Merit-based card draws, quickly become a Heavenly Emperor

The next moment, the blood-red figure landed on all fours, flashed through the wall, and disappeared in a flash.

The monk's remnant soul also left his body at this moment. Upon seeing Fang Zheng, he immediately stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and said, "This humble monk, Jueyuan, greets this esteemed person."

"If you hadn't saved me, that monster would have devoured my soul."

Fang Zheng nodded slightly: "I have come here to capture that ghost."

Tell me what exactly happened.

Na Jueyuan nodded hurriedly and recounted what had happened.

He was a monk from the nearby Lengquan Temple, specializing in exorcising ghosts and guiding them to enlightenment. However, his cultivation was only average, barely reaching the ninth rank of [Visualization] minor success.

"At that time, I was performing a ritual to summon the ghosts of the Zhao family. At that moment, I felt a sharp pain in my chest, an unbearable agony."

Then the ghost appeared, trying to devour me.

At this moment, the ghost of Jueyuan still looked shaken.

Fang Zheng shook his head. Clearly, Jueyuan didn't know much, not even how he died.

He walked up to Jueyuan's body, pulled open his clothes to look at his chest, where the skin had already turned black.

Reaching out, Fang Zheng used his fingertips to absorb Yuan energy and pulled out a sharp bone spur that had been embedded in Jue Yuan's skin.

The bone spur was stained with black blood and gleamed with an eerie light.

Constable Chen, who was standing nearby, came over to take a look and exclaimed in surprise, "Jueyuan was actually killed by a hidden weapon?"

There aren't many people skilled in using concealed weapons; this is an important clue.

"Perhaps this is the same person who murdered the entire family at Xixinzhai a few months ago!"

Fang Zheng shook his head: "This is a ghost weapon. It only becomes visible when it is stained with human blood. It is not a hidden weapon used by martial artists in the mortal world."

"It must have been that ghost that attacked suddenly, killing Jueyuan with that bone spur."

Thinking of the ghost from earlier, Fang Zheng searched through the secrets of the hundred ghosts he had obtained from the cards and quickly identified a suspicious target.

Its body is covered in blood-red hair, it crawls on all fours, it is skilled at using bone spurs, and it seems to be unharmed after being hit by him, and can still go out in broad daylight.

This is very likely a changui (a type of ghost)!

Fang Zheng instructed Chief Constable Chen to summon the other hunters in the town and asked, "Have any ferocious tigers been spotted in the nearby mountains and forests?"

The hunters looked at each other, their expressions changing drastically.

Officer Chen sensed something was amiss and angrily shouted, "The government is investigating a case, so speak up now!"

A burly hunter swallowed hard and said, "Sir, there are no tigers near Anping Town now."

Five years ago, a den of vicious tigers was lurking in the mountains and eating people. The townspeople raised money to hire several ninth-rank martial artists to lead us hunters into the mountains and wipe out the tigers in one fell swoop.

Logically, there shouldn't be any remnants left!

"No!"

An elderly hunter said tremblingly, "I counted the paw prints at the time, and it must have been a tiger cub that escaped."

After searching without success, they assumed it had died in the mountains.

Could it be that this tiger cub has grown up and returned to seek revenge?

Upon hearing this, the hunters were immediately horrified.

"I remember now, Zhao Yong was the one leading the team back then!"

"Oh no, I was there too! What do we do?!"

"What are you afraid of? We wiped out their whole den back then, and now there's just one tiger. We'll go up the mountain and finish it off!"

Fang Zheng confirmed his guess, instructed the constables to continue to investigate the situation with the hunter, and then led Constable Chen back into the house.

Officer Chen looked on with admiration: "Lord Fang truly deserves to be the top student; his mind is indeed sharp."

I'm impressed that they could deduce the evil tiger's presence based on just a few bone spurs!

I'll go back and report to the county magistrate, and organize men to go up the mountain and kill the tiger!

Fang Zheng waved his hand, his expression hardening: "Officer Chen, please wait."

This is no ordinary vicious tiger; it is a tiger demon that has come into its own.

Zhao Yong's family must have been brutally murdered by the tiger demon, who then extracted their souls and refined them into a ghost.

