Catching Monsters

Chapter 481 Jiang Yun, if you have something to say, say it clearly.
Upon hearing Jiang Yun's words, Yan Jiu was slightly taken aback. He hadn't expected Jiang Yun to say such a thing to him.

Then, he took a deep breath, as if he was hesitating about something, and then made up his mind.

He then took out a dagger from his pocket and handed it to Jiang Yun.

"Brother Jiang, you saved my life back then."

"If it weren't for you, I would have died long ago on that ship in the Demon Kingdom."

"If you want my life, then take it."

"This is something I already owe you."

Yan Jiu spoke with utmost seriousness, which made Jiang Yun's lips slowly curl into a smile. He knew that Yan Jiu valued loyalty and righteousness, but he never expected that Yan Jiu would be willing to entrust his life to him at such a critical moment.

That being said, Jiang Yun had no intention of actually killing Yan Jiu. Otherwise, given his personality, he wouldn't have wasted so much time talking if he wanted to kill someone.

Seeing Yan Jiu's attitude, Jiang Yun felt even more determined to protect the boy's life.

He patted Yan Jiu on the shoulder and said, "Alright, get ready. I'll have someone send you away from the capital tonight."

"Once we leave the capital, we will head north all the way."

Yan Jiu listened attentively to Jiang Yun's instructions and nodded.

This task was also assigned to Dong Qiaofeng. At the north gate of the capital, dozens of fast horses were already prepared, and Dong Qiaofeng, leading a dozen or so men, had already mounted their horses.

"Are those monsters coming soon?" Yan Jiu asked curiously, holding the reins.

Standing opposite him, Jiang Yun nodded slightly and said in a deep voice, "That's right. There are probably quite a few of their spies within the Zhou Kingdom. You need to leave Jianchi Pass and go directly to the northern grasslands. As for whether you can survive in the end, that depends on your own fate."

"What if those monsters find me on the northern grasslands?"

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Yun said, "You can go find the leader of the Tuoba tribe, Tuoba Anyi, who is my sworn brother..."

"If a demon comes after you, you should run to his place and hide."

Upon hearing this, Yan Jiu nodded thoughtfully: "I understand, thank you, Brother Jiang."

"Alright, let's hurry up and go while there's still some time before dawn."

Dong Qiaofeng clasped his hands in a fist salute to Jiang Yun: "This subordinate will definitely send him out of Jianchi Pass without incident."

"drive."

The group rode away on horseback, quickly heading north. During this time, Qi Da stayed by Jiang Yun's side. After Yan Jiu was taken away, he whispered, "My lord, if we really want to save trouble, killing this kid would be the easiest thing to do."

"only……"

"Alright, I understand," Jiang Yun said. "Tell the brothers below to go back and get some rest."

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, three strange caravans appeared at the east gate of the capital. Each caravan consisted of only a dozen or so people, and their clothes were quite peculiar, with styles coming from all over the country.

And it was already winter, with a thin layer of snow accumulating on the roadside, and some women were even wearing only thin gauze.

Hu Zhifeng, Chang Xing, and Wei Qingshan, whose injuries had not yet fully healed, were waiting at the city gate.

Upon seeing the three caravans arrive, smiles appeared on their faces as they hurried to greet them and led their respective demon clan caravans into the city.

Hu Zhifeng had already purchased a mansion in the capital. Soon, the fifteen fox demons who had come this time gathered in the main hall of the mansion.

After arranging for all the demons to be seated, Hu Zhifeng stood aside and poured tea for them.

Even though they had heard of Dragon Crystal City and the great battle between the three major demon clans, they were still somewhat alarmed by the demons that had come this time.

The lowest level of cultivation is probably already at the third-grade demon king realm.

Of course, the situation in the other two companies is probably not much different; everyone is determined to get Yan Jiu.

The leader of this expedition was Hu Yuange, a highly respected elder of the fox clan.

Hu Yuange appeared to be a middle-aged man in his forties, with a mustache. Holding a cup of tea, he slowly said, "What's the situation now? Has there been any news about Yan Jiu's whereabouts?"

Hu Zhifeng said respectfully, "Elder Hu, I almost caught that kid, but the Imperial Guards of the capital intervened and stopped me. Now, there is no trace of that kid."

"but."

"Last night, the entire inner and outer city of the capital was searched by the Embroidered Uniform Guards, and they stopped searching around midnight."

"Based on my understanding of the Zhou court, they should have already found Yan Jiu."

"The people now should be in the hands of the Zhou court."

After listening, Hu Yuange took a sip of tea and said slowly, "Since we've come to this human territory, we're guests after all, so we should at least greet our hosts."

"Zhifeng, go and inform the Emperor of Zhou that I wish to see him."

"Yes."

Sitting in his chair, Hu Yi, who was somewhat unable to contain himself, said with a smile, "Elder Hu, if you have nothing to do for the time being, I'd like to go for a stroll in the capital?"

