You're Quite Interesting Too

In the alley, Wei Fan rose to his feet, feeling refreshed and invigorated. The weakness caused by his earlier loss of vital energy had vanished without a trace, and strength surged throughout his body.

Four years of cultivation had brought the Golden Bell Shield to the sixth level. His predecessor's talent for martial arts had definitely been outstanding.

He had heard the yamen runners say that many captains cultivated for seven or eight years yet only reached the third level of the Golden Bell Shield.

"Let's see what the sixth level of the Golden Bell Shield can do!"

With a thought, a faint golden light appeared around Wei Fan's body, as though a thin membrane had covered him.

He stretched out a finger and pressed it against the membrane. It felt hard, bouncing his finger back.

In this world, demons and monsters were everywhere, and evil entities bred in abundance. The cultivation techniques taught by the yamen were not handed out at random.

The Blood Fiend Saber Technique slew demons and monsters, while the Golden Bell Shield protected the body, allowing yamen runners like them to strike and defend when facing demonic evils.

"I'm only at the sixth level. They say that at the Ninth Level of the Golden Bell Shield, true qi forms a great golden bell outside the body. This thin membrane is merely its embryonic form."

If he had any cultivation left over, he would have loved to raise the Golden Bell Shield straight to the Ninth Level in one go. Unfortunately, it was all gone.

It was then that Zhou Qi returned with a group of yamen runners and began clearing away the bodies of Yang Jun and the other two.

Not one of the runners spoke to Wei Fan. Their eyes held both shock and regret.

Yang Jun was nothing, and even the Fierce Tiger Gang was nothing. What people truly feared was the tiger demon behind the Fierce Tiger Gang.

After the bodies had been dealt with, Zhou Qi and Wei Fan continued patrolling the streets.

He had not betrayed Wei Fan. When reporting back to the yamen, he had reported things exactly as Wei Fan instructed.

"Why don't... we return to the yamen?"

After walking for a while, Zhou Qi suddenly spoke.

It was too quiet. It was understandable that the yamen had not reacted; after all, they were colleagues, and they could not be too excessive in public. Even if they did not consider Wei Fan, they had to consider the others. But why had the Fierce Tiger Gang not reacted either?

By now, the Fierce Tiger Gang should have learned that Yang Jun and the others had been killed.

"Isn't patrolling the streets our duty? What are we going back to the yamen for?"

Wei Fan shook his head and continued his patrol. It was not until lunchtime that the two returned to the guardroom for their meal.

"You don't need to patrol this afternoon. Someone has gone missing in Five Mile Village. Go investigate with Wang Gui and Qiu Ping. See whether demons or monsters are causing trouble!"

After they finished eating, Captain Li Shen called Wei Fan over.

Captain Li Shen was the very captain who had released Yang Jun yesterday.

"Alright!"

Wei Fan nodded and soon hurried toward Five Mile Village with the two colleagues named Wang Gui and Qiu Ping.

Li Shen watched the three leave from the entrance. Only after their backs disappeared from sight did he return to the guardroom.

Wei Fan was not very familiar with these two. When he had joined the yamen, they had already been runners for several years. They usually had no dealings with one another, merely recognizing each other by sight.

Along the way, Wang Gui and Qiu Ping did not speak to Wei Fan either. The two walked behind him while Wei Fan walked ahead. If they had not all worn the same runner uniforms, others might have thought the two were escorting Wei Fan under guard.

Five Mile Village got its name from being exactly five li from Cloud City. After walking for a little over half an hour, a fairly sizable village came into Wei Fan's view.

The village was not large, with perhaps seventy or eighty households by the look of it. At the village entrance, Wei Fan found that nearly every home had its doors shut tight, and not a single person was walking about.

Once he entered the village, an overpowering stench rushed straight into his nose.

"Gentlemen, which way are we going?"

Wei Fan turned back and asked Wang Gui and Qiu Ping, revealing a mouthful of gleaming white teeth.

"Straight ahead!"

The runner named Wang Gui pointed forward with a broad smile. He turned to exchange a glance with Qiu Ping, and both men had satisfaction in their eyes.

After passing through the village, they soon came upon a modest little courtyard.

"This is the household that reported the case. Go in and ask around. Learn how to handle this sort of matter too. We'll ask the others nearby."

Qiu Ping and Wang Gui stopped ten or twenty meters away from the courtyard and had Wei Fan go over alone.

"Alright!"

Wei Fan nodded, suppressing the stench.

This little courtyard seemed to be the source of the foul odor. After arriving here, the stink was so strong it felt as though it could suffocate someone to death.

