I Have 10 Equipment Slots-Chapter 48 - 42: You’re Not Going Anywhere

Baishui County Magistrate’s Office.

Lanterns hung high, their candlelight casting a bright glow. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The clear, pleasant voice of a songstress echoed in the hall, accompanied by a lively melody as she danced gracefully in the light.

"This humble official will toast Lord Gu again!"

In the main hall, Magistrate Zhou stood up straight, holding his cup with both hands as he faced Gu Zheng to offer a toast. "Thank you, Lord Gu, for saving the people of my Baishui County from this disaster."

With that, he raised his cup and drained it in one gulp.

"This humble official also toasts..."

The County Captain followed, rising to his feet and holding his cup with both hands.

"There’s no need for such formalities, my lords."

Gu Zheng raised a hand to stop them. "Saving the suffering people this time was the result of all our efforts, not mine alone."

Before they could reply, he added, "Actually, I just remembered something I need to take care of. I must be going."

"Zhang Boshong, Zhang Ning, Yan Tou, could you three come with me?"

Gu Zheng looked at Zhang Boshong, Zhang Ning, and Yan Hongxue, giving the three a meaningful glance.

"...Of course."

Zhang Ning was the first to respond. "Let’s go now, so we don’t delay things."

"Right."

Zhang Boshong stood up as well.

Yan Hongxue said nothing, simply rising and picking up his longsword.

"Thank you."

Gu Zheng cupped his fist to the three of them, then nodded at Magistrate Zhou, the County Captain, and the others.

He then turned and walked outside.

Zhang Boshong, Zhang Ning, and Yan Hongxue followed close behind.

"...Come back soon!"

An Xiaoxue seemed to realize something, but she didn’t ask, only calling out to them.

Then, she turned to the stunned Magistrate Zhou, County Captain, and the others, smiling. "They had some urgent business and had to leave. Let’s continue. Ladies, keep singing, keep dancing!"

...

...

WHOOSH~

The night wind blew as a cold moon hung high in the sky.

Gu Zheng, Zhang Boshong, Yan Hongxue, and Zhang Ning, a party of four, sped across the wilderness outside the city.

"Gu, what’s going on?"

Zhang Boshong, keeping pace beside Gu Zheng, couldn’t help but ask, "It’s not more Lizard Demons, is it?"

"It is."

Gu Zheng admitted it directly. "We haven’t wiped out all the Lizard Demons!"

"What...?"

Zhang Boshong’s eyes widened, his scalp tightening.

"There are still Lizard Demons?" Zhang Ning was also baffled. "Are they hiding outside the city?"

"Gu, have you already found them?" Yan Hongxue cut straight to the point.

Gu Zheng replied calmly, "To be precise, Chen Zhizhen led me to them."

"What!?"

...

In a dim, subterranean cavern.

WHOOSH!

A foul wind suddenly gusted, sending pebbles on the ground dancing into the air.

A Lizard Demon with a round belly and two yellow stripes on its chest crossed a dozen meters in a flash, stopping before Chen Zhizhen. Dense Demon Qi assaulted his mind.

"Human, what did you say? All my kin in the city are dead?"

The Lizard Demon loomed over Chen Zhizhen, its crimson eyes filled with killing intent as it growled, "Including my children... they’re dead too!?"

"They’re dead."

Chen Zhizhen remained expressionless, his voice cold. "All of them. I told you to hide first..."

BAM~!

With a dull thud, a figure flew off the ground and slammed into the side wall with a muffled CRACK.

"COUGH, COUGH~"

Chen Zhizhen lay sprawled on the ground. He slowly got to his feet and said coolly, "Even if you kill me, you can’t save your children. They’ve already been burned to ash..."

WHOOSH~!!

The demonic wind howled, kicking up loose stones that shot about in all directions.

It blasted Chen Zhizhen, and with a THUD, he was slammed hard against the wall, pinned tightly to the rock face, unable to open his eyes.

"Human, you deserve to die!!"

A hoarse, grief-stricken roar echoed through the cavern. "My children... How dare you kill my children..."

"I told you, I wasn’t the one who killed them! I tried to stop it, but I couldn’t!"

Chen Zhizhen shouted with his eyes squeezed shut, "I told you to hide your people first, but you wouldn’t listen! What could I do? You were the ones who chose Baishui County. We even arranged for Chief Constable Liu Baozi from the County Magistrate’s Office to be on your side. We agreed that you would cooperate with us until the plan was complete. But what happened? Not only did you not cooperate, you acted on your own..."

"Enough!"

The Lizard Demon roared, pressing its hideous head against Chen Zhizhen’s, its foul breath spraying all over his face.

"Who was it? Who was the leader of your group this time? I want him dead! I want him dead!!"

"...The leader was Yan Hongxue."

Chen Zhizhen held his breath and forced the words out. "But the strongest one is Gu Zheng. He’s the one who cut open those people’s bellies, pulled out your children, and killed them one by one..."

"Where is this Gu Zheng!"

The Lizard Demon bellowed, "I’ll flay his skin, eat his flesh, and drink his blood!"

"...You’re no match for him."

Chen Zhizhen replied coldly, "Even your strongest Tri-Stripe Race member died by his blade. What makes you think you can kill him?"

