I Must Have Been Possessed to Believe You

"Add one year of cultivation to the Blood Fiend Saber Technique!"

His predecessor had possessed great talent with the saber. In three months, he had trained the Blood Fiend Saber Technique to the proficient level. Most of those who had learned it alongside him had only just entered the beginner stage, while only a few had reached minor accomplishment!

Worried that adding too much would be wasteful, Wei Fan decided to add it one year at a time.

One year of cultivation deducted!

Your talent for the saber is exceptional. After three months of saber training, the Blood Fiend Saber Technique has reached the proficient level!

After six months of saber training, the Blood Fiend Saber Technique has reached major accomplishment!

After one year and three months of saber training, the Blood Fiend Saber Technique has reached perfection!

Blood Fiend Saber Technique (Perfection)

Current cultivation: 3 years

His talent truly was excellent. With only one additional year of cultivation, the Blood Fiend Saber Technique had already reached perfection.

Of course, this life-burning saber technique was not particularly profound. It was meant for cannon fodder to risk their lives with.

A flood of saber-training insights began surfacing in his memories. His hands also felt as though they had truly spent a year practicing the saber; the calluses had thickened, and even his arms had become somewhat sturdier.

"Let's test the power of the perfected Blood Fiend Saber Technique!"

Wei Fan drew his saber and slashed. In an instant, crimson light filled the sky, as though he had cleaved out a sea of blood.

With a bang, the ground exploded. The long saber aura stretched two or three meters before vanishing. When the dust settled, the ground had been split open by the strike, leaving a gash half a meter deep.

"If I used blood qi when fighting for my life, this strike would be even more powerful!"

Wei Fan had only used true qi to activate it just now, so it was not the Blood Fiend Saber Technique's greatest power. For a life-burning technique like this, its might could only reach its peak when fueled by one's life.

Picking up the tiger's head, he continued back toward the city.

"Such a huge tiger head! Could that constable have killed a demon outside the city?"

"How could that be? It would already be good enough if these constables did not send commoners out to feed the demons. You expect them to kill demons?"

"Look at his age. How could he possibly have the ability to kill a demon? It would be a blessing if he did not get eaten."

"Can't you smell that stench? That's a demon. Ordinary wild beasts don't smell this foul!"

Wei Fan carried the bloodstained tiger head through the streets, drawing countless stares. Before long, he arrived at the yamen.

Silence!

The moment he stepped into the duty room, it became deathly silent. A needle could have been heard dropping. Everyone stared at him in shock as he entered carrying the tiger head.

The constables who did not have to patrol the streets were mostly seasoned old hands. When Li Shen had sent Wei Fan, Qiu Ping, and Wang Gui to Five Mile Village, they naturally knew what they were being sent there for.

Yet now Wei Fan had returned, carrying a tiger head, while Qiu Ping and Wang Gui were nowhere to be seen. How could these old hands fail to understand what had happened?

"That's Master Hu Jiu's head. Wei Fan killed Master Hu Jiu!"

Li Shen's pupils contracted sharply, while stormy waves surged in his heart. The Tiger King's young son was dead. He did not even know what terrifying events would follow.

"Wei Fan, you're back? They said you went to Five Mile Village on a case. There's a Tiger Demon entrenched there. Are you all right?"

A woman's voice sounded from the side, breaking the silence.

Without even looking, he knew who it was—Hu Qing, a female constable who had trained alongside him and entered the yamen at the same time.

The difference was that he had come here to risk his life, while she was here for fun. She could come to the duty room whenever she pleased, because her father was Hu Qingyun, the Head Instructor of all these constables. No one dared control her.

"Ah! Why are you carrying a tiger head?"

Only then did Hu Qing notice the tiger head in Wei Fan's hand, and she cried out in surprise.

Wei Fan ignored Hu Qing. He strode to Li Shen, his face filled with grief. "Reporting to Captain Li, while investigating the missing persons case in Five Mile Village, the three of us unfortunately encountered an attack by the Tiger Demon entrenched there.

"The three of us faced the Tiger Demon together without fear of death. In the end, constables Wang Gui and Qiu Ping died bravely in battle, while this subordinate was fortunate enough to kill the Tiger Demon and bring back its severed head.

"Wang Gui and Qiu Ping fought valiantly and died tragically. This subordinate boldly asks that merit be requested for them. I ask Captain Li to grant permission!"

Zhou Qi's mouth twitched. Why did those words sound so familiar?

He had already roughly guessed that Qiu Ping and Wang Gui had not died in battle at all, but had been slaughtered by Wei Fan.

