Chapter 20: Abrupt

Thump!

The arrow heavily struck down the deer.

“Great! Finally caught a prey!”

The soldier happily rushed over.

Grass, trees, creek.

Got it…

No!

The soldier sensed something wrong and stepped back a few steps.

Crack, crack!

The deer in front of him actually emitted a horrifying sound of joints colliding.

The next second, it instantly lunged at him!

“Wait… no no, please spare me!”

The soldier was firmly bitten on the shoulder by that deer.

The existence before him filled him with immense terror.

That deer was disgusting and ferocious, its eyes oozing bloody liquid, its mouth full of blood-stained fangs, its neck twisted three times, and its hooves eerily grew human hands that were still tearing at him violently.

“Help! Help! Help!”

The soldier had thought it was prey.

Little did he know.

That was a demon’s disguise.

….

Inside the Mian Yang King’s palace.

At this moment, Jia Sha had already left in haste.

Yao Xing looked at the whistle on the table, then at Lushan Miaomiao and Mao beside her.

“Take this whistle, you two.”

Hearing this, Mao glanced at Miaomiao’s expression.

Then without waiting for Miaomiao’s consent, Mao handed the whistle to Yao Xing: “You take it! Lady Miaomiao doesn’t need support.”

Yao Xing was stunned for a moment, then understandingly took the whistle.

‘Is the hero of Luyuan really that strong?’

‘But that’s fine. With this whistle, I can more easily seize opportunities later.’

Thinking this, Yao Xing stood up, nodded at them, and left.

Only Miaomiao and Mao remained.

Miaomiao wanted to stop Yao Xing, but the other didn’t see: ‘Oh no… I hope I didn’t make her angry… Besides, this whistle is like a life-saving charm… I should have spoken up and accepted it…’

Mao watched Miaomiao’s reaction and immediately understood her mistake: “Sorry, I was too impulsive…”

Sigh—

Miaomiao shook her head helplessly, also standing up: “It’s okay. Let’s go find a place to stay for the night.”

The rain had passed and the sky cleared. Mao quickly regained her cheerfulness: “Finally we get to this part! I’ve been waiting for you for so long, Lady Miaomiao! This time, I want to go with you—”

“Stop. Calm down.”

Miaomiao looked troubled.

How was her attendant such a problematic child?

….

They traveled until dawn.

Xu, Anuo, and Yao Xing had already gathered for a long time.

“We can’t find any trace of the demon at all.”

Anuo was scratching his head in frustration.

This half of Mian Yang had been covered with his teleportation magic, but not a single demon shadow was seen.

Yao Xing was equally puzzled: “Actually, are the demons not inside Mian Yang?”

After thinking, Xu spoke: “Actually, just now, the frontline camp reported a deer eating a person incident, but that deer ran away immediately, leaving only a half-body victim.”

‘Deer eating people?!’

Xu nodded: “So this is most likely the demon disguised, because witnesses all said that deer was weird—its neck twisted three times, eyes flowing with bloody liquid, drooling profusely, full of sharp teeth, and even its hands and feet were still human.”

Yao Xing listened to all this with some surprise.

If the creature Xu described wasn’t a rumor but real, then the weirdness of this deer was unimaginable—a truly physiologically uncomfortable existence.

But this precisely proved it—because such a zombie-like being couldn’t exist in this world, this deer was one hundred percent a demon’s disguise.

“Since there are demons who disguise… it wouldn’t be strange for them to walk freely among people.”

….

At the Mian Yang frontline.

Jia Sha had his hands clasped, mourning for the soldier whose body had been brutally torn apart by the deer.

“The same method… Did you think turning into an animal would let you escape pursuit?!”

Jia Sha’s eyes turned red with anger.

“Whether it’s the minister’s death or the tragic state of all the soldiers so far, they are all the work of the same demon!”

With this thought, there was finally progress.

“That demon must have the ability to disguise itself, and its strength must not be low.”

Jia Sha sat in the camp, looking at the comrades crying beside that soldier.

The soldier beside him was also dejected, but he held back his grief and poured tea for Jia Sha.

“Thank you.”

He lifted the tea to his lips.

Perhaps due to the harsh environment, the tea was somewhat murky.

A bitter smell stung his nostrils.

Crash!

The tea was smashed onto the ground.

“Pfft!”

Jia Sha angrily grabbed the neck of the soldier beside him, veins bulging from the force.

The other soldiers were all startled.

“Why did you poison the tea! Do you really think I can’t smell it?!”

“Hehe…”

At the moment of suffocation, that soldier smiled, then revealed the demon’s form.

“So the hero is different. Assassination failed…”

As soon as he saw the demon’s form, Jia Sha no longer held back, violently gripping the demon’s neck, determined to kill him in one blow.

The demon still tried to struggle.

The surrounding atmosphere instantly became still.

Jia Sha no longer held back.

His entire body was instantly covered in purple aura, and his right hand gripping the demon’s neck turned into a deep black claw.

“Die, you damn beast!”

….

Night arrived again.

Time passed so quickly.

Even Miaomiao and Mao joined the patrol.

But still no trace of the demon.

Yao Xing sat helplessly on the street.

“What’s going on… Not a single sign…”

Xu slowly arrived, shaking his head to show he also found nothing: “No casualties nearby either. It’s peaceful.”

Just then, Miaomiao and Mao came side by side.

Mao said helplessly: “We went to the Mian Yang King, but there were layers of guards, a 24-hour rotating death watch. We couldn’t get close at all.”

‘The Mian Yang King’s place can be considered a safe zone for now.’

Xu said: “There’s another thing that’s thought-provoking… The Mian Yang King. He shouldn’t be a tyrant, but facing the current situation, he has sealed himself up, completely ignoring the people’s survival.”

Mao asserted: “Obviously, this Mian Yang King is afraid of death—a coward! Lady Miaomiao wanted to see him in person, and he wouldn’t even come out! He left us hanging there!”

“And we came specifically to help Mian Yang as reinforcements!”

Listening to Mao’s anger, the silent Miaomiao felt a bit called out: ‘Cowardice… fear of death… If Mao knew I was also like that, would she talk about me like this after her disillusionment…’

Thinking this, Miaomiao shook her head.

Mao looked at her with confusion.

Then Yao Xing took out the whistle: “Since I have the whistle, let’s set up a meeting point, shall we?”

“If anyone encounters the demon, we’ll meet at the council hall. I’ll hide the whistle there.”

Hearing this plan, everyone nodded.

“By the way, where is Anuo?”

Frontline report!

Frontline report!

Terrible news!

Terrible news!

The newsboy ran around in panic.

Anuo also jumped out from the ground, his face full of fear.

Seeing this, Yao Xing asked urgently: “What happened? Did something happen at the frontline again?!”

Anuo spoke briefly: “This is bad, bad!”

“Jia Sha was attacked by a demon at the frontline!”

“He died!!”