"..."

The Lizard Demon faltered, its breathing like a hissing exhaust pipe. It said hoarsely, "I will go get the Young Clan Leader. The Young Clan Leader is an expert at your Super Body Realm. When he arrives, Yan Hongxue, Gu Zheng—they will all die!!"

"Then what are you waiting for? Go get him now."

Chen Zhizhen urged, "We’re leaving Baishui County at dawn. If you want revenge, you’d better be quick about it."

"...Fine!"

The Lizard Demon growled through gritted teeth, "I’m going now!"

WHOOSH~

A demonic wind surged, peeling Chen Zhizhen from the wall and sweeping toward the cave entrance.

Only then could Chen Zhizhen stand up straight. He took a deep breath, a sinister glint flashing in his eyes.

’Beasts will be beasts. Once you’re both crippled from fighting each other...’

BOOM!

A sudden, massive explosion cut off Chen Zhizhen’s internal gloating and scheming.

Before he could react...

"How did you know about this place?"

The Lizard Demon’s hoarse, sharp cry echoed and reverberated through the cavern.

"It was Chen Zhizhen, wasn’t it?"

"Chen Zhizhen, you dare betray us! You’ll die a miserable death!!"

"..." Chen Zhizhen’s face changed drastically, becoming incredibly ugly. ’How is this possible...’

Though shocked and horrified, he didn’t hesitate, quickly darting toward the side of the cavern. He remembered there was another exit over there.

But...

SWISH!

A figure flashed in, catching up to Chen Zhizhen with incredible speed.

"BAM~"

A kick was thrown, making the air crackle.

Chen Zhizhen was sent flying to the right, crashing into the cave wall and creating a spiderweb of cracks. Rubble and dust rained down.

"PFFT~!"

Spitting blood, Chen Zhizhen slid to the ground. His face was pale, his inner energy roiling uncontrollably. His left arm throbbed with excruciating pain, hanging limp at his side.

"Chen Zhizhen, you are under arrest."

Yan Hongxue spoke coldly, taking out a barbed rope as he walked toward Chen Zhizhen.

"Cough... heh heh..."

Lying on the ground, Chen Zhizhen stared at the approaching Yan Hongxue with hatred in his eyes as black blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

’Not good!’

Yan Hongxue’s expression changed. He lunged forward and pinned Chen Zhizhen down.

However, he was too late.

As black blood flowed freely from the corner of his mouth, Chen Zhizhen’s eyes stared wide, but his life force was already gone.

"Hey, so Chen Zhizhen was a traitor, colluding with the demo... What’s wrong?"

Zhang Ning, Gu Zheng, and Zhang Boshong walked in through the cave entrance.

Zhang Boshong was carrying the Lizard Demon, which was bound into a bundle with its mouth and serpentine tail wrapped up.

The excited Zhang Ning saw Yan Hongxue standing motionless with an ugly expression and couldn’t help but ask.

But as they got closer, the expressions of all three changed.

Gu Zheng frowned. "Chen Zhizhen actually committed suicide?"

’I was hoping to force him to reveal who was behind him.’

Without a doubt, Chen Zhizhen was the one who killed Zhang Hucheng.

But the reason why remained a mystery.

Especially now that Chen Zhizhen had taken poison to commit suicide, the trail to whoever was backing him had gone cold.

"For someone to make Chen Zhizhen commit suicide, the person behind him must have a high status."

Zhang Boshong said in a low voice, "Where was Chen Zhizhen from before he joined the Demon Slayer Bureau?"

"I heard him mention once that he came from the Nanyun Prefecture City Defense Bureau," Yan Hongxue replied in a low tone.

Nanyun Prefecture?

Gu Zheng raised an eyebrow. "I’m afraid it’s more than that. Jing’an Prefecture and Nanyun Prefecture are separated by the territory of three other prefectures, yet the person behind Chen Zhizhen was able to meddle in affairs over here. The power behind him must have connections at the provincial level."

"All this guessing is useless. Why don’t we just ask this Big Belly Demon Fiend we have here?"

Zhang Ning sneered, looking down at the struggling Lizard Demon. "Didn’t it just say it was going to get its Young Clan Leader? We just need to make it tell us where the Young Clan Leader is, and we can go find him directly! Since the force behind Chen Zhizhen is colluding with Demon Fiends, this Demon Fiend will surely know who they are!"

"That’s true in principle, but the few of us aren’t strong enough to wipe out the Lizard Demons’ lair in the mortal world."

Yan Hongxue, having calmed himself, chimed in, "The Lizard Demon’s Young Clan Leader is a Second-Order. To capture him alive, we’ll need a Hundred Households at least. I remember that the Garrison Commander for Jing’an Prefecture at Qi Yun Mountain is Lord Cao. If we ask him to act, he should be able to handle the Lizard Demon’s Young Clan Leader."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let’s set off for Qi Yun Mountain now!"

As Zhang Ning spoke, he turned to walk out of the cave.

"Careful!"

Gu Zheng suddenly grabbed him and pulled him back to the left.

SHIING~!

A cold glint of green light flashed through the air, piercing the spot where Zhang Ning had been standing a moment before.

"You’re not going anywhere."