This Smell Isn't Right

As Shen Lin and Zi Jing infiltrated the Wu family, Sun Zhi finally met his target for this mission.

Huang Xiaotian, a dog-headed man with a plump body squeezed into a grand armchair, was enthusiastically admiring a painting.

"Greetings, Third Boss!"

Sun Zhi bowed his head as soon as he entered the room.

This Third Boss of Black Wind Stronghold was not easy to deal with.

Sun Zhi had conducted two transactions with him in the past, but each time, the other party was dissatisfied with the blood food he brought, even almost devouring Sun Zhi himself.

"Oh, Head Constable Sun is here? Have a seat! What do you think of this new painting I acquired?"

Sun Zhi forced himself to admire the painting in Huang Xiaotian's hand, unable to discern anything special about the densely packed pine trees.

But he couldn't tell the truth, saying that the painting was not as good as the beautiful maiden painting hanging at the entrance of the brothel in town, could he?

So, he could only stammer, "This painting... uh... it's very good, these pine trees are drawn so..."

"Enough, enough. If you can't say anything, then don't waste my time."

Huang Xiaotian waved his hand, muttering speechlessly, "This is a masterpiece by a famous painter of your human race. You vulgar fellow truly have no taste... Speak, what do you need from me?"

He set the scroll aside, leaned forward, his fat jiggling, and narrowed his eyes, "You killed that old fox's family, and now you're after my head?"

Sun Zhi seemed startled and quickly waved his hands, repeatedly denying, "I wouldn't dare! It's a misunderstanding."

As he spoke, he kept glancing around furtively.

The demon had appeared, so why hadn't Shen Lin shown up yet?

Didn't they agree that Shen Lin would make his move after he lured out all the demons? Why now...

"Hm? What are you looking at?"

The younger of the two dog demons who had escorted him noticed Sun Zhi's furtive movements and immediately roared, "Dog Constable! Did you bring anyone else with you???"

As he spoke, his clothes tore apart, revealing a strong, hairy body, and his sharp claws extended towards Sun Zhi, ready to tear him to shreds if they disagreed.

"Third Brother! Calm yourself!"

Huang Xiaotian reprimanded, stopping his third brother. He then raised his head, sniffed with his long, thin nose, and looked at Sun Zhi with a half-smile, "There's no other human presence around. Head Constable Sun, it seems your accomplice didn't come with you."

Hearing this, Sun Zhi felt as if struck by lightning. His body trembled, and then he quickly reacted, forcing a fawning smile. "What are you saying, Third Boss? I wouldn't dare. I only came to make a deal with you. Our previous two transactions, weren't they all..."

"Speaking of the previous two transactions..." Huang Xiaotian directly interrupted Sun Zhi, the smile on his face slowly disappearing, his voice turning sinister.

"I was not satisfied with the blood food from the second time, and you promised to bring it to me later. But half a year has passed since then..."

"Head Constable Sun, you're not a man of your word."

As he spoke, Huang Xiaotian opened his mouth, looking at Sun Zhi as if he were a delicious piece of meat.

Sun Zhi was almost scared to death, but he still forced himself to say, "I haven't forgotten anything I promised you, Third Boss. It's just that recently, there have been too many Constables dying in the county office, making it difficult for me to act. Now that the heat has passed, haven't I contacted you immediately?"

"Is that so?"

Huang Xiaotian seemed to accept this explanation and slowly leaned back into the armchair.

But just as Sun Zhi thought he had survived this ordeal, Huang Xiaotian's next sentence made him freeze.

"But I heard that you made quite a few deals with Xiong Ze's mistress. And afterward, you eliminated that green worm and the old fox's entire family. Your reputation as a demon-slaying expert in the Opening Meridians Realm is quite renowned in Qiulin County."

"This... it's all a misunderstanding... a misunderstanding..."

For a moment, Sun Zhi couldn't think of any reasonable explanation and could only repeat the same words.

Thwack!

The next moment, Sun Zhi felt a heat on his face and a burning pain in his left shoulder.

"Ahhhhhh..."

He immediately collapsed to the ground, clutching his severed arm and wailing.

Huang Xiaotian's second brother had torn off Sun Zhi's left arm, taken a bite, and then frowned as he threw it to Huang Xiaotian.

"Big Brother, this taste is off. The flesh of an Opening Meridians Realm Martial Artist is much chewier than this."

Huang Xiaotian took it, took a fierce bite, directly crushing Sun Zhi's arm bone. He chewed with a crunching sound and swallowed it down.

"Indeed, there's a problem. His aura is not right. I thought he was injured and his condition had declined, but once the meridians are opened, the strength of the flesh and blood improves qualitatively. This guy is just an ordinary Martial Artist."

"Huh? Then we've lost out big time this time."

Huang Xiaotian's second brother scratched his head, his face grim.

They clearly knew Sun Zhi was acting strangely, yet they still agreed to contact him, all for the sake of tasting the flesh of an Opening Meridians Realm Martial Artist.

But now, this guy was a fake???

Huang Xiaotian slowly stood up and walked to Sun Zhi like a small mountain. He lowered his head and asked in a deep voice, "With your strength, you couldn't have killed the old fox's family, let alone that traitor. Who is behind you?"

But Sun Zhi was only focused on wailing. The intense pain made him unable to even hear Huang Xiaotian's question.

Seeing this, Huang Xiaotian's third brother swiped with his claw, tearing a piece of flesh from Sun Zhi's back. He threw it into his mouth, chewing as he said, "Big Brother is asking you a question!"

The pain in his left arm hadn't faded when a sharp agony struck his back. Sun Zhi couldn't take it and rolled his eyes before passing out.

"Why'd he just faint? What do we do? Should we stew him?"

Huang Xiaotian smacked his second brother on the head. "Idiot, learn from our third brother and use your brain!"

"This guy definitely has an Opening Meridians Realm Martial Artist behind him. Just because they haven't shown up yet doesn't mean they'll abandon him."

"Alright, Third Brother! You go stand guard outside. Report any movement. If the county yamen mobilizes a large force, we'll retreat. If only one or two Opening Meridians Realm guys show up, we can have a feast."

"Then, Second Brother, tie this guy up and get a pot of water boiling. If no one comes, we'll use him to tide us over."