When the waiter of the tavern brought the meal to the three, they didn’t eat immediately but instead took out some money to ask questions.
The waiter happily pocketed the money and nodded, saying, "You guys came to the right person, it really happened. A relative of mine is in Wu Family Village, he said seven or eight people have been abducted, and their bodies haven’t even been found."
Li Fengyi nodded. The information submitted by Bamboo Sea County stated that the demon incident occurred in a place called Wu Family Village: "Besides Wu Family Village, have there been any other demon incidents in other places?"
The waiter shook his head: "Besides Wu Family Village, I haven’t heard of any other places experiencing demon incidents!"
Wei Fan frowned: "Apart from the recent days, hasn’t there been any demon incidents here over the years?"
Those two City Guards are undoubtedly Fox Demons, could those demons not have eaten anyone?
The waiter continued shaking his head: "No, with the Demon Suppression Bureau’s deterrence, what demons would dare to be reckless? We don’t even know where this Wild Demon causing chaos came from this time. Unfortunately, the City Lord led people to block it for several days, but they haven’t found any traces of this demon."
Wei Fan laughed: "Judging by your tone, your City Lord is quite a good official, huh."
The waiter nodded: "Consider him a good official, though a bit of a playboy. Anyway, since the City Lord took office, whenever demons appear in Bamboo Sea County, he spares no effort to combat them. This time, the demon incident happened, it is said the City Lord has already stayed in Wu Family Village for several days, going out of the city at night and returning during the day.
If you gentlemen have nothing else, I must get back to work. If I delay too long, the shopkeeper will scold me."
"Keep an eye on our horses and don’t let anyone get close!"
Li Fengyi pulled out some more money, sending the waiter away.
There are no other demon incidents, and the City Lord has a good reputation, even he himself was beginning to wonder if Wei Fan might have made a mistake.
"Let’s have our meal first, and after we finish, we’ll go out to gather more information."
Wei Fan naturally knew he hadn’t made a mistake.
Bamboo Sea County seems so peaceful, perhaps those demons have bigger schemes, most likely stepping into another trap again.
The next day!
"Let’s go straight to the county yamen!"
Wei Fan thought Bamboo Sea County might be crawling with demons, yet after searching most of Bamboo Sea City last night, they unexpectedly didn’t encounter a single demon.
They even checked the county yamen but found nothing noteworthy.
Bringing their weapons, the three soon met the County Magistrate of Bamboo Sea County, Li Wenchang, a middle-aged man with fair skin and a somewhat scholarly demeanor.
He looked a bit exhausted, but upon seeing Wei Fan and the others, he immediately appeared overjoyed: "I was just calculating the time; the experts from the Demon Suppression Bureau should be arriving today. Please, take a seat, I already had meals prepared once I heard you were coming, I’m relieved now that you are here.
Last night that demon appeared again, abducting two people, and several captains pursued it for a while but eventually lost track."
Wei raised his hand to stop him: "No need to eat, we’ve already eaten outside. Please, Magistrate Zhang, lead us to Wu Family Village now, and let’s try to hunt down and kill that demon today!"
Zhang Wenchang was stunned for a moment, then nodded: "All right, please wait a moment. I will send someone to call several captains to assist you; they know more about the demon situation than I do!"
After speaking, Zhang Wenchang turned and left to gather personnel, and shortly after, a governmental officer brought tea.
Wei Fan didn’t drink it, nor did Li Fengyi or Yu Hong.
Wei Fan nodded silently to himself.
The experienced Demon Suppression Guards in the Demon Suppression Bureau, while perhaps not possessing immensely high cultivation, have a heightened sense of vigilance. Even if neither of them saw any issues with County Magistrate Li Wenchang, they still didn’t touch the tea.
[Li Wenchang: Colluding with demons, having a child with a demon]
[Killing him would gain ten years of power]
This is what appeared on the panel the moment he first saw Li Wenchang, who shockingly had a demon offspring. The biggest issue was with the County Magistrate himself.
"Be careful, this Li Wenchang has colluded with demons!"
Wei Fan’s lips moved slightly; his voice reached Li Fengyi and Yu Hong’s ears.
Under Li Fengyi’s guidance, he had also learned the small technique of Secret Transmission, and it proved quite practical.
If not for this method, he would have to find other ways to warn the two of them.
The two of them glanced at Wei Fan without showing any change in their expressions, becoming cautious in their hearts.
They hadn’t seen anything suspicious about Li Wenchang, since their inquiries last night indicated that Li Wenchang had a good reputation in Bamboo Sea County. Not everyone praised him, but few spoke ill of him.
"Gentlemen, we can leave now!"
After a while, Li Wenchang returned.
The three of them followed Li Wenchang out of the county yamen, finding two carriages parked by the entrance, with several captains on horseback.
"Please get in the carriage!"
A governmental officer pulled open the curtain of the carriage, inviting the three to get in. Li Wenchang had already entered another carriage.
The three exchanged glances and then sat in the carriage.
In the center of the carriage was an incense burner, from which blue smoke emanated, filling the air with a sandalwood fragrance.
Li Fengyi’s lips moved slightly: "This incense probably has something wrong with it. Let’s take the Antitoxic Pill and see what tricks this guy is up to!"
If not for Wei Fan’s warning, they would most likely fall into a trap.
"He must be planning some kind of trap!"
When leaving the Demon Suppression Bureau, each of the three had received an antitoxin elixir, and they immediately consumed one each.
The Antitoxic Pill provided by the Demon Suppression Bureau may not neutralize every poison, but for this kind of poison spread through fragrance, it can resolve ninety-nine percent of them.
And after taking the Antitoxic Pill, the three started holding their breath, trying not to inhale the fragrance.
With their Acupoint Realm cultivation, holding their breath for several days might be impossible, but doing so for half an hour or an hour was manageable.
Wei Fan once again transmitted a message to the two: "Those captains are also transformed demons!"
Before boarding the carriage, he scanned the several captains, and his panel showed reactions, though they were not powerful demons, merely one or two grades of the True Realm.