boyutpedia Chapter 167 The Court's Landscape! Demons Attack!
Chapter 167 The Court's Landscape! Demons Attack!
Chapter 167 The Court's Landscape! Demons Attack!
Several decades ago, a strange event unfolded silently, and then the world's style began to change.
These days, there are amazing people everywhere who can fly and escape into the air.
It's hard to judge the level of martial prowess in this world, but the legends of top experts shattering the void with their martial power have never ceased.
It's not uncommon for demons to take human form and mingle among the common people.
Once discovered, they would be arrested by the Divine Arrest Bureau and imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison, where they would be tortured until they were completely destroyed. Chu Yang had once witnessed the scene of the Divine Arrest Bureau arresting demons, which had a wide impact, with no fewer than ten civilians dying or being injured.
This is the Divine Arrest Bureau, led by Zhuge Zhengwo, and under his command are the Four Great Constables.
Although Chu Yang had been pretending to be a playboy all these years and dared not inquire about outside affairs for fear of arousing the emperor's suspicion, he was still in the capital and knew a little about what was happening in the court.
In the current court structure of the Ming Dynasty, aside from the increasingly weakened civil official group, there are six top-level forces that truly hold the power of life and death.
Two marquises and one family.
Two factories and one sanitation station.
The "two factories and one guard" are easy to understand; they are familiar figures from the history of the Ming Dynasty, namely the Eastern Depot, the Western Depot, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
Cao Zhengchun, the supervisor of the Eastern Depot; Yu Huatian, the supervisor of the Western Depot; and Zheng Dongliu, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
The Embroidered Uniform Guard was responsible for investigating all officials, the Eastern Depot was responsible for investigating the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the Western Depot was responsible for investigating the Eastern Depot. This was a typical nested structure in the Ming Dynasty's political system.
The tripartite balance of power is a situation deliberately created by His Majesty the Emperor. He enjoys watching his subordinates fight amongst themselves; it's a kind of perverse pleasure. Moreover, he usually acts more subservient than Chu Yang.
Facing such a cunning emperor, it was fortunate that Chu Yang was a good actor, otherwise he would have been blacklisted long ago.
Compared to the internal responsibilities of the two factories and one guard, the two marquises and one gatehouse had more external responsibilities.
The two marquises refer to Zhuge Zhengwo, the Divine Marquis of Zhuge mentioned earlier, and Zhu Wushi, the Iron-Blooded Divine Marquis who came from the Zhu family.
One is the Divine Arrest Bureau, and the other is the Dragon Guard Manor. The Divine Arrest Bureau is responsible for capturing demons hiding in the human world, while the Dragon Guard Manor is responsible for gathering relevant information and is an intelligence agency.
There is no conflict between the two; on the contrary, they complement each other.
The problem is that Zhuge Shenhou and Tiedan Shenhou are at odds, and can even be described as mortal enemies.
The real conflict of duties between the Divine Arrest Bureau and the Six Doors, one of the two marquises and one family, is with the Divine Arrest Bureau.
The Divine Arrest Bureau is mostly responsible for eliminating demons, while the Six Doors are responsible for apprehending criminals. You should know that after the great changes in the world, the most heinous criminals in the martial arts world have become more and more ruthless.
It's like how supervillains in movies need superheroes to successfully capture them.
The Six Doors were the "Avengers" of the Ming Dynasty, and were very popular among the people. Guo Juxia, the chief constable, was a star among stars. In comparison, the Divine Constable Bureau was much more low-key.
Human hearts are made of flesh and blood. Over time, the Divine Arrest Bureau will also become envious of the treatment of the Six Doors. So they will overstep their bounds and interfere in the work of the Six Doors from time to time, under the guise of helping their colleagues.
The conflict between the two sides thus began, and the Four Great Constables of the Divine Constable Bureau and the Four Great Constables of the Six Doors were often compared by busybodies.
Although the people below were making a big fuss, Zhuge Shenhou and Guo Juxia never lost their temper in the court. On the contrary, they got along quite well because they both knew that it was the emperor who was secretly manipulating things.
In short, the layouts of the two marquises and one gate and the two factories and one guard are similar, mainly relying on the stability of a triangle. Chu Yang felt that if his elder brother hadn't become emperor, he would definitely have been an outstanding mathematician.
Whether it was due to deliberate secrecy or not, the capital was very isolated from the outside world. While demons roamed outside, the capital was a place of peace and prosperity, where civil and military officials indulged in pleasure all day long.
