The scene suddenly underwent a shocking change, and the group of women turned pale, shrinking like autumn leaves.

Duan Feng dragged the pregnant woman out with one hand, his grip like iron clamps restraining her. He raised an eyebrow and laughed, "Mr. Qin, how did you notice the flaw?"

The pregnant woman's face was ashen, but there was a faint flow of Evil Qi in her abdomen, like a coiled venomous snake.

Qin An raised his eyes, his gaze sharp as a blade, "Just details."

He didn't elaborate, but the implication was clear.

Just now, when the Yinzhou guards were questioning the middle-aged woman, only this pregnant woman seemed evasive.

Even though she tried hard to hide it, she couldn't escape Qin An's eyes.

He was born on the streets, well-versed in the ways of the world.

The Yu Family is a large clan in the county, and since Mr. Yu is dead, the middle-aged woman is ruthless—how could she allow a pregnant woman to nurse her fetus safely?

There must be something fishy about it.

Duan Feng saw Qin An's extremely brief answer and didn't ask further. His gaze shifted to the pregnant woman, his eyes narrowing, "There is a faint aura of a demon in her abdomen—definitely a demonic fetus."

Demonic fetus?

Qin An tapped the hilt of his knife with a finger and said, "This is the first I've heard of it."

A demonic fetus is the offspring of a human and a demon.

Qin An had read about it occasionally in the miscellaneous books of the Confidential Library.

But seeing it with his own eyes was another matter.

Duan Feng shouted sternly, "Your name! Your background! Why carry this demonic fetus?"

The pregnant woman trembled all over, biting her lips until they bled, her gaze timidly darting toward the middle-aged woman.

Duan Feng was momentarily taken aback, his eyes narrowing, and turned his gaze to the middle-aged woman.

The middle-aged woman sighed, a long sigh, as the aura of a cultivator suddenly surged around her, "Why must the lord go to such extremes?"

As soon as she spoke, except for the middle-aged woman, all the servants and maids, including the group of women, all showed fierce expressions, surrounding the two like a tide.

Their skin developed strange red patterns, exactly like those outside the city afflicted with fire poison.

Duan Feng's double rings clanked out of their sheaths, a hint of seriousness appearing on his face, and he sneered, "Though Luozhe County is remote, you engage in despicable acts, consort with demons, and birth demonic fetuses—such audacity!"

Before he finished speaking, a head flew into the air.

Duan Feng turned around in astonishment, only to see Qin An wiping bloodstains off the black knife.

Qin An wiped away the blood from the black knife, his gaze icy, "Since they collude with demons, there's no need for words—leave one alive."

Duan Feng took a sharp breath, "Mr. Qin is truly decisive in killing!"

He originally intended to speak further, but Qin An's hand raised and the knife fell.

Another servant lay decapitated, his swift and ruthless actions shocking Duan Feng.

Seeing this, the middle-aged woman had a faint flow of demonic Evil Qi, roaring, "Kill them, or else the young master is doomed!"

The servants and maids transformed into shadows, pouncing toward Qin An and Duan Feng.

Seeing this, Duan Feng released his double rings, like silver dragons breaking through the air, and two servants' heads exploded in response.

As the approaching servants saw the rings coming close, a hint of panic flickered in their eyes.

"Bang!"

A muffled sound resounded, and the servant's head exploded like a watermelon.

Duan Feng's ten fingers moved as if invisible threads connected to the rings.

The ring blades actually turned in mid-air, blood and flesh splattering wherever they passed.

Qin An raised his black knife, with one stroke, several heads fell to the ground: "Mr. Duan, have you noticed anything unusual?"

Duan Feng came back to his senses, frowning, "They are all ordinary people who suddenly gained abilities, with almost no combat experience."

He was also a seasoned Yinzhou guard, with strength reaching the Jade Bone Realm Perfection. With just a slight hint from Qin An, he understood the true meaning.

These people had no combat experience, purely obtaining abilities for unknown reasons.

Qin An said calmly, "I once read in the records, the Fire Crow Race loves to indulge in lust, regardless of gender. Anyone victimized by them can temporarily borrow Demonic Power."

While the two were exchanging words, all the servants in the courtyard had been completely subdued, leaving only the middle-aged woman with an ashen face.

At this moment, the middle-aged woman's face showed deep horror. When she saw Qin An's gaze sweeping toward her, she gulped and tried to flee.

