Chapter 29: Slaying the Demon, Persuading the Heart

Du Yuan laughed out loud as she took the executioner’s blade. "Glad to see you’ve come to your senses. Three years of merit—we couldn't really let all of that dissipate, could we? It’s just that..."

Playing with the blade, Du Yuan lifted her eyes slightly, gazing toward the county government office. Her vision could not pierce the high walls and heavy tiles, just as the demon, having lost the black mist that once coiled around Magistrate Fang, could no longer see her. Yet, in this moment, both felt the gaze of the other. The difference was that Du Yuan’s eyes were filled with confidence and fearlessness, while the demon was utterly panicked, its very soul trembling with terror.

"No, this is impossible. How could the Immortal have been wrong? What exactly went wrong?"

Even now, the monster could not fathom the source of its failure. In its calculations, it had held every advantage of time, place, and people—how could it have lost? Regardless, it knew it could no longer remain in the county office or Qing County. It had been gravely wounded by a strike from afar without even meeting its opponent face-to-face. If they were to truly clash, it would stand no chance. It had to flee—to the mass grave!

The massive black python suddenly manifested. Its scales were peeling away in countless numbers, and blood seeped from its body, a testament to the severity of the backlash it had suffered. Without a second thought, it revealed its true form, lashed its tail, and dove into the earth, racing toward the mass grave.

Magistrate Fang, having handed the blade to Du Yuan, remained slumped over, his hair disheveled and his appearance wretched. Trembling, he asked, "Daoist, may I ask... what exactly was this demon you spoke of?"

*I have been harboring a demon in my own home, yet why did I not know?* As these doubts swirled, a figure slowly surfaced in his mind. Stunned, he looked up, meeting the gaze of Du Yuan, who was looking down at him.

"Realized it now? That’s right, it’s her! The very same demon you picked up from the mass grave!"

Picked up from the mass grave, a woman’s voice heard during the spiritual battle, the magistrate appearing in a state of crisis the morning after his plans fell through, the persistent black clouds over the back courtyard, and the fact that she was the only woman he had married after his first wife passed away. Added together, how could it be anyone else?

A guttural sound escaped the magistrate’s throat. His Adam’s apple bobbed violently beneath skin soaked in cold sweat, and a chill slithered up his spine like a venomous snake. The scene at the mass grave suddenly turned vivid in his memory: he hadn't seen a pitiful woman dying of illness abandoned by her parents under a willow tree; he had clearly pulled her from a pile of bones, tightly coiled within the grasp of a black python!

His stomach churned violently, and bile mixed with the vegetarian noodles he had eaten at noon surged up his throat. He dared not imagine where the soups and meals of the past few months had come from, nor did he dare think of the intimacy he had shared in the dark of night. With a retching sound, the magistrate collapsed onto the execution ground, his face twisted as he vomited up a mass of foulness. In just a few breaths, the sheer revulsion emptied his stomach completely, yet he could not stop dry-heaving, prompting the nearby executioner, Wu Dadao, to reach out to steady him.

Magistrate Fang fought down the roiling in his throat and kowtowed deeply to Du Yuan. "This disgraced official was blind. First, I trusted a demon, then I offended a master. Though I am awake now, I know it is too late, but I still dare to implore you, Daoist: for the sake of the people of Qing County, please slay that monster!"

Du Yuan nodded with a smile. "That is precisely my intention. Everyone, watch closely!"

Du Yuan tapped the executioner’s blade. This weapon, which had claimed the lives of countless villains, began to hum and vibrate in her hand. The onlookers saw a blinding red light and stumbled back, covering their faces. Just as they were about to cry out, they saw the rigid laws of justice manifest as golden chains, binding the baleful red light.

"Go!" Du Yuan commanded.

She pointed her fingers into the air, and the blood-stained blade transformed into a crimson rainbow, dragging the golden chains as it flew toward the demon.

