A Super Harvest

After killing Li Haitian, Luo Zhou immediately activated the Random Flight Talisman and vanished in an instant.

"Random Flight Talisman: activate this talisman to teleport to a random place a hundred zhang away. It doesn't distinguish between east and west; everything is left to chance."

These were the talismans Luo Zhou had bought at the spirit market yesterday.

Three Invisibility Talismans, three Random Flight Talismans, and three Illusion Talismans.

He had spent 9,720 Broken Spirits in one go. Truthfully, Luo Zhou no longer cared how many Broken Spirits he had.

If he failed this time, he would be dead anyway. What good would Broken Spirits be then?

The corpse was that of a homeless man found at the charity cemetery.

He had secretly brought it over that morning and made it look as though the man's head had exploded.

When the bell ringer from the clock tower came over, Luo Zhou hung himself up and then used an Invisibility Talisman.

As long as he didn't move, the Invisibility Talisman could conceal him for three shichen.

Sure enough, when the bell ringer saw the corpse, he ran off to report it to the authorities.

This was Li Haitian's district, so naturally, it would draw him here.

Given Li Haitian's habits, he would certainly investigate the corpse and the case. Given his personality, this was the moment he would let his guard down.

That was how Luo Zhou had lured him into the trap and killed him.

After killing Li Haitian, Luo Zhou sprinkled Corpse Dissolving Powder over the corpse at the charity cemetery, leaving no trace.

He didn't touch Li Haitian at all. No matter what he might have had on him, Luo Zhou wouldn't take it.

He checked the scene one last time. There wasn't a single flaw.

Then Luo Zhou activated an Illusion Talisman to change his appearance, activated a Random Flight Talisman, and fled to a random place.

He had prepared three Illusion Talismans and three Random Flight Talismans. If his luck was bad, he could keep fleeing at random.

He hadn't expected that a single flash would send him a hundred zhang away, straight into the lake. No one noticed him.

He immediately dived underwater, keeping well away from everyone.

He sneaked ashore, and still no one noticed him.

He had two Invisibility Talismans, two Random Flight Talismans, and two Illusion Talismans left. He'd come out ahead.

Far off, a clamorous din rose as coroner Zhang Tao discovered Li Haitian's death.

Luo Zhou let out a long breath, but he didn't go home. Instead, he went to the academy.

He hadn't attended class in several days. He had to go today.

At the academy, Luo Zhou was distracted, constantly on guard in case a constable barged in to arrest him.

Then he started overthinking again. What if he was wrong and Li Haitian wasn't the 13th of the Month Devil? What would he do then?

Zuo Sanguang was beaming. His spirits had improved, and he could go out and play hero.

But Luo Zhou wasn't in the mood to play today. Instead, he treated everyone to porridge.

News that Li Haitian had been struck in the head arrived in the afternoon.

The Head-Exploding Devil once again became the hottest topic in the whole city.

At last, school let out, and Luo Zhou was free.

When he got home, his mind grew calm instead. When the moment of truth arrived, one had to steel oneself!

Then he waited in silence.

As midnight gradually approached, a tumultuous din rose in the courtyard.

Two hundred and thirty-five people arrived, one after another.

Dead Spirits covered the ground. The courtyard was too small; there was nowhere left to stand.

At that moment, the Dead Spirits all seemed to have regained their senses.

They came before Luo Zhou, lightly touched him, and conveyed something to him...

Once they had finished touching him, the Dead Spirits were finally freed. They slowly took on the appearances they'd had in life.

All their hideousness and bloodstains were gone. They had become ordinary people.

They gathered with their families and embraced one another.

They looked at Luo Zhou with gratitude, thanked him, bowed, and saluted him.

Luo Zhou watched them and lit three sticks of incense.

"Everyone, your family's terrible vengeance has been avenged. Go now, and enter the cycle of reincarnation!"

They all bowed to Luo Zhou, then slowly dispersed and entered the cycle of reincarnation!

One family after another departed.

The last family was Bald Old Wang's.

Bald Old Wang looked at Luo Zhou and suddenly said:

"Twelve steps past the window on the left behind my house, then dig down six chi. There's a family heirloom buried there!"

So there really was a treasure. No wonder Liu Jinpeng had searched so hard for it.

But it was buried in the courtyard. No wonder Liu Jinpeng had never been able to find it.

Luo Zhou nodded. "Thank you!"

The little girl suddenly rushed over, hugged Luo Zhou, and cried, "Big brother!"

Luo Zhou looked at Wang Xiaoya and said, "Little girl, remember: your name is Wang Xiaoya.

"Xiao, as in carefree; ya, as in elegance!"

The little girl nodded hard. "I'll remember. Wang Xiaoya!"

"Your cloth doll is with me. I'll carry it with me forever. It'll be you!"

"Go on now. Hurry and enter the cycle of reincarnation!"

