Chapter 297: Burning City

And there were more people behind the constables—none were in uniform, wearing various outfits, but all held weapons. For example, iron chains, iron rulers, clubs, short knives, and such things. Their spirit and energy also weren't those of ordinary people; Li Yunxin realized they should be the constables' "helpers" or "associates."

The Head Constable and constables were officially employed public servants. But they couldn't handle all the city's affairs on their own, so they also kept "helpers" and "associates" who weren't on the official payroll. And most of these people weren't virtuous to begin with, which could be seen from their expressions now.

This group numbered over a hundred. Carrying torches as they walked over, they didn't say a word. There were only sounds of footsteps, the clashing of weapons, and the crackling of burning torches on the street. They quickly stopped about a dozen paces away from the dozen demons, looking at them silently in the firelight.

Li Yunxin raised an eyebrow, realizing tonight was going to be interesting.

Because this group of people wasn't speaking.

As the saying goes, a biting dog doesn't bark. If this group had come over noisily, they would likely have been hoping to use momentum to scare the other side away. But now, without saying a word, they clearly had an extremely specific purpose—perhaps their hearts were also filled with simmering rage.

Li Yunxin looked at the Wolf Daoist beside him.

He found the Wolf Demon staring intently at the situation, his nose even twitching slightly. This "twitching" wasn't "sniffing." It was the way a wild beast's nose wrinkles when it bares its upper lip to show its teeth when angry or demonstrating. Li Yunxin had seen many cats and dogs in his past life and was all too familiar with this reaction.

This meant... the Wolf Daoist also had some explosive emotions hidden in his heart, currently eager and unable to wait, even accidentally letting it show!

He suddenly understood.

It turned out this Wolf Demon... wasn't as stupid as he thought. Instead, it was his own sudden appearance that had disrupted his plan.

He thought for a moment, smiled in the dark, and said casually: "If these people and demons start fighting tonight, it will be considered a major event."

"Eh, yes indeed." Wolf Daoist was still staring intently, answering him casually—even the whiskers by his mouth were pulled forward.

"And if those demons kill all these people—the resentment between the people and demons in this city has been building for a long time—and the whole city riots, it will be an even bigger event."

the Wolf Demon excitedly opened his mouth slightly, revealing two sharp canine teeth, and his breathing became rapid: "Yes, exactly so..."

"So you went to Trapped Sky Mountain earlier mainly not to see if the Evil King was dead, but to avoid this situation tonight," Li Yunxin said softly. "But unfortunately, you were caught by me. Then the incident at that woman's house was also your doing. You want to create some 'big news' in Banyan City to force the people in the capital to take notice?"

The Wolf Demon answered with another "Yes." But he suddenly reacted and turned sharply to glare at Li Yunxin. His canine teeth were bared, and his crimson tongue was visible. His nose was wrinkled, and his eyes were slightly narrowed—the exact posture of a wild beast feeling a great threat. But in the next moment, he realized he was facing an unfathomable expert and stepped back two paces: "Ah... this... this..."

But Li Yunxin laughed: "What are you afraid of? I originally thought you were a fool and intended to kill you after I was done with you in Banyan City. But now that I know you have some little schemes, and I like your style of doing things—you've just saved your life."

He narrowed his eyes slightly and circled the Wolf Demon, whose ears were pricked up, then walked back in front of him: "What a surprise. Tell me, how did you design this?"

His words just now seemed to have scared the Wolf Demon. He stared straight at Li Yunxin: "Ah... saved it?"

"If you show that stupid look again, it'll be gone again."

The Wolf Demon shrunk his head. While looking at the street scene, he hurriedly said: "Ah... Great King, please calm down, listen to me—"

"That woman is the wife of Constable Zhao in the city, ah, the man leading them. She had a mother-in-law who was seriously ill, so she went to seek a doctor. I had someone tell the doctor to tell her that her mother-in-law's illness was due to physical weakness caused by years of vegetarianism and an imbalance of Yin and Yang. To cure it was simple: just take one hen every day, stew it with some medicinal herbs, and eat it for half a month, and she would be fine."

"That Head Constable Zhao is a public servant, good at making friends, and also very filial... yes. So when he heard this, he naturally followed it. He has many friends, so it's not hard to eat hens for half a month. Once they were secretly eating them in their home, I had someone throw some chicken feathers and bones in front of his door, and had someone secretly tell those dozen demons in my temple. When those things heard this, they wouldn't let it go, and they'd go looking for them at night—"

Li Yunxin interrupted: "Why at night?"

The Wolf Demon was stunned: "Ah, the Great King doesn't know. What is their cultivation? Their human forms aren't even fully refined; they've only just opened their Spiritual Wisdom. The highest is only at the Intent Realm. If they really went during the day and that man gathered as many people as he has now, they might not get any advantage. At night like this, hey, they rush in and reveal their True Forms—though they lose their Spiritual Wisdom, they have sharp teeth and claws. It's no trouble at all to tear two women apart."

