Chapter Seventy-Nine: Wokou and Ninja

"The Demon Suppressor from Dongbin City has arrived?"

"What? Just one person?!"

"Does that mean the lives of the people in Nanshan County are worth nothing?"

"How can one Demon Suppressor be enough?"

"Does the imperial court even care about us anymore?"

No sooner had Baili Feihong left the Demon Suppression Office than all of Nanshan County learned of his arrival.

He rode through the city on horseback, drawing the whispers and pointing fingers of the passersby. Every gaze he met was filled with anger.

"How desperate must you be," he thought calmly, unaffected by their words, "to pin your hopes for survival on Dongbin City?"

"Is that Baili Feihong? The newly promoted top-ranked Demon Suppressor from Dongbin City? He doesn't look particularly remarkable," came the commentary from above.

Inside the city, at the top floor of the Peach Blossom Pavilion, a woman and two men sat by the window, sipping wine and enjoying fine dishes. The young woman wore a black gauze veil, her features hidden. Of the two men, one appeared to be in his twenties, the other in his thirties. Both watched Baili Feihong riding down the street.

"We've dealt with Lin Zhiyuan, the local Warden. His strength is only middling among those at the pinnacle of the Divine Refinement stage," remarked the younger man, swirling his cup as Lin Zhiyuan's dossier flashed through his mind. His eyes fixed on Baili Feihong.

"They say Baili Feihong cultivates the Sixfold Sutra of Demon Suppression, a technique designed to counter our Underworld Sect. But I wonder—how many cycles of blood refinement has he completed? Has he perfected bone refinement? How many apertures has he opened?" The woman's voice, ethereal as a lark, drifted from beneath her veil.

"Hmph, just a Divine Refinement Demon Suppressor built up with pills. He beat Lin Zhiyuan thanks to his technique. Do you really think he's mastered the first stage of the Sixfold Sutra? Five cycles of blood refinement, six bone metamorphoses, a full array of great meridian apertures? What a joke. Maybe if he’d grown up bathing in Vitality Springwater," scoffed the black-clad youth.

They were all individuals who had established roots in the Underworld Sect—a crucial step beyond the Divine Refinement stage. Once the Underworld root sprouted and grew into the true Underworld Tree, they would stand at the pinnacle of Martial Embryo cultivation.

Though these roots and trees were but metaphors in the Underworld’s cultivation system, their realm was still considered Martial Embryo.

"Liulin, the General wants Baili Feihong alive," the veiled woman reminded him.

"Rest assured, Miss Yun. Who would dare disobey the General’s orders? This kid is lucky—he survived the Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts. If it were up to me, I’d have found the Gate of Yellow Springs on Ghost Street and entered the underworld myself," Liulin’s eyes gleamed with greed. He craved that secret.

Yet he knew that if the Gate of Yellow Springs were so easily found, the Underworld Sect would have long since controlled it and entered the underworld realm.

"When do we make our move?" the younger man, Yan Kai, asked Miss Yun in a low voice.

"No rush. Let him deal with the bandit scourge first. Once he's handled that disaster, we'll act," Yun Piao Miao replied, her tone icy and murderous at the mention of the bandits, so much so that Liulin and Yan Kai exchanged glances.

They knew all too well: before Yun Piao Miao became the General’s personal disciple, she was the heiress of a prestigious family—all slaughtered by bandits. Naturally, her hatred ran deep.

"If not for the General forbidding us from taking action against those filthy bandits, I’d have already turned them into corpse puppets," Liulin grinned, revealing white teeth with a sinister glint.

"Bandits deserve death. But tell me, why doesn’t the Underworld’s upper echelon let us expand into the Land of Sakura? No sects, no Demon Suppression Office to restrain us—we could raze city after city, slaughtering the bandits and growing stronger so much faster," Yan Kai said softly, his voice carrying a chill.