If it weren't for this unexpected journey through the martial world, Chu Yang probably would never have known what the outside world was like until his death.
After lost in thought for a while, Chu Yang turned around and found that Guo Furong had fallen asleep, with tear stains on her face, as if she had cried herself to sleep.
He wasn't worried about safety. There weren't any bad people in Tongfu Inn. Even if those people were bold enough, they wouldn't do something like double-crossing each other.
Everything should be fine once the officials arrive tomorrow morning.
After a long day of running around and staying up half the night, Chu Yang was also a little exhausted. His eyelids were drooping, and he fell into a deep sleep with his head tilted to the side.
In the main hall, Tong Xiangyu and the others were discussing reporting to the authorities the next day when suddenly, a rapid knocking sounded at the door, startling them.
"Zhan Tang, go open the door—"
Tong Xiangyu silently retreated behind the crowd.
"It's me again!"
Bai Zhantang looked worried. He had already been quite frightened by the "Male and Female Duo" earlier. Who knew what kind of thing it would be this time?
Despite his complaints, he knew that as the most skilled martial artist here, if there were any real danger, sending someone else would be tantamount to sending them to their deaths!
Bai Zhantang approached the gate shakily. These past two years have been turbulent. Besides scum like the "Male and Female Duo," there have also been demons wreaking havoc on the world.
With a creak.
The inn's main door opened, and standing outside was a black-robed constable with shifty eyes who looked like a monkey.
"Old Xing, you're back again! You scared us half to death!"
Bai Zhantang excitedly pulled Xing Yusen, who was outside the door, inside.
"Old Xing, aren't you going back to the yamen?"
Tong Xiangyu sensed that something was off with Lao Xing. Because he was afraid of the Twin Demons, he hadn't stayed no matter how much she begged him, but now he had slunk back.
"I'm so sorry, Lao Bai, and Manager Tong too." Old Xing, his forehead beaded with cold sweat, clasped his hands together in a pleading manner, "Please let me stay at Tongfu Inn tonight!"
"Old Xing, you're really something else. Why leave your perfectly good home and come stay at an inn?" Li Dazui teased with a silly grin, "Looking for something new here?"
Old Xing immediately waved his hand, "That's not what I meant."
Lu Xiucai whispered a reminder: "As a civil servant, you can't get involved in any shady dealings. Corruption always starts with small things—"
Old Xing was trembling with anxiety, and shouted angrily, "What nonsense are you spouting? Can't you shut up?!"
Tong Xiangyu couldn't hold back any longer and shouted, "Old Xing, can't you just tell everyone what's going on?"
Old Xing gritted his teeth and said, "On my way back just now, I felt like something was following me. I was too scared to go back alone, so I thought I'd come here to hide for a while—"
"Get out of here?" Tong Xiangyu exclaimed in shock, cursing, "You, Xing Yusen, you're putting us in danger! What if you really brought something dirty with you? What will we do then?"
"Little Beckham is still here; she's just a child!"
Old Xing's face changed several times, turning red and green, before he finally shook his head and sighed, "Then—I'd better leave."
Seeing his appearance, Tong Xiangyu couldn't bear it in the end. "Alright, let's all squeeze together in the lobby later. More people means more energy, and we won't be afraid of dirty things."
Old Xing's face lit up with joy.
The next second, as if realizing something, Bai Zhantang exclaimed in alarm, "Oh no, there are two more people in the backyard!"
Half asleep, Chu Yang kept feeling someone licking his face. The wet touch felt very real, reminding him of Qingyue, the top courtesan of the Red Sleeve Pavilion.
Why does it smell fishy?
Qingyue doesn't smell like that at all, from head to toe.
Chu Yang suddenly woke up, and what came into view was not the Qingyue girl, but a huge demon that was neither snake nor cow, licking him with its tongue, just like licking a Want Want popsicle.
Judging from the other person's blissful expression, they must have gone without food for quite some time. If it were me, I would be so hungry that I would even swallow shit.
"No matter what, I smell better than shit. I'm doomed now!"
Chu Yang, who was facing a life-or-death situation, still had the leisure to joke around. His composure surprised even himself; he thought he would be so scared that he would wet his pants.
But then I thought, I've enjoyed all the riches and honors in this life, so dying wouldn't be a loss, so what's there to be sad about?
"I only have one request: could you brush your teeth before you eat?"
