Merit-based card draws, quickly become a Heavenly Emperor

Chen Moxuan put down his wine glass and tried to stand up, but his legs gave way and he slumped back down.

His face turned from white to pale, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead: "You...you drugged me?"

Du Kang did not answer, but simply held his wine glass and slowly took a sip.

He put down his cup, looked at Chen Moxuan, and there was something indescribable in his eyes, like pity, or perhaps relief.

"Brother Chen, do you know? These past few years have been very tiring for me."

Du Kang's voice was low, as if he were talking to himself, "I'm plagued by illness and can't sleep at night."

I tried many methods, but none of them worked.

Later, someone told me about a technique that allowed one to borrow the luck of others to prolong their own life.

Chen Moxuan's eyes widened, his voice trembling: "What do you mean by this?"

Du Kang looked at him strangely: "I have no wife or children. The only ones in this world whose fate is connected to mine are you four friends in the cold winter and a painting called 'Gathering of Fragrance in the Cold Winter'."

The people in the painting are connected by fate; the more they die, the longer I live.

Chen Moxuan stretched out his trembling hand, his eyes blazing with fury.

"You killed all the people in the painting?!"

Du Kang shook his head. "I killed Ziqi and Hongjian, but I didn't kill Yuanshan."

But if I hadn't been constantly creating evil spirits in Yongqing County, forcing this great philanthropist to travel everywhere exorcising demons, he wouldn't have suffered such a severe blow to his health and ultimately died at the hands of a newly born evil spirit.

He stood up, walked to Chen Moxuan, and gently placed his hand on Chen Moxuan's shoulder.

"Brother Chen, you're the last one."

Chen Moxuan froze, his lips trembling, unable to utter a single word.

A dark red light emanated from Du Kang's palm, echoing the mysterious patterns in the courtyard.

Chen Moxuan screamed in agony as his body began to convulse. The color drained from his face at a visible speed, leaving it ashen and withered.

Just then, a loud bang came from outside the courtyard gate.

The tin-clad wooden gate was kicked open, and Guan Tieyi rushed to the front with a steel knife in hand, followed closely by Lü Zhengfeng, Lu Qingyun, and Fang Zheng.

Du Kang abruptly withdrew his hand, took a few steps back, and his face darkened.

He glanced at the people who rushed in, then at the dying Chen Moxuan, and suddenly smiled.

"You were just one step away; you arrived quite quickly."

He reached to his waist and drew a soft sword, its blade as thin as a cicada's wing, with faint traces of blood flowing along its edge.

"Du Kang, you really are that seventh-rank evil cultivator!"

Lu Zhengfeng snorted coldly, and the official seal lit up with a bluish-white light. "I'd like to see what you're really made of."

Du Kang did not answer, but thrust out his sword. The sword light was like a venomous snake spitting its tongue, heading straight for Lü Zhengfeng's throat.

Lu Zhengfeng dodged to the side, tossed the official talisman into the air, and a bright blue light shone forth, transforming into a large net that covered his head.

Du Kang moved with incredible speed, his feet tapping out several feet as he retreated several meters, dodging the net.

He swung his sword backhand, and a cloud of blood mist burst from the tip of the sword, transforming into countless fine, hair-like blood needles that rained down on everyone.

Guan Tieyi wielded his steel blade in a burst of white light, knocking away the blood needles with a series of clanging sounds.

Lu Qingyun unfurled his official seal, and a shield of azure light condensed in front of him.

The blood needle hissed as it hit the spot, emitting wisps of blue smoke.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Du Kang turned around, leaped, and flew towards the courtyard wall.

With two seventh-rank officials, plus Guan Tieyi and Fang Zheng, he had absolutely no chance of winning.

"Trying to run away?"

Lu Qingyun raised his hand and pointed, and the official talisman transformed into a streak of green light, striking Du Kang in the back of the heart even though it was launched later.

Du Kang let out a muffled groan and fell from mid-air.

His face was contorted with rage. He bit his tongue, spitting out a mouthful of blood essence that transformed into a giant blood lotus in the air, from which countless evil spirits bred.

"Blood Lotus Secret Technique, a Hundred Demons Thirst for Blood!"

Du Kang's voice was hoarse as he began to struggle desperately.

The blood lotus, carrying evil spirits, surged towards the crowd, accompanied by a fierce, eerie wind that made it impossible for people to open their eyes.

