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"It's not that I don't trust you, I'm just..." Zhao Ning stuttered, still feeling somewhat dizzy.
"Enough, let's talk less and hurry back to the County Government. I have a feeling that the matter in Ping'an Town is not simple..." Chen Yuan finished speaking and left Zhao Ning with his back view.
Aside from Zhao Ning, the few White Servants who had originally followed were left by Chen Yuan in Ping'an Town to keep watch over the Chen Family, as their speed was much too slow.
There were only two horses, not enough to carry them all.
With a sense of urgency, and without the drag of the White Servants, Chen Yuan and his companion made it back to the County Government in just one hour, whereupon Chen Yuan dismounted and hurried inside.
"Where is the arrest officer?" Chen Yuan quickly asked a Government Official.
"Arrest Constable Chen, Officer Huang is not at the County Government. He took people to inspect the county this morning and hasn't returned yet..." The Government Official glanced at the blood-stained cloth in Chen Yuan's hand with some trepidation.
"Is the County Magistrate here?" Chen Yuan continued to inquire.
"I haven't seen the County Magistrate leave the Government. He should be..." The Government Official said uncertainly.
"Alright, thank you."
Chen Yuan nodded and quickly headed towards a certain place in the County Government.
It's a big taboo to report matters to the boss's boss, but Chen Yuan couldn't possibly go looking for Huang Xing in the county, otherwise such an urgent matter could be delayed, and instead of a reward, the County Magistrate might punish him.
He would just have to report to Huang Xing later and take the opportunity to bridge the gap between them.
"Excuse me for the trouble, but I have an urgent matter to report to the County Magistrate!" Chen Yuan bowed to the two Government Officials guarding the door.
There were over a hundred official Government Officials in the County Government, divided into three shifts and six rooms, and Chen Yuan was one of the members of the Arrest Room, the most powerful of the departments within the Ping'an County Government.
The two Government Officials at the door sized up Chen Yuan and nodded without making it difficult for him. They turned and went inside to report and came out hurriedly after a moment.
"Come in."
Chen Yuan bowed and quickly entered with the blood-stained cloth.
Inside the main hall, County Magistrate Li Mingqi, with a cold expression, was stroking the lid of his tea cup with furrowed brows, deep in thought. Seeing Chen Yuan rushing in, he put the tea cup on the table and asked in a low voice,
"What matter do you have to report?"
Chen Yuan held up the cloth and said respectfully,
"Your Honor, today at noon, I found traces of a demon from the No-Life Sect in Ping'an Town."
"What!"
Li Mingqi looked at Chen Yuan with a slightly heavier tone.
"Is that true?"
"This is the head of a demon from the No-Life Sect, which I have brought as proof..."
Li Mingqi stepped forward with a gust of cool air, reaching out to slowly open the cloth, his eyebrows showing some displeasure as he said lightly,
"This is clearly a child. What is this about a demon?"
"Please see clearly, Your Honor," Chen Yuan looked neither servile nor overbearing as he presented Chen Ping'an's pair of hands to Li Mingqi.
Li Mingqi squinted at the pair of darkened fingernails and the faint bloody patterns on the palms.
"How did you find this villain?" asked Li Mingqi.
Chen Yuan did not hide anything and shared how he had sensed something amiss from what Old Li the Third had said, then investigated Chen Ping'an's home and subsequently engaged in a fight.
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However, Chen Yuan concealed his own and Chen Ping'an's strength, merely stating that he was lucky to have blinded Chen Ping'an with lime, thereby achieving a difficult victory.
"Very good, Chen Yuan, you've done very well. To have slain a heretic of the Demon Dao in such a short time, come... hurry and take this official to Ping'an Town."
"Perhaps there are still remnants hiding in Ping'an Town!"
Li Mingqi suddenly slapped the table.
"Yes, I shall obey..." Chen Yuan said loudly.
"Excellent, if we can truly find traces of those Demon Dao remnants, this official will certainly note your merit!" Li Mingqi patted Chen Yuan's shoulder, his eyes showing some satisfaction.
...
County Magistrate Li Mingqi, with a group of Government Officials in tow, soon rushed to Ping'an Town and conducted a thorough search of Chen Ping'an's home, only to find a few dried up bones in a remote well in Ping'an Town, but no trace of other Demon Dao villains.
While the search was underway, constables patrolling Sishui Town also encountered an attack by a suspected expert of the Demon Dao, where two Government Officials and seven White Servants died tragically.
County Magistrate Wu Qingfeng was furious and commanded the arrest officer Huang Xing to quickly track down the trail of the No-Life Sect demon, and to report to the Government...
However, the Government's response wasn't huge, for apart from the chaos in Ping'an County, the disorder that erupted within several other counties was much worse.
By comparison, Ping'an County only lost two Government Officials and a few White Servants, which hardly counted for anything.
Both County Magistrate Li Mingqi and County Magistrate Wu Qingfeng placed heavy pressure on arrest officer Huang Xing, causing him great stress, yet the promised generous reward had not been delivered.
After asking for Chen Yuan's opinion, he was rewarded with a Tiger Bone Pill.
This was already not a small reward, because Chen Yuan did not not reveal the true strength of Chen Ping'an, thus, the people in the County Government only saw Chen Ping'an as a peripheral member of the No-Life Sect demon, not very valuable.
Naturally, it would not be possible to give a particularly generous reward.
To this, Chen Yuan didn't feel any sense of dejection, as he never wanted to expose any real strength, only wishing to hang on for a short while.
He always had the feeling that the Demon Dao forces in Ping'an County were not simple.
Moreover, scheming for the Huang Family's Marrow Cleansing Spirit Pearl wasn't something he wanted to arouse suspicion about.
After deliberate interaction by Chen Yuan, his relationship with arrest officer Huang Xing began to grow closer.
Due to the strict orders from the County Government, the rest days of the Arrest Room officials were forcefully turned into overtime work, and there was no overtime pay... leaving the officials grumbling non-stop.
But even after searching nearly the entire county, they found no trace of the Demon Dao villains, including the County Magistrate himself, who began to gradually relax.
Of course, perhaps some officials didn't want to be diligent. Only those who had encountered the ruthlessness of the Demon Dao knew their strength—it was a matter of life and death.
No one wanted to sacrifice themselves.
Many officials in the County Government envied Wang Ping, who was still recuperating at home. Although he had broken a few ribs, he didn't have to face the ferocious demon of the Demon Dao.
After another day of ineffective patrolling, Chen Yuan returned home, closing the door behind him as the sky gradually darkened.
Pouring out a somewhat pungent Tiger Bone Pill from the porcelain bottle, excitement flashed in Chen Yuan's eyes.
Now, with the aid of the Tiger Bone Pill, his cultivation had surged, and he was already on the verge of reaching the Perfection of Skin Refining. During these days, whenever he found the time, he would assume a cultivation posture under the Taiyang.
The Golden Paint was nearly covering his entire body. It could be said that, barring any accidents, consuming this Tiger Bone Pill would allow him to bring his Skin Refining cultivation to Perfection.
Exhaling a breath of foul air, Chen Yuan picked up the Tiger Bone Pill and placed it in his mouth to suck on it.
Chen Yuan soon felt a strong medicinal power surging through his skin.
With palms facing the sky and legs bent, the Vajra Glaze Body technique started to operate, and streaks of Golden Paint rapidly spread across his body at an astonishing pace, a fierce heat clinging to his skin.