On this night, the steward's family, responsible for Ningde Tower in the Prince Ning's Mansion, consisting of thirty members, met their demise. Their corpses were scattered throughout the residence, bearing signs of being gnawed.

Upon reaching the house, Ma Baihu, accompanied by ten Black Riders and over twenty Black Guards, traced the situation to the east city gate. The Black Guards called for the gate to be opened and swiftly rode out.

Commander Lord Liu of the Five City Guards and his family of forty-seven all died by hanging—forty-six bodies neatly arranged by size within a house. Forty-six corpses hung from the rafters.

The group led by Liu Baihu of the Yellow Four, along with his men, also pursued out of the city.

It was evident that this wasn't a natural death. Those who fearfully committed suicide wouldn't bother arranging themselves by height. Moreover, the body of Commander Liu Bai Liu was not among them.

Qingxin Sky Pavilion was destroyed by a mysterious fire. The fire was peculiar, as it only burned Qingxin Sky Pavilion, leaving adjacent structures unharmed.

This fire was orchestrated by Zhao Baihu of the Yellow One, seeking revenge for the humiliation suffered last time. Before setting the fire and confirming no one inside, Zhao Baihu, embodying the spirit of the Demon Suppression Bureau, looted valuable items from the building, leaving the seemingly luxurious structure to be engulfed in flames.

Four roars and cries echoed from the north city, indicating the direction of the Five City Guards. Heading there was Sun Changsi of the Yellow Three.

It seemed that the Five City Guards had their fair share of demonic creatures.

The entire night, the city of Kyoto was in chaos. Men who had awakened by the Rouge River rushed home, their faces covered.

Those who had complimented each other, fought for wealth, and exchanged harsh words now wished they didn't recognize each other.

Their garments stained, they felt too ashamed to face anyone.

On the morning of July 17th, all the members of the Demon Suppression Bureau who had gone on the pursuit finally returned.

In this battle, they killed a second-grade demon, captured a thousand-year-old demonic ghost, and annihilated countless demonic creatures and evil cultivators.

They also confiscated gold and silver, totaling more than seventy thousand taels of silver.

Within a fifty-mile radius of Kyoto, all demonic creatures and evil spirits vanished.

Commander Lord Liu Bai had died a month ago. The present Lord Liu, who appeared during this incident, was an illusion transformed from the White Mountain Black Water Toad Demon.

In Yellow Four, Liu Baihu returned carrying a toad the size of a millstone.

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The innkeeper's family at Ningde Tower perished at the hands of Huang Jiu's insects, and Ma Baihu, after losing his own bay horse, ended his life with a single sword strike.

Various factions that went on the pursuit achieved satisfactory results. Officials, wealthy merchants, and the establishments on Rouge Street associated with the incident all fell under the jurisdiction of the Black Guards.

However, the seductive demon on the flower boat on the Rouge River managed to escape.

After consolidating information from various sources, it was discovered that while Zhao Baihu of the Yellow One was busy burning Qingxin Sky Pavilion, the white-robed snake demon took the opposite route, escaping from the west entrance of the Rouge River, emitting an aura of extreme Yang, and fled out of Kyoto.

Willing to sacrifice their dignity, they managed to slip away right under the nose of the Demon Suppression Bureau.

Zhao Baihu's face displayed a mixture of red and white—he had lost an important figure. Lord Wang gave Zhao Baihu two options: either eradicate the demonic creature by the end of the month, or serve under Liu Baihu of the Yellow Four as a Ninth-Rank Demon Suppression Guard until further notice.

Immediately, Zhao Baihu led seven elite members of the Yellow One group and set off towards the White Mountain Black Water. He surmised that the demon was likely a snake demon, probably heading to the White Mountain Black Water. By pursuing now, with greater speed, there was a chance to catch up before it left the city gates. With White Mountain Black Water significantly weakened, he might even track and exterminate it outside the city.

After breakfast, Li Gou and his group didn't linger in Qinghe County. Xiao Erxian, the steward of Prince Ning's mansion, hadn't arrived yet. The elderly decided to take several livestock from the mansion.

Thanks to the steward treating the oxen like ancestors and giving them a separate yard, there were some livestock left. Li Gou didn't object; he even gestured for the newcomers to join in.

A wealthy client like Prince Ning's mansion was a rare sight. It was considered a heavenly reward not to seize such external wealth. The horses in the mansion were few and mostly old and weak. Each of the five elders took one.

They had planned it out; if they could make it back to Kyoto, they would sell the horses for better ones. The newcomers, with agile minds, weren't interested in the frail horses but focused on donkeys, cows, and mules. They thought these animals might be slower but less likely to attract attention. Greedy individuals didn't care about these, leaving only two thin horses to be led away. Their dream was to accumulate enough money to exchange for excellent horses like the General's.

Li Gou didn't say anything. He thought to himself, "You can talk about saving money once you've survived long enough."

Wang Qingxuan had a special liking for cattle and chose a robust young ox. As for the rare black ox that had been killed yesterday, he didn't care at all. A Taoist riding a cow was considered standard.

After everyone picked their mounts, a new problem arose. They couldn't just ride immediately; it was ninety miles back to Kyoto. Riding without breaks would leave their bottoms with two seams.

Helpless, the group led their animals and once again found Hou Qi. Without hesitation, Hou Qi led them straight to the county yamen, stripping it of anything useful. The county magistrate smiled apologetically but didn't say anything. He dared not say a word since Hou Qi had called back his grandson. With a heritage passed down through thirteen generations, he couldn't afford to offend Hou Qi. Hou Qi took everything, leaving the magistrate speechless.

Li Gou hadn't expected his small team to be the first among the more than twenty squads in the Yellow group to have all members equipped with mounts. This was truly a sign of great fortune.

After dealing with the saddles and bridles mess, which took a few hours, they encountered Xiao Erxian and his group returning.

Steward Xiao Erxian was truly speechless; after all, he had given them three thousand taels of silver! What was this—accepting the money wasn't enough; they even wanted to take some local products when leaving?

The faces of Li Gou's group remained unchanged. They just took what they needed—so what?

If you have the ability, ask for it! Ignoring Xiao Erxian, the group, riding a mix of horses, cows, mules, and donkeys, looked like a ragtag army as they headed southeast along the official road.