Novel Full Chapter 19: Demon Beast
Chapter 19: Chapter 19: Demon Beast
In the afternoon, outside the east gate of the market town.
When Li Yuan arrived, three people were already standing by the roadside.
Zhou Dazhuang was leaning against a gatepost, a look of exhaustion on his face, though he seemed a bit more alert than he had during the guard rotation.
Standing beside him were Xu Mao and Lin Xiaowu. Xu Mao, in his early thirties, had a steady countenance. He was a quiet, dutiful man who had been on the patrol team for years. Lin Xiaowu, in his early twenties and the youngest on the team, looked a little nervous, his hand fidgeting with the Magical Artifact at his waist.
When the three of them saw Li Yuan approaching, they all cupped their fists in greeting.
Li Yuan spoke as he walked, wasting no words. "Traces of a Demon Beast have been found south of the Spirit Field District. The administration wants us to find out if it’s just passing through or if it’s made a nest."
As Li Yuan spoke, Zhou Dazhuang lowered his head to grab the waterskin at his waist, unscrewed the cap, and took a swig.
"When we get there, we’ll split into two groups. Zhou Dazhuang, you’re with me to the south; we’ll search the perimeter from where the tracks were found. Xu Mao, you take Lin Xiaowu to the east and circle the edge of the Spirit Field District to see if there are any other tracks. If you encounter the Demon Beast, retreat first. We’ll regroup and discuss what to do next."
The three men voiced their assent.
Lin Xiaowu, following behind, couldn’t help but ask, "Deputy Captain, do we know what grade the Demon Beast is?"
"Uncertain."
Zhou Dazhuang’s expression was a little strained. He walked beside them in sullen silence for a moment before speaking up. "Seems like everything is creeping toward the market town these days. During last month’s guard rotation, Sun Liang was out hunting Demon Beasts and ran into a Ground-Drilling Centipede. He got hit by a shockwave and suffered internal injuries. He’s still recovering back in town."
Li Yuan glanced at him.
"He wanted a larger share of the Spirit Stones, so he charged to the front."
Zhou Dazhuang shook his head. "He got five pieces."
Trading your health for five Spirit Stones... you couldn’t say if it was worth it. It was Sun Liang’s own choice.
The four of them walked along the dirt road for nearly an hour before reaching the southern edge of the Spirit Field District.
He Lingnong was the first to greet them again, saying the tracks were still there and that he’d specifically kept people from stepping on them.
Li Yuan told Xu Mao to take Lin Xiaowu east, while he and Zhou Dazhuang followed He Lingnong south.
The tracks were still there, same as yesterday, only the edges had been blurred a bit by the wind.
Zhou Dazhuang crouched down and studied them for a while. "There are plenty of three-toed, webbed Demon Beasts, but I haven’t seen any with tracks the size of a bowl in my month with the guard."
After speaking, Zhou Dazhuang glanced again in the direction the tracks led—toward the overgrown field to the south.
Li Yuan followed the direction of the tracks, heading into the overgrown southern field.
Once they left the edge of the Spirit Field District, the ground turned to hard, dry yellow earth and gravel, and the tracks quickly became indistinct.
’It’s the same as yesterday. This is a dead end for anyone tracking by sight alone.’
But today was different.
Li Yuan stopped and took the Spirit Detecting Disc from his sleeve.
The brass-colored disc lay in his palm.
Li Yuan didn’t intend to brandish it. He had to be cautious and avoid exposing it, no matter how small the chance.
He merely activated the Magical Artifact to probe the area.
With a thought, Mana flowed into the disc.
His perception suddenly intensified.
It was like walking with a blindfold on, only to have it suddenly ripped away.
He didn’t see anything; he felt it. The Spiritual Qi fluctuations from a radius of several dozen zhang flooded into his mind all at once.
A dozen or so zhang behind him was Zhou Dazhuang. His Spiritual Qi fluctuations were stable and deep, roughly at the level of Qi Refining Third Level.
Further away, in the direction of the Spirit Field District, were extremely scattered, indistinct, and weak fluctuations—the Cultivation auras of the Spirit Farmers.
The overgrown field was quiet. There were no Demon Beast Spiritual Qi fluctuations within a radius of dozens of zhang.
Holding the Spirit Disc, Li Yuan walked slowly south. After about seventy to eighty zhang, an anomaly appeared in his perception.
A mass of something had appeared in his perception.
The Spiritual Qi concentration wasn’t high; on the contrary, it was extremely low, making it stand out sharply.
"Southeast. Follow me."
Zhou Dazhuang followed without a word.
The two of them passed through waist-high weeds, walking for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.
Li Yuan stopped.
A patch of grass in front of him had been flattened by something. It was about two or three zhang square—not large, but very obvious.
