Anlin Town, under the jurisdiction of Wuhe County, was bordered by forest on one side and the Anqu River on the other, from which it derived its name.

Changping Prefecture lay in the Wanling Jiangnan region. The Chang River passed through it, joined by four tributaries as it reached Wuhe County—the very origin of the county’s name, "Five Rivers."

The Anqu River was one of these four tributaries, and Anlin Town was the largest town on its banks.

By the time the carriage arrived in Anlin Town, it was well past dinnertime, and the sky had begun to dim. Just as Gu Zhao was about to ask a passerby for an inn, he noticed the town ahead was already ablaze with lanterns and torches, illuminating nearly every street.

That made finding an inn easy.

After parking the carriage in front of an inn, Gu Zhao led the Silk Embroideress and Zhuo Qingyan out. He saw that all the guests in the inn’s main hall wore expressions of sorrow and distress, their movements tinged with panic and haste.

They rushed through their meals, gulped down their drinks, and hurried upstairs to their rooms as if a tiger were at their heels.

The inn’s Shopkeeper and the attendant also had long faces. When they saw Gu Zhao’s group, their expressions filled with sympathy, but they quickly masked their feelings and asked, "Are you folks looking for rooms? How many?"

Gu Zhao frowned slightly but didn’t ask questions immediately. Instead, he slapped an ingot of silver on the counter. "Four of your best rooms."

He wasn’t short on money and had no intention of making his companions rough it.

"Ah?" The Shopkeeper was momentarily stunned. Though a bit confused, he quickly swept up the silver and called for the attendant to lead the four of them upstairs.

Gu Zhao and the others exchanged a look before following the attendant to the third floor. Just as the attendant pushed open the door to the first room, Gu Zhao finally asked, "Has something happened in Anlin Town?"

A flash of fear crossed the attendant’s face. Just as he was about to shake his head and speak, a small silver ingot was pressed into his palm. "Is there some kind of danger in town?"

Seeing the silver in his hand, the attendant licked his lips. He gritted his teeth and advised, "If you folks dare to travel at night, you’d be better off not staying in town. Leave right away, tonight!"

"What’s going on?" Gu Zhao asked curiously.

"There’s a River Demon in the Anqu River! In the last week or so, dozens of people have died in the river!" the attendant whispered, as if afraid the Demon in the Anqu River might hear him.

Gu Zhao and Taoist Yan Song exchanged a glance. ’Looks like we’ve got a job.’

But Gu Zhao was a bit confused. "If everyone died in the Anqu River, what are you all so afraid of here in town?"

The attendant’s voice was tinged with a sob. "Because dozens of people died in the river, the fishermen and boatmen in town don’t dare go out on the water anymore. So for the past three or four days, that River Demon has been coming into town to kill people!"

The attendant was a man of his word. He’d taken the silver, so he laid out all the details.

"That River Demon comes every night and kills over ten people each time. It’s been going on for four days. Tonight will be the fifth!"

"The town reported it to the officials. We heard a great master came to handle it the day before yesterday, but in the end, he just said the River Demon would leave on its own after ten days and told us not to panic."

"How can we not panic? Now, none of us knows if we’ll be next. All we can do is stay home and leave it to fate!"

"Of course, traveling at night is also dangerous," the attendant added. "But whether you leave tonight or stay in town and gamble that the River Demon won’t pick you... that’s for you to decide."

As they watched the attendant leave, Taoist Yan Song suddenly said, "Earlier today, General Yan of the Golden Wind Sect mentioned there was trouble around Wuhe County and that Liu Qingfeng might be in danger if he came here."

The Silk Embroideress asked, "Is the Golden Wind Sect doing the killing?"

Zhuo Qingyan shook her head slightly. "If the Golden Wind Sect were killing people, they wouldn’t kill Liu Qingfeng."

Gu Zhao thought for a moment. "Could the ’great master’ from the county be someone from the Golden Wind Sect? Maybe that’s how they knew what was happening, but they don’t have the power to stop the killer?"

Bai Ke suddenly spoke up. "It must be someone from Bian Palace. Otherwise, the Golden Wind Sect wouldn’t have backed down."

"Bian Palace is built beneath the Chang River. Usually, they just snack on a few fishermen or boatmen for a treat, or occasionally capsize a boat for a feast. It’s rare for them to come ashore to kill people."

"But the Demons from Bian Palace rarely come ashore. While they’re powerful in the water, on land, they’re no match for the Golden Wind Sect or Three Extremes Mountain," Bai Ke explained, then added curiously, "I wonder what happened?"

Taoist Yan Song couldn’t help but grit his teeth. "Such an arrogant Demon, treating humans like food!"

Bai Ke sighed. "The Demons of Bian Palace and Three Extremes Mountain have always treated humans as food."

"But tonight, he’s the one who’s going to be eaten," Gu Zhao chuckled darkly. "I wonder what kind of fish it is. Think the meat will be tender enough?"

Taoist Yan Song shot him a sidelong glance. "This is a man-eating Demon. Are you sure you can stomach its flesh?"

"Er..." Gu Zhao blinked, turning to Bai Ke. "Well, we can’t exactly go around killing Demons that *don’t* eat people, can we!"

At Gu Zhao’s glance, the fur on Bai Ke’s tail stood on end. "You should stick to eating the Demons that just suck people’s lifeblood! When they’re killed, they revert to ordinary beasts. Eating them can even strengthen your Body and increase your power."

Taoist Yan Song nodded. "Demons eat men, men eat Demons. It is the cycle of the Celestial Dao, the way of nature."

Gu Zhao gave a thumbs-up. "Well said, Master!"

Zhuo Qingyan smiled faintly, then took the Silk Embroideress to her own room to rest. She toyed with the Jade Flute in her hand, her gaze drifting in the moonlight toward the Anqu River just outside of town.

...

The moon was bright, and the town remained fully lit.

Beneath the moonlight, the Anqu River shimmered with a silver glow. A winding black shadow, dozens of feet long, suddenly appeared beneath the surface. As the water churned, the upper body of a man in green robes broke through.

As the man in green gradually rose, the shadow beneath the water grew shorter and shorter. By the time his silver boots stepped weightlessly onto the river’s surface, the shadow had vanished, leaving only his reflection behind.

The man looked toward Anlin Town, casually tossing a Copper Pot in his hand. He grinned, then walked across the water, quickly reaching the bank and arriving at the entrance to Anlin Town.

Anlin Town was brightly lit, the light already reaching him. If anyone in town had sharp eyes, they might have been able to spot him.

At this thought, the man began scanning the town, looking for some unlucky soul who might see him. Then he saw a young woman suddenly emerge from the darkness, a pure white fox perched on her shoulder.

The man was taken aback. He sent out his Divine Thought to probe the young woman, and although it was blocked by a surge of Demon Power, he was still able to gauge the true nature of both her and the White Fox.

Looking at the girl’s nervous expression, the man in green chuckled. "You want to stop me?"

The Silk Embroideress shook her head, then asked, "Are you a snake?"

The man in green glanced at the White Fox on her shoulder, ignoring her question. "Snakes eat foxes, you know."

The Silk Embroideress frowned, glanced back with a hint of sheepishness, and replied in kind, "But I’ve never made snake soup before."