The Demon Scourge

When Liu Qian heard this, she looked at Su Qing with a smile and nodded. "Yes, it truly has been a long time."

"Why aren't you working hard by the Emperor's side? Why have you come to my place? Don't tell me you've been fired?"

Su Qing asked with a chuckle, then added, "Have a seat. We're old friends; just treat this place as your own home."

Su Qing knew, of course, that she hadn't been fired; she was merely making a casual joke.

Liu Qian naturally understood this as well, so she shook her head and said, "You always come up with the strangest phrases, though I suppose I understand what you mean! I'm still working for the Emperor, it's just that my workload has increased. Besides, isn't my coming to find you this time exactly what the Emperor intended?"

Seeing her answer so seriously, Su Qing couldn't help but find it amusing. She nodded, found a place to sit, and then said, "So, what exactly is it that brings you here? Or rather, what does the Emperor need?"

Since the Commandery Princess had become the Emperor, the occasions she sought Su Qing out had become fewer. This wasn't surprising; as a new Emperor, she had much to attend to. Moreover, the country had endured a period of war and required a long time to recuperate and rebuild, so the burden on her shoulders was quite heavy.

However, while the visits were fewer, they hadn't ceased entirely, nor had they lost contact. Occasionally, she would send someone with gifts or have a Messenger Falcon deliver a letter, simply to keep in touch.

It was rare, however, for her to send Liu Qian directly like this.

Seeing Su Qing take her seat, Liu Qian followed suit and answered Su Qing's question. "I've come this time primarily to ask for a favor."

Upon hearing this, Su Qing's eyebrows furrowed slightly as she asked, "Ask me for a favor? What could I possibly help with? Tell me about it; if it's something I can truly assist with, I certainly will."

Since her coronation, the Empress hadn't asked Su Qing for much help. For her to seek help now, there must be a trouble she couldn't resolve herself—a last resort.

But Su Qing being Su Qing, she would never agree to anything without knowing the details first. As always, she chose to hear the situation first.

Liu Qian wasn't surprised by this and simply explained the current circumstances. "There is a demon scourge in Luo County, and many lives have been lost... Originally, this matter shouldn't have required your intervention, but unfortunately, I was unable to deal with the demon, so I had no choice but to come to you."

As she spoke, Liu Qian rolled up her sleeve. On her fair arm was a hideous scar, looking as if it had been corroded by something.

Seeing this, Su Qing frowned and said, "A demon you couldn't handle? It seems its strength isn't weak. I imagine the local City God was also helpless against it. Still, it's strange—why did no one inform me? Why wait until now to tell me?"

"The Emperor felt that you had already helped so much and was embarrassed to seek you out again, so she sent me to deal with it first. Unfortunately, my strength was limited. When I faced that demon, I nearly lost my life, which is why I came to you."

Liu Qian let out a soft sigh, clearly frustrated.

Su Qing nodded and said, "The Emperor is truly something; she should have told me about such a thing sooner."

"The Emperor likely didn't expect the demon to be so powerful!"

Liu Qian gave a helpless smile and said, "After all, you and the Bodhisattva purged the Great Demons within the borders back then; there shouldn't have been any left. Who would have thought such a fellow would emerge this time?"

Hearing this, Su Qing also shook her head slightly.

In truth, she didn't find the appearance of such a powerful demon strange at all. After all, the current era was becoming increasingly dire. With the signs of the impending Great Tribulation of Heaven and Earth, it wasn't surprising for some formidable things to appear.

Su Qing let out a helpless sigh and said, "Fine, since you can't handle it, I'll take care of it. But before that, tell me exactly what's going on with that demon! You fought it once, so you must have some understanding of it, right?"

Although Su Qing intended to intervene, she couldn't go in without any knowledge. Powerful as she was, even she had her limits. Knowing oneself and the enemy was the key to victory; understanding more would make the kill easier when the time came.

Liu Qian nodded and began to explain to Su Qing.

"The demon is a Centipede Demon. It uses a pair of hooks and is very strong. However, there seems to be something wrong with its head... it feels... irrational," Liu Qian answered after some thought.

Su Qing found this strange, her eyebrows arching as she asked, "Abnormal? Irrational? How so?"

"Its entire logic is flawed... It's impossible to communicate with; it only acts on instinct."

Liu Qian's brow tightened as she recalled her battle with the Centipede Demon. "Furthermore, it doesn't seem to fear death and fights with extreme frenzy. It even reverted to its original form mid-battle to fight me."

At this thought, Liu Qian couldn't help but sigh. If only her strength had been a bit greater, she might have been able to kill the fellow. Unfortunately, she was too weak. Not only did she fail to kill it, but she also ended up covered in wounds.

Su Qing noticed the resentment in Liu Qian's heart but said nothing, only responding to her description: "From your description, that fellow is indeed strange; it's likely under some kind of influence. Still, such a mindless fellow should be easy to handle. We just need to resolve it quickly... if it's a frenzied creature, I'm afraid it will cause even more trouble during this time."

"That's why I came to find you immediately after reporting back to the Emperor."

Liu Qian nodded, agreeing with Su Qing.

A normal demon would be afraid after making a big scene—after all, not every place was as ridiculous as the path of the Journey to the West, where an entire city could vanish without the demon being slapped to death. However, a frenzied, mindless demon wouldn't know fear; it knew only madness.

"Mm, I'll go and handle this matter in a moment."

Su Qing wasn't one to procrastinate, and this matter wasn't suited for delay. Although Liu Qian knew Su Qing would likely handle it as soon as possible, she was still slightly surprised that Su Qing was setting off so quickly. Perhaps this was why the Emperor found Su Qing so reliable.