Qin An used the Shocking Dragon Wind and Cloud Step, his body moving like electricity, and in an instant, he was in front of the middle-aged woman.

Duan Feng saw this and urgently called out, "Mr. Qin, leave a live one!"

Before he finished speaking, the middle-aged woman's head had already flown up, carrying despair and unwillingness, rolling several times on the ground.

Qin An flicked away the blood droplets from his black knife, sweeping his gaze at the pregnant woman at Duan Feng's feet, "Isn't that the live one?"

Duan Feng came back to his senses, smiling wryly, "Mr. Qin, your bloodlust is truly intense."

Qin An shook his head, "For those who aren't enemies, we can drink a thousand cups together. For those who are enemies, they only deserve to watch me drink."

Hearing this statement, Duan Feng wisely refrained from speaking further. He turned to the pregnant woman and said, "Give an explanation and you can live; silence means death."

None of the remaining Yu Family members were decent people, leaving a live one might not be bad, as this pregnant woman might know something.

The pregnant woman was initially fearful, but seeing the bloodstained rings in Duan Feng's hands, a glimmer of hope for survival flashed in her eyes.

She fell to her knees, banging her head on the ground, shaking like a leaf.

"Lord, save me. There's no decent person in the Yu Family. The Fire Crow demon disguised as a merchant did business with the master but secretly colluded with the Yu Family people."

"Regardless of gender, they all engaged in illicit acts with the Fire Crow Race demons."

"The master noticed and was poisoned. These beasts then covered it up together..."

The more the pregnant woman spoke, the more she cried.

Qin An raised an eyebrow, "It seems everything is clear now."

Duan Feng turned and asked, "What should be done with this person?"

"There are still people at the yamen, take her there for supervision," Qin An said.

Duan Feng nodded in agreement, but suddenly felt something was amiss.

Why was he taking orders from him?

Both were Yinzhou guards; why was there a hierarchy?

But upon reflection, Duan Feng didn't dwell on this issue.

The situation was urgent; first, they needed to complete the task at hand.

Thinking of this, Duan Feng grabbed the pregnant woman's neck, intending to take her to the yamen.

But just then, something unexpected happened.

The pregnant woman showed a pained expression, clutched her belly, and screamed shrilly.

"Pain, pain, pain! So much pain!"

Duan Feng, after all his experience as a seasoned Yinzhou guard, seeing this, quickly put the pregnant woman down, retreated a few paces, simultaneously drawing the iron ring from his waist with a vigilant expression.

Her belly was swelling rapidly.

Soon after, a line of blood appeared on her abdomen, quickly staining her clothes red.

"Bang!"

A dull sound echoed.

The pregnant woman fell to the ground, convulsing a few times before her life slipped away.

A fire raven the size of a millstone burst out from the woman's belly, radiating a terrifying aura, and charged straight at Duan Feng's face.

"Bring it on!"

Duan Feng reacted swiftly, intertwining his twin rings like a lock, capturing the fire raven and pinning it firmly to the ground.

The fire raven, trapped by the twin rings, struggled with all its might but could not escape their grip, emitting a series of angry howls.

Seeing this, Qin An praised, "Great twin rings, they can both attack and defend, and even capture enemies—a marvelous tool."

Hearing this, Duan Feng's lips twitched slightly, "Mr. Qin, while your praise is good, the situation doesn't seem right at the moment."

Qin An stepped forward, and the black knife brushed across the fire raven's neck.

A glint of the blade flashed!

In an instant, the fire raven's head flew high and then heavily fell to the ground, rolling several times.

Duan Feng was stunned, his eyes wide as he exclaimed, "Mr. Qin, why did you kill it?"

Qin An sheathed his knife, "The situation is now clear. The fire raven used the womb for childbirth, but the specific reason is unknown. All the answers lie at the brick kiln."

Looking at the fire raven's headless corpse, Duan Feng said, "This is not a living clue..."

Qin An spoke slowly, "Mr. Duan, could you get any answers from it?"

Duan Feng snapped back to reality, recalling the fire raven's frenzied state, "It seemed to be insane."

Qin An nodded, "Humans and demons are different. Breeding a demon fetus with a human surely brings abnormalities. This demon had no intelligence; we couldn't extract anything from it."

Duan Feng pondered, "Mr. Qin, why do I feel like you already had specialized knowledge about the fire raven before all this?"

