Chapter 41: The Fox Demon’s Havoc

Also, was this Celestial Merit Record completely crazy?

Normally, when it made me lurk in the shadows, eliminate a demon, beat up Shen Shiming, or pull off some petty schemes, I could accept it. But now, it suddenly gave me such a massive task to eradicate both demon and bandit calamities. How could I handle that? My head wasn’t big enough!

Who knew how many demonic cultivators or evil beings were hidden among the bandit hordes? There must be quite a few in the Foundation Establishment Realm, right?

Then there was the demon calamity. In these Southern Mountains, Fang Cun alone knew of three demon dens: Green Fox Valley, Bear Ridge, and the Chisha Stream. Forget about the demon chiefs; even picking a random patrol demon from among them might be too much for him…

And it wanted him to eliminate these two great afflictions?

…Most importantly, why was the reward so cheap?

Only ten thousand Merit? Smashing Shen Shiming a few times already earned him three thousand!

For a moment, numerous doubts flooded Fang Cun’s mind…

…

“Second Young Master Fang, what troubles your thoughts?”

Seeing Fang Cun’s strange expression, Meng Zhixue nudged her cloud-patterned white deer closer and asked softly.

Fang Cun sighed. “Alas, these ferocious bandits and the demon menace… I fear they won’t be easy to eliminate…”

Hearing this, Meng Zhixue looked at him with some surprise. Earlier, when the academy disciples were passionately discussing eliminating the bandits and demons, Meng Zhixue hadn’t joined in. She hadn’t even looked pleased, likely knowing it was just idle talk, not something easily achieved. But hearing Fang Cun mention it now, she saw him in a new light.

“As long as the intent is there, a way shall be found!”

She smiled lightly, patted her deer’s head, and said, “Let us press on. We must reach Black Mountain Ridge before nightfall!”

Following Meng Zhixue’s words, the disciples spurred their horses into a quicker trot. They skirted the bandit stronghold and charged deeper into the rugged mountains.

As the mountains closed in around them, the path grew increasingly treacherous. Occasionally, they glimpsed slopes terraced with fields where crops struggled to grow. The disciples’ horses struggled on the rough mountain track, slowing considerably. Only Meng Zhixue’s snow-white deer and Fang Cun’s sturdy white horse could maintain something resembling their previous pace – one nimble, the other powerful.

Their initial plan was to reach Black Mountain Ridge by afternoon, conduct their investigation, and return. But by the time they arrived at the ridge, the sun was already dipping towards the western peaks, poised to vanish behind the mountains at any moment.

Night falls swiftly in the mountains. A pale dusk was already gathering.

“Elm Coin Town is here…”

Right then, Yu Qingli consulted the map and spoke quietly to the group.

Urging their horses down a slope, they looked ahead and saw a small town nestled in the gathering darkness. Thatch-roofed houses, stone mills, a small bridge, and a bamboo grove lay cloaked in shadow. No lights burned. No sound of crowing roosters or barking dogs pierced the silence. A night wind whistled through the town, rustling leaves and rattling through broken window frames. It produced an eerie, moaning sound, oppressive and deeply unsettling.

“This Elm Coin Town was built by refugees who fled into the mountains to reclaim land,” someone explained quietly. “There are many such settlements deep in the mountains; Elm Coin Town is actually one of the larger ones, with over a hundred households, hundreds of villagers. But seven days ago… in a single day… they all vanished!”

The others nodded grimly. “No time to waste. Let’s go down.”

…

Stepping into the village blanketed by murky twilight, a single glance sent shivers down their spines. Seen from afar, it had merely been unsettling; up close, it was horrifying. The village was a scene of utter devastation, a slaughterhouse. Copious amounts of dark, viscous blood splashed across the ground formed rivulets that congealed like thick, short earthworms, painting the entire settlement in a deep, bloody crimson. The metallic stench was overpowering.

Houses had collapsed, millstones lay cracked open, hoes and sickles were scattered everywhere – clear signs of a ferocious battle.

Dismembered corpses were strewn about, heartbreakingly common. Intestines spilled out like rotten sacks. Flies buzzed in thick, black clouds. Shreds of flesh clung to tree branches high above.

“No question, demons did this…”

Academy disciples covered their mouths and noses, fury and nausea warring within them. “Only demons, beasts that they are, would commit such atrocities! Look! It seems the whole village was eaten! Savages! They deserve death!”

