The sound of a wolf's head crashing into the mountain ravine echoed from afar.
Mu Qingyao turned back to look.
From behind the coffin-shaped wooden house, thousands of pitch-black crows rose into the sky!
These carrion-eating crows only haunted mass graves littered with dry bones. Their appearance in such large numbers could only mean one thing.
The ravine was piled high with endless skeletons!
With her heart full of shock, Mu Qingyao followed Yun Que down the mountain.
Along the way, the little Princess's mind raced.
In the decisive war between the previous Yan Dynasty and the Northern Territory's Demon Capital, both sides had suffered heavy losses. The Emperor had died in battle, and every single elite warrior in the army had perished. The Great Yan Dynasty's vitality had been exhausted, its sun setting, and it was soon replaced by the Jin State.
Although the Demon Capital had fallen, countless demons still remained within the Jin State. Therefore, following the precedent of the former dynasty, the Jin State established the Tianshu Bureau to handle special cases involving evil spirits and demonic phenomena.
Yet within the Jin State's Tianshu Bureau, there was no Slayer Division.
It was not that they were unwilling to establish one, but that they could not recruit the extraordinary experts who had once filled the former dynasty's Slayer Division.
According to historical records, the former dynasty's Slayer Division gathered a group of mysterious martial artists. Unlike ordinary martial artists, their vital energy was immensely powerful and their combat strength astonishing. The strongest among them could even rely on their physical bodies alone to battle demons, making a living specifically by hunting down evil spirits in exchange for generous rewards.
The people of the Slayer Division had a peculiar tradition: once a person became a demon slayer, they had to build their own grave first.
They would construct a magnificent, imposing tomb for themselves, and then leave behind a lock of their hair to represent their future rest in that very place.
For the people of the Slayer Division, there was only one ultimate destination.
To die in battle!
The kind where not even bones remain!
During the great war fifteen years ago, the Great Yan Slayer Division had been the main force opposing the Demon Capital. In the end, they were completely wiped out, perishing alongside the Emperor.
From that moment on, the fearsome Slayer Division was reduced to mere lines of text in the history books.
Looking at the long-legged youth in black striding ahead, Mu Qingyao had never imagined that she would actually witness a descendant of the former dynasty's Slayer Division!
A surge of hope sprouted and grew wildly in her heart, like weeds in spring.
While the Tianshu Bureau of present-day Jin could boast of having numerous experts, when faced with rampaging evil spirits everywhere, they could only struggle to cope. Most of the time, their goal was simply to drive the demons back, and it was exceedingly difficult to completely eradicate them.
This created the awkward dilemma of pressing down the gourd only for the floating pod to bob back up.
Drive away one wave of demons, and they would soon appear in another place, leaving innocent commoners slaughtered all the same.
But the Slayer Division of the former dynasty was different!
As the name suggested, the Slayer Division practiced the principle of total extermination.
Whenever an evil spirit was discovered, they would hunt it down at any cost, rooting it out entirely until not a single one was left!
If the Jin State could also form a Slayer Division similar to that of the former dynasty, the ordinary people of Dajin would have another path to survival. They would no longer have to wait year after year for the illusory Demon-Subduing Array, only to end up with endless regret.
No one understood the difficulty of building a Demon-Subduing Array better than Mu Qingyao.
Not only was it time-consuming, labor-intensive, and a drain on both people and money, but the Nine-Turn Spirit Flower required for it appeared perhaps once in a century. Since she was six years old, she had traveled far and wide in search of the spirit flower, enduring countless dangers over more than a decade just to find a single one.
And that was only because her luck was good enough; otherwise, it would be hard to trace the shadow of a single spirit flower even in several decades.
Even if one was found, it might not necessarily be harvested.
Because the Nine-Turn Spirit Flower was a rare and peerless heavenly treasure, powerful evil spirits usually lurked nearby.
The battle for the previous spirit flower had cost the lives of over a dozen Tianshu Bureau experts, heavily injured dozens more, and sacrificed the lives of a thousand elite members of the Imperial Guard.
On the descent down the mountain, Mu Qingyao's mind was filled entirely with the three words "Slayer Division." By the time she snapped back to her senses, she had already walked into a small town.
***
Chapter 3: The Double Strange Case
Cangshi Town was located on the border of the Jin State, under the jurisdiction of Zhiyuan County.
