A heretical cultivator in Bureau 749, I'm the fiercest at pulling out tendons and skinning peop

Li Shuwen forced out a smile that was as sincere as possible, even bordering on obsequious:

"You flatter me, Investigator Ji... I'm not worthy of such praise, not worthy of such praise."

He swallowed hard, and his speech unconsciously quickened:

"I was just delivering goods to a customer in this area when I passed by this building and smelled an unusual bloody odor inside. Out of curiosity, I went up to take a look..."

"As soon as I reached the top of the stairs, I made eye contact with that bear."

"Good heavens, that slap came right away... If I hadn't dodged it quickly, and if I hadn't had some spiritual energy protecting me, I probably would have had to go down and report to Seventh Master and Eighth Master on the spot."

Ji Zuodao narrowed his eyes.

"What was that bear's cultivation level? You must be at the ninth level of the Spirit Sea Realm, right? How could you be beaten to this state in just one exchange?"

Li Shuwen's expression stiffened, his eyes began to dart around, and he started to stammer:

"Well... my cultivation level is alright, but I'm just not in good shape."

As he spoke, he subtly kicked a crumpled brown paper bag behind him with his foot, trying to hide it in the shadow of the ambulance.

"I had a long-time client who wanted an urgent, custom-made order. They had high expectations and were very demanding. I almost exhausted all my spiritual energy just to finish it. And I had to deliver it to them in a hurry..."

His voice trailed off, and an unnatural blush crept onto his face.

"When I faced that black bear just now, my spiritual power was exhausted again. I had no other choice, so I forced out the last bit of it to project a rather fierce character from the book I just finished drawing... well, I just made a fleeting image of him."

"I didn't expect to actually scare that beast away, otherwise, I'm afraid I would have been in real trouble."

Ji Zuodao looked at Li Shuwen's attempt to cover up his true intentions, and then glanced at the paper bag that had been secretly kicked to the back. He knew exactly what was going on.

What "custom-made" and "mentally exhausting"... it's probably just drawing those lewd pictures that can't be presented in public, and you've exhausted your spiritual energy, right?

He's incorrigible.

However, considering that this kid had at least saved someone, and that he himself had ended up in such a miserable state, Ji Zuodao was too lazy to argue with him.

He did become genuinely curious.

What kind of bizarre things is Li Shuwen drawing?

How could a hastily projected image be enough to frighten a fully grown, ferocious bear?

Ji Zuodao's gaze fell on the paper bag.

"Let me see it."

"What kind of crap did you draw? It could scare a bear half to death."

As he spoke, he actually reached out his hand, as if to take the paper bag.

"!!!"

Li Shuwen was instantly terrified, and his face turned green!

Holy crap! Absolutely not!

Besides the notebooks ordered by the customer, there were also the notebooks belonging to this gentleman in front of us, lying at the bottom of that bag.

If this living Yama finds it out...

Li Shuwen seemed to already see his tragic future: sliced ​​into sashimi and his soul twisted into lamp wicks.

"Don't move!!"

In his panic, he forgot his fear and screamed out.

The sound stood out starkly against the noisy scene.

The nurse and several police officers nearby looked over in surprise.

Ji Zuodao also paused, slowly raised his head, and gave him a strange look.

"I...I mean..."

Li Shuwen forced a smile that looked more like a grimace, and stammered in an attempt to salvage the situation.

"This...this is such a small matter, how could you trouble yourself to do it! You'll get your hands dirty! I'll do it! I'll take it!"

Before he finished speaking, he practically pounced on the paper bag, and with lightning speed, his hand moved so fast it left a blur in the air as he precisely pulled a thin, elegantly covered booklet from the bag.

He held it with both hands, respectfully and tremblingly, and presented it to Ji Zuodao.

"Investigator Ji, please look, this is it."

Ji Zuodao gave him another suspicious look before taking the booklet.

He casually flipped to the first page.

What came into view was not the unsightly scene I had imagined.

Instead, it depicts a large black dog outlined in ink, with strokes that are sharp and domineering to the extreme.

The dog was arrogant, its head held high, its blood-red mouth wide open, its fangs menacing, as if it wanted to devour the sun and moon and tear the sky apart!

A wild, ancient atmosphere, filled with endless malevolent energy, rushes out from the paper!

It's really well drawn.

It possesses both form and spirit, and its aura is fierce and unrestrained.

