Roadmap to the Boundless Sky-Chapter 161: Hill Demon

Three days later, after a lot of back and forth with the constables, the Blood Scars Gang’s lawyer managed to convince the Constabulary to accept a hefty bail fee for Zhuo Bao. He was to be released on a temporary bail.

Since the Constabulary had been intentionally not releasing Zhuo Bao, he missed the prime time to reconnect his arm. The constables had also made sure he suffered in detention by tormenting him openly and secretly despite his injury. He looked incredibly weakened when he was released.

Zhuo Bao entered the car that came to pick him up. When the old man in the back seat saw him, he took a look at his bandaged, broken arm, and said, “Even if you can’t reconnect your arm, it’s fine. We’ll get you an implant, and I’m sure that it’ll be better than before. It won’t affect your fighting strength.”

Then, he motioned for the driver to start the car. “But how on earth did you end up losing to a Martial Valor University student? You’re part of the Five Claws and our brand. This is really humiliating, you know? I’ve stopped word about this spreading, so don’t talk about it to anyone, understand?”

Zhuo Bao grinned maniacally. “I’m going to kill that brat.”

“Don’t even think about it,” the old man shot him down. “I’ve looked into him. The kid’s uncle is a constable brigade commander, and he’s also recognized by the senior members of the Constabulary. If you hurt him, the Constabulary is bound to make our lives hell.”

Zhuo Bao whipped his head around and stared at the old man with bloodshot eyes, as if he was going to go on a rampage. “Are you telling me to just let it slide, Uncle Han?”

Uncle Han met his gaze squarely and said grimly, “We’re plagued with a whole slew of problems lately. Aside from the Chain Links Gang, another force of power is targeting us. There are also people lurking in the shadows, just waiting for a chance to attack us. Don’t cause trouble for me right now. Once we’re done dealing with these problems, you can find a chance to kill the kid. I won’t stop you then.”

***

Chen Chuan received news that Zhuo Bao was released from the Constabulary. They told him that he was out on temporary bail. If he dared to show up and cause trouble, Chen Chuan could kill him, and he wouldn’t be held responsible for it.

Chen Chuan thanked the messenger, but he didn’t care about this. If it hadn’t been for the fact that he didn’t want to expose the fact that he already had the unrestricted defense permit, he would have killed Zhuo Bao back then.

As for the Blood Scars Gang’s revenge? They were in hot water right now. Even if they did attack him, they wouldn’t be anything more than sparring partners for him without their guns.

After all, normal people couldn’t hope to win against martial artists. As his mutated tissue continued growing, the difference between him and normal people kept increasing. They were no longer on the same level.

Compared to the Blood Scars Gang, he needed to be more wary of the Mutual Aid Group.

At noon, Cheng Zitong came to find him. Once he sat down, he said, “Xiao Chuan, I had someone ask around. Lei Guangcheng’s news is accurate, alright. The water pollution case has led to quite a number of officials from the Department of Administrative Affairs being sacked, so many officials were transferred. Liu Zhan has been working toward getting transferred and promoted for a long time, so he’s among them.

“While he won’t be transferred right away, that’s only if we’re talking about him officially assuming his new position. It’s likely he’ll get his transfer letter ahead of time, and once he has that, he might consider his promise to you null.”

Chen Chuan nodded. He could understand that. Liu Zhan had only made the promise out of respect for Lei Guangcheng. The Cult Investigation Bureau had firm control over the Foreign Affairs Department, so he had to act according to Lei Guangcheng’s wishes, but once he was transferred out of the department, he no longer had to care about him.

Based on Lei Guangcheng, Liu Zhan was going to use this to his own benefit. If that were the case, then the Mutual Aid Group was going to learn about Chen Chuan getting his evaluation points from the two departments right away.

“I’ll keep an eye on this. I don’t think there will be any changes before the end of the month, so you can do whatever you want with no worries until then. I also sent a telegram to Lao He the day before yesterday, but he hasn’t replied to me just yet. I think it’s because he’s out training. I sent a letter too, so he should get it sometime in the next few days,” Cheng Zitong said gravely.

After some pondering, Chen Chuan said, “Mr. Cheng, I’d like to try taking out that supernatural being. That way, I can also answer to the company.”

“That supernatural being, huh?”

Cheng Zitong immediately knew which supernatural being Chen Chuan was talking about, because there hadn’t been another like it before, and it was quite hard to take out. They had discussed it multiple times before.

“That’s a good idea. If the Mutual Aid Group decides to attack you and you can’t handle it, you’ll need to avoid them, but you also need to answer to the company. If you manage to take out that supernatural being, it’ll count as not letting them down.”

Even though the supernatural being wasn’t an easy target, Cheng Zitong was confident in his mentee. That was why he didn’t try to stop him. He just gave him some advice and reminded him what he needed to pay attention to. After giving his instructions, he stood up. “Alright. I need to leave now. I’ll call you once I get Lao He’s answer.”

“Okay,” Chen Chuan answered. After he saw Cheng Zitong off, he started getting ready for dealing with the supernatural being.

He hadn’t decided to eliminate the supernatural being just to answer to the company. It was also because he needed to increase his strength in any way possible, and increasing the overlap time with his second self was one of the best ways to do that.

He didn’t know what sort of enemies he was going to face, but he was sure that the Mutual Aid Group was going to gather all sorts of information about him and set up a meticulous plan against him. The increase in overlap time would improve his chances of winning.

The unrestricted defense permit test had increased his overlap time by more than an hour. Now, Chen Chuan could overlap with his second self for more than four hours.

When he defeated Zhuo Bao a few days ago, the increase had only been fifteen minutes because Zhuo Bao didn’t really give him any sense of pressure. That was, unless, of course, Chen Chuan had dropped his saber and fought him barehanded.

