"A species from the demon realm?" Su Hao thought as he looked at the Blood-Devouring Demon Vine in his inventory and immediately activated it.
Instantly, a small vine appeared in Su Hao's hand. It was about five centimeters long and dark red in color, affectionately crawling in his palm. Suddenly, the tiny vine extended a small thorn.
Like a mosquito, the thorn pricked Su Hao's finger, creating a tiny wound. The vine then entered Su Hao's hand through the wound, disappearing into his palm.
"It can actually enter my body. This truly befits an item drawn from a Golden Draw Card!" Su Hao's eyes gleamed with excitement.
However, his head soon began to ache. Using Li Xunhuan's possession card had drained too much of his mental energy, which hadn't yet recovered.
Of course, without that expenditure of energy, he wouldn't have been able to kill the Earth Realm expert Lan Yue with just a hairpin.
Earth Realm masters could externalize their qi to form a protective barrier. With his Human Realm strength, even if he burned all his blood essence, it would have been impossible to penetrate that barrier and kill Lan Yue with a mere hairpin.
"Oh right, it seems my basic information now includes 'consciousness perception.' Could that be an ability randomly acquired from Li Xunhuan?" Su Hao struggled to raise his hands and rubbed his temples, forcing himself to focus as he prepared to examine this new ability.
But as soon as he tried to use it, his head spun, and he felt dizzy.
"It seems to consume mental energy. I'll have to wait a while before I can properly investigate it," Su Hao decided, stopping his attempt.
He then closed his eyes again to rest and recover.
Meanwhile, in an underground chamber of the Su family compound:
Two corpses were laid out - one belonging to Lan Yue, and the other to Mo Ku. Mo Ku's body, which had been torn apart by Su Ping earlier, had been sewn back together.
Su Ming and Butler Han were in the chamber.
"Master, this woman with the silver hairpin through her throat is named Lan Yue. She was an Earth Realm Level 2 expert and one of the adopted daughters of the Blood Demon Cult's mysterious branch leader," Han reported.
"The other body belongs to Mo Ku, a swordsman who was active in the Western River region a few years ago but had disappeared. It seems he had joined the Blood Demon Cult."
Su Ming remained silent, his eyes fixed on the silver hairpin in Lan Yue's throat.
To penetrate an Earth Realm expert's protective barrier with a mere hairpin and pierce their throat required the ability of a Heaven Realm master who had grasped the concept of Intent.
"Who could have saved Hao'er?" Su Ming wondered.
He approached Lan Yue's body and removed the hairpin from her throat. His right index finger turned red-hot, and he inserted it into the wound left by the hairpin.
The wound disappeared, as if cauterized.
"Take these two bodies to Third Master," Su Ming instructed as he left the room.
At the same time, in the main hall of Fuzhou City's constabulary:
Su Wu stood with his back to Lu Hao, flanked by two cold-faced men in brocade constable uniforms. Lu Hao was sweating profusely under the pressure of Su Wu's imposing presence.
"Lu Hao, why didn't you act on the list I gave you?" Su Wu asked coldly.
"Some names on the list were from within the constabulary, sir. I feared that if there were any mistakes, it could lead to grave consequences. I wanted to report to you first and await your instructions before taking action," Lu Hao replied nervously.
"Afraid of killing the wrong person? Lu Hao, do you remember what I told you when you became the head of Fuzhou City's constabulary?" Su Wu asked sternly.
Lu Hao's face turned pale.
"I see you do remember. Then why did this happen? My nephew Su Hao was attacked by the Blood Demon Cult yesterday and is now seriously injured, lying in bed at home. If you had acted against the Blood Demon Cult members earlier, they might have been more cautious, and my nephew wouldn't have been attacked and injured."
Su Wu's face remained calm, but his voice carried a chilling tone. His gaze towards Lu Hao was cold.
Lu Hao grew increasingly nervous. He certainly remembered what Su Wu had told him when he became the constabulary chief:
"Once you take charge of the constabulary, everything must align with the Su family's will. Regarding any person or matter that threatens the Su family, it's better to kill by mistake than to let one escape."
"Commander, I was wrong," Lu Hao knelt and bowed his head.
Su Hao, as a member of the Su family, represented the family's interests. Lu Hao should have executed orders unconditionally, without considering whether it might lead to wrongful deaths.
"If you can't follow orders, what use are you?" Su Wu's form blurred as he appeared in front of Lu Hao, striking his head with a palm.
Lu Hao died instantly under Su Wu's hand, without even a chance to defend himself.
Without looking at Lu Hao's corpse, Su Wu coldly ordered, "Everyone mentioned on that list - leave no survivors."
"Yes, sir!" One of the constables beside him walked to the desk, picked up the list, bowed, and left the room.
Soon, a bloody storm swept through Fuzhou City. The constabulary, in particular, saw one-third of its personnel purged.
Meanwhile, Su Hong, the prefect of Fuzhou City, also took action, albeit more discreetly, quietