The Stench Was Off

Just as Shen Lin and Zijing slipped into the Wu Family's estate, Sun Zhi finally came face-to-face with the target of his mission.

Huang Xiaotian had a dog's head on a man's body. His massive frame was crammed into a grand armchair as he eagerly admired a painting.

"Greetings, Third Chief!"

The moment Sun Zhi entered the room, he lowered his head and bowed.

The Third Chief of Black Wind Stronghold was no easy man to deal with.

Sun Zhi had done business with him twice before, but both times Huang Xiaotian had been dissatisfied with the human flesh Sun Zhi brought him. He had even nearly swallowed Sun Zhi whole.

"Oh, Head Constable Sun, you're here? Sit, sit! What do you think of this painting I just got?"

Sun Zhi braced himself and studied the painting in Huang Xiaotian's hands. He couldn't see what was so special about the densely packed pine trees.

But he couldn't very well tell the truth and say that he thought the painting was worse than the pictures of beautiful women hanging by the entrance to the brothels in town, could he?

So he stammered, "This painting, uh... is very good. These pine trees are, uh..."

"Enough, enough. If you can't think of anything to say, don't bother."

Huang Xiaotian waved a hand and muttered in exasperation, "This is the work of a famous painter from your human race, and you clumsy oaf have no eye for art... Tell me, what do you want?"

He set the scroll aside and leaned forward, his fat quivering. Narrowing his eyes, he asked, "After killing that old fox's family, have you set your sights on my head now?"

Sun Zhi seemed startled. He hurriedly waved his hands and cried, "I wouldn't dare! It's a misunderstanding!"

As he spoke, he kept sneaking glances around the room.

The demons had already shown themselves. Why hadn't Shen Lin appeared yet?

Hadn't they agreed that Shen Lin would act once Sun Zhi had drawn all the demons out?

So why was...

"Hmm? What are you looking at?"

The younger of the two dog demons who had brought him in noticed Sun Zhi's furtive glances and roared, "You dog of a constable! Did you bring anyone else with you?"

As he spoke, his clothes burst apart, revealing a powerful, fur-covered body. He thrust his sharp claws toward Sun Zhi, ready to tear him to pieces at the slightest provocation.

"Third Brother! Calm down!"

After stopping his third brother with a bark, Huang Xiaotian raised his head and sniffed with his long, narrow snout. He looked at Sun Zhi with a faint smile. "There's no one else's scent nearby. Head Constable Sun, it seems your accomplice didn't come with you."

Those words struck Sun Zhi like a bolt from the blue. His body shuddered, but he quickly recovered and put on a fawning smile. "What are you saying, Third Chief? I wouldn't dare. I came here to make a deal with you. Weren't our previous two deals..."

"Speaking of those previous two deals..." Huang Xiaotian cut Sun Zhi off. The smile slowly vanished from his face, and his voice turned chilling.

"You weren't satisfied with the human flesh I brought you the second time, so you said you'd bring me more after a while. But it's already been half a year..."

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

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

Sun Zhi was so terrified he nearly wet himself, but he forced himself to say, "I haven't forgotten what I promised you, Third Chief. It's just that so many constables died at the County Office a while back, and I couldn't make a move. Now that things have quieted down, wasn't I the first to get in touch with you?"

"Is that so?"

Huang Xiaotian seemed to accept the explanation and slowly leaned back in his armchair.

But just as Sun Zhi thought he had made it through the ordeal, Huang Xiaotian's next words left him frozen in place.

"But I heard you made quite a few deals with Xiong Ze's lover. And after that, you killed the green bug and the old fox's family. Your name as an Opening Meridians Realm demon slayer is quite renowned in Qiulin County."

"Th-this is all a misunderstanding... a misunderstanding..."

Sun Zhi couldn't think of any reasonable explanation. All he could do was repeat the same words over and over.

Pfft!

The next moment, Sun Zhi felt warmth splash across his face, and a searing pain suddenly flared in his left shoulder.

"Ahhhhhhh..."

He dropped to his knees, clutching his severed arm with his right hand as he wailed.

Huang Xiaotian's second brother had ripped off Sun Zhi's left arm. He took a casual bite, frowned, then tossed it to Huang Xiaotian.

"Big Brother, something's off about the taste. An Opening Meridians Realm warrior's flesh should have a lot more bite."

Huang Xiaotian took it and bit down hard, snapping Sun Zhi's hand bones. He chewed with a crunching sound, then gulped it down.

"Something's definitely wrong. His aura is off. I thought he was injured and weakened, but once someone has opened their meridians, their flesh undergoes a qualitative transformation. This guy's just an ordinary warrior."

"Huh? Then we've been cheated out of a good meal!"

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

They knew something was off about Sun Zhi, but they had still agreed to meet him because they wanted a taste of an Opening Meridians Realm warrior's flesh.

And now this guy was a fake???

Huang Xiaotian slowly rose to his feet. Like a small mountain, he approached Sun Zhi and looked down at him. "With your strength, you couldn't have killed the old fox's family, let alone that traitor. Who's behind you?"

But Sun Zhi was too busy wailing to hear Huang Xiaotian's question. The intense pain had drowned out everything else.

Seeing this, Huang Xiaotian's third brother swiped a claw and tore a chunk of flesh from Sun Zhi's back. He tossed it into his mouth and chewed as he said, "Big Brother's asking you a question!"

The pain in Sun Zhi's left arm hadn't even faded when another wave of agony tore through his back. He couldn't take it anymore and rolled his eyes, passing out on the spot.

"How the hell did he faint? What do we do now? Should we stew him?"

Huang Xiaotian slapped his second brother on the head and scolded him, "You brainless fool! Learn from Third Brother and use your head!"

"There's definitely an Opening Meridians Realm warrior behind him. Just because that person hasn't shown up yet doesn't mean he'll abandon this guy."

"Here's the plan, Third Brother! Go keep watch outside. If anything happens, come back and report it. If the County Office sends a large force, we'll retreat. If only one or two Opening Meridians Realm warriors show up, then we'll have just the chance to wet our appetites."

"Second Brother, tie this guy up and get an iron pot of water boiling. If no one comes, we can use him to tide us over."