The scene had grown somewhat quiet. Yang Ye, Wang Changye, and the others arrived one after another, staring at the corpses on the ground in shock.
"Whew..."
Yang Ye drew a deep breath. He walked over to the corpse ghoul, crouched down, and examined it. The shock in his eyes could no longer be suppressed.
"This... this..."
Yang Ye opened his mouth, finding it difficult to accept for a moment. "Beheaded with a single sword strike! This corpse ghoul was decapitated by a swordsmanship master with one slash."
"One sword strike!"
"Just one sword strike!"
"What?!"
Wang Changye's eyes widened. Upon hearing Yang Ye's words, he too was shocked. He hurried over, crouched down, and inspected the corpse ghoul's body.
"It really was beheaded with one sword strike."
Wang Changye saw it as well. "In Qingbei Town's outer district, there can't be many masters with swordsmanship so formidable that they could cut off a corpse ghoul's head in one strike."
"That's right."
Yang Ye nodded. "The cut is so smooth. In Qingbei Town's outer district, there truly aren't many who could accomplish such swordsmanship."
"Xu Qing."
Yang Ye raised his head and looked toward Xu Qing. "You were the first to arrive at the scene. Did you see anyone else when you got here?"
"N-No."
Xu Qing shook his head. His gaze was blank, and so was his expression. "I only arrived a little earlier than Captain Yang and the rest of you. I had barely arrived when you all showed up right after."
"Also."
"When I got here, I didn't see anyone else. I only saw this corpse ghoul's body on the ground. I don't know anything."
"What a pity."
Yang Ye shook his head. "If you had seen something, Xu Qing, we might have been able to determine which senior master took action and eliminated this corpse ghoul menace."
From beginning to end.
Everyone present.
Yang Ye, Wang Changye, and the others had never suspected Xu Qing. Naturally, they could never have imagined that Xu Qing was that 'swordsmanship master.'
However.
Only the two members following behind Xu Qing harbored slight doubts. In their view, with Xu Qing's speed and stride, he should have reached this place before them.
Of course.
They did not dwell on it any further.
The next day.
Before dawn.
Although a murder had occurred on Hongye Street, and a family of three had tragically been slaughtered by a corpse ghoul, the corpse ghoul had been eliminated. Thus, Yang Ye and the others had rendered merit.
Therefore.
When Xu Qing left that day, he received twelve taels of silver. Besides his daily wage of two taels, there was also a bonus of ten taels.
"Not bad."
Xu Qing nodded with satisfaction.
Before returning.
Xu Qing made a trip to the Azure Hawk Martial Arts School, spent another thirty taels of silver to buy three jin of Tai Sui Spirit Meat, and only then returned home to begin his cultivation for the day.
Time passed quickly.
Today was the third day of patrol duty.
At dusk.
"Whew..."
Xu Qing slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.
Eight Extremities Fist LV5: 140/160 (...)
"Only twenty experience points left."
Xu Qing pondered. "Forget it. I won't patrol tonight. I'll keep practicing martial arts. In four more hours, Eight Extremities Fist can rise another level."
With that thought.
Xu Qing settled his mind and continued practicing Eight Extremities Fist. As gusts of fist wind swept outward, he became immersed in the martial mysteries of Eight Extremities Fist.
Experience +1
Experience +1
Elsewhere.
The sky was already close to dark.
"Where is he?"
Yang Ye's expression was grim. It was only the third day of patrol duty. Aside from not being late yesterday, Xu Qing had not even shown up today.
"Captain Yang."
Wang Changye gave a cold laugh. "That corpse ghoul incident yesterday probably scared Xu Qing stiff, so he didn't dare come today."
"What a useless piece of trash."
Yang Ye drew a deep breath and cursed. "If it weren't for Constable Zhao's sake, I would have made him regret it the moment he dared to arrive late on the first day."
"Today, he didn't even come at all."
"Fine, fine, fine."
Yang Ye glanced at Wang Changye. "Wang Changye, from now on, you'll replace Xu Qing as Vice-Captain. You'll be the Vice-Captain."
"Thank you, Captain."
Wang Changye's face lit up with delight.
This way.
He would be able to receive twenty taels of silver tomorrow.
"Could Xu Qing really be scared?"
"Tsk, tsk..."
"A backdoor connection is still a backdoor connection. He really has no ability, and his guts are this small. He encountered one corpse ghoul yesterday, and today he doesn't dare come."
"Exactly..."
The other members also discussed it among themselves, their tones dripping with mockery.
In the blink of an eye.
Late at night.
"Ha!"
Boom!
Xu Qing threw a punch, and the force of his fist exploded. He glanced out the window. The sky outside had completely darkened, and many households had already snuffed out their candles.
Eight Extremities Fist LV5: 160/160 (Upgradeable!)
"Upgrade."
Xu Qing spoke softly.
Buzz!
The Omni-Codex flashed with fluorescent light. Before Xu Qing's eyes, countless tiny figures seemed to appear. Hovering between illusion and reality, they continuously practiced Eight Extremities Fist as they streamed into Xu Qing's mind.
Boom!
Xu Qing's mind shook. His consciousness seemed to enter a mysterious space. Within that mysterious space, he continuously deduced and practiced the martial mysteries of Eight Extremities Fist.
Gradually.