The town was small, and its streets were unpaved earth, made somewhat muddy by the heavy rain of the previous night.
There were few pedestrians on the street.
However, the breakfast stalls in the town were already packed to capacity.
Mu Qingyao observed the people eating breakfast; they were all rugged men in coarse cloth garments, their hands covered in calluses.
These men were all laborers.
Mu Qingyao remembered that there was a jade mine in Cangshi Town, and quite a few jade artifacts in the Imperial City came from this place.
Walking up to a steamed bun stall, the aroma of meat buns immediately wafted over.
Mu Qingyao glanced at the steaming bamboo steamer cages, quickly withdrawing her gaze to maintain the dignity of a Princess.
Yet her stomach let out a rebellious, rumbling growl.
Fortunately, there were many people around, so no one heard it.
"Make some room."
Yun Que stood behind a table completely packed with laborers, his voice cold and indifferent.
"Can't you see it's all full? What room are you asking for! If you come late, squat outside and eat!"
A lean man turned his head to look, then immediately changed his tune. "Oh! Brother Yun! Come, come, I've got space here, sit down, sit down!"
The group of laborers scrambled to their feet to give up their seats, leaving not a single one behind. They squatted in a row at the corner of the bun stall, holding their large bowls and continuing to eat.
"Two steamers of meat buns."
Yun Que sat down and tapped on the table.
The bun stall owner immediately brought the two steamers of buns originally intended for another table and set them right in front of Yun Que.
The whole process was smooth and natural. Neither the owner nor the diners whose buns had been hijacked felt anything was amiss; no one raised any objections.
In Mu Qingyao's impression, this kind of arrogant swagger was something only the young masters of the Imperial City could pull off.
Yet she noticed that the surrounding laborers, including the owner of the bun stall, felt no fear toward Yun Que—only a deep sense of respect.
Respect from the bottom of their hearts.
Mu Qingyao picked up a piping-hot meat bun and took a small bite.
It was very delicious.
Just as the little Princess was savoring the delicious flavor of her first bun, Yun Que had already polished off half a steamer.
"Their family's buns are the absolute best in town. They only sell a fixed quantity every day; once they're sold out, you have to wait until tomorrow. Eating like you do, you deserve to starve."
Yun Que wolfed down his food while staring fixedly at the steamer of buns in front of Mu Qingyao, his eyes glowing like a hungry wolf.
Mu Qingyao immediately shielded her buns and sped up her eating.
She found it somewhat baffling herself: as a Princess, why on earth was she exhibiting such a defensive behavior over food?
It was utterly unpresumptuous.
Yet the buns were truly delicious...
There was a lane of commoners in the town, home to impoverished families.
At the very end of the lane stood a small courtyard with half-man-high dilapidated walls and an old, run-down shack. It was built higher at the front and lower at the back, with a doorway that was wide at the top and narrow at the bottom.
The small courtyard was impeccably clean, with short white wild flowers growing in the corner.
This was Yun Que's home.
Stepping into the courtyard, Mu Qingyao had the eerie feeling of walking into a mourning hall.
Yun Que stopped in front of the door.
"I'm home. If you have nowhere else to go, you can stay here, but not for too long."
"I can pay, and I don't care about my reputation either. You don't need to have so many misgivings," Mu Qingyao said.
"It's not a question of whether *you* care; it's *me* who cares."
Frowning, Yun Que said, "If you stay for a day or two, the neighbors will think I brought back a courtesan. If you stay too long, they'll think I brought back a wife. After a while, when you leave, what am I supposed to do about my reputation? Am I supposed to tell people my wife ran away?"
Mu Qingyao was momentarily stunned, completely at a loss for words.
"Brother Yun! You're finally back!"
A loud roar echoed from outside the courtyard as a middle-aged man in the uniform of a bailiff barged in.
The newcomer was Wu Dachuan, the chief bailiff of Cangshi Town.
Rushing over in a fiery panic, Wu Dachuan blurted out, "We're in trouble! The magistrate has gained a daughter!"
"That's great news. When's the banquet? The old rules: cough five times facing the outside of the wall after the third dish—three long and two short," Yun Que said.
Finding this bizarre, Mu Qingyao asked, "Why cough five times, and why must it be after the third dish?"
