I can't be a demon.

Chapter 45 Shen Hansheng Returns from Gao Laozhuang
The west gate of Yanliang Town.

No one noticed when the carriage appeared on the official road. From time to time, weak coughs could be heard from inside, and passers-by avoided it as much as possible.

In a moment, the carriage was blocked by a large number of yamen runners.

Zhu Yihong and Li Shun checked the carriage that appeared suddenly. For some reason, it reminded them of the scapegoat they encountered in the soul-calling case.

The carriage was filled with resentment, but there was no sign of wheels rolling along the road.

Yanliang Town seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

Li Shun carefully lifted the curtain and saw a skinny man who was unconscious and had blurred consciousness.

"Li Shun, what's going on? Could it be related to... the soul-calling case?"

The image of the nine-eared demon flashed through Zhu Yihong’s mind and his face turned pale.

Li Shun shook his head and said, "It shouldn't be caused by a scapegoat, but the man inside has been filled with resentment for a long time, I'm afraid he won't live for a few more days."

"Well, I worried too much."

The soul-calling case has been over for more than half a month, but for Zhu Yihong and others, the terror brought by the nine-eared demon is still vivid in their minds.

In addition, there were frequent disasters in Gaojia Town, so they couldn't help but feel nervous.

Zhu Yihong noticed the logo of Shen's Pawnshop on the carriage and guessed that the dying man might be the owner of the shop, so he asked Captain Hong to notify Shen Lian.

Captain Hong had just left not long ago.

The surrounding yamen runners parted, and a middle-aged Jinwu Guard with a stern expression stepped forward, followed by the county magistrate of Yanliang Town.

"I've met Mr. Baihu."

Zhu Yihong and the other person bowed their heads respectfully.

The centurion's name is Yang Weichang, who was temporarily transferred to Yanliang Town not long ago.

His special features are concentrated on the top of his head, where a branch similar to that of an apricot tree grows out, and just like the vegetation in spring, it sprouts little buds.

Yang Weichang glanced at Shen Hansheng and said coldly: "You Yanliang Town has so many things going on. You have to report all the ghosts to the government."

Zhu Yihong didn't dare to say much.

Yang Weichang continued, "Demons attack and kill mortals every day. If you can't take care of them, you can just ignore them and let the yamen runners know what's going on."

The county magistrate had a grim expression and kept wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Yang Weichang's inner strength surged, and his words were slightly threatening. "The Jinwu Guards in Gaojia Town are in urgent need of the fish monster's gallbladder for medicine. You should focus on luring the fish monster."

"As for the thousand-year-old demon, let's put it aside for now."

The county magistrate interrupted flatteringly, "Lord Yang has used various methods to search, but he has not detected any trace of the thousand-year-old demon."

"The thousand-year-old demon most likely came from the Salt Mine Mountains. It just smelled the evil spirits and came to the town to have a feast."

"But……"

Zhu Yihong frowned slightly.

The Jinwu Guards sent Yang Weichang to hunt for the thousand-year-old demon, but the latter not only didn't care, but also wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to make a fortune.

Zhu Yihong heard that many thousand households had rushed to Gao Laozhuang, and the resources of the Jinwu Guards would definitely be tilted towards it, so how could they be short of the fish monster gallbladder?

The county magistrate interrupted directly, "But what but? Zhu Yihong, have you ever seen a thousand-year-old demon transform into a human?"

Yang Weichang ignored the county magistrate.

In the Tang Dynasty, ordinary Jinwu Guards were called "Ten Households", who could meet officials without kneeling. As for "Hundred Households" like Yang Weichang, their positions allowed them to bypass the prefects and county magistrates and give orders to yamen runners.

It is difficult to reach the people in the thousands or tens of thousands of households above that.

"Captain, the carriage should be filled with the owner of the Shen family pawnshop who disappeared years ago. I'll ask them to take the carriage back."

Zhu Yihong pointed inside the city gate, and Shen Lian and Dang Dingzheng hurried over.

