army existed, the estate was still the same estate it had always been.

Jiang Wang’s act of mobilizing the Black Flame Army to search the city might have been rash, but it was, at heart, an act of justice. Using the most straightforward approach, the Black Flame Army swept through, clearing away obstacles that the Garrison Office had been hesitant to touch, which greatly accelerated the progress of the investigation.

The Garrison Commander was deeply moved. Facing suspects that his office couldn't afford to offend, he would have paid a heavy price if he had acted forcefully. The Young Marquis was incredibly considerate and had taken all the danger upon himself, allowing the Garrison Office to investigate the murders without hesitation. He was already thinking about how to thank the Young Marquis afterward.

Jiang Wang, tucked away in the Marquis’s estate, was completely unaware of these matters. He had simply conveyed his intentions to the Black Flame Army through the old steward; as for how the army carried them out, he had given it no thought at all.

But the Black Flame Army was indeed efficient. By evening, Deputy Commander Shan Qiyue arrived at the estate. He stood before Jiang Wang, bowed, and said, "Young Marquis."

Jiang Wang, staying in his room, poured himself a cup of tea and asked, "Have you found the results?"

Shan Qiyue handed a list to Jiang Wang and said, "This is the list of all recent foreign cultivators and martial artists."

Jiang Wang asked, puzzled, "The victims were cultivators; why are you investigating martial artists?"

Shan Qiyue paused and said, "The one who died in the East Market was a Dongming-stage cultivator, but it is not only cultivators who can kill them. Aside from deeply practiced demons, certain martial artists can do it too."

This went beyond Jiang Wang’s understanding. He had always thought martial artists were just wanderers who knew a bit of hand-to-hand combat.

"Throughout the entire region of Kutan, martial artists are everywhere, while cultivators are hard to find. The cultivators who most often enter the world are of lower cultivation, but to martial artists below the fourth stage, they are still terrifying existences that are difficult to fight." Shan Qiyue said earnestly, "However, once a martial artist enters the fourth stage, they possess the strength to fight a cultivator. A grandmaster-level martial artist can even easily kill a Dongming-stage cultivator."

Jiang Wang realized once again that this world was truly dangerous. He sipped his tea and asked, "So, what have you found?"

Shan Qiyue pointed to the last name on the list. "This person is currently the most suspicious."

"There are few cultivators left in Hun City. Either they are like Su Lingyi and Du Yanruo from the Yuyuan Academy, who have not yet truly reached the Dongming stage, or there are only those two cultivators from 'Moon Full of the West Tower'..."

"Only this person, named Feng Linghuai, is a fourth-stage peak martial artist. If the conditions allow, he is fully capable of killing a cultivator in an instant."

"However, I have not yet discovered any grudge between this Feng Linghuai and the dead cultivator. More importantly, during our investigation, we discovered traces of demons appearing in Hun City."

Jiang Wang looked down at the list, surprised. "Demons again?"

Hun City was becoming a den of demons. Thinking that there had been several murders in the city, all occurring at roughly the same time, the possibility of demons being the culprits was even greater than that of Feng Linghuai. He told Shan Qiyue to continue the investigation and asked for the exact location where the demons had appeared, determined to fully control that power this time.