Missing Persons

Yang Xiao solidified Punching, waited for a time, and then successively placed Boulder Stake and Wind-Breaking Spear into his equipment slots.

[Boulder Stake]

[Effect 1: "Boulder Stake" proficiency reached perfection.]

[Effect 2: acquired (White) trait Sinking Foot: lower body is sturdy and difficult to shake or knock back.]

[Permanent solidification condition: equip for one shichen.]

A surge of memories poured into his mind, and Yang Xiao felt as though his legs were rooted in the earth, steady as a boulder.

[Wind-Breaking Spear]

[Effect 1: "Wind-Breaking Spear" proficiency reached perfection.]

[Effect 2: acquired (White) trait Rapid Stab: spear technique attack speed increased by ten percent.]

[Permanent solidification condition: equip for one shichen.]

Yang Xiao closed his eyes and sensed the spear technique memories surging in his mind. Wind-Breaking Spear technique emphasized speed, precision, and ruthlessness; a single spear thrust broke the wind as it traveled.

Although they were only white traits, gathering many small amounts formed a large accumulation, and coordinating with other martial arts and traits would take his strength to the next level.

He stood up, loosened his muscles and bones, and estimated inwardly.

Before leaving Xiangyun County, perhaps he could equip all the cultivation techniques in the armory once.

By then, he should count as truly reaching Great Perfection in foundational martial arts!

Early the next morning.

Yang Xiao washed up, changed into a clean constable uniform, slung his Spring Embroidery Saber around his waist, and pushed open the courtyard door.

Today he did not need to go patrol Wang Village, and Yang Xiao intended to go to the county yamen first to see if Constable Zhang had anything to assign to him.

Halfway there, his stomach began to rumble.

Yang Xiao turned into a steamed bun shop by the roadside, where steam rose densely from the entrance and wisps of fragrance drifted out.

He walked inside and sat down at a corner table.

"Boss, bring one cage of meat buns and a bowl of hot soup."

"Coming right up, customer, please wait a moment!"

A middle-aged man with grayish-white hair poked his head out from the back kitchen, his eyes lighting up when he saw Yang Xiao, but he quickly lowered his head again.

A moment later, the middle-aged man walked over carrying a tray and placed it before Yang Xiao.

"Customer, your meat buns and hot soup."

Yang Xiao glanced at it and was stunned.

A cage of meat buns rested on the tray, but it was clearly twice the amount of a normal cage; two layers of meat buns were stacked together, meat juices seeping through the skins and giving off an enticing aroma of meat.

"Boss, this..."

"Eat, eat." The middle-aged man waved his hand, his voice somewhat hoarse, "Young people should eat more."

Yang Xiao watched the middle-aged man's retreating figure as he turned away, a slight ripple stirring in his heart.

He did not decline, picked up his chopsticks, and began to eat the buns.

The buns had thin skins and generous fillings, each bite overflowing with oil, and the taste was indeed quite good.

As he ate, Yang Xiao listened to the idle chatter of the surrounding diners.

"Hey, did you guys hear? The rat calamity in Liu Village has started up again."

"I heard! Those rat demons are truly endless; you kill one and a whole nest grows, it's completely impossible to eradicate them at the root."

"You can say that again, the county yamen has sent several batches of people to exterminate them, wiping them out cleanly every time, yet not long after they pop right back up."

"These rat demons, their reproduction is just too fast, there's truly no way to root them out."

Yang Xiao listened silently, thinking to himself: the rat calamity in Liu Village was indeed thorny; the demon rats possessed strong reproductive capabilities, growing a batch every time a batch was killed. Unless their old lair was completely uprooted, it would be difficult to eradicate them permanently.

At that moment, another diner spoke up.

"Speaking of demons and monsters, do you know about the affair in Wang Village?"

"Wang Village? Isn't that where the dog demon wreaked havoc?"

"That's right, I heard that the newly appointed Head Constable Yang wiped out the dog demons all by himself!"

"All by himself? Don't joke around!"

