Ghost Cultivator Reappears

Qin Hao was soon led into the main hall by the constable. However, the hall was rather empty and unusually quiet.

"Please have a seat, sir. Please wait a moment, the Deputy Magistrate will be here shortly."

After arranging a seat for Qin Hao, the constable stood by his side and said respectfully.

Qin Hao nodded, showing no outward reaction, but inwardly he was ecstatic. Having a public official position was indeed beneficial. Moreover, the Heavenly Dragon Guard had a special status; even ordinary members held higher positions than most lower-ranking officials.

However, Jia Ye, who had accompanied Qin Hao, did not sit down. Instead, he stood to the side. He knew that despite being a young master of the Jia family, he was clearly not qualified to mingle with these prominent figures in official circles.

Qin Hao also noticed Jia Ye standing nearby but wisely didn't invite him to sit. Jia Ye held no official position and wasn't a guest, so it would have been inappropriate for Qin Hao to ask him to sit in someone else's domain.

Thump, thump, thump...

A sound of hurried footsteps echoed.

Several figures strode swiftly from the interior of the hall.

Before they arrived, their voices could be heard from a distance.

"I apologize for my tardiness, I hope you can forgive me."

The person who arrived was none other than Ge Wengong, the Magistrate of Qingshi County. Ge Wengong had been resting in the back room when his subordinate rushed in to report that someone from the Heavenly Dragon Guard had arrived.

Hearing this news, he felt it was very strange and quickly got up to see what was happening.

Qin Hao sensed that Ge Wengong's cultivation was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, not particularly high, but within a normal range.

"Haha, Magistrate Ge, you jest."

"I was fortunate enough to join the Heavenly Dragon Guard by chance. Compared to your success in the imperial examinations, I am still lacking."

"Haha, not at all, not at all. Sir, you are young and promising, and you will surely rise through the ranks in the future."

After exchanging pleasantries, the two men took their respective seats.

As soon as Ge Wengong sat down, he noticed Jia Ye beside Qin Hao. As a prominent family in Qingshi County, the Jia family was naturally known to him, the local prefect. Seeing Jia Ye, he surmised that Jia Ye must have accompanied Qin Hao.

"Jia Ye, you may sit as well."

"Hehe, thank you, sir."

Jia Ye, hearing Ge Wengong invite him to sit, did not refuse. He had wanted to sit down for some time, but since it wasn't his own home, he felt he should observe proper etiquette.

"May I know your name, sir?"

Ge Wengong recognized the Heavenly Dragon Guard stationed locally but had never seen the person before him. He found it a bit odd. Had a new recruit arrived?

"Magistrate Ge can just call me Qin Hao. I am also from this county. I live in Mangshan Village."

"Mangshan Village? The surname Qin?"

"Could it be that you are from the Qin family in Mangshan Village? Is the patriarch Qin Shan?"

Hearing Qin Hao's introduction, Ge Wengong immediately thought of the Qin family.

"Oh? Does Magistrate Ge know my clan's patriarch?"

Qin Hao was a little surprised that Ge Wengong knew about his clan patriarch.

"Hahaha, what a coincidence! Qin Shan, the patriarch of the Qin family, and I were actually classmates."

"It's just that that fellow Qin Shan didn't pursue a career in officialdom."

Ge Wengong was quite pleased to hear that Qin Hao was a descendant of his friend, and even more so that he had joined the Heavenly Dragon Guard.

"Hahaha, since Uncle Ge is a senior member of the clan, you don't need to call me 'Sir.' Just call me Xiao Hao."

Qin Hao hadn't expected that his clan patriarch would know the local prefect.

"Good, good, good. Then I will call you Xiao Hao from now on."

"It should be so."

Qin Hao was also pleased. Having connections made things easier, and who wouldn't welcome that?

At this moment, Qin Hao also noticed someone who had come with Ge Wengong. The person was tall and strong, with a high cultivation level, possessing the strength of the Core Formation stage. Furthermore, he had unhealed injuries, suggesting he was likely the county's constable, Jiang Tianlong.

