The youth felt a jolt in his heart and replied cautiously, "My name is Fāng Hòulái. I reside at the end of the second alley in the city's west market with a family of three. A few days ago, my father and older brother went to the shacks at the foot of Heng Mountain for a short stay. They haven't returned for several days, so this morning I went out of the city to look for them. I discovered that the shacks had collapsed, and my father and brother were nowhere to be found."
Prefect Zhang heard this and immediately felt impatient. He leaned back in his chair and said, "Perhaps the structure was flimsy; the shack collapsed and buried them. Why didn't you go searching for them instead of coming here to beat the drum?"
The youth hurriedly replied, "Please, my lord, pardon me. I searched for a long time, naturally, and found no trace of my family buried there. The frame of our shack was built using timber at least ten or twenty years old, with every pillar as thick as a human waist. Yet now, they are all snapped. If not for the strength of over a hundred men, there is no way it could have been reduced to such debris. Think about it, my lord—how could ordinary human strength cause such destruction?"
Prefect Zhang scoffed, "There are countless courageous and strong men in our Yan Kingdom. Perhaps your family offended some esoteric martial arts master, and they came to seek revenge. Why must you claim it was the work of a Demon Beast?"
The youth answered, "Both my father and brother are physically powerful, both possessing the cultivation of a Minor Martial Master. They do not fear ordinary thieves, nor have they ever held grudges against anyone."
"However," the youth changed his tone, "several months ago, my father and brother were in Heng Mountain gathering herbs when they encountered a black serpent moving through the jungle as thick as an ox or a horse and over thirty meters long. Therefore, I conclude that there must be a Snake Demon wreaking havoc in the mountains that captured my father and brother."
The crowd gathered outside the hall erupted in an uproar, and even passing merchants became visibly uneasy.
Some began whispering privately, "Last year in the twelfth lunar month, when Empress Dowager Xiaoduan of the Dayi Kingdom left the palace to pay homage to the Buddha, she was injured by a Demon Beast on the road." Others said, "I heard that the City Lord of Pingchuan City is a Snake Demon in disguise. Could it be that the female snake demon of Pingchuan City has come here?" Those who had come from Pingchuan City were immediately enraged: "The City Lord is like a dragon among men and a phoenix among women. Years ago she was already a master of the Mountain-Moving Realm; how could she be a Demon creature? If you bastards keep spouting nonsense, I will rip your mouths shut!"
Shouts and curses erupted from the crowd, and a commotion broke out.
Prefect Zhang was annoyed and struck the gavel. "Quiet!" The crowd quieted down a little.
Centurion Li and his men were hidden at the side of the hall, staring only at the kneeling youth. After watching for a while, Flag Chief Zhu asked his Xiaoyong Guard subordinate beside him, "Are you certain it is this person?" The Xiaoyong Guard bowed and replied, "It is definitely the second son of the Fang Family. I have been tailing him for these past few days and haven't found a thing. I planned to take him down today, but I didn't expect him to cause such a scene. Now, it's not the right time to make a move."
Centurion Li stroked his chin gently and gave a low grunt. "I fear this brat knows he is being followed. He did this on purpose."
Flag Chief Zhu chuckled, "Brother, when we of the Xiaoyong Guard perform our duties in the capital, we do not even fear the capital officials, yet here, in this remote and desolate place, we are being made timid by a powerless, half-grown boy?"
Centurion Li replied unhappily, "What would you know? The crowds and merchants coming and going in this hall travel between countries all year round. We, the Xiaoyong Guard from the capital, ran out here just to capture a mountain peasant? If these people spread word of this, the imperial court will surely become suspicious. Furthermore, matters regarding Demon Beasts fall under the Bureau of Astronomy. Before leaving the capital, I heard that for the birthday of the Holy Emperor of Great Yan, the Bureau of Astronomy is already conducting a routine patrol toward Heng Mountain to exterminate demons and ghosts. They will be arriving here before long. The Fang Family is the aggrieved party in this matter; if they were to suddenly disappear, and the Bureau of Astronomy were to dig deep, it wouldn't be easy for you and me to handle."