Chapter 929: The Shadow of the Mountain Village

In the bathroom, mist swirled, carrying a potent aroma of medicinal herbs.

Wang Chen sat in a large tub, more than half his height, completely immersed in a dark brown medicinal liquid.

The charcoal fire beneath the tub burned fiercely.

The large wooden tub, reinforced with iron sheets, was specifically designed for martial artists’ medicinal baths.

Many children from powerful families began taking medicinal baths from a young age to refine their muscles and strengthen their bodies, giving them a significant advantage in martial arts over ordinary people.

"Rich in martial arts, poor in literature" was the truest reflection of this world!

The medicinal bath Wang Chen was soaking in was far more valuable than those used by ordinary noble children.

This tub of medicinal liquid contained rare herbs such as ginseng, reishi, rhino horn, deer antler, gastrodia, and snow lotus, worth over five hundred taels of silver!

As Wang Chen’s Life energy circulated within his body, the potent medicinal essence was continuously absorbed into his flesh and bones, eventually transforming into Potential stored within him.

In the past, this process would take one or two hours to fully absorb the medicinal power of a single tub.

Now, after Wang Chen had broken through to the fifth level martial sect master realm and condensed his martial artist dantian, his ability to absorb medicinal power had increased dramatically.

As a result, the soaking time was reduced to within an incense stick!

When the liquid in the tub turned a light brown, Wang Chen suddenly leaped up, enveloped in mist, and landed firmly on the ground.

The moment his feet touched the floor, the droplets of water on his body surface evaporated instantly.

Retrieving his clothes and uniform from his storage space and changing into them, Wang Chen left his residence, mounted his yellow horse, and headed out of the city.

He rode westward for several dozen miles before turning onto a narrow, rugged mountain path.

After traveling another ten miles, a mountain village came into view.

Kao Mountain Village.

That very morning, Wang Chen had received a task assignment from the Wei Hall.

Kao Mountain Village, located seventy miles from the county town, was suspected of being plagued by an evil force, and he was tasked with investigating the matter.

Wang Chen accepted the mission with enthusiasm.

As he approached the village entrance, Wang Chen noticed several villagers standing by the roadside.

They appeared visibly frightened at the sight of the well-dressed Wang Chen on his spirited horse, retreating nervously.

Wang Chen raised an eyebrow, tugging on the reins to stop the yellow horse. He asked in a deep voice, “Is this Kao Mountain Village?”

He had found the village using the map provided by the Wei Hall, but he wanted to confirm he hadn’t taken a wrong turn.

After all, the map was rather rudimentary.

The villagers exchanged uneasy glances, and one of them mustered the courage to reply, “This is Kao Mountain Village. May I ask what brings you here, sir?”

“Where is the village head?”

Wang Chen demanded. “I’ve been sent to investigate the evil disturbances in your village!”

“Ah?”

The villagers, as if waking from a dream, bowed and saluted in a flurry of panic, stammering, “W-we’ll take you to the village head right away!”

Under the guidance of the villagers, Wang Chen swiftly encountered the village head of Kao Mountain Village.

This village head, with his snowy white hair and advanced age, immediately recognized the rank of Wang Chen’s flying fish uniform and hastily performed a deep bow, declaring, "I am Zhang Ziwu, at your service, sir!"

The village head, typically a respected elder of the village and not an official, was naturally apprehensive upon meeting Wang Chen, a Blood Guard small flag of the seventh rank.

"No need for such formalities."

Wang Chen extended his hand to assist him up, instructing, "Take me to see what exactly has occurred."

"Yes."

The old village chief promptly escorted Wang Chen to a mud-brick house located at the western edge of the village, his voice trembling as he explained, "This is the home of Zhang Xiao Qi’s family, consisting of four members. Yesterday evening, a neighbor noticed the door was open and went inside to check…"

They found that all four family members had met with a grim fate. Upon learning of this, the old village chief immediately dispatched someone to the county town to report the incident.

After listening, Wang Chen nodded and proceeded to enter the house.

The house was modest, partitioned into two bedrooms. In one room, a middle-aged couple lay on the bed, their faces pale and eyes wide open, unclosed in death.

The other room served as the children’s quarters, and their demise was even more harrowing!

Wang Chen examined the bodies and noticed that each family member had two rows of bloody punctures on their necks, resembling marks left by an animal’s fangs, presenting a rather chilling sight.

Blood-sucking Beast!

The name instantly flashed through Wang Chen’s mind.

The Blood-sucking Beast is a low-level demon, skilled in disguise, lurking among the common people, sustaining itself by consuming human or animal blood.

Some Blood-sucking Beasts even secretly imprison and breed humans to satisfy their bloodlust.

Wang Chen had undergone professional training as a Blood Guard, gaining extensive knowledge about demons, enabling him to draw accurate conclusions from his analysis.

He inquired of the old village chief, "Has such an incident occurred in your village before?"

The old village chief nodded, replying, "It happened over a decade ago, when a family also perished. Officials from the county came to investigate."

But after that, there were no further developments.

However, since that incident, Kao Mountain Village had remained peaceful, and the events had faded from memory.

Yet, the old village chief remembered vividly, his eyes reflecting fear: "It… they have returned!"

This village head, having lived for sixty to seventy years, had witnessed more than one or two demonic calamities and was well aware of their terrors!

Wang Chen pondered for a moment and asked, "How many households are there in your village?"

The old village chief swallowed hard and answered, "There are a total of one hundred seventy-nine households, comprising six hundred eighty-three people, including the Zhang family."

"Assemble everyone."

Wang Chen commanded in a deep voice, "I need to screen them all!"

"Ah?"

The old village chief looked bewildered, "C-can you manage alone?"

Wang Chen appeared quite young. Although clad in a flying fish uniform, he was now alone. What would happen if he directly confronted a demon? Would he perish in the village?

Wang Chen gazed at him silently—are you attempting to instruct me on my duties?

The old village chief quickly acquiesced, "I shall follow your orders."

Ding ding ding!

The resonant toll of the copper bell soon disrupted the tranquility of the small mountain village.

Hearing the sound, villagers hurried from the fields and their homes to the village entrance, enlivening the area with their bustling presence.

Wang Chen instructed the old village chief to arrange for the village protection team to maintain order, then began to review the list one by one.

Each villager passed before him.

In Wang Chen’s hand, he held a talisman.

Demon Identification Talisman!

This talisman could be used to identify demonic creatures and was a gift from his master, Wang Hui, intended to safeguard him from demons.

However, the talisman had a limited number of uses and did not last indefinitely.

This talisman contained faint spiritual energy that gradually diminished over time.

Since Wang Chen possessed storage space, he could circumvent this issue by storing it within.

Moreover, he had studied the Demon Identification Talismans.

The villagers of Kao Mountain Village passed through the screening one by one until the last person did, and Wang Chen found nothing amiss.

"We’re still missing fifteen people."

He said to the village head, "Where have these people gone?"

Wang Chen distinctly remembered the total number of villagers the village head had reported!