Chapter 43

Outside the window, all was silent.

Inside, Luo Qingchen pressed his palm against Yang Guang's chest. It was over in no time.

Not a drop was left!

Then he took all the silver Yang Guang had hidden beneath the floorboards, too.

Just as he was about to leave, his gaze suddenly fell on the corpse on the floor.

By the time the roof tiles had been quietly lifted and he slipped soundlessly out of the room, the heart of the corpse on the floor had already vanished.

"Clatter, clatter..."

Silver fell onto the table with a clear, pleasant ring.

Two hundred and twenty taels in all!

Adding the one hundred and nine taels he already had, he now possessed a vast fortune of three hundred and twenty-nine taels!

With his special Blood Sucking Skill on top of that, he had more than enough to break through to the Blood Changing Realm!

But before that, he had to take care of what came next.

Outside the window, the night deepened.

He didn't know whether any other danger lurked in the darkness.

He waited patiently in his room.

Only when the eastern sky began to grow pale, and there was still no sign of movement outside, did he open the door and step out.

Then he made his way to the Small Stone Hut not far away.

He boiled water and brewed the medicine.

The light outside was still dim. It seemed no other hunters had come calling tonight.

Amid the blazing flames in the stove, a withered heart soon burned to ash.

The medicinal concoction was ready soon after.

Luo Qingchen took off his clothes and stepped into the wooden tub.

As the scalding liquid enveloped his body, pain and pleasure washed over him together.

Without hesitation, he took out his dagger and reopened the wound that had yet to heal.

Blood flowed rapidly.

Inside him, the blood in the first Blood Bar dwindled quickly.

Before setting out tonight, he had already added all the 25% blood he'd absorbed from pig's blood to the first Blood Bar.

That was why his combat strength had remained at its peak during the fight.

Now, the blood in the first Blood Bar quickly fell back to where it had been that evening.

Only 70% remained.

His head began to spin, his body grew weak, and his heart started to race.

He fought the urge to replenish his blood.

The second Blood Bar still held the 95% blood he had just absorbed.

He cleared his mind and focused on absorbing the medicinal energy produced by the Demon Stone combining with the blood in the concoction.

Soon, the liquid in the tub began to fade in color.

Once he had absorbed all the medicinal effects, he climbed out of the tub and got dressed.

After cleaning the hut, he opened the door and left.

By then, dawn had begun to break.

The door to Yang Guang's room remained firmly shut.

At that hour, nobody knew he had become a dried corpse, lying on the cold floor of his room all night.

Luo Qingchen returned to his room, locked the door, set up his traps, and lay down on the bed.

He closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep.

At the same time.

In the innermost private room on the second-floor corridor of the building out front.

Qingmei stood by the window, watching the night slowly recede. She had spent the whole night in restless unease.

"That bastard didn't swindle my silver and go spend the night with some other cheap woman, did he?"

She seethed inwardly.

She hadn't slept all night, and no customers had come to see her either.

Now, wave after wave of drowsiness swept over her.

She had no choice but to return to bed and sleep.

The window remained open, waiting for him to come back.

Who knew how much time had passed? She was dreaming of leaving this place when a knock suddenly sounded at the door.

"Who is it?"

Bleary-eyed, she got out of bed, her voice full of irritation.

She hadn't slept well, and that bastard still hadn't come back. Who would knock at her door now?

Didn't they know she slept during the day?

"It's me! Open the door!"

Sister Sun's stern voice came from outside.

At the sound of it, Qingmei hurried over and opened the door. She was about to ask what was wrong when she caught sight of Sister Sun's ashen face.

"Yang Guang is dead."

Sister Sun's first words struck Qingmei like a thunderbolt from a clear sky.

Her body shuddered, her legs went weak, and she nearly fell.

Sister Sun fixed her with a dark stare. "The maids said Yang Guang came to your room last night. When did he leave?"

Qingmei's face turned deathly pale. Her lips trembled, and she stared blankly ahead, as if she hadn't heard. She muttered to herself, dazed, "My silver... my silver..."

Suddenly, she let out a shrill scream. "Sister Sun! Yang Guang is dead. What about his silver? Is it still there? It's all mine! I earned every last bit of it through hard work! Give it back to me!"

