A Compendium of One Hundred Demons: My Path to Immortality in a World of Demons and Monsters

As the sun rose higher, around noon, the convoy finally arrived at Shuangshan Village.

The village was unexpectedly quiet, but Xu Yuan could clearly sense that this was not the deathly stillness shrouded in despair that he had experienced before, but rather a tranquility tinged with a hint of anticipation.

Compared to when I left, Shuangshan Village now seems much more vibrant.

Under the half-withered old locust tree at the village entrance, several children were squatting on the ground, poking at something with small sticks. When the shadows of the horse-drawn carriage and the cavalry appeared on the village road, the children stood up and craned their necks to look.

"It's Brother Yuan! Brother Yuan is back!" Little Stone, with his sharpest eyes, was the first to recognize Xu Yuan on horseback and jumped up excitedly to wave.

"They're back! Grandpa Village Chief is back!"

"And Yuan-ge'er too!"

"Those are... soldiers?"

The carriage stopped at the village entrance, and many villagers rushed over upon hearing the news, feeling both surprised and apprehensive.

Upon seeing Xu Yuan, the old village chief, and those distinguished strangers, they all felt somewhat uneasy.

With the help of the villagers, Xu Laogen shakily got off the carriage.

Looking at the safe and sound village before him, his heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally eased slightly, and he couldn't help but burst into tears: "It's alright...it's alright!"

Xu Yuan dismounted and glanced at the crowd.

Little Stone squeezed to the front, his thin body wrapped in large, tattered clothes, his big eyes sparkling.

"Yuan-ge'er!" Little Stone ran over, but stopped halfway through, looking a little timid.

Xu Yuan smiled and patted his head, then took out an oil paper package from his pocket—this was something he had specially asked Uncle Fu to prepare before he left, containing sesame candy from a time-honored pastry shop in Qingyang County.

He squatted down and stuffed the oil paper package into Xiao Shitou's hand: "Here, this is for you, have a taste."

Little Stone unwrapped the parchment paper, his eyes widening instantly: "This...this is candy?"

As soon as these words were spoken, all the children around gathered around, watching longingly, but not one of them reached out to grab it.

In a year of famine, the fact that children could be raised to be this good speaks volumes about the social atmosphere in Shuangshan Village.

Little Stone carefully broke off a small piece and put it in his mouth. His eyes immediately narrowed into crescent moons. He licked his lips with lingering satisfaction, but still took the initiative to share the remaining candy with the other children, keeping only the smallest piece for himself.

Hearing the children's cheers and excitement, the atmosphere in the village immediately became lively.

Shen Qingyi watched this scene, a hint of tenderness flashing in her eyes.

She waved to Uncle Fu, who immediately directed the servants of the Shen family to begin unloading grain from the carriage.

"This is a small token of the Shen family's appreciation," Shen Qingyi said softly. "Although it's not much, it's enough to support the village for a while, and hopefully it will alleviate our immediate crisis."

The old village chief's eyes welled up with tears, and he was about to kneel down to express his gratitude, but Shen Qingyi stopped him, saying, "Village head, there's no need for that."

Xu Yuan also looked at her and solemnly cupped his hands in thanks: "Miss Shen, I thank you on behalf of the entire village for your great kindness."

"Young Master Xu, you're too kind." Shen Qingyi shook her head slightly. "We had a prior agreement, and you also helped General Chen wipe out Black Wind Stronghold. This amount of grain is nothing."

Bags of grain were moved to the open space in the center of the village and distributed to each household.

Xu Yuan personally carried two bags of rice to Aunt Zhang's house.

Aunt Zhang was drying wild vegetable roots in the yard when she saw Xu Yuan arrive. She was both surprised and delighted: "Yuan-ge'er! You're back!"

"Auntie, this is grain sent to our village by the Shen family in the county town. Please accept it." Xu Yuan put down the rice bag. "How are your wife and children?"

"Great, much better!" Aunt Zhang wiped her eyes. "Thanks to the meat you brought back last time, Xiu'er has breast milk now, and the baby can finally eat his fill... Yuan-ge'er, you are truly a benefactor to our family..."

