Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Yunhe Town, the Human Skin Drum

Chu Wuji galloped out of the city, his horse’s hooves leaving afterimages.

The autumn night was cool and slightly chilly. The horse was sweating, its breath forming white plumes in the air. As the steed dashed forward, it left a white trail behind.

Traveling through the night, Chu Wuji encountered a troop of soldiers. This must be the reinforcements sent to Yunhe Town.

‘If it’s this troop, they should be able to handle ordinary demons, right?’

Chu Wuji hadn’t seen many demons before; he had only heard tales from elderly people in various villages.

He had always been curious about one thing: if demons were truly that terrifying, how could human kingdoms maintain order and stability?

Subconsciously, he felt that any random demon could use its unpredictable magic to infiltrate the imperial palace and assassinate important figures.

Now, seeing the government troops, he realized that he had underestimated the human kingdoms.

Although this troop was on a rapid march, they were heavily armed and armored, even their horses clad in protective gear.

Despite this, the soldiers, who had been marching for a while, showed no signs of fatigue and had no intention of stopping to rest.

It was difficult for soldiers without special training to possess such endurance and stamina.

‘It seems the Lihuo Kingdom does have martial arts cultivation methods, but they’re limited to the military. I haven’t heard of them before, so they probably aren’t too extraordinary.’

If these cultivation methods were truly powerful, they would have been widely known. Any technique used in battle couldn’t be hidden and would definitely attract public attention.

They were probably just methods to strengthen muscles and bones and increase strength.

Chu Wuji soon noticed a few individuals in scholar attire among the troops.

‘Civil officials wouldn’t be here. Could they be sorcerers or alchemists?’

Staring at them for too long wouldn’t be polite.

Chu Wuji glanced at them a few times, and an officer from the troop turned his head to examine this person riding through the night.

Chu Wuji didn’t speak but nodded apologetically, then gently kicked his horse’s flanks, accelerating towards Yunhe Town.

***

Yunhe Town

Located by the canal, the town was filled with the sounds of rushing water and crashing waves, which only emphasized the silence of the night.

The desolate and chilling atmosphere of autumn seemed even more pronounced here.

Every household had their doors closed and windows shut, not daring to light candles. Occasionally, a frightened sob would escape, quickly stifled for fear of attracting unwanted attention.

At the canal port, a cargo ship with its deck stained with blood stood still, blocking other ships from entering the harbor.

Si Que and three Palace guards were currently on this merchant ship, along with several senior physicians who had come to snatch up medicine.

When Si Que arrived in Yunhe Town, she encountered the town’s bewildered and controlled soldiers. After losing a few guards in the fight, they fled to the cargo ship, where they encountered the physicians.

She was truly exasperated and said sternly, “This cabin holds more than half of the Lihuo Kingdom’s top medical experts. Do you all want to be captured and have your lineage extinguished?”

Several elderly physicians looked as aggrieved as children. They knew they had taken a risk, but they hadn’t realized how serious the situation was when they arrived.

“Those old fellows snatching up medicine… it can’t be helped! If I can’t get the medicine now, I’ll have to serve tea and water to a few junior physicians when I borrow it later. What a disgrace!”

“We can’t be blamed entirely. We didn’t actively seek danger, did we? This is near the capital. If we weren’t in a hurry, it would only be a day’s journey. Who would have thought it would be like this…”

“Indeed, if you didn’t know better, you’d think we had entered a bandit’s den!”

Si Que spoke while remaining vigilant about the situation outside, silencing herself at the slightest noise.

For now, they were safe. Her cold gaze fell on another person in the cabin: Jia Yibing, the commander of Yunhe Town’s garrison.

Si Que’s team had lost a few members trying to rescue this man.

“Quickly explain the situation. Why is Yunhe Town in such a state? One would think demons are gathering here!”

Jia Yibing knew the general course of events. Even though he wasn’t directly involved, he couldn’t shirk responsibility for the situation escalating to this point.

His face pale, he explained with a dejected look, “A few days ago, a merchant ship passed by here, heading towards the East Sea. When the town official inspected the ship, he saw a large drum on board and took a liking to it. He then confiscated it under the pretense of official duties.”

This behavior was similar to collecting tolls, using the excuse of official inspections to extort bribes.

If you didn’t offer a bribe, they would claim there was something wrong with the goods on your ship and find various reasons to make things difficult.

The imperial law prohibited such behavior, but it couldn’t be enforced so strictly. As long as Yunhe Town functioned normally, the higher-ups wouldn’t interfere.

Si Que frowned and pressed, “A drum? What was wrong with the drum? Did he confiscate a demon’s belongings and attract their revenge?”

“No, the town official said that the drum’s skin was delicate, feeling like a maiden’s skin. He kept it in the town hall and would often touch it, finding it comforting.”

“One day, the town official said he was sitting on the drum, trimming his nails. There was no one around, but he suddenly felt someone touch his hand, and his finger got cut, bleeding onto the drum. A few days later, strange things started happening in Yunhe Town.”

“At first, it wasn’t serious, so they tried to suppress the news and hired a wandering Daoist to handle it.”