Suddenly, the demon stopped, looked at Chu Yang with a strange expression for a while, and then moved its head towards Guo Furong.
Chu Yang's expression finally changed.
"Are you out of your mind? With her tiny body, she's more like dessert. You might as well eat me first."
Seemingly sensing Chu Yang's urgency, the demon's lips curled up, revealing a playful, anthropomorphic smile.
"You son of a bitch, you've got yourself played!"
Chu Yang then realized that the demon was teasing him, and the demon seemed to enjoy this feeling of toying with him, just like a cat playing with a mouse.
No matter how much Chu Yang cursed, the demon ignored him and stuck out its tongue to lick Guo Furong's face.
Guo Furong's body trembled uncontrollably.
She had been awake for a while, but had been pretending to be asleep, afraid of disturbing the demon.
She heard every word Chu Yang said, and feeling extremely ashamed as she thought about all the trouble she had caused him along the way.
"Senior brother, are we really going to die here today?!"
Guo Furong wept softly.
"Don't cry! The more you cry, the happier it will be. Even if it means death, we can't let it have its way. Don't tarnish your master's reputation." Chu Yang couldn't think of any other way to comfort Guo Furong, so he could only say this.
He was desperately trying to find a way to break the deadlock, but unfortunately his martial arts skills were too poor, and all his efforts were in vain.
Guo Furong gradually stopped crying, and her face became resolute. Her senior brother was right. Her father was Guo Juxia, and she couldn't let him down.
Having lost its source of joy, the demon's eyes turned fierce, and it opened its mouth to bite down hard.
Just now.
"Sunflower Acupuncture Technique!"
A white shadow flashed past the demon at lightning speed, so fast that the demon couldn't even see the person's movements. The demon froze for a moment and stood still.
"Haha, Lao Bai, you're amazing!"
"Zhan Tang, you're amazing!"
Tong Xiangyu, Lü Xiucai, and the others didn't dare to go over and could only stand in the passageway between the lobby and the backyard to cheer each other on.
Old Xing, the head constable in black robes, trembled all over as he looked at the enormous demon. He gritted his teeth, drew his sword, and walked over.
With his back to the demons, Bai Zhantang clapped his hands smugly, "It's been so many years since I last made a move, but I didn't expect you to still be as sharp as ever!"
Old Xing, who was about to reach Bai Zhantang, suddenly changed his expression.
Bai Zhantang was startled. Just as he was about to turn around, he suddenly felt as if his waist had been hit hard by a heavy object. He instantly lost consciousness and crashed into the pile of firewood by the wall.
The demon's snake tail swept across again. Old Xing prepared to block with his knife, but as expected, he was swept away and landed in front of Tong Xiangyu and the others!
Everyone turned pale, and the same thought popped into their minds.
Finished!
Stunned and disoriented, Bai Zhantang stared blankly at the demon and muttered, "Human acupoints don't work on it. I'm such an idiot—"
The demon lowered its head greedily, intending to devour everyone in the courtyard.
Tong Xiangyu and the others hugged each other and wept bitterly.
"I told you to run, but you guys insisted on coming to the backyard. Now look what happened!"
"Shopkeeper, didn't you say I was welcome to come?"
"I said I'd come, and you all come right away. I usually tell you to work properly, and none of you listen to me. Why are you being so obedient now!"
"Shopkeeper, that's a bit unreasonable of you."
"I'm about to die, what's the point of reasoning with you!"
"Xiangyu, don't cry. There's something I want to tell you that's been on my mind."
"Exhibition Hall————"
As the two were entwined in sorrowful tenderness, they suddenly heard a loud roar coming from behind the demon.
"I told you to eat me first, don't you even know who the main course is? This shabby inn looks like it's poorly managed, the owner and staff are all emaciated from hunger, what good food could there be?"
"You're so clueless; you're practically a nobody even among demons!"
The demon paused, slowly turned around and stared at Chu Yang. This human had been trying to provoke him, and now he had succeeded.
"Junior sister, I'm sorry, I've tricked you this time. This bastard ate me, and you'll probably be next."
"It's alright, senior brother. I'm not afraid. It's enough to buy these people time to escape."
Chu Yang smiled with relief. Guo Furong, who had been clamoring to be a great hero all day long, finally showed a bit of the spirit of a great hero on her deathbed.
The demon opened its mouth and almost swallowed Chu Yang's entire body.
