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

Back to the City! Shaobing! Testing the Wang Family! Noon sunlight spilled over the village entrance. What should have been a lively, peaceful village scene was now silent enough to hear a needle drop.

Several farmers stood frozen in place, their faces written all over with disbelief.

Old Fang looked as though he had been struck by thunder, rigid where he stood, his eyes round as saucers.

Just moments ago, his heart had been full of despairing thoughts: If only I hadn't... My life is over! My wife is doomed!

Who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, the situation would make a full three-hundred-and-sixty-degree turn?

A terrifying Second Rank Rat Demon had simply gone down like that?

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

Fucking terrifying!

"Clang!"

Such wild emotional swings could make a person's body go limp in an instant. Li Chuang was exactly like that.

The saber clenched in his hand fell to the ground. After Mu Yang patted his 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 Monster back and buy Mu Yang time to flee.

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 snap and flutter in the wind.

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

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

At Mu Yang's voice, Li Chuang and Old Fang finally snapped out of their daze.

[Equippable Item: Rat Demon Corpse (Complete)]

[Rank: Second Rank]

[Equipment Effects:]

① Sturdy Physique (White): Slightly enhanced physique (physical strength, total stamina, and reaction speed are all improved).

② Qi-Blood Abundance (White): Slightly increased total Blood Qi.

③ Keen Sense of Smell (Blue): Slightly enhanced olfactory perception, allowing one to clearly distinguish all kinds of surrounding scents and auras. When Blood Qi is concentrated at the tip of the nose, olfactory perception can be enhanced to an even greater degree.

[Permanent Solidification Requirement: Equip this item for ten days, or kill any Second Rank or higher demon beast while this item is equipped.]

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

What surprised him was that, aside from the standard White Traits of Sturdy Physique and Qi-Blood Abundance, it actually possessed a Blue Trait.

Keen Sense of Smell.

A trait that could enhance one's sense of smell.

No wonder this 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 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 reverent 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 outside the city, the horizon had already been stained red.

At this dusky hour, when the sky was neither fully bright nor fully dark, the city was at its liveliest.

After a day of labor, common folk would call up three or five 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 had been born into the Wang Family, one of the Three Great Families, he was merely a descendant of a remote collateral branch. Aside from his surname, he had nothing worth mentioning.

Fortunately, relying on the Wang Family's prestige, he had barely secured a job as a city gate guard.

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

"Brother Wang, after we get off duty, how about going to Yihong Brothel for a drink? I heard they have a newcomer opening her hair tonight!" the guard beside Wang Erniu said with a lewd chuckle.

Yihong Brothel was a place much like Fragrant Pavilion. However, compared to the extravagantly expensive Fragrant Pavilion, Yihong Brothel was far more accessible to ordinary people.

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

"A newcomer? Perfect. Newcomers are my favorite. That scent of theirs is so sweet... bleurgh!"

Wang Erniu chuckled, still savoring some memory, when a foul stench that entered his nostrils suddenly made him retch.

"Who the hell dares to take a dump in the street right in front of this city guard? Fuck!!!"

Wang Erniu had intended to throw his weight around and squeeze out some money, but when he raised his head, he could not help shuddering.

A demon head!

A massive Rat Demon head, far larger than an ordinary person's, was staring at him with glowing green eyes.

"A Monster!?"

The guard beside Wang Erniu was equally startled and instinctively gripped the wooden-shafted spear in his hand.

They had often heard rumors of Monsters beyond the city walls, but this was the first time they had seen one with their own eyes.

If this Monster's corpse had not been draped over a post horse's back, they likely would have already fled into the city, tumbling and crawling in terror.

"C-Constable Mu!?"

The other guards nearby were also shocked. Seeing Mu Yang and his two companions riding over, they immediately revealed incredulous expressions.

Quite a few of them knew Mu Yang.

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

And from the looks of things, he was even the one leading the group!

"Did you kill this?"

Someone cautiously asked.

Mu Yang nodded slightly. Old Fang, standing beside him, promptly said, "A Rat Demon suddenly appeared in Li Village. Fortunately, our Head Constable Mu arrived in time, eliminating the disaster and saving the lives of an entire village!"

Though Old Fang lacked strength and courage, he was skilled at reading people and situations.

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

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

"Head Constable Mu is amazing!"

"Such a huge Rat Demon—how terrifying must it have been while alive?"

The surrounding guards and merchants not far from the city gate all looked astonished, breaking into lively discussion.

Seeing the shock and admiration on everyone's faces, Li Chuang puffed out his chest, sharing in the glory.

Even Old Fang could not help feeling proud, having completely forgotten the regret and fear he had felt back in Li Village.

Mu Yang did not react much. He simply dismounted with a calm expression, then led Li Chuang and Old Fang into the city.

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

Mu Yang had only led his horse a short distance when a sturdy little boy came running over, holding up a paper-wrapped shaobing fresh from the oven.

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. His surname was Feng, and he sold shaobing for a living. Mu Yang had eaten his shaobing ever since he was little.

"Thanks."

Mu Yang smiled as he accepted the shaobing the boy offered him and rubbed his head.

"Brother Yang, I'm going to become an amazing constable like you someday!" the little boy said with a grin, his bright eyes sparkling. He even rose onto his tiptoes to curiously glance at the Rat Demon's corpse a few times.

After looking, he did not even give Mu Yang a chance to take out any copper coins before scampering back to his grandfather.

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 special.

After giving one shaobing each to Old Fang and Li Chuang, Mu Yang said, "Old Fang, you and Li Chuang take Li Shoucai's body 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 real problem.

Unable to gauge Mu Yang's intentions, Old Fang could only ask.

"Just tell the truth."

Mu Yang said.

Times had changed. Having completed the Second Tendon-Tempering and Bone Forging and possessing a Second-Order Demon Corpse, he now had strength nearly comparable to Blood-Marrow Realm Perfection.

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

According to Wu Cai, neither the yamen nor the Three Great Families had a Fourth Rank martial artist. In other words, he was now one of the county's top combatants and had no reason to fear the Wang Family.

He could use Li Shoucai as a pretext to test the Wang Family's reaction.

It would be best if they took the initiative to act. That way, he could "helplessly" "counterattack in self-defense."