"Heh, Head Constable Zhao had to go on duty at the Yamen at night, and I also had someone tip him off, saying his family's matter was exposed and demons were going to his house at night to find people. I had someone hold him up during the day today—and that's the situation now!"

Li Yunxin thought for a moment: "What if the demons don't act tonight, or if Head Constable Zhao's people can't make a fuss?"

As the Wolf Demon spoke, he became proud and gave a chuckling laugh: "They'll act, they'll act indeed! Look at that Daoist Hu, he's my man. In a moment he'll rush in, whether he tears that woman or that mother-in-law, Head Constable Zhao won't be able to hold back!"

"Moreover, for Head Constable Zhao... it's been over ten years. This man has a hot temper, what people call a 'knight-errant' spirit; he's caused no few incidents in the city before. Plus, the resentment of the people in Banyan City has been building for years; they've long been unable to hold back, just lacking a reason. If something happens to Head Constable Zhao tonight, given his prestige and reputation, the commotion won't be small! Hehe... I've planned this for a long time, observing for over several years—just waiting for today!"

Li Yunxin listened and thought for a moment, saying: "Your logic is decent. Starting from the small details and then using momentum. But many people can think of such things. Whether you can pull it off depends on your skill. Then tonight we'll see—if it really develops according to your expectations, I'll even give you a big reward."

Wolf Daoist seemed delighted: "Eh? What reward?"

Li Yunxin turned and pointed over there: "Handle the business first."

He was so straightforward and seemed not to mind what Wolf Daoist had done. This actually made the Wolf Demon hesitant. He looked at Li Yunxin: "This... Great King really doesn't blame me? That woman is going to die."

"I can't save everyone in the world. Mortals must eventually die; it just depends on whether they die for a worthy cause. Tonight, here with me, she dies for a worthy cause. Do it."

His voice lacked emotion, calm and cold. The Wolf Demon thought to himself that this person was truly a Human Cultivator—either from the Daoist Orthodoxy or the Sword Sect. He heard that only cultivators from there would act this way—compared to demons, their coldness was calm, with little of the cruel and tyrannical flavor.

Since things had come to this, he didn't think any further. He pinched some sort of seal in his hand and gently blew a breath.

Then Li Yunxin saw the fox-headed Daoist Hu among the dozen demons suddenly prick up his ears!

At this moment, the two groups had been in a standoff for a short while. A leading wolf demon was shouting at the people, asking how they dared to go out at night and threatening them: "If you don't disperse immediately, we'll capture and kill every one of you." But the people holding weapons didn't back down. They seemed to have calculated that the demons were few in number—though one could tear apart several people, a gang fight wasn't a duel, and since their realm wasn't high, a fight would only end in a double loss.

Li Yunxin sighed inwardly; this was the "momentum." If the people of Banyan City hadn't been resentful for a long time, they wouldn't have this kind of resolute courage. Although courage and impulse are intangible, they can truly turn a coward into a reckless man, doing things he wouldn't have dared to imagine before.

The demons spoke with malice, but the people ignored them.

The demon cultivators also realized these people were wrong tonight—completely different from the timid way they usually were. The leading wolf demon was a bit smarter, knowing there might be some other internal story. These people seemed prepared; he didn't know what other means they had. For beasts like them, developing Spiritual Wisdom was not easy, and they had only recently taken human form. Once a demon takes human form, their entire Daoist Arts cultivation is spent on this "form." Only with a human form can they have human meridians and apertures and better practice human cultivation methods.

So this was actually the most vulnerable stage in their cultivation process. They could only rely on their powerful physical bodies; they couldn't manifest much Spiritual Power. But in the future, once they were fully transformed, their Daoist Arts cultivation could advance by leaps and bounds, and dealing with these people then would be like exterminating ants.

So... these dozen demons actually began to feel like retreating when facing these silent humans.

Li Yunxin saw the wolf demon's thoughts and thought a bit more highly of the Wolf Daoist beside him—the timing of this setup was handled quite well.

It was at this very moment that Wolf Daoist pinched his seal, and a sudden change occurred in Daoist Hu!

His body suddenly became shorter. But it wasn't because his body had shrunk, but because he had revealed his True Form!

It was a fiery red wild fox, about the size of a small calf. Once the fox revealed its True Form, a green malicious light immediately sprang from its eyes. Its hind legs exerted force, and it lunged through the woman's door, instantly pinning her down.

This sudden change made both the demons and the constables freeze.

In that brief moment, the wild fox bit the woman's head and shook it!

The woman's head was torn off. Blood instantly sprayed all over its face, and the smell of blood triggered its ferocity. The wild fox turned and lunged further into the house; only a sudden, cut-short scream of an old woman could be heard inside, then silence.

