Return to the City! Shaobing! Testing the Wang Family!

Return to the City! Shaobing! Testing the Wang Family! The noon sunlight spilled over the village entrance. What should have been a lively, peaceful village scene was now utterly silent, quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

Several farmers stood frozen where they were, their faces filled with disbelief.

Old Fang looked as though he had been struck by lightning, rooted to the spot with his eyes wide as saucers.

Just moments ago, his heart had been drowning in despair: If only I had known... My life is over... My wife is doomed...

Yet in the blink of an eye, the situation had made a complete three-hundred-and-sixty-degree turn.

A terrifying Second-Order Rat Demon had simply dropped dead like that?

Head Constable Mu seemed to have used only one slash...

Fucking terrifying!

Clang!

The wild swings of emotion made a person's body go limp in an instant, and Li Chuang was no exception.

The saber he had been gripping tightly fell to the ground. After Mu Yang patted him on the shoulder, his legs gave out, and he sat down hard.

He stared at Mu Yang's upright figure, then at the beheaded Rat Demon on the ground, utterly dumbfounded.

Just now, he had been prepared to risk his life to hold the demon back and buy Mu Yang time to escape.

Yet Head Constable Mu had not even needed a second slash.

Under the sunlight, a breeze swept past, making Mu Yang's dark black constable uniform flutter loudly.

For one brief moment, Li Chuang truly felt that even the immortals of legend must have looked this heroic.

"Clean this up. We're returning to the city."

Mu Yang's voice rang out, and only then did Li Chuang and Old Fang awaken as if from a dream.

[Equippable Item: Rat Demon Corpse (Complete)]

[Rank: Second-Order]

[Equipment Effects: ① Sturdy Physique (White): A minor improvement to physical constitution (comprehensive increases to bodily strength, total stamina, and reaction speed).]

[② Qi-Blood Abundance (White): A minor increase to total Blood Qi.]

[③ Keen Sense of Smell (Blue): A minor enhancement to olfactory perception, allowing the clear distinction of all surrounding scents and auras. When Blood Qi is concentrated at the tip of the nose, olfactory perception can be enhanced to a far greater degree.]

[Permanent Solidification Condition: Equip this item for ten full days, or kill any Second-Order or higher demonic beast while it is equipped.]

While Li Chuang and Old Fang used large burlap sacks to collect the corpses, Mu Yang glanced at the Rat Demon's status panel.

What surprised him was that, beyond the standard Sturdy Physique and Qi-Blood Abundance white traits, it actually possessed a blue-quality trait.

Keen Sense of Smell.

A trait that could increase olfactory perception.

No wonder the Rat Demon had appeared at the village entrance so quickly. It had caught the scent beforehand.

Once he returned and equipped the Rat Demon Corpse to gain this ability, then equipped the Hundred Shadow Flying Needles, he would be able to face enemies lurking in the shadows far more calmly in the future.

After the two had packed up Li Shoucai's and the Rat Demon's corpses, Mu Yang did not linger. Amid the grateful and awestruck gazes of Li Chuang, Seventh Uncle, and the others, he mounted the Post Horse and headed toward the city.

By the time the three reached the outskirts, the horizon had already been stained crimson.

This twilight hour, when the sky was neither fully bright nor fully dark, was the liveliest time in the city.

After a busy day, the common people would call up a few friends for a drink, or buy some food and hurry home to reunite with their wives and children.

Wang Erniu was one of them.

Though he came from the Wang Family, one of the Three Great Families, he was merely a descendant of a peripheral branch. Aside from his surname, he had nothing worth mentioning.

Fortunately, relying on the Wang Family's reputation, he had barely managed to secure a job as a city gate guard.

The pay was not much, but with the Wang Family's name behind him, he had not skimmed any small amount of extra profit either.

"Brother Wang, after we get off duty, want to have a drink at Yihong Brothel? I heard there's a newcomer opening her doors tonight!" the guard beside Wang Erniu said with a lewd grin.

Yihong Brothel was a place similar to Fragrant Pavilion, except it was far more affordable than the extravagantly expensive Fragrant Pavilion.

Drinking, watching dances, and spending the night would not cost much altogether.

"A newcomer? Wonderful. Newcomers are my favorite. That scent of theirs is so fragrant... Blegh!"

