Chương 14: Who Is the Demon?

Fang Cheng fell into thought. The demon sword inside him stirred as well. Mention of delicious things always excited them. Soon, a suspicious candidate emerged.

"Zhang Ruilin's wife!" Fang Cheng gave his reasoning.

"First, she's a woman, just like the Red Flower Demon. Second, both lost their husbands. A woman who loses her man can descend into madness. That fits her character. She'd want the whole city to be buried with her man. Hahaha, all of you die!" He couldn't help but pinch his fingers like a delicate woman, licking his bloody lips as if he were Zhang Ruilin's wife herself. Han Bingxuan ignored Fang Cheng's performance.

"Fang, in our theory, the demon mastermind didn't lose Zhang Ruilin. She actively tricked him into suicide."

"No, no, Han. That's your theory." Fang Cheng argued.

"My sword and I have a new theory. We think Zhang Ruilin and his wife planned to refine White Flower City together. But your arrival ruined their plan. So Zhang Ruilin sacrificed himself to cover for his wife. From that perspective, he was a good husband. But his crime was plotting to slaughter every living soul in White Flower City. Such a demon deserves to die. Too bad my sword and I arrived late. Otherwise, my sword would have run him through before he could kill himself."

"Fang, why do you always see everyone as criminals? And what is this 'my sword' you keep mentioning?" Han Bingxuan was exasperated. He remembered Fang Cheng insisting that he was the one who killed Zhang Ruilin.

"Zhang Ruilin served as White Flower City's City God for twenty years. He helped countless people and was beloved by all. Such a man wouldn't have a motive to refine the city, unless he was bewitched by a demon." Fang Cheng countered, "No, no, Han. A single thought can make you a Buddha, a single thought can make you a demon. Being a good person for twenty years doesn't mean you can't do evil in one moment! It's like someone who always thought roasted sweet potatoes were delicious.

Then one day, he roasted some creature's brains and tasted them. He decided that was the real delicacy and never ate roasted sweet potatoes again."

"Fang, your analogies..." Han Bingxuan wanted to say "are nonsense," but out of politeness, he held back.

"Zhang Ruilin is dead. Without a thorough investigation, we can't judge whether he was good or evil. And frankly, that doesn't matter. What matters is this: Zhang Ruilin's wife is just a mortal. She has no power to refine White Flower City."

"Are you sure?" Fang Cheng was skeptical. Han Bingxuan smiled.

"If you don't believe me, I'll take you to see her."

"Forget it. If you're sure, I won't waste time." Fang Cheng trusted the Underworld Officer's judgment. He complained, "You should have told me she wasn't a cultivator earlier. I wasted so much breath arguing with you."

"Fang, my apologies." Han Bingxuan said.

"I was just trying to correct your thinking. Not everyone is a criminal. Have you heard the story of the man who lost his axe? When you think someone stole your axe, everything they do, no matter how normal, looks like the act of a thief."

"Uh... what if he really did steal the axe?" Fang Cheng asked. Han Bingxuan: "..."

"Haha, Han, just joking." Fang Cheng waved his hand.

"Back to the point. You're right that being a cultivator is key. Mortals can't be demons. We just need to find every cultivator in White Flower City, question them one by one, and we'll find the damn demon." Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

"Too difficult." Han Bingxuan shook his head.

"There are only two of us. Searching through a city of tens of thousands for cultivators is like finding a needle in the ocean. And if the demon mastermind is hiding, two outsiders like us could search every corner and still not find him."

"Yeah, we're in the light, the enemy's in the dark. What do we do?" Fang Cheng stroked his chin, thinking. Then he had an idea.

"We can turn the tables. Leave White Flower City in broad daylight, in front of everyone. Then sneak back over the walls at night. When the demon mastermind sees us gone, he'll make his move."

"Leading the snake out of its hole. Excellent idea, Fang." Han Bingxuan praised. Then he added, "But the people of White Flower City see you as the new City God. If you leave suddenly, it will arouse suspicion. You need to stay in the City God Temple and wait for the demon to show himself."

"Right." Fang Cheng nodded. He'd almost forgotten he was impersonating Zhu Youchang.

