Nine Netherworld Demon Subduing Record

"I heard that the Taoist master has some fire-related qualities. For him to die without any resistance, the murderer would have to be at least a high-level Taoist master."

Upon hearing this, Fu Qing became even more interested. This was the first time he had ever heard the title of "Advanced Daoist Master." Moreover, the flame attribute... Fu Qing recalled his encounter with Chen Xing'an on the island in the middle of the lake. It seemed that this attribute represented some kind of ability possessed by a Daoist Master. Bai Yi's attribute seemed to be illusion?

"That incident at the dock couldn't have been done by the Taoist priest, could it? The missing person was just a laborer. I could tell at a glance that the kid surnamed Li was talking nonsense. His own identity documents were forged. He fooled the foreman to get into the labor team."

"Two murder cases? And they involve a Taoist priest? It seems Cloud Boat City is not very peaceful."

Fu Qing knew that in ancient times, many murder cases with no clear leads were simply dropped, with the government only conducting a token investigation. However, he noticed that these two seemed quite interested.

Fu Qing thought about it carefully. Since Chen Xing'an hadn't been seen all day, he was probably busy dealing with this kind of security incident. He just didn't know what level of Taoist Master Chen Xing'an was. Was he also a high-level one?

He put down the bamboo slips, looked at the two officials, and said, "Your Excellencies, regarding this murder case you are talking about..."

The burly man glanced at Fu Qing, assuming he was just a curious gossip. In fact, that was indeed the case. Fu Qing felt that since the two of them were already chatting in front of him, it would be strange if he didn't join in.

"Hey, it's the Yi family blacksmith shop at the very end of Southeast Street. One of the blacksmiths there was murdered a week ago. Apparently, he was working overtime at night and died in front of his own house just before leaving. Let me tell you, it was a really gruesome death. There was blood all over the walls and the floor."

"The Yi family?" Fu Qing remembered that this was the family that Bai Yi had told him about when he first entered the city. They specialized in dealing in all kinds of small spiritual machines. He figured that the people who were killed were probably Taoist masters of the spiritual machine path.

"And what about the disappearance at the dock?"

The man with horns on his head said, "Last night, a laborer went missing at the dock. According to his fellow laborers, he fell into the sea."

"Ha, do you really believe that? That dockworker also does the work of a sailor, and he's an incredibly good swimmer. Besides, the water where he fell in was only about half a person's height. Even an old lady could climb out of there, let alone a strong man."

Fu Qing frowned slightly. Seeing that the dock was not peaceful either, he was only glad that he hadn't gone to the Maritime Affairs Bureau. Otherwise, none of this would have happened, and he would have been in danger of losing his life at any time.

At this moment, the servant brought the noodles over. Fu Qing felt that this matter had nothing to do with him, so he took out chopsticks from the basket and started eating by himself.

Just as Fu Qing was finishing his meal, the burly man said, "Young man, let me tell you, things haven't been peaceful lately. You'd better not go out at night."

Fu Qing slurped up the last mouthful of noodles and nodded.

-

After finishing his noodles, Fu Qing gave the servant two coins and walked out onto the street. By then, it was completely dark, and half of the sky was dark.

Unlike modern streets in China with streetlights, this street was pitch black in many places. Fortunately, it wasn't too far from the General Affairs Office; it was just a short walk away.

After hearing what the two officers said, Fu Qing couldn't help but have all sorts of wild thoughts, especially in this world with extraordinary abilities, where anything could happen. Thinking of this, he unconsciously moved closer to the wall.

In most supernatural horror movies, the protagonists know that something is wrong in the area, but they still walk in the middle of the road, with the moonlight shining brightly on their shadows, as if they are afraid that ghosts won't see them.

Fu Qing found this kind of plot point somewhat foolish, but it was just a cinematic technique. In order to make the scenes look better, one naturally had to be careful in real life. Knowing there are tigers in the mountains, one should not knowingly go into those mountains.

Just as he reached the street corner, he heard a clanging sound coming from the other side of the street. Fu Qing's ears twitched, and he couldn't help but feel nervous. He pressed himself tightly against the corner of the wall, and the sound grew closer and closer.

He stopped in his tracks. Seeing that there were walls on both sides, Fu Qing's heart pounded. But at the same time, he comforted himself: "Could I be that unlucky? I just heard about the strange things happening in Yunzhou City, and now I'm encountering them as soon as I step outside?"

But seeing that they were about to run into each other, Fu Qing decided to bite the bullet and keep going.

The footsteps grew louder.

"Ding!"

"Thump...thump-thump..."

Fu Qing could only feel the sound of her heartbeat and footsteps overlapping.

In an instant, a figure dressed in black appeared in front of Fu Qing. He felt cold sweat pour down his body and goosebumps all over.

"Ouch!"

The man was startled when he saw Fu Qing.

Upon seeing Fu Qing, he abruptly took a step back and clutched his chest, clearly quite frightened. When Fu Qing got a better look, he realized that the man was a strong young man dressed in black, pulling a wheelbarrow. Startled by Fu Qing's actions, the wheelbarrow tilted, and the goods on it fell to the ground.

"You, don't scare people like that in the middle of the night. You walk around so quietly, and you even walk along the corner. Are you a mouse?"

Fu Qing quickly apologized and tried to go upstairs to move the goods.

"Alright, alright, I'll do it myself."

The young man pushed Fu Qing aside and carried the bag to the car.

"Watch where you're going!" he grumbled as he walked past Fu Qing, who apologized repeatedly.

Fu Qing watched the man walk away until he was out of sight. At that moment, the young man slowly walked to a place illuminated by the moonlight. Fu Qing saw something wriggling behind the young man and squinted to take a look.

With just one glance, goosebumps erupted all over his body, and a chill ran down his spine.

Behind the man was a barely noticeable dark shadow, which was walking backwards close to the young man.

Fu Qing couldn't see the shadowy figure's face clearly, but soon, the shadowy figure glanced at Fu Qing, a smile spreading across its lips, revealing two rows of fangs.

That expression seemed to say, "Next..."

"Your turn."

"..."

Fu Qing stood there dumbfounded for a while before he suddenly regained his senses. He took off running.

"What...what is this thing?" he thought as he jogged. Although he felt that there might really be ghosts in this world, there was still a difference between what he imagined and what he saw with his own eyes.

Although his previous encounter with the black-faced ghost was also very frightening, the feeling that the black-faced ghost brought to Fu Qing was completely different.

When Fu Qing encountered the black-faced ghost, his first reaction was fear of an unfamiliar force. But this fear was like encountering a tiger or going to a haunted house; you know they have no mind and are simply aggressive.

But the dark figure was clearly not of that kind. When it stared at Fu Qing, Fu Qing felt that the dark figure seemed to have a mind. It is said that ghosts are not scary, but people are scary. But if a ghost has a human mind, then it is almost like a monster.

After turning a corner, the familiar streetlights came on, and Fu Qing hurriedly ran inside. There was only one person on duty at the back door, who quickly stopped Fu Qing when he saw him running over.

"Halt! Who goes there?"

Upon seeing that it was Fu Qing, the figure immediately lowered his hand.

"Who do we have here? Oh, it's you! Why are you in such a hurry?"

Fu Qing, panting slightly, said to the guard in front of him, "Quickly, report to the authorities."