Free Web NovelChapter 3: Chapter 3: Tragedy
A moment later, Li Xingyue led ten constables toward Yingchun Tower in the south of the city.
Gu Yun took Chief Zhao and ten other constables and headed for the vicinity of the Wang Family estate in the north.
Xiao Chen and the County Magistrate remained behind, guarding the County Magistrate’s Office.
The three locations weren’t far from each other, allowing the groups to provide timely support if needed.
The cold moon hung like frost, a slender hook in the sky.
As night fell, all of East Mountain County grew quiet.
By the time Gu Yun and his men arrived at the Wang Family’s grand courtyard, it was already too late.
The courtyard was drenched in blood. Dozens of bodies lay motionless on the ground—hearts had been gouged out, torsos were half-eaten, and some were missing arms and legs, apparently bitten off in a single crunch by some monster. Intestines spilled from abdominal wounds, a truly chilling sight.
Most of the men around him wore expressions of terror.
Gazing at the bloody scene before him, Gu Yun’s brow furrowed slightly.
’They haven’t been dead for long...’ The thought flashed through Gu Yun’s mind as he looked at the mutilated corpses in the pools of blood.
’Demon Fiends may be rare, but them eating people is a common tale. Still, witnessing such a tragedy firsthand is unsettling.’
’The state of the bodies looks more like the feeding style of some kind of beast,’ Gu Yun mused internally.
Suddenly, a young constable stepped forward, cupped his fists, and said, "Sir! We heard monstrous sounds coming from that mountain over there. The creature must be up on the mountain."
Gu Yun and the others immediately looked in the direction he was pointing. It was to the north of East Mountain County, where a great mountain stood tall and densely forested, shrouded in mist.
Gu Yun’s gaze sharpened as he turned to the remaining men. "Chief Zhao, you’re with me. Leave a few men to clean up here. The rest of you, go notify the County Magistrate’s Office and Yingchun Tower."
Chief Zhao nodded, his expression grave, and acted at once.
The two of them set off immediately. With a single movement, Gu Yun leaped into the air like a great bird taking flight, his form blurring into an afterimage.
A single step carried him dozens of yards. Within a few breaths, he had vanished from sight.
Gu Yun had fully unleashed his Wandering Dragon Step. It was unbelievably fast, leaving a trail of afterimages in his wake.
Graceful as a startled swan, supple as a swimming dragon—it was the perfect embodiment of the Wandering Dragon Step’s essence.
Chief Zhao followed behind, utterly shocked as he watched the figure shrink into the distance. "So fast..."
"Unspeakably fast!"
...
The mountain was high, the forest dense, the mist thick.
Gu Yun passed through the county town and quickly arrived at the foot of the mountain.
A large part of the mountain was shrouded in white mist.
Standing at its base, Gu Yun gazed up at the mist-filled forest.
’There’s Demon Qi...’
’It seems the creature is in here.’
Gu Yun’s nose twitched, his expression turning serious.
VMMMM—!
With a flash of light, Gu Yun’s Thunder Listening Saber materialized in his hand.
He gripped the saber tightly, his solemn gaze fixed on the misty forest ahead.
With a flicker of movement, Gu Yun plunged into the woods.
The mountain path was rugged and the mist was thick, severely limiting visibility. It was of little consequence to Gu Yun, however.
He pressed deeper into the forest, soon reaching the mountainside.
Amidst a thicket of thorns and dense fog, Gu Yun halted, his eyes scanning the mist-shrouded brambles.
With his powerful senses, he could faintly perceive the monster’s trail.
But he couldn’t pinpoint its location. The Demon Qi in the area was chaotic, and combined with the obstructive mist, his perception was somewhat limited.
GURGLE... A peculiar sound echoed from the depths of the misty woods.
Gu Yun’s ear twitched. He slashed out with his saber.
Over a dozen arcs of saber light soared into the air, converging in mid-flight like brilliant silver frost.
