The Chicken Thief, Huang Fugui

Ever since Lin Feng slapped Zhao Hu into an abstract painting, the atmosphere in the entire Qingyang County Office had changed overnight.

The County Office used to be a retirement paradise where old hands drank tea, read newspapers, cracked sunflower seeds, and chatted.

Now, the County Office was as quiet as a graveyard. Hardly anyone even dared breathe loudly.

Whenever the constables saw Lin Feng, they acted like mice that had seen a cat.

Wherever Lin Feng passed, there was not a soul within ten feet, and the air pressure seemed to plummet.

Lin Feng himself did not care in the slightest.

He wished those people would stay farther away from him, so they would not delay him from figuring out how to earn Crit Points.

Yet trouble was like a stone in a latrine—stinky and hard. If you did not go looking for it, it would come along and stub your toe anyway.

Early one morning, the county magistrate Zhao Dehai's personal adviser—a skinny old man with a floating goatee who looked as if a gust of wind could blow him over—came to find Lin Feng while pinching his nose.

"C-Constable Lin."

The adviser's form of address had unconsciously taken on an honorific.

"Benefactor Wang from the west of the city has come to report a case. He says that his household... his household has encountered a strange case."

"A strange case?"

Lin Feng raised an eyebrow. If the county magistrate's adviser had come to deliver the message personally, it was presumably no small matter.

A strange expression, part constipation and part indecision, appeared on the adviser's face. He lowered his voice.

"Benefactor Wang keeps nine black-boned phoenix chickens imported from the Western Regions. It is said that the eggs those chickens lay can prolong one's life, and each egg is worth ten taels of silver. But starting three days ago, one chicken has vanished every morning, right on the dot."

Lin Feng: "..."

The adviser coughed awkwardly twice.

"Furthermore, the scene has been inspected. The chicken coop is completely intact, the doors and windows are shut tight, and not even a single feather was left behind. It was as though they... vanished into thin air. Benefactor Wang is terrified. He says some demon must be at work and specifically asked for you, the 'number one demon slayer,' to take action."

The corner of Lin Feng's mouth twitched.

Good heavens, he was a formidable martial artist at Body Tempering Level Six.

He had slain Zombies and split apart a Water Ghost.

And now he had fallen so low that he had to investigate a "missing hen case"?

If word got out, where would the prestige of Lin Feng the "Fierce Man" be?

"Where is Constable Li?"

Lin Feng asked without changing expression.

The adviser sighed.

"Constable Li... said that wind-cold had entered his body recently, making it unsuitable for him to move about. He has already taken three days of leave."

Lin Feng sneered inwardly.

Taking leave was fake; not daring to leave his house was real.

Ever since Zhao Hu had been crippled by him, Li Gang had turned into a turtle hiding in its shell.

"Fine. I'll take this case."

Lin Feng nodded.

Even a mosquito was still meat. A demon causing trouble?

He hoped so.

It would give him some Crit Points as well.

When he arrived at Benefactor Wang's mansion in the west of the city, it truly was grand and imposing.

But at that moment, the huge estate was shrouded in gloom and misery.

Benefactor Wang was a fat man with a brain full of grease and intestines full of fat. The moment he saw Lin Feng, he acted as though he had seen his own father, launching into a tearful complaint with snot and tears running together.

"Lord Lin! You must uphold justice for me! Of my nine precious treasures, only six remain! At this rate, in less than three days, that demon will eat my entire family out of house and home!"

Lin Feng's head hurt from his noise. He waved a hand and asked directly, "Take me to the scene."

The chicken coop stood in a secluded corner of the rear courtyard, and it was kept fairly clean.

Lin Feng circled the coop once. Just as the adviser had said, the doors and windows were undamaged. There was not even a dog hole.

He crouched down and carefully inspected the ground.

How sharp was the eyesight of someone at Body Tempering Level Six? Before long, he noticed something unusual in an inconspicuous corner beneath the chicken coop.

It was a tiny tuft of nearly imperceptible yellow fur, still stained with a little mud.

Lin Feng rubbed the tuft between his fingertips and sniffed it. A faint musky stench reached his nose.

