Qin Hao set down his bundle, then returned to the original room to find Jia Ye. He saw Jia Ye squatting on the ground, gasping for breath, and stepped forward to speak.
"Brother Jia, are you all right?"
Seeing Qin Hao return, Jia Ye hurriedly stood up.
"I'm fine. Brother Qin's aura just gave me quite a fright, but I've recovered now. Hehe."
Hearing Jia Ye say this, Qin Hao did not press the matter further. He felt a little embarrassed himself, as though he had overdone it. He had only meant to casually show off a bit, but he had not expected Jia Ye to be unable to withstand even that much.
Qin Hao got straight to the point.
"Brother Jia, where is this ghost you spoke of now?"
"To be honest, Brother Qin, the ghost is in Jia Manor."
"Whenever night falls, it appears and harms my clansmen!"
Whenever he thought of it, Jia Ye wished he could swallow that ghost alive and flay it alive.
"Is that so?"
Qin Hao looked out the window. The sun had already begun to set. It should be about dusk now; the ghost ought to appear soon. He had to hurry.
"By the way, Brother Jia, besides your manor, are there many ghosts appearing in the county city? Is the situation serious?"
"Brother Qin, you don't know. Ever since someone saw a ghost at the Old Zhang Family Residence some time ago, people have kept disappearing. Some have even suddenly died violent deaths. They say their souls were taken away."
Jia Ye spoke with a face full of terror.
"Their souls were taken away?"
"Yes! I heard the ancestors say so. They said it was the work of a group of crooked, heretical people."
"They use human souls to feed ghosts for cultivation."
Hearing this, Qin Hao blurted out.
"Ghost cultivators?"
Elder Yang had mentioned them the last time they were at the Ghost Nest.
"Yes, yes, that's right! Ghost cultivators!"
"I heard it was those people who did it!"
"Several neighboring counties have already been ravaged beyond recognition by them."
"I've heard that some places in the empire are no longer under the empire's jurisdiction."
"What! It's gotten that serious?"
Qin Hao was startled by the news. He had not expected the Dragon Mountain Empire to have fallen to such a state.
"What about the county government? Haven't they taken action?"
Qin Hao continued asking.
"Alas! The government has no solution either."
"It seems they already took action, but it seems they failed. So many people died."
"Even Lord Jiang Tianlong, the county city's foremost constable and a Core Formation Stage mid-stage cultivator, was seriously injured. He's still recuperating at the yamen!"
As he said this, Jia Ye seemed afraid that someone might overhear him. He leaned close to Qin Hao's ear and whispered.
"Even a Core Formation Stage cultivator couldn't deal with it?"
Qin Hao said with a frown.
"I secretly overheard it outside my family ancestor's door last time."
"They said Qingshi County City is already out of control."
Hearing this, Qin Hao could hardly believe it. Damn it! Not long ago, he had seen a group of Heavenly Dragon Guard come to handle the matter. How had things gotten worse the moment the Heavenly Dragon Guard left?
"By the way, where is this county's Heavenly Dragon Guard? Haven't they taken action?"
Qin Hao suddenly turned to Jia Ye and asked.
Jia Ye shook his head.
"No. The Heavenly Dragon Guard haven't appeared since some time ago. It's as though they vanished from the face of the earth."
"Otherwise, Qingshi County City wouldn't have descended into such chaos."
Hearing this, Qin Hao was completely dumbfounded. The Heavenly Dragon Guard were gone, and the yamen was no longer doing anything either.
Were they just letting the ghosts run rampant?
"Damn it!"
"Brother Jia, come with me to the yamen."
"Brother Qin, why do you suddenly want to go to the yamen?"
Jia Ye looked at Qin Hao, his face full of question marks.
"I'll explain later."
With that, he turned and headed for the door.
"Hey, wait for me!"
Jia Ye had no idea what Qin Hao intended to do, but he hurriedly followed anyway.
Qingshi County, county yamen.
"There, Brother Qin. That ahead is the Qingshi County yamen."
Jia Ye pointed ahead.
Qin Hao looked forward.
Above the yamen gates hung a gilded plaque, inscribed with the words "Impartial and Incorruptible," displaying the government's justice and majesty.
Tall stone lions stood on either side of the gate, glaring like tigers, guarding the peace of the government office.
Inside the yamen, the buildings were arranged in orderly layers. The houses had carved beams and painted rafters, ancient and elegant, solemn and mysterious.
A bluestone-paved path stretched deep into the yamen, quiet and grave. The entire county yamen looked ancient and dignified, a symbol of power and justice.
Yet there was not a single person guarding the entrance to the county yamen.
Seeing this, Qin Hao walked straight over and soon reached the gates. Just as he was about to step inside—
Two figures suddenly flashed out from within the government office and blocked Qin Hao and Jia Ye.
"Stop! This is an important government site. Unauthorized persons may not enter!"
The two men warily watched the tall man before them, feeling immense pressure from him.
Qin Hao sized up the two men. Both were at the Qi Refining Stage, and their cultivation was not bad. Even ordinary soldiers in a county yamen were primarily Qi Refining cultivators.
Qin Hao conjured a token from thin air and tossed it to one of them.
The man immediately caught the token. When he saw the words on it, his eyes widened. Three characters were clearly engraved upon it.
When the other yamen runner saw the words on the token, he blurted out.
"Heavenly Dragon Guard!"
The moment the yamen runner uttered those three words, even Jia Ye, who had come along with him, was stunned.
Jia Ye examined Qin Hao. He had never expected that the martial artist he had casually found on the street would actually be a member of the Heavenly Dragon Guard!
The two yamen runners hurriedly returned the token to Qin Hao and cupped their hands.
"Greetings, my lord of the Heavenly Dragon Guard!"
"Please come in. I'll immediately invite the county magistrate over."
One of the yamen runners immediately headed into the government office.
The other led Qin Hao into the government office.
"Mm!"
Qin Hao gave a nasal grunt and strode inside, but after walking for a while, he realized one person was missing.
Qin Hao looked back. Jia Ye was still standing there blankly.
"Brother Jia, what are you standing around for? Let's go."
"Hahaha."
After saying that, he continued walking inward.
"Ah?"
"Oh, oh, wait."
Coming back to his senses, Jia Ye hurriedly followed Qin Hao.
He walked behind Qin Hao and said softly.
"Brother Qin, you deceived your brother miserably. You're actually a member of the Heavenly Dragon Guard."
"Why didn't you make it clear to me?"
Jia Ye felt like crying but had no tears. Just moments ago, he had even wanted to test Qin Hao's strength.
Seeing Jia Ye like this, Qin Hao could not help laughing.
"Hahaha, Jia Ye never asked what I did."
"Besides, one thing is one thing. Don't worry, Brother Jia. In a moment, I'll go help you get rid of the ghost in your home."
Seeing that Qin Hao was a member of the Heavenly Dragon Guard, Jia Ye felt even more relieved and hurriedly said.
"Then I'll have to trouble Brother Qin."
With that, the two continued walking deeper into the government office.
Before you continue