"If resentment enters the body, it will lead to death. It is better to bury it on the spot." The county magistrate waved his hand in disdain.

Zhu Yihong was a little surprised to see Shen Lian's strong blood and energy. After all, the latter had just started to build the foundation of martial arts two or three months ago.

Yang Weichang looked at Zhu Yihong, not understanding why the latter was surprised.

Zhu Yihong hurriedly explained: "Master Baihu, Shen Lian has an outstanding talent in martial arts, and has made great progress in recent days." She didn't finish her words. Shen Lian had made great progress. In just half a year, he had completed a process that would take ordinary martial artists more than ten years. His aptitude was unprecedented.

Yang Weichang disagreed, "Martial arts are useless after all, useless fools who deceive themselves."

"Your Excellency is absolutely right."

Even if a warrior reaches the fifth level of the innate realm, his lifespan is only 150 years, which is incomparable to the 300 years of internal strength.

Not to mention, warriors are completely powerless against demons.

Shen Lian came to the carriage and recognized at a glance that the man in the carriage was Shen Hansheng, and the resentment in the latter's body was not optimistic.

"Today is indeed the thirty-ninth day of the first lunar month."

Shen Lian realized that his cheap father might have encountered a demon in Gaojia Town, so the letter contained resentment. His keen insight might have saved Shen Hansheng's life.

He still remembered the identifying information revealed by the letter.

[Shen Hansheng's family letter]

[Written by Shen Hansheng, the ink and paper were taken from the shop No. 13, Yongcui Street, Gaojia Town, and it carries Shen Hansheng's wish to return home. ]

"It's my father, Shen Hansheng, for sure."

Zhu Yihong nodded and said, "Where did Shen Hansheng go some time ago?"

"The pawn business often requires traveling back and forth to Gaojia Town. My father has been staying in Gaojia Town since the beginning of the year and has never returned."

"Gaojia Town... no wonder."

Zhu Yihong said with sympathy: "The erosion of resentment is difficult to eradicate. Shen Lian, you should prepare for your funeral in advance. The body must be cremated as soon as possible."

Shen Lian agreed verbally, but in reality he was just about to reach out and use his keen eyes to see the subtle details.

What resentment is eroding?

They are not even good enough in front of the ghost exorcist in Yanliang Town.

"I won't bother you any more. I'll be leaving now."

Shen Lian asked Dang Ding to push the carriage, and soon disappeared out of the west gate.

Yang Weichang stared at the carriage disappearing into the busy street, and as if remembering something, he asked, "Is their family a pawnshop?"

"It's a pawn shop, run for three generations."

Yang Weichang licked his lips and couldn't help but think of a strange thing that happened in Gao Village.

Gao Laozhuang is a relic from thousands of years ago. The streets and alleys inside are still kept as they were, and are home to powerful demons.

It can be said that all the demons that haunt nearby towns come from Gao Laozhuang.

Yang Weichang clearly remembered that there was a Yongcui Street in Gao Laozhuang, and every shop there had strange and inexplicable taboos.

There are…fifteen stores in total.

But around the Chinese New Year, a new store inexplicably appeared on Yongcui Street.

The sign of the new shop was blurry, and one could barely tell it was a pawn shop. The doors and windows were closed, and no one had yet broken in.

Although Yang Weichang didn't think that a dying pawnshop owner would be related to Gao Laozhuang, he still couldn't help but feel a little interested.

"Zhu Yihong, their pawn shop is in Xicheng District?"

"Yes."

Zhu Yihong replied hesitantly, "Hefeng Street in Xicheng District."

"Heh, I got it."

A smile appeared on Yang Weichang's lips, and smoke and dust were wafting from the branches of the apricot trees above his head.

Zhu Yihong thought to herself that this was bad. Yang Weichang was notoriously difficult to deal with. She had to be careful next time to avoid getting into trouble.

But they didn't notice.

On the city wall, there stood a starling, shaking its head.

(End of this chapter)