"A yellow weasel?"

Lin Feng's heart stirred.

Yellow weasels, also known as weasels, had been highly spiritual creatures in the folk legends of his previous life and were skilled at bewitching people's minds.

Some that had cultivated successfully could even speak human language and manipulate illusions.

In this world, they counted as lowly First Order minor demons.

It seemed a demon really was causing trouble.

But this yellow weasel had some nerve.

It actually dared steal chickens from the home of Qingyang County's renowned Benefactor Wang.

Lin Feng had an idea and said to Benefactor Wang, "Steward Wang, prepare a roast chicken and a jug of good wine tonight. Place them at the entrance to the coop. Leave the rest to me."

Benefactor Wang thanked him profusely and left.

When night fell, Lin Feng did not hide on a rooftop as he had when dealing with the Water Ghost. Instead, he moved over a small stool and sat boldly at the coop entrance, with fragrant roast chicken and fine wine placed beside him.

He wanted to see which blind yellow-furred creature dared play tricks in front of him.

Just after midnight, a rustling sound came from the corner of the wall.

Then, a sneaky yellow figure poked its head out of the darkness.

The creature was around two feet long, with a pointed snout and monkey-like cheeks. Its little mung-bean eyes rolled constantly. It was indeed the yellow weasel.

It first looked warily around. When it saw a living person sitting at the chicken coop entrance—

It let out a frightened squeak, nearly screaming its soul out, then turned to flee.

But immediately afterward, the rich scent of roast chicken aggressively drilled into its nostrils.

The yellow weasel's fleeing steps abruptly froze, and drool spilled helplessly from the corner of its mouth.

Its small eyes stared fixedly at the gleaming, oily roast chicken as it fought a battle between heaven and man.

On one side was its life. On the other was delicious food.

This was a question worth considering.

Lin Feng was in no hurry. Leisurely tearing off a chicken leg, he began to chew it slowly, deliberately making sounds of appreciative smacking.

"Mm... the Wang Family's cook has decent skills. Crispy on the outside, tender within, with fresh, delicious meat. What a pity. Eating it all by myself is a bit wasteful."

At those words, the yellow weasel's throat let out a gurgle. Its two front paws kept scraping the ground, and it scratched its ears and cheeks in frantic distress.

At last, appetite overcame reason.

The yellow weasel stood upright on its hind legs and respectfully cupped its paws toward Lin Feng in a bow, its movements comical and ridiculous.

"This... this lord..."

A shrill, fawning voice suddenly rang out in Lin Feng's mind.

It was not human speech from its mouth, but rather a technique resembling spiritual transmission.

Lin Feng raised an eyebrow and smiled.

This yellow weasel had cultivated a bit of ability.

"Oh? You can speak?"

Lin Feng asked despite already knowing the answer.

The yellow weasel bowed and scraped.

"This... this little demon is Huang Fugui. Greetings, my lord! This little demon merely knows a few petty tricks for bewitching hearts. They are not fit for public display, not fit for public display!"

As it spoke, it kept stealing glances at the roast chicken from the corner of its eye. Its drool was practically about to form a river.

Lin Feng found it amusing and pointed at the roast chicken. "Want some?"

Huang Fugui nodded so hard that his head bobbed like a pestle pounding garlic. "Yes!"

"You stole the Wang Family's chickens, didn't you?"

Lin Feng's tone suddenly turned cold.

Huang Fugui shuddered, every hair on his body standing on end. With a thud, he dropped to his knees, clasped his head with both front paws, and began weeping bitterly as he kowtowed and begged for mercy.

"My lord, please see clearly! This little demon has been wronged! Even if I had the courage of heaven, I would not dare steal chickens from Benefactor Wang's household! Those are black-boned phoenix chickens, precious things! This little demon was only passing by and came over after smelling the scent. I absolutely did not steal any chickens!"

His acting was so exaggerated and his expression so grief-stricken that Lin Feng was utterly astonished.

Even the Oscars owed this fellow a little golden man.

"Oh? Is that so?"

