Start slaying demons from the proficiency panel.

If that sorcerer is still hiding in Wendeng County, then he is certainly not here now.

"It seems you are the real culprit behind the accidental drowning death of the passerby." Ning Xiu thought to himself as he looked at the corpse of the drowned ghost in his hand.

Now the clues have gone cold. If the demon harmed people and left behind incantations to absorb the vital energy from the people's bodies, it wasn't because he did it himself.

If it was the work of the drowning ghost that he commanded, then finding out the identity of this hidden demon in a short period of time would not be an easy task.

【021】The Demon Appears

In the dead of night, inside the yamen courtyard.

Dong Fu, who had been lying in bed asleep for a long time, was suddenly awakened by a shout from outside.

Before he could even scold the person for disturbing his sleep, the man outside immediately said, "Sir, Lord Ning has come to the yamen with a corpse and specifically asked you to come and take a look."

Upon hearing that Ning Xiu had arrived, Dong Fu instantly swallowed back his anger.

Given Ning Xiu's status as the Demon-Subduing Commandant, Dong Fu wouldn't dare utter a single complaint, let alone wake him up in the middle of the night or even burn down the entire government office.

After quickly changing his clothes, Dong Fu hurriedly followed the messenger to see Ning Xiu.

At this moment, Ning Xiuzheng was standing in the courtroom of the county government. Beside him on the ground was a wet corpse with disheveled hair, making it impossible to tell who it was.

"Greetings, Lord Ning." Dong Fu entered the courtroom and immediately bowed to Ning Xiu.

"No need to be polite, Lord Dong. Come and see if you recognize this person."

"This is..." Dong Fu walked to the corpse with considerable doubt. A constable used a scabbard to brush aside the long hair on the corpse's face so that Dong Fu could observe it better.

However, faced with a corpse whose entire face was swollen from being submerged in water, Dong Fu couldn't tell what it was at all and could only shake his head and say, "This humble official does not recognize this person."

Just then, a constable nearby suddenly muttered to himself in surprise, "Hey, this looks like the waiter whose body disappeared in the end."

Ning Xiu asked, "You know him?"

"Sir, I was in charge of retrieving the body of this waiter who was floating in the Changxia River. He had a birthmark on his chest and neck, which I remember very clearly. Even though his face looks like this, I can still recognize him."

Upon hearing this, Ning Xiu recalled that before the multiple drowning cases occurred in Wendeng County, the initial cause was the drowning death of a waiter at an inn.

Later, when the family collected the body and placed it in the yard, the body disappeared overnight. The family searched the entire Wendeng County but found no trace of it, and in the end, they had no choice but to let the matter drop.

This triggered a series of major events, and unexpectedly, the missing corpse has now reappeared as a drowned ghost in the Changxia River.

Ning Xiu also found traces of the incantation diagram somewhere on the drowned ghost's body.

"Lord Dong, I need you to do something for me."

"Lord Ning, please feel free to ask for anything. As long as it can help you, I will do my best to fulfill it."

“Investigate the people who have lived in Wendeng County in the past half month. They are not locals and are unfamiliar to you. Write down all their names and give them to me.”

"Your humble servant understands."

Ning Xiu pointed to the drowning ghost on the ground and said, "In addition, tomorrow morning, have someone hang this guy at the entrance of the county government office and say that all the previous drowning cases were caused by this evil spirit. You secretly organized the constables to patrol the Changxia River at night and successfully killed the drowning ghost, so that the people can rest assured that they no longer have to live in fear."

Dong Fu was overjoyed. This was a great achievement! Where else could he find such a good thing when the Demon-Subduing Commandant was going to give him the credit?

But he still feigned humility and asked, "Sir, why don't you tell the people of Wendeng that you were the one who eliminated the evil spirit? In that case, they will surely be grateful to you and remember your great name forever."

Ning Xiu glanced at him and said seriously, "I have my reasons for asking you to do this. You must remember not to reveal my existence to outsiders, otherwise neither of us can bear the consequences if something goes wrong."

"Yes, yes, I understand."

Once the drowning ghost disappears, the demon hiding in the shadows will surely become alert.

If the drowning was publicly announced in Dong Fu's name and the drowning was eliminated by the constables of the yamen, the sorcerer would not have the idea of ​​leaving Wendeng County.

If Ning Xiu were to reveal his identity, that sorcerer would likely flee Wendeng County the very day he received the news.

The next day.

"This is the evil spirit hiding in the Changxia River, causing harm to people. It looks truly terrifying."

"If I encountered this thing by the river at night, I would probably faint on the spot, let alone run away."

"It's too lenient of him to let this evil spirit die so easily after harming seventeen innocent people."

"Magistrate Dong usually leads a mediocre life with no achievements, but this time he has done something truly gratifying."

On a large pole in front of the county government office, the body of the drowned ghost was tightly bound with hemp rope and hung there.

This allowed the onlookers below to see clearly, and they cheered with delight.

For the past two weeks, the Changxia River incident has been like a stone weighing on everyone's mind, casting a shadow over the lives of everyone in Wendeng County.

Now that the truth has come out and the cause of the trouble has been resolved, everyone can breathe a sigh of relief and feel much more at ease.

Among the crowd, a man with an expressionless face stared intently at the corpse of the drowned ghost, a stark contrast to the joyful expressions of the other people around him.

Before long, the man squeezed out of the crowd and quickly moved away from the government office.

