Shi Jun!!

After listening to Shi Meng's account, Wang Lang couldn't help but grumble inwardly:

Why did this plot reek so much of a third-rate script?

A woman had gone missing a month ago, and now demons were eating people these past few days?

His expression remained unchanged as he turned to Li Si.

"Patrolman Li, how should we proceed? You have more experience, so you call the shots."

Patrolman Li frowned deeply. How could he fail to see that there might be something suspicious behind all this?

But the female victim was neither found alive nor dead, while more than a dozen hooligans had had their internal organs hollowed out.

No matter what, capturing the demon causing trouble and preventing the situation from worsening was the duty of a patrolman of the Demon Subduing Division.

He said in a low voice, "Young Master Wang, this matter cannot be rushed. That demon is quite cunning, and its tracks are difficult to find. We must make long-term plans."

Wang Lang nodded in agreement, but his gaze could not help drifting toward Xuan Cheng at the side.

This old Daoist had appeared far too conveniently. Wang Lang had only just arrived at Creek Stone Village to examine the corpses when he happened to be passing through on his travels, and had even taken the initiative to analyze why the demon had committed its crimes.

Using blood meals to cultivate, avenging grievances, being driven by someone...

His analysis was clear and orderly, yet in the end, he seemed to be guiding the clues toward revenge.

Wang Lang secretly scrutinized him, but Xuan Cheng's senses were exceptionally sharp. He immediately returned a kindly smile.

Wang Lang's face remained calm, but inwardly, he had already slapped a label on the old Daoist: suspicious person, handle with caution.

If Xuan Cheng knew what Wang Lang was thinking, he would surely jump up and curse:

"This poor Daoist's Daoist name is Xuan Cheng! Cheng as in honesty! How can you slander an innocent man out of thin air, boy?!"

He had truly only happened to pass through this place.

At that moment, Xuan Cheng suggested, "How about we split up and look for more clues?"

Patrolman Li had been worrying over the shortage of manpower, and he was overjoyed at this. "That would be excellent! Many thanks to Senior Xuan Cheng!

"This junior will continue investigating the surroundings of the village carefully, to see whether any traces have been overlooked, while also calming the villagers."

Wang Lang nodded as well. "Then I'll take a look at the Back Mountain. There's a good chance the demon is hiding there."

Shi Meng immediately stepped forward and pointed out the exact direction leading to the village's Back Mountain.

With the plan settled, the group split up and began their separate tasks.

Wang Lang looked at the sky. The sun had already risen higher, and he calculated that it would be best to settle this matter today.

However, the world rarely went as one wished.

Creek Stone Village's Back Mountain was less a mountain than a stretch of rolling hills.

The trees were not especially dense, but ravines crisscrossed the land and weeds grew rampant. An ordinary person could easily lose their way inside.

Wang Lang moved swiftly through the woods.

He searched from morning until the sun slanted westward, investigating nearly every place on the Back Mountain where the demon might be hiding.

The result was disappointing.

Other than discovering a few ordinary traces of wild animals and some long-abandoned graves,

he found no useful clues related to the demon, nor did he sense any obvious gathering point of demon qi or traces of battle.

"Looks like this demon is either exceptionally skilled at hiding, or... its lair isn't on the Back Mountain at all."

Night fell as expected, and the chill of an autumn evening spread with the mountain wind.

Creek Stone Village was shrouded in a tense, silent atmosphere.

To avoid unnecessary casualties, and also to lure the snake from its hole,

under Patrolman Li and Xuan Cheng's organization, all the able-bodied young men in the village were mobilized.

Sixty strong young men were divided into six teams of ten, each led by someone with a bit of standing in the village or a particularly sturdy build.

They were responsible for patrolling and standing guard at several main roads around the village and in the directions from which the demon might infiltrate.

The remaining women, children, elderly, and weak were all gathered in the open space before the ancestral hall at the center of the village.

Several bold women and elders watched over them, lighting several bonfires that could ward off the cold and provide light,

while also bolstering their courage to some extent and allowing them to look after one another.

During the day, Daoist Xuan Cheng had declared that since the demon targeted evildoers and acted mostly at night, it either did so by nature or had something to fear.

Now that nearly all the villains in the village had been wiped out, if it had not yet left, it would most likely strike again.

With these arrangements, so long as the demon dared show itself, the patrol teams would immediately fire a Signal Flare upon discovering anything unusual. Everyone could then swiftly encircle it and make sure it came but never returned.

As for where the Signal Flares had come from, they were standard equipment Patrolman Li carried with him from the Demon Subduing Division.

Pulling the igniter would send one soaring into the sky, bursting with a conspicuous red light and a piercing whistle, enough for people within several li to see and hear clearly.

The team Shi Meng was assigned to happened to be led by Wang Lang, and their patrol area included several roads at the eastern end of the village near the Back Mountain.

Wang Lang was far stronger than the others, so he naturally walked at the very front of the group.

The night dew grew heavier. The air was filled with the scent of earth and vegetation, mixed with... buzzing.

Autumn was precisely the season when mosquitoes ran most rampant.

A crisp slap rang out, especially abrupt in the silent night.

Shi Meng expressionlessly lowered his hand from his cheek.

Under the faint natural light, a small smear of blood and the remains of a mosquito could be seen in his palm.

He silently recited in his heart, You vile beast, you suck my qi and blood and disturb my mind. You have already earned your death!

Then Shi Meng secretly glanced at Wang Lang, who was walking at the front, his eyes revealing undisguised envy.

Wang Lang seemed to be enveloped in an invisible aura. Not a single annoying mosquito dared approach within three feet of him.

"Ah, as expected of a cultivator in the Qi Induction Realm. Even mosquitoes don't dare provoke him.

"I'm only at the first level of Body Tempering. It's true that my skin is rough and my flesh thick, but I still can't stop these little things that slip through every hole."

Shi Meng thought bitterly.

They patrolled several designated road crossings in succession, but aside from the occasional barking dog or chirping insect, there was nothing unusual.

The night deepened, the temperature dropped, and a thin layer of mist began spreading through the air, lending the scene several more shades of eeriness.

Wang Lang looked up at the pitch-black night sky, dark as ink and devoid of stars or moon. He stopped, then turned to Shi Meng beside him and asked:

"Shi Meng, the dozen or so people who were killed before were, according to you, idle hooligans in the village. Aside from them, are there any others in the village with similar character who have not yet been killed?"

At those words, Shi Meng's thick black brows drew together as he thought carefully.

"Young Master Wang, now that you mention it, there really is one! The village chief's son, Shi Jun!

"That brat is usually lazy and gluttonous too. Relying on his father being the village chief, he's done no shortage of shameless things—stealing chickens and dogs, teasing young maidens and married women!

"I've taught him a lesson a few times before, but each time I held back out of respect for the village chief.

"Since the village started suffering one incident after another recently, that brat has been scared out of his wits. He's behaved much better, hiding at home every day and not daring to go outside."

A sharp glint flashed through Wang Lang's eyes. He nodded. "Come on. Let's take a look near the village chief's house."

By process of elimination, if the demon truly targeted evildoers, then among those remaining in the village, the one most likely worthy of its attention was probably the village chief's son.