Guo Furong cried out in a hoarse voice.
Seeing Chu Yang's selfless act of righteousness, Bai Zhantang and the others were so shocked that they were speechless.
In that instant, the whole world froze!
The Palace of Souls.
When Da Ming Chu Yang opened his eyes, the demons disappeared from his sight, leaving only a few strange people fiddling with instruments he couldn't understand.
"I've already said this won't work; these two bloodlines are too different and incompatible!"
"What if it mutates? We have to give it a try!"
"What science is gambling probability? That's metaphysics!"
"It's okay, I'm European!"
"Get out of my lab if you're unlucky."
After arguing for a long time, they finally realized there was another person in the palace.
"Are you alright? You look like you've been quite frightened. Before coming here, you weren't in a good situation, were you?"
Spellsman Chu Yang laughed and helped up Da Ming Chu Yang, jokingly saying, "You'll get used to it. Before I came here, I almost got killed by the Spell Spirit."
The two synchronized the moment they touched.
Da Ming Chu Yang immediately understood the identities of these people and this mysterious palace.
"Your world is quite interesting," said Chu Yang, a spellcaster, with considerable curiosity. "What exactly are these so-called demons? They don't seem like simple monsters."
Da Ming Chu Yang shook his head and said, "I don't know. I've only seen it a few times. I've only seen it from afar before. This is the first time I've been up close. It feels disgusting to me, even more disgusting than a cursed spirit."
The others also synchronized with Da Ming Chu Yang's memories and shared some of their experiences with him.
A moment later, Da Ming Chu Yang returned to the world.
The frozen world came to life again.
Guo Furong was still crying and shouting.
Tong Xiangyu and the others had not yet left.
The demon's body suddenly burst forth with a dazzling light.
It exploded with a deafening roar before their shocked eyes!
A powerful bolt of lightning suddenly exploded, illuminating the entire backyard of Tongfu Inn, as if divine punishment had descended upon the world.
"My goodness, why is it thundering!"
"My god, it's going to deafen me!"
"Shopkeeper, shopkeeper, I can't see!"
"Just close your eyes and rest for a while."
"Where is that demon?"
"Struck by lightning and shattered! Truly, heaven has eyes, and the gods have protected them!"
The joy of surviving the ordeal brought smiles to everyone's faces, except for Guo Furong, who frantically rushed towards the demon's remains, trying to find Chu Yang among the pile of charred flesh.
"Senior brother! Senior brother!"
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have let you come with me on my adventures!"
"If it weren't for me, you'd still be enjoying a life of luxury in the capital right now—"
Guo Furong was on the verge of collapse. She should have let the demon eat her immediately, so that her senior brother wouldn't have died.
Tong Xiangyu slowly approached her.
Even though the guys were holding Tong Xiangyu's hand tightly, she was still walking towards Guo Furong's position.
Li Dazui hurriedly shouted, "Shopkeeper, no! Those are the Male and Female Demons!"
Tong Xiangyu flew into a rage, saying, "Didn't you see what happened just now? They risked their lives to save us, and you're calling them a 'male and female duo'? We clearly misunderstood!"
Lu Xiucai shook his head and subconsciously said, "Not necessarily. As the saying goes, a dying man's words are often the best."
"Shut up!"
The crowd retorted angrily.
Lu Xiucai shrank back and quieted down.
Tong Xiangyu lifted her skirt and ran to Guo Furong's side to help her search for Chu Yang among a pile of meat.
Seeing this, others rushed over to help.
Old Xing stood to the side with a worried look on his face, feeling disgusted by the scene; the smell of burnt meat alone made him want to vomit.
"What are you still standing there for, Lao Xing?!"
Tong Xiangyu looked up at him coldly, "They saved your life, don't forget who brought the demons!"
"Alright, alright, stop talking!" Old Xing felt his conscience had been greatly hurt, and disregarding his disgust, he crawled into the pile of meat and started poking around.
"Hey—I'm here—"
Upon hearing the familiar voice, Guo Furong was overjoyed. She rushed towards the sound and dug Chu Yang out from a pile of bloody filth.
Chu Yang was fine, but he was disgusted by the whole thing.
When he returned from the Soul Palace, he had already been swallowed by the demon. In desperation, he activated the most powerful of the five elemental powers: the Thunder Spirit.
The explosion in the confined space, while fatal to the demons, also blew out all the filth from their bodies.
This almost suffocated Chu Yang, causing his brain to freeze instantly.