The surrounding weeds were waist-high, but this single patch was low to the ground, as if something large had been lying on it for a while, compressing all the grass.
On the ground were several clear tracks—identical to the ones in the Spirit Field District: three-toed, webbed, and the size of a bowl.
’These weren’t left by something just passing through.’
"This wasn’t just passing through," Li Yuan said, straightening up.
Zhou Dazhuang’s gaze shifted from the tracks, and he glanced toward the Spirit Field District.
From this position to the southern edge of the Spirit Field District, there was only a field of weeds in between, with no cover whatsoever.
You could see any movement in the Spirit Field District directly from here.
"This thing was observing the Spirit Fields," Li Yuan said.
The lowest layer of grass stems was already withered, yellow, and brittle. The broken ends were dry, indicating they had been crushed at least several days ago.
On top of that was another layer of freshly broken grass, the ends still tinged with green. This was from one or two days ago at most.
"And it’s probably been here more than once."
Zhou Dazhuang’s expression darkened completely. Li Yuan saw him unconsciously glance to the southwest—the same direction he had looked when they arrived at the Spirit Field District.
There were no other anomalies within a radius of dozens of zhang. The Demon Beast itself wasn’t nearby.
"Let’s head back first."
The two of them retraced their steps. By the time they returned to the edge of the Spirit Field District, Xu Mao and Lin Xiaowu had already circled back from the east.
"The east is clean," Xu Mao said, shaking his head. "The field ridges and roads are fine. No tracks, no signs of a Demon Beast."
Li Yuan briefly explained what they had found to the south—they’d located traces of where the Demon Beast had lingered, a spot from which it could directly observe the Spirit Field District. It wasn’t just passing by accidentally.
Afterwards, Li Yuan notified each of the Spirit Farmers in the vicinity. He told them to finish their work before nightfall, not to spend the night in the fields, and to run for the market town if they encountered anything unusual.
He Lingnong grabbed Li Yuan’s sleeve and asked him twice if a Demon Beast was really watching his fields.
After giving the warnings, the four of them returned to the market town to report to Wang De at the garrison.
Wang De was silent for a few breaths after hearing the report.
"It’s watching the Spirit Field District?"
"Most likely. It found a spot to lie in wait in the southern overgrown field. The angle gives it a direct view of the Spirit Fields."
"Why would a Demon Beast be watching the Spirit Field District for no reason? The Spirit Grain isn’t even ripe yet."
Wang De tapped the desk twice with his knuckles, then picked up a brush and wrote a few lines on a document.
"For now, we’ll increase patrols in the Spirit Field District. I’ll arrange for a team to make a round there every day. You’ll lead it."
"We still can’t determine the beast’s grade right now. Go borrow a mag... forget it. The Magical Artifacts are all with the main guard. I’ll just assign you more men."
Li Yuan led the other three out.
As they were leaving the courtyard, Li Yuan caught a glimpse of Zhou Dazhuang out of the corner of his eye.
From the afternoon until now, Zhou Dazhuang had been completely tense, as if there were words stuck in his throat that he couldn’t get out.
As they were dispersing at the gate, Zhou Dazhuang took two steps, then turned back, pulling out his waterskin and taking a swig.
"My wife is two months pregnant. She has severe morning sickness right now."
Li Yuan didn’t reply.
Zhou Dazhuang wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, his head lowered as he stared at the ground.
"She throws up everything she eats and has lost a lot of weight. She’s a mortal, so her constitution isn’t as strong as a Cultivator’s to begin with. I wanted to stay home and look after her, but I got rotated into the guard and can’t get away."
"I’m so worried, I’ve even been making mistakes on patrol."
Zhou Dazhuang’s wife was a mortal who lived in the mortal residential area in the southeast corner of the market town. It wasn’t uncommon for low-level Cultivators and mortals to marry.
There weren’t many Female Cultivators, and marrying down to a mortal meant you could get a stunningly beautiful one.
This was especially true for Cultivators like Zhou Dazhuang, whose Cultivation was low and who had no hope of a breakthrough. Quite a few of them sought out mortals to settle down with.
"I’d finally managed to get through it, but lately..."
His words trailed off. Zhou Dazhuang sighed and walked away.
Li Yuan watched Zhou Dazhuang walk into the distance.
He returned to his residence, bolted the door, and sat down on the edge of his bed.
He sat cross-legged and began to circulate the Spirit-Introducing Skill. The Spiritual Qi entering his body was pure and without impurities, and it circulated through his meridians swiftly.
Li Yuan adjusted the rhythm of his circulation, keeping his cultivation at a comfortable intensity.
Twilight descended outside the window, and the only sound in the wooden cabin was that of even breathing.