What Is a Surprise? Tell Me, What Is a Surprise?

“Splat!!”

Foul green blood splashed everywhere. The shattered hungry ghost fell to the ground and turned into a pool of black mud. As the white blade light descended, it reflected a dust-laden face.

The one thousand three hundred and thirty-seventh hungry ghost.

“Dammit! That monk Huiyuan is like a stray dog—sticking to me no matter how hard I try to shake him off.”

Nan Zhi flicked the ghost blood off the tip of the Fish-Dragon Guillotine. Dark circles beneath her eyes betrayed her deep exhaustion, making it clear at a glance that she hadn't closed her eyes in a very long time.

All around her stretched an endless wilderness. For a hundred li in every direction, not a soul was in sight—only a boundless expanse of yellowed grass and herds of cattle and horses.

Sparse, yellow-rooted wild grass grew in patches. On the ground lay humanoid prints of black mud, dotted with spots of foul, nauseating green pus.

The surroundings were left in complete disarray. Even the bandaged wound on Nan Zhi's right shoulder was slowly oozing blood.

A wooden vine was tied around her waist, bearing a cluster of half-bloomed wisteria flowers that drooped limply as if on the verge of wilting, hanging precariously.

—This was Xu Zi, who had returned to her true form and severed half her body. As it turned out, she was a wooden avatar, a wisteria spirit.

However, Nan Zhi was in no mood to marvel at this now.

Those few hungry ghosts just now were the fourth wave of pursuers she had driven back.

Ever since the mutation at Ghost Buddha Temple, where the monk Huiyuan sacrificed the living beings of Yin Yang Road to the Witch Coffin, Nan Zhi had not dared delay for a single moment. She had been fleeing frantically with the unconscious Xu Zi for over half a month.

For days on end, endless hungry ghosts from Yin Yang Road had pursued her, forcing Nan Zhi to unleash her latent potential and flee all the way by chugging Qi-Supplementing Pills.

It wasn't as though she hadn't thought about immediately reporting to the Demon Suppression Division in Bianjing to inform them of the tragedy at Yin Yang Road and warn the branches in every circuit to beware of Huiyuan.

However, Huiyuan had pursued her relentlessly, driving waves of hungry ghosts and demon beasts after her and keeping her running for her life. Only by catching a rare opening had Nan Zhi managed to use the divine ability of the 【Azure Sea Sky Boots】 to escape to the vicinity of Lizhou Circuit.

Nan Zhi hadn't been with the Demon Suppression Division for long, but she could still identify the locations of the Twenty Four Circuits of the Demon Suppression Monastery across the Great Song.

The Demon Suppression Monastery of Lizhou Circuit was located in Xingyuan, where demon suppressors were stationed. As long as she stepped into the city, she could catch her breath and find a place for Xu Zi to heal in peace.

The thousands of hungry ghosts she had slain along the way were merely an appetizer; the truly formidable and troublesome demons were likely still behind.

—Her EXP bar had been stagnant for a long time. If this hadn't been such an awful time for a breakthrough, Nan Zhi would have loved to break through to Foundation Establishment in one go.

She took a deep look into her system inventory and couldn't help muttering under her breath:

...

...

Xingyuan City was built along the Han River, shining like a pearl embedded upon its waters. To the north lay Qinzhou, to the south Chengdu and Lingzhou, and to the west reached the various tribes of Tufan. Though far from Bianjing, it was nonetheless a bustling metropolis boasting unique local customs and culture.

Guards stood at the city gate, meticulously checking the entry permits of those entering. Performing the repetitive task over and over again inevitably brought a touch of impatience to their faces:

“Hurry up, hurry up! You in the back, where's your travel permit?”

“Hey! You fellow over there, don't wander around after entering the city! Go find a place to stay quickly. Anyone wandering the markets after curfew gets twenty strokes of the cane and a fine of thirty copper coins!”

“What's your business? Oh, a local from nearby Huangshan Village... Pick up the pace! If you're looking for someone, hurry along. If you plan to return today, make sure you keep track of when the city gates lock!”

