After receiving further instructions from Chu Qiguang, Du Litian strutted up to the steamed bun shop. He pointed an accusatory finger at the shopkeeper and shouted, “You there! You evaded this year’s forced labor term, didn’t you?” 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

The man bristled slightly at the accusation, but he didn’t dare to talk back to Du Litian, given his status as an attendant at the county office.

“I’m the only one left in my family, and I’ve already paid for someone to serve my forced labor term for me.” the man explained.

“How dare you try to deceive me!” Du Litian snapped. “Clearly, you’ve unlawfully evaded your forced labor term! You’ll have to come to the county office with me. Seeing as you’re the only one left in your family, we can let you off the hook if you submit a payment to grant yourself forced labor exemption.” He held a hand out to the man as he spoke, blatantly demanding a bribe.

A flash of killing intent flickered in the man’s eyes, but he reined in his temper and continued trying to reason with Du Litian.

Chu Qiguang watched the scene unfold with a faint smile, and said, “Master Qiao, please take a look inside his shop and see what’s in there.”

Qiao Zhi obliged. He slipped into the shop through a window while Lin Nan was distracted by Du Litian. It didn't take long for him to discover a hidden door. He passed through it and found a cellar.

As soon as he entered the cellar, he was hit by a suffocating stench of blood.

To Qiao Zhi’s horror, two human bodies were hanging in the cellar like pig carcasses strung up in a butcher’s shop.

Holy shit! Is he making human meat buns?

However, after careful inspection of everything in the cellar, Qiao Zhi discovered that only rats had been used as ingredients in the meat buns sold in the shop. As for the two human bodies, they were extremely emaciated and appeared to have died of starvation. Not a single piece of meat had been taken from them.

This left Qiao Zhi deeply puzzled. He immediately returned to Chu Qiguang’s side and told him what he had found, then asked what they should do.

“What do we do? We will report it to the authorities, of course!” Chu Qiguang replied.

For the average person, reporting a case to local authorities was difficult, and there were many hurdles to overcome. However, Chu Qiguang had the assistance of Wang Cailiang, Jin Fugui, and other people who had connections within the county office. That same afternoon, some officers from the county office arrived to search the shop.

Chu Qiguang and Qiao Zhi watched from a hiding spot. When Chu Qiguang saw the dozen or so officers that had arrived on the scene, his heart immediately sank.

Didn’t I tell them to get the county office to send more people, and ideally some archers as well? These officers won't be able to do anything to Lin Nan!

“They clearly want fewer people around so they don't have to share the spoils from raiding the shop,” Qiao Zhi scoffed.

Suddenly, an agonized howl rang out. An officer was sent flying out of the steamed bun shop and slammed into the ground, where he continued to scream in pain.

A series of heavy thumps and crashes quickly followed, and the rest of the officers were struck down in rapid succession. None of them were able to slow down Lin Nan in the slightest.

The next moment, Lin Nan furiously stormed out of the shop.

I should’ve known these scummy humans couldn't be trusted! I clearly paid for forced labor exemption, yet they’re still coming after me!

The few remaining officers panicked and they fled in different directions.

Chu Qiguang was taken aback by Lin Nan’s display of power, and he asked, “What are we dealing with here?”

“I’d say he’s a fourth-state martial artist, possibly very close to the fifth state,” Qiao Zhi replied. “Although I can’t be certain because he hasn’t gone all-out here. He’s about to get away!”

As Qiao Zhi spoke, Lin Nan shot through the air like a cannonball, vanishing in an instant.

“Did you detect any fiendish energy from him?” Chu Qiguang asked.

“I did detect some faint fiendish energy from him as he attacked those officers. He’s definitely a fiend,” Qiao Zhi replied.

Chu Qiguang nodded. He then summoned his band of dog fiends and ordered them to track Lin Nan by scent. Dogs already had a keen sense of smell, and dog fiends were even more superior in this regard, so they were perfect for this task.

