Lying Through His Teeth with Eyes Wide Open

The next day, dawn had just broken.

Early that morning, the villagers of Willow Ditch Village were all summoned by the Old Village Chief.

He informed them that everyone was to gather at the Meeting Great Temple today.

Naturally, Liang Cheng had instructed the Old Village Chief to deliver this notice.

After confirming things with Lu Xuan last night, Liang Cheng knew that no more strange entities would appear in Willow Ditch Village for a long time to come.

As for the deaths of the two Willow Ditch Village residents and the other three Local Militia soldiers, Liang Cheng was not foolish enough to reveal the truth.

Was he supposed to tell the villagers of Willow Ditch Village that there were Filthy Things in their village, and that those people had been killed by those eerie, terrifying Filthy Things?

If Liang Cheng revealed that truth, the villagers of Willow Ditch Village would probably fall into a panic the very next moment, throwing everything into chaos.

Willow Ditch Village's Meeting Great Temple!

Liang Cheng stood in the middle of the main hall, with several Yamen Runners behind him.

Those Yamen Runners were carrying a wooden board together, covered with a white cloth.

Once the villagers of Willow Ditch Village had mostly gathered, Liang Cheng finally began to speak.

"Enough, quiet!"

After Liang Cheng shouted with all his might, the previously noisy and bustling hall fell silent in an instant. Not even a crow cawed.

Everyone's gaze converged on Liang Cheng, including Lu Xuan, who sat in a chair along one side of the hall.

Seeing that the hall had quieted down, Liang Cheng nodded in satisfaction before speaking again.

"After this Detective Sir went out to investigate last night, I have discovered the cause of those people's deaths."

"Furthermore, I have executed the true culprit on the spot. Nothing like this will ever happen in Willow Ditch Village again."

"Everyone can rest easy now."

Liang Cheng decided to make a long story short, settle the murder case in Willow Ditch Village with just a few words, and hurriedly close the case.

"Really?"

"That's wonderful!"

"I never thought Detective Sir would find the cause of Da Long and Tie Zhu's deaths so quickly."

"From now on, none of us will have to live in constant fear!"

"Detective Sir is wise!"

Not long after Liang Cheng finished speaking, the voices of the Willow Ditch Village villagers rose one after another.

Every villager wore an expression of delight and thanked Liang Cheng in succession.

Ever since this incident occurred, the villagers of Willow Ditch Village had lived each day on tenterhooks.

They no longer even dared to gather medicinal herbs in the mountains, spending every day in fear that they might encounter the true culprit who had killed those people.

Before night had even fallen, every household would shut its doors tight and hide beneath their blankets, trembling with fear.

Among the Willow Ditch Village villagers, a figure hurried out in small steps. It was a woman.

Tears of grief covered the woman's face. When she reached Liang Cheng, her knees bent as though she were about to kneel.

"Detective Sir, where is the culprit who killed my husband? I beg you, my lord, give me justice."

Seeing this, Liang Cheng strode forward and extended the scabbard in his hand, blocking the woman from kneeling.

"This Detective Sir has already said that the true culprit was executed on the spot."

After saying that, Liang Cheng waved at the Yamen Runners behind him.

"You lot, aren't you going to bring it out?"

"Yes, Chief!"

Receiving their boss's signal, the Yamen Runners raised the wooden board they were carrying, then pulled away the white cloth covering it.

A bizarrely shaped pile of bones appeared atop the board, seemingly the remains of some creature.

But before anyone could get a clear look, it was covered again with the white cloth within a few breaths.

Seeing this, Lu Xuan was somewhat speechless. He had already guessed what Liang Cheng was up to.

Lying through his teeth with his eyes wide open—Liang Cheng really was suited to being a court Yamen Runner.

Still, being a mere Detective Sir in the County Town was rather beneath his talents.

"This is a ferocious beast carrying Deadly Poison. Those people died from its Deadly Poison."

"According to what this Detective Sir has learned, this ferocious beast's Deadly Poison can drive those poisoned mad, making them unable to feel pain as they abuse and mutilate themselves."

"As for why those dead people could stand up again afterward, that was also because of this Deadly Poison."

"This Deadly Poison made outsiders think those people were dead, but in truth, they had not died at all. They were still clinging to their last breath, which was why the dead could move."

Liang Cheng rattled it all off in one breath without the slightest pause, his expression unchanged throughout, revealing no flaw whatsoever.

The villagers of Willow Ditch Village all wore serious expressions as they quietly listened to Liang Cheng speak.

Of course, no one knew whether they understood or not—or perhaps they were not listening at all.

"Detective Sir, could you let this old man take a look at what kind of ferocious beast that is? This old man..."

Just as the Old Village Chief was about to speak, Liang Cheng cut him off.

"Enough, Old Village Chief. Since the murder case in Willow Ditch Village has been solved and this Detective Sir has executed the true culprit on the spot, this Detective Sir shall take his leave."

"There is no need to inspect the ferocious beast either. This is evidence, and extremely important evidence at that. This Detective Sir must take it back to the County Town and submit it to the County Magistrate Sir for judgment."

Liang Cheng decisively refused the Old Village Chief's request.

That was because he had randomly found those ferocious beast bones in the middle of the night with his men.

He had gathered the remains of several different animals and pieced them together at random. If anyone inspected it up close, they would see through it at a glance.

"Old Village Chief, there is no need to worry or let your imagination run wild. Willow Ditch Village is already safe.

"There is only one ferocious beast with this kind of Deadly Poison in the world. It will never appear again to harm people."

Finally, Liang Cheng added a meaningful remark.

The Old Village Chief had already been harboring doubts, but after hearing Liang Cheng's pointed words, he understood.

He had lived for most of his life. How could he fail to catch the meaning between Liang Cheng's lines?

Liang Cheng meant that Willow Ditch Village was safe now, and any other unnecessary matters were no longer something he should concern himself with.

Outside the entrance of Willow Ditch Village, dust billowed and swirled through the air along the yellow dirt road.

One carriage, guarded on all sides by five or six horses like stars surrounding the moon, vanished over the horizon.

The people leaving were none other than Lu Xuan, Liang Cheng, and the others.

Inside the carriage, Lu Xuan lifted the gray cloth curtain over the rear window and gazed deeply in the direction of Willow Ditch Village.

Ghost Shadow?

Even now, Lu Xuan was still thinking about the strange Black Shadow he had encountered last night.

After all, it was the first eerie entity Lu Xuan had ever encountered—a real supernatural horror that had appeared before him and given him a huge haul of 50 System Points.

Even if Lu Xuan swallowed the entire Lu Family Pharmacy, he would not be able to obtain that many System Points.

Thus, Lu Xuan had firmly remembered that eerie entity capable of bringing him a large number of System Points.

Lu Xuan had already made up his mind to keep a close watch on matters in Willow Ditch Village.

If that eerie Black Shadow truly had not died, just as Lu Xuan expected—

then it meant Lu Xuan could kill it again and obtain a huge amount of System Points.

That way, Lu Xuan could deduce Cultivation Techniques without limit. His strength would no longer face any bottlenecks, and he could improve without restraint.