Its appearance and imposing presence were many times better than that of Dog, who spent his days eating and sleeping and occasionally acting cheeky. It was truly majestic and incomparably fierce!

No wonder.

Even if it was just a hastily projected image, such a ferocious image suddenly appearing before his eyes was enough to make the bear gasp for breath.

Ji Zuodao nodded. Li Shuwen's painting skills were indeed remarkable; no wonder he could make a living with this skill.

With a hint of appreciation, he turned to the next page.

then……

Ji Zuodao's expression froze instantly.

On the second page, the style of the big black dog that used to look down on the world and be ferocious all over the world suddenly changed!

Surprisingly, he was with a man with vertical eyes on his forehead, a heroic appearance, and wielding a three-pointed, double-edged sword...

The poses are intimate, the atmosphere is romantic, and the scene is filled with an indescribable homoerotic undertone.

Ji Zuo said: "..."

His pupils dilated, and his fingers gripping the book trembled almost imperceptibly.

It was as if a silent thunderclap exploded in his mind, leaving him scorched and his soul seemingly leaving his body.

next second.

"Snapped!"

A crisp sound of a book closing.

With lightning speed, Ji Zuodao slammed the booklet shut, the movement so forceful that it stirred up a gentle breeze.

He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the shock in his heart.

Slowly, very slowly, he turned his stiff neck, his gaze falling on the title in tiny characters on the corner of the booklet's cover—

"Howling Celestial Dog: Second Master, No!"

Ji Zuo said: "..."

He remained silent for a full three seconds.

Then, expressionless, he raised his head and looked at Li Shuwen, who was trembling in front of him and wished he could bury his head in the ground.

He glanced at the book in his hand again.

"Oh shit……"

"City people..."

"So many varieties."

Li Shu, quick as a flash, snatched the hot potato-like booklet from Ji Zuodao's hands, clutching it tightly to his chest, a fawning smile plastered on his face.

"Investigator Ji, please let me explain, it's not my fault!"

"This is exactly what the market needs! This theme... it's been selling like hotcakes lately! Those young girls, they love this! Look—"

As if he had found corroborating evidence, he quickly gestured with his eyes for Ji Zuodao to look to the side.

Ji Zuodao subconsciously followed his gaze.

The young nurse, who had just been teased by Li Shuwen with a few words, was now trying her best to maintain a professional image, but her eyes were uncontrollably glancing at the booklet in Li Shuwen's arms.

His eyes sparkled with a strange light that was a mixture of curiosity, excitement, and a certain "I understand, I understand everything" kind of light.

He even seemed to swallow?

Ji Zuo said: "..."

He slowly withdrew his gaze and looked back at Li Shuwen, whose face seemed to say, "See, I didn't lie to you."

His gaze was indescribably complex.

"Humans cannot..."

He paused, seemingly searching for the right words, and finally added dryly:

"At least it shouldn't be..."

Li Shuwen realized that the topic couldn't be explored any further. He was discussing the audience and creative insights of the doujinshi market with an investigator from Bureau 749. The situation was just too bizarre.

He quickly cleared his throat, trying to steer the conversation back on track, and his expression became more serious:

"Ahem! Um... Investigator Ji, I think that bear might not have gone far."

"Oh? How so?"

Li Shuwen lowered his voice, pointed to the dark entrance of the unit door in Building 3, and said with certainty:

"Bears are the most vengeful creatures; once they gain intelligence, they become even more cunning."

"Moreover, I asked some people, and the bear's behavior—attacking, breaking down doors, even knowing how to press the combination lock—was clear in its objectives and methodical in its actions, unlike something that had wandered in by mistake or was simply acting out of aggression."

"It's more like... they came prepared, seeking revenge."

"Grieving nature, coupled with the fact that it was clearly targeting a particular household or individual in this building, and having failed to achieve its goal and even suffered a minor loss, it's unlikely to give up so easily."

"I guess it's lurking nearby, waiting for us to let our guard down, or... waiting for the next opportunity."

After Li Shuwen finished speaking, he looked cautiously at Ji Zuodao and added:

"Of course, this is just my humble opinion. As for the specifics, I would appreciate it from Investigator Ji's perspective."

Ji Zuodao didn't speak, but gazed intently at the quiet residential building.

After a moment, he gave a soft "hmm".

"Holding a grudge? Came prepared?"

The corners of his mouth seemed to twitch very subtly.

"That's perfect."

"It saves me the trouble of searching the whole world for it."