The second day of the patrol.
「Evening.」
"Hooo..."
Xu Qing slowly concluded his practice, exhaling a breath of turbid air. Just like yesterday, he had spent thirty silver at the Cangying Martial Arts Hall to buy three pounds of Tai Sui Spirit Meat.
Morning, noon, and night.
Three meals a day.
For each meal, he ate one pound of Tai Sui Spirit Meat.
This way...
This was the only way Xu Qing could sustain his daily training and its immense energy cost. The stronger an Anjing Martial Artist became, the more Energy they required.
[Baji Fist LV5: 90/160 (...)]
After a full day...
Xu Qing had barely rested, practicing nonstop for a full ten hours. He could perform the Baji Fist forms five times per hour, amounting to fifty times in ten hours.
Therefore...
His Baji Fist gained fifty Experience Points.
'Seventy more points to go.'
Xu Qing mused, 'At this rate, my Baji Fist can level up again in two more days at most. My strength will naturally increase a bit then, too.'
「Nighttime.」
The first half of the night.
「Red Leaf Street.」
Yesterday, Xu Qing had patrolled the first half of the night. Today, they naturally switched, so he would patrol the second half and rest during the first. Qin Daniu and the others, in turn, were now on patrol for the first half.
"Captain Yang."
A glint in his eye, Xu Qing walked over to Yang Ye's side.
"What is it?"
Yang Ye glanced at Xu Qing.
To be honest...
Yang Ye's impression of Xu Qing was quite poor. Xu Qing had been late on the very first day, which had made Yang Ye lose face.
Also...
Xu Qing had been forced into the team by Zhao Jingyuan and had even taken the vice-captain position.
This kind of pulling strings...
Yang Ye was actually quite displeased about it.
"Captain Yang, I heard a Corpse Ghost appeared on Red Leaf Street a few days ago. I was just wondering if it's been dealt with?"
Xu Qing asked.
"That did happen."
Yang Ye nodded. "Why are you asking about this?"
"No reason."
Xu Qing smiled, a worried look on his face. "I'm just a little concerned. I live on Red Leaf Street too, so if that Corpse Ghost hasn't been dealt with, I won't be able to sleep soundly at night."
"Oh."
Yang Ye showed a hint of surprise. "You live on Red Leaf Street?"
"Yes."
Xu Qing nodded.
"Don't worry."
Yang Ye waved his hand dismissively. "That Corpse Ghost was taken care of long ago."
"Really?"
Xu Qing's face lit up with joy as he asked, "Which expert took care of it?"
"How would I know?"
Yang Ye shot Xu Qing a look and said irritably, "It seems some unknown expert dealt with it, but we don't know who. I heard from the other constables that they've been investigating for days and seem to have found some clues."
"That's a real shame," Xu Qing said with a tone of regret. "If I knew which expert it was, I'd have to thank them properly."
"You?"
Yang Ye's gaze was disdainful. "And what would you thank that expert with?"
"Well..."
Xu Qing lowered his head, thinking, 'I'm that expert. How do you suppose I should thank myself?'
「The second half of the night.」
Yang Ye, Wang Changye, and Xu Qing led the other members to continue patrolling Red Leaf Street, while Qin Daniu and his group could go rest.
Time passed.
All was quiet and safe.
However...
At around three in the morning...
"AHHH!!!"
Suddenly...
A bloodcurdling scream startled Xu Qing and the others.
"Not good."
"Something's happened."
"Quick!!!"
"..."
Yang Ye's pupils contracted. Hearing the scream, he shouted an order and sprinted in the direction of the sound.
"Fuck!"
Wang Changye's expression turned grim. "To think we'd actually run into it."
"Kid, when you see the Corpse Ghost, try not to piss your pants in fear."
Wang Changye shot a glance at Xu Qing.
However...
Xu Qing didn't respond to Wang Changye. Instead, he moved at his top speed, following Yang Ye to the scene and arriving in the shortest possible time.
Unfortunately...
Xu Qing and the others were a step too late.
The Wooden House.
The door was pushed open.
A putrid, bloody stench assaulted their nostrils.
Yang Ye took the lead, with Wang Changye and Xu Qing close behind. The others, faces grim with caution, had already drawn the Iron Swords at their waists and were scanning their surroundings.
Inside the house.
Xu Qing saw three bodies: a man, a woman, and a child. All three had been disemboweled, their internal organs eaten clean.
"..."
Xu Qing's gaze fell upon the child's body. He could only imagine the horrific terror the child must have experienced before death.
"Hooo..."
Xu Qing held his breath slightly.
"A Corpse Ghost's handiwork."
Yang Ye surveyed the scene, his expression grave. "The stench of death in the air, the three bodies with their organs hollowed out, and the tracks left behind... all signs point to a Corpse Ghost."
"Captain! There's a noise!!!"
Suddenly, one of the team members screamed, pointing at an adjacent bedroom.
"!!!"
Yang Ye's pupils contracted. "Careful! The Corpse Ghost might still be here!!!"
BANG!
