You Cannot Protect Her

Li Qiming never failed to drop a bombshell.

As soon as his voice fell, everyone's gaze followed his fingertip toward the corner, where the eight surviving female family members were huddled.

"They are demons?" Jiang Lianyue could not help but voice her confusion.

"Junior brother, that shouldn't be right. We have already carefully inspected these women, and there isn't a shred of demonic aura on them!"

Shen Changsheng also frowned as he offered his explanation.

Li Qiming nodded, acknowledging that this group of women was hiding it very well. Furthermore, since the main body of a Soul-Devouring Rat hides within a person's brain and merges with them, it is difficult to distinguish whether they are human or demon. Before a Soul-Devouring Rat erupts, it is indeed very hard to detect any demonic aura!

But.

His Demon Subduing Eye could see it clearly.

In Li Qiming's eyes, there were white-furred rats inside the heads of these few women.

How could he be wrong?

"Mm, it's just that they are hiding it well," Li Qiming explained briefly.

The moment he finished speaking.

"Hahaha! Nonsense! A pack of lies!"

A rough voice rang out from outside the door, and two figures walked in. The leader was the burly Clerk Wang, who was at the early stage of Organ Refining.

Clerk Wang strode into the room, glaring at Li Qiming: "Kid, you are just a Filth Worker. It is not your place to point fingers while our Rat Catcher Squad is working!"

"Brother Qiming, Clerk Wang is the deputy captain of the Rat Catcher Squad; his status is second only to Lady Jiang Lianyue."

Luo Wen remained calm, secretly reminding Li Qiming.

Li Qiming nodded. This Clerk Wang was an Organ Refining martial artist, no weaker than Jiang Lianyue, so it made perfect sense for him to be the deputy captain.

But.

Li Qiming looked at Clerk Wang. Old Yuan had previously warned him that this bearded Clerk Wang held a very high position in the yamen, second only to the county magistrate.

Old Yuan had also warned him never to oppose him, otherwise, it would be a violation of the Great Yan Statutes.

The severe consequences would lead to being targeted and wanted by the government.

Even so, Li Qiming did not fear him in the slightest. He said in a deep voice: "However, they are indeed rat demons."

"You... you are slandering us!" one of the women glared viciously at Li Qiming, cursing him angrily.

"Oh, Heavens! Open your eyes and look at this young man! He is framing us innocent commoners!"

"Squire Li treated us with great kindness, like our own parents reborn. How could we be demons?!"

"You brat in the black robe, if you don't explain yourself clearly today, we won't let you off!"

"Clerk, you must uphold justice for us!"

Li Qiming seemed to have incurred the wrath of the crowd.

He looked coldly at the few women crying out their grievances.

He couldn't help but sigh; these demons were quite skilled at controlling people. This performance was filled with intense emotion and was incredibly lifelike.

It was as if they were real people—absolutely seamless.

If he didn't have the Demon Subduing Eye, he wouldn't be able to tell the truth from the fake.

This feeling was as incredible as an AI possessing human emotions.

"Heh." Clerk Wang gave a cold laugh.

With a wave of his large hand, everyone quieted down.

"Kid, whether they are demons or not is not for you or me to decide."

As he spoke, Clerk Wang stepped aside, revealing a young, immature boy in white robes standing behind him.

"Although the Great Arcanist is severely injured and unable to act, I specifically sent someone to the Demon Suppression Division to invite an Arcanist Apprentice!"

"This apprentice has reached the introductory level of the Qi Gazing Technique. Let him perform it to get to the bottom of this. Whether these women are human or demon will naturally be revealed!"

"Arcanist, please."

The fresh-faced Arcanist Apprentice nodded, and then a faint cyan light shone from his eyes.

After a long while, the cyan light faded.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the young arcanist slowly shook his head: "They are human, not demons."

"Kid! Did you hear clearly what the arcanist said? Get lost and go back to hauling your corpses!"

Clerk Wang immediately widened his bull-like eyes and shouted sternly.

Before Li Qiming could even speak, Shen Changsheng stepped forward and said coldly:

"Clerk Wang, Li Qiming is the chief disciple of my Dragon Roar Martial Hall. He came here to subdue demons and eliminate evil as well!"

"Hmm? Heh, but he is currently a Filth Worker for the yamen. I am not targeting the Dragon Roar Martial Hall; aren't you being a bit too sensitive?"

Clerk Wang chuckled, his face turning cold.

"Clerk Wang, I am the captain here. Your words today have truly been a bit excessive."

Jiang Lianyue cast a dissatisfied glance at him.

Clerk Wang's face turned ashen. He cupped his hands toward Jiang Lianyue and said, "Lord Jiang is right, but I am only thinking of the safety of the innocent commoners!"

"The Artificer just said it himself: these few female attendants are not demons, but humans!"

"Yet Li Qiming claims they are demons? May I ask, what is his motive? If he cannot explain himself clearly... I suspect that Li Qiming is the one who is a demon!"

Li Qiming shook his head; this guy was becoming increasingly absurd.

"It is actually quite simple... when a demon dies, its true form will inevitably be revealed!"

As he spoke, Li Qiming kicked his foot out.

Instantly, several egg-sized stones from the cobblestone ground whistled through the air, shooting straight toward the female attendants!

Just as they were about to strike the center of the women's foreheads.

Clang!

Clerk Wang suddenly drew his blade and swung, easily deflecting the stones away.

"Kid, you dare to kill the innocent? I am placing you under arrest!"

"Heh, who dares to touch my junior brother?"

Shen Changsheng drew his sword with a dragon's roar, shielding Li Qiming behind him.

"Kid, you are so protective; be careful, or I will arrest you along with him!" Clerk Wang threatened.

"Hmph." Shen Changsheng was completely unfazed. Holding his sword in one hand, he looked at the female attendants. "I happen to trust my junior brother. These women are too strange. Why did everyone in the mansion die, yet only they survived?"

"Heh, what? Do you want to kill the innocent too?" Clerk Wang narrowed his eyes, appearing ready to strike with thunderous force at any moment.

"If I wanted to kill them, you wouldn't be able to protect them," Shen Changsheng said coldly.

"Then you can try. Even if I cannot protect them, can the Great Yan Dynasty behind me not protect them?" Clerk Wang sneered coldly.

Just as a battle was about to break out.

"Actually, my senior brother doesn't even need to act; you wouldn't be able to protect them anyway."

Li Qiming suddenly spoke up.

"Kid, who do you think you are, to speak such big..." Before Clerk Wang could finish his sentence.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!!

The heads of the eight female attendants suddenly exploded one after another!

Everyone's heart skipped a beat.

They all turned to look at Li Qiming in astonishment.

They saw the faint, ghostly blue light in Li Qiming's eyes slowly fading away.

"Kid, you really are a demon!" Clerk Wang roared in fury, swinging his blade directly at Li Qiming.

Clang!

Jiang Lianyue drew her sword and knocked him back.

"Clerk Wang, look," she said, pointing at the corpses of the women.

Everyone focused their gaze.

They saw eight rat heads, covered in white fur, protruding from the exploded skulls of the female attendants!

The evidence was irrefutable!

"Hiss! These female attendants really were demons!"

"Clerk Wang, it seems you were truly wrong! You were blinded by these demons!"

"It is fortunate that Li Qiming acted, otherwise we really would have been played for fools by these demons!"

The crowd looked at Li Qiming with eyes full of awe and wonder.