Moyu Town.
Nightfall.
A hazy black mist seemed to spread across the sky…
"Town Master! Town Master! Something terrible has happened!" In the darkness, the butler anxiously shouted outside Andrew Chen's bedroom.
During such a sensitive period, Andrew dared not slack off. His nerves were always on edge, so much so that even when he slept with his wife, he didn't take off his clothes.
The moment he heard the butler's shout, he burst through the door and stared at the butler, asking tensely: "What happened? Is it a demon?!"
The butler was momentarily stunned. How could the Town Master be so quick…
With a heavy expression, he quickly said, "Town Master, we just received a report that sixty-seven people from a large household in town have all died mysteriously! The town guards have already sealed off the scene; it's highly likely that demons are involved!"
Andrew's body shook violently, and a wave of anger surged within him!
Sixty-seven people, all dead!
"Let's go! To the scene!!"
Andrew immediately commanded, striding quickly outside.
The butler jogged to keep up, hesitating as he said, "Town Master, to be safe, should we call for the gentleman…"
Andrew's steps faltered. He glanced at the night sky and sighed softly, "Forget it, it's too late to disturb the gentleman now. Let's go check the situation first…"
"Understood…"
The two figures quickly disappeared into the night.
Meanwhile, in the backyard of the Town Master's Mansion.
Ambrose Lu sat alone in a pavilion, occasionally sipping wine. His eyes glowed with an eerie blue light as he quietly watched a certain direction in the town.
***
In the past, by this time, the residents of Moyu Town would have already turned off their lights and gone to bed. But tonight, the town was brightly lit!
An hour ago, a piercing scream had shattered the night, and everyone had heard it.
At this moment, a crowd of people stood in front of a mansion.
They looked pale as they stared at the mansion.
In front of the mansion, many town guards held torches and stood guard.
"What happened at the Qian Mansion? What was that scream about?"
"When we got here, the Qian Mansion was already surrounded by town guards. We couldn't get in, and the guards wouldn't say anything. How can we sleep with this hanging over us? Just thinking about that scream gives me chills."
"Didn't you notice? The Qian Mansion is deathly silent. Apart from the guards, there's no sound at all…"
***
As the townspeople discussed and speculated, the butler's voice rang out.
"Make way, the Town Master is here!"
The Town Master is here?!
The townspeople, as if finding their backbone, quickly looked over.
Sure enough, they saw Andrew Chen, expressionless, walking through the crowd towards the mansion.
"Town Master."
"Town Master."
***
The townspeople knelt and greeted him sincerely, showing that Andrew was quite beloved in Moyu Town.
Andrew and the butler reached the mansion's entrance and suddenly stopped. He turned to the townspeople and forced a smile, saying, "Everyone, please rise. Don't panic. I will go in and check the situation. I promise to give you all an explanation."
The townspeople were moved and nodded one after another. In their hearts, they sighed, thinking the Town Master was truly a good official.
Seeing that the townspeople were temporarily appeased, Andrew took a deep breath and, along with the butler and the head of the town guards, pushed open the door and stepped into the Qian Mansion.
With a "bang," the door closed again.
Silence fell, and everyone waited quietly.
***
As Andrew and his two companions stepped into the courtyard, they were met with the sight of corpses covered in white cloth…
Cold sweat broke out on Andrew's forehead as he scanned the area. Not one more, not one less—exactly sixty-seven bodies.
"Town Master, everyone in the Qian Mansion has been killed. All the bodies are here."
The head of the town guards bent slightly, reporting with a sense of guilt.
In his view, as the head of the town guards, he was responsible for the Qian Mansion being wiped out right under his nose.
Andrew asked in a serious tone, "Was it humans or demons?"
The head of the town guards hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said firmly, "Not humans."
Andrew took a deep breath and walked to the nearest corpse, squatting down to lift the white cloth.
A shriveled corpse appeared before the three of them.
The corpse's face was frozen in an expression of terror, and there were no wounds on its body…
Andrew swallowed hard and continued to uncover the second, third, and fourth corpses…
"Town Master, every corpse is the same—shriveled, as if drained of all blood, with expressions of terror. They must have seen something extremely horrifying before they died."
The head of the town guards explained, pursing his lips.
Andrew slowly stood up, his legs trembling. He looked around and said hoarsely, "Many towns in the eastern part of the Li Shui Empire have been plagued by demons… It seems our Moyu Town is next…"
The head of the town guards' eyes widened. How did he not know about this?
The butler said, "The news about the demon-plagued towns has been sealed off. The empire probably doesn't want to cause widespread panic and disrupt people's lives. The Town Master and I only heard about it through rumors a few days ago."
The head of the town guards stiffly nodded and said with difficulty, "Town Master… the demon is now in Moyu Town, and it might still be in the Qian Mansion! It could be watching us from the shadows right now…"
Upon hearing this, Andrew and the butler felt a chill run through their bodies as they looked around, feeling a sense of dread.
"And to kill sixty-seven people in such a short time, there must be more than one demon," the head of the town guards said seriously.
As the head of the town guards, he might not be able to fight demons, but he had years of experience in handling cases.
"More than one demon…" Andrew murmured.
The butler frowned and said, "Head of the town guards, if you think the demons are still in the Qian Mansion, why haven't they attacked us? We're mere mortals; they could kill us in an instant, right?"
Andrew's eyes lit up, and he pointed at the butler, saying, "That's right!"
He realized the butler was quick-witted!
The head of the town guards shook his head and chuckled, "Butler, you're mistaken."
Both the butler and Andrew were taken aback, and the head of the town guards continued, "Town Master and butler, you may not know, but after the demons appeared, the city and town guards have studied their habits. While demons can easily kill us mortals, they often enjoy striking from the shadows, relishing the element of surprise and the fear they create. Even though they have the power to destroy us, they prefer to toy with us like a cat with a mouse."
Andrew and the butler were stunned. They hadn't heard this before.
"Town Master, according to the head of the town guards, the demons enjoy keeping people in a state of fear, so they might not make a move anytime soon. But we can't be sure. What should we do next?" The butler looked at Andrew, whose brows were furrowed, and asked bitterly.
Not to mention, there were still many townspeople outside the Qian Mansion waiting for an explanation.
Andrew scanned the corpses, his eyes flickering. Then he looked towards the Town Master's Mansion and gritted his teeth, "Summon the gentleman!"
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan
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