“He’s a very dangerous man, so keep your distance from him,” Chu Qiguang warned. “Report back to me immediately once you find him, and I’ll notify the authorities.”

***

Later that day, Chu Qiguang learned from Wang Cailiang that Lin Nan had already been convicted by the county office. Several cases involving dumped bodies and sexual assault had also been pinned on him. At the moment, he was being hunted county-wide.

However, the county office was still treating him as an ordinary murderer, so the Daoist temple hadn’t been notified yet.

The more Chu Qiguang thought about this entire situation, the stranger it felt to him.

“Have you really never heard of this Lin Nan guy, Master Qiao? Why was he running that steamed bun shop, and why did he kill those two people?”

“I’ve never heard of him at all,” Qiao Zhi replied. “The way he killed those people really made it seem like some kind of ritual, but I didn’t find any ritual artifacts in his shop.”

“Forget it, let’s start packing for now,” Chu Qiguang said with a shake of his head. “We need to move into the new place soon. Once Lin Nan is dead or has been detained by the county office, I’ll take control of all the cat fiends in the county.”

***

The next day, around noon, Big Head the shar pei squeezed into Chu Qiguang’s room through a doghole, then reported excitedly, “Godfather, we’ve found the guy from yesterday!”

Chu Qiguang’s eyes lit up instantly.

“Where is he?”

Before Big Head could reply, the sound of a confrontation rang out from outside.

Chu Qiguang stepped out of his room to discover a group of seven or eight people in the courtyard, facing off against Wang Cailiang and his servants.

The leader of the opposing group was a well-dressed young man with a cocky look on his face, and he shouted coldly, “Wang Cailiang, I’m only going to give you one more month to hand over that plot of land!”

Wang Cailiang was clearly intimidated by the young man and the martial artists with him. He lowered his head and replied timidly, “But, Young Master Hao, my clan’s ancestral tomb is located on that plot of land...”

The young man was Hao Yongnian of the Hao Clan, and Hao Yongtai, whom Chu Qiguang had seen last time at Wise Hero Academy, was his older brother.

Hao Yongnian was also a student of Wise Hero Academy, but he had made a breakthrough to the third state earlier in the year and was now studying in the advanced school.

On this occasion, Hao Yongnian had brought with him several guards, all of whom were clearly very skilled martial artists.

After understanding the situation, Chu Qiguang decided to step in as a mediator. He approached Hao Yongnian and began, “Brother Hao...”

“Brother Hao?” Hao Yongnian snapped as he turned to glare at Chu Qiguang in fury and disdain. “Who the hell do you think you are? Don’t think that you get to refer to me as an equal just because we both study at Wise Hero Academy!”

The moment he finished speaking, Hao Yongnian threw a lightning-fast punch at Chu Qiguang.

As a third-state martial artist, his power, speed, and explosiveness far exceeded Chu Qiguang’s.

Chu Qiguang raised his arms to block. A dull thump rang out as a sharp jolt of pain shot through his arms.

A second punch came immediately after, then a third one...

According to Qiao Zhi, even a difference of a single state in martial arts was an insurmountable gap. The only way that a martial artist of an inferior cultivation base could defeat an opponent of a higher state was through underhanded tricks or sneak attacks. In a direct one-on-one confrontation, it would be impossible for the weaker martial artist to win.

After taking three consecutive punches from Hao Yongnian, the vast difference in their strength became painfully clear to Chu Qiguang. Before Hao Yongnian could land a fourth punch, Chu Qiguang rushed back in retreat, and he could tell that his right forearm had been fractured.

Are you alright? Qiao Zhi asked anxiously. Do you need me to take care of him?

Chu Qiguang fought back his rage as he replied, No. We can’t afford for you to be exposed here.

Instead of continuing to pursue Chu Qiguang, Hao Yongnian returned his gaze to Wang Cailiang and repeated his ultimatum.

“You only have one month left.”