The Chilling Voice of a Demon

[The authorized version is on Jinjiang!!!]

The story begins with a murder in Gulang County. The corpse was horrifying, and a patch of skin was missing from its back. With the case unresolved, the victim's family took their complaints to the prefecture.

The prefect ordered the county magistrate to solve the case within a month. At a loss, the magistrate took a coroner to the funeral home to examine the body again, only to find a woman stealing the corpse...

Shen Hanzhi had killed the victim, but she was not the one who flayed them. To find the person who had removed the skin and reclaim the Demon-Slaying Record written on it, Shen Hanzhi went alone to the funeral home, intending to take the corpse away and investigate. She never expected the county magistrate and coroner to show up. She failed to get the corpse, but unexpectedly left with a young man of lowly status...

Fu Shengwen had flayed the victim, and his ultimate goal was to get Shen Hanzhi's demon heart.

But was this truly the beginning of the story? The so-called "peaceful times, with the land at rest" was nothing but a joke, a fig leaf that corrupt officials had joined forces to place over the eyes of the ruler. As long as it kept those fish eyes covered, they could enjoy peace and prosperity for generations.

Aide: "Does it matter what mistake he made? If the magistrate says he's guilty, then he's guilty. And if he doesn't do as the magistrate wishes and displeases him, then he's only making things worse, adding mistake upon mistake! If he can't even understand something this simple, how can he hope to become an official? Hmph, keep dreaming!"

Magistrate: "You think killing me will clean up Gulang County? Ha! You're wrong! When I die, someone else will take my place as magistrate. Once they settle into the position, it won't be long before they turn into a worm just like me! Do you know why? I'll tell you. It's because this whole world is rotten to the core!"

Postmaster: "I'm a magistrate, a proper official! How could an official ever be wrong? If officials admit their mistakes, how can they expect those lowly commoners to obey them? Besides, an old woman like her would die today or tomorrow anyway. Why should anyone else be held responsible for her worthless life..."

The world may be as it is, but an abandoned prince seizes power, a demoness roots out traitors, and justice walks hand in hand with conspiracy. The real story begins.

At first, Fu Shengwen thought the wicked woman was merely a move his master had ordered him to make. He had no thoughts of her beyond how he could use her. But as the days went by, he discovered that the wicked woman was kind at heart. She killed people and saved them, saved demons and killed them, seeking justice in all things, whether the guilty were human or demon. To win her trust, he pretended to be pitiful:

"I'm hungry. Big Sis, could you buy me a bun?"

"You're the only one who cares about this worthless life of mine, Big Sis. Everyone else treats me like a blade of grass. Where else can I go to hide?"

"You're not a wild demon! I can just stay with you! I don't mind the trouble!"

Every step, every move, even every glance was calculated, and yet he still couldn't make Shen Hanzhi stay. Unwilling to give up, he followed her to Puji House, never expecting to bring disaster upon the place! Imperial infighting cost countless lives and destroyed the literary tradition. Enemies on every side left the people terrified and miserable, while the hunt for demons and the pursuit of revenge left Shen Hanzhi on the brink of death...

"Fu Shengwen, you're all I have."

At last, he regretted everything.

A seven-foot-two demon-slaying sword broke in two. From then on, Shen Hanzhi and Fu Shengwen joined forces to hack a bloody path through the brambles, slaying vicious demons and wiping out villains... They would fight their way down this road to the very end!

Shen Hanzhi: "Only when the country is secure can its people live in peace. I used to think that the people's suffering and the endless stream of refugees were caused by corrupt officials. But that's only part of the reason. At its root, our dynasty has grown weaker and weaker. Our neighbors bully and threaten us, yet we never strike back. We keep ceding land and sending women away in the hope of buying peace. The decline of the state gives rise to corruption, and the people suffer. I don't know why our dynasty has come to this, but it feels... as if the legacy built by the late emperor is about to be squandered by the ruler on the throne today..."

She joined the army in the people's stead, and they faced life and death together, proceeding carefully at every step. She helped him vie for the throne, and he searched for her origins... Strangely, they always seemed to make the same moves and say the same things, with a rapport no one could match.

They made him a general, forced their way into the palace, seized the throne, and made her empress... They calculated every move until the mystery was solved, only to end up pointing the halves of the sword in their hands at each other...

Dust-Cleansing Rhinoceros, Skin-Faced Monster, White Hedgehog, Old Woman Niu, Bearded Master, Serpent-Man, Grub, Mountain Monk, Qi Bird... Others say that demons commit evil, while humans follow the right path.

Shen Hanzhi found it laughable and asked:

"Is it really demons that devour people's hearts, or are human hearts simply like this?!"

Theme: Share a stretch of wintry hardship, and never forget the bonds forged in the martial world.