Before long, the system's notification rang out in Shen Lin's mind. [
[Having slain the Enlightened Wolf Demon, not yet in the Xiantian Realm, with a lifespan of two hundred years and one hundred fifteen years remaining, absorption complete.]
The Mantis Demon and Ape Demon from before had lifespans of only one hundred fifty years.
And this wolf demon in the Opening Meridians Realm had a lifespan fifty years longer than those demons in the Martial Realm.
Having obtained the demon's lifespan he had yearned for day and night, Shen Lin walked toward Sun Zhi with a smile on his face and called out, "Head Constable Sun! Bring the stuff. Shall we go?"
Those words jolted Sun Zhi awake. When he came to and saw Shen Lin standing before him, he opened his mouth, but not a single sound came out.
That was...
The astonishment in his mind had yet to fade when his body had already obediently risen. Enduring the pain, he hefted the wolf demon's corpse onto his shoulder.
Even after following Shen Lin for quite some time, he still couldn't accept what he had just witnessed.
The wolf demon, a powerful existence comparable to someone in the Opening Meridians Realm—one that could make him lose his ability to fight with a casual strike—had been like a child before Shen Lin.
This guy... had been hiding his strength all along!
After thinking it over for a long while, this was the only conclusion he could reach.
The claim that someone could break through in the face of a life-or-death crisis was complete nonsense.
Sun Zhi didn't believe that Shen Lin could have become a martial artist in the Opening Meridians Realm in just a few days.
So there was only one explanation.
This guy had been a martial artist long ago, and had merely been concealing his strength all this time.
The reason he had recently begun showing his edge was that his cultivation had reached a critical juncture, and he had to obtain cultivation resources as quickly as possible.
Recalling Shen Lin's performance just now, Sun Zhi felt certain that he wasn't a newly entered martial artist in the Opening Meridians Realm.
At the very least, he had opened two meridians. Otherwise, he couldn't have beaten a wolf demon in the same realm so effortlessly.
Then the answer was actually obvious.
Shen Lin was about to break through to the Xiantian Realm!
At the thought of this possibility, Sun Zhi's eyes widened, and he stopped in his tracks without realizing it.
The most recent Xiantian Realm martial artist recorded in the annals of Qiulin County had appeared twenty years ago.
That senior had served as a county lieutenant in Qiulin County all his life. At the age of eighty, he had attained enlightenment and broken through to the Xiantian Realm.
According to the rumors, on the day he broke through, his head of white hair had instantly turned jet-black. Every wrinkle on his skin had vanished, and he had become several decades younger in the blink of an eye.
As for Shen Lin before him, if he remembered correctly, he was only twenty years old this year...
A twenty-year-old in the Xiantian Realm was unheard of.
"Head Constable Sun!" Noticing that he had stopped, Shen Lin turned his head and asked softly with a smile, "Tired?"
Sun Zhi abruptly raised his head. His sweat-covered face forced out a smile as he stammered, "Not tired, not tired..."
"Good. Since we've finished this job, we need to hurry over and find Old Master Bai."
Hearing this, Sun Zhi froze for a moment and asked instinctively, "Go back and find Old Master Bai?"
He had thought Shen Lin was traveling through the night to get back to the County Office as quickly as possible, so they could hand over the demon corpse and claim their reward.
As for the Bai family, to be honest, Sun Zhi didn't really want to go there anymore.
That whole family was too creepy.
Even if they wanted to continue doing business in the future, they could simply send a subordinate constable over to deliver the remaining money. Why was there any need to rush?
"That's right!"
Shen Lin nodded naturally. "When doing business, one must value honesty. We should give them the remaining payment before taking on the next job."
Hearing this, Sun Zhi became even more certain of his earlier guess.
Such urgency could only mean that Shen Lin was hurrying to break through to the Xiantian Realm.
The two continued onward. By the time the rising sun appeared, Bai Family Village was already close at hand.
Sun Zhi felt everything before his eyes swaying incessantly, while his body kept growing hotter.
The wolf demon's tail lash earlier had broken several of his ribs.
Without stopping to rest, he had forced himself to travel at high intensity. Now he had begun to run a fever, and his consciousness was hazy.
Shen Lin glanced at him, looked around for a while, then entered a farmhouse.
A moment later, he came out with an old farmer.
The old farmer was leading a donkey, with a cart in tow.
Shen Lin walked up to the swaying Sun Zhi, took out all the banknotes hidden on his person, casually pulled out one, and handed it to the old farmer.
"One hundred taels. Enough, right?"
The old farmer's eyes crinkled into slits as he hurriedly said, "More than enough, Constable. You're far too generous..."
Shen Lin smiled, removed the wolf demon's corpse from Sun Zhi's shoulder, and tossed it onto the donkey cart.
Then he looked at Sun Zhi, who was swaying with a vacant stare, tossed him beside the wolf demon's corpse as well, and said to the old farmer, "Old man, come with me!"
Leading the donkey cart, Shen Lin went all the way to Old Master Bai's home and knocked on the gate.
With a creak, the gate opened. A beautiful woman revealed half her face. When she saw Shen Lin, her eyes flickered, and she said softly, "Young Master Shen, you've... returned."
Seeing that the one who had opened the gate was Qianqian rather than the servant from before, Shen Lin couldn't help freezing for a moment. He turned his head and said, "Old man, keep an eye on the cart for me. I'll be out shortly."
With that, he followed Qianqian into the courtyard.
"What happened to Head Constable Sun...?"
"He fought fiercely with that wolf demon and suffered some injuries. He'll be fine after receiving proper treatment once we return to the County Office. Nothing serious."
"Oh my, Head Constable Sun was injured? That wolf demon must have been vicious. But..."
Qianqian's eyes shimmered as she looked at Shen Lin timidly. "Young Master Shen doesn't have a single injury. You must be even stronger."
At this, Shen Lin smiled. "There are plenty more things I'm good at. You'll see in a moment."
"Oh my!"
Qianqian's face flushed crimson, and the tail behind her whipped back and forth at high speed. She whispered, "Father is in the rear courtyard!" Then she ran off.
She jogged all the way back to her room and buried her head in the pillow.
"Qianqian! What is it?"
The graceful and dignified fox demon Shen Lin had seen before walked in and asked gently.
"Shen... Shen Lang..."
Qianqian murmured, her body trembling incessantly. Then she suddenly tore off all her clothes and transformed into a silver-white fox.
Her mouth hung slightly open, drool dripping constantly. Her eyes were bloodshot, as though she were desperately enduring something.
Seeing this, the old fox demon sighed. "It's happening again. You've taken a liking to him?"
The silver-white fox nodded and spoke in human words.
"I want to so, so badly to sleep with Shen Lang, to hold him tightly..."
"To tear him into pieces bit by bit and swallow him."
"To make him and me become one, forever and ever..."
"Never to part!"
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