Lin Feng casually tossed aside the chicken bone he had finished gnawing and slowly drew half his saber.

The blade gleamed with chilling light beneath the moon, and a killing intent so dense it seemed tangible instantly locked onto Huang Fugui.

Huang Fugui felt an icy chill shoot from the base of his tail straight to the crown of his head. The blood throughout his body nearly froze solid.

He did not doubt that if the man before him so much as had the thought, he would instantly become two pieces.

This killing intent!

It was too terrifying!

More terrifying than any demons he had ever seen!

"I'll talk! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"

Huang Fugui's psychological defenses instantly collapsed. Rolling and scrambling, he lunged to Lin Feng's feet, hugged his boot, and began crying out his grievances with snot and tears running together.

"My lord, what I said is true! I really did not steal the chickens! But I know who did!"

"Who?"

"It was that pack of Dog Demons at the Mass Grave north of the city! Those damned dog bastards rely on their brute strength. Not only did they seize this little demon's home, they even forced this little demon to steal food for them every day! They forced me to steal the Wang Family's chickens! My lord, look at this little body of mine. How could I dare disobey them? Boohoohoo... I, Huang Fugui, have lived such a bitter life!"

As he cried, he rubbed his furry head against Lin Feng's trouser leg.

His posture was so humble and his tone so fawning that it had reached an entirely new realm.

Looking at this yellow weasel who had become a bootlicker incarnate, an interesting idea suddenly arose in Lin Feng's mind.

He was unfamiliar with Qingyang County.

Though he had the system at his side, many matters were ultimately inconvenient for him to handle personally.

This yellow weasel was skilled in illusions, fast, and apparently clever enough.

If he could bring it under his command and make it an intelligence informant, that seemed like a rather good choice.

With that thought, Lin Feng withdrew his killing intent and put on a kindly smile.

"Get up. I believe you."

Huang Fugui froze for a moment, then lifted his tear-filled little eyes and looked at Lin Feng in disbelief.

Lin Feng pushed the remaining half-roast chicken toward him and smiled. "Eat. Consider it something to calm your fright."

Huang Fugui was flattered beyond measure. He first took a tentative little bite.

When he discovered that Lin Feng truly had no intention of attacking, he finally relaxed. Hugging the roast chicken, he wolfed it down, his mouth shining with grease.

"Huang Fugui."

"Yes! What are your orders, my lord?"

Huang Fugui replied indistinctly, his mouth stuffed full of meat.

Lin Feng looked at him with a smile. "You seem pretty clever. Interested in working for me?"

Huang Fugui paused in the middle of chewing, raised his head, and stared with bewilderment in his mung-bean eyes.

"Work for you... doing what?"

"Very simple."

Lin Feng's smile became unfathomable. "From now on, you'll be one of mine. Help me gather intelligence and keep watch on certain people. In return, I guarantee you will have all the roast chicken and roast duck in this city you can eat, every meal. And if anyone dares bully you, I'll stand up for you."

Lin Feng paused, and his tone turned chilling.

"Of course, if you dare harbor any ulterior motives or play any clever tricks..."

He extended one finger and lightly flicked his saber.

A clear saber ring sent Huang Fugui's soul flying from his body.

"Wouldn't dare! Absolutely wouldn't dare!"

Huang Fugui shook his head like a rattle-drum. "Being able to serve you is a blessing this little demon cultivated over eight lifetimes! I will brave boiling water and tread through fire without hesitation! From this day onward, you are my one and only master, Huang Fugui's true master!"

As he spoke, he threw down the roast chicken and began banging his head against the ground before Lin Feng. His fawning enthusiasm had truly reached its peak.

Lin Feng nodded in satisfaction.

"Very good. Now go handle the first matter for me."

"Take me to meet those Dog Demons."

"Right away! Just watch me, Master!"

Huang Fugui wiped the grease from his mouth and sprang to his feet in high spirits. In an instant, he transformed from a pitiful little creature who had suffered endless bullying into a lackey swaggering on the strength of another's power, leading the way with his head high and chest out.

That comical back made Lin Feng unable to help smiling.