A dozen streaks of blood-red light spread from his body, seeming almost alive.
They instantly pounced upon the people.
"No! Help! It hurts, it hurts so much!"
A woman screamed in anguish. She wore fine silk and looked to be around forty; she was probably Li Guangliang's wife.
A mass of blood-red light clung to her and spread across her body like a spiderweb, draining the vital essence from her blood.
Her body visibly shriveled before finally becoming a dried corpse.
A fleck of blood-red light rose from the corpse and returned to the sinister man.
His face grew ever more flushed, and blood-red light surged through his body like a mighty river.
"That feels wonderful." A twisted face spoke in praise.
Li Qing watched silently from the side. He had realized that this seemed to be some kind of illusion.
"The files said Ghost Sound couldn't create illusions."
"Looks like I hit the jackpot. I've stumbled upon a case that was judged incorrectly."
His expression turned grave, his face growing ever more somber.
His gaze fell on the man.
After killing everyone, the man walked straight toward a small building in the rear courtyard.
Li Qing quietly followed. He felt that the mysterious young man had gone on a killing spree for some other purpose.
Li Qing followed the young man into the building. The man went straight to the second floor, where there was a study.
The man soon found a hidden compartment in the study.
When he opened it, he found a secret letter inside.
"Hmph. How laughable. You actually dared to oppose my Demon Sect."
With the letter in hand, a flash of blood-red flame passed over it, burning it to ash.
He left the building and piled all the dead bodies into a house in the inner courtyard.
He set them all ablaze, burning the place to the ground.
At that point, the scene before him shattered like glass.
The surroundings turned gloomy once more, as if everything that had just happened had been nothing but an illusion.
"Wuwu..."
"Wuwuwu..."
The crying started up again. Li Qing turned to look behind him.
At some point, a spectral woman in white had appeared, her hair hanging loose. She stood about two zhang away.
Li Qing silently watched the phantom woman. He recognized her clothes.
She was the daughter of the Water Transport Councilor Mansion. For some unknown reason, she had become an unknown Anomaly.
Li Qing gripped the Spirit Summoning Tablet in his left hand. He could attack at any moment.
He took a deep breath. "Can you speak?"
"Wuwuwu..."
Amid the sobbing, the white phantom suddenly moved.
Her face twisted, her eyes filled with nothing but boundless resentment. There was no reason or emotion in them.
She lunged fiercely at Li Qing. He shook his head helplessly.
He poured vital essence into the Spirit Summoning Tablet, and a phantom Flood Dragon burst forth.
The dragon's mighty roar exploded through the air. The phantom woman instantly stiffened at the sound, losing all sense of self.
The Flood Dragon pounced on the phantom woman and bit her in half. It tore with its claws, and she was reduced to fragments.
The woman's fragments turned into flecks of Radiance and vanished without a trace. A round Essence Stone and a black talisman fell to the ground.
The Flood Dragon returned to the Spirit Summoning Tablet. Li Qing strode over and picked up the Essence Stone.
The Jade Tablet in his mind gave a slight twitch, and the vital essence in the Essence Stone was drained away.
Another wisp of vital essence flowed out and quickly merged into the Spirit Blood Art.
His vital essence circulated rapidly. In just a few breaths, his total capacity rose again, reaching three-fifths of his bloodline's capacity.
"With two more Essence Stones, I'll reach the peak of Essence Refining."
"According to those journals, it usually takes two or three years to go from an ordinary person to the peak of Essence Refining."
"I'm almost there after just a few days. I really am a peerless genius."
"It's all thanks to my hard work!"
A smile appeared on Li Qing's face. His gaze fell on the black talisman.
The pitch-black talisman was extremely strange. It bore an unusual pattern that seemed to be a ghost's face.
Frowning slightly, he took a sheet of scrap paper from his clothes and wrapped the talisman in it.
There was clearly something hidden in this case. Bringing it back would make for good evidence.
His merit might even increase.
He left without a sound, and the entire Water Transport Councilor Mansion seemed to return to peace.
A phantom shadow suddenly appeared above the ruins.
An invisible gaze seemed to search for something.
The next moment, the shadow vanished.
In a dim room, a Ghost Mask Daoist sat cross-legged, wearing a ghost-mask.
The shadow returned and merged into his body. A cold glint appeared in his eyes.
"Damn it. Who destroyed my Illusion Ghost?"
"My Five Ghost Transportation will be delayed again."
"I finally managed to gain a little advantage by following those Blood Demon Sect bastards."
"Just my luck."
"Perhaps I should consider Young Master Blood Spirit's invitation."
Early the next morning, Li Qing arrived at the Demon Extermination Hall.
He found Wen Taiquan. "Good morning, Brother Wen."
Wen Taiquan looked at Li Qing, surprise in his eyes.
"You're positively glowing. Looks like yesterday's case has been solved?"
Li Qing smiled faintly. "It has, though there are some problems."
"Take a look."
As he spoke, he took out a handkerchief. Inside was a black talisman.
Wen Taiquan glanced at it, furrowed his brow, and said, "This is a Ghost Raising Talisman from the Reincarnation Ghost Hall."
"This is something Ghost Path cultivators use?"
"Are you saying someone was raising ghosts in that case?"
"Are ghosts a kind of Anomaly?" Li Qing asked curiously.
"Yes. Everything in this world that humans can't understand exists because of Anomalies."
"Ghosts included. They're formed from human souls or spirits combined with vital essence."
Li Qing nodded slightly. "There was a problem with yesterday's assignment."
"It wasn't Ghost Sound, but an Anomaly capable of creating illusions."
"I saw everything that happened when the Water Transport Councilor Mansion was destroyed."
Wen Taiquan was visibly startled by Li Qing's words. "You know the truth? This case was officially registered. There'll be a substantial reward once the truth is found."
"It's worth at least one Grade-A assignment, or ten contribution points."
Li Qing's eyes lit up. He thought it over before speaking.
"Here's what happened..."
Li Qing held nothing back and quickly told Wen Taiquan everything he had seen.
Wen Taiquan's expression turned solemn. "Don't tell anyone else about this."
"I'll report it to the higher-ups. Your reward will be issued soon."
"I'll also mention this assignment to Elder Huang. You'll probably be reassigned to Grade B."
"Anomalies capable of creating illusions are usually quite dangerous."
Li Qing nodded slightly. "Then I'll look forward to it."
"I earned fifteen merit points in one trip? That means I can pick out a few cultivation methods!" A hint of delight appeared on Li Qing's face.