Chapter 547: Chapter 536: Escorting the Corpse
During the advent of winter, the cold wind had beco rather chilling, unsettling the heart.
Even though the sun was hanging high in the sky now, it still couldn’t bring any warmth in this biting cold wind.
After Zhuxue Shuang finished speaking, Qin An nodded slightly, stood up, and said.
"In that case, I have urgent matters to attend to, so I’ll be leaving first."
Zhuxue Shuang knew Qin An was eager to complete his mission, so she did not stop him from leaving.
After leaving Zhuxue Shuang’s courtyard, Qin An hurried towards a mansion on Tianyun Road.
He left the Evil Extermination Bureau, heading north all the way, eventually arriving at a rather bustling street.
At the end of the street was a very luxurious mansion.
In front of the mansion stood two exquisite stone lions, and beside them stood two rows of servants.
The servants’ clothing was much better than that of ordinary folk; though they held wooden sticks, each had a strip of white cloth around their arms, and their expressions were very solemn.
Qin An’s arrival imdiately caught the attention of the servants.
As soon as they saw Qin An, they showed a look of respect.
Few on Tianyun Road were unaware of people from the Evil Extermination Bureau, let alone such a luxurious mansion.
Qin An stopped at the doorstep, observing a plaque above the door.
The plaque read "Zhou Mansion."
At this mont, one of the servants approached with a wooden stick, bowing respectfully to Qin An.
"This humble one greets the esteed officer from the Evil Extermination Bureau. Have you taken the mission to escort the master’s coffin to Wuliang Mountain for burial?"
Qin An nodded and said, "I’ve accepted the mission; this journey will be escorted by
to Wuliang Mountain."
The servant looked around, noticing that Qin An was alone, knowing it seed like only Qin An was tasked with the escort, showed a hint of difficulty, and instinctively said.
"The master offended many demons during his life, so even in death, those beasts want the master to die without a complete corpse. I wonder if the esteed officer can handle it alone."
Qin An said in a cold tone, "Since I’m the only one, it ans I can handle it. Besides, do you need to question whether I can handle it?"
The servant froze on the spot, then cold sweat broke out on his forehead, heart pounding.
He had just blurted it out instinctively, after all, it is indeed dangerous to have just one person for the escort.
But he forgot the identity of the man in front of him, who was the Tong Daoshuai of the Evil Extermination Bureau, soone he couldn’t afford to offend.
If the other party were to hold him accountable, he feared he would et a grim fate.
Of course, Qin An wouldn’t bother with a servant, waving his hand, he said, "Let
in."
The servant dared not say anything else, simply stepped aside respectfully, giving Qin An a clear path.
Qin An then entered the Zhou Mansion slowly, thinking about the details of this mission in his mind.
Zhou Mansion was a family within Tianyun Road.
And it was quite a large family.
The master of the Zhou family originally ca from a small family in Wuliang Mountain, but by a stroke of luck, he obtained a Cultivation Technique from the ancients, and after seizing the opportunity, he gradually led the Zhou family to greatness.
Eventually becoming a prosperous family within Tianyun Road.
The master of the Zhou family was also closely allied with the Evil Extermination Bureau, acting as a blade for them, providing a large amount of intelligence to the bureau daily, known as an undercover agent for the bureau.
This undercover agent was completely different from the one Qin An had seen back in Ding County.
Not only did they have prominent identities on the surface, but they also had backing from the Evil Extermination Bureau.
Undercover agents, by nature, should not be exposed to sunlight.
But not long ago, the master of the Zhou family received information about a demon, which was very important to the Evil Extermination Bureau, so he relayed this information to them.
The Evil Extermination Bureau successfully eradicated this demon.
However, sohow, the news about the Zhou family being undercover agents leaked out.
The demons that the Zhou family had provided information to exterminate naturally had intricate connections, and thus the retribution began.
The master of the Zhou family was ambushed by demon forces during an outing and was ultimately killed on the spot.
Fortunately, the clan mbers of the Zhou family fought desperately to bring back the master’s body.
According to the Zhou family’s tradition, after death, he must be buried in Wuliang Mountain, but demon forces both openly and secretly declared that they would prevent the master from resting in peace.
Tianyun Road placed great importance on burials, believing that a complete corpse burial was most auspicious.
Thus, they sought help from the Evil Extermination Bureau to escort the master’s body to Wuliang Mountain for burial.
This mission was then taken by Zhuxue Shuang and passed on to Qin An.
The reason Zhuxue Shuang said this mission was very special was because of the master’s identity.
If this trip allows the master of the Zhou family to be successfully buried in Wuliang Mountain, even if the grave is later desecrated by demon forces, at least the burial process would be safe.
If nothing goes wrong, it would motivate other undercover agents to work harder for the Evil Extermination Bureau.
But if sothing happens during the burial, and the master’s body is desecrated by demon forces, other undercover agents will definitely feel a sense of unease.
If they can’t even expect a complete corpse after death, they will inevitably act cautiously.
This is precisely what makes this mission special.
Escort missions are not at all easier than those of slaying demons.
Upon entering the courtyard, Qin An saw white cloths hanging all around the inner courtyard.
An atmosphere of mourning perated the place.
At the end of the inner courtyard, within the main hall, there lay a coffin crafted from fine wood.
Surrounding it were nurous young people dressed in mourning clothes.
Beside the front of the coffin stood a middle-aged beautiful woman, crying as she threw paper money into a bronze basin.
Noticing soone entering, the middle-aged beautiful woman looked up and saw Qin An in his official robes from the Evil Extermination Bureau, stepping forward slowly.
