Magistrate Wang stared, his face a mask of pure terror. Shock warred with rage in his chest. "You… you're the one from the Jiang family," he stammered. "Jiang Dao. You broke into my yamen… You killed my guards. Have you lost your mind? Is this a death wish?"
A cruel smirk twisted Jiang Dao's lips. "Still playing the magistrate? Cut the act. I could snap your neck like a twig right now. You believe me, don't you?"
A shiver racked the magistrate's body. "What… what do you want?" he whispered, the memory of the failed ambush on the Jiang brothers flashing in his mind. This had to be payback.
"Get my family out of this city, and I'll let you live," Jiang Dao said, his voice flat and cold as he dropped into a chair with an air of absolute command. "Otherwise, I'll end you right here."
"Get you out?" Magistrate Wang's eyes bulged. "My hands are tied! The order came from above—no one leaves the city!"
"Funny, because you've let plenty of others slip through," Jiang Dao shot back with a sneer. "Look, Magistrate, I'm giving you a choice. You can help me, or you can die. We're all dead if we stay in Hengzhou anyway. Your call."
"You… alright. Alright!" The magistrate's face was a mess of emotions. "But it has to be at night. If you move a group this large during the day, it'll cause a panic, and I'll be finished. At night, you might go unnoticed."
"Tonight, then," Jiang Dao said without hesitation. Hengzhou was descending into chaos, and every second they wasted was another invitation to disaster. The sooner, the better.
"I'll draw up the papers," Magistrate Wang said, his hands trembling as he fumbled for a brush and ink.
As the brush scratched against the paper, Jiang Dao spoke again. "I hear the imperial court is in bed with some of these evil spirit cults. Who are they? And where is this 'sacred object' I keep hearing about?"
The magistrate flinched so hard he nearly dropped the brush. "How… how could you possibly know about that?"
"Just answer the question."
"It's true," he confessed, his voice barely a whisper. "I was just following orders. I don't dare defy them. I only know of two groups—the Spirit Child Palace and the Corpse Dao Sect. My orders were to seal the city and wait. They said things would calm down on their own. As for a sacred object… I swear, I know nothing."
Corpse Dao Sect… Jiang Dao's brow furrowed. He thought of the grotesque creature he'd encountered on his way here. Could it have been one of them?
"The court didn't send anyone to help?"
The magistrate gave a bitter laugh. "Against powers like that? The court is useless."
"So you just lock the gates and let everyone in Hengzhou get slaughtered?" Jiang Dao asked, his voice dripping with contempt.
Beads of sweat rolled down the magistrate's temples. He said nothing more.
A few minutes later, the papers were done. He held them out with two shaking hands. Jiang Dao took them, scanned them to ensure they were legitimate, and then locked eyes with the magistrate.
A flicker of cold light flashed in Jiang Dao's gaze. He moved in a blur.
There was a sickening thud as the magistrate's body flew across the room, slamming into the far wall and collapsing into a lifeless heap.
Jiang Dao knew he couldn't have left him alive. A snake like that would've sent the army after them the second they were out the gate. Killing him was the only way to be sure.
Without a second thought, he swept every last silver note and ingot from the magistrate's desk into a sack, vaulted over the wall, and melted back into the night.
Half an hour later, he was back at the Jiang estate.
"Father, is everyone alright?"
"We're fine, Dao'er. What's the word?" his father, Jiang Dalong, asked anxiously.
"I have the travel permits," Jiang Dao announced. "We're leaving. Now."
"Now?" Jiang Dalong balked. "But nothing is packed!"
"Leave it," Jiang Dao commanded. "Leave it all. We'll buy new things in Fengzhou. This city is crawling with more evil spirits by the hour. Every minute we stay here is a risk we can't afford."
"Right. You're right," Jiang Dalong agreed, his resolve hardening. "I'll give the order."
He immediately roused his top men, Pang Lin and Fang Biao, telling them to wake the entire household—concubines, daughters, and servants alike.
The concubines, woken from a deep sleep, were stunned and immediately began trying to pack their valuables.
Jiang Dalong stomped his foot in a rage. "Stop packing!" he roared. "Just leave it! Grab your gold and silver, and that's it!"
"But what about all our furniture and silks?" cried the second mistress, Liu Hongyan.
"It's worthless now! All of it!"
The women, terrified by his fury, scrambled to gather small, precious items. The servants rushed to hitch the horses and prep the carriages. Some, thinking of the fortune they were leaving behind, began stuffing the carriages with expensive silk quilts and priceless mink and fox furs.
"Get rid of that!" Jiang Dalong bellowed. "Only gold, food, and water! Now move!"
Suddenly, his eyes went wide. "Dao'er! The weapon you commissioned—it's not finished!"
"It doesn't matter," Jiang Dao said grimly. "I'll have a new one forged in Fengzhou."
He didn't mention the small fortune he'd just lifted from the magistrate—easily over a million taels of silver. Combined with the loot from the Changbai Daoist, they had more than enough to start over. These silks and furs, as valuable as they were, were now just dead weight.
It took another frantic hour before the entire caravan was finally assembled.
Jiang Dao swung himself onto a tall stallion and took the lead. Flanked by his best fighters, the procession of over two hundred people snaked out of the estate and into the deserted streets.
The night was not quiet. An eerie wind howled through the empty avenues, kicking up clouds of dust and refuse. A faint, cloying smell of decay hung in the air, a smell that made the servants' blood run cold. They all knew the stories: night was when the spirits came out to hunt. Fleeing now was a gamble, a risk ten times greater than traveling by day.
But they didn't understand the real threat. If they left in the daylight, their departure would trigger a mass exodus. The ensuing chaos would bring the full, brutal force of the army down on them all.
As they moved toward the city gates, the darkness seemed to deepen, the stench of rot growing stronger.
Then, from a dark alley to their right, a sound split the silence. A dry, rasping cackle that scraped at their nerves.
Gek… gek… gek…
It sounded like a monstrous frog, and it sent a wave of panic through the caravan.
Jiang Dao's gaze shot toward the alley, his eyes sharp as daggers. He could just make out a figure shrouded in shadow—a hunched thing that stank of the grave, its eyes glowing with a sickly, green light.
His gut clenched.
"Don't stop for anything," he ordered, pulling his horse to a halt. "Keep moving!"
He held his ground, a lone sentinel between his family and the creature in the dark, his hand resting on the hilt of his saber. The Jiang family caravan thundered past him, a river of fear and desperation. Jiang Dao didn't move. He just watched the shadows, ready for a fight.