“Demons slaughtering a village… absolutely unforgivable!”

“…”

They were young disciples, hearts ablaze with righteous anger. The village’s horrible state ignited their fury.

Even Meng Zhixue’s usually composed face was cold and deadly. “Spread out!” she ordered sharply. “Examine every detail!”

Seething with rage, the disciples dispersed. Each had learned precise investigation methods at the academy; all had gained considerable experience. Though furious, they drew on their calm discipline, meticulously applying their skills to scour the village. Soon, they began returning with their findings.

One circled the village holding a compass. “The land’s Feng Shui is stable,” he reported upon return. “No earth veins turned demonic. It wasn’t caused by malign earth forces.”

Another walked through the lanes carrying a small cage. Inside, a small, red-beaked white-feathered sparrow huddled miserably, utterly subdued. “The sparrow is terrified but alive,” he stated, frowning. “White-feather sparrows are most sensitive to ghosts, yet it wasn’t scared to death. There are no lingering ghostly energies here. Whatever happened, ghosts were not responsible.”

“Signs of struggle everywhere,” reported a third. “The villagers fought back, but… they were simply overpowered and slaughtered.”

“A fourth found untouched valuables. “Copper coins, possessions, even livestock in pens – poultry still alive! Granaries still have grain! If it were bandits seeking plunder, they wouldn’t massacre everyone, and they’d certainly take everything. Leaving this stuff makes no sense for bandits…”

“And the bodies… they are the villagers,” another confirmed grimly, voice thick with emotion. “Appear to have been… torn apart and partially eaten by beasts. It’s… extraordinarily savage…”

“…”

As more disciples gathered to share their findings, the puzzle pieces began to lock into place.

Finally, Yu Qingli, who had been conducting the most meticulous inspection, approached.

He said quietly, “In a house in the western part of the town… I found several blood-stained fox pelts.”

Everyone instantly grew still. They hurried to a thatched hut on the village’s western edge. Arrow quivers, spears, swords, and hunting traps hanging on the walls identified it as a hunter’s dwelling. Then they saw them – several fox pelts hanging further inside. They were dried, but only recently, perhaps a week or so old. Disciples exchanged silent, knowing glances; the unspoken conclusion hung heavy in the air.

“This place isn’t far from the Green Fox Mountain demon den,” Yu Qingli stated slowly. “Those fox demons are notorious for vengefulness. They usually emerge just to confuse and harm humans. But… if a hunter in this village accidentally harmed one of their kin? Gathering a gang of mountain demons and launching an attack on the village? Entirely plausible.”

They nodded, faces grim and cold. There were no doubts left. All the evidence pointed squarely in one direction, especially the damning fox pelts. It was ironclad.

“If fox demons are responsible, then it’s definitely the scum from Green Fox Mountain!” The disciples congregated at the village entrance, a cloud of cold fury hanging over them. One furiously kicked over a small shrine dedicated to the Fox Immortal, smashing it to pieces. “Damned fox demons!” he spat venomously. “Always harming humans! And the villagers were foolish enough to build shrines praying to them! And look what it brought them – only wholesale slaughter!”

“Their den has sat a few miles outside Willow Lake City for centuries, constantly causing trouble! If they’d been willing to live in peace with the city, we might have tolerated them. But those beasts? Never content! Most of the disasters near Willow Lake City in recent decades? Half are linked to them! If this nightmare in the town is truly their doing? They are truly courting destruction…”

“Long past time to exterminate these demons!”

“Before, we only heard whispers of demons harming individuals… Now they dare massacre an entire town? They must die!”

“We Qi Refiners have a sacred duty: Slay Demons! Vanquish Evils! We cannot allow such demons to roam unchecked!”

“We return to the academy! Inform the Academy Head of our discoveries! Request the instructors move immediately to wipe out that fox demon lineage!”

“…”

All the disciples radiated rage, their killing intent palpable.

Standing nearby, Fang Cun couldn’t help but frown slightly. He felt something was… off. He had come merely to claim some credit easily. Saying nothing now and following the others back would net him effortless Merit – minimal effort, satisfying the record.

