Li Yunxin, a fourteen-year-old boy, had an inexplicable amount of strength. He ran non-stop through the dense forest for three hours before finally collapsing. The sky had cleared, and the faint morning light was visible in the east. He heard the sound of rushing water, knowing there was a river nearby.
So, he rested for a while on the ground before forcing himself to stand, slowly following the sound, leaning on trees as he went. He finally saw it. After a heavy rain last night, the muddy river water, carrying withered branches and rotten leaves, surged downwards. It wasn't wide, but it was enough to make him lose the courage to cross it.
On the other side of the river, there was a vague cluster of buildings with green tiles and white walls, which looked like a town. Li Yunxin desperately wanted to go to the town to find so food and drink, but first, he was too weak to cross the river, and second, he was worried about that demonic Young Master Nine—who was, in fact, a man-eating demon.
He thought this was fine. If that demon were to chase him again, it would surely expect him to head towards the nearby town. So, he wouldn't stop, but continue along the river, going even further.
If an ordinary person were in such a predicant, they probably wouldn't last more than a few days in this dense forest. But Li Yunxin had a "treasure."
It was the treasure the two deceased Taoist priests had demanded from him.
He had lied to the two n earlier, claiming the treasure was hidden sowhere, which was why they had chased him but hadn't actually killed him. Now, he felt a bit confused again—those two seed like reclusive Taoist priests completely ignorant of worldly affairs, so why would they co after him, killing and stealing treasure?
Because the "treasure" was actually hidden in the sole of his shoe, underfoot. It was laughable that those two, after catching him, had searched his body but hadn't noticed his shoes.
Perhaps the two Taoist priests couldn't imagine that their prized "Lucid Jade Slip" would be so casually hidden by Li Yunxin in such a place.
It was practically blasphemy.
The so-called "Lucid Jade Slip" was indeed a clear jade slip. Palm-sized, rectangular, and transparent like a piece of glass. His parents probably wanted him to live a peaceful life, as they had never ntioned this item to him during their lives.
He had stumbled upon so clues inadvertently left by his parents and dug it out from a small hill behind the village.
Afterward, he was very disappointed—it looked unremarkable, at most a sowhat rare "very pure colored glaze" in this world.
As for how he knew about this "Lucid Jade Slip" and more about his parents, that story began after the two Taoist priests disguised themselves and found him.
But now was not a good ti to reminisce. Li Yunxin still had to force himself to move forward. He didn't want to be caught and cooked by that demon; he wanted to live.
This was the first ti he had seen a living monster. The imnse fear at the ti even prevented him from feeling any extra shock. Only now did the lingering fear slowly set in, growing stronger and stronger.
So, such things truly existed in this world, and perhaps, one was eyeing him from behind.
This emotion and the desire to survive ignited his potential. He walked for two full days.
By noon on the third day, he saw a bridge.
It was a stone arch bridge spanning the river, with moss growing on its piers. The river water had lost its previous raging force and had beco clear and shallow.
An old man was fishing on the other side of the river. Waterweeds swayed in the shallow parts, and transparent fish and shrimp played. Further in the distance was another small town, with smoke curling upwards.
Li Yunxin's heart relaxed, and he almost collapsed. But he still forced a breath, staggering forward with his sword onto the stone bridge, heading towards the town.
The old man looked up at him. Li Yunxin knew he looked very strange right now. Disheveled, with an injured arm. The cloth wrapped around his arm was soaked with blood, turning blackish-brown. The wound was sowhat numb, not very painful, nor itchy. Li Yunxin knew this wasn't a good sign.
His clothes were ragged, yet he carried a fine steel sword—sothing not affordable for ordinary people.
He lowered his head and quickened his pace, stumbling for a while until he saw the town's archway.
Qinghe Town.
Under the archway, two constables in black uniforms, holding short eyebrow-level clubs, frowned as they watched him. When he approached, they reached out and stopped him, vigilantly eyeing his sword: "Where are you going?"
Li Yunxin felt increasingly exhausted. Escaping in the wilderness had been manageable, always fueled by a surge of adrenaline. Now that he had seen human habitation, that surge had long dissipated, and every muscle in his body yearned to relax. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to speak: "I encountered villains on the road..."
As he uttered that sentence, the last breath in his body seed to be completely exhaled. He felt his vision darken, and his body tilted forward. Li Yunxin instinctively tried to prop himself up with the long sword in his hand, but his wrist twisted, and the sword's edge went straight towards one of the constables.
So the last few words he heard before losing consciousness were—
"Oh no!"
"What a scoundrel...!"
When he woke up, Li Yunxin realized things seed to be going badly.
The surroundings slled damp and musty, and the room was dark. He looked around and found that the room he was in only had three walls, the other side being a wooden fence with a rusty iron lock hanging on it.
