Chapter 82: Grudges

Chapter 82: Grudges

The spring rain let up briefly.

The courtyard and its surroundings were in disarray.

Meng Yuan and Gong Zi Hua examined the scene once more. Seven dog demons had been skinned and dismembered, their bones and flesh thrown into the pot, while another nine corpses lay nearby.

The Mother Dog Ancestor, being of advanced age, was spared from the cooking due to her longevity.

"No hurry," Gong Zi Hua said, stopping Meng Yuan from burning the corpses. "An eighth-rank dog demon is already quite valuable. Their teeth and bones are useful. Burn the others instead."

The most valuable was the Mother Dog Ancestor herself. Meng Yuan had no choice but to gather the remaining dog demon corpses outside the courtyard and summoned a flame with a wave of his hand.

In no time, the dog demon corpses turned to ashes, and the Essence Fire grew slightly stronger.

Seeing Gong Zi Hua's expertise in skinning and dismembering, Meng Yuan took the opportunity to burn the dog meat he had just removed.

Even an eighth-rank old mother dog had limited benefits for the Essence Fire.

"Firstly, the tendons and bones have been removed, and secondly, they've been dead for two hours now," Gong Zi Hua explained.

"It's good to take care of the killing and burying, but it's important to do it in a timely manner."

Meng Yuan nodded in agreement, considering his next steps.

Before long, the sound of a magpie's cheerful chirp came from above, followed by the approaching clatter of hooves.

Zhang Ling Feng arrived with five riders, each clad in rain capes.

After a brief conversation, Zhang Ling Feng asked a moment, Zhang Gui Nian and Nie Yanian's main army finally arrived. There were no officials from the yamen among them, but the hundred-strong garrison filled the village to the brim.

Nie Yanian was a meticulous man. He first pulled Zhang Ling Feng and Gong Zi Hua aside to inquire further. He had wanted to question the villagers who had played the drums and music, but they were nearly reduced to fools, so naturally, he couldn't get much information from them.

Instead, Zhang Gui Nian came to comfort Meng Yuan. Patting Meng Yuan's shoulder, he said, "Little Gong is an honest man. He's been speaking highly of you, which shows you've done nothing wrong."

He led Meng Yuan to a corner and spoke in a low voice, "Make Qing Qing feel at ease. Have a drink with her tonight. You're a young man, you understand these things better than I do. By then, the deed will be done, and that old dog will have no room for regrets. Do you understand?"

"What are you talking about?" Meng Yuan asked.

Just as they were discussing matters, Nie Yanian interrupted, pushing Zhang Gui Nian aside and taking Meng Yuan by the arm, leading him away from the village. "Were you thinking about your little wife?" Nie Yanian asked.

"Fortunately, the few of them were all soft-boiled eggs, all useless!" Nie Yanian continued, exasperated. "What if they were seventh-rank, sixth-rank, or even fifth-rank experts? Would you still draw your sword?"

"At that time, I had the ability to save them, and the chances were not small. If they were so high that I couldn't fight back, I wouldn't be a fool. I'd wait for another day," Meng Yuan replied.

"You, a castrate master, don't seem to have much skill in castrating, but you're quite good at boasting," Nie Yanian scoffed.

"I've always said, you're ruthless with your hands but not with your heart!" Nie Yanian pointed at Meng Yuan.

He gestured to the village behind them, "When a person is sick, they take medicine. When the world is sick, it feeds on people. If you don't eat them, they'll eat you! In my opinion, you should have been ruthless from the start and killed them all! With a single fire, there would be no traces left! You and Little Gong have read too many books, worrying about harming the innocent! Restrained and hesitant, you'll never accomplish great things!"

Meng Yuan, who had been meekly keeping his head down, looked up at Nie Yanian, surprised by his boldness.

"Don't look at me, I only bring trouble!" Nie Yanian sighed. "You and Little Gong went crazy, cursing and driving people away like dogs. You've created grudges!"

"Do you know why things turned out this way?" Nie Yanian asked.

Meng Yuan gripped his knife hilt, "It's because my knife isn't sharp enough, nor fast enough."

"You do have some brains," Nie Yanian said, still exasperated. "When your knife becomes faster, your status and position must also rise. When people see your clothing and your followers, they will know to pay respects and speak well of you."

