Free Web NovelChapter 20: Chapter 20: Slaying the Demon Beast
The next afternoon, the four of them left the market’s east gate and headed toward the Spirit Field District.
All four were fully prepared, having brought along supplies for harvesting materials from a Demon Beast.
They had discovered traces of a Demon Beast the day before. Wang De’s instructions were to investigate the situation as quickly as possible and deal with it if they could.
As they reached the southern edge of the Spirit Field District, a Spirit Farmer hurried over to greet them from a distance.
"Deputy Li, there was more activity last night! A patch of rice in the southern fields was trampled again, and it’s worse than the day before yesterday. Several whole rows are flattened."
Li Yuan crouched down to take a look. The new claw prints were identical to the previous ones.
The trail of destruction stretched from the field ridges to the edge of the wild grasslands, leading in the same direction as the flattened patch of grass they had found yesterday.
"It’s getting more active." Li Yuan straightened up and pulled the Spirit Detecting Disc from his sleeve.
He held the bronze-colored disc in his palm, infused it with Spiritual Power, and extended his perception.
The auras of his three companions were clearly discernible. In the direction of the Spirit Field District, the scattered auras of Spirit Farmers were faint and intermittent. And further beyond—
Deep within the southern grasslands, there was a dense fluctuation of Spiritual Qi.
It wasn’t far—about thirty zhang straight ahead, almost right where they had found the flattened grass yesterday.
"Something’s there." Li Yuan’s voice was low, his tone steady. "Directly south, about thirty zhang away."
The breathing of his three companions hitched in unison.
Zhou Dazhuang’s right hand gripped his short sword Magical Artifact, Xu Mao took half a step forward, and a look of both nervousness and excitement crossed Lin Xiaowu’s face.
"Follow me."
Li Yuan put away the Spirit Detecting Disc and led the three south along the field ridges. The waist-high wild grass parted and closed around them, the dry yellow blades scraping against their patrol uniforms with a soft RUSTLE.
Twenty zhang past the edge of the Spirit Field District, the wild grass ahead suddenly grew shorter.
Then, a large, dark-green thing appeared before them. Its four legs were curled under its belly, its flat head rested on its forelimbs, and its long tail lay lazily behind it, looking like a large, moss-covered boulder.
On all fours, its frame was a size larger than Li Yuan had anticipated, with a shoulder height that nearly reached his waist.
Its body was covered in dark green scales that gleamed with an oily sheen in the afternoon sun. The grayish-white webbing between its toes perfectly matched the claw prints in the Spirit Field District.
It was sleeping.
The Spiritual Qi reading from the Spirit Detecting Disc had been clear—much denser than that of a Qi Refining Third Level cultivator, roughly equivalent to the Mid-stage Qi Refining realm.
Tier One Middle Grade.
Li Yuan stopped and gestured to the three behind him.
Zhou Dazhuang and Xu Mao fanned out, using the wild grass as cover to circle around to the Demon Beast’s flanks. Lin Xiaowu stayed behind Li Yuan, ready to provide ranged support.
’Four of them surrounding a single Tier One Middle Grade beast. As long as there are no mishaps, there should be no real danger.’
’The key is not to let it escape.’
Li Yuan condensed Spiritual Power in his palm, and a fist-sized Fireball took shape.
With his Expert Level Fireball Technique, it took less than two breaths to gather Spiritual Power and form the spell.
The moment Zhou Dazhuang and Xu Mao were in position, Li Yuan released it.
The Fireball left his hand, trailing a short tail of flame as it shot straight for the Demon Beast’s flank.
The Demon Beast abruptly sprang up from the ground, letting out a low, piercing roar.
But it was too late.
BANG.
A bright flame exploded against the dark green scales, charring them black. The Demon Beast’s roar grew even louder.
On the left, Zhou Dazhuang charged forward head-on, his short sword glowing faintly as he slashed at the joint of the Demon Beast’s hind leg. The blade struck the scaled armor with the sharp ring of metal on stone, leaving a deep white gash that seemed tinged with red.
The Demon Beast whipped its flat head around, its heavy skull slamming into Zhou Dazhuang’s shoulder. Li Yuan clearly heard the CRACK of bone as Zhou Dazhuang was sent stumbling back several steps, sword and all. freēwēbnovel.com
Zhou Dazhuang staggered but didn’t fall, managing to plant his feet firmly. His face had gone pale.
Lin Xiaowu circled to the rear, formed a hand seal, and an ice cone shot from his fingertips, embedding itself in the Demon Beast’s hind limb.
Li Yuan used this opening to duck down, conjure a second Fireball, and hurl it at the Demon Beast’s abdomen.
The Demon Beast was turning its head to deal with Xu Mao, who was circling around from behind, leaving its flank completely exposed.
The attack came from an extremely low angle, striking the thinnest part of the scales at the base of its foreleg.
BOOM.
The searing blast wave sent dirt and shredded grass flying.
The Demon Beast let out a sharp shriek. Its foreleg gave way, and its heavy body slumped to the right.
Forcing himself to take a breath, Zhou Dazhuang swung his short sword, aiming for the gap in the scaled armor blasted open by the Fireball. The blade sank in half an inch, and dark red blood gushed from the wound.