Wu Dachuan blurted out without thinking:
"Because after the third dish is when the host is at their busiest, and whoever's keeping the accounts usually gets careless. To put it bluntly, it's the prime opportunity to eat for free... Bah! It's not that he had a baby girl, it's that he suddenly has a daughter who looks exactly like Xiaocuier! A strange case has happened at the magistrate's household!"
Hearing about the double strange case, the little Princess's curiosity was piqued, and she blinked her bright, beautiful eyes as she looked at Yun Que.
What made Mu Qingyao curious wasn't just the case itself; she was even more curious about why, when a strange case occurred in the yamen, the bailiffs didn't investigate it themselves, but instead came running to find Yun Que first.
Yun Que lazily remarked, "Isn't it great to have an extra daughter? In the future, you get a double dowry. Magistrate Ma is so greedy for money that his hands must be soft from collecting it."
With a bitter expression, Wu Dachuan groaned, "Soft hands? Right now, Magistrate Ma's legs are soft; he can barely stand! Brother Yun, you'd better go take a look quickly. He's waiting for you to save his life."
Yun Que replied, "Brother Wu is joking. If you invite me to eat, I'll definitely be there. A strange case like this sounds terrifying, and I don't hold any official post—just an ordinary commoner. It's better to stay far away from such things."
Wu Dachuan protested, "Brother Yun is no ordinary commoner! You're a man of the yamen too! Didn't the magistrate promote you the year before last? Now you're a bailiff just like me!"
Yun Que countered, "Can you and I be the same? You're a chief bailiff with a salary of at least ten taels of silver a month. The magistrate promoted me to be a coroner; not only is there no salary, but I also have to deal with corpses. Inspecting a single corpse pays a mere hundred copper coins, and ten corpses get you one tael of silver. If I wanted to catch up to your salary, Cangshi Town would have to have at least a hundred people die every month, over a thousand dead a year, for ten years..."
Wu Dachuan interrupted, "Don't—don't talk about ten years! If people keep dying at that rate, in less than two years all the living people in town will have packed up and left."
Mu Qingyao finally understood. Yun Que actually had another job as the town's coroner.
In the Jin State, although coroners belonged to the government and were considered yamen runners, they held no official rank whatsoever. They inspected corpses for money—to put it bluntly, they were temporary workers, no different from the night watchmen who patrolled the streets, the grooms who fed the horses, or the kitchen hands who cooked the meals.
Moreover, the profession of a coroner was exceedingly difficult to staff.
After all, dealing with corpses—what normal person wouldn't find it taboo?
Most coroners were elderly men with one foot in the grave who no longer cared, and there were virtually no young, able-bodied men in this line of work.
The night watchmen patrolled at night and had plenty of time during the day; the grooms fed horses and could glean a fair amount of fodder; the kitchen hands went without saying—each and every one of them pot-bellied and well-fed.
Only the coroner could not scrape together even a sliver of grease or profit.
Whenever a murder case occurred and a corpse appeared, the yamen folks had already gone through it with a fine-tooth comb, leaving behind not even a decent piece of clothing. By the time it reached the coroner, he was left with sleeves as clean as the wind, and keeping a rag to preserve their modesty was already considered lucky.
Of course, it wasn't entirely without perks.
If you had a bit of luck, you might just bump into a ghost.
"Everyone to their own duty, everyone minds their own business. When Magistrate Ma becomes a corpse, I'll definitely handle things strictly by the book and help him inspect it thoroughly."
With that, Yun Que turned on his heel and walked away.
Not knowing where Yun Que was headed, Mu Qingyao had no choice but to follow.
Accustomed to Yun Que's temperament, Wu Dachuan was anxious yet unangered, trotting along beside him with a ingratiating smile and offering endless persuasion.
Turning a deaf ear, Yun Que headed straight for the market.
He bought nothing else, hunting exclusively for eggs.
The market in Cangshi Town was extremely lively, bustling with people from the early morning.
There were vendors selling mountain goods, fur coats, jewelry, snacks, and even sons and daughters—you name it, they had it.
As they passed a pork stall, a butcher missing one hand insisted on shoving two catties of pork belly into Yun Que's hands, refusing to take money no matter what.