"No really! I heard even that old dog demon that lived for hundreds of years was killed by him, and the dog demons' old lair was wiped out too!"

"Goodness, this Head Constable Yang is too fierce, isn't he?"

"Yeah, I heard he's only eighteen years old, and he's already an expert at the Ninth Layer of Body Forging!"

Yang Xiao made no sound and continued eating his buns in silence.

At this point, a diner sighed, his tone turning heavy.

"Wang Village can be considered lucky to have met Head Constable Yang and wiped out the dog demons."

"As for Li Family Hamlet... sigh, the situation over there is what you'd call truly heart-wrenching."

"Li Family Hamlet? What happened?"

"Don't you guys know? People have been going missing continuously in Li Family Hamlet these past few months. At first it was chickens, ducks, and livestock, then oxen and horses, and later... people."

"What? People?"

"Right, dozens of people have already gone missing, leaving neither living people nor dead bodies."

"Nowadays the people of Li Family Hamlet live in dread and panic all day long, not daring to step outside once the sun goes down."

"Didn't the county yamen send people to station themselves there?"

"Yeah, Second Constable Li Tie is stationed in Li Family Hamlet, but the disappearance cases still haven't been solved."

"That is strange..."

Hearing this, Yang Xiao furrowed his brow slightly.

Li Tie...

His gaze lowered, as though pondering something.

After finishing the buns, Yang Xiao stood up, dropped a few copper coins on the table, and departed directly.

The Xiangyun County Yamen.

The moment Yang Xiao walked through the front gates, he saw Zhang Hu and Li Tie.

As he walked closer to the two of them, he caught a whiff of that faint, lingering scent of blood on Li Tie again, though this time a faint medicinal smell was mixed in as well.

It was not ordinary healing medicine.

It felt more like some sort of blood boiled together with medicinal herbs; the scent was very faint, and if he had not equipped the dog demon inner core, he would have been completely unable to detect it.

His expression unchanged, Yang Xiao greeted the two of them.

"Just in time, there is a matter to discuss with you," Zhang Hu said in a deep voice.

Yang Xiao raised his head, signaling for him to continue.

Zhang Hu looked toward Li Tie, motioning for him to speak.

Li Tie sighed and said, "It's about Li Family Hamlet."

"The situation with the disappearance cases in Li Family Hamlet is growing increasingly severe."

"I'm leading a detachment stationed in Li Family Hamlet, patrolling and investigating by day and keeping watch and standing guard by night, and I simply can't handle it all."

Weariness showed on Li Tie's face as he continued, "I reported the situation to Constable Zhang, hoping to dispatch someone to assist."

"Head Constable Yang, you are now the Fourth Constable of the county yamen, and your strength is obvious to all."

"If you can come to Li Family Hamlet to help out, that would be for the best."

Hearing this, Yang Xiao furrowed his brow slightly.

The disappearance cases in Li Family Hamlet were indeed tricky.

Moreover, it was only natural that Li Tie could not handle it alone.

Yet Yang Xiao still harbored some doubts in his heart.

"Are there any clues regarding the disappearance cases?"

Li Tie shook his head. "Not yet."

"There are no traces of a struggle at the scenes, and the missing people vanished as if into thin air."

"I suspect demons and monsters are at work, but I haven't been able to find any traces of them."

Yang Xiao was silent for a moment, weighing things in his mind.

Although he harbored suspicions toward Li Tie, if demons and monsters were truly at work, going there himself would allow him to get to the bottom of the matter through slaughter and reap some merits.

Thus, he lowered his gaze and said, "Very well."

Zhang Hu let out a breath and patted Yang Xiao on the shoulder. "Sorry for the trouble."

"The situation in Li Family Hamlet is indeed bizarre; after you go there, you must be extremely cautious."

A flicker of strange emotion flashed through Li Tie's eyes, but it quickly returned to normal, and a grateful smile surfaced on his face.

"Many thanks, Head Constable Yang."

"With your help, the affair in Li Family Hamlet should be resolved as quickly as possible, so I'll wait for your arrival in Li Family Hamlet."