"The Land of Sakura is rife with sects; they help tie down some of the orthodox forces. If we destroyed that land, it might not be to our advantage," Yun Piao Miao replied with cold logic, unclouded by hatred.

"I envy the other brothers embedded in the Black Sky Cult. They feed off its resources, advancing by leaps and bounds. The blood and souls of those natives—what priceless nourishment," Liulin said, intrigued by the topic.

"Baili Feihong has left the city," Yun Piao Miao suddenly announced.

"Shall we follow?" Yan Kai smiled, looking at her.

"Keep your distance. We can’t let anyone else kill him—there are plenty of bandit spies in Nanshan County," said Yun Piao Miao. She rose and leapt from the window, vanishing with such swiftness that mortal eyes could scarcely follow. Liulin followed close behind.

Yan Kai kept his smile, but didn’t bother to hide the bloodlust in his gaze. The seeds of his earlier conversation had been sown. When the time was ripe, he’d set out to sea for slaughter.

Baili Feihong had left the city out of necessity. He’d tried to find an inn, but all were full. Clearly, the people of Nanshan County blamed Dongbin City’s paltry support on him. In this vast county, there was no place for him.

"Ha! Well done."

"Public anger is a weapon. Isn’t he so arrogant? Let him wander the streets."

"That high-and-mighty official from the provincial capital is now skulking out of the city."

The Demon Suppressors within the Demon Suppression Office laughed with glee as they heard the news. Only Hao Donglai was so furious he nearly drew his sword on them.

A pack of fools!

To become a top-ranked Demon Suppressor, one had to be at the Aperture Refinement stage—no exceptions. By driving Baili Feihong out, they lost a master on par with any in Aperture Refinement. With the bandit threat, they were already stretched thin.

Now, with the world steeped in baleful yin, Nanshan County was certain to become a haunt of demons and ghosts. When the time came and assignments were handed down, would any of them want to risk their lives against such horrors? Hao Donglai’s expression grew uglier at the thought. The Demon Suppression Office was filled with little more than rabble—how was he to defend Nanshan County with such men?

"Ding Sheng, go clean up the former Warden’s compound and invite Demon Suppressor Baili to stay there," Hao Donglai suddenly barked.

Ding Sheng was bewildered. Why, after the provincial official had embarrassed Hao Donglai, would he still want to treat the man so well?

"You idiots, what are you gossiping about? And laughing so loudly?" Hao Donglai snapped at the Demon Suppressors. "A top-ranked Demon Suppressor at the Aperture Refinement stage is a hundred times better than you worthless lot. If Baili Feihong leaves and monsters appear, I’ll feed you to them myself!"

His cold fury shook the Demon Suppression Office.

"What do those fools out there know? With him here, you’re safer. Now you’ve driven him off—do you really think your lives are worth using to fill the gap?" Hao Donglai’s words were harsh.

The twenty-eight Demon Suppressors stood stiffly, heads bowed, not daring to answer. Yet his tirade had woken them up.

A top-ranked Demon Suppressor was equivalent to an Aperture Refinement master—a rarity even in Dongbin City. In all Nanshan County, only two such experts served in the Demon Suppression Office.

"Sir, I’ll see to it at once," Ding Sheng replied.

Baili Feihong rode slowly along the official road, the city of Nanshan already vanished behind him.

"Gentlemen, you’ve followed me all this way. This place is remote and quiet, with beautiful scenery—a perfect spot to take Baili Feihong’s fine head. If you don’t act now, when will you?"

He dismounted, speaking in a clear, ringing voice.

From the forests on both sides of the road, a swarm of bandits clad in armor and wielding samurai blades burst forth, surrounding him. On the treetops, black-clad ninja—faces masked save for their eyes—stood poised.

Just then, a contingent of soldiers appeared behind him, riding up on horseback. Their leader wore ornate garments and exuded an imposing air. To his left stood the captain of the city’s garrison.

"So, here I am: newly arrived, the demons yet unpurged, and already a horde of bandits and traitors descend upon me."