Chapter 55: The Chicken Demon (Revised)

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“Sir, the escort route was assigned from above. I have no choice in the matter,” Chu Xiong pleaded in a low voice, his face drawn with misery.

“If not for your desperate attempts to stop us, you'd already be sharing its fate,” Ling Chi said, tilting his head toward the water fiend and motioning to Chu Xiong. “But my third brother and the townsfolk of Qianshan Town nearly perished because of this. Your Prosperity Escort Agency cannot shirk responsibility.”

As he spoke, Ling Chi suddenly looked up into the distance. A sharp wind howled, and a figure rode the gale toward them. The newcomer, a man in his forties with a tall, robust frame, landed before Ling Chi in a matter of breaths.

“Where's your third brother? As soon as the messenger arrived, I set out immediately, but you’ve beaten me here.” The newcomer was none other than Zhao Qing, who had spotted Ling Chi standing on the stone bridge from afar.

“I was closer, Master. Please take a look at this curious water fiend. Rigid yet undecayed, its skin barely differs from a living person's,” Ling Chi said, pointing to the two halves of the water fiend on the ground.

Zhao Qing frowned as he regarded the grotesque corpse. “This is an ancient corpse, most likely submerged for countless years. It appears to have developed intelligence.”

“Yes, Master. According to Chief Chu, it even tried to lure that entire family into the water,” Ling Chi replied.

Glancing at the burning corpse of the water ghost nearby, Zhao Qing turned to Chu Xiong and said, “So you’re the chief of Prosperity Escort Agency? I’ll be reporting this to Captain Cao at the prefecture. Your agency owes me an explanation. If you can’t give one, don't bother coming to Crane County again.”

A seasoned veteran, Zhao Qing immediately grasped the situation. He resolved to write to Cao Hubao upon his return; if Prosperity Escort Agency failed to offer an explanation, he would pay them a personal visit to demand one.

Some matters from years past weighed heavily on his heart. All these years of quiet living in Crane County had dulled his temper, but if he couldn’t even protect his own disciples, what future was there to speak of?

Chu Xiong felt the pressure mounting. The man before him was obviously at the late stage of Qi Sea cultivation, his imposing presence making it hard for Chu Xiong to breathe, his face flushed crimson.

“Collect your things and get out. Take both halves with you. Tell your employer to come explain himself to me in person—or I’ll come for him myself.” Zhao Qing stood, arms folded over his blade, immovable as a mountain.

With that, Chu Xiong and his team of escorts slunk away in defeat.

The three, master and disciples, sat in the magistrate’s hall, drinking tea.

“That escort agency is no good, bringing a water fiend into town,” Li Shui grumbled.

“Of course he was trying to save himself. And you’re not much brighter—if Old Six hadn’t arrived in time, you’d be waiting for me to collect your corpse,” Zhao Qing snapped, raising an eyebrow. Li Shui fell immediately silent.

“Master, don’t be angry. Third Brother had no choice. He couldn’t just abandon the townsfolk and run for his life. That would leave a flaw in his martial path,” Ling Chi interjected.

Li Shui gave Ling Chi a covert, self-satisfied glance, but Zhao Qing could only look on helplessly.

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“You're getting bold, Third. Suit yourself. I’m heading back—your Mistress is waiting for me to have dinner.” With that, Zhao Qing soared into the air, his figure swept away on a roaring wind.

“I rarely see Master use his movement technique. What style is that?” Ling Chi asked curiously.

“No idea. I just know it’s a wind-type technique, but I don’t know its name,” Li Shui shrugged.

“You stay here. If anything happens, send a message. I was only halfway through my dinner when I rushed over,” Li Shui said, waving his hand.

“Alright, next time I'll treat you at Tongfu Restaurant,” Ling Chi replied.

Transforming into a bolt of lightning, Ling Chi vanished into the night, leaving Li Shui lost in thought. “I need to break through soon.”