The demon possessed a truly remarkable innate talent for earth-shifting. In the time it took to exchange a few words, it had already escaped the county and reached the mass grave. However, before it could even reach the spot where it had hidden its small bronze tripod, it felt a prickling sensation on its back. The next moment, a surge of overwhelming, baleful energy forced it out of the ground from a great distance.

It looked up to see the executioner's blade, trailing golden chains, descending upon it! Terror caused the black mist around it to surge wildly in a desperate attempt to block the lethal blow, but the mist shattered like water hitting stone the moment it made contact. It could only watch as the cursed blade struck true.

In that moment, the snake demon, abandoning all pride, shrieked, "Immortal, save me!"

The sound was so shrill and desperate that half of Qing County could hear it. But even if it hadn't already been discarded as a pawn, the one behind it would never have come to its aid. After all, a minor mountain demon was of no account. In this world, all things are but chess pieces; discarded ones are never retrieved—they are simply removed from the board.

The blade crashed down, and the head of the black python flew into the air. As it tumbled through the sky, it caught a glimpse of its own headless, spurting body. By the final rotation, its head, with its last flickers of consciousness, rolled to a stop before the skull altar it had built. Only then did it realize the delayed truth: the small bronze tripod it had been worshipping had already shattered into dust!

*It was lying to me. I am a discarded pawn. Not a low-level cultivator, but a master!*

Among the oddities Du Yuan had encountered, the snake demon was clearly smarter than the horse demon. It had seen the truth in a single glance! But the snake demon was clearly not as likable as the horse demon. Thus, while the horse demon was still happily traveling mountains and rivers with the caravan, the snake demon had lost its head and passed on.

Amidst the mountains, the red stone, still in its original form, unconsciously looked up at the quiet surroundings. After a moment of confusion, it scratched its itchy neck with a hoof and happily went back to chewing on a large white radish provided by the caravan. Radishes were delicious! The caravan was good! The Living Buddha had not lied to the horse!

Back in Qing County, the people, including the magistrate and Qian Youcai, stared at the direction the blade had flown, unable to recover. In their lives, they had never witnessed anything so miraculous. The frozen atmosphere only broke when Du Yuan spoke.

"Magistrate, it is time to come back to your senses."

Startled, Magistrate Fang hurried to lower his head in apology. "Forgive me, Daoist. We are mere mortals; never having seen such wonders, I lost my composure!"

"It is of no consequence. However, Magistrate, there are a few things I must tell you."

Magistrate Fang bowed his head even lower. "Please, speak freely, Daoist!"

Du Yuan looked toward the distant horizon with her hands behind her back. "Do you know why I had you swing that blade three times?"

"Because... because I offended a superior and was blind to your greatness, so you intended to dissipate my... my merit?"

Du Yuan shook her head. "Not so. How could I destroy your fate for the sake of petty grievances? I only wished to warn you."

"I am here today to ensure you remember: you struck at me, and I had the power to protect myself. But what if you had struck at someone else?"

Magistrate Fang looked up, struck by sudden fear. Du Yuan turned to face him, her expression earnest. "You are but a mortal of flesh and blood. You could not see the demon's true form, so your deception is understandable. But you are also the father and mother to the people of this county."

"Therefore, I must be strict with you, for you hold the lives and well-being of thousands in your hands! And tell me, honestly—did you truly never notice anything wrong with that demon?"

Magistrate Fang’s throat felt dry. Unable to answer, he lowered his head in shame. Du Yuan reached out and helped him up, holding his hands firmly. "You are a good official, and you will surely go far. Therefore, you must remember that human life is of the utmost importance."

"If you do that, the two years of merit you lost today will gradually return to you, aiding your path to success. But never, ever forget what happened today!"

Magistrate Fang looked at Du Yuan in a daze. After a long while, he straightened his robes, checked them repeatedly, and then bowed solemnly to Du Yuan.

"This official will remember this for the rest of his life!"