"And Magistrate Li Sanshui knows my identity. We need to find him, tell him the plan, and have him cooperate."

"Agreed." Without another word, Han Bingxuan led Fang Cheng to the Yamen. They found a Yamen runner, asked for the Magistrate's location, and followed his directions to the back hall. There was a small room reserved for Magistrate Li Sanshui to rest. They pushed open the door and saw Li Sanshui lying in bed, wrapped in a thick quilt. Upon seeing Han Bingxuan and Fang Cheng, Li Sanshui let out a violent cough and said in a hoarse voice, "Lord Han, Lord Fang, you're here. Forgive me for not getting up.

I'm feeling unwell." Fang Cheng could see immediately that Li Sanshui was faking. He was about to slap him awake. Han Bingxuan held him back and told Li Sanshui about the demon. The moment he heard there was a demon in White Flower City, Li Sanshui sprang out of bed with such vigor that if his concubine had seen it, she'd have blushed with delight. He rushed to Han Bingxuan, not even bothering to put on shoes.

"Lord Han, you're not joking? There's really a demon in White Flower City?" Han Bingxuan pointed at the token at his waist.

"As an Underworld Officer, would I lie to you?"

"What do we do?" Li Sanshui's legs gave out. He collapsed to the ground, pale as a ghost. But seeing the Underworld Officer beside him calmed him down. As long as he stuck close to Lord Han, he'd survive.

"Magistrate Li, rest assured. We'll catch this demon." Han Bingxuan patted Li Sanshui's shoulder, then explained the plan. After hearing it, Li Sanshui asked, "Lord Han, can I hide in the shadows with you?" Fang Cheng finally lost it. He slapped Li Sanshui on the head.

"I'm the fake City God, and I have to stay in the open. You're the real Magistrate of White Flower City, and you want to hide? How dare you! Do you want to keep your official hat?" Li Sanshui looked miserable. He just wanted to live. If he died, the hat was useless anyway. Han Bingxuan sighed and tried to comfort him, but Fang Cheng stopped him. Fang Cheng had seen too many useless officials like Li Sanshui. Reasoning with them was pointless. You had to crack the whip.

"Li Sanshui, from now on, you follow my orders. If you say one word of refusal, I'll call you an accomplice of the demon and run you through with my sword." Li Sanshui had no choice but to agree. Under Fang Cheng's arrangement, he gathered all the Yamen runners in the office and sent them to inform the people of White Flower City to see off the Underworld Officer at the city gate.

"The damn Underworld Officer is leaving. The crazy new City God and that coward Li Sanshui are both seeing him off at the gate. And they want us common folk to go too."

"Go to hell. They're all in it together. If those three leave together, I'll beat a drum to send them off." The people were bitter about Fang Cheng and the others. Only a dozen or so showed up to see Han Bingxuan off. But Fang Cheng's goal was achieved. Now everyone in White Flower City knew the Underworld Officer had left. After that, it was noon. Fang Cheng returned to the City God Temple and played his role as City God. Few people came to pray that day.

Most were at the crabapple pear forest paying respects to the late Lord Zhang. Fang Cheng found a stool, sat before the Everlasting Emperor's statue, and closed his eyes. The demon sword had retracted its edge and stopped its bloodthirst, which made him comfortable. He decided to rest a while. Li Sanshui had followed Fang Cheng from the gate all the way to the temple, sticking close. He found a stool of his own, sat down, and dozed off, as if the temple were his home. Time passed.

Fang Cheng opened his eyes and saw that dusk was approaching. The day had flown by. He slapped Li Sanshui awake and chatted with him.

"Magistrate Li, you've been in White Flower City longer than me. Any suspects for the demon?"

"Lord Fang, I suspect Yuan Min. He was Lord Zhang's subordinate. He has the strongest motive."

"He's just a mortal. He doesn't have the power to be a demon."

"Mortal? He doesn't look like one. Think about it. What mortal can carry a coffin weighing hundreds of pounds from the west of the city to the east without even breathing hard?"

"Maybe... he's naturally strong. People have different constitutions." As they chatted, night fell. A blood-red moon rose slowly over the horizon, dyeing all of White Flower City in crimson.