Chapter Forty-Eight: Ascending the Mountain and Entering the Lake, the Peril of Yunzhou

“Damn brat, where did he run off to!”
The pangolin demon cursed fiercely, already transformed into human form as he strode toward the cave entrance. Suddenly, he paused—someone was there?
He crept to the corner and peered out toward the entrance. The light was too bright to make out their faces, but he could tell that these dozen people belonged to the Demon-Slaying Division.
Strange—why weren’t these Demon-Slaying officers dealing with the uprising in Pei Jun Prefecture? Why had they all come here instead? Could it be... a plot?
Impossible. How could they know about the trap set to lure and kill in Guangwei County? Had Lord Wang already been captured by them?
No matter. These Demon-Slaying officers were mere juniors in the Refinement realm—even if their numbers doubled, they wouldn’t be enough for him to slaughter. They’d only come to die.
“Heh, you reckless little fools, traveling so far just to feed yourselves to the blade.
Where’s that Han brat? Hand him over, and perhaps I’ll let you leave with your bodies whole!”
“Scoundrel! Demon, how dare you speak such arrogance! You plotted to ambush and kill our officers—your audacity knows no bounds. Surrender now!”
Captain Wu shouted angrily, and the group drew their swords, standing ready for battle.
“Hahaha! You little whelps want me to surrender? What a laugh! Take this!”
The man in the bronze mask raised his hand, hurling a green-glimmering flying dagger at them, swift as lightning.
“Careful!” The group struck at the green-bladed dagger, and Captain Wu rolled aside, barely evading the deadly blow.
But strangely, the dagger curved back, stabbing at him again.
The poison coating the blade dissipated into toxic fumes, making the officers gag and scramble to escape.
Just then, Mingzhen uttered a Buddhist chant, lifting the Demon-Subduing Black Bowl to block the flying dagger.
A resonant clang sounded; the dagger was sent spinning away, wobbling in the air.
But immediately, two more green-glimmering daggers shot forth, and the masked man suddenly reverted to his true form.
A single-horned, green-furred pangolin demon, over thirty feet long, almost filled the entire cave.
He opened his maw and spewed a torrent of emerald poison mist, which surged toward the cave entrance.
This fiend was truly formidable, able to control three green-bladed daggers at once.
And now, with such venomous mist unleashed, surely he meant to tear the dozen officers to shreds.
At that instant, the pangolin demon’s heart lurched.
From the ground beneath him, two white, slender, hooked fangs stabbed up toward his belly.
He’d expected the brat to burrow below and attempt a sneak attack.
To Han Chong’s surprise, gray-black scales suddenly erupted across the demon’s chest and abdomen, as dense as the armor on its back.
This fiend was bizarre indeed, able to grow belly armor—ordinary weapons would hardly pierce it, let alone deal serious harm.

Yet, with the arrow nocked, Han Chong had no choice but to press forward, bracing himself and exerting even more force.
A sickening sound!
Both startled, Han Chong felt the fangs in his hands meet resistance, but they still sank a foot deep into the beast’s belly armor.
A howl split the air as green blood sprayed forth—the pangolin demon crashed to the ground, claws scrabbling at the fangs, determined to rip them out.
The creature’s blood was poisonous, but Han Chong could only roll aside to evade, refusing to let go.
A sizzling sound ate into the cold iron armor at Han Chong’s side and back.
Having found the weapon that could restrain this fiend, Han Chong would not allow the slightest retreat.
He poured all his strength into pressing down the jawbone, driving the fangs deeper still.
The beast realized at last—it could not pull the fangs out.
Desperate, it began digging into the earth, trying to escape and seek a place to recover.
But Han Chong had anticipated this; he’d tied the Demon-Binding Rope to the jawbone, then sprang up, pulling furiously toward the cave entrance.
The rope tightened, and another wail echoed from the tunnel below.
Yet the brute was astonishingly strong; Han Chong’s own strength could not match the creature’s pull.
The earlier poison mist had left the Demon-Slaying officers severely poisoned, unable to assist.
Fine—let’s see how long you can hold out!
Han Chong tied the rope’s other end around his waist, pulling back with all his might, and stabbed his black sword into the earth for leverage.
But the pangolin demon, cornered and furious, suddenly burst from the tunnel, claws and fangs bared, lunging at Han Chong.
Han Chong had no choice but to sprint toward the cave entrance, but the beast was faster.
When he reached the mouth of the cave, the gap between them was barely ten feet.
If Han Chong leaped into the Dragon Saliva Cave and the demon stopped abruptly, he’d be smashed against the stone wall and killed.
If he didn’t jump, even burrowing underground wouldn’t save him from the beast’s rage.
In either case, Han Chong was unwilling to untie the Demon-Binding Rope—for then the fiend would escape again.
It was a clever calculation, and a sudden flash of inspiration revealed a third option.
He suddenly dropped to the ground, flipped over, and kicked upward in a move like a rabbit kicking an eagle.
The demon, caught off guard, was indeed kicked down the cave mouth, tumbling toward the Dragon Saliva waterfall.
The enormous momentum dragged Han Chong down as well.
One after another, the two plummeted toward the lake below, prompting shouts of alarm from the others.

With two heavy splashes, both crashed into the lake’s depths. The pangolin demon suffered further wounds, dizzy and bleeding green.
Han Chong, however, had already used his water-entry technique, moving like a fish and minimizing the impact.
He sped toward the beast, and before it could react, stabbed dozens of times with his sword, finally inflicting a mortal wound.
After a long struggle, he dragged the demon ashore, binding it tightly with the Demon-Binding Rope until only a single breath remained.
The Demon-Slaying officers gathered around, watching Han Chong collapse in exhaustion.
“Captain Han, you really went all out! You’re risking your life—old Wu is truly in awe of you.”
“Yes, it was too dangerous—my heart can barely take it,”
Ouyang Jingguan now regarded Han Chong with renewed scrutiny, feeling more and more unable to fathom him.
“That demon—speak! Are you one of the Bronze Guards of the Shadowed Moon? Do you have accomplices?”
Captain Ning kicked the pangolin demon’s bronze mask and questioned him.
“What? You actually know about the Bronze Guards?”
The nearly-dead fiend suddenly lifted his head, his eyes flashing fiercely.
“Enough nonsense.”
Captain Ning stabbed his sword into the demon’s wound. The beast whimpered in terror, no longer daring to show hostility.
“Fine, I’ll talk.
Yes, I am indeed a Bronze Guard of the Shadowed Moon. Hahaha—so what if you know?
Let me tell you, of the eight prefectures and seventy-two counties of Yunzhou, all except Pei Jun Prefecture are already under our control.
Our lord will soon rise, taking all of Yunzhou.
When that time comes, you insignificant characters will be crushed in an instant.”
As he spoke, the fiend again burst into mad laughter, his face obsessed, forgetting his pain entirely.
“Silence! Who is your master?”
“Heh. From childhood, we Bronze Guards have worn these masks that conceal our demon aura.
No one knows who the others are. I only know our lord resides in Yunzhou City.
Whenever summoned, we wait in the Black Cloud Mountain northwest of the city.
But I am certain our lord bears the royal bloodline of the Shadowed Moon Dynasty!
Sooner or later, we will destroy the Great Feng Dynasty and restore the divine might of the Shadowed Moon!”