Outside was a dimly lit corridor made of bluestone, with an oil lamp in a niche on the wall.
He had been thrown into a prison. He quickly touched the sole of his shoe and found that the jade slip was still there.
The people outside seed to hear his movent. Not long after, a constable with a grim face, hand on his waist-knife, walked over to look at him, then unlatched the lock and opened the door.
Li Yunxin calmly observed him, noticing that this man's attire was different from the two he had t at the town entrance earlier. His black hat had a green peacock feather, sowhat bald, but still indicating that this was the Head Constable of the county—at least a significant figure in this town.
The Head Constable's surna was Xing, and his given na was Li. He had been in a state of extre anxiety lately due to a certain matter, and his temper was very bad.
Last month, the County Magistrate's son had gone spring hunting with so n, entering the wild forest across the Qinghe River. He didn't return that night. Three days later, Hunter Xin, Old Man Xin, who had accompanied him into the mountains, returned alone.
The old man was covered in blood, disheveled, and told everyone he t that the County Magistrate's son and two servants had been caught and eaten by a monster. When Captain Xing arrived with his n, the old man was already delirious; besides that one sentence, nothing else could be elicited from him.
They had heard of monsters. But like hearing of soone suddenly becoming incredibly intelligent and having a photographic mory after three years of severe illness, who would believe such a thing could happen to them?
If every death was attributed to being caught and eaten by a monster, what would be the purpose of law and order?
Moreover, it was his own son who died.
The County Magistrate was furious, throwing Hunter Xin into prison and strictly ordering Captain Xing to apprehend the culprit within a ti limit.
Captain Xing looked at Li Yunxin's arm: "That's a sword wound."
Then he looked at Li Yunxin's eyes: "You killed soone. The sword in your hand wounded you. That sword shouldn't be yours."
Li Yunxin shook his head: "I didn't kill anyone, I was just defending myself. I encountered a monster."
Captain Xing's face showed a strange expression, increasingly convinced his guess was correct.
This youth was too calm. Even an adult would be flustered after waking up to find themselves in prison, but this youth was not only calm but even seed... "at ease."
In reality, three days had passed since Li Yunxin lost consciousness. The reason they hadn't woken him up sooner was because a terrible incident had occurred upstream in Gai County, which was under Qinghe's jurisdiction—the remains of two Taoist priests were found in an abandoned temple. It appeared they had been killed and then roasted and eaten.
At the scene, a broken fine steel long sword was found, identical to the one the youth carried.
So unusual items were found on the youth—Talismans, paper and brushes, and so strange trinkets.
Captain Xing had made a trip to Gai County and then felt that things were gradually becoming clear. This youth might be an Artificer, a mad Artificer. He was a cannibal. Under this deduction, many things gained a seemingly satisfactory explanation.
Now, they just needed to confirm that he indeed had the ability to kill and eat people.
Today was the last day of the County Magistrate's deadline. As long as he had this ability, it would suffice.
"You're an Artificer, you know so evil magic," Captain Xing said. "We found so things on you. So you killed and ate people in Gai County before, and even earlier, you killed the County Magistrate's son."
Li Yunxin sighed in the dim light, feeling hunger about to overwhelm him. But he was also a bit relieved—at least it was much better here than in the wilderness, no need to worry about Young Master Nine coming to eat him, nor about being chased.
"I grew up in a mountain village in Ding Province. My father and mother taught a few small tricks. You say I'm an Artificer, maybe so. But I didn't kill anyone or eat anyone..." He sighed again here, and said no more.
He thought for a mont, then looked up: "Actually, whatever I say is useless, isn't it? I guess you probably need a scapegoat."
"Well, no matter how you handle this, I guess the execution will be in autumn, and it's only spring now. I need so dicine for my wounds, and so food. If I die, it won't be good for you to report back."
Xing Li's brows furrowed deeper. He stared at Li Yunxin for a long while, then turned and walked out of the door. After relocking it, he couldn't help but ask, "What you said is true?"
Li Yunxin spread his hands. Xing Li didn't quite understand what the gesture ant, but he could guess that the other person was expressing helplessness.
"...The monster?"
"You wouldn't believe it either," Li Yunxin said.
Xing Li walked out. A constable in black uniform waiting in the corridor ca up to him: "Chief Xing, how was it?"
"That youth is not simple, he's soone important," Xing Li hesitated for a mont, then said, "What a pity."
"Go put up a notice, say there are bandits active nearby, and that people in town should avoid going into the mountains."
"Yes."
Last month in Qinghe, three days ago in Gai County. Xing Li thought to himself, 'He should be gradually moving further along the river... he shouldn't co back.'
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