It was only the space of two breaths.

The wild fox that lunged into the house had turned into a giant beast, completely losing its Spiritual Wisdom. No one knew what it was doing inside, only hearing the sound of chests and cabinets being knocked over, and the occasional sound of dishes breaking on the floor.

But on the street...

It was frighteningly quiet.

One more breath passed, and the frozen Head Constable Zhao finally frowned, his features contorting into a mess as he let out a heart-wrenching roar: "You beasts!!!"

Seeing his wife and elderly mother being torn apart before his eyes, this... was something no man could restrain or endure. When he let out that roar, Head Constable Zhao had already drawn his waist saber and lunged at the wolf demon ten paces in front of him with incredible momentum!

Li Yunxin wasn't particularly skilled in martial arts, but he had seen martial artists like Ying Jueran, Meng'e, Yu Meng, Qiao Duanhong, and the Six Ghosts of Hejian. Thus, he could tell that Head Constable Zhao did have martial skills, and not bad ones at that. He didn't know what footwork it was, but the distance of ten paces seemed to be covered in just two or three steps. The wolf demon, relying on his powerful body, just reached out, intending to take a slash in order to tear him apart first. To his surprise, Head Constable Zhao was incredibly agile; his body suddenly ducked low to the ground and then sprang up to the wolf demon's side as if his waist were spring-loaded, and with one slash, he cut off one of the wolf's ears!

Blood was finally drawn. There was also a howl of pain from the wolf demon.

He howled, and Head Constable Zhao howled too. He turned back, eyes wide with fury: "What are you still waiting for?! Waiting to die?!"

When he rushed up, the people beside him had a moment of cowardice and didn't move. Only after he landed this blow on the wolf demon, combined with that roar, did the people seem to realize that these demons weren't made of copper and iron and weren't invulnerable. They snapped out of it and rushed forward with shouts!

Finally, things became the way Wolf Daoist wanted.

Wolf Daoist's eyes were filled with joy, and he watched with gnashing teeth and intense focus. Thus, he didn't notice Li Yunxin beside him swaying slightly. Nor did he hear the faint sound, as if iron chains were clashing.

The fight between the hundred people and the demons lasted for a long time, but it wasn't always intense. Head Constable Zhao's slash gave the rest the courage to rush up, but they weren't all as skilled as he was. The demons had weak Spiritual Power, but their bodies were tough—a saber slash would only open a wound, but it was hard to hurt their muscles and bones. So before long, the humans suffered heavy casualties, leaving a dozen corpses on the street.

If the demons had killed a dozen people at the beginning to establish dominance, the people would likely have scattered like birds and beasts. But now that the killing had started, people knew the city would either be a city of humans or a city of demons. Blood was shed today; no one would let it go tomorrow. So they began to think of other ways.

Fortunately, they were prepared beforehand—while fighting and retreating, they actually pulled out two ten-foot-long iron-headed long halberds from the back. This was a powerful weapon in the armies of this era, and in the narrow streets of Banyan City, its status was comparable to a squad machine gun from Li Yunxin's time. Once these were brought out, two demons couldn't retreat in time and were skewered through the heart. They didn't die immediately, even pulling on the halberds and letting them pierce through their bodies as they lunged forward. Fortunately, they eventually lost their strength and were hacked to death by the people behind them.

Li Yunxin saw the formation and raised an eyebrow again—it was all under Head Constable Zhao's command.

It seemed this man had served in the military; seeing him command these dozens of people to advance and retreat in an orderly manner, with the two iron halberds being used effectively, he was completely different from ordinary mundane martial artists.

The demons' natures were triggered, and they all shook their bodies to reveal their True Forms. Any demon that could survive to open its Spiritual Wisdom must have been strong as a wild beast. Now it was like a dozen small calves were rampaging through the street, and they had sharp teeth and claws and could leap onto rooftops to lunge from the air.

For a time, the situation reversed. A man in the street wasn't paying attention and was rushed from the flank by the wolf demon that had lost an ear, resulting in a mess of blood and flesh.

Wolf Daoist beside Li Yunxin saw this and said: "Great King, we should go now; this matter is almost finished."

But Li Yunxin didn't speak, still staring intently. The Wolf Demon was stunned and followed his gaze—he found he had been staring at Head Constable Zhao from the very beginning.

By now, Head Constable Zhao was covered in blood, with several wounds on his chest and back, and his saber swings were losing form. Li Yunxin watched him and said softly: "Let's watch a bit more. Let's see if this man can hold on for another fifteen minutes—I say, you..."

He said, turning to look at the Wolf Demon: "In my opinion, these people are all going to die in the end. Then this matter would be boring—where's your city-wide riot?"

Wolf Daoist just said: "Don't worry, don't worry, it'll happen, it'll happen. But Great King, let's leave first... to avoid having our tracks seen."