Wei Fan had intended to knock, but when he drew closer, he found that the courtyard gate was actually half-open.

"Is anyone there?"

As he spoke, he stepped inside.

Bang!

The instant he crossed the threshold, a fierce wind sprang up from nowhere and slammed the gate shut.

"Finally here? It's been so long since I last ate a yamen runner's flesh. You runners have learned martial arts. Even if you haven't cultivated true qi, your meat is still tougher than ordinary people's, and your vital energy is abundant. It's very nourishing."

A deep, heavy voice rang out, and even the air seemed to ripple from its vibrations.

Wei Fan followed the voice and saw an enormous tiger crouched atop a large stone slab in the corner of the courtyard, staring at him with excited eyes.

Wei Fan continued scanning the area and found many human bones piled around the stone slab. Some still bore traces of blood, while others had already turned white.

"So you're one of the tiger demons behind the Fierce Tiger Gang?"

Wei Fan naturally knew the rumors that more than one tiger demon stood behind the Fierce Tiger Gang. His gaze settled on the massive tiger before him, confirming that it had been the one speaking.

He slowly walked closer. As he approached, new text appeared on the panel before his eyes:

Tiger Demon: First Realm, First Grade. Can speak human language and feeds on humans!

Kill it to gain five years of cultivation!

Killing Yang Jun had given him three years of cultivation, but killing a tiger demon like this only gave five?

Upon hearing Wei Fan's words, the tiger demon actually showed a trace of delight in its eyes. "Bold indeed. Lord Tiger has eaten countless people, but you're the first who neither runs at the sight of me nor screams and begs for mercy. Hard bones are more interesting to chew!"

Wei Fan smiled faintly. "Would screaming and begging for mercy help? If it would, I wouldn't mind shouting a couple of times."

"No. Lord Tiger will definitely eat you. A yamen runner's flesh tastes far better than anyone else's."

The tiger demon froze. So this man was not afraid because he had resigned himself to death. "You're quite interesting. If Jiang Chuan hadn't sent you here, I would have kept you by my side to serve me."

Wei Fan narrowed his eyes and continued forward. "That's why I didn't scream. Since I came here willingly, perhaps you'll grant me a quick death later."

The tiger demon slowly rose to its feet and nodded. "You really know what's what. Of all the people I've eaten, you're the most obedient. Those others were so scared their courage shattered; their meat tasted bitter. Later, I'll give you a quick death. First, I'll bite off your neck—"

The final word never left its mouth. Its vision was filled with a golden saber flash.

"True qi?"

"Roar!"

Horror filled the tiger demon's eyes. It tried to leap away, but the saber was too fast. Its body sprang aside, yet its head remained where it was.

With a wet slash, a spray of blood scattered through the air. The enormous tiger head fell to the ground with a dull thud.

Bones flew everywhere, crushed apart beneath the tiger demon's massive body!

Tiger demon slain. Gained five years of cultivation!

"You talk too much. You're quite interesting too, so I cut off your neck first and gave you a quick death."

Wei Fan sheathed his saber, bent down, and grabbed the tiger demon's head in one hand.

Was a First Realm, First Grade tiger demon really this weak?

Then again, that made sense. A First Realm, First Grade demon had only just earned the right to be called a demon; its supernatural abilities were not that great.

"Replacing vital energy with true qi, the Blood Fiend Saber Technique's power is quite good. This tiger demon was so huge, yet the saber met almost no resistance cutting through it."

Carrying the tiger demon's head, Wei Fan inspected several rooms and found no other tiger demons. He only found many human bones in every room.

It seemed this was merely one stronghold of the tiger demons behind the Fierce Tiger Gang.

Once he finished searching, he walked toward the courtyard entrance.

Outside the courtyard, Qiu Ping and Wang Gui were still standing where they had been.

"Wei Fan should be dead by now, right? I heard Master Hu Jiu roar!"

"That youngster didn't know the height of heaven or the depth of earth. He killed the Fierce Tiger Gang hall master's brother-in-law; he deserved to die. If he didn't die, we'd be dragged down with him."

"Exactly. Good thing Captain Li went to find Jiang Chuan in time and offered Wei Fan up himself."

"That kid even foolishly followed us here. At first, I thought he might run away on the road, but he still didn't realize anything even after entering that courtyard."

"He really is rather stupid!"

"Eh... Why haven't we heard Wei Fan scream? Why didn't Master Hu Jiu torture him first this time before—"

Qiu Ping could not finish the rest of his words.

Wei Fan, whom he had thought would die inside the courtyard, was walking toward them step by step, carrying a tiger head whose eyes remained wide open in death.