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The river water turned red, the surface churning as the demon farmer howled in fury.
His legs had been severed by Gu An. Blood gushed forth, and black smoke even rose from the wounds.
Gu An dove back into the river water, using the current's momentum to drift downstream, gripping the sickle tightly as he went.
Along the way, there were still eerie slashing strikes...
But Gu An had already moved far away.
Looking back at the slashing strikes in the river water behind him, Gu An was extremely surprised.
"It can still cause harm without the sickle?"
All along, he'd thought the slashing was caused by the demon's sickle blade. Now it seemed that wasn't the case at all.
The sickle blade could slash, but the demon itself could do so as well.
Gu An recalled the demon calamity stories Old Man Hong used to tell the village children.
When he was young, there was a demon in the river water.
Hidden in the water, formless and invisible.
That was the demon's supernatural power.
The demon could control water among the Five Elements, wielding it like an extension of its arm.
That was the power of supernatural abilities—the demon's divine power.
After a moment, having swum for some time, Gu An surfaced from the river water to catch his breath. Looking up, he saw the demon's form floating about, then suddenly hiding in the turbid current again.
The demon that had materialized was now gone, and even the blood that had stained the water disappeared with it, as if no demon had been encountered—as if it had all been a dream.
"It hasn't disappeared..." Gu An's eyes were cold. He could feel the demon was still watching him.
He swam to shore and nimbly emerged from the water.
Then he bent down and looked backward through his legs.
What he saw through his legs was still that cold, dim scene with the blood-red moon hanging in the sky.
This was the best proof.
An ordinary person targeted by a demon could use this posture to determine whether they were still being haunted by the demon.
Gu An gazed toward the distant hillside.
Old Man Hong was standing halfway up the slope.
The two looked at each other from afar.
To avoid dragging Old Man Hong down with him, Gu An waved at him, then plunged into the forest.
He walked far away, yet Old Man Hong still waved at him, like an old man at home seeing off family members, reluctant to let them leave.
Until his figure disappeared, Old Man Hong still stood rooted in the forest, watching.
Old Man Hong's behavior showed he was truly an honest old farmer.
This thought flashed through Gu An's mind as he headed toward Anshan Town.
To learn about demons, going to Anshan Town was most suitable. Most importantly, the town had the Demon Suppression Bureau.
Those Celestial Masters who dealt with demons were mostly in the Demon Suppression Bureau. Asking them would be best.
...
Hong Tiandi waved repeatedly at Gu An.
He stamped his feet anxiously on the spot, wanting to call out to Gu An, but afraid that speaking out would attract the demon's attention.
"My woodcutter's knife, give me back my knife..." Old Man Hong smacked his lips, both hysterically and in a small voice, scratching his head and ears in place.
Gu An's hemp-clothed figure disappeared from view.
Hong Tiandi's face fell. He stared at the distant mountain forest.
He heaved a deep sigh.
Then he looked toward the distant river surface. The demon that had materialized was now gone.
That demon certainly wasn't dead.
"Forget it, forget it. Consider it protection for Ah An." Old Man Hong consoled himself.
Then he looked down at the hillside beneath his feet, gazing at where he'd just rolled down. No trees, just grass—he'd only suffered minor scrapes from the fall. He recalled how Gu An had skillfully avoided the demon's repeated persecutions all the way, and finally that angry demon howling in the river water.
"Ah An injured the demon... if he can harm demons, has he learned supernatural arts?"
...
Gu An removed his hemp clothing and wrapped the sickle blade he'd seized from the demon farmer.
This sickle blade was cold to the touch—colder than winter ice, and then some.
It froze both flesh and soul.
This sickle was difficult to hold for long periods. Even wrapped in clothes, it still emanated threads of coldness.
In summer, wearing this thing on one's body would be absolutely marvelous.
Achoo—
Gu An sneezed.
Swinging the sickle blade earlier had left him physically and mentally exhausted, and he'd been soaking in river water. Even with his robust constitution, he could barely endure it.
In his current condition, if he swung the sickle two more times, he would definitely pass out.
Recalling his seventy-four cycles of life and death, Gu An couldn't help but narrow his eyes.
He should be able to do better. However, no one was perfect. If he wanted to do better, he'd need to die a few more times.
Lost in thought, flashes of memories from a few days before Mangzhong occasionally flickered through Gu An's mind.