No one noticed that at a tea stall not far away on the street, a young boy was quietly observing everyone standing outside the yamen gate while holding a cup of tea.

The boy's pupils were slightly white; he was Ning Xiu, who was using the Spiritual Eye Observation Technique.

As the strange-behaving man left, Ning Xiu kept his eyes fixed on him the entire time. Of all the people present, this man alone possessed a hint of evil, making him highly suspicious.

Therefore, Ning Xiu had his eye on him from the very beginning. The drowning ghost was displayed by the government, and if that demon wanted to stay in Wendeng County, he would definitely come to check the situation himself or send someone else to investigate.

Just follow this person, and you'll find the demon's hiding place.

Putting down his teacup, Ning Xiu immediately followed silently.

After navigating through the streets and alleys, the man finally entered the back gate of a large courtyard. The courtyard looked expensive, suggesting the owner was a wealthy person.

Ning Xiu looked around, then leaped up and scaled the high wall of the courtyard to climb over.

A very faint trace of evil energy lingered in the courtyard, likely left behind by the man who had just passed by.

But for some unknown reason, these evil energies quickly began to fade to a visible degree, and eventually disappeared completely.

If Ning Xiu had come in a little later, he probably wouldn't have even been able to see these evil energies.

Ning Xiu had never seen such a method of concealing evil energy before. If a demon could hide himself in this way...

Ning Xiu's Spiritual Eye Observation Technique was completely useless.

Seeing the man's back disappear from his sight as he turned a corner in the corridor, Ning Xiu immediately chased after him.

……

Lu Chuan hasn't been in a good mood lately. Ever since his father was transferred to Wendeng County as the county magistrate, he's become quite strange.

Every time Lu Chuan tried to talk to him, his father would either stay in his room or leave in a hurry after only a few words, making him feel extremely unfamiliar to Lu Chuan, as if his father had become a completely different person.

Two days ago, I sent my men to forcibly seize Huang You's treasures, but they told me that there was an incredibly strong hammer master on the other side who scared them off with just one move, and they returned empty-handed.

Things kept going wrong, and even though his father became the local county magistrate, Lu Chuan couldn't help but feel that his time in Wendeng County was quite boring.

"Young master, the master has been staying in his study all day without coming out. Apart from reporting to the county government on the first day, he hasn't left the mansion in the following days. The county government has sent people over to urge him several times."

The old steward of the Lu family walked up to Lu Chuan and couldn't help but say something.

He had served the Lu family for fifteen years, always devoting himself to them. This time, Master Lu pulled strings and spent a lot of money to get him promoted to the position of county magistrate in Wendeng County.

But for some reason, once he arrived in Wendeng County, Master Lu seemed to have become a different person, and he stopped valuing the position of county magistrate.

They had been in Wendeng County for nearly half a month, and Master Lu had only visited the yamen once, spending the rest of the time at home.

He was like a dragon, rarely seen, and even the maids and servants in the mansion seldom saw their master.

"Young Master, although Master has become the County Magistrate, if things continue like this, I'm afraid many people in the county government will find it unbearable, and he won't be able to hold onto the position for long," the steward warned.

After taking a sip of tea, Lu Chuan nodded and said, "Okay, I understand. I'll go see my father now and ask him what problem he's encountered."

After leaving the pavilion, Lu Chuan headed towards his father's residence.

Lu Chuan skillfully approached his father's house, knocked on the door, and said, "Father, are you inside? I want to talk to you about something."

Soon, a rather hoarse and cold voice came from the room.

"Dad has something to do, let's talk about it next time."

Lu Chuan was anxious: "Dad, even if you have something to do, you can't lock yourself in your room all day. Our family moved to Wendeng County this time because you are going to be the county magistrate. As a result, you went to the county government office once in half a month. How can this be allowed?"

There was no sound from inside the room.

Lu Chuan pushed open the door and strode inside.

Strangely enough, even though it was broad daylight, Master Lu's room was pitch black and quite cold.

Lu Chuan looked around but didn't see his father. He figured his father must be deeper inside the house, so he went over, lit the candlestick on the table, and carried it deeper into the house.

“Dad, if you really encounter any difficulties or troubles, you can tell me. What’s the point of locking yourself in your room all day?”

Seeing the figure lying on the bed, Lu Chuan walked over and forcefully pulled off the covers.

By the light of the candlestick, Lu Chuan could instantly see the appearance of the person on the bed.

His entire body was covered in withered, wrinkled skin that clung tightly to the bone, and his face was completely ripped off, leaving it bloody.

Numerous maggots wriggled wildly in the eye holes, nostrils, and lips, devouring every edible part of the corpse.

Even though the other person had become a terrifying figure, Lu Chuan could still tell at a glance that it was his father.

"what!!!!"

The candlestick fell to the ground, and the last glimmer of light in the room dimmed, returning to complete darkness.

sizzle!

In the darkness, a sound of tearing flesh rang out, but then silence returned.

……

Watching the man with an evil aura enter a room, Ning Xiu bent down and slowly walked over along the bottom of the window.

When Ning Xiu reached the window of that room, he stopped and listened intently to the sounds coming from inside.

“That drowning ghost has already been killed by the constables of the yamen. Now we need a new target to help us absorb the essence of mortals.”

“Your methods are ineffective to begin with. They are slow and easily arouse suspicion. If you attract the attention of the Demon-Subduing Commander, how will we achieve the goals set by the higher-ups?”

"Then try your method. What are you planning to do next?"