There was a flash of memories in his mind the moment Zhou Yi saw the picture of the fish demon.
The southern realm of the Great Qian Dynasty.
Upstream of Yangning Lake.
An unsuspecting black carp accidentally swallowed a thousand-year clam's spiritual bead and developed an intelligence of its own.
A hundred years later, this black carp evolved and took the form of a human. It was dissatisfied with how slow its speed of cultivation was and decided to undergo a blood sacrificial ritual to refine its demonic aura.
For the sake of obtaining what it needed for the ritual, the fish demon turned to threatening the villagers on both sides of Yangning Lake. Every year, the villagers would have to offer twenty young boys and girls, ten of each gender, to the fish demon so that it could continue its cultivation with such an evil method.
Finally, thirteen years later, the captain of Demon Slaying Department found out that the fish demon had been making trouble for the villagers. Joining forces with Yaksa, who was under the command of the Water God of Yangning Lake, the captain successfully apprehended the demon.
It was put to trial and eventually given a death sentence by the Justice Department. Then it was banished to prison cell number C25 to await death.
When Zhou Yi snapped out of the trance he was in, he found that he was holding a pill in his hand.
The Gentle Water Pill.
It was blue in color, as big as the size of a thumb.
This pill was infused with the vitality and blood of the water demon clan. After taking this pill, monks with water attributes would see a boost in their magic powers. As for mortals, the pill would purge their bodies of all unwanted substances, and they would feel greatly rejuvenated. In addition, they would feel a stronger attraction for anything with water attributes.
"The Catalogue of Demons and Monsters, slaying demons, reward…" Zhou Yi muttered under his breath
Then he questioned, "Isn't this a…system?"
It was a roller-coaster ride for Zhou Yi as he went from shock to delight. Sobering up from his dazed state, he directly tossed the Gentle Water Pill into his mouth.
The pill melted the moment it was in his mouth. The dissolved pill soon integrated into his entire body, from limbs to bones, constantly flushing out layers and layers of filth from his muscles and bones. And finally, all the filth in his body was expelled.
Zhou Yi sat cross-legged in the corner of the prison cell. It was an energy-consuming task for mortals to cut up demons, and this was why each executioner was only assigned one demon per day.
An hour later…
The medicinal power of the pill gradually dissipated. Zhou Yi clenched his fists and discovered that the increase in his strength was more than twice its original amount.
"Truly worthy of being called an immortal elixir."
Zhou Yi detected a strong yet peculiar smell on his body, but that did not bother him at all. He did not even cleanse himself to try and get rid of the smell.
Within the premises of the Demon Slaying Department, if an executioner walked around with an immaculate appearance, he was most likely possessed by a demon.
At the beginning, Zhou Yi would think of ways to escape from the Demon Slaying Department. But now, he would not leave even if he was forced to. It was really a slap in the face for him to be such a hypocrite, but this was the harsh reality.
Life outside was fraught with extreme danger, with all the demons running amok. There would not be any place safer than the Demon Slaying Department. This was where the best bodyguards of Great Qian were gathered and also where he could continue to slay demons subdued under a seal to earn rewards. This place was simply heaven as compared to the land of humans.
Zhou Yi was feeling extremely motivated now. He had to do his job well.
The materials obtained from the body of the fish demon had to be sent to the logistics department while they were still fresh. And whatever that was left of the fish demon would be thrown into the Demon Refining grotto.
The logistics department was located closer to the ground in the direction of the Class B prison. It was the place where various kinds of strange demon relics were stored.
Zhou Yi carefully sealed the useful parts of the fish demon and sent everything to the logistics department. Then he returned to prison cell number C25, hauled the remains of the fish demon, and entered the deep underground area of the prison.
The fish demon was no more than half a head taller than normal human beings, but its weight was far more than 500 pounds. After consuming the Gentle Water Pill, Zhou Yi's strength was significantly increased, and he could now handle the weight of the fish demon remains with more ease than before.
The Demon Refining grotto was situated more than a hundred feet underground. When Zhou Yi arrived, there was not a single soul in sight. Standing on the edge of the Demon Refining grotto, he looked down and saw a bottomless abyss.
Legend had it that there was a Demon Refining array inscribed by immortals at the bottom of the abyss. This array could remove the evil aura from the demons' remains so that these would not become evil demons that could do harm to the human race.
Zhou Yi threw the remains of the fish demon into the abyss and counted up to 19 before he heard an echo.
"If the speed of sound and gravitational free fall in this world are similar to that of the previous world, then without accounting for almost negligible difference in time, the Demon Refining grotto is probably about 6,234 feet deep."
"For the Demon Refining grotto to be entirely cast by humans, without mighty powers such as those of immortals, the entire process will be extremely trying, even for a place like the Blue Star."
"This world is too dangerous. It is still safer to hide in the Demon Slaying Department…"
...
Back in prison cell number A3.
The sleeping quarter was empty. Zhou Yi could see everything in just one glance.
Dissecting the fish demon, consuming the Gentle Water Pill, then delivering the remains to the grotto took him more than six full hours.