The others also wore strange expressions. Only Hu Qing, upon hearing that two fellow constables had died, revealed a somewhat sorrowful expression and muttered, "That damned Tiger Demon."

"They died fighting the Tiger Demon, so they indeed deserve credit. I will report this matter to the Squad Leader!"

Li Shen's expression looked as ugly as though his parents had died, yet he had no choice but to force out a faint smile.

Though everyone understood certain matters perfectly well, they could not be openly discussed on such an occasion.

Wei Fan revealed a trace of a smile. "Then this subordinate thanks Captain Li!"

The instant Li Shen saw Wei Fan's smiling face, the tiny smile he had forced out vanished. Master Hu Jiu had been killed, and his two trusted men had also died. If Wei Fan was not killed next, it would not only be him—his family would also suffer.

After all, if he had not sent someone to take Wei Fan there, the Tiger Demon would never have died. When the Tiger King sought revenge, he definitely would not spare him.

Ignoring Li Shen's ugly expression, Wei Fan continued, "This subordinate heard that Captain Li has a good relationship with Yang Jun's brother-in-law. This subordinate accidentally killed Yang Jun today and has felt guilty over it ever since.

"Later, I ask Captain Li to act as a go-between. This subordinate intends to personally apologize and see whether this grievance can be resolved."

Wei Fan's face was full of sincerity, as though he bitterly regretted his actions. Even Li Shen was stunned for a moment.

Could Yang Jun truly have been killed by accident? Did Wei Fan still not know that they had sent him to Five Mile Village specifically because of Yang Jun, intending to feed him to the Tiger Demon?

"Fine, I'll give it a try!"

Li Shen squeezed the words out through clenched teeth. Whatever the truth was, since Wei Fan had taken the initiative to arrange a meeting with Jiang Chuan, he would not refuse. "Now give me the tiger head!"

Master Hu Jiu was dead, and his head had been chopped off and taken away. Like a human, that meant he had died without a complete corpse.

Although those demons fed on humans, many of their behaviors imitated humans as well. Dying without a complete corpse was also painful for demons. Taking the tiger head to the Tiger King could lessen some of his fury.

"The tiger head is my merit. I can't give it to you, Captain Li. If you want it, go ask the Squad Leader for it later."

Wei Fan shook his head.

He had deliberately brought the Tiger Demon's head back from Five Mile Village for a reason.

After entering the yamen, constables were taught two basic martial arts: the Golden Bell Shield and the Blood Fiend Saber Technique. If they wished to learn other martial arts afterward, they could only exchange merit for them.

Killing a demon allowed one to trade with the Squad Leader for a martial art.

"Fine!"

Li Shen gritted his teeth. Once the tiger head had been exchanged for a martial art, it would be useless anyway. He could still get it by asking the Squad Leader.

He turned and left, hurrying out of the yamen to find Jiang Chuan. Jiang Chuan probably still believed that Wei Fan had been eaten by Master Hu Jiu, unaware that catastrophe was about to descend on them both.

"Wei Fan, I heard about Yang Jun. That guy was no good. He killed people in the streets and was steeped in evil. Killing him was ridding the people of a scourge, so why are you going to apologize to his family?"

After Li Shen left, Hu Qing walked over with a face full of confusion.

Wei Fan said solemnly, "How can you say that? You're a constable too. We constables are only responsible for arresting people and maintaining order. As for whether a bad person deserves to die, that should be judged by the law—not by us.

"Even if Yang Jun deserved death, his family was innocent. Do you know how much pain they must feel after losing a loved one?

"If my apology can make them feel better, if it can help them emerge from the grief of losing a loved one, then I, Wei Fan, will have no complaints no matter how much I must do."

Hu Qing looked ashamed. "You're right. I was narrow-minded. I'm not a qualified constable!"

Zhou Qi stared in utter disbelief. If I hadn't personally seen the viciousness in your eyes when you drove that saber into Yang Jun's body, I'd have believed you too.

Hu Qing added, "But I heard that Yang Jun's brother-in-law, Jiang Chuan, is an incense master of the Fierce Tiger Gang. He isn't a good person either. If you go, they may harm you."

Wei Fan shook his head. "I did kill their relative in the end. So what if I let them punch or kick me a few times? Besides, Captain Li will go with me then.

"All right, go do your own work. I'm going to find the Squad Leader!"

Hu Qing stood there somewhat dazed, watching Wei Fan leave. She wanted to say that Captain Li could not be trusted either, but in this situation, she was too embarrassed to say such words.