The Demon Beast struggled to get back up, but Li Yuan had already charged to its front.
A third Fireball formed in his palm and was smashed right into the Demon Beast’s open mouth.
A muffled explosion echoed from deep within its throat.
The Demon Beast’s body convulsed violently a few times. Its four legs pawed at the ground, and its long tail slapped weakly against the wild grass twice.
Then, it went still.
From the first Fireball to the finish, no more than thirty breaths had passed.
All was quiet. The air filled with the smell of scorched flesh and the stench of Demon Beast blood.
"Is it dead?" Lin Xiaowu called out from a distance, his voice still tinged with excitement.
Xu Mao walked up and kicked the Demon Beast’s abdomen. After confirming it wasn’t breathing, he nodded.
"We’re going to get a good number of Spirit Stones from this, right?"
Zhou Dazhuang sheathed his short sword, clutching his injured shoulder with his right hand. He moved it a couple of times, grimacing in pain but not making a sound.
"Let’s break it down."
The four of them started to dismantle the Demon Beast—hide, bones, and blood. A complete set of materials from a Tier One Middle Grade beast was no small sum.
During the process, Li Yuan’s fingers touched the hide, bones, and other materials in succession.
The panel remained silent, showing no reaction.
’Just like the Demon Beast materials I touched back in the market, these remains and fragments don’t meet the conditions for equipment.’
The materials were distributed according to contribution. Li Yuan took the scaled hide and some of the bones, Zhou Dazhuang received most of the bones, and Xu Mao and Lin Xiaowu each took a portion of the other materials and the blood.
There wasn’t much meat, so they simply divided it amongst themselves.
After returning to the market, Li Yuan first went to the station to report to Wang De.
"Tier One Middle Grade, some kind of lizard. Don’t know what it’s called. It’s been dealt with."
Wang De nodded after listening, not asking for details about the fight.
"The Spirit Field District should be safe for now. You led the team to hunt the Demon Beast, so how were the materials divided?"
"We divided it based on headcount and contribution."
"Alright. The management office will issue the mission reward; all four of you will get a share. It won’t be many Spirit Stones, mostly Contribution Points."
Li Yuan acknowledged and left the station.
「The next day」
Li Yuan took the beast hide and bones to the market’s East Street.
He asked for prices at several of the older stalls on East Street before finally selling them to a Loose Cultivator who specialized in buying Demon Beast materials.
In total, he sold them for fourteen Spirit Stones. Adding that to what he already had, the pouch in his sleeve felt heavy—fuller than it had been at any point since he’d transmigrated.
In the afternoon, he went to the management office to collect the mission reward—two Spirit Stones and eight Contribution Points, which wasn’t a large amount.
「Over the next few days」
Li Yuan patrolled as usual.
The number of people in the market continued to increase. The stalls on East Street and North Alley were already packed solid, and even the corners of a few side alleys had been claimed by newly arrived Loose Cultivators.
The minor disputes he encountered during his patrols had also become more frequent.
That afternoon, in the middle of North Alley, two Loose Cultivators had a falling out over a transaction.
The buyer claimed the goods weren’t as described, while the seller insisted the sale was final with no refunds or exchanges. Their argument escalated from words to shoves, and the goods of a nearby stall were knocked over.
When Li Yuan arrived, the buyer was grabbing the seller by the collar. The seller was desperately clutching the Spirit Stone pouch in his robes with one hand while pushing the buyer’s face away with the other.
"Let go."
Li Yuan flashed his waist token. When the two of them saw the words "Deputy Captain" engraved on it, they both froze for a moment.
The buyer let go first, pointing angrily at the seller. "The Qi Nourishing Pill he sold me is the wrong color! It’s a shade lighter than normal. It’s clearly an inferior product."
The seller stuffed the Spirit Stone pouch back into his robes and stuck his neck out. "You looked at it before you paid. What’s the meaning of backing out now?"
"That’s because you smeared something on it," the buyer retorted.
Li Yuan held out his hand, and the buyer handed him the pill.
It was a dark yellow pellet. The medicinal aroma was indeed a bit faint, and there were several fine lines on its surface.
’This quality isn’t uncommon in the market. Since the herb shortage began, the quality of refined pills has generally declined. It isn’t technically a fake, but it’s definitely inferior to the pills from before.’
Li Yuan looked at the seller. "Refund him one Spirit Stone, and we’ll call it even."
The seller opened his mouth to argue, but closed it after meeting Li Yuan’s gaze. He reluctantly took out a Spirit Stone and slapped it into the buyer’s hand.
The buyer took the Spirit Stone, muttered a few words, and left.
The owner of the overturned stall was crouching on the ground picking up his things. Li Yuan helped him retrieve a few miscellaneous items that had rolled far away, then dusted off his hands.
’Disputes like this have been happening more and more lately.’
’Herb prices are up, pill quality is down, and buyers and sellers have mismatched expectations. Friction is the natural result.’
’On top of that, the market is crammed with too many people. The stalls are crowded, the aisles are narrow—collisions are inevitable.’
Li Yuan took note of these circumstances and continued walking down North Alley.