"Big brother! I'll come back to find you!"

With that, she suddenly bit Luo Zhou, leaving a mark on his wrist.

"Big brother, remember: when we meet again, if the mark has disappeared, that'll mean it's me!"

After she said that, Wang Xiaoya's entire family disappeared as well.

At last, all the Dead Spirits had dispersed.

Luo Zhou watched Wang Xiaoya leave, standing perfectly still. Slowly, his ability, Rewarding Good and Punishing Evil, stirred to life!

"Luo Zhou, a Dead Spirit has called for help. A spirit has committed evil. Punish it!"

"Punish evil: slay the Woodworm Devil, the 13th of the Month Devil, Li Haitian. Reward good!"

"Rewarding Good and Punishing Evil complete. Reward!"

In a daze, Luo Zhou felt a power condense and emerge within him.

Essence, qi, and spirit!

Essence flowed into his body, and his entire being silently evolved.

His flesh and blood, bones, five senses, meridians, limbs, internal organs, mind, and soul were all strengthened and improved bit by bit as the essence infused them.

Qi entered his dantian, bringing with it strands of true qi.

Luo Zhou was startled. They had the characteristics of three different kinds of true qi.

Icy Qi, Water Ripple Qi, and Ethereal Qi!

Ice, water, and vapor represented the three forms of water. Li Haitian had been planning something huge!

There were twenty-two strands of each kind of true qi. Luo Zhou gained sixty-six strands in all, equivalent to sixty-six years of cultivation.

Li Haitian had completed the ritual more than fifty times. He had already reached the peak of Qi Refining and possessed a hundred years of cultivation. Unfortunately, he was addicted to killing and couldn't pull himself away. Otherwise, he could have broken through to the Foundation Establishment Realm long ago.

The true qi in Luo Zhou's dantian was:

Twenty-two strands of Icy Qi, twenty-two strands of Water Ripple Qi, twenty-two strands of Ethereal Qi, six strands of Geomagnetic Qi, two strands of Water Tide Energy, three strands of Heavy Dust Qi, and one strand of Three Eyes Qi.

As for spirit, the many experiences, cultivation insights, and specialized skills from Li Haitian's life transformed into streams of spiritual consciousness and entered Luo Zhou's mind, becoming part of his life experience.

That was the real treasure.

As a constable, Li Haitian knew everything about the city's three religions and nine schools, along with all sorts of hidden secrets.

He also knew the city's many powerful figures and celebrities inside and out.

He was a cautious man who acted decisively. When he killed, he wiped out the whole family—over fifty families in all. He was truly outstanding.

He was skilled in investigations, astronomy, geography, and human relationships, and knew all kinds of ruthless tricks. He had also passed on five sets of constable combat skills to Luo Zhou: the iron sword, the ruler, the iron staff, mounted archery, and the chain.

Li Haitian had never married and had little interest in money. He simply loved wiping out entire families, and spent nearly everything he earned. Still, somehow, he had managed to leave some behind.

What Luo Zhou gained from this one man surpassed the combined gains from the five before him.

Now that was a super harvest!

The greater the gains, the greater the danger.

After absorbing Li Haitian's essence, qi, and spirit, Luo Zhou would inevitably be affected by him to some degree.

Only by facing everything calmly, absorbing the essence and letting the dross dissipate, could he truly reap the rewards.

As Luo Zhou experienced Li Haitian's life and memories, his eyes flew open in shock and disbelief!

In Li Haitian's memories, he knew the Rainy Night Devil was the old Crocodile Dragon.

And it wasn't just him who knew. The entire upper echelon of Green Ridge City knew.

But no one among Green Ridge City's leaders dared to touch the old Crocodile Dragon. It seemed there was some unmentionable reason behind it.

They let it devour people as it pleased, and Green Ridge City did nothing.

At any rate, that old Crocodile Dragon was still a wild creature.

But the second Woodworm Devil, the Full Moon Devil, was a domesticated one!

It was the pet demon of Fang Ningshuang, the city lord's daughter—a blood parrot.

The Full Moon Devil had harmed many people, and it had first appeared three years ago.

For about the past year, the so-called victims had all been unlucky wretches the constables found in jail and dragged to the crossroads, specifically to be devoured by the Full Moon Devil.

Otherwise, who in Green Ridge City would dare wait at the crossroads on the fifteenth of the month to die?

Those two memories were so unbelievable that Luo Zhou gritted his teeth in fury!

Those bastards! He hated them!

As for the third Woodworm Devil, Liu Changlong of the Caobang, even Li Haitian truly knew nothing about him.

Aside from Luo Zhou, no one in Green Ridge City knew about Liu Changlong's peculiar tastes.

In everyone's eyes, Liu Changlong was an honest, upright old man!

After receiving Li Haitian's essence, qi, and spirit, Luo Zhou merely shifted his eyes and came up with a way to kill Liu Changlong!