"You're doing this again," Li Yunxin frowned. "Always being secretive and hesitant—I hate people like that most. If you have more tricks, use them immediately, or I'll refine you."

With Li Yunxin's glare, Wolf Daoist sighed again—he didn't dare not take this grandfather's threat seriously. This Great King watched two people be torn apart before his eyes without blinking; he was clearly a heartless and ruthless individual, and who knew what he might actually do.

He sighed while pinching another seal: "Great King, once this is done, we really have to go—I'm counting on cleaning up the mess afterward; I can't be implicated!"

But Li Yunxin ignored him, and Wolf Daoist had no choice. He finished his seal, sighed again, and hid himself deeper in the darkness.

Then...

The row of houses across the street collapsed with a boom!

Li Yunxin was slightly stunned; he hadn't expected Wolf Daoist to act on such a large scale. Then shouting broke out—not just one person, but at least a dozen. Their voices were high-pitched, laced with a fake-sounding panic. Although the number of people wasn't large, combined with the screams of others and the sound of collapsing houses, it created quite a lot of momentum.

The content of the shouting was much as Li Yunxin had expected.

It was all things like "The demons are killing people!", "They're knocking down houses!", "They're going to massacre the city!", "Fight them!", and so on.

During the day, people hearing this would probably think for a while amidst their panic. But now it was night, houses were collapsing, people were injured and scared, and looking onto the street—

A dozen giant demon beasts were fighting with the city's officials?!

What room was there left for "thinking carefully"?!

And it wasn't just the houses on this one street that collapsed; loud noises and dust clouds could be seen from afar—Wolf Daoist had actually set up ambushes all over the city.

In an instant, the normally quiet Banyan City suddenly became lively, but this liveliness wasn't the joyous kind; it was the kind of liveliness that accompanied the apocalypse.

By this time, fifteen minutes had indeed passed.

Head Constable Zhao could no longer hold on. Of the nearly hundred people who came, only thirty or forty were left standing; the street was full of corpses, and blood had dyed the street red. But only four of the dozen demons had died, and the rest were displaying their power, about to pounce on and kill the remaining thirty or forty swaying men.

Fortunately, at this moment, the changes in the city startled the demons. Both the demons and the humans were scared. The dozens of people instantly lost their courage and scattered. Two men tried to help Head Constable Zhao away, but the one-eared wolf demon lunged and finished those two with two claws, then tossed its head to tear off Head Constable Zhao's head.

The man knew he couldn't survive and picked up a chipped short knife from beside him for a final struggle.

The two were currently beside a collapsed house, with smoke and dust everywhere, making it hard to see. Head Constable Zhao was pinned to the ground and about to stab—

But suddenly he felt his body fly up as if riding on clouds. And that wolf demon was sent flying by some force, rolling several times on the ground and crashing into another house.

Head Constable Zhao thought he must have died, his soul leaving his body—drifting toward the Underworld.

But he also felt he was in the sky, tucked under someone's arm, and could only see the ground—Banyan City was gradually becoming smaller, and the sound of wind in his ears was getting louder. His eyes were blurred with blood, sour and painful. Furthermore, because he had lost his strength and was about to faint, the scene before his eyes began to blur.

However, he could still see... firelight rising everywhere in Banyan City. People were fleeing their houses and crying out, as if the end of the world had come.

He thought dizzily, Heh, at least I died for a worthy cause. This way, those beasts probably won't survive either, right?!

He lost consciousness.

Meanwhile, Li Yunxin and Wolf Daoist were still under that tree.

The old tree was silent in the night. Because it was autumn, the leaves were slowly losing moisture. So when the night wind blew gently, one or two leaves would fall.

But fires had already started nearby—there was charcoal in many of the collapsed houses, which triggered fires. But whether it was the firelight or the voices of people, they became faint once they reached this tree—as if the darkness here were as tangible as water, and they couldn't easily penetrate it.

Li Yunxin withdrew his hand and brushed away a bit of ash left in his palm after the Talisman caught fire.

Then he looked at Wolf Daoist: "You're in such a hurry to leave, but I don't want to leave. Look—"

He pointed to the brightening Banyan City: "You've caused such a big scene and planned for so many years. Now that the plan is successful, if you leave without seeing what your work looks like, doesn't it feel meaningless?"

Wolf Daoist knew this expert had used some means to temporarily isolate their space from the surroundings. He had never seen such a high-level technique, so he was terrified. But he still said with a miserable face: "Oh... Great King, I only seek success, I don't have the confidence you do!"

Li Yunxin didn't speak. He stared at him for a while, a smile suddenly appearing on his face, which was slightly lit by the firelight.

"You're not being good. You're still hiding something from me." He looked down and flicked his fingernails, then looked up. "Playing like this in front of me... it's very easy to get yourself killed."