Eight Extremities Fist became increasingly profound and mysterious in Xu Qing's hands.
Eight Extremities Fist LV6: 0/320 (This is a profound boxing art that combines combat methods with training methods. Its movements are fierce and straightforward, its force swift, and its explosive power exceedingly strong. It can condense the strength of the flesh, blood, tendons, bones, and sinews throughout the body; force penetrates the tendons and bones, and hidden force forms naturally.)
Bang!
Xu Qing threw a punch. A ripple-like vibration faintly emerged around his fist. The hidden force within his body grew stronger, and his physical condition, bodily strength, and overall power all improved.
"Whew..."
Xu Qing exhaled a breath of stale air. Feeling the changes within himself, he nodded in satisfaction. "Eight Extremities Fist has reached level six, and the hidden force in my body has grown stronger as well."
"It's getting late."
Xu Qing looked at the sky again. "Last night, I deliberately found an excuse to ask Yang Ye. The authorities will probably trace me soon enough."
"By my calculations."
"Tomorrow will be the eleventh day since I joined the Azure Hawk Martial Arts School. It hasn't even been half a month. I had originally planned to reveal Azure Hawk Force after half a month."
"Now, it seems I can move that forward by a few days."
"As for this position in the Night Patrol Team, it is merely a transition for me. It is also a way to gather information and news about the authorities."
Afterward.
Xu Qing planned to return to his bedroom and rest.
"Ahhh!!!"
Suddenly.
Xu Qing had been lying on the bed for less than half an hour and had only just rested for a while when a shrill scream reached his ears.
"Hm?"
Xu Qing swiftly opened his eyes, a trace of surprise appearing on his face. He climbed out of bed, his gaze flashing as he retrieved an iron sword and a Ghost Mask from beside the bed.
Yu Chen had obtained the Ghost Mask for Xu Qing before.
"Record."
Xu Qing's gaze fell upon the Ghost Mask in his hand. His consciousness connected with the Omni-Codex. As the Omni-Codex flashed with fluorescent light, a streak of white light visible only to Xu Qing also passed over the Ghost Mask.
Ghost Mask Level 1: 0/5 (This is a mask made from fired clay by a skilled craftsman.)
At the same time.
A piece of information appeared in Xu Qing's mind, and he immediately learned how the Ghost Mask could gain experience points.
"It gains them by being worn."
Xu Qing said.
Thus.
Xu Qing put the Ghost Mask over his face.
In the blink of an eye.
One minute later.
Experience +1
"It gains one experience point for every minute it is worn on the face."
Xu Qing thought to himself.
"Go."
Xu Qing changed into a gray cloak, strapped the iron sword at his waist, and used the Serpent Evasion Technique to rush toward the scene at top speed.
"I'm here."
Four minutes later.
Xu Qing arrived at the scene.
At this moment.
Ghost Mask Level 1: 5/5 (Upgradeable!)
"Upgrade."
Xu Qing said.
Buzz!
White light flashed across the Ghost Mask.
The upgrade was complete.
Vaguely.
Xu Qing seemed to witness the Ghost Mask being cast anew in a furnace.
Ghost Mask LV2: 0/10 (This is a mask created by a skilled craftsman with the painstaking effort of his lifetime. It can conceal one's face and mask one's aura, though it is relatively easy to see through.)
"Oh."
Xu Qing's eyes flashed, and delight appeared on his face. "I didn't expect the Ghost Mask to gain such effects after rising one level. Not bad, not bad."
"This is very suitable for me."
Roar! Roar! Roar!!!
One could see.
The houses lining Hongye Street were tightly shut. Only a few bolder residents dared to peek through cracks in their doors.
Xu Qing saw three corpse ghouls in total. Like the ones yesterday, these three corpse ghouls had been strengthened after feeding on fresh flesh and blood.
Besides that.
Behind those three corpse ghouls stood a corpse monster covered from head to toe in black hair.
It was a Black-haired Zombie.
Generally speaking.
When a corpse underwent a corpse transformation, it began as nothing more than a corpse ghoul. After feeding on fresh flesh and blood, the corpse ghoul could be strengthened. Once it had consumed enough blood and flesh, and absorbed sufficient yin energy and corpse energy, it could advance into a Black-haired Zombie.
A Black-haired Zombie was not something an ordinary Bright Force martial artist could handle.
On the battlefield.
Yang Ye, Wang Changye, Qin Daniu, and ten other members were present. Of them, three members had already died on the spot, while the remaining seven had all suffered injuries to varying degrees.
Yang Ye, Wang Changye, and Qin Daniu were pale as well.
"When will reinforcements arrive?"
Wang Changye called out a question.
"Soon. We should be there any moment now,"
Yang Ye replied.
"I'm afraid we can't hold on much longer,"
Qin Daniu said.
With the Black-haired Zombie and three enhanced Corpse Ghouls, while Yang Ye's side had only two martial artists at the Ming Jin stage and a dozen or so others, they were simply no match.
By this point in the battle,
everyone had suffered injuries of varying severity, and three had already died.
If this continued,
Yang Ye and the others feared they would be wiped out to the last man.
"What exactly happened in the outer city?"
Xu Qing frowned. "Three enhanced Corpse Ghouls actually appeared this time, along with a Black-haired Zombie. Has the yamen become incapable of handling this?"
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