The moment the words left his mouth, Yang Ye grabbed a nearby wooden table and hurled it, smashing open the bedroom's wooden door. Inside the bedroom was a Corpse Ghost with disheveled hair, wisps of black energy emanating from its entire body.
"Corpse Ghost!!!"
Everyone was shocked.
ROAR...
The Corpse Ghost opened its mouth and roared, a foul stench blasting out. A small, unswallowed piece of intestine dangled from its mouth, a sight that made one's scalp tingle in horror.
BANG!
The next moment.
The Corpse Ghost shattered the bedroom window and rushed outside.
"After it," Yang Ye ordered.
Xu Qing and the others quickly rushed out of the house.
After bursting out of the bedroom, the Corpse Ghost didn't pause. It leaped onto the roof and fled into the distance at an incredible speed.
"Dammit."
Yang Ye's scalp tingled. "We can't let it escape."
"Xu Qing, Wang Changye, take a few men and circle around from the other two directions. I'll pursue from behind. We absolutely cannot let this Corpse Ghost get away."
"Yes, sir."
"Understood."
Xu Qing and Wang Changye nodded.
The words had barely been spoken.
Yang Ye had already taken the lead and given chase.
It had to be said...
Yang Ye was indeed a competent constable. Faced with a monster as dangerous as a Corpse Ghost, he still chased after it without hesitation.
An incompetent constable would have probably just made a token effort to give chase.
"Let's go."
Wang Changye gestured to two of the team members, then glanced at Xu Qing. "You two, with me. Kid, this is the real deal now. Try not to get yourself killed."
As soon as he finished speaking...
Wang Changye led the two team members and gave chase from the right.
"Vice-captain, what should we do?"
The two remaining team members asked.
Xu Qing said calmly, "We'll take the left."
"Yes, sir."
"..."
The other two team members nodded.
「Deep in the night.」
「On the streets.」
The doors of the houses on both sides were shut tight. The common folk didn't dare make a sound. They could hear the commotion outside, but none dared to peek.
The Corpse Ghost was so fast that both Yang Ye and Wang Changye lost track of it.
"Hm?"
Just then.
「Meanwhile, on Xu Qing's side.」
Originally...
Xu Qing had also lost the Corpse Ghost, but as he passed a small alley, he caught a familiar whiff of a deathly stench. It was faint, but it was definitely there.
SWISH! SWISH!
Without hesitation.
Without hesitation, Xu Qing quickened his pace, unconsciously activating his Snake Body Technique. The two team members behind him couldn't keep up.
"Vice-captain..."
"This..."
The two team members exchanged a look, expressions of shock on their faces. They never would have imagined that Xu Qing could be so fast.
'Found you.'
「A moment later.」
Xu Qing had found the Corpse Ghost. After crossing several small alleys, he intercepted it in an open clearing.
ROAR...
The Corpse Ghost's instincts told it that Xu Qing was alone, so it stopped running. Instead, it opened its cavernous, bloody maw and roared at him.
"Monsters deserve to die," Xu Qing said.
ROAR!!!
It roared again.
This time...
The Corpse Ghost lunged straight for Xu Qing. This one was stronger and faster than the previous one he had encountered.
Clearly...
Even among Corpse Ghosts, there were differences in strength.
SHING!!!
The cry of a sword rang out.
At some unknown moment, Xu Qing's right hand had come to rest on his sword hilt. With a flash in his eyes and the cry of a blade, Xu Qing drew his Iron Sword.
SWOOSH!
A cold Sword Light traced a silver semicircle in front of Xu Qing, like a crescent moon. Although Xu Qing had never practiced any Swordsmanship...
...however, Xu Qing was an Anjing Martial Artist, and the Iron Sword in his hand had been upgraded into a Divine Weapon rarely seen in the Mortal World.
Therefore...
With a single slash, a chilling Sword Light flashed, and the Corpse Ghost's body froze a single step away from Xu Qing, its head severed from its neck.
THUD!
The head fell to the ground.
Thick, black blood gushed from the severed neck.
THUMP!
The headless body collapsed backward.
SWISH!
With a flick of his right hand, Xu Qing smoothly sheathed his Iron Sword.
Decapitated in a single strike.
Effortlessly done.
He had instantly killed a Corpse Ghost without breaking a sweat.
This was the power of possessing a Divine Weapon.
If Xu Qing hadn't possessed this Iron Sword, even as an Anjing Martial Artist, he would not have been able to so easily and instantly kill this enhanced version of a Corpse Ghost.
Just then...
Xu Qing faintly heard the sound of hurried footsteps approaching.
Without hesitation.
Xu Qing quickly retreated, putting distance between himself and the Corpse Ghost's body. He timed it perfectly to appear as if he had arrived on the scene just a few seconds before everyone else.
"The Corpse Ghost..."
"This..."
"It's already been dealt with..."
"Who did this?"
"..."
At once...
The group saw the Corpse Ghost's body in the clearing and froze, their faces filled with astonishment. They stood there, exchanging bewildered glances.