Don't Cause Trouble Chapter 103: Demon-Seeking Array

On the competition grounds, the five sect masters were watching the formation in operation.

"I still feel like this is too risky," said Wu Yue, the sect master of the Hehuan Sect, with concern. "Among these disciples, only Lu Chenhan has ever encountered demons. If anything goes wrong, we won’t even be able to help them."

The biggest issue was that every time the reverse formation was activated, it would rewind time. Because of that, they couldn’t place any Shuiyun Mirrors inside, so all they could do was wait outside for the disciples to return, they had no idea what was going on inside.

Even if the pass token sensed a disciple made a fatal mistake, it would simply shatter on the spot and wouldn’t be able to bring the disciple out. They’d have to wait until the "Night of the City’s Destruction" ended.

"Master Wu, you agreed earlier to use Hui City as the second stage," said the Wuxing sect master, clearly displeased. "You can’t take it back now."

The Shangque sect master agreed. "Aside from the three unfortunate batches before, many disciples have gone into this trial over the years and managed to find and kill a hundred demons. Hui City has already been confirmed safe. This time it’s just being used as a stage to clear. There’s no need for you to worry, Master Wu."

A few days ago, several of the core disciples of the five great sects advanced in cultivation, so the second trial was switched last-minute to Hui City. This increased the difficulty and gave disciples early exposure to demons.

"But the disciples who went in previously had higher cultivation than the ones now taking part in the sect competition," Wu Yue said with a frown. "Many of them were already at the level of deacons."

"With Kunlun disciples participating this time, I’m sure they’ll manage to kill a hundred demons before the city is destroyed," said Le Ji, the Wanfo sect master, spinning his prayer beads. He looked at Daoist Fengchen. "What we should be worried about is whether our own disciples will even find any demons."

Daoist Fengchen replied gently, "Every sect's disciples have their strengths. Master Le, there’s no need to worry too much."

While the sect masters were talking, Ye Su and the others had already finished sparring with the city guard inside Hui City.

Given the guard’s cultivation at the Fusion stage, it was obvious she had held back slightly during the five moves, likely to select people to enter. Still, anyone who made it through all five moves had to be at least at the early Nascent Soul stage.

The disciples who weren’t chosen had no choice but to search for demons elsewhere within the city.

"If anyone gets eliminated, stay in the residence and don’t wander around," Xu Chengyu instructed the disciples of Sword Sect. "Once we’ve identified a hundred demons, we’ll be able to leave this place."

"Chosen twenty, come with me," the city guard said from above.

A group of them followed her into the City Lord’s Manor. On the way, the guard turned back and looked at them. "Why are disciples from Kunlun and Sword Sect here?"

"Mission from our sect," Lu Chenhan answered calmly, holding his sword.

The city guard didn’t seem surprised and led them to a hall where a few people were already waiting.

She signaled for those people to bring out a large chest. "These are the uniforms for the City Lord’s cultivators. After changing into them, follow those people to join your teams. This courtyard will serve as your quarters."

Their living quarters were all in the same courtyard. The rooms weren’t large, just temporary resting spaces for use during shift changes. The city guard also handed out pass tokens to them.

The twenty selected disciples took their uniforms, picked a room, and went inside to change.

"Senior Sister," Yi Xuan walked into Ye Su’s room and showed her his pass token.

Ye Su was startled, then took out her own pass token. Sure enough, it was the same, they both displayed a number: ninety-nine.

Someone had already found a demon in that short time.

On the other side, Xu Chengyu and the others had noticed as well. They came out of their rooms, holding their pass tokens and comparing them with one another.

"The first person wasn’t even Lu Chenhan," said Lian Lian, who had just changed into the gray-blue uniform of a city guard and was still adjusting to it. She tugged at her collar and said to Cheng Huaian inside the room, "We need to hurry. If one person ends up finding all the demons, there won’t even be a need for a third trial."

"Once you’re done changing, follow me," said the squad leader who had handed out the tokens earlier. Seeing they were all ready, he added, "From now on, you’ll be with my team."

"In a moment, I’ll take you on a tour of the City Lord’s Manor," the squad leader said as he led them outside. "Your daily job is to patrol the manor."

……

There were still some mortal soldiers along the way, but they were all carrying the same weapons.

"The cultivators have it easier than these soldiers," the guard captain said casually as he led them past the mortal soldiers. "You can move around more freely. Your main task is to guard against surprise attacks from outside cultivators but those rarely happen. Your job is pretty easy."

Ye Su stayed behind the group and turned to look at You Fushi beside her, reaching out to straighten his crooked collar.

Yi Xuan noticed her gesture from the corner of his eye, hugged his sword, and muttered clearly, "I could dress myself when I was three."

You Fushi turned slightly and ignored the comment. He simply glanced at the back of Yi Xuan’s head, then seemed to notice something and said, "Ye Su, he’s shorter than me."

Yi Xuan: "..."

The two junior brothers mocked each other. Ye Su cleared her throat. "We’re still on a mission."

The guard captain suddenly remembered something and looked back at Lian Lian and Cheng Huai'an. "You two are talisman cultivators? There's a damaged talisman array at the back of the city lord’s residence. Check it out tonight and see if you can fix it."

Lian Lian immediately agreed. A place that looks like it has issues is exactly the kind of place they need to investigate.

……

The group began their walk from the east, circling the city lord’s residence to get familiar with the layout.

When they passed a large walled courtyard, the sound of music and singing floated from within.

"Plum Garden," the guard captain stepped forward and stood in front of the closed gate. "This is the city lord’s wife’s favorite place. There are often musicians and dancers rehearsing here."

Then he knocked on the door. "Perfect timing, you can meet the city lord’s wife."

After a moment, a young attendant opened the door and bowed when she saw the guard captain.