Guan Tieyi was enveloped in blood mist, his face turned black, and he could barely hold his steel sword.

The azure light emanating from the official seals of Lü Zhengfeng and Lu Qingyun was suppressed by the evil spirits in the blood mist, gradually dimming inch by inch.

Fang Zheng, however, remained calm, took out a scroll from his bosom, and suddenly unfurled it.

The painting depicts Li Yuanshan, a painter in the mortal world and a seventh-rank official in the underworld.

Fang Zheng picked up his brush and quickly added a few strokes to the painting, placing them on Li Yuanshan's eyes.

The finishing touch!

The figure in the painting suddenly moved, and a bluish-white light burst out of the painting, condensing into the shape of an old man.

With white hair and beard, holding a crane-hair brush, it was none other than Li Yuanshan.

"Du Kang!"

Li Yuanshan's voice boomed like thunder, echoing throughout the manor.

"You took my life, and now you're going to harm my old friend."

Today I will act on behalf of Heaven to uphold justice!

With a flick of his crane-hair brush, a long rainbow of ink flowed from the tip of the brush, cleaving through the blood mist and heading straight for Du Kang.

Wherever the rainbow passed, the blood lotus vanished with a hiss, and the wails of the vengeful spirits were suppressed.

The underworld officials are the most effective at subduing evil spirits!

Therefore, while the Hundred Ghosts Thirsting Blood Secret Technique could still wreak havoc in front of Lü Zhengfeng and Lu Qingyun, it was utterly ineffective against Li Yuanshan.

Du Kang's expression changed drastically; it was too late to dodge.

The ink-wash rainbow wrapped around his body, tightening like a rope.

He struggled a few times but couldn't break free. Then, he was struck simultaneously by the official techniques launched by Lü Zhengfeng and Lu Qingyun. His knees buckled and he knelt on the ground.

Guan Tieyi rushed forward and slapped him on the back of the head with the back of his knife.

Du Kang lay motionless on the ground.

Fang Zheng put away the scroll, and Li Yuanshan in the painting returned to his original appearance, showing no trace of the divine power he had just displayed.

This was a protective charm he obtained from Li Yuanshan before the operation to close the net.

If Du Kang is indeed the evil seventh-rank cultivator who has committed numerous atrocities behind the scenes, he must be proficient in the ways of ghosts.

Therefore, the self-portrait that Li Yuanshan personally drew using the power of the underworld officials was the most restraining of Du Kang.

And indeed, the facts proved Fangzheng's prediction to be correct.

If he hadn't prepared this portrait, Du Kang might have truly escaped from the inescapable net.

Fang Zheng walked to Chen Moxuan's side and checked his breathing. He was still breathing, but it was very weak.

"Quickly, send Lord Chen back to the city for treatment!"

Several henchmen hurriedly lifted Chen Moxuan onto a stretcher and left.

Fang Zheng turned around, looked at Du Kang who was bound hand and foot and had a locking needle inserted between his eyebrows, and said coldly, "Take him away."

"Thousands of documents, detailed and meticulous. Wise and courageous, always keeping his word, righteousness, wisdom, and integrity +3."

"Capture evil cultivators, slay ferocious beasts, and dispel years of resentment. Ash skill +80."

Fang Zheng looked at the numbers flashing on the system panel and felt extremely excited.

After meticulous investigation, Du Kang was finally captured, resulting in a gain of 9 points in the Five Virtues attribute and 80 strands of Ash Skill, a truly remarkable achievement.

He had already done five 10-pulls in the Cleansing and Purifying gacha pool, and was just one pull away from finally getting that ultimate guaranteed card, [Clear Mirror Hanging High].

The first two legendary cards transformed him completely, and he had been waiting for this [Mirror of Clarity] for a long time.

At this moment, Lu Qingyun and Lü Zhengfeng walked in side by side. Behind them were a group of officials from the investigation team and the supervisory authority.

Lu Qingyun's usually indifferent face now showed a smile.

"Fang Zheng deserves great credit for solving this case."

A ninth-rank patrol inspector is worth half of the Yongqing County government!

Lu Zhengfeng took over the conversation, his tone also carrying an uncontrollable smile.

"The investigation from the massacre of the He family to the painting 'Elegant Gathering in the Cold Winter,' from Sun Xianrong's interrogation to Du Kang, took no more than a month."

Such investigative talent would be a treasure in any government office.