The middle-aged beautiful woman hurried to her feet, approached Qin An, and bowed slightly, "I am Lady Zhou, greetings to the esteed officer."
Qin An nodded slightly, through this middle-aged beautiful woman’s self-introduction, he already knew her identity, she must be the master’s wife of the Zhou family.
The other young people knelt in an orderly manner on the ground.
They were likely the children of the master of the Zhou family.
Lady Zhou wiped the sweat from her forehead and tears from the corners of her eyes with a silk scarf, and then said, "Thank you for the assistance from the Evil Extermination Bureau; we plan to set off at noon today. I wonder if the esteed officer is prepared."
She noticed that apart from Qin An, there was no one else for this task.
But naturally, to be in her position, she was a smart woman, unlike those servants.
Therefore, they did not voice any doubts about Qin An.
After all, based on the Zhou Clan’s understanding of the Evil Extermination Bureau, any mission undertaken by the Bureau would naturally aim for absolute certainty.
So perhaps Qin An alone would suffice for this task.
Qin An nodded slightly and said, "No problem, you can set off after you’re done."
With that, Qin An politely declined the arrangents made by Lady Wang of the Zhou Clan and found a corner to sit down, observing the funeral.
There were many people keeping vigil by the coffin, and the sound of crying echoed throughout the courtyard.
Among them, so cried sincerely, while others faked their tears.
The myriad expressions of humanity were all captured by Qin An’s gaze.
It reminded Qin An of a book he once read.
The book categorized the expressions of humanity into various levels, but the idea that one’s character gives rise to their appearance ran through the entire volu.
At this mont, these people were exemplifying that concept.
Looking at Mr. Zhou’s corpse lying in the coffin, Qin An suddenly felt that life is nothing but fleeting.
In the end, one rely ends up lying in this small space.
There was an inevitable sense of lancholy.
Of course, this was rely Qin An’s idle contemplation.
He was not a particularly sentintal person. On the contrary, he believed that living life with boldness and grandeur, even if it ultimately amounted to nothing, was better than living a life of dullness.
...
By noon, the vigil gradually ca to an end,
and a servant stepped forward to lift the coffin, while Lady Wang of the Zhou Clan cried and approached.
"Sir, we are ready to set off imdiately."
Qin An nodded slightly and then took the lead, stepping out of the Zhou residence.
The funeral procession was imnse, as this was a well-regarded family even in the Heavenly Cloud Path.
Many townspeople gathered to watch along the way.
Their conversations began to reach Qin An’s ears.
"Ah, who would have thought that Mr. Zhou would suddenly pass away."
"Mr. Zhou was very kind to the townspeople, often distributing food to help the needy."
"I hear that so of Mr. Zhou’s matters were leaked to the demon forces, and he was intercepted by them and died unjustly."
"It’s best not to speak much of these matters; we’re just ordinary townspeople and shouldn’t make wild guesses."
The whispers floated into Qin An’s ears.
Qin An stroked his chin, pondering thoughtfully.
"It seems this matter isn’t so simple. The opponent seems quite familiar with the Zhou Clan, even revealing Mr. Zhou’s route to the demon forces. Thus, this journey might have already been leaked as well."
This was rely Qin An’s conjecture and not necessarily correct.
But since he had this suspicion, Qin An thought it best to be prepared.
With this in mind, even though they hadn’t yet left the Heavenly Cloud Path, Qin An placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to draw at any mont.
...
After leaving the Heavenly Cloud Path, they proceeded along the official road.
The funeral procession was quite large, nearly a hundred people.
Among them were several Zhou Clan mbers, with strength at the early stages of the Void Shattering Realm.
Such a procession was strong enough that even a lower-tier demon force might not dare to offend.
As they traveled halfway along the route, everything remained calm.
But at this point, they could no longer continue via the official road and had to traverse a steep mountain path.
Fortunately, the funeral procession consisted of cultivators, so even the steep path posed no trouble.
In the distance, a mountain peak could be vaguely seen.
The peak wasn’t high, but its stunning scenery was enchanting.
Before reaching the mountain peak, they crossed a small plain.
By now, the grass on the plain had turned slightly yellow with the arrival of winter.
The funeral procession scattered paper money as they moved forward.
The mournful sounds of suonas and other musical instrunts played continuously.
But at this mont, a great pressure appeared on the plain, causing the funeral procession to halt.
Qin An looked up and saw more than a dozen figures appear on the plain.
Each figure exuded a terrifying aura.
As the figures approached, Qin An could see that there were fifteen demons.
The demons varied in shape, but each emitted cultivation at the Great Success of the Void Shattering Realm.
Such cultivation exerted a strong pressure on the funeral procession.
The procession imdiately stopped.
Lady Wang of the Zhou Clan trembled but did not retreat.
Qin An narrowed his eyes slightly, "It seems indeed the information was leaked. But the demons here don’t seem very formidable."
Upon hearing this, Lady Wang of the Zhou Clan stopped trembling and looked at Qin An in astonishnt.
She had faith in the arrangents of the Evil Extermination Bureau, believing that Qin An could lead the procession safely to Mount Infinite.
But she hadn’t expected fifteen demons of Great Success to appear.
What’s more, Qin An seed indifferent, stirring unease in her heart.
The other Zhou Clan mbers also appeared worried.
At this mont, Qin An advanced slowly under everyone’s gaze and unsheathed the Cold Star at his waist.
"Fifteen demon cores aren’t much, but I might as well take them."
Upon hearing this, the crowd fell silent.
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