However, the so-called filth is not something like excrement or urine, but rather a unique source of power for demons, similar to blood, but more important than blood.
Normal people who come into contact with such people will most likely be transformed into the next demon.
"Senior brother, are you feeling unwell anywhere?" Guo Furong anxiously touched Chu Yang's body. "You must tell me if there's a problem."
"Are you blind?" Chu Yang shoved the filth off his body and snapped, "You're already in this state, and you're still asking me where you feel uncomfortable? Try putting this stuff on yourself and you'll know whether you feel comfortable or not."
.
Guo Furong looked aggrieved. She had meant well and cared about Chu Yang, but he didn't appreciate it at all.
"Young lady, why don't you let your senior brother take a bath first? If you stay any longer, he'll get too saturated."
'
Bai Zhantang gagged while kindly offering a reminder.
"Big Mouth! Quickly pour some hot water from the kitchen and give this young hero a rinse first, ugh—"
Tong Xiangyu started vomiting as she was talking.
Her vomiting triggered a chain reaction, and a group of people followed suit.
"Senior brother, ugh—you should go first—ugh—"
"Alright, you should vomit first before you speak!"
Chu Yang shook his head helplessly. Before Li Dazui could pour hot water, he went into the room first, closed the door, and used his water elemental power to wash his whole body.
A moment later, it was completely transformed inside and out.
"Um—young hero, you can sleep in Big Mouth's room tonight. Your junior sister will sleep upstairs with me, don't worry."
Tong Xiangyu's voice came from outside.
"Thank you, shopkeeper."
"No need, no need, we should be thanking you. You should get some rest."
After exchanging pleasantries, Tong Xiangyu's footsteps faded into the distance.
He couldn't sleep for long anyway, as dawn was already breaking, but Chu Yang still chose to take a nap.
While he wasn't physically exhausted, he was mentally tormented. The existence of the Soul Palace had also significantly impacted Chu Yang.
The chickens in the backyard were scared to death by the demon, so Chu Yang didn't hear any crowing the next morning.
However, a series of urgent knocks came from the main entrance of the lobby, waking Tong Xiangyu and the others who hadn't slept well from their dreams.
"It's killing me! Who's knocking on the door so early in the morning?!"
Tongfu Inn is closed today!
"I advise you to leave before I explode in my morning grumpiness!"
Because Chu Yang had taken over Li Dazui's room yesterday, they slept in the lobby with Bai Zhantang. The knocking startled the three of them.
They cursed for a while until Tong Xiangyu, wearing a thin gauze dress, stood on the second floor, frowning, and said, "Zhantang, go open the door."
"Okay!" Bai Zhantang immediately shut up and, before he was even fully dressed, eagerly opened the door.
Standing outside was a middle-aged man, dressed in official robes and wearing a black gauze hat. He was lean and had sharp eyes.
"Oh my goodness! Shopkeeper, Magistrate Lou is here!"
Bai Zhantang was so surprised that he backed away repeatedly. When he turned around, Tong Xiangyu was no longer on the second floor.
Magistrate Lou strode into the inn like a giant turtle, with a number of constables standing behind him.
Old Xing followed closely behind Magistrate Lou into the inn.
"Hurry up and serve tea to Magistrate Lou! Magistrate Lou came here specifically to issue a reward order to your Tongfu Inn."
Old Xing winked and grinned from ear to ear, his beaming expression clearly indicating he had been rewarded.
The demons and monsters were rampant in the Ming Dynasty, and the Divine Arrest Bureau alone was not enough to quell the chaos of demons and monsters throughout the land. Therefore, the government encouraged extraordinary people and people from all walks of life to participate, which led to the concept of reward orders.
All civilians who participate in the extermination of demons have the opportunity to receive a reward token, which is a symbol of status and allows them to obtain certain privileges. They can also make requests to the imperial court, provided they don't go too far, otherwise their reward token may be revoked.
Upon hearing the reward order, Bai Zhantang's pupils contracted. This thing could completely clear his past criminal record, allowing him to appear openly and honestly in front of the world from now on.
In an instant, his whole body trembled with excitement.
"Old Bai! Calm down!" Old Xing stepped forward and patted Bai Zhantang on the shoulder, chuckling softly, "It's just a reward order, look at you, so naive."
That's what they said, but when the reward order came down this morning, Old Xing almost fainted. He was many times more excited than Bai Zhantang.