Late that night, candlelight still glowed in Sun Zhi's study.
"I see. I see..."
His face alight with joy and his eyes bloodshot, Sun Zhi set down the book in his hands.
After receiving his reward from the Demon Suppression Bureau, he had spent the entire day studying the Opening Meridians manual they had passed down.
Though it was only the most basic method, capable of opening just three meridians, it was already a rare treasure to someone like Sun Zhi, who had risen from humble beginnings.
"With this Opening Meridians method, and..."
He murmured, pulling a porcelain bottle from his robes, his eyes burning with fervor.
Inside was the Meridian Unblocking Pill he had dreamed of obtaining.
With the Opening Meridians method and the help of the Meridian Unblocking Pill, he could break through to the Opening Meridians Realm that very night.
There were only a handful of warriors in the Opening Meridians Realm in Qiulin County. They were practically the most powerful people in the county.
"Years of planning, of battling life and death... finally..."
Sun Zhi's fingers trembled as he opened the bottle and poured out a milky-white pill.
He was just about to swallow it and begin cultivating when he suddenly froze, then snapped his head up and barked, "Who's there?!"
Almost the instant he spoke, the roof suddenly split open and a shadow rushed inside.
"Bold thief!"
Sun Zhi couldn't afford to take the pill now. He tossed it onto the table, grabbed the long saber lying there, and slashed upward.
Clang!
With a sharp ring, the shadow's sword was knocked aside. The figure drifted backward like a falling leaf and landed steadily.
The intruder wore a black outfit for nighttime, wrapped up from head to toe, with only a pair of bright eyes showing.
There was nothing unusual about his build, and the long sword in his hand was just as ordinary. It looked like the mass-produced weapons churned out by some back-alley workshop, with no discernible origin.
In that first exchange, Sun Zhi's instincts had already begun to assess the intruder's identity.
But it was obvious he'd learned nothing.
Then Sun Zhi suddenly recalled the case Chief Qian had told him about earlier that day. He narrowed his eyes, as if guessing who the intruder was.
"You've got some nerve, thief. The rich families weren't enough for you, so now you've set your sights on me?"
Sun Zhi sneered and slowly advanced, long saber in hand.
He'd heard that this Flying Thief was exceptionally skilled, but if he was only a warrior, Sun Zhi was confident he could handle almost anyone.
Except Shen Lin, that freak.
"Looks like I might get an unexpected windfall today. The rich families have offered a hefty reward to catch you."
Sun Zhi kept talking as he edged closer.
But the Flying Thief across from him didn't respond at all.
He wasn't even looking at Sun Zhi. His gaze was fixed on the Opening Meridians manual and the Meridian Unblocking Pill on the table.
"Bold!"
Seizing the opening, Sun Zhi lunged forward, appearing before his opponent in an instant as he brought his saber down.
The strike came down with crushing force, carrying all of Sun Zhi's strength.
Yet the Flying Thief didn't flinch.
He twirled his sword in a flourish and thrust.
The blade struck the Steel Saber with perfect precision, knocking it aside.
Then the sword's path shifted, stabbing straight at Sun Zhi's throat.
Sun Zhi's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly pulled back his saber to block.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The clash of blade and sword grew ever more rapid. Though Sun Zhi wielded his long saber in a tight, impenetrable defense, he could only retreat in disarray.
His opponent's sword came like a raging storm, one wave after another, giving Sun Zhi no chance to catch his breath.
After retreating several steps, Sun Zhi finally seemed to realize something. He cried out in disbelief, "You're... in the Opening Meridians Realm?!"
In just that brief exchange, the Qi and Blood Force inside him had nearly run dry, and his arms were aching badly.
But his opponent's breathing remained steady, and his swordplay hadn't faltered in the slightest.
That was beyond what an ordinary warrior with unopened meridians could manage.
Only someone in the Opening Meridians Realm could wield such seemingly endless Qi and Blood Force.
Sun Zhi couldn't understand it. You were a warrior in the Opening Meridians Realm—couldn't you do anything else?
What future was there in being a thief? If you joined one of those powerful families, wouldn't you earn far more than by sneaking around and stealing?
As the thought crossed his mind, the sword pierced through Sun Zhi's defense.
A flash of swordlight, and a streak of blood appeared across Sun Zhi's wrist. His Steel Saber fell to the ground.
Feeling his hand suddenly empty, Sun Zhi closed his eyes in despair.
