"Good. Now *this* is a Grand General of my Demon Slayer Bureau," Xu Jianzhu said in a booming voice, treading on air as he slowly approached.

"Greetings, Sir!"

Gu Zheng hurriedly bowed.

Zhou Wanghai and Eternal Star also bowed.

"No need for formalities."

Xu Jianzhu raised a hand, glanced at Zhou Wanghai and Eternal Star, and said calmly, "The Yong Family’s demonized corpse qi is rather peculiar. It’s quite troublesome to cleanse once you come into contact with it, so be careful during your search."

"Yes!"

Gu Zheng replied, "I’ll take my leave now."

With that, he backed away and left.

Zhou Wanghai and Eternal Star immediately followed.

The three of them quickly moved away from the city wall.

From start to finish, neither Chen Wuji nor Xu Jianzhu had suspected Zhou Wanghai and Eternal Star.

This was because of the armor they wore; one set was from the Demon Slayer Bureau, the other from the City Defense Bureau.

Furthermore, Eternal Star had not cultivated the Yong Family’s True Skill, so his aura was exceptionally pure.

The members of the Yong family who were easily identifiable carried the faint, intermittent stench of a corpse.

The two had successfully escaped disaster.

They continuously thanked Gu Zheng via Telepathy.

Without Gu Zheng, they would not have been nearly so composed.

Gu Zheng told them to be quiet.

The Zhong Family’s reaction was swift.

They immediately locked down the entire city, permitting entry but forbidding anyone from leaving.

It was a clear declaration: they intended to investigate everyone in the city and leave no spies from Yue Country remaining.

Gu Zheng wasn’t worried, though.

After that brief public appearance, Zhou Wanghai and Eternal Star would be fine as long as they didn’t expose themselves.

And since he had already declared his intention to help with the search, Gu Zheng first returned to Zhuge Mansion and let Steward Liu and the other servants out of the cellar.

He then sent Zhou Wanghai and Eternal Star on their way, telling them to return to their respective units.

Gu Zheng then set out alone, walking through the ruins-strewn streets in search of the Yong Family’s "rats."

Spies and Corpse Puppets!

His main targets were the Corpse Puppets.

Killing Corpse Puppets would earn him Demon Points.

As for the spies, Gu Zheng wasn’t interested.

This time, for the sake of the Dragon Struggle, Yue Country had infiltrated the Royal Capital of Jing Country and orchestrated a city-wide bloodbath that had killed at least two hundred thousand people.

Having suffered such a loss, the Zhong Family would absolutely retaliate!

And they would retaliate viciously!

They wouldn’t be satisfied until they had caused earth-shattering slaughter and razed an entire city.

’And when that happens, most of the dead will just be the common folk...’

...

WHOOSH—

A fierce wind suddenly struck.

A Corpse Puppet shot out from the shadows, pouncing on Gu Zheng.

Gu Zheng, who had been about to unleash a blade attack, paused. His body shifted to dodge the Corpse Puppet as he simultaneously drew his Red Abyss Blade and executed a Saber Technique.

SLICE! SLICE!

The blade unleashed a Sword Gang, leaving a series of gruesome wounds on the Corpse Puppet.

The Corpse Puppet felt nothing and attacked again, brandishing its sharp claws.

’A Profound Corpse!’

SWISH—

Gu Zheng’s Divine Wondrous power surged as he put more force into his attack. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!

The light from his blade flashed dazzlingly. A hideous head, two arms, and two legs fell to the ground, leaving the Profound Corpse’s torso to bounce on the pavement.

He waited a moment. ’Spirit Capturing!’

[Demon Points +5]

With his reward secured, he continued on his way.

Along the way, he encountered people from the Demon Slayer Bureau, the Observatory, the Dragon Guard Bureau, the Divine Capture Bureau, and the City Defense Bureau...

In addition to these major Government Offices, people were scouring the area for spies, members of the Yong family, and Corpse Puppets.

There wasn’t a single living civilian on the streets.

The earlier commotion kept the civilians in hiding, too afraid to show their faces or make a sound.

The Government Office hadn’t sounded the gongs to tell the people it was safe to come out, either.

The Corpse Puppets had not yet been fully cleared out, and some members of the Yong family might still be lurking about.

The danger was still present.

...

SLICE! SLICE!

Emanating a scorching aura, the Red Abyss Blade slashed three times, severing a head, two arms, and two legs.

THUD, THUD, THUD...

The torso bounced for a while.

’Spirit Capturing!’

[Demon Points +1]

SLICE! SLICE! SLICE!

Without pausing, Gu Zheng weaved through a group of Spirit Corpses.

The light from his saber flashed as the Sword Gang became a thin line, slicing through the air to chop off heads and arms.

’Spirit Capturing! Spirit Capturing!’

[Demon Points +1]

[Demon Points +1]

"Gu... Gu, thank... thanks," Zhao Danv said, slumping onto a pile of rubble. She gasped for air, trying to regulate her breathing as she thanked him.

THWACK!

Gu Zheng lopped off the final Spirit Corpse’s head. After its torso bounced on the ground and he completed the Spirit Capturing, he turned to Zhao Danv and said softly, "It was nothing. How are you, Sister Zhao? Can you hold on? I have a healing Treasure Pill here..."

"N-No need!"

Zhao Danv shook her head slightly. "I... I’m not badly injured... just... just exhausted."

Hearing this, Gu Zheng smiled faintly, sheathed his blade, and cupped his fist. "Then please continue to rest, Sister Zhao. I’m going to look around nearby and see if any more Corpse Puppets are hiding."

"Be... careful," Zhao Danv managed to get the words out.

"I will," Gu Zheng replied, walking out from the ruins.

He had been patrolling the area when he came across a group of Spirit Corpses surrounding Zhao Danv.

Zhao Danv, who was in the Heroic Body Realm, had fought an Earth Corpse earlier. It had taken her a great deal of time and effort to finally kill it.

Afterward, she had fought another major battle against a Heroic Body from the Yong Family.

She had completely exhausted her stamina and Divine Wondrous power, which was how she ended up being surrounded by Spirit Corpses and nearly losing her life.

Gu Zheng had just been passing by and rescued her as a matter of course.

Huang Dajin, Jiang Hao, and Zhao Danv had all accepted the mission to maintain order.

Gu Zheng had run into them one after another, saving Huang Dajin and Zhao Danv, but Jiang Hao had died...

He shook his head.

Gu Zheng pushed aside his distracting thoughts and continued his search.

Along the way, he encountered three more Corpse Puppets. Though they were only Spirit Corpses, he killed them all the same and earned 3 Demon Points.

After that, he didn’t run into any more Corpse Puppets. Instead, drawn by their cries, he found and rescued several hundred civilians who were trapped in the rubble or in collapsed basements.

Another rescue...

"Gu, we finally found you!"

A delighted shout rang out as Qing Yixiao and Qing Yimei, the brother-and-sister pair, appeared at the end of the street and trotted over to Gu Zheng.

"Qing, you haven’t left the city yet?"

Gu Zheng, who had just lifted a little girl out from under some debris and set her on the ground, turned to Qing Yixiao and said casually, "If you didn’t leave before, you certainly won’t be able to now."