Ge Wengong also noticed Qin Hao's gaze and stood up to introduce him.

"Haha, come, come, Xiao Hao, let me introduce you. This is the constable of our county, Jiang Tianlong."

"Hello."

Jiang Tianlong had a reserved personality and didn't make many gestures. He merely sat in his chair, observing Qin Hao, as the young man before him had developed somewhat unnaturally.

Qin Hao simply gave him a perfunctory nod.

Seeing that there were no further exchanges between them, Ge Wengong interrupted.

"Haha, Xiao Hao, don't mind him. That's just how he is."

"By the way, Xiao Hao, what is the matter you wished to discuss with me?"

"Nephew Qin Hao merely saw the situation in Qingshi County and wanted to ask what exactly has happened."

"Uncle Ge, Qingshi County is in a state of panic due to the rampant ghostly creatures. Why has the government not taken action to clear the county town of these creatures and allowed them to harm people?" Qin Hao looked at Ge Wengong, perplexed.

Upon hearing Qin Hao's question, Ge Wengong simply sighed deeply.

"Alas! It's not that we don't want to act, but we are willing but unable."

"This situation in Qingshi County is happening all over the Dragon Mountain Empire now, and it's even more severe."

"Some places have even fallen, turning into complete hellscapes."

Hearing this, Qin Hao's expression grew grimmer, not expecting the situation to have become so serious.

Seeing Qin Hao remain silent, Ge Wengong continued.

"Also, I took action against the ghostly creatures in the county some time ago. However, that ghostly creature was too powerful, and even Captain Jiang was severely injured because of it."

As he spoke, Ge Wengong slumped wearily into the armchair.

"Is that ghostly creature very strong, Uncle Ge?"

Qin Hao was somewhat surprised that it could injure Jiang Tianlong, who was in the Core Formation stage. Were there so many Fourth tier ghostly creatures now?

"It was also Fourth tier, but we were ambushed by a ghost cultivator."

"That's why we suffered a crushing defeat, and now we are no longer capable of acting again."

"What about the Heavenly Dragon Guard? I remember there were Heavenly Dragon Guards stationed here. I heard from Jia Ye that they didn't intervene."

Qin Hao continued to ask.

"Huh? Xiao Hao, you are a Heavenly Dragon Guard? Don't you know?"

At this point, it was Ge Wengong's turn to be confused. Even he knew the whereabouts of the Heavenly Dragon Guards, so how could Qin Hao, a Heavenly Dragon Guard himself, not know?

Even Jiang Tianlong beside him looked puzzled.

Seeing Ge Wengong question him, Qin Hao explained that Zhong Li Dao had recently recruited him into the Heavenly Dragon Guard, but he hadn't officially joined yet.

"So that's how it is. Xiao Hao is truly exceptionally talented."

"I wonder what kind of luck Qin Shan has."

He revealed an envious gaze.

It was then that he noticed that although Qin Hao was young, his physique had developed to be exceptionally tall. However, after learning that Qin Hao was a Body Forging Martial Artist, his surprise lessened slightly. Still, to have achieved such accomplishments in Body Forging at the age of a teenager left him quite astonished.

After a while, he slowly said.

"The Heavenly Dragon Guards of this county have all been recalled."

"There are no Heavenly Dragon Guards left in Qingshi County now; otherwise, ghostly creatures wouldn't be rampant!"

"What's even more hateful are those rats who cultivate ghost arts!"

"As humans! To cultivate ghost arts, harm humans, and nourish ghostly creatures!"

"They deserve to die!"

At the point of shared indignation, Ge Wengong slammed his palm heavily on the table, his face filled with anger.

Hearing this, Qin Hao remained silent, contemplating his next move. The empire was in chaos, and it couldn't even maintain basic stability.

They had also recalled a large number of personnel back to the Imperial Capital. Had something major happened in the Imperial Capital that required so many people?