"If it weren't for Brother Yun going to the mine last year, not many of us old miners would have survived! At that time, I swore that even if I changed trades, everything would be free for Brother Yun from then on! Selling noodles is free, selling pork is free, and selling myself is free too!"
The pork vendor chuckled heartily.
"You'd better stick to selling pork. If you sell yourself, I certainly won't come to your business in this lifetime."
Yun Que offered a word of thanks, hoisted the two catties of pork, and walked toward a nearby mountain goods stall.
Seeing that Yun Que hadn't gone far, Mu Qingyao asked the pork vendor, "Big brother, what happened at the mine last year?"
"Don't even mention it. Last year, evil spirits ran amok in the mine, and several people died! This hand of mine was bitten off by a demon; if I hadn't run fast, I'd have lost my life! We reported it to the yamen, but the bailiffs didn't dare go in to check at all! In the end, it was Brother Yun who went in alone with a single blade and walked through the mine. Only then did things quiet down there, and all of us miners are endlessly grateful to Brother Yun."
At the market, Yun Que searched exclusively for bird eggs and snake eggs.
Ordinary chicken and duck eggs were everywhere, but Yun Que never stopped for them.
Mu Qingyao remembered that when Yun Que had been at the mountain wooden house, he had swallowed bird eggs raw without even peeling them. She wondered what kind of strange habit that was.
After walking around for a large circle, noon was already approaching.
Glancing at the sky, Wu Dachuan said, "It's about time, Brother Yun. Lunch is about to be served at the yamen. Ma Xiaojiao instructed this morning that we're having meat for lunch."
"Who is Ma Xiaojiao?" Mu Qingyao interjected with a question.
"That's the magistrate. This official is constantly guilty of petty thefts while lacking the guts for major ones. Because he has small feet, the townspeople gave him the nickname 'Ma Xiaojiao' [Ma Small-Feet]."
With that, Yun Que and Wu Dachuan headed toward the county yamen.
Mu Qingyao smiled helplessly, growing increasingly intrigued by Yun Que's unique independence.
So walking such a huge circle was just to time it right for lunch...
***
The Cangshi Town Yamen.
At the main entrance, a burly, thick-set middle-aged man was pacing back and forth, rubbing his hands incessantly, his palms drenched in cold sweat.
Catching sight of Wu Dachuan and Yun Que approaching from afar, the man immediately hurried forward.
"Brother Yun! We've finally waited for you. Magistrate Ma is nearly worried to death."
This man was the yamen's head secretary, Niu Bucai.
True to his name, he possessed not an ounce of talent and was completely illiterate. Relying on an uncle who served as an official in the imperial court, he had managed to secure the position of head secretary. Because he couldn't read, he always kept a family accountant by his side.
Yun Que cupped his fists in a salute. "How much longer until Magistrate Ma dies of worry? I can wait here for a while; I'm not in a hurry."
"Don't be like that, Brother Yun! You're a yamen runner, and the magistrate is our immediate superior. If something really happens to him, none of us will be able to shirk responsibility!" Niu Bucai said bitterly.
"My humble self is a coroner. I only look at corpses, not living people," Yun Que replied.
In the yamen, coroners were paid based on the number of corpses; looking at a living person wouldn't net them a single copper coin.
Having no other choice, Niu Bucai said, "Just pretend Magistrate Ma is dead! Hurry up and help take a look. This time, the rate is the same as inspecting a corpse!"
Yun Que said, "His Worship the Magistrate is dedicated to the country and the people, working diligently from dawn till dusk, deeply loved and respected by the people of Cangshi Town. Now that his family has suffered such a drastic change, we commoners truly feel uneasy in our hearts."
Niu Bucai hurriedly launched into his habitual flattery. "That's right! Magistrate Ma is like a father and mother to the local people, working diligently for years to secure the welfare of the commoners. He is a role model for our generation..."
As he spoke, Niu Bucai noticed Yun Que extending a single hand.
"What is Brother Yun doing..."
"Since Master Secretary also agrees that Magistrate Ma is worthy of respect, shouldn't such a role model come with a price increase?" Yun Que asked.
"Double?" Niu Bucai tested the waters.
"Five taels," Yun Que stated. "Non-negotiable. Otherwise, I'm only taking corpse cases."