“The Daoist said he immediately noticed that the two drumsticks were also problematic. He used black dog blood to dispel the evil energy, but the black dog bit the Daoist’s hand, and the blood dripped onto the drumsticks…”

“…” Si Que fell silent.

“I knew he was a wandering Daoist, but I didn’t expect him to be this ‘wild’!” The old imperial physician exclaimed, giving a thumbs-up in amazement.

The truth wasn’t yet certain, but it was likely that the drum and drumsticks were the source of the problem. After tasting human blood, they started causing harm.

No wonder the incident wasn’t reported in time. The problem originated within the officials of Yunhe Town!

Now, it seemed the demon drum wanted to occupy Yunhe Town as its lair, turning a minor incident into a major disaster…

Jia Yibing still tried to defend himself, saying the situation wasn’t that serious. “You don’t know this, but half a month ago, the demon drum’s skin flew out and fought with some expert. It was beaten until the drum skin was almost destroyed, so… there should be an expert coming to help soon!”

The old imperial physician suddenly asked, “It’s been half a month. Has that expert arrived yet?”

Jia Yibing was speechless, unable to argue further.

Si Que, who had been keeping a close watch on the situation outside, raised her hand and warned, “Quiet! The monsters are coming out!”

There was a small window on the side of the cabin, offering a view of the center of Yunhe Town.

Two figures with white cloth wrapped around their heads, completely covering their faces, appeared. They seemed to be the two drumsticks from before.

They dragged the bodies of the town official and several other officials, skinning and boning them in a gruesome scene that was hard to watch!

The bones, still clinging with flesh and tendons, were neatly arranged, vaguely resembling the frame of a large drum.

The best parts of the flayed skin were then used to patch another severely damaged piece of human skin.

They were repairing the demon drum’s skin!

And they seemed to intend to create more demon drums, as if the town’s population was nothing but materials in their eyes.

The people in the cabin didn’t dare make a sound, watching the scene with bated breath and furrowed brows.

When the original demon drum was repaired, the two humanoid drumsticks bowed and struck it, the booming drumbeat echoing through the night in Yunhe Town.

The drumbeat was like a demonic sound, bewitching the townspeople, who walked out in a daze.

The physicians were prepared. They had crushed some herbs that could clear the mind and distributed them to Si Que and the others to plug their ears. A minty coolness spread from their ears, dispelling the drowsiness in their minds.

However, Jia Yibing, who had been too close to the demon drum before, wasn’t helped even with his ears plugged. Soon, his mind was affected by the drumbeat, and he suddenly turned violent, attacking the people in the cabin.

The Palace guards were skilled and reacted quickly, immediately stopping Jia Yibing and preventing him from harming the physicians.

However, the commotion attracted the attention of the demon drum.

Si Que made a quick decision. “Break Jia Yibing’s arms and legs. Keep him alive for questioning later. You stay here and protect the physicians, find a chance to escape. I’ll lure those monsters away!”

Without further ado, she leaped out of the cabin and appeared in the demon’s sight.

Si Que wasn’t reckless. She had noticed earlier that some of the guard dogs in the town would bark fiercely at the demons, showing no fear.

As soon as she left the ship, she used stones as projectiles, breaking the ropes of several dogs. The dogs rushed out of the courtyards, barking and biting at the bewitched soldiers.

Among them, the five black dogs were the fiercest.

‘No wonder there are legends about black dogs warding off evil. These black dogs are truly ferocious.’

Si Que wasn’t overly optimistic. The dogs could only alleviate the pressure; they couldn’t truly resolve this crisis.

‘I can’t fight them head-on. I just need to distract them and prevent them from harming the physicians.’

Just as Si Que was thinking of a plan, the drumstick humans leaped up and slammed down like performing a New Year’s greeting, crushing a dog into a bloody mess.

She didn’t dare hesitate any longer. Confirming that she had attracted the demon’s attention, she used feints and retreated quickly towards the main road, hoping to encounter the reinforcements sooner.

The demon, unable to catch Si Que, seemed to grow impatient. The drum skin flew out on its own, like a large net covering Si Que with incredible speed.

If she continued running, she would definitely be caught in the net. Left with no choice, Si Que swung her sword, but a metallic clang rang out, and her hand went numb from the impact.

‘This isn’t like delicate maiden’s skin at all, it’s harder than the Palace gates!’

In this situation, it was difficult to create distance and escape. She had to face it head-on.

Si Que fought and retreated with difficulty, her sword arm numb. She also had to deal with the drum skin’s cunning attacks. Its edges could fold and strike from the sides.

Such flexibility shouldn’t be possible with its hardness!

The maidservant’s entire focus was on the fight; she didn’t notice the sound of approaching hooves.

It wasn’t until a peach wood spear flew past, piercing the drum skin in mid-air and pinning this terrifying object ten meters away, that Si Que noticed the sound of hooves behind her.

It was Chu Wuji. How did he get here?!

Before Si Que could ask, Chu Wuji rode over and asked urgently, “Are those physicians still alive? If they’re dead, I won’t get involved. I have to rush back for the competition. Maybe I can still make it in time.”

“…Eh?”

Si Que’s mind went blank for a moment. She hadn’t expected this to be the first thing he said upon arriving.

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