A Stubborn Demonic Cultivator

Shen Lin returned to the County Yamen late at night, but Steward Qian was still there, not having gone home.

Not only him, but County Lieutenant Hu, who had received the news, also rushed over and had been waiting for Shen Lin.

"County Lieutenant Hu! Steward Qian! I didn't encounter any demons or monsters on this trip, but I did discover a Demonic Cultivator..."

After Shen Lin finished recounting the entire incident, County Lieutenant Hu sighed and said, "Steward Qian, tomorrow, immediately find people to bring back the remains of those brothers and give them a proper burial. For the County Yamen, provide a larger compensation to the families of those brothers."

After settling the affairs of the yamen runners, County Lieutenant Hu looked at Shen Lin with great satisfaction and said, "Not bad, not bad. You kid, you always bring me some surprises. First demons and monsters, and now a living Demonic Cultivator. However..."

He looked at the Demonic Cultivator, whose mouth was stuffed with rags and was wriggling, and narrowed his eyes. "This fellow appears to have the cultivation of the Meridian Opening Realm. How did you subdue him?"

Shen Lin had already thought of an explanation. He showed a hint of hesitation on his face and pretended, "Actually... when I was following Captain Sun to kill that nest of Fox Demons before, I found a Meridian-Opening Pill. Captain Sun is righteous; not only did he let me have it, but he also taught me his Meridian Opening Secret Art. With this, I successfully opened my meridians and broke through to the Meridian Opening Realm."

Don't ask!

If you ask, it's all because Captain Sun is righteous!

Upon hearing this, Steward Qian's eyes widened in disbelief. "You opened your meridians??? How long have you been a Martial Artist???"

County Lieutenant Hu was not as surprised as Steward Qian.

The path from Martial Artist to the Meridian Opening Realm, though difficult, was actually troubled by two main points.

First, how to find and pinpoint the meridians. If one's aptitude is poor and they cannot feel the location of their meridians through practicing martial arts, they would need to rely on a Meridian Opening Secret Art to reduce the difficulty.

Shen Lin already had outstanding aptitude, and with the Meridian Opening Secret Art that Sun Zhi had previously obtained from the Demon Suppression Division, finding and pinpointing his meridians was not difficult for him.

Second, breaking through the blocked meridians. This either required a significant amount of time to slowly impact them with one's own vital energy, or it required the medicinal power of a Meridian-Opening Pill to break through.

If what Shen Lin said was true and he had obtained a Meridian-Opening Pill from that family of Fox Demons, then this hurdle would be as good as nonexistent for him.

It's just...

That Sun Zhi fellow is truly generous.

A Meridian-Opening Pill is extremely precious to a Martial Artist in the Meridian Opening Realm.

Even he, Hu Dongxing, as a County Lieutenant and from one of the three great families, would not easily hand it over to others.

His investment in Shen Lin was so significant; he must have had some grand intentions.

After pondering for a moment, the deep expression on County Lieutenant Hu's face instantly vanished, and he laughed heartily, "Excellent, excellent! What is obtained from slaying demons is meant to be distributed freely among you, and you don't need to report it to us. With you in the Meridian Opening Realm, our County Yamen's strength will be even greater. Very good, very good! If you have any questions about cultivation in the future, feel free to come and find me."

After saying this, he looked at the Demonic Cultivator again and sighed:

"I never expected that the Xiangyang Taoist Temple, with its prosperous incense and constant stream of pilgrims, would have such a Demonic Cultivator hidden in the graveyard behind it. Tsk, tsk, tsk, did those Taoist priests at Xiangyang Taoist Temple really not notice anything?"

Steward Qian finally recovered from the shock of Shen Lin becoming a Martial Artist in the Meridian Opening Realm. He stroked his beard, steadied himself, and looked at County Lieutenant Hu, saying, "County Lieutenant Hu, compared to this matter, it would be better for us to first confirm the identity of that mangled corpse."

Upon hearing this, the smile on County Lieutenant Hu's face instantly faded, and he took a deep breath and walked down.

He looked at the corpse with its head separated from its body. Without any regard for the disgusting stench, he directly reached out and began searching its body.

The person's head had already been gnawed beyond recognition by wild beasts, so identifying them by face was impossible.

He could only see if there were any clues on their body.

Before long, County Lieutenant Hu pulled out a travel permit from the corpse's embrace.

Although it was soaked in blood and most of the writing was illegible, some characters were still intact.

"Qingzhou... Ping County... it should be Cangping County. Lin De... hiss..."

County Lieutenant Hu pondered for a moment, and upon seeing the first two characters of the name, he suddenly gasped.

He swallowed and looked at Steward Qian, "How is the generational order of characters in the County Magistrate's family arranged?"

Steward Qian seemed to understand something as well. Beads of sweat had already appeared on his forehead, and he stammered, "You De Zai..."

With a thud, before Steward Qian could finish speaking, he directly sat down on the ground.

It's over!

It can be confirmed!

This mangled corpse was indeed a nephew of the County Magistrate.

Cangping County was the County Magistrate's hometown, and the deceased's name also matched the generational characters of the County Magistrate's family...

"County Lieutenant Hu... what... what should we do?"

Hu Dongxing took a deep breath and was much calmer than Steward Qian. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Fortunately, this time, with Brother Shen's intervention, the culprit was captured alive. Otherwise, we definitely wouldn't be able to report back... How about this, you wait until dawn tomorrow and then go report the situation to the County Magistrate."

"Me?"

Steward Qian's eyes widened in disbelief that County Lieutenant Hu was throwing this matter onto him.

Why are you, a County Lieutenant, not reporting to the County Magistrate and making things difficult for me, a mere Criminal Affairs Steward...

County Lieutenant Hu seemed to understand what he was thinking and glared at him, "Of course, it's you! I still have to interrogate this Demonic Cultivator overnight and restore the case in its entirety."

Steward Qian ultimately took on the burden. As soon as dawn broke, he left the County Yamen in a daze.

As for the subsequent interrogation, Shen Lin had no part in it, so he went home to rest.

Only County Lieutenant Hu, with bloodshot eyes, dragged the Demonic Cultivator to the dungeon.

"I advise you to cooperate shortly, otherwise, we have plenty of methods to make you talk. No matter what state we leave you in, the Demon Suppression Division won't care. Do you understand?"

"Good! Let's start with the simplest. What's your name?"

"..."

"Hm? So defiant? I'll ask you again, what's your name?"

"..."

"Heh, it's really been a while since I've seen a tough nut like you. Come on, bring out the Tiger Bench for me!"

After a long time, County Lieutenant Hu looked at the Demonic Cultivator before him, who had endured countless tortures without even a groan, and fell into thought.

Wait, are all Demonic Cultivators this fierce nowadays?

Their willpower is this strong?

What am I supposed to do?

Just as he was scratching his head in confusion, he noticed the dying Demonic Cultivator shaking his head up and down, his mouth askew, looking at him provocatively.

"Damn it, you really think I can't do anything to you, huh?"

Enraged, County Lieutenant Hu exploded into action, flinging his arms out and delivering seven or eight slaps that turned the Demonic Cultivator's face purple and blue.

At this moment, he finally heard the Demonic Cultivator make a sound.

"I... I'll talk! I'll talk!!"