“From Tufan? A broker? You yellow-haired fellow, let me inform you—in the Great Song, kidnapping and trafficking will get your head chopped off... Mm, get inside quickly...”

A long line formed before the city gate: weathered old men pushing handcarts, sturdy young men seeking manual labor, and young women dressed as village wives carrying bamboo baskets of fruit for sale.

This place was only three cities away from the Tufan tribes, so spice merchants, cloth vendors, and slave owners occasionally entered to do business.

Thus, looking from afar, several foreigners with high bridges, deep-set eyes, blond hair, and blue eyes stood out prominently in the crowd.

“Fruit! Sweet and fragrant candied fruit, honey-coated fruit! We have Jiaqing plums, honey-preserved dried apricots, red pear sweets, and snow-topped plum blossom cakes!”

“Oh my, why are there so few people entering the city today... I've never seen it like this before...”

“You don't know? I heard a demon is causing trouble in the city, eating the hearts and livers of several children! Naturally, fewer people are coming in.”

“Oh my goodness! Are the immortal masters and Daoist priests of the Demon Suppression Monastery not doing anything about it?”

“Doing something? Of course they are! It's just that I heard a bloodthirsty demon escaped from Bianjing, and right now all the government offices, prefectures, and counties across the realm are trying to catch this demon!”

“That demon must have committed some heinous crime to cause such a massive uproar, right?”

“Aiyaya, it's truly terrifying... Don't you know? I heard that during the earthquake in Bianjing a few days ago, that demon killed a demon suppressor from the Demon Suppression Division and fled...”

“Ah? Is that true? How do you know such news?”

“My daughter-in-law works as a clerk in the Demon Suppression Monastery! She made a special trip home a few days ago to warn us, saying that demon is extremely ferocious, telling us to lock our doors as soon as dark falls and not to pay mind to strangers!”

“Whoa, how frightening! But news from the Demon Suppression Division can't be wrong. I heard they keep spirits specifically for delivering messages—a letter sent from Bianjing yesterday can reach our Xingyuan the very next day!”

“Isn't that even faster than the Emperor's eight-hundred-li express delivery? Tsk tsk tsk... I heard that although our Xingyuan is remote, we still have a Demon Suppression Commissioner stationed here. If that demon really flees to Xingyuan, we have nothing to fear...”

Blending into the line to enter the city, Nan Zhi listened to the chatter while gazing from afar at a dozen pairs of glowing green eyes out in the wasteland.

Only then did she sigh softly in relief:

Once she stepped into Xingyuan, she would be within the jurisdiction of the Demon Suppression Division. Though hungry ghosts lacked intelligence, they would still fear the cultivators in the city.

Judging by what the townspeople said, the Demon Suppression Monastery of Xingyuan had at least a commissioner-level demon suppressor in residence, so Xu Zi would surely be saved.

However, when she reached the front of the line and before she could pull out her demon suppressor token, she saw a colossal poster with a portrait hanging on the wall to the right of the city gate:

【A few days ago, on the Ghost Festival, a demon monk slew an enfeoffed god on Yin Yang Road, performing an evil sacrifice of living souls to forge a wicked treasure in pursuit of grand ambitions. This caused evil ghosts of the Underworld to escape and wreak havoc in the mortal realm, bringing disaster and widespread suffering to the common people.

Fourth-class demon suppressor Nan Zhi colluded with Huiyuan, slew her fellow officer Xu Zi, and committed treason. A nationwide warrant is hereby issued for the arrest of Nan Zhi. This person is insidious, cunning, and skilled at bewitching minds. Furthermore, having fled with the evil treasure, she may harbor intentions of massacring cities. All members of the Demon Suppression Division must bring her to justice, dead or alive.】

Below the notice hung a portrait of her face.

What is a surprise?

What is a surprise?

What is a goddamn surprise?

If there wasn't an accomplice of Huiyuan inside the Demon Suppression Division, she would write her name backward today.

Expressionless, Nan Zhi turned around and walked away.