Chapter 47: Slaying the Demon (Part One)

By the light of the torches, the villagers saw the ground strewn with the bodies of wild beasts—a sight so shocking it left them utterly speechless. And standing before the piled carcasses, blade in hand, was Fang Yue, appearing to their eyes like a god of slaughter incarnate. Compared to this slayer, what use was a mountain god?

Fang Yue noticed one of the villagers carrying a torch stepping forward to greet him. Suddenly recalling the black gunpowder stored in the nearby house and the danger of a stray spark, he called out, “Wait, don’t come any closer.”

At his words, the torch-bearing villager stopped immediately, not daring to take another step. The rest of the villagers, too, stood rooted in place, awaiting Fang Yue’s command with the reverence one might show a deity.

Fang Yue left the courtyard and glanced at Deng Yurong, who was tied up. “What’s his story?” he asked.

The villager with the torch replied, “This scoundrel sneaked up to Widow Li’s house and was knocked out with a stick. We tied him up and brought him here. So many beasts from the mountains descended on our village tonight—it must have something to do with him.”

This villager was named Fang Qingbai, the second son of the old village chief. The chief owed his position in large part to having many sons—several of whom were quite capable.

Bound tightly, Deng Yurong protested his innocence, “I had nothing to do with the beasts! I only came because I heard the commotion, just like everyone else!”

But his eyes betrayed his terror. The sheer number of beast corpses was overwhelming.

Another villager retorted, “Who do you think you’re fooling? If you just came to watch, why did you end up at Widow Li’s house? And why did all the beasts ignore you?”

“That’s right! Why didn’t the beasts attack you? Clearly, you summoned them! If it hadn’t been for Master Fang’s skill, we’d all be dead because of you!”

“The evidence is obvious. You still deny it? Fang Baikuan was bitten to death by those beasts—clearly your doing. You claimed it was heaven’s punishment for offending you, but it was you all along!”

“Murder must be answered for with death. We can’t let this scoundrel go—he must pay for Fang Baikuan’s life!”

“Yes, let him pay for Fang Baikuan’s life!”

The villagers grew more agitated, demanding Deng Yurong’s death as retribution. Deng Yurong was already universally despised. In recent days, emboldened by the rumor that he was the reincarnation of the mountain god, he had committed many vile acts, earning the villagers’ utter contempt.

Though he had always denied using beasts to kill, they had never caught him with evidence, and superstition made them reluctant to act. But tonight, caught at the scene, with evidence plain to see, and all the wild beasts he’d controlled lying dead at Fang Yue’s feet, the so-called “mountain god” aura had lost its power.

Seeing the crowd’s fury, demanding his life in payment for Fang Baikuan’s, Deng Yurong turned deathly pale and cried out, “You can’t just execute me like this!”

Fang Yue stepped forward, blade in hand, his clothes soaked with beast blood, the torchlight casting him in a fearsome light. “Deng Yurong, do you have anything left to say?”

Deng Yurong’s lips trembled. “Master Fang, you’re a man of letters—you can’t break the law. Even if I’m guilty, it should be for the magistrate to decide.”

Fang Yue replied coldly, “A murderer must die. This is a principle that holds true everywhere. There’s no need for you to trouble the authorities—you’ll die here, in this beast attack.”

His words made clear his intent to kill Deng Yurong and stage it as a death by wild beasts.

“Master Fang, may I do it myself? I wish to avenge my late husband with my own hands.” Li Zhilian, who had stood silently to one side, now spoke up, holding a sickle she’d brought for protection.

The villagers, each clutching some tool—a hoe, an axe, a kitchen knife, a fish spear, a spade—had all armed themselves before daring to step outside.

“Yes, let Widow Li take his life. The wronged should take vengeance,” someone agreed.

“Widow Li’s husband was killed by Deng Yurong, leaving her and her mother-in-law alone in the world. It’s pitiful.”

All agreed that Li Zhilian should do it, but their eyes turned to Fang Yue for the final decision.

Fang Yue hesitated. Li Zhilian was an ordinary fisherwoman—could she bear the psychological burden of killing? Yet the hatred on her face was plain. In the end, Fang Yue nodded. Deng Yurong had destroyed her life.

As Li Zhilian raised the sickle, Deng Yurong’s fear reached its peak. He began to curse wildly, spewing foul insults at her.

Li Zhilian was unmoved. She had asked to strike not only to avenge her husband, but also to bear the burden of the killing herself, sparing others from guilt. Though she was a woman, her sense of justice was clear. Fang Yue had given her a chance at vengeance; she would shoulder the consequences alone.

Seeing that cursing was futile, and with Li Zhilian about to strike, Deng Yurong shouted desperately, “Heizi! Heizi, save me!”

A massive black shape leapt from the darkness like a gale, charging towards the crowd.

“Move back!” Fang Yue shouted. He had been on guard, and as the creature lunged, he was the first to confront it.

But the beast was too quick. Before he could swing his blade, it crashed into him, hurling him aside as if he’d struck a wall of iron.

“Let go of Deng Yurong!” Fang Yue called out in midair.

Li Zhilian reacted instantly, shoving the bound Deng Yurong away.

The gigantic shadow skidded to a halt, seized Deng Yurong in its jaws, and retreated.

Only then did the villagers see the creature clearly: its eyes glowed crimson, and even on all fours it stood taller than a grown man. Its body was larger than the fiercest tiger of the mountains. Facing its massive form and razor-sharp teeth, they felt an overwhelming sense of dread and suffocation.

It resembled the village mongrels, but its size and bearing made it impossible to mistake for a mere dog. This was a monster, through and through.

The villagers were terrified, trembling uncontrollably. Someone gasped, “This must be a demon from the mountains—only the mountain god could command such a creature. Deng Yurong really is the mountain god reborn. We’ve offended the god now.”

“Heavens, it’s too terrifying. That monster could kill a man in one bite—we’re all doomed.”

Clutching their makeshift weapons, the villagers retreated step by step. The sight of the monster sapped all will to fight. None dared to run, fearing it would notice and pounce upon them.

Seeing the villagers’ panic, Deng Yurong burst into wild laughter. The rope binding him had already been bitten through by Heizi. No longer bothering to play the victim, his demeanor turned manic and hateful as he roared, “You brought this on yourselves! Didn’t you want to kill me? Come on, try! Now you know my connection with Heizi—none of you will live. You can all go to hell!”