Mountain Road Corpse

The county yamen's cases didn't involve demons, so how could they find one?

With path dependency, Shen Lin was too lazy to think too much and directly threw the difficult problem to Sun Zhi.

He didn't believe that the demons Sun Zhi knew were limited to that Mantis Demon and the white fox family.

Sun Zhi said with a grimace: "Master Shen, last time, you pinned the Bai family incident on me. Now all the demons have heard the news. How could any demon still cooperate with me?"

However, facing his complaints, Shen Lin was unmoved. He said softly, "There will always be some thick-headed demons. Give it a try!"

What kind of thick-headed demon would contact me at this time?

First the Mantis Demon, then the Bai family's fox spirit. Any demon with a bit of sense could see the problem.

But no matter how troubled Sun Zhi was in his heart, when he saw Shen Lin's cold eyes, he held back his words and agreed to try first.

After sending Sun Zhi away, Shen Lin put away the rewards he had exchanged and was about to go home to deduce when a constable ran in.

"Master Shen! Chief Qian needs you urgently."

Shen Lin was a bit confused. He had just returned from Chief Qian's. What had happened again?

He tucked the Meridian Unblocking Pill and the Shadow Severing Step cultivation technique close to his body and walked out.

"Chief Qian, what business do you have with me?"

Upon hearing Shen Lin's voice, Chief Qian, who had been pacing anxiously, seemed to immediately find his backbone and calmed down.

"Brother Shen, I just sent you on a case and shouldn't trouble you further. However, this matter is urgent, and all the other Head Constables are occupied and can't be found in a short time..."

Looking at the rambling Chief Qian, Shen Lin felt no dissatisfaction.

On the contrary, he seemed to have thought of something, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly as he probed, "Could it be... a demon committed a crime?"

If it were just an ordinary case, Chief Qian wouldn't need to specifically look for a Head Constable at the Martial Artist realm. He could just send a few constables.

As expected, Chief Qian sighed, "The probability is very high. Four of our brothers went out on a case yesterday and haven't returned yet..."

He explained the whole story to Shen Lin bit by bit.

Yesterday, a hunter came to the yamen to report seeing a mangled corpse by the roadside in Xiangyang Mountain.

The corpse was so badly eaten that it was unrecognizable, but the hunter identified from its clothing that the person was not from any nearby village.

It seemed like a simple murder case.

However, to be safe, Chief Qian still sent four constables to investigate.

But as of now, a full day had passed, and none of those constables had returned.

What made Chief Qian most anxious was that he had inadvertently heard something while chatting with Prefect Hu this morning.

The County Magistrate's distant nephew was coming to seek refuge with him.

Judging by the time, he should have arrived yesterday.

But yesterday, the County Magistrate waited at home for a banquet all day and didn't receive his visitor.

What if that nameless, mangled corpse was the County Magistrate's nephew?

Whether it was bandits killing for wealth or a demon's mischief, once the County Magistrate's relative was involved, the case became different.

Coupled with the fact that the constables who went to investigate were now missing, Chief Qian felt even more strongly that this was likely the work of a demon.

After all, four constables who had practiced the Blood Battle Saber Technique and carried sharp weapons wouldn't be easily dealt with by ordinary bandits.

A demon causing trouble and killing the County Magistrate's relative would be enough to waste all the efforts of Prefect Hu and Chief Qian over the years.

Whether it was the position of County Lieutenant or his own position as Chief Constable, the County Magistrate could decide with a single word.

If this matter was not handled well...

Chief Qian finished recounting the case details with a worried expression.

But as Shen Lin listened, his eyes gradually lit up. Finally, before Chief Qian could finish, he stood up and said, "Chief Qian, since the situation is urgent, I'll go take a look."

"Good, I can rest assured with you handling it."

Chief Qian breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Shen Lin accept the task. He said, "That hunter is still in the city. I've already found him and asked him to guide you. Do you want to bring more people?"

"No need!"

Shen Lin shook his head and said directly, "If your guess is correct and there really is a demon involved, it would be more convenient for me to go alone."

"That's true!"

Chief Qian nodded.

Unlike the Patrol Division, they constables didn't have large crossbows or iron armor. Ordinary constables would have little power to fight back against a great demon, and might even become a burden to Shen Lin.

"Then be careful. If you find the situation too serious to handle, come back immediately."

"Understood."

After bidding farewell to Chief Qian, Shen Lin directly found the hunter and left the city without even returning home.

After all, he couldn't rely solely on Sun Zhi for demon-slaying. Now that an opportunity had presented itself, he naturally had to seize it.

Along the way, he took out the Shadow Severing Step manual he had just obtained and began to read it, as he had nothing else to do.

After a long while, the hunter, who had walked halfway up the mountain, suddenly stopped.

"Master Shen! We've arrived!"

However, his words received no response.

He turned his head and found Shen Lin standing still, holding a book.

After waiting for a moment, the hunter couldn't help but speak again, calling out softly, "Master Shen! Master Shen, we've arrived!"

This time, Shen Lin finally reacted.

He slowly put down his book, revealing his face.

Upon seeing Shen Lin's deep eyes, the hunter was stunned.

In that instant, the sense of vicissitudes he saw in Shen Lin's eyes was even more profound than that of the ancient elders in his village.

The hunter's intuition was not wrong.

Because just now, after fully mastering the Shadow Severing Step, Shen Lin had begun to deduce.

In the blink of an eye, he had already spent a hundred years within the System.

[Year 1: You began cultivating the Shadow Severing Step. Although you had no foundation in footwork, you managed to achieve initial mastery relying on your robust physique.]

[Year 10: You cultivated day and night, your footwork becoming increasingly elusive. Shadow Severing Step achieved minor success.]

[Year 21: The techniques of the Shadow Severing Step had become your instinct, allowing you to execute exquisite footwork anytime, anywhere. Shadow Severing Step achieved great success!]

[Year 45: Over twenty-four years, you ceaselessly practiced the Shadow Severing Step, finally comprehending its essence. From then on, your movement became formless, like a phantom dancing in the shadows. Shadow Severing Step, perfected!]

[Year 53: You continued to study the Shadow Severing Step, finally clearly sensing the five meridians connected to it. Perhaps because you had not cultivated any body-lightening techniques before, three of these meridians were ones you had never trained before.]

[Year 54: You consumed a Meridian Unblocking Pill and began to break through the eighth meridian. After taking two consecutive Meridian Unblocking Pills, you directly opened the eighth meridian, and your formidable Qi and Blood Force surged into the ninth meridian. However, even with the assistance of residual medicinal power, the progress in opening the ninth meridian was exceptionally slow.]

[Year 100: After fifty years of effort, you have opened nearly one-third of the ninth meridian.]

Shadow Severing Step, perfected! Eighth meridian, opened!