"Damn it, you're ruthless! Magistrate Ma only collected twenty taels this month..." Realizing he had let slip something he shouldn't have, Niu Bucai hurriedly nodded. "Fine! Five taels it is!"
With a heart full of agonizing pain, he advanced the five taels of silver.
Anyone familiar with him knew Yun Que's rules: silver first, business second, whether looking at the living or the dead. That was the rule.
The little Princess on the sidelines was once again left dumbfounded.
Money—could it really be earned like this?
Mu Qingyao had truly opened her eyes today.
***
Chapter 4: Tiger-Headed Magistrate
The Yamen's Main Hall.
Magistrate Ma Yong sat blankly in the grand armchair, wearing a pair of oversized boots.
Two stools were set up in the main hall.
Sitting on each stool was a woman in her early twenties, both dressed in green skirts and looking exactly alike, like twins.
The bailiffs of the three divisions clustered around, staring with wide eyes at the two women.
The woman in the green skirt was named Xiaocuier, Magistrate Ma Yong's own daughter who was yet unmarried. Originally staying safe and sound in the inner courtyard, she had inexplicably gained an identical copy of herself.
With two daughters who looked completely identical, Ma Yong simply could not tell them apart.
No matter how he questioned them, no flaws could be found. If he pushed the questioning too harshly, Xiaocuier would burst into tears.
The crucial part was that both Xiaocuier cried at the same time, making the scene look remarkably like a haunting.
With no other choice, Ma Yong could only have the bailiffs watch over his two daughters while sending men to find Yun Que for help.
Although he was a coroner, no one in Cangshi Town was unaware of Yun Que's capabilities.
He was a ruthless expert who could even hunt demons!
Cangshi Town was originally located in a remote area on the border of the Jin State, surrounded by countless barren mountains. Logically speaking, such a place was the most prone to breeding evil spirits.
Yet, as it happened, Cangshi Town had remained safe and sound all these years, rarely experiencing cases of demonic haunting, to the point where even people from nearby major towns envied them immensely.
If not for the lack of any truly desirable plots of land in Cangshi Town, quite a few wealthy families would likely have migrated there.
The moment he saw Yun Que arrive, Ma Yong immediately regained his spirit.
"Yun Que! Hurry up and help identify them, see which one is my biological daughter!"
Upon seeing Yun Que, the surrounding bailiffs also visibly relaxed, as if they had swallowed a reassurance pill.
Following closely beside Yun Que, Mu Qingyao saw the two identical girls, her gaze flickering as she lingered for an extra moment on the girl on the right.
After entering, Yun Que merely cast a casual glance and said, "Both are alive."
Ma Yong, Niu Bucai, Wu Dachuan, and the group of bailiffs all froze in unison.
*As if we didn't know they were alive!*
*The crucial point is which one is the fake!*
Head Secretary Niu Bucai rubbed his hands anxiously, breaking out in cold sweat as he said, "Brother Yun, take a good look. One of these two Xiaocuiers has got to be a fake. They look completely identical—they must be evil spirits! Brother Yun is an expert demon hunter, surely you can tell them apart?"
"Can't tell," Yun Que replied. "The ones I butcher all have fur; I'm powerless against evil spirits taking human form. I don't have the Heavenly Eye."
"What are we going to do then?!" Niu Bucai wrung his hands frantically.
"Otherwise, let's use the crude method!" Wu Dachuan suggested. "Starve them! Starve them for seven days and seven nights; see who can't hold out, and that one is Xiaocuier! Demons definitely aren't afraid of hunger!"
Niu Bucai cursed him, "What a stinking idea! Starve them for seven days and living humans will starve to death too! What good is telling them apart then?"
Sighing heavily, Ma Yong lamented, "Is there really no other way? My poor daughter..."
"I do have one more method."
Yun Que's single sentence made everyone regain hope.
Pairs of eager gazes landed upon Yun Que.
"Quickly, let's hear it!" Ma Yong urged.
"If you want to tell which one is the real Xiaocuier, actually it's not difficult. Just inspect their left buttocks."
As soon as Yun Que finished speaking his method, everyone present froze in place once again, the group of bailiffs staring at each other in utter incomprehension.
Although they weren't sure if Yun Que's method was accurate, they certainly wouldn't mind opening their eyes to see.
"Is this true?" Niu Bucai was the most anxious of all.