"Why are you here?" Wang Zhou asked. It wasn't Lin Fan's sudden appearance that puzzled him, but the fact that Lin Fan had only officially become a constable today. In the past, anyone faced with danger would keep their distance and focus on self-preservation.
"Sir, I heard the sounds of fighting inside from outside. To prevent any thieves from escaping, I thought about blocking the exits. But who could've imagined that Chen Zhong would take advantage of everyone's fight with the demon… huh, demon." Lin Fan immediately reacted, but when he turned to look at the Black Fox Demon, he didn't expect it to drag its badly wounded body up onto the wall.
"Dammit."
He couldn't let the Black Fox Demon escape—it was the biggest prize he could potentially kill.
"Sir, the Black Fox Demon is about to escape! We have to stop it!" Lin Fan spoke with bravado, but his body was remarkably honest; his legs wouldn't move an inch. Asking him to fight the Black Fox Demon head-on? Don't be ridiculous. That would be a sure death sentence.
Wang Zhou and the others locked eyes with the Black Fox Demon, their gazes sharp. No one spoke. It was as if their aura alone was confronting it.
The Black Fox Demon's eyes were filled with rage. It leaped and, brimming with resentment, disappeared into the darkness.
"Whew!"
Seeing the Black Fox Demon leave.
Wang Zhou and the others finally exhaled in relief.
"Look at the state we're in—can we even chase after it right now? If the Black Fox Demon had risked attacking us earlier, we would've all died by its hands. Thankfully, our aura deterred it enough that it didn't try anything rash, unsure of whether we'd recovered." Wang Zhou said.
Lin Fan felt it was such a shame.
That was the real prize!
"Lin Fan, you did very well; you saved our lives. I'll make sure you're credited for this achievement." Wang Zhou said with praise and a gratified tone. This recruitment of constables had truly brought in some talent.
What's the rarest thing in Jiangdu City?
That would naturally be talent.
"It was my duty as a subordinate," Lin Fan responded, delivering his lines perfectly to showcase his charm. Then he added, "Please hold on for a moment, sirs. I'll immediately call someone to send you back for recovery."
...
Wang Zhou watched Lin Fan's retreating figure, then turned and chuckled, "So? You all used to say the constables I recruited were useless. Do you still think that now?"
"He's a newly recruited constable?" Li Zhiyong asked.
"Of course. But I've been observing him for a long time. I knew he had the makings of a constable; it's only with my guidance that he can be this outstanding," Wang Zhou said proudly.
If Lin Fan had overheard this.
He'd definitely be unable to hold back from sarcastically complaining.
"Can you be more shameless? I seriously wanted to leave today, but you didn't follow the script. Whoever tried to leave faced whipping—forcing me to stay. So tragic."
"What a pity—he's bold and resourceful, yet he's just a constable. If he'd been born into a better family, maybe he could've joined an Immortal Sect," Li Zhiyong said, but then shook his head as he considered it further. Even they hadn't joined an Immortal Sect; it's not an easy thing to achieve.
Very soon.
A group of constables arrived. When they saw the Chen family's servants torn into bloody pieces strewn across the ground, those with weak stomachs began vomiting on the spot.
And upon seeing Chen Zhong's corpse, they couldn't help but gasp.
Such cruel methods.
His lower half had been split in two—even a man's most treasured "assets" had been divided.
Demon creatures were truly terrifying.
"Why are you all standing there dumbfounded? Hurry up and help the sirs back to recuperate!" Lin Fan, as the leader of this group of rookies, had to assert authority. With an angry shout, he startled the group into taking action.
Among the five, the most severely injured was Liu Ru.
She had been knocked completely unconscious.
Lin Fan muttered inwardly, "Women are just so fragile. Look at the others' injuries—they're down to exposed bone, and no one's fainted yet. That's real toughness."
After that.
He watched Wang Zhou and the others being escorted away with a noticeable sense of reluctance in his eyes.
The sincerity of his reluctance was genuine.
The main reason was that he was just too upright—if he acted against them, he'd have to stay here.
Lin Fan stood in place, examining Chen Zhong's loot.
"Damn it!"
It was a total scam.
What kind of junk had dropped?
Well, luck wasn't too bad—ten years of cultivation had dropped out. But that other thing? Saying it was trash was being generous.
"Gathering Technique: A top-tier cultivation method. Yin Yang Collection—usable by men, women, demons, or livestock; absorbs others' strength for personal use."
Lin Fan swore to the heavens that if the creator of this cultivation method appeared before him, he'd beat them black and blue. What kind of twisted trauma did they experience to come up with such a perverted technique?
He felt an urge to kick Chen Zhong's corpse, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.
There was no way he'd use something like that.
How could a good man stoop to doing something so disgraceful?
If it involved men, perhaps he could grudgingly give it a shot.
But livestock? What kind of monstrosity was that?
Checking his current state.
"Name: Lin Fan."
"Spirit Root: None."
"Cultivation Level: Third-class."
"Years of Cultivation: 11."
"Cultivation Techniques: Wild Boar Charge (non-ranking), Gathering Technique (top-tier)."
"Innate Divine Ability: Thick Skin and Flesh (Black Iron Level)."
Under the current circumstances, he was quite satisfied. In just one day, he'd advanced from non-ranking to Third-class—a fast pace. The inner strength flowing within his body had also been reinforced slightly.
Though the only usable technique he had was "Wild Boar Charge."
Even though it's just a non-ranking technique, "Wild Boar Charge" could still work wonders in critical moments.
He had to figure out a way to get his hands on some reliable cultivation techniques to strengthen his combat power.
He couldn't just keep using his head to ram things every time.
"Wang Baoliu," Lin Fan called out.
"Here! Boss, what do you need?" Wang Baoliu's face had turned pale. It was his first time witnessing a murder scene, and he was utterly terrified. But compared to the boss, he felt like he could manage.
"It's just two people dead—look at you, scared to the point of almost wetting yourself. Can you even manage?" Lin Fan expressed his dissatisfaction with these underlings of his, realizing he needed to train them properly sometime. If this was how they behaved outside, it'd be an embarrassment to him.
"Boss, I can manage!" Wang Baoliu shouted heroically. The louder he yelled, the better it helped suppress his fear—his dad had told him that.
Turns out, it kind of worked.
He did feel a little less scared.
"Hmm. Seal off the Chen Mansion. Don't let anyone enter. If anyone sneaks in, beat them to a pulp," Lin Fan commanded, fully exercising his authority as leader.
The Chen Mansion belonged to a wealthy merchant family, and its gold and silver treasures were unquestionably abundant.
Lin Fan was deeply tempted.
But the problem was that he was a mere constable squad leader. He had to uphold professional ethics—embezzlement wasn't his style, right?
Actually… it kind of was.
Putting it simply, he was just scared. If someone caught him red-handed and reported him, he'd be ruined.
Whether he could keep his position—that didn't matter.
The main issue was how would he face people in the future?
Lin Fan left the Chen Mansion.
What happened afterward was no longer his responsibility.
The true cause of Chen Zhong's death was concealed.
It was only said that Chen Zhong was killed by a powerful thief, and that the officials of the Demon Hunting Mansion sustained severe injuries to defeat the thief, ensuring Jiangdu City's safety.
Were demons even real?
The common folk held doubts in their hearts but had no evidence.
After all, demons hadn't appeared in a long time. To the people, demons had long been eradicated by immortals, and the places where they lived were perfectly safe now.