"Thank you," Liu Qian said, not knowing what else to say besides a word of thanks.

Su Qing chuckled, then took a pill from her Sleeve Universe and handed it to her. "Take this and heal your wounds properly. I'll set off after I arrange things at home. As for you, go back and tell the Emperor to put her mind at ease."

Liu Qian took the pill and nodded. "I understand."

Su Qing said no more and turned to arrange her household affairs. Liu Qian let out a soft sigh, looking at the pill in her hand, and muttered to herself, "Now even I owe her a favor."

But then again, she already owed her many favors... one or two more didn't seem to make much difference. It was just that repaying these favors in the future would likely become even more difficult.

Liu Qian gave a helpless smile, then rose and departed. She needed to return and inform the Emperor.

Su Qing's 'arranging things at home' was really just telling everyone she was going out for a bit. She didn't even bother to find a proper excuse, simply saying she wanted to take a stroll and would probably be back by evening.

However, even without an excuse, no one said anything. They had already come up with their own explanations. Normally, when Su Qing was free, she would wander the city and treat those in need. So, with her suddenly wanting to leave, everyone was used to it. Likewise, no one clamored to go with her. After all, the shop still needed people!

However, if one were to ask if anyone noticed anything, there was someone... For instance, Ao Yiyi could tell that Su Qing wasn't going to treat patients, but somewhere else. But what if she did? She wouldn't expose Su Qing. In fact, she would even provide cover for her.

"Big Green Sister, be careful on the road," Ao Yiyi said seriously, watching Su Qing.

Su Qing smiled and nodded. "Don't worry, I'm very strong. Even Li Yichou couldn't do anything to me, let alone anyone else. Alright, I'm off! Head to the shop when it's time!"

With that, Su Qing waved her hand and left the manor.

Once outside, she turned left, cast a hand seal, and vanished from the street. Immediately after, she stepped onto her Somersault Cloud and headed toward Luo County.

Luo County wasn't particularly far, but it wasn't close either; it was roughly a few breaths' journey on the Somersault Cloud. In just a moment, she was already in the sky above Luo County.

Upon arriving, Su Qing smelled a thick demonic qi; even the sky was turned gloomy by its influence.

'It seems this demon's influence is quite significant.' Su Qing's brow furrowed slightly as she looked down.

On the ground, white was everywhere. Funeral banners hung in every direction. Clearly, an untold number of people had died recently.

Seeing this, Su Qing pitied them, but the dead were dead; she couldn't bring them back. All she could do was find the culprit and resolve the issue.

In mid-air, Su Qing performed a long-overdue divination. A demon like this naturally had no way to obscure heavenly secrets to prevent her from calculating its location. And the result was exactly as Su Qing expected; the demon failed to escape her calculation.

"In a cave on the eastern mountain?" Su Qing nodded, then performed another calculation to see if there was any danger. The result was a 'slight danger.'

"Even with my strength, it's a slight danger? It seems the situation there is indeed not simple. Likely, it's also influenced by the signs of the Great Tribulation of Heaven and Earth."

Su Qing thought to herself, then made a few more preparations. Once she was ready, she headed in that direction.

Before long, Su Qing arrived on the mountain. Before her was a mountain of corpses. More accurately, it was a mountain of skeletons, but this mountain of skeletons was very fresh, emitting waves of stench.

Seeing this, Su Qing sighed softly. She formed a hand seal and spat out a mouthful of Samadhi True Fire, igniting the mountain of skeletons. Dust to dust; these people were dead, and having their bones piled here was pitiable. It was better to burn them.

The Samadhi True Fire continued to burn while Su Qing walked toward the tightly closed cave entrance. With a flip of her hand, a spear appeared... This was just an ordinary spear she usually used for playing with Su Qingyu, not a spiritual spear, but it was sufficient for now.

She gripped the spear and threw it with great force at the cave entrance. There was a thunderous boom as the gate was forcibly shattered. Even after breaking the gate, the spear's momentum didn't fade as it flew further inside.

Su Qing didn't know if the spear had struck anything, but throwing things did indeed help alleviate some of the anger in her heart.

After the gate broke, waves of black smoke drifted out from within the cave. This smoke was eerie, and Su Qing frowned as she saw it.

"Still not coming out?" Su Qing didn't intend to enter the cave, so she naturally tried to call him out. Though she didn't know if she could draw out a demon that had lost its mind, it didn't hurt to try.

Just then, a series of noises echoed from within the cave. It sounded as if something massive was moving.

Su Qing's brow furrowed. A spiritual sword appeared in her hand; while it wasn't as good as Leng Xiang or Yudie, it was still a decent and handy tool. She fixed her gaze on the cave entrance, watching as the billowing black smoke continued to pour out... as if something were emerging.

A moment later, a giant centipede, carrying clouds of thick smoke, crawled out from the cave. Simultaneously, it lunged to bite Su Qing.

Su Qing's eyebrows arched. Without hesitation, she swung the longsword in her hand. The power of Su Qing's strike was by no means small; with a single stroke, she sliced off its head.

With a thunderous crash, the massive head rolled onto the ground. Even after the head fell, black smoke continued to drift and seep from it... including from the severed neck.

Seeing this, Su Qing did not grow careless. Instead, she retreated dozens of steps with her sword in hand, ensuring a safe distance.

"This demon seems different from what Liu Qian described. Aside from both being Centipede Demons and both being crazed, there don't seem to be many similarities. Could it be that in this short time, the demon has undergone another transformation? Just what is inside that cave?"

Su Qing's brow was tightly knit, her grip on the sword tightening.