"These are the last batch of newly recruited cultivators. They’ve come to meet the lady," the guard captain said.

The music and singing inside suddenly stopped, and a lazy female voice called out from within, "Come in."

The group walked in and saw a beautiful woman in her thirties reclining on a chaise lounge. A young servant knelt beside her, massaging her legs.

"…This year’s batch of cultivators looks pretty decent," the city lord’s wife said, sitting up slightly. "Have you seen the city lord yet?"

"My lady, the city lord said to wait until tomorrow. I’m just helping them get familiar with the residence for now," the guard captain replied.

In the group, Ma Congqiu stared wide-eyed at the dancers. "Is that Mei Chouren and Yan Hao?"

Mei Chouren even threw them a flirtatious glance. Lu Jiu and Zhou Yun, who caught the full force of it, both shivered.

"People from Upper Que Sect are here too," Xu Chengyu said as he looked at several people playing flutes and zithers.

"No wonder it’s the Hehuan Sect," Lian Lian sighed as she watched Mei Chouren walk with seductive grace. She turned to look at Cheng Huai’an and thought her junior brother was much more pleasant to look at.

Lu Chenhan stood in the middle with cold, piercing eyes, scanning everyone around like he was trying to detect something hidden.

Perhaps the stares from a few people in the back were too obvious, because the city lord’s wife chuckled lightly, "Are our new cultivators interested in the dancers?"

Everyone immediately averted their gaze.

"All right, I still need to watch their rehearsal. You may all leave now," the city lord’s wife said, waving her hand.

As they were leaving, Yi Xuan suddenly felt something odd. He slightly turned his body and gave one last look at the city lord’s wife lying on the chaise lounge.

"What’s wrong?" Ye Su asked him in a low voice.

Yi Xuan shook his head. He wasn’t sure either.

After they left, Xu Chengyu asked the guard captain, "The lady is preparing a dance, does that mean there’s a celebration coming up?"

"It’s not really a big event," the guard captain replied. "In a few days, the lady is hosting a birthday celebration for her younger brother. It’s once a year and can get lively. Even when there’s no occasion, she enjoys watching dance performances."

"The lady’s younger brother lives here too?" Ning Qianyao, who was walking in front, asked curiously.

The guard captain nodded. "Yes. He’s in poor health and relies on medicinal pills from healer cultivators to stay alive. The city lord has spent a lot of spirit stones to hire alchemists for him."

"Healer pills are too intense for ordinary people," Xu Chengyu frowned. "Mortals don’t have immortal bones and have limited lifespans. Forcing longevity isn't natural."

"The lady’s brother does have immortal bones," the guard captain said with a shake of his head. "But his body is too weak to cultivate."

Everyone had their own thoughts. There was surely a mastermind behind the massacre, and only by finding that connection could they uncover all the demons involved.

The city lord’s residence was large. After completing their walk around the grounds and understanding their responsibilities, the sky had already turned dark.

"There’ll be a shift change tonight. You can all go back and rest now," the guard captain dismissed them.

Lian Lian and Cheng Huai’an stayed behind to check the damaged talisman array.

"Guard captain, we just arrived in Hui City and haven’t found a place to stay yet. Can we stay at the resting quarters in the city lord’s residence for now?" Ye Su called out and asked.

Xu Chengyu and the others slowly raised their hands as well. "We haven’t booked any rooms either."

Lian Lian tugged on Cheng Huai’an and raised her hand too. "Same here."

The guard captain turned back to look at them. "Fine. You’ll be meeting the city lord early tomorrow anyway."

Everyone was allowed to return to the resting quarters. Lu Chenhan wasn’t among them—he had gone to the center of the residence, avoided everyone, and took out a Demon Compass, channeling spiritual power into it with two fingers as he watched the needle spin.

The Demon Compass could point toward the location of demonic energy. After Lu Chenhan killed the Heavenly Demon, Daoist Fengchen gave him this compass.

It used to be a treasure of Penglai, and later passed into the hands of Daoist Fengchen. It’s highly sensitive to demonic aura.

But even as Lu Chenhan moved around, the needle never stopped spinning—no matter where he went, the Demon Compass kept turning without pause.

He withdrew his spiritual power, his cold eyes like ice. If the compass wasn’t broken, then there was only one explanation—the city lord’s residence had demonic presence in every direction.

……

"The Captain of the Guard told just the two of us to come. Why are you here?" Lian Lian stood in front of the side courtyard’s spell array and asked.

Ye Su stood beside her and said, "I know a bit about arrays too. I wanted to come take a look."

Lian Lian let out a frustrated laugh and looked at the group behind Ye Su. "Then what are they doing here?"

She turned around, Qianji Sect and Sword Sect were both there.

"We’re here to see how Ye Su analyzes the array," Zhou Yun said righteously.

At the front, Cheng Huai’an motioned them over. "This array has probably been here for hundreds of years. Looks like it's weakened over time."

The array was set up just inside a side gate of the courtyard. It was a Demon-Repelling and Calming Array.

"This is one of the most commonly used arrays across the cities," Cheng Huai’an said, standing up. "Only array masters at Nascent Soul stage or higher can create it. Judging by its strength, this one in Huicheng was likely set by a fusion-stage master. But after all this time, its power has faded. We might be able to repair it."

"Who are you people?"

A slightly hoarse voice came from behind the group.

Everyone was startled and turned around. It was a young, thin man with a pale face, draped in a thick cloak.

"Did you see when he got here?" Lian Lian subtly brushed the hair behind her ear and whispered to Ye Su.

Ye Su shook her head. "No idea."

Everyone here was at the Nascent Soul stage, yet not one of them had noticed when the young man appeared. Instantly, their alertness shot up.

Either this man’s cultivation was higher than all of theirs or he... was a demon.