Volume One, Chapter 12: Demons Lurk in River City

After sending Chen Yuqing back to his aunt’s house, Chen Tianming hurried to a shop to buy her a brand-new wheelchair. By the time he reached his aunt’s place again, dusk had already fallen, so he decided to have dinner there.

After dinner, he planned to continue refining his Gu, but as soon as he entered his consciousness, he was startled. The Gu jar, once radiating brilliant light, was now dim and lifeless. Fortunately, as Chen Tianming relaxed, the jar’s glow gradually began to recover, easing his anxious heart.

“It seems the refinement of the Gu jar is still insufficient. Not only is its radiance lacking brilliance, but its size is also too small,” he mused. “There’s still space on the surface to carve another Gu pattern. To become a junior Gu master, I need to master three types of Gu techniques. Looks like I have to practice more.”

He decided not to dwell on it and opted for a good night’s sleep instead; his head felt like it was about to explode. Chen Tianming closed his eyes and immediately entered sleep mode, his snores soon filling the room.

He slept until the sun was high in the sky. His sister and aunt, feeling sorry for him, refrained from waking him even as the sun’s rays grew strong. But his growling stomach wouldn’t allow him to keep sleeping. Driven by hunger, Chen Tianming sprang up, feeling refreshed and energized, with no trace of fatigue.

Instead of rushing to eat, his first action was to dive into his consciousness to check the state of his Gu jar. To his delight, after more than ten hours of deep sleep, it once again shone with brilliant light.

“Although the Lightning Gu is powerful, I’m still too weak. It’s time to start cultivating the Ice Gu,” he thought. “Though the Ice Gu’s attack power doesn’t match the Lightning Gu, it possesses naturally strong control abilities. In yesterday’s situation, a small freeze could have easily knocked out Liu An and the others. Using palm lightning on them would be like using an anti-aircraft gun to swat mosquitoes.”

But with only so much energy in a day, how could he feed the primary Gu jar while also nurturing the secondary one?

Chen Tianming had managed to master the palm lightning technique within a semester by focusing and dedicating himself wholeheartedly. No matter how enticing the little Ice Gu seemed, he had always ignored it.

With a semester left before this year’s Gu master assessment, and wanting to keep his identity as a Lightning Gu master hidden, it was clear he had to work harder to cultivate the Ice Gu.

Yet, this meant the Lightning Gu’s growth would stall. Without refining it, however, the Lightning Gu wouldn’t grow on its own.

Hence, Chen Tianming planned his future Gu cultivation carefully.

With half a year left before the annual assessment and being able to control the Gu for four hours daily, he decided to spend three hours refining the Ice Gu and one hour nurturing the Lightning Gu.

Though the Lightning Gu’s growth would be slow, this would increase his proficiency with it.

The first priority was to carve a Gu pattern onto the Ice Gu.

After lunch, his aunt Chen Ligang returned from work.

Chen Ligang was an ordinary middle-aged woman, though well-maintained, with fair skin and a frequent smile.

“Tianming, you’re up! I heard from your father that you’re now studying at the Cloud Gu Master Academy. You have to study hard and become a junior Gu master soon to bring honor to the Chen family!” she chuckled, covering her mouth.

“Just becoming a junior Gu master is enough to bring honor?” Chen Tianming thought wryly. “How many generations have we been poor? Don’t we have any ambition?”

“Where’s your uncle? I don’t see him around,” he asked.

“He’s taken a new job delivering express packages,” she replied. “If he were just delivering parcels quietly, I wouldn’t mind. But he’s working for the Hunter Association.”

“He always goes to sparsely populated areas. What if he encounters a monster? What will I do then?” Her smile vanished rare and true concern filled her voice.

“But aren’t monsters only outside the Sky Curtain?” Chen Tianming asked curiously. “Has your uncle been going beyond the Sky Curtain?”

“You haven’t been following the news, have you? The government issued a notice long ago. Monsters have been active frequently outside the Sky Curtain near Jiang City. The government suspects they have sinister motives and has called for many volunteer Gu masters to form exploration teams to investigate.”

“Since these teams were government-organized, their logistics had to be guaranteed. So, they recruited from express delivery companies, offering high pay. That’s how your uncle got involved.”

“Furthermore, there’s an official order forbidding ordinary citizens from approaching the edge of the Sky Curtain,” Chen Ligang said gravely.

“That serious?” Chen Tianming was surprised; he had been focused on studying and refining Gu, so he wasn’t well-informed about current events.

Though he had been in this world for some time, through books and mentors, he knew that demons rarely approached the Sky Curtain.

The Sky Curtain was a protective barrier set by formation Gu masters—a rare skill possessed by only a few in the Dragon Kingdom.

Moreover, major organizations like the Gu Master Association, Mercenary Alliance, and prominent Gu families regularly patrol and eliminate threats to prevent demons from gaining ground.

If demons gathered in large numbers, it could lead to a monster siege—an event not uncommon in history. The government’s exploration teams were likely a precaution to prevent such disasters.

“I think you’ve been studying so hard you’ve gone a bit daft,” his aunt lowered her voice. “I suspect there are demons hiding right inside Jiang City.”

Chen Tianming gave an awkward smile. “Aunt, are you joking with me now?”

“I’m serious,” she whispered. “You know I work at the funeral home. Not long ago, one night, the city hospital sent over a batch of... bodies.”

At this, Chen Tianming’s brow furrowed. It’s normal for funeral homes to receive bodies at night, but she said “a batch.”

He remained silent, listening.

“That night, I was on duty,” she said, her eyes filled with fear. “Do you know what clothes they were wearing?”

“What clothes?” Chen Tianming asked quickly.

“Eighteen bodies... all wearing ‘Public Security Bureau’ uniforms.”

Hearing this, Chen Tianming finally understood why his aunt suspected demons in the city.

The Public Security Bureau maintains urban order, normally staffed by ordinary people who wouldn’t leave the safety of the Sky Curtain.

Her words were clear—and terrifying.

Demons love human flesh. If they are inside the city... it’s a matter of life or death.

...