Hu Yuange glared at Hu Yi and criticized him, "Hu Yi, you've caused trouble and messed things up many times. The reason I'm still willing to bring you out to do such an important thing is so that you can perform well and I can say a good word about you in front of the clan leader..."

Upon hearing this, Hu Yi couldn't help but mutter to himself, "You brought me out because I gave you two rapeseed seeds that you brought back from the Immortal Realm, didn't you...?" Of course, on the surface, Hu Yi naturally nodded in agreement and didn't dare to displease Hu Yuange.

It should be noted that Hu Yuange has lived for nearly eight hundred years.

It is even older than the clan chief.

Although it is not surprising that if a demon reaches a certain level of cultivation, their lifespan can be several hundred years, or even over a thousand years.

But that's the normal cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death. The competition and killing among demons is extremely cruel.

It's rare to see a monster that can truly live to this age.

Not only the fox clan, but soon, the information that the elders of the snake and tiger clans wanted to see Xiao Yuzheng also reached the imperial study.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuzheng could only ask Feng Yu to make preparations and arranged for them to stay in a rather luxurious living room within the palace.

In the morning, Xiao Yuzheng sat here, with Eunuch Qin and Feng Yu, who rarely appeared, standing on his left and right behind him.

Led by a palace eunuch, the three demon elders also stepped into the luxurious living room.

Fox Clan Elder Hu Yuange, Snake Clan Elder Chang Yujian, Tiger Clan Elder Wei Nan.

The three had known each other for quite some time, but at this moment, they were filled with intense hostility towards each other.

"The three elders have come from afar; you must be tired. Please take a seat." Xiao Yuzheng raised his hand, inviting the three to sit down.

After Wei Nan took his seat, he spoke quickly and directly, without beating around the bush: "Your Majesty, we have come here this time to see a half-human, half-demon boy named Yan Jiu."

"I've heard a little about this matter," Xiao Yuzheng said calmly. "You three demons ran rampant in the capital yesterday, injuring many civilians. I'm still racking my brains about how to explain this to the people of the capital."

Xiao Yuzheng was clearly trying to change the subject, but Hu Yuange and the others were not fooled.

Hu Yuange said directly, "Your Majesty, based on my understanding, Yan Jiu, barring any unforeseen circumstances, should be in your hands, right?"

"Tell me, what conditions are needed to hand this kid over to our fox clan?"

“Our fox clan has several gold mines in the demon kingdom. If you want to trade them, we can give them to you.”

"Or perhaps you heard on your way here that there are many rebels causing trouble in your Zhou Kingdom. If you need our fox clan to get the head of the rebel leader, it would not be difficult."

"Everything is negotiable."

Hearing Hu Yuange say this, Chang Yujian and Wei Nan also became restless.

The two of them spoke.

“Our clan also has this gold mine. If His Majesty the Emperor wants to kill someone, we can do it too.”

The three people present became increasingly competitive, each trying to escalate their demands.

Listening to the three arguing heatedly, their faces flushed, and the conditions they offered, Xiao Yuzheng was somewhat alarmed.

However, Xiao Yuzheng was very clear about why these three wanted Yan Jiu so much.

"Alright, you three, you three." Xiao Yuzheng raised his hand and said, "The person is indeed not in my hands. I am also very tempted by the conditions you have offered, but what a pity..."

Hu Yuange said coldly, "I heard that your Embroidered Uniform Guard searched the capital for half the night yesterday, so the person is probably in your hands."

"Is that so?" Xiao Yuzheng turned to look at Feng Yu.

Feng Yu shook his head: "Your Majesty, this servant does not know either."

"In that case, call that brat Jiang Yun here and let the three elders question him personally."

"Yes." Feng Yu nodded respectfully.

Xiao Yuzheng smiled and asked the three of them to sit down, saying, "The three of you don't need to rush. Once Commander Jiang arrives, you'll all understand."

Not long after, Jiang Yun, dressed in the official robes of the Commander of the Eastern Garrison, followed Feng Yu in.

After entering the room, Feng Yu said to Jiang Yun, "Young Jiang, tell the three elders what exactly happened last night."

The three elders' gazes immediately turned to Jiang Yun.

Chang Yujian also spoke up: "Jiang Yun, are you in his hands?"

To everyone's surprise, Jiang Yun quickly winked at Chang Yujian: "Elder Chang, don't you know whether he's in my hands or not? Didn't we agree on this last night?"

Chang Yujian was slightly taken aback, and the other two elders were already looking at him with a hint of strangeness.

"What did I agree to with you? I've never even seen you before!" Chang Yujian slammed his hand on the chair. "Jiang Yun, if you're going to say something, explain yourself clearly!"

Jiang Yun: "Okay, okay, I'll tell you the truth. I've never met Elder Chang before, nor do I know him. This person is definitely not in Elder Chang's hands."

"See, you two heard that clearly..." Chang Yujian said, but Hu Yuange and Wei Nan's eyes became even stranger.

Hu Yuange asked slowly, "Chang Yujian, you wouldn't have arrived here last night, would you?"

(End of this chapter)