The scenery in the memories was peculiar.
Not the netherworld where demons dwelled.
But a place with very, very tall buildings. The roads were neither earth nor stone, hard as iron, without a single gap—as if laid with entire giant rocks.
The people in the memories wore strange clothes. What the women wore was... vulgar yet marvelous.
Gu An knew what these memories were—memories from his past life.
These memories were also one of the reasons he could calmly face demons.
"Could it be that because I recalled my past life, I'm able to repeatedly experience Mangzhong?"
Gu An spoke to himself.
In his past life, he had read books—books that could be read without paper. The people in those books possessed such abilities.
Lost in thought, he traveled through the mountain forest until he reached the official road.
After walking for some distance—
"Brother up ahead!"
A courteous shout came from behind.
Gu An stopped and looked back, seeing four people approaching him.
The most eye-catching of the four were the two on the left—a man and a woman in fine brocade robes, looking like wealthy townspeople's children on a spring outing. Beside them were two others. One was someone Gu An recognized—an old peddler who frequently came to their village selling various sundries.
The last was an unfamiliar woodcutter, who appeared to be a wood farmer from a nearby village.
These four traveling together was extremely odd.
Lang Qing hurried forward and bowed with cupped hands: "Brother, are you heading to Anshan Town?"
"Mm."
Gu An didn't want to deal with them.
It wasn't that he was cold or poor at socializing, but he was being targeted by a demon. Following him would be no different from hanging oneself.
Hearing Gu An's lukewarm response, Lang Qing still smiled.
"I know approaching you so suddenly like this is quite presumptuous, but it's unavoidable. My younger sister and I went out on an excursion alone. It's our first time traveling far, and we don't know the way—we got lost. My sister is timid by nature and fears bandits on the road, so I wanted to ask if you're going to Anshan Town."
"We could travel together. With more people, we wouldn't fear encountering bandits."
Hearing this, Gu An looked up toward the young woman standing three zhang behind Lang Qing.
Seeing him look her way, she gave a slight bow of apology.
Even to him, a hemp-clothed farmer, she was polite and proper.
"It's not far from here to Anshan Town—four or five li. Here are fifty wen coins. Consider it payment for hiring you as a guard on the road." After speaking, Lang Qing pulled money from his sleeve and generously stuffed it into Gu An's hand.
At this moment, he gave off the impression of a wealthy young master with money to burn.
Gu An looked down at the coins.
Fifty wen was no small amount.
This could buy fifty steamed buns.
"No need." Gu An didn't accept the money and chose to turn and leave.
The demon farmer was targeting him. Though its legs had been severed and it seemed unable to cause more harm, his seventy-two deaths taught him that the demon wouldn't end things so easily. It would definitely come after him again. In fact, he had a feeling it would find him soon. The demon wouldn't rest until he was dead.
"Hey, brother, reconsider! Is fifty wen not enough? I'll add five more."
"Ten wen."
"At most fifteen more wen, no higher."
Lang Qing spoke while following him.
The familiar old peddler also spoke up: "Could you be Gu An? This old man has been to your village selling sesame oil, lamp oil, needles and thread. Do you still remember me... You needn't worry they have ill intentions. These two are the young master and young miss from a great household in the county..."
The peddler was smooth-talking, trying to put in a good word for Young Master Lang Qing.
Gu An frowned, preparing to speak when a familiar palpitation surged in his heart.
It's here?!
The demon farmer had found him again.
Gu An suddenly turned to look behind him.
Lang Qing and the other three were stunned. What was happening?
Hiss—
Just then, a miserable scream rang out.
The woodcutter's body was severed at the waist. Blood sprayed forth, staining the firewood that had also been sliced.
The peddler's face went white as a sheet.
He vomited on the spot.
At the same moment—
"A demon?!" Lang Qing's sister's beautiful eyes showed shock and alarm as she spoke two words with her vermillion lips. Though her fair face showed surprise, there was no panic.
"Heaven's curse! This fellow has also attracted a demon!"
Lang Qing's face turned iron-blue. He and his supposedly timid sister both moved with swift steps, covering several zhang in a few blinks.
These two were clearly martial artists with internal cultivation.
Oh!
Gu An tilted his head slightly.
"'Also attracted a demon'... 'also'?"