Zhou Yi was consciously controlling his working speed and was two hours faster than usual. However, he did not feel the slightest pang of hunger at all. There seemed to be endless energy coursing through his entire body, from limbs to bones.
The potency of the Gentle Water Pill might be overly huge for mortals, so even if most of it had been used to cleanse and purge his body of all dirt and filth, there would still be lingering effects of this medicinal pill that remained in his body. This remainder that remained, was in turn, bringing about subtle changes to his body.
"I must act as if I am no different from the others. I shall go and get something to eat first."
Zhou Yi went to the canteen. There was already a sparse number of executioners feasting on their food.
The speed at which executioners completed their tasks was directly dependent on the target of the task. Among these tasks, the ones involving targets like the fish demon were the most troublesome, while cases involving humans who cultivated on the ways of evil demons or practiced ways of heretics were the easiest.
The tendons and bones of demons were tough. If not for their demon aura being sealed, as well as the ready availability of specially manufactured torture instruments, there was absolutely no way ordinary humans could cut through the skin of demons.
The job of killing heretics and devils was the easiest, but it also turned out to be the kind of job that executioners were most reluctant to take up. Which executioner would know beforehand what kind of secret magic these heretics and devils would cast on him before death?
Even with their magic powers vitiated, and their vitality and mentality being sealed off, no one could tell for sure if these evil beings were completely void of power. There was still the possibility that they had enough magic left to strike one last blow.
There were executioners from the same batch as Zhou Yi who had received the task of slaying such heretics and devils. Although they exercised extreme caution throughout the entire process, they eventually ended up dead after their targets.
Zhou Yi received a dozen or so steamed buns, a big plate of vegetables and looked for a corner where he could enjoy some time alone while having his meal.
Before all the detoxification and rejuvenation, he was already able to finish this amount of food. Now, with the great boost in appetite, even with twice the current serving, he would still be able to finish everything.
The food provision in the torture room was abundant and there were no restrictions on how much food the executioners could take. Even if one decided to help himself to an extremely generous portion openly, it would just be seen as part of the deed he signed that agreed to providing him with an unlimited supply of food.
As Zhou Yi ate, his ears were constantly gathering information from all around him. He was no longer the homeless and illiterate refugee. He did not wish to live such an aimless and pointless life anymore. And he certainly did not wish to die without knowing how he died.
There could be useful information hidden within anyone's conversation with another.
At the moment, the executioners in the canteen were all from the other eight divisions. Some were talking in pairs, while some had gathered around tables in small groups.
The torture room was divided into nine divisions. Each division was allocated with thirty to a hundred people, and Zhou Yi belonged to the first division, also known as the Class A division.
"Today, I almost fell for the demon's ploy. That devil actually said that he would impart to me his skills and that I would become invincible. Fortunately…"
"Have you all heard? Zhang Dashan of the 6th Division received a task from Prison A. But that demon broke free of the seal imposed on it and swallowed the guy in one mouthful…"
"I heard a demon saying that our prison that comprises the three prisons A, B, and C, were divided according to these grades, those grades…"
"..."
Zhou Yi silently combed through and extracted the useful messages from what he was hearing. Then he organized and summarized everything. He might encounter a difficult situation in the future, and this information might probably save his life.
Executioners came and went, but not a single one noticed Zhou Yi, who was sitting in a corner of the canteen listening to all their conversations with a keen ear.
It was not until late at night that Zhou Yi returned to room A3. The other seven executioners in the same room had all begun snoring. And their snores were so loud that they were simply earthshaking.
The next day…
Zhou Yi was allocated to prison cell C27 where he was to deal with a mouse spirit.
Impersonating the Earth God of a certain village in the Chu County, the mouse spirit had built obscene temples without permission. And in these temples, unauthorized worshipping that involved inappropriate offerings were made. The mouse spirit was collecting power from the incense offerings of the ignorant civilians.
At first, it was just diddling believers from a handful of smaller villages. But not satisfied with the current amount of offerings, it reached out further to the main town of Chu County and was soon discovered by the local day-patrol ghost cops. This matter was reported to the local Town God and the Demon Slaying Department, who worked together via a joint law enforcement system to apprehend the mouse spirit.
The law of the Great Qian prohibited private gathering of incense. All violators would face a death sentence, and no amnesty would be granted.
Through the memory of the mouse spirit, Zhou Yi also learned that the titles of all Town and Earth gods within the territory of Great Qian were actually conferred by the imperial court of the dynasty.
"The Great Qian, it's even more powerful than I thought it was. In that case, staying here in the Demon Slaying Department is even safer than I thought it would be!"
After slaying the mouse spirit, Zhou Yi made a new gain.
The aura-observing technique.
Any living creature, building, mountain, and the river had its own aura. The aura-observing technique could determine the strength and weakness, as well as the fortune or misfortune, of everything and anything through the fluctuations of its aura.
When Zhou Yi first gained this aura-observing technique, he tried to use it to sense the kind of aura that the Justice Department had.
But that overwhelming evil air lurking around the place instantly blinded him.