"Teacher Nie says I should practice martial arts and then find a way to become an official?" Meng Yuan asked.

"Practicing martial arts and becoming an official, you're a real glutton for punishment!" Nie Yanian said irritably.

Meng Yuan pretended not to understand the curse and asked, "Are you following Old Zhang's path?"

"Old Zhang is useless. He went from Hundred-Man Commander to Hundred-Man Commander, and I even paved the way for him!" Nie Yanian added, "Besides, the Xie family has someone in the Thousand-Man Commandery, so Old Zhang is already taken care of!"

Meng Yuan understood and immediately asked, "The Queen Consort?"

"That's right." Nie Yanian patted Meng Yuan's shoulder and said, "The Queen Consort's capabilities are greater than you think! For minor matters, there's no need to involve the Queen Consort. But if you want to go further and smoother, then we'll need the Queen Consort to step in!"

He tapped Meng Yuan's nose and continued irritably, "Your poetry exchange with that foolish prince is useless. If you could exchange poems with the Queen Consort, that would be real talent!"

"Teacher Nie," Meng Yuan said helplessly, "If I knew how to write proper poems, would I need to exchange poems with the prince?"

"That's true, only a frog in a well can see the sky." Nie Yanian finally laughed out loud. He patted Meng Yuan's shoulder and said, "Wait for the arrangements. The Queen Consort will probably want to measure...see you."

He stopped himself from cursing, showing his respect for the Queen Consort.

"What about Xie Shen's matter?" Meng Yuan asked.

"A spoiled aristocrat, he's useless!" Nie Yanian had just scolded Meng Yuan for causing trouble, but now he was cursing as well, "We'll talk about it when we return to the city."

In the following days, Meng Yuan continued to team up with Gong Zi Hua.

The two led their troops to sweep through several towns, capturing numerous minor demons, but they still had no news of the Mountain King Cang.

Even when they interrogated the minor demons, the information was all over the place. However, the Mountain King Cang indeed had no record of harming humans, and he only appeared in the mountains, never descending. Clearly, he was a cautious one.

They couldn't keep dragging it out, so Zhang Gui Nian immediately ordered them to head to another county.

In total, they spent ten days sweeping through two counties, capturing and killing over twenty ranked demons, and more than a hundred spirit beasts.

However, even among the ranked demons, the highest was only a seventh-rank demon, and it was a cultivator.

It was Zhang Ling Feng who was fortunate enough to encounter it, and he led the team to eliminate it. Meng Yuan had no chance to witness it, let alone participate.

With no major tasks left, Zhang Gui Nian ordered their return to the city.

After traveling for two or three days and sweeping through ten days, everyone in the group was exhausted, their feet barely touching the ground. Even the horses were affected, eating and sleeping poorly, and losing weight.

Meng Yuan and Gong Zi Hua remained at the forefront, riding their horses side by side, with over ten white servants following them.

After traveling for most of the day, they arrived at a dilapidated relay station and decided to spend the night there.

It was April, and the station walls were covered in ivy, with three corpses hanging at the entrance, apparently having died not long ago.

Upon closer inspection, they recognized the bodies as a youth, a young girl, and an old man, all of whom they were familiar with.

Gong Zi Hua remained on his horse, quietly cursing under his breath.

"It's the work of demons. Bury them quickly," Meng Yuan said, turning back to see that the main army was still far behind. He gently patted Gong Zi Hua's shoulder.

After several days of spring rain, it was inappropriate to gather firewood for burning. The white servants dug a shallow pit and threw all three corpses into it, then hastily covered it up as a makeshift burial.

"Brother Gong, let's not report this matter. Just treat it as a regular demon killing," Meng Yuan said.

Gong Zi Hua turned to look at Meng Yuan, seeing him riding on the little red horse, his slightly weathered face expressionless. He held a sword in his embrace, wiping the sword sheath with the hem of his clothes with one hand while the other rested on the hilt, as if the sword within the sheath was about to transform into a dragon and burst out of its container.

Gong Zi Hua nodded, grasping Meng Yuan's hand and pressing it firmly, "I'll inform the brothers when the time comes."

Meng Yuan smiled and nodded in agreement.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end