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They deserved to be killed.

Lu Yang tried but couldn’t summon the ghost servants; he could only let his soul leave his body.

“Barbarian Bone, it’s up to you.”

Barbarian Bone, without much ado, kept two of the transformed traveler ghost servants, eliminating the rest cleanly. Using the hunter ghost servant might be easily noticed by the demon sect, hinting that they had killed the tiger demon. Using traveler ghost servants posed much less risk.

“Keep.” Barbarian Bone absorbed a male and a female traveler ghost servant into his body, part of the technique to command ghost servants, summoning them when necessary for battle.

On their way to Yanjiang County, they encountered Qi Wu and others still wandering aimlessly in the forest. The ongoing rain and their unfamiliarity with the area naturally made it impossible for them to find their way down the mountain.

“Benefactors!” Qi Wu and the others were extremely excited to see Lu Yang and his companions, as if they had seen a lifeline.

“The grace of the benefactors, we will never forget in our lifetimes!”

“The mountain god has shown mercy!”

“Grateful for the life-saving grace, forever remembered!”

Their fervent thanks to the trio were heartfelt and sincere.

Seeing the people they had saved and hearing their genuine words of thanks, the gloom in Lu Yang’s heart gradually dissipated, no longer dwelling on the bones in the cave.

“As cultivators, we should follow the righteous path, no need for thanks,” Meng Jingzhou solemnly stated his stance, deeming saving people as a natural duty, not for gratitude.

Barbarian Bone, observing Meng Jingzhou’s righteous demeanor, felt he truly was a role model. However, Lu Yang, without needing to watch, knew Meng Jingzhou was just putting on a show, secretly delighting in their gratitude.

After escorting the merchants to Yanjiang County and the break of dawn following a night of torrential rain, a faint rainbow hung in the sky.

“Did we forget something?” Meng Jingzhou felt like they were missing something.

“Didn’t forget anything, right?” Lu Yang counted the number of people, three in total, and concluded they hadn’t lost anything.

“It just feels like we’re missing something. Never mind, let’s not dwell on it.”

…

In Qinghuai County, a carriage was parked in the backyard of an inn, with an old horse leisurely eating the feed Meng Jingzhou had left.

“When will that Meng family kid come to find me? The feed won’t last many days. Wasn’t the mission supposed to be completed in five or six days?”

The old horse, being a rare demonic beast, naturally couldn’t just eat ordinary fodder. It was fed with high-quality, spirit-infused feed that Meng Jingzhou had purchased at a high price and prepared with care. The old horse snorted and smacked its lips, finding its situation rather boring, occasionally glancing at a small white mare next door.

…

After entering the city, the trio casually chose a teahouse, ordered a pot of tea and some snacks, and began to plan their next steps.

“How do we find this Qin Yuanhao in such a large Yanjiang County? Should we ask the local authorities for help?” Barbarian Bone frowned. Yanjiang County wasn’t a major center for cultivators and was relatively insignificant compared to other counties. It wasn’t even marked on less detailed maps, but still, it was home to two million people. Finding one person there was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Lu Yang waved the idea away: “It’s not appropriate. We don’t know how long the demon sect has been hiding here, and the entangled forces behind it could include local authorities.”

Barbarian Bone didn’t understand Lu Yang’s reasoning: “Aren’t demon sect members condemned by everyone? Why would the authorities help them?”

Meng Jingzhou, more familiar with these matters, explained: “Exactly because they are universally condemned, the Great Xia Dynasty has added ‘number of demons eradicated’ as an official performance metric. The more demons an official eradicates, especially those of higher cultivation, the better their performance is considered.”

“The demon sect could easily strike a deal with the local magistrate, regularly providing demons in exchange for secrecy about their location.”

Meng Jingzhou’s narrative wasn’t just a story but a reality his elders had spoken of. Despite efforts to eradicate the demon sect, some always slipped through the cracks. There were suggestions to remove this performance metric, but they were vetoed by the Prime Minister. The metric remains, encouraging most officials to diligently fight the demon sect, though some collude for personal gain. Removing it might discourage even those earnestly pursuing demons.

Barbarian Bone felt his understanding of the world upended by these revelations. He didn’t think of this before.

Lu Yang added: “It’s unlikely that the magistrate is in league with the demon sect, but we must prepare for the worst.”

“If the local magistrate is indeed in league with the demonic cult, then revealing our intentions to him would naturally lead to Qin Yuanhao being handed over, in order not to expose themselves. However, this would alert the entire Yanjiang sect of our actions, causing them to go into hiding and thus making us miss the chance to infiltrate the demonic cult. That would be counterproductive and not advisable.”

“The best course of action now is for us to keep our identities hidden and start looking for Qin Yuanhao ourselves. If we can’t find him, we can consider asking for help from the local authorities later on.”

Barbarian Bone agreed with their logic.

“So, how do we draw out Qin Yuanhao?” Barbarian Bone pondered many ideas, all flawed and risky.

Posting flyers or making announcements was too conspicuous.

Gathering intelligence in the black market? If Qin Yuanhao learned someone was probing for information on him, he might hide even deeper, perhaps leading the demonic cult to encircle and suppress them. Too passive, and impractical.

Barbarian Bone was curious about the insights of his companions, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou.

Already on their way down the mountain, Lu Yang had devised a plan, chuckling, “You know, unlike us from reputable sects, those who wander the jianghu place great importance on face.”

“Especially those from the demonic cults, who see face as a matter of status. To them, losing face is worse than death.”

“So, we need to spread rumors far and wide that Qin Yuanhao is a benevolent man, always doing good deeds instead of his duties. Once the rumor that he is a ‘good person’ permeates Yanjiang Prefecture, and the demonic cult members believe Qin Yuanhao has lost face, he will be compelled to come out.”

“That will be our opportunity!”

Meng Jingzhou summarized simply, “So, we just make things up and stir up trouble.”

Fortunately, he was a natural at this, most adept in such tactics.

Barbarian Bone, enlightened by the strategy, realized it was an excellent way to force Qin Yuanhao into the open.

But the comment about the difference in valuing face between their “upright sects” and those “in the Jianghu” lingered in his mind.

(End of the chapter)