I'm done for!
But after waiting for a moment, he didn't meet his death. Instead, he heard the wooden door being flung open.
He opened his eyes in confusion and saw the entrance standing wide open, the cool night breeze gently brushing his face.
"What...? No!"
He was bewildered for only a moment before realizing what had happened. He whipped around to look at his desk.
The tabletop was bare. The Opening Meridians manual and Meridian Unblocking Pill he had gone to such lengths to obtain were gone.
"Damn you, filthy thief!!!"
A shrill cry rang out into the night.
Not long afterward, Shen Lin returned home and tossed a black outfit for nighttime into the fire. He rubbed his hands together, looking forward to what was to come, then turned and went back to his bedroom.
Two items lay on the simple bed.
They were Sun Zhi's Opening Meridians manual and Meridian Unblocking Pill.
The moment Shen Lin heard from Chief Qian that Sun Zhi had received a reward from the Demon Suppression Bureau, he realized he had to act quickly.
If Sun Zhi broke through to the Opening Meridians Realm without a hitch, what reason would he have left to fight demons and monsters? Wouldn't that mean Shen Lin had spared him for nothing?
That wouldn't do!
Young people had to be kept on their toes. That was what gave them the drive to strive and get ahead!
Shen Lin shook his head with a smile, opened the Opening Meridians manual, and began reading by candlelight.
A long while later, he shook his head in disappointment.
The so-called Opening Meridians method wasn't like ordinary martial arts, which were meant for combat. It was purely a secret technique to help warriors locate the meridians in their bodies.
The three meridians marked in Sun Zhi's manual were ones Shen Lin had already opened, so it was of no help to him.
He tossed it aside and picked up the Meridian Unblocking Pill, his eyes glinting.
This, at least, would be useful to him.
The Opening Meridians manual also described how to absorb the pill's medicinal power to open meridians. Shen Lin could swallow the Meridian Unblocking Pill right away and try to open his fifth meridian.
But after thinking it over for a moment, he shook his head and put the pill away.
The best way to use it was probably in combination with the system's deductions.
During a deduction, he could focus completely, absorb the pill's medicinal power more effectively, and use it to break through.
That meant he had to gather demon lifespans as quickly as possible.
He turned to look at the dawn outside the window and stretched.
By now, his head constable had probably made up his mind, hadn't he?
"Useless! Bunch of deadbeats! That guy committed his first crime a month ago! And you still haven't found a single suspect?!"
Inside the County Office, Sun Zhi stood berating the constables below him.
Chief Qian sat beside him, his face dark as he watched Sun Zhi.
But Sun Zhi couldn't care less about that now.
After discovering that all his belongings had been stolen, he'd been frantic with worry. In the middle of the night, he'd rushed to the County Office to look up information about the Flying Thief.
Only then had he realized that for all the people working at the County Office, they knew nothing more than where the thief had struck, when he had struck, and what crimes he had committed.
Beyond that, they knew nothing.
Was the thief a man or a woman?
How strong was the thief?
They knew nothing at all!
Sun Zhi glared angrily at everyone and spat.
How were they supposed to solve cases while surrounded by these bugs?
"Head Constable Sun, didn't you say the other day that there was no need to pay much attention to a petty Flying Thief case?"
Chief Qian's voice was icy, and his words dripped with ill intent.
But Sun Zhi acted as if he hadn't noticed. He snapped angrily, "What Flying Thief? This was a home invasion and robbery! A bandit!!!"
Chief Qian paused at those words. He sized up the furious Sun Zhi, then wore an expression of dawning realization.
Well, would you look at that. Our Head Constable Sun had been robbed at home.
Some of the anger faded from Chief Qian's face, and a trace of amusement crept into his eyes as he looked at Sun Zhi.
Just as he was wondering how to make this usually arrogant Head Constable Sun squirm, Shen Lin suddenly walked in.
"Head Constable Sun! What's going on? Getting angry first thing in the morning isn't good for you."
Hearing that, Sun Zhi was about to blow up. He turned around, seething.
But when he saw that it was Shen Lin who had spoken, he pressed his lips together.
He hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "You're just the person I need. There's something I want to discuss with you."
Without another word to anyone else, he went up and grabbed Shen Lin, pulling him away.
Only when they reached a secluded spot did he stop. He looked Shen Lin in the eye and said earnestly, "I'll do what you suggested earlier!"
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