"Auntie, don't say that." Xu Yuan waved his hands repeatedly. "If it weren't for your half bowl of rice porridge, I would have starved to death in the ravine long ago."

As they were talking, Li Xiu heard the commotion and came out of the house carrying the child.

Compared to half a month ago, her complexion was noticeably rosier, and the five-month-old baby in her arms was no longer crying, but was curiously looking at Xu Yuan with a pair of bright black eyes.

"Yuan-ge'er," Li Xiu called softly, his eyes filled with gratitude.

Xu Yuan took out a small packet of brown sugar from his pocket and handed it over: "This is for my sister-in-law to nourish her body."

"This...this is too precious..." Li Xiu repeatedly declined.

In famine years, brown sugar was more precious than grain!

"Take it, sister-in-law, the child is more important." Xu Yuan stuffed the brown sugar into her hand, played with the child for a bit, and then turned to leave.

As Xu Yuan left Aunt Zhang's house, his feelings suddenly became somewhat complicated.

Just half a month ago, he was starving and worried about filling his stomach every day, but now he has the support of the Shen family and has also made connections with the Demon Suppression Division and Chen Hanchuan of the county government.

Xu Yuan felt gratified to be able to help kind people like Aunt Zhang, but the thought of the potential disaster brought by the tiger demon in the back mountain and the Xiongnu army that was about to march south cast a shadow over his heart.

If these problems cannot be solved, then the fleeting beauty before our eyes will ultimately be nothing more than a mirage, a reflection in the water, and will shatter at the slightest touch!

"This level of cultivation is still not enough..." Xu Yuan smiled bitterly.

Having witnessed Xiao Yunhan's strength at the Qi Condensation Realm, he knew that he was far from being able to relax. Only by continuing to grow stronger could he better survive in this chaotic and desolate world.

In the open space in the center of the village, Xu Laogen was asking the villagers about their situation over the past few days.

Xiao Yunhan stood aside, quietly watching this scene.

He stood tall and straight, dressed in a standard long robe with a long sword at his waist. Although he did not deliberately exude an aura, the pressure of a martial artist at the Condensation Realm still made the villagers extremely respectful.

After the grain distribution was completed, Xiao Yunhan stepped forward and asked, "Old man, has anything unusual happened in the village recently?"

"Village chief, who is this...?" A villager asked in a low voice, looking at Xiao Yunhan and the others with anticipation in his eyes.

Xu Laogen quickly introduced them to everyone: "This is Lord Xiao from the Demon-Slaying Division of the Prefectural City, and this is Registrar Zhao. They're here to help us deal with that thing in the back mountain!"

Upon hearing the words "Demon Suppression Division," the villagers' faces showed a mixture of awe and anticipation.

For many years, the legend of the back mountain has weighed on everyone's hearts like a boulder. The recent deaths of Zhao San and others, as well as the news of the tiger demon, have made it even harder for them to breathe. Now, finally, the government has come to deal with it.

Having already learned about the village's recent situation from the villagers, Xu Laogen immediately stepped forward and replied, "Lord Xiao, ever since Xu Yuan and I went to Qingyang County, everyone has followed instructions and stayed home at night, so the village has been peaceful, except..."

He hesitated for a moment before continuing, "That's right, villager Li Ergou has disappeared."

Xu Yuan, who had just arrived, overheard this and his eyelids twitched, inevitably reminding him of that incomplete book.

"Li Ergou?" Xiao Yunhan frowned slightly, and Xu Laogen wiped away his tears as he recounted that cruel past to him.

"Twenty years ago?" A glint of light flashed in Xiao Yunhan's eyes as he pressed on, "When did the person disappear?"

"It was this morning," a villager interjected. "This morning, when Grandma Li went to deliver rice porridge to him, she found the house empty. Nobody in the village had seen him leave the house either, and the kang (a heated brick bed) didn't look like anyone had slept there."

Xiao Yunhan's eyes narrowed: "Take me to see."