On the way back, Ling Chi was in no hurry, relying only on the strength of his body, advancing swiftly yet steadily with each step.

Passing through a mountain forest, he suddenly heard a cry for help—a woman's voice, pleading for rescue.

Ling Chi's eyes lit up. Deep in the mountains, with a light drizzle falling, a woman's call for help—his business had arrived.

Without hesitation, Ling Chi gripped his blade and hurried toward the sound.

There, a woman in white sat on the ground, clutching her ankle with one hand, covering her eyes with a handkerchief, sobbing softly. From beneath her skirt, vibrant feathers peeked out, unnoticed.

“Sir, I was out with my family and got separated. I twisted my ankle—please help me,” Ling Chi imitated a delicate voice, reciting the lines with theatrical flair.

The woman froze—those lines were hers to say! Why was he speaking her part?

She lowered her handkerchief, casting a shy glance at Ling Chi—only to see a flash of silver light growing rapidly before her eyes.

She didn't even have time to scream before her soul was utterly destroyed. Dozens of streams of spiritual energy returned to Ling Chi, sparing him days of arduous cultivation.

The dead woman reverted to her true form—a mountain pheasant.

“So it was a pheasant demon. Tail feathers already showing, yet still trying to act innocent,” Ling Chi muttered, shaking his head. If it hadn’t taken human form, he might have brought it home for a meal.

With his practice disturbed by the demon, his mood soured. Lightning crackled around him, and he vanished once more in a flash.

On an early winter morning, mist shrouded the entire training ground. Ling Chi, bare-chested and steaming with heat, wielded the hundred-pound Demon-Slaying Blade with vigorous force. The fierce arcs of his blade scattered the fog around him.

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Even such fundamental swordplay revealed great power; if he channeled spiritual energy, it would be all the more formidable.

“Captain Ling, someone from Great Yellow Village has come to see you,” a distant voice called.

Ling Chi donned his robe and left the rear courtyard.

“Feihu, why is it you?” Ling Chi was surprised to see Huang Feihu.

“Sir Ling, the mountain behind our village has been restless lately. There are chilling howls at night, making the villagers uneasy,” Huang Feihu explained.

“Howls? Beastly howls or something else?”

“We can’t say for certain—not like any beast I know. It sends shivers down your spine. The village chief asked me to invite you to take a look.”

“Alright, wait here. I'll change clothes.” Ling Chi returned to the rear court.

He donned the black brocade robe of the Department of Tranquility, took up the Demon-Slaying Blade, mounted his black steed, and set off with Huang Feihu.

The mountain behind the village was treacherous, so Ling Chi brought no one else. In a real fight, he couldn’t spare the effort to protect others.

The journey was uneventful, but before they even reached the village, eerie howls echoed in the air. Even in broad daylight, the sound made Huang Feihu shudder.

“That’s the sound—it’s been going on for days. It’s unnerving,” Huang Feihu explained.

“Go back to the village. I’ll head in and see what kind of fiend is causing trouble,” Ling Chi said, nudging his horse forward.

The black steed surged ahead, vanishing from Huang Feihu’s sight in a blink.

Ling Chi followed the same path he had taken into the mountains before, his divine sense extending two hundred paces around him. Leaving his steed at the forest’s edge, he cloaked himself in thunder and plunged into the woods alone.

The power of pure yang gathered in his eyes, turning them a dazzling golden-red. The dense morning mist of the forest became as nothing to his sight, and as he advanced swiftly, two slender red rays trailed behind him.

Violet-gold lightning flashed through the woods, startling the wildlife, but Ling Chi ignored these mindless beasts and pressed deeper into the forest.

The trees grew denser, the howling nearer, and a faint aura of evil lingered in his nostrils.

Blade in hand, he cut down any lesser demons or ghosts he encountered, following the sound to a valley shrouded by towering trees and dense undergrowth.

The deafening howls rang out just ahead. Ling Chi parted the tangled leaves and peered through a gap in the bushes.