Chapter Ten: Zhao Family Village (Please follow and recommend!)

The rain intensified, pounding the roof of the carriage with a relentless drumming. Su Ye sat upright inside, silent, his mind turning over the details Gao Yuan had told him about Zhao Village. According to Gao Yuan, the monster plaguing Zhao Village had not come of its own accord; rather, it was the villagers who had provoked it, inciting its wrath and causing it to linger stubbornly in their midst.

“Master, Zhao Village is just ahead,” Gao Yuan’s voice called out suddenly. Su Ye drew back the curtain and peered outside, glimpsing the village emerging through the gloomy rain—that was Zhao Village.

Su Ye quietly reached out with his senses and indeed detected traces of lingering demonic aura in the damp air. It was faint, which was proof enough that the creature causing trouble here was not a particularly powerful one. This realization eased Su Ye’s heart somewhat; his own strength was still limited, and he was in no condition to face a formidable demon.

“Take me to see the villagers who have been killed by the monster,” Su Ye instructed softly, letting the curtain fall.

“The bodies of those slain by the monster are kept in an old abandoned house at the edge of the village. I’ll take you there at once, Master,” Gao Yuan replied, urging the carriage forward until they reached the place where the corpses were kept.

“We’ve arrived, Master!” Gao Yuan announced quietly, opening the carriage curtain and holding a large oil-paper umbrella against the rain.

“You go on ahead,” Su Ye replied with a smile as he stepped down from the carriage. With a subtle gesture, he cast a water-repelling spell, causing a transparent veil to shimmer into existence around him, shielding him from the rain.

The Su family guards and villagers of Zhao Village, who were gathered outside the mortuary, looked on in astonishment. In the eyes of ordinary folk like Gao Yuan, even such simple spells were nothing short of immortals’ magic. Su Ye would occasionally display such abilities before them, a subtle reminder to keep their hearts loyal.

“Immortal, please, save us—save the people of Zhao Village!” came the desperate pleas.

“That monster has tormented us for so long—eleven of our villagers have already fallen to it. You must destroy that fiend!”

…

Inside the mortuary, the villagers began to wail as they witnessed Su Ye’s magic. They fell to their knees before him, their faces alight with hope.

“Stand up, all of you,” Su Ye said calmly. “Whether I can destroy this monster or not, I must first see those who have died.” He did not give them a direct promise. Though he had come for the monster, he now suspected that the villagers themselves had much to answer for.

“Master, the corpses are in the next room. Allow me to show you,” offered a fair-faced young man, leading Su Ye into the adjacent chamber.

Although it was already mid-autumn, the weather remained stifling, especially with the oppressive rains of recent days. The air in the room was thick with the stench of death from the bodies that had lain there for some time.

“Master, these are the villagers slain by the demon. This one was the first to die…” The young man pointed to each corpse in turn, explaining their times of death.

Su Ye’s gaze swept over the corpses, his expression growing puzzled. Usually, a monster would kill to devour the flesh and thus gain power. Yet here, the demon had merely killed and left the bodies untouched.

“Claw marks, bite wounds—the injuries aren’t severe. It must be a creature of small stature,” Su Ye noted as he examined the most recent victim. The man’s face was a mangled ruin, torn by sharp talons.

Even in the disfigured features, terror and agony were etched deep, proof that the monster had not killed swiftly but had tormented its victim first.

“It must be a lynx or something like it,” Su Ye mused aloud. He turned to the young man. “Do you know what kind of monster it was?”

“Master, none of us have seen it attack. By the time we find the bodies, the creature has already vanished,” the youth replied, frowning slightly. “But when we asked the villagers, though they claimed not to know, we suspect they do.”

That matched what Gao Yuan had said. Su Ye pondered—every victim was a young or middle-aged man, all dying in agony, as if deliberately tortured.

All these oddities were enough to prove that something was amiss with the people of Zhao Village themselves.

“Go and fetch the village head. I have questions for him,” Su Ye instructed softly.

“The village head is already dead—he was the first to be killed by the monster,” the young man replied, pointing to a corpse whose features were no longer recognizable.

“Then bring whoever is in charge now,” Su Ye said, glancing at the body before leaving the mortuary.

Zhao Village was inhabited entirely by the Zhao clan. The previous village head had also been the clan patriarch. Now, with the monster still at large, the elders of the clan governed the village.

These elders were all advanced in years, and with the recent rain, none had come to the mortuary. Su Ye’s arrival had not been announced, so the elders remained at home, unaware.

At Su Ye’s command, the young man and several Su family guards hurried into the downpour to fetch the elders.

After they left, Su Ye’s gaze fell on the villagers who stood watch in the mortuary—mostly women.

Upon inquiry, he learned that the men slain by the monster were their husbands and sons.

“Do you know what kind of demon is haunting your village?” Su Ye asked gently.

At his question, the women who had been weeping fell silent, exchanging glances before answering that they did not know.

Su Ye sighed quietly. Their reaction confirmed they knew what the creature was, yet for some reason, they chose to hide the truth even now.

He decided not to press further, waiting instead for the Su family guards to return with the village elders.

The guards worked quickly, and soon, several of Zhao Village’s elders, hearing that someone from the Su family had come, hurried to the mortuary.

“Guard Liu, you said the young master of the Su family was here. Why don’t I see him?” asked an old man in a brocade robe, glancing around the room with a puzzled look at the guard who had brought him.