Yet even if he could redo the fight, Chen Chuan wouldn’t let go of his saber. If there was a fast and simple method to defeat an enemy, he would do that rather than use a more complicated method.

However, it was also a fact that he could only increase his overlap time effectively when he defeated stronger opponents. By the looks of it, that supernatural-related mission the company had taken up was the perfect target.

But he needed to get ready for it and bring the right tools.

Chen Chuan spent an entire day getting ready, then called the company to say that he wanted to take up the mission.

The next day, Chen Chuan gathered all that he needed and asked Xiao Wei to send him to Spill Hill, which was located southeast of Yangzhi City. When he arrived at the foot of the mountain, he saw a small hamlet there.

“This is a surprise, Mr. Chen. The hamlet isn’t on the map,” Xiao Wei remarked.

Chen Chuan knew that many of the hamlets were not on maps, especially the smaller ones further away from the city, simply because Yangzhi City didn’t recognize most of them.

The houses in the hamlet were old, which was pretty common. They were built in the style of the Great Expansion, while the sentry posts from that era were all repurposed into warehouses.

After Chen Chuan entered the hamlet, he asked around for information. When the residents heard that he wanted to take out the supernatural being in the hills, they found the idea novel and interesting, and they surrounded him to get a good look at him. After all, ever since the supernatural being wiped out the group that tried to get rid of it, no one had attempted it again in years. The residents had gotten used to the supernatural being’s presence at this point.

The old mayor asked skeptically, “Are you sure you can take it out, young man?”

“Don’t go doubting Mr. Chen now. He managed to take out the Flying Heads, which was a mission from the Department of Administrative Affairs,” Xiao Wei piped up.

“The Flying Heads?” At the mention of the supernatural being, the residents regarded Chen Chuan differently. After all, the Flying Head Cult had been around this region for a long time. Its influence was great, and it had spread far and wide. The Flying Heads were more well-known than the supernatural being of their hamlet.

Since Chen Chuan managed to take out the Flying Heads, then he was surely going to be able to get rid of the supernatural being in the hills, right? After all, that creature had been a bane of their existence for years. If they could resume normal lives, they did not want to live with a supernatural being. When it first appeared, the residents had pooled their money together to issue a mission, but after a few failures, no other agent was willing to take it up.

The residents enthusiastically called a hunter to lead the way.

There was only one way into the hills, and only the first stretch was suitable for vehicles. Anyone who wanted to go further had to walk.

Chen Chuan asked Xiao Wei to go back to the hamlet and wait for him while he followed the hunter down the path. Two hours later, they arrived at a slope. The hunter pointed at the peak. “Mr. Chen, it’s right there in the temple. My uncle and grandfather led the previous agents inside it.”

“Thank you. You should go back. I’ll head up there by myself,” Chen Chuan said.

The hunter was worried about him being alone, though. “Mr. Chen, do you really not need anyone to help you? I can go back to the hamlet and ask around. I’m sure I could gather more than a dozen strong men willing to help.”

Chen Chuan patted his sturdy shoulders. “Don’t worry and just go. I can take care of the rest.”

“Then, be careful,” the hunter cautioned him.

Chen Chuan waited for the hunter to leave before turning his attention to the top of the hill and recalling the information about the supernatural being.

It was called the Hill Demon. Since it had been around for a long time, one of the legends in the Legend of the Three Mountains was about it. It said that Spill Hill had a temple that originally worshipped a god, but at some point, someone switched it out for a statue of a demon.

When two children went to play in the temple, they said that the statue’s eyes were moving. After hearing about it, the hamlet’s residents thought that the mountain god had shown itself and made offerings to it. The Hill Demon ate the offerings with its stomach and chewed them as if they were sweet candy.

Thinking that the mountain god had truly shown itself, the hamlet’s residents were delighted, but the Hill Demon didn’t just eat the offerings. It also ate the ones who made the offerings. Every month, for a night or two, it would come into the hamlet to eat someone.

Ever since then, the hamlet’s residents shut their windows and doors tightly when night fell, hoping that they would not be eaten. Yet despite the Hill Demon tormenting them, no one left the hamlet.

This place was so secluded that they didn’t need to pay taxes to the government or work. They would rather face the risk of being eaten than leave Spill Hill.

Yet the legend ended with the hamlet’s residents moving to another location in Spill Hill because they could no longer deal with the torment. After that, a group of secret cultists sealed up the Hill Demon. They were characters who appeared often in the book.

When the Republic was formed, a new hamlet was built over the abandoned one. Things were fine for the first few decades, until someone found the Hill Demon’s temple and the past repeated itself.

But the hamlet’s residents were no longer the same as before. They had arrived here during the Great Expansion, so all of them were tough, formidable people. Once they realized that something was wrong, they immediately mobilized men and gathered weapons to get rid of the Hill Demon. They even hired agents, but all their efforts ended in failure. Only a handful of those who went up came back.

Nowadays, the villagers and hamlet’s residents released some livestock before hiding in the forts far away to get away from the Hill Demon eating them.

Even so, in more than twenty years, one by one, the dozen villages and hamlets around Spill Hill vanished. Most of their people had died from strange diseases.

After learning about this, Chen Chuan began wondering about how to get rid of the supernatural being. Before he reached the Second Limit, he stayed away because he thought that he wasn’t strong enough to protect himself, but now, he was quite confident that he could do it.

He observed the place for a while before he decided to walk over. Right away, he noticed something and brought his wrist up. Tied around it was a lock of hair from the source of the Flying Heads. It was showing a faint reaction.

Chen Chuan guessed it was because he had patted the hunter on the back to send him off just now. He quietly brought his hand down and looked at the hill once more before clenching the Frost King Saber tightly and heading over.