Qin An did not answer.

He was indeed informed beforehand, having previously discussed with Guo Jinfa.

But this couldn't be disclosed openly, since it involved going through a back door with Wan Ziqing.

Seeing Qin An's silence, Duan Feng knew there were things not to be asked, so he stood up and said, "Let's head to the brick kiln."

Currently, everything points to the brick kiln. We just need to go there and everything will become clear.

The two men spoke no more, quietly left the Yu Family residence, and after getting out of Luozhe County, headed towards the brick kiln.

…

The journey was uneventful.

The closer they got to the brick kiln, the higher the temperature became.

If an ordinary person were here, they would probably have suffered a heatstroke and fainted by now.

Fortunately, both Qin An and Duan Feng were masters at the Jade Bone Realm Perfection level, so they weren't afraid of the scorching heat.

Ahead, the outline of a building faintly appeared.

When the two approached, they could already see the situation ahead clearly.

The kiln site, built with green bricks, was constructed against the mountain, with twelve beehive kilns arranged irregularly.

The chimneys atop the kilns no longer emitted thick smoke.

Each kiln door was shaped into an arch with fireproof clay, its edges glazed black and cracked from years of exposure to fire.

In the center of the kiln site, on the drying field, bricks were arranged in neat formations, with the sun-bleached clay producing a pale hue under the blazing sun.

Qin An suddenly halted, his black knife drawn three inches: "Something's off."

Lying on the open ground ahead was a charred corpse, its waist gleaming with a silver medal, already devoid of life.

Duan Feng stepped forward, removed the silver medal from the corpse's waist, and said gravely, "It's a colleague from the Evil Extermination Bureau."

Only twenty silver constables had come this time, so they were all familiar with each other's appearances.

With just one glance, one could tell that this person was one of the silver constables participating in the mission.

Qin An squatted down, closing the eyes of the corpse that were still open, and looked towards the kiln entrance: "Let's check inside."

Since they were here, and given this was a key part of the mission, they naturally had to take a look.

Duan Feng examined the corpse, saying, "The whole body was scorched, with residues of evil qi, indicating he encountered a fire raven, lost the fight, and died. We must be cautious."

The two of them deliberated for a moment and headed towards the kiln site.

The more they walked in, the more Duan Feng felt something was amiss.

The kiln site was only so big, visible from one end to the other at a glance.

If there really was an anomaly, why was there no trace?

Moreover, there were twenty silver constables in total, all elites of the Evil Extermination Bureau, yet they only found one body.

With this doubt, Duan Feng turned his gaze to Qin An, trying to gauge what Qin An was thinking.

About this colleague, Duan Feng had always been quite curious.

Strong in power and young in age.

With such talent, he subdued Liu Qingzhou with just one blade on the arena.

Duan Feng knew Qin An certainly had more than just that up his sleeve.

In Duan Feng's sight, Qin An walked to the largest building in front and stopped.

"The heat and toxicity are strongest here."

Qin An lifted his black knife, slashing diagonally at the building's door.

The wooden door wobbled and instantly shattered, revealing the interior.

Seeing this, Duan Feng's pupils contracted.

Inside the room lay three silver constable corpses, all covered in scorch marks.

Not far from the wall, an entrance to a hidden passage emerged.

Moreover, there were faint battle traces around and five fire raven corpses.

The blood essence within the fire raven corpses had been hollowed out long ago.

Facing this scene, Duan Feng didn't need Qin An to explain as he deduced the reason.

The silver constables had tracked down these clues and encountered attacks from five Jade Bone Realm Perfection-level fire ravens. After killing these ravens, three silver constables were also sacrificed.

Qin An circulated his True Qi, enveloping his body with over a foot of Gang Qi, and stepped into the doorway.

The surrounding temperature soared suddenly, yet no danger emerged.

Qin An didn't rush into the hidden passage; instead, he carefully inspected the wounds on the corpses.

Duan Feng also examined the corpses with Qin An.

After a while of inspecting, Duan Feng suddenly looked up.

"Mr. Qin, look here!"

Qin An walked to Duan Feng's side, focusing on the point Duan Feng indicated, his eyes narrowing slightly: "Mr. Duan, it seems our enemy is not just the demons."

On the corpse, apart from scorch marks, hidden wounds from bladed weapons were also present.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.