Wang Erniu grinned, still savoring something in his mind, when the foul stench that rushed into his nostrils suddenly made him retch.

"Who the hell dares to take a shit in the street right in front of this city guard... Holy fuck!!!"

Wang Erniu had intended to put on a show of authority and squeeze out some profit, but the moment he raised his head, he could not stop himself from shuddering.

A demon's head!

A gigantic Rat Demon head, far larger than a human's, was currently staring at him with its green, gleaming eyes.

"A demon!?"

The guard beside Wang Erniu was equally shocked, instinctively tightening his grip on the wooden-shafted spear in his hand.

Though they had often heard rumors of demons outside the city, this was their first time seeing one with their own eyes.

If the demon corpse had not been lying across the Post Horse's back, they would likely have already scrambled into the city in terror.

"Con... Constable Mu!?"

The other guards nearby were also startled. Seeing Mu Yang and the other two riding over, expressions of disbelief immediately appeared on their faces.

Quite a few of them knew Mu Yang.

A newcomer who had only recently become a constable had actually slain a demon?

And judging by the situation, he was even the leader of the group!

"Did you kill this?"

Someone asked cautiously.

Mu Yang gave a slight nod. Old Fang, beside him, immediately said with great tact, "A Rat Demon suddenly appeared in Li Village. Fortunately, our Head Constable Mu arrived in time, eliminating the danger and saving an entire village!"

Though Old Fang lacked both strength and courage, he was skilled at reading expressions and judging the situation.

Naturally, he would not let an opportunity to flatter Mu Yang and build his reputation slip away.

"Hiss... Constable Mu really did kill it!"

"Head Constable Mu is amazing!"

"A Rat Demon that huge must have been terrifying when it was alive!"

The surrounding guards and the merchants not far from the city gate all showed astonishment, breaking into a flurry of discussion.

Seeing the shock and admiration on everyone's faces, Li Chuang puffed out his chest, feeling honored as though he had shared in the glory.

Even Old Fang could not help feeling proud, completely forgetting how regretful and terrified he had been back in Li Village.

Mu Yang, however, did not react much. His expression remained calm as he dismounted, then led Li Chuang and Old Fang into the city.

"Brother Yang, great hero, have some shaobing!"

Mu Yang had only led the horse a short distance when a bright-eyed, sturdy little boy came running over, holding out a paper-wrapped, freshly baked shaobing.

Not far away stood an old man with a slightly hunched back and a face full of wrinkles.

This was the little boy's grandfather, Mu Yang's neighbor, Old Man Shaobing. His surname was Feng, and he sold shaobing. Mu Yang had eaten them ever since he was little.

"Thanks."

Mu Yang smiled as he accepted the shaobing the boy offered and ruffled his hair.

"Brother Yang, when I grow up, I'll become an amazing constable just like you!" The little boy blinked his bright eyes and spoke with a cheerful grin. He even stood on tiptoe and curiously glanced at the Rat Demon corpse a few times.

After looking, he did not even give Mu Yang a chance to pull out any copper coins before darting back to his grandfather in a puff of smoke.

Mu Yang paused, then smiled and nodded at Old Man Shaobing.

A paper-wrapped shaobing was worth only a few coins, but the feeling was rather unusual.

After giving one shaobing each to Old Fang and Li Chuang, Mu Yang said, "Old Fang, take Li Chuang and Li Shoucai's corpse to the Constabulary first."

"Head Constable, should we tell the truth?"

Li Shoucai colluding with the Rat Demon was a minor matter. Involving the Wang Family was the major one.

Old Fang could not gauge Mu Yang's intentions and could only ask.

"Just tell the truth."

Mu Yang said.

Times had changed. Having completed Tendon Tempering and Bone Forging twice, and with a Second-Order Demon Corpse still available to him, he now possessed strength nearly comparable to Perfection in the Blood-Marrow Realm.

Though the Wang Family's name was impressive, it was ultimately confined to Qingxi County.

According to Wu Cai, neither the yamen nor the Three Great Families possessed any fourth-order martial artist. In other words, he was now already one of the county's top combatants and had no fear of the Wang Family.

He could use Li Shoucai as an excuse to test the Wang Family's response.

Best of all would be for them to strike first, so that he could "helplessly" "counterattack in self-defense."