At the start of the game, you have one equipment slot; the effects of unequipping the equipment rema

The flames surged in the night, and thick smoke billowed up, turning half the sky a dark red.

The roofs of several houses had already collapsed, and sparks were carried by the wind to neighboring houses, igniting the dry grass and making crackling noises.

Qin Yuan stood at the edge of the fire, his gaze deep and serious.

Linhe Village is located by the river, where there is a lot of moisture, making it impossible for a fire to have started accidentally.

Moreover, the fire came at just the right time.

They had barely sat down at the village chief's house and taken a few bites when a fire broke out at the east end of the village, and the fire spread so fiercely.

"Help me out!"

Seeing the raging fire, Lei Sai immediately called to Ma Xuan and Zhou Yao to prepare to go forward and help.

"etc."

Qin Yuan spoke.

The three of them, Lei Sai, looked at him.

Qin Yuan squatted down, picked up a handful of scorched soil with his fingertips, and sniffed it.

It has a very faint oily smell.

Someone deliberately set the fire!

It's hard to tell whether it's a human or a cunning demon.

"Leise, bring out the compass."

Qin Yuan gave the order in a deep voice.

Lei Sai immediately understood and took the demon-finding compass out of his sleeve.

Everyone immediately looked over.

The compass needle wobbled a few times before coming to a steady stop.

That's the direction of the river outside the village.

Around dusk, they also hunted toad demons in the shallows of the river.

"There's a demonic aura!"

Lei Sai's expression hardened slightly as he looked at Qin Yuan: "Is it the work of a demon?"

"Most likely."

Qin Yuan nodded, then took out something that looked like a firecracker from his sleeve and handed it to Ma Xuan: "Ma Xuan, you stay here and watch over the village chief and the others as they fight the fire. If anything happens, fire a signal flare immediately!"

"Yes, Captain Qin!"

Ma Xuan took the signal flare and nodded emphatically.

"You two come with me, Lei Sai will lead the way," Qin Yuan instructed Lei Sai and Zhou Yao.

The two nodded immediately.

Lei Sai, holding the Demon-Seeking Compass, took the lead, followed closely by Qin Yuan and Zhou Yao.

The three people advance in a triangular formation.

Soon, after walking about two miles from the village entrance, a figure suddenly appeared in front of the three.

Under the moonlight, the figure stood on a low hill, as if waiting for them, standing quietly.

The man was completely wrapped in a large black night suit, his face was covered, and only his hands were exposed.

Those hands were as dry as the bark of an old tree in autumn, with thick knuckles and prominent veins, which was quite peculiar.

But the three of them only glanced at it before being drawn to the child tucked under the man's left armpit.

It was a girl who looked no more than seven or eight years old, wearing an obviously ill-fitting, oversized cloth garment, and was unconscious.

Seeing Qin Yuan and his two companions chasing after him, the man in black remained silent, simply turning around and continuing his journey toward the riverbank.

The man in black moved very quickly, as if he had specially practiced light-footed skills for traveling.

However, instead of using his speed to escape, he maintained a moderate pace, ensuring that the three of them wouldn't lose him.

"Captain Qin, he's trying to bait us," Lei Sai said in a low voice.

"Um."

Qin Yuan kept walking: "I have to follow."

If even Lei Sai could see it, how could Qin Yuan not see it too?

Even so, Qin Yuan couldn't possibly not follow.

Firstly, the other party was holding an innocent little girl, and thus they were saved.

Secondly, he needed to determine whether the other party was targeting them or simply because they happened to be in Linhe Village.

If it's the latter, that's fine, but if it's the former, then it's even more important to figure out who the opponent is.

As the old saying goes, "You can only be a thief for a thousand days, not a thief for a thousand days."

And so, the group chased each other.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the group arrived at the riverbank.

The moonlight spilled onto the water's surface, shattering into shimmering waves.

The man in black stopped by the river, turned around, and casually tossed the unconscious girl from under his arm onto the muddy bank.

"Who are you! Why have you kidnapped children and led us here!"

Qin Yuan demanded an answer, trying to discern the other person's identity through their voice.

But the man in black remained silent, merely circulating his inner energy.

As their inner energy surged, Qin Yuan and the other two's expressions changed.

The true energy emanating from the man in black was not the usual ethereal and transparent true energy, but rather faintly revealed a dark, gray-black hue.

It was like a bucket of clear water that had been dripped with ink, extremely murky.

"Lei Sai, stay behind; Zhou Yao, go rescue the child!"

Qin Yuan reacted quickly and immediately gave the order.

Then, he reached into his sleeve pocket with one hand and grasped the saber in his palm.

"drink!!"

Qin Yuan let out a low shout, and thick earth-attribute true energy enveloped the horse-slaying sword, which drew a beautiful arc under the moonlight with a dull sound.

Faced with this powerful and heavy blow, the man in black did not fight it head-on, but instead used his unpredictable footwork to easily dodge it.

Its floating, unsteady form, combined with its extremely fast speed, makes it seem less like walking on solid ground and more like gliding on the water, drifting erratically.

Meanwhile, Lei Sai, who had stepped aside, nocked an arrow and drew his bow, attempting to aim at the man in black, but was repeatedly evaded.

Zhou Yao took the opportunity to circle around to the riverbank, hoping to rescue the unconscious girl on the shallows.

Just then, a column of water suddenly burst open on the calm river surface.

The water column was as thick as an adult's thigh, and it came quickly and suddenly, shooting straight at Qin Yuan, who was furthest from the river surface.

Qin Yuan, who was trying to slash at the man in black, immediately used his peripheral vision to judge the situation after hearing the sound.

After determining the trajectory, he lowered his waist and turned the knife, using the blade to block.

With a muffled "bang," the water jet struck the saber.

The force wasn't very strong.

But when the water jet burst open, the spray that hit him carried a chilling cold.

The chill, as if alive, seeped through the fabric, into his arm, into his veins, and straight to his bone marrow.

Qin Yuan felt his right arm stiffen, as if it had been frozen, and the flow of his true energy slowed down.

Just then, the man in black raised his hand, his five fingers forming a claw, and attacked Qin Yuan.

Fortunately, Lei Sai was on high alert. Seeing that Qin Yuan had been tricked, he immediately fired three arrows, forcing the man in black to retreat.

While Lei Sai was shooting arrows to hold off the men in black, Qin Yuan took out a third-grade warming pill and a fourth-grade detoxifying pill from his sleeve and put them in his mouth.

He wasn't sure if the chill was poison or just pure cold, so he could only proceed with caution.

"Watch out in the river!!"

Feeling his arms warming up and the chill in his body gradually dissipating, Qin Yuan immediately shouted to remind Zhou Yao.

Zhou Yao understood and looked warily at the river.

However, the next second, her eyes suddenly froze.

The river surface looked like boiling water, with a dense surge of waves.

One after another, dark blue figures climbed ashore from the edge of the shallows, their movements stiff but not slow.

Some of them were old, some were young, some were men, and some were women.

Their only commonality was that their eyes were all gray and lifeless, and they had no breath or heartbeat.

His clothes were soaking wet and tattered.

Through their tattered clothes, you could even see that they had bluish-black scales on their bodies.

If Mu Yang were here, he would definitely recognize him at a glance.

These are drowned corpses!

A drowned corpse just like Liu Zhuang!