Police Station

Steward Huang walked in quietly, treating the corpse on the floor as though it did not exist. "Master, the Corpse Daoist is in that man's room and seems to be searching for something. But after searching for a while, he stopped. There has been no movement since."

Dong Lei nodded slightly and said in a low voice, "Leave him be. Just keep a careful eye on him."

Steward Huang nodded slightly and walked out again.

As he left, however, he also carried away the corpse on the floor. His movements were light and agile, and the body seemed to weigh nothing in his hands.

Clearly, Steward Huang also hid his true abilities, possessing superb internal martial arts.

[Yakshas Meditation Method proficiency +1]

Zhou Yan opened his eyes in excitement. He had never expected to grasp the basics of the meditation method so quickly.

It seemed his talent for cultivation was even greater than he had originally anticipated.

He stood up, pushed open the door, and saw that dawn was gradually approaching outside.

If he did not leave now, once the sun rose, his zombie would suffer considerable damage even with its entire body covered by the bamboo hat.

He should have left last night, but his attention had been entirely focused on intimidating the people of Dong Mansion. Afterward, he had become absorbed in his spoils and overlooked the matter.

Ultimately, he had only been a cultivator for a short time and lacked experience.

"Let's go."

Once Zhou Yan realized this, he hesitated no further and immediately headed outside.

Along the way, many servants of Dong Mansion saw Zhou Yan, but not one dared approach him.

Soon, Steward Huang arrived.

"Master, are you...?" Steward Huang stepped forward and asked respectfully.

Zhou Yan nodded slightly to Steward Huang. "Sorry for the trouble, Steward Huang, but please let Master Dong know that I have completed the commission. Naturally, it is time for me to leave."

At these words, Steward Huang inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

On the surface, however, he remained courteous. "Master, my master has only just gone to bed. Why not wait for him to see you off personally?"

"No need. I have an urgent matter to attend to, so I won't be saying goodbye to Master Dong."

Zhou Yan wasted no more words. With Steward Huang seeing him off, he left Dong Mansion.

Watching Zhou Yan's figure gradually recede into the distance, Steward Huang narrowed his eyes slightly and ordered the servants to close the mansion gates again.

Over the next few days, Dong Mansion would have far too many matters to deal with.

Zhou Yan had just turned onto another street when he saw Ma Yan rushing toward him with an excited expression.

"Brother-in-law, you waited for me all night?"

Seeing the obvious traces of water on Ma Yan's clothes, he felt a faint warmth in his heart.

Ma Yan smiled unconcernedly. "I was worried about you, wasn't I? You told me to leave Dong Mansion, which wasn't part of our original plan. I knew something must have gone wrong, so I didn't dare take it lightly.

"Now that I've seen you safe and sound, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief."

Zhou Yan shook his head slightly. "Plans never keep pace with change. Undercurrents were swirling through Dong Mansion, and everything was tangled together. In those circumstances, never mind making a name for ourselves—I was worried we would both get dragged into it."

"Yes. Two masters in a row had already met with disaster. I only found out afterward."

Ma Yan nodded gravely, a trace of lingering fear in his expression.

Had they known about this beforehand, they would never have waded into those muddy waters.

In their original plan, the greater purpose of this trip to Dong Mansion had been to make a name for themselves.

He would first enter Dong Mansion in the guise of a powerful master. After dealing with the evil spirit, his true identity would be discovered through a "chance coincidence," allowing him to gain fame.

Yet they had never expected Zhou Yan to discover so many things amiss after entering Dong Mansion.

Thus, he had sent Ma Yan out at the first opportunity.

If anything went wrong, he might not have been able to protect Ma Yan.

Fortunately, the final outcome had been much better than expected. Zhou Yan had also noticed the various warning signs in advance and struck first to seize the advantage without the slightest hesitation. Only then had he managed to intimidate everyone in Dong Mansion.

Otherwise, even if he had eventually made it out of Dong Mansion, no one could have predicted what might happen.

Now, Zhou Yan only wanted to stay far away from Dong Mansion.

What had seemed to be a case of a vicious ghost harming people involved not only sordid secrets in the inner household, but other, even deeper secrets as well. It made his hair stand on end.

"From now on, I really need to have a master, and this master absolutely must never show himself again," Zhou Yan told Ma Yan slowly.

Although he had done his best to intimidate them and dispel suspicion, he did not know how much the people of Dong Mansion had believed.

At the same time, Zhou Yan would not pin all his hopes on Dong Lei, so he needed to play the fox borrowing the tiger's might.

"Don't worry. I'll arrange everything." Ma Yan nodded.

Although he did not understand the sordid secrets of the wealthy as well as Zhou Yan did, his years as a constable had not been spent in vain.

Their only consolation now was that Dong Lei was an outsider. Although he had barely established a foothold in Shen City, his influence was insufficient, so they were not especially worried.

In these times, everyone lived unsure whether they would survive until evening. No one could truly sleep without a care.

Zhou Yan had also grown accustomed to such times. Although he felt some concern, he quickly suppressed it.

He had already done his best, so there was no point dwelling on it.

"Let's go home. I'll need to go into seclusion for a while again," Zhou Yan said lightly.

Hearing this, Ma Yan immediately grew interested. "Did Master Dong pay extra?"

In an instant, the way he addressed Dong Lei changed again.

"Three hundred silver dollars. Add in some unexpected gains, and it might come to around five hundred..." Zhou Yan said after silently making a rough estimate.

Although he thought little of those magic artifacts, they were all genuine magic artifacts, so their value could hardly be low.

If he had the right channels to sell them, those magic artifacts would fetch at least two or three hundred silver dollars.

At that thought, Zhou Yan once again secretly regretted giving Li Deyou the Five Emperors Coins.

Those coins were quite famous. With a little dressing up, they could have sold for at least fifty or sixty silver dollars.

"Five hundred silver dollars!"

Ma Yan's eyes lit up, and he could not keep the smile off his face.

Wasn't this exactly why they had taken such a risk?

"By the way, Brother-in-law, you've been a constable for several years now. How many silver dollars would it take for you to move up?" Zhou Yan suddenly asked.

He suddenly felt that relying on himself alone was far from enough.

If he could help Ma Yan advance another step, it would be better for both their families and for himself.

Especially since Ma Yan was currently only a constable at the lowest level and could not even carry a firearm.

Ma Yan's heart stirred. "I'm a first-class constable now. Once I'm promoted to third-class detective, I'll be allowed to carry a gun and handle cases independently. I'll also have authority over more than ten constables and be able to recruit men myself."

Because of Shen City's unique circumstances, it had virtually no military garrison.

Thus, the Police Station not only wielded considerable power, but also had a vast number of personnel, totaling nearly fifteen thousand.

It even had an Assault Brigade over three thousand strong, well equipped and no weaker than regular troops.