By the way, how is Daoist Master Law Origin unable to detect your presence when you're this close? Chu Qiguang asked.

We cats are unmatched among all fiends when it comes to stealth and avoiding detection, Qiao Zhi replied smugly. Unless this Daoist priest uses some kind of talisman or pill to enhance his senses, his martial arts cultivation base is not sufficient to sense me.

According to Qiao Zhi, the three most powerful tools of the Heavenly Master Religion were talismans, swordsmanship, and pills.

Among these, talismans and pills fell under Dao arts, while swordsmanship was more closely related to martial arts.

In general, all Daoist priests cultivated swordsmanship, but only the guardians of Daoist temples were granted access to talismans from the Heavenly Master Religion. Talismans allowed one to wield true supernatural powers, and they were created by Daoist priests who had reached the Dao Comprehension state. They were also the most potent weapons that the Daoist priests of the Heavenly Master Religion had against demons and fiends.

For a Daoist priest of Daoist Master Law Origin's caliber, he could only rely on swordsmanship, pills, and personal experience when hunting fiends.

A Daoist priest like Daoist Master Law Origin isn't any different from a martial artist of the same level without taking pills or using talismans, Qiao Zhi added.

Chu Qiguang asked Qiao Zhi a few more questions about the talismans and pills of the Heavenly Master Religion, thinking that he could buy some pills that he normally wouldn't be able to access through Daoist Master Law Origin. Perhaps that could even serve as an opportunity for him to establish connections with the higher-ranking members of the Daoist temple.

***

Chu Qiguang exchanged some small talk with the two men before they got down to business. Daoist Master Law Origin relayed the fox fiend theory to Gu Wei.

After receiving bribes, the two men had become much more receptive to Chu Qiguang, so he decided to strike while the iron was hot and asked, "I heard that the Hao Clan is offering a reward to anyone who can solve this case, is that right?"

"That's correct," Gu Wei replied. "There's a reward of one thousand taels of silver on offer, and once the silver arrives at the county office, it'll be split among everyone who played a part in solving the case based on the significance of their contributions. Daoist Master Law Origin, you're the most capable among us. If we manage to track down this fox fiend, then it'll all be thanks to the blessings of the Profound Origin Dao Lord, so you should be able to claim four hundred out of the one thousand taels of silver.

“I'm obviously nowhere near as capable, but my men have been working tirelessly for the past few days, and they're all in need of compensation for their efforts. It may be a little shameless of me, but I'm going to take a cut of three hundred taels of silver. Of course, the honored county magistrate's efforts cannot be overlooked so a cut of two hundred taels of silver for him should be appropriate."

Finally, he turned to Chu Qiguang. His brows furrowed slightly as he concluded, "You can have the remaining one hundred taels of silver, Young Master Chu."

In the blink of an eye, Gu Wei had already decided on the allocation of funds, and Chu Qiguang was clearly the one getting the short end of the stick. If not for the ten taels of silver Chu Qiguang had given to him, the distribution would've been even more unfavorable to him.

In fact, in Gu Wei's eyes, a reward of a hundred taels of silver for a bribe of only ten was already a massive return on investment.

Chu Qiguang was clearly not happy with this arrangement, but Daoist Master Law Origin had already agreed to this proposal, so he knew that raising objections now would put him at odds with both the Daoist temple and the county office.

Ultimately, it was up to these two organizations to decide the significance of the contributions and the allocation of funds. Chu Qiguang had no choice but to accept this arrangement for now. He smiled gratefully, but inwardly, he cursed the two men for their underhanded practices.

***

Afterward, Gu Wei said he would summon some bailiffs to search for the fox fiend, and he asked Chu Qiguang and Daoist Master Law Origin to wait for him in the side hall.

However, even after waiting for over an hour, the bailiffs still hadn't shown up. Left with no choice, Chu Qiguang went to find Gu Wei for an update.

"There are over a hundred thousand people in Azure Sun County, and the county office is always shortstaffed, so gathering enough personnel is not an easy task," Gu Wei explained with a displeased expression. "Just go back and wait." 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"How much longer is it going to take?" Chu Qiguang asked.

He had to cultivate and study every day, so he had no time to waste in the county office.

"I suggest you ask fewer questions and simply do as you're told, Young Master Chu," Gu Wei said in a disdainful manner. "The county magistrate has instructed you to assist us in the investigation, not to lead it. Just wait until your services are required."

Chu Qiguang was about to speak, but Gu Wei had already lost patience. He slammed his palm onto the table with such force that a deep palm imprint was left on its surface.

Chu Qiguang's expression stiffened. The force behind that palm strike indicated that Gu Wei was a second-state martial artist, not enough to qualify for the martial examination, but certainly more than enough for him to serve as the head constable of a county.

"This is the county office, not your house!" Gu Wei snapped. "If you delay the investigation, you're not going to be able to handle the consequences!"

After Chu Qiguang left, a cold sneer appeared on Gu Wei's face. He turned to a nearby constable and asked, "Have you finished the background check?"

"I have, Master Gu," the constable hurriedly replied. "He comes from an ordinary farming household in the Wang Clan Village, and he has no backers to speak of. Somehow, he managed to befriend the young master of Wang Clan, and that's why he's able to attend Wise Hero Academy."

"What a delusional little brat!" Gu Wei scoffed. "Once the investigation is over, I'll just give him five or ten taels of silver as a pity reward."

After completing a background check on Chu Qiguang, Gu Wei decided to scrap the prior agreement altogether. In his eyes, Chu Qiguang's services were no longer required for the rest of the investigation, so there was no need to give him the promised one hundred taels of silver.

Afterward, his plan was to push Chu Qiguang to the side and cut him out of the investigation. That way, he and his men would receive four hundred taels of silver, while the Daoist temple also received four hundred, and the county magistrate received two hundred.

"We can easily capture a severely wounded fox fiend by ourselves," Gu Wei snorted. "Has everyone been assembled?"

"Call upon all the hunters in the county and find the best hunting dogs to search for fox fiends in the county town. Search every courtyard in the county town that has been vacant for some time." He continued. "If that fox fiends wants to recover faster from his injuries, it'll have to abduct people to absorb their life force. Check to see if there have been any missing person cases over the past few days."

As an experienced head constable, Gu Wei quickly deployed nearly a hundred bailiffs under his command, and a thorough investigation was underway.

I'll give that kid five taels of silver once everything's said and done. He should be grateful for my generosity! Gu Wei thought. Once I get my cut of the reward, I'll be able to buy Shao'er from the Red Sleeve Brothel to become my fourth concubine.

Just the mere thought had him licking his lips in gleeful anticipation.

***

After his less-than-cordial interaction with Gu Wei, Chu Qiguang immediately realized that something wasn't right, so he sent Qiao Zhi to check on the situation.

That bastard's cutting you out of the investigation!

Qiao Zhi was fuming upon his return.

Those ten taels of silver have gone to complete waste!

The more Qiao Zhi thought about it, the more enraged he became.

That bastard has already sent people to search for the fox fiend, and he's only planning to give you five taels of silver as a pity reward!

A cold glint flashed through Chu Qiguang's eyes, and he scoffed, That suits me just fine. I never intended to share the reward with him anyway. However, if I take his share, he'll definitely come after me for revenge, so I'm just going to make sure that he's dead and buried...

Countless heroes throughout history had been screwed over by unscrupulous scoundrels like Gu Wei, and Chu Qiguang had no intention of becoming one of them.

People like him are nothing but a stain on this world. I'll be doing everyone a favor by getting rid of him!