Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Spell of Forgetting

All the demon suppression apprentices he knew had arrived. Bai Li Feihong finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The governor’s sudden massacre had left him utterly bewildered. Just earlier, Dalizhen had been intact, but now it had transformed into a ruined battlefield—almost the entire town annihilated. Corpses lay scattered everywhere.

Gongyang Yan thrust her blade into the ground and sat on a stone bench, overlooking several Dalizhen residents before her, exuding an air of unbridled confidence. Her blade radiated intent, streams of visible energy swirling around her body. But no one dared approach these tendrils—for those who did were instantly cut to pieces.

On either side of Gongyang Yan stood the Left Demon Suppression Governor, Linghu Xue, and the Right, Tie Wuyai, hands resting on their swords, ready to unleash carnage at the slightest sign of trouble.

“Speak. The vampire bat demon infiltrating the city to suck blood, the Night Demon slaughtering the martial hall—were these acts instigated by your organization, the Underworld Palace?”

Her tone was indifferent.

“Bah! In your hands, butcher, kill me or carve me up as you wish.” The plump, round-faced coffin shop owner spat at Gongyang Yan, grinning fearlessly.

“Linghu, this coffin shop owner is yours,” Gongyang Yan instructed.

Linghu Xue, the seemingly refined, white-templed middle-aged man, leapt in front of the coffin shop owner, seized him, and dragged him off to the constabulary.

Fang Delong dared not utter a sound. Kneeling with his subordinates, he did not even lift his head, mind still caught in a nightmare from which he could not wake.

Meanwhile, the demon suppression officers of the Demon Suppression Division continued searching Dalizhen, dragging out hidden residents and assembling them on the main street, where they knelt trembling on the ground.

“I am deeply disappointed,” Gongyang Yan said, raising her gaze to survey all the division’s members. “Such a den of thieves, and not a single officer discovered anything. The eradication of the beasts on Dalishan has been a long-term assignment, meaning many of you have traveled back and forth between the main city and Dalizhen frequently.”

The demon suppression officers bowed their heads. Gongyang Yan’s imposing presence was at its peak—at her feet lay a road paved with countless bones. Authority forged in blood.

“You have truly disappointed me all,” she repeated. “Have all the apprentices arrived?”

D-rank officer Ding Bo stepped forward with a grave expression. “Reporting, madam, all apprentices have arrived at Dalizhen.”

“Bring them here. They, too, must learn what our division’s true duty is.”

Gongyang Yan nodded in satisfaction. At least the governor’s summons had reached the apprentices in the city—proof that Ding Bo had done well.

He had trained these apprentices thoroughly. Ding Bo felt a flush of pride as he hurried to summon them.

There were eighty-two members of the division in total, of which thirty-two were apprentices—all present.

Gongyang Yan felt keenly the insufficiency of Dongbin City’s strength. The division here was rotten to the core. Right beneath their eyes was a den of thieves, yet no one had discovered it.

Simultaneously, she felt a surge of displeasure. She knew Jiang Dongliu of the Yin-Yang Heavenly Sect had set her up. His arrival had caused her attention to fall upon the coldest district in Dongbin City. There, she had witnessed the Parade of a Hundred Ghosts on Dalishan, seen the bloody aura rise like wolf smoke, and discovered that all Dalizhen’s residents were affiliated with the Underworld Palace.

The town’s inhabitants had already fallen under the Underworld Palace’s control. Many had been transformed into members themselves. This town had hidden too deeply.

Since the second generation’s Divine Inspection Division’s Supervisor had pointed out that this place was the financial nexus of Dayuan, the Underworld Palace had already begun laying out their plans here.

Thinking of the corpses buried in Dalishan by the Underworld Palace made Gongyang Yan’s scalp tingle.

And this was only the outer ring of the organization. Who, then, were the true core members overseeing Dalizhen? Were they hiding somewhere on Dalishan? Even with her temperament, Gongyang Yan found Dalishan a thorny problem.

What was the Underworld Palace operating on Dalishan? What role had the Divine Inspection Division once played here? Was the Gate of the Yellow Springs truly only a passage to the underworld?

She did not know. But her desire to raze Dalishan to the ground grew ever stronger.

Yet Dalishan was a place of disaster, shrouded in unspeakable terror. She was not confident at all. Unless she mobilized her family’s full power, perhaps then Dalishan could be taken—every secret laid bare to clear sight.

Bai Li Feihong and the other thirty-one apprentices walked in silence down the main street, feeling the weight of the demon suppression officers’ gazes upon them—a crushing pressure.

Bai Li Feihong held his breath, carefully controlling his own aura, quietly circulating the Blood River Blade technique within. The cultivation of blood itself was mysterious, granting him remarkable control over his presence; it was not easy for others to probe his depths. This was the wonder of blood refinement.

In stillness, he hid like wood; in action, he struck like thunder. As Bai Li Feihong passed corpse after corpse, he noticed some familiar faces among the dead. Blood flowed everywhere—though they could avoid the bodies, they could not avoid stepping in the blood, each step leaving a print.

Many among them were pale, nearly vomiting at the hellish scene before them. Bai Li Feihong was more composed—he had met a horde of ghosts in Dalishan, a sight even more terrifying than the carnage now. His mental fortitude had grown. The torrent of experience from the Skill Book had forged his will with resilience—a hidden blessing, in hindsight.

“Reporting, madam, the thirty-two apprentices are present. Dalizhen has been thoroughly searched; all residents have been brought out, and no other irregularities found.”

“Good. Stand down.”

Gongyang Yan’s features were dignified and beautiful—an incomparable beauty, further accentuated by her heroic aura. Yet at her feet lay a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. No one could appreciate her beauty in such a scene.

“I am gratified that you all responded to the summons,” she said. “It means that your half month in the division has not been wasted, and that you are striving to grow—preparing to become real demon suppression officers, guardians of peace.”

She praised them. “Especially you six—your hearts are resolute, your ambitions lofty.”

“You six, step forward.”

Her slender, fair fingers pointed out six apprentices. Bai Li Feihong was puzzled. These six were the most low-profile among them, almost invisible. He didn’t even remember their names—a strange thing indeed.

“The Forgetting Curse,” she said. “This spell is truly breathtaking.”

At her words, the six apprentices went pale, lifting their heads to glare at Gongyang Yan, their eyes blood-red.

“Are demons now so brazen as to infiltrate the Demon Suppression Division itself? Beyond myself, not even Linghu or Old Tie noticed you. This curse is not just impressive—it truly inspires fear.”

Her words sparked an uproar. Demons? Apprentices infiltrated by demons?

“Gongyang Yan, Master Huang sends you a message: Stay away from the muddy waters of Dongbin City.”

Suddenly, one of the apprentices called out in a loud voice.

“So it’s him—the polymath Master Huang of the Underworld Palace.”