The strength of that ghost was already quite good at the ninth rank, so it can be inferred that the tiger demon may have already reached the eighth rank.

Ordinary constables going up the mountain would likely only increase casualties; only an eighth-rank master leading the team would ensure success.

Officer Chen's face turned deathly pale: "A demon? An eighth-rank monster?"

Lord Fang, our Yongqing County is located in the heart of Youzhou. We haven't seen any monsters for decades, let alone such a ferocious tiger demon.

What should we do?

Fang Zheng frowned: "There are quite a few officials of the eighth rank or above in the county, including the magistrate, the assistant magistrate, and the county constable. Couldn't any one of them handle a tiger demon?"

Constable Chen gave a wry smile, leaned closer and lowered his voice: "Lord Fang, you may not know this, but the county magistrate hurt his back with his concubine the day before yesterday, and he can't fight right now."

The county magistrate is even more precious; he would never touch such things.

The other eight-rank officials in the county were all heads of various government departments, and none of them were people who didn't value their lives.

"It's really not easy to find an eighth-rank expert to lead the team right away."

Upon hearing such an absurd reason, Fang Zheng couldn't help but laugh in anger: "This tiger demon is so rampant that if it is allowed to run rampant for even a day, people will suffer."

Do county officials deserve the title of "parent officials" for their actions?

Officer Chen sighed repeatedly, "If Lord Chu Tiankuo were still alive, or if Lord Li Yuanshan were still alive, how could the tiger demon have gotten to run rampant?"

Fang Zheng's eyes sharpened, and he said in a deep voice, "The lives of the people are important."

Officer Chen, no matter what, you should first report to the county government and request support from an eighth-rank official.

I've also reported this to the officials in the underworld to see if there's any way to resolve it.

"Yes, Lord Fang!" Constable Chen straightened his back and left to carry out the order.

……

After Constable Chen left, Fang Zheng gripped the patrol token tightly, lit incense, and the wisps of smoke rose straight to the underworld.

He explained the matter of the tiger demon in detail, and then waited for their response.

Li Yuanshan remained silent for a while before saying, "Fang Zheng, you are a ninth-rank patrol officer, and your duty is to investigate the reasons for the disappearance of ghosts."

Now that the cause has been identified, your job is done.

"An eighth-rank tiger demon is a matter for the Yang official of Yongqing County. What are you, a ninth-rank official, meddling in?"

Fang Zheng did not hesitate and said in a deep voice, "Lord Li, guarding the borders and ensuring the safety of the people is the fundamental responsibility of an official. This applies to both officials in the underworld and those in the human world."

Besides, we can't count on those officials in the county. I can wait, but the people can't.

Every day the tiger demon lives, another family suffers.

I implore you, Mr. Li, for your assistance.

A laugh came from the other end of the call, and Li Yuanshan said with relief, "Good, I knew I hadn't misjudged you."

This tiger demon, which drives its accomplices to do evil, is, in principle, under the jurisdiction of my Ghost Gate.

But I've only just taken office. Although I'm a seventh-rank registrar, I don't have many capable people under my command.

To mobilize an eighth-rank underworld official, the process would take at least several days. The people of Anping Town cannot wait that long.

Li Yuanshan changed the subject: "Fang Zheng, I will deplete my own official energy to paint a 'Fang Zheng Subduing the Tiger' picture for you."

With this image empowered, you will have a fighting chance against that eighth-rank tiger demon.

Fang Zheng's expression relaxed: "Thank you for your help, Mr. Li."

With a thought in mind, he slowly opened his eyes and spread out his left hand.

Liu Qingyu transformed into a wisp of red smoke, drifting out from her palm and landing on the table, looking up at him.

"I wish to rid myself of this tiger, Qingyu, will you help me?"

Liu Qingyu smiled sweetly, her red dress fluttering, without a trace of fear in her eyes.

"That is indeed my wish, but I dare not ask."

My benefactor, I have made further progress in my study of the "Youzhu Zhaohun Jing" these past few days.

If one were to unleash the full power of an eighth-grade cursed ghost, they could maintain their composure for ten breaths.

Fang Zheng nodded, feeling even more confident about the upcoming tiger hunt.

……