"Slap!"

Sister Sun smacked her hard across the face and snapped, "Idiot! What are you going crazy for? I'm asking you a question! You think you can get silver back after handing it over in a place like this? Dream on!"

At that, Qingmei crumpled to the floor and burst into wails.

Meanwhile.

Yang Guang's room in the rear courtyard was already surrounded by a crowd.

Zhou Qingyang of the Town Guard Bureau was among them.

Zhang Jiu went to knock on Luo Qingchen's door. He knocked for a long while before it finally creaked open.

Luo Qingchen stood in the doorway, pale-faced, looking at him in confusion.

Zhang Jiu said gravely, "Brother Luo, Yang Guang is dead. Did you hear anything in your room last night?"

Luo Qingchen stared blankly for a moment, then shook his head and asked, "How did he die?"

Before Zhang Jiu could answer, Zhou Qingyang came over with his men. He scrutinized Luo Qingchen with a sharp gaze, then said, "Just like Chen Ju and those two others, all his blood was drained. But this time, his heart was gone too."

Luo Qingchen's expression changed. "Was it that Heart-Plucking Monster again?"

Zhou Qingyang didn't answer immediately. He watched him closely for a few more moments, then said, "His throat bone was shattered. He was clearly struck with something heavy. As for whether it was that Heart-Plucking Monster, we can't be sure yet. Guard Luo, did Senior Brother Tian come down to collect blood again yesterday?"

Luo Qingchen nodded silently.

Zhou Qingyang said nothing more. He walked over, grabbed his wrist, and began examining the qi and blood in his body.

Zhang Jiu said from the side, "I helped Brother Luo back yesterday. He could barely walk. Senior Brother Tian was injured while out on a mission, so he took a large bowl of blood yesterday and said he'd come back in seven days."

"His qi and blood are indeed extremely weak."

After examining him, Zhou Qingyang let go of his hand.

But he wasn't done. He took a red jade stone from his robes and began carefully inspecting the room.

After finishing, he examined Luo Qingchen as well.

Then he took out another red jade stone and explained, "This one is a Demon Detecting Stone. Everyone in the building has to be checked."

With that, he placed it against Luo Qingchen's brow.

Zhang Jiu's face filled with alarm. "Captain Zhou suspects a Demonic Beast is hiding in the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion?"

Zhou Qingyang said gravely, "Draining blood and eating hearts aren't things human cultivators can do. We've searched the town for so long and still haven't found that monster. I'm afraid it's a powerful Demonic Beast that can possess someone, and it's hiding in someone's body right now."

Zhang Jiu's expression changed. He asked in confusion, "But if that's the case, shouldn't it be easy to find the person? A Demonic Beast couldn't conceal all its demonic aura while possessing someone. Their personality and behavior should change in some ways, shouldn't they?"

Zhou Qingyang put away the Demon Detecting Stone and glanced at him. "The kind of Demonic Beast you're talking about forcibly takes over someone's body. Those are easier to identify. There's another kind that relies on the strong desires and emotions in certain people's hearts. It tempts them first, then waits until they willingly accept it before possessing and fusing with them. Demonic Beasts like that retain all of a human's memories, even their feelings. They're very difficult to identify."

Zhang Jiu felt a chill run down his spine. "They retain all of a human's memories and feelings? If one disguised itself as a person, how could anyone tell? Isn't Uncle Wang guarding the entrance? How did a Demonic Beast get in?"

Zhou Qingyang stepped out of the room and said gravely, "The entrance isn't the only way in. They can come through the woods or the river. Come on, take me to the other guards. We'll inspect everyone and everything in the building today."

The group left in haste, their expressions grave.

Yang Guang's body was taken away too.

The rear courtyard fell quiet again.

Luo Qingchen stood in the doorway, his expression shifting slightly as he murmured Zhou Qingyang's words over and over.

"Relying on the strong desires and emotions in certain people's hearts... retaining all a human's memories, even their feelings..."

"Creak..."

Who knew how long had passed?

He slowly shut the door and disappeared once more into the darkness inside.