And yet… the sheer horror of the village scene left him feeling choked and uneasy. After a pause, he spoke up: “Perhaps there are still some oddities about this affair. If it truly were fox demons exacting revenge by slaughtering villagers… why is the number of bodies we found clearly… insufficient?”

His words landed like cold water on the group’s passionate anger.

A moment of silence followed. Then, Nie Quan snorted coldly. “Second Young Master Fang, you really move in lofty circles untouched by mortals’ suffering, don’t you? What happened to the body parts, you ask? What could it possibly be? Do you think the legends of demons eating humans are just stories? Some brazen demons treat consuming people as normal as breathing! And… what they didn’t devour might have been taken… cured and taken away! Still wondering where the bodies went?”

The faces of the surrounding disciples twisted with hatred as Nie Quan said this. None felt inclined to defend Fang Cun. The thought of fallen villagers consumed as mere sustenance was utterly abhorrent.

Fang Cun didn’t argue further, though his inner doubt remained. But he knew once they returned and this incident was officially attributed to the foxes, there would be no room for reconsideration. He raised his head slowly, looking towards one particular disciple – more precisely, at the cage he held containing the white-feathered sparrow. “If villagers were slain right here… shouldn’t their angry ghosts linger? Why is that sparrow alive?”

This question caused a stir. Doubts flickered across some faces.

But quickly, another disciple argued, “Ordinary folk’s spirits are weak! Even if ghosts remained immediately after the slaughter, they’d dissipate after a few nights exposed to the mountain winds! It’s been seven days since the deaths in Elm Coin Town. No lingering ghosts? Perfectly normal!”

Fang Cun shook his head faintly, thinking to himself: ‘Death by massacre generates immense resentment and bitterness. Such ghosts wouldn’t disperse so quickly…’ However, seeing the academy disciples consumed by righteous fury, he knew persisting would be unwise and likely make him their target.

Meng Zhixue, meanwhile, had been silently listening. She glanced towards Fang Cun when he spoke, her gaze lingering thoughtfully on the white-feathered sparrow and the congealed, stinking blood covering the ground. Hearing the chorus demanding an immediate return to summon the instructors, she hesitated, then spoke: “Darkness settles. The mountain paths at night are perilous. Why not leave at first light? We can use this time to… investigate more carefully…”

The disciples looked at Meng Zhixue. Some sensed she might be subtly supporting Fang Cun. Yet, she was the accepted leader within their loose “Nanshan Alliance.” Since she spoke, they grumbled but acquiesced. They split up to explore the wretched, reeking, blood-soaked village, which was uninhabitable. After discussion, they settled into a dilapidated shrine near the village entrance, intending to spend the night there.

Inside the shrine, tension simmered. The disciples cursed, their fury unabated, demanding blood for blood, demons for demons.

Fang Cun felt a hand touch his arm lightly. Meng Zhixue had approached him. “Second Young Master Fang,” she whispered, her voice low and troubled. “Regarding Elm Coin Town…”

Fang Cun glanced at her, thoughtful. “What does Fairy Meng think?”

She frowned slightly. “I feel something is strange… yet I cannot define it clearly.” She paused, choosing her words carefully. “As if… it’s all too straightforward?”

Her answer surprised Fang Cun, raising his opinion of her. He was about to respond when…

From outside the shrine, drifting on the night wind, came a chilling sound. It was a cacophony – howls like wolves, eerie screams like tortured souls, and… unmistakably, faint human cries and pleas.

Every disciple inside the shrine jumped!

They scrambled back outside, scrambling onto a slightly elevated spot nearby.

They strained their eyes toward the northeast. There, under the cold moonlight in the distant night sky, they saw a dark, churning plume rising like smoke, or perhaps like monstrous black flames overcoming a field. But this smoke wasn’t passive; it swirled and writhed like a living thing – thick, palpable Demonic Qi! Squinting, flickers of crimson light pulsed within the darkness – the unmistakable glow shed when lives were being extinguished violently on a large scale.

The disciples paled. One urgently channeled cultivation power into his eyes. A faint luminescent glow appeared within them, sharpening his vision dramatically. Focusing on the distant scene as if magnifying it, his expression turned icy and fierce. “Demon massacre,” he declared tersely. “At a village!”

Fang Cun, recalling the layout they’d surveyed earlier, knew there was indeed a small settlement in that direction. A flicker of shock ran through him. Were the demons truly this brazen?