The light cleaved through the path ahead, scattering the mist.
The whistle of the saber light tore through the sky like the mournful cry of a night owl.
BOOM—! It struck something deep in the fog, and a strange, low-frequency thrumming sound followed.
Gu Yun’s gaze instantly hardened.
In the white fog blanketing the forest, a tall, dark figure flickered into view, moving rapidly.
Seeing the black shadow darting through the depths of the mist, Gu Yun’s saber became a blur, each slash faster than the last.
Dozens of saber flashes shot forward, blade light dazzling and Sword Qi running rampant.
Gradually, the shadow’s form became clear.
A monster, ten feet tall, slowly walked out. It was covered in black fur, with the head of a wolf and crimson eyes.
Gu Yun stood holding his Thunder Listening Saber, his gaze fixed forward. Beneath the night sky, a wind that wasn’t there began to stir, whipping his long hair about.
’It looks a bit like a Wolf Demon, but it isn’t. What in the world is this?’ The thought flashed through his mind.
But it was only a fleeting thought.
He saw that the wolf-like monster already bore dozens of saber wounds, none of them fatal, and the damage was already starting to heal.
’A little interesting,’ Gu Yun thought to himself.
The monster charged, and Gu Yun met it without hesitation, swinging his saber.
The two clashed head-on. BOOM! A crosswind erupted around them.
The saber met claws as hard as iron, letting out a clear, metallic ring.
Gu Yun didn’t overthink it. He simply swung the Thunder Listening Saber even faster, a series of afterimages tearing through the air as he unleashed lightning-fast slashes at the Demon Wolf.
Thunderous arcs of blade light linked together, forming a denser net of light than before, like countless bolts of lightning intertwined.
The Demon Wolf suddenly spat a ball of black energy at Gu Yun.
Gu Yun dodged the attack with an exquisite Body Technique. The ball of black energy struck a large tree behind him, instantly piercing a hole straight through it.
Gu Yun hesitated no longer. He instantly unleashed his Wind and Thunder Saber Technique, and the air filled with the crackling sizzle of Thunder.
Wind and Thunder Saber Technique, First Form: "Wind-Rolling Thunder-Running." The Sword Momentum in Gu Yun’s hands became a raging tempest, the light from his saber like a thousand bolts of lightning, momentarily illuminating the vast, dark night.
The Demon Wolf’s head flew into the air.
The Demon Wolf’s hard skull was split open. A long gash tore down the middle of its ten-foot-tall frame, and its massive body split in two from the center, like a log cleaved by an axe.
Organs and blood sprayed outwards.
The Thunderous Blade Qi that had passed through its body sliced through all the trees in the immediate vicinity. The lingering Thunder energy still sizzled and crackled.
Having suffered such a devastating blow, the Demon Wolf was as dead as could be.
But this creature was different from the Demon Fiends in Gu Yun’s memory. It didn’t seem to be a true Demon Fiend.
Not far away, Chief Zhao, who had just arrived, stared at the scene of utter devastation—the ground was cracked, shattered rocks were strewn about, and trees lay splintered.
He couldn’t help but gasp, his heart flooding with shock.
’The prodigies of the Profound Celestial Sect are just too powerful. I thought a disciple of the Profound Celestial Sect would be stronger than me, but that there’d be a limit to it.’
’I never imagined they could be *this* powerful.’
Chief Zhao stepped forward respectfully, cupped his fists, and said, "Sir, have you already slain the Demon Fiend?"
Gu Yun nodded lightly. "However, this doesn’t seem to be a Demon Fiend."
"Sir, then could it be a Demon Beast?" Chief Zhao’s voice had barely faded when...
...a sense of foreboding struck Gu Yun. He felt a wave of danger approaching.
He quickly yelled at Chief Zhao, "Look out! Danger! Get back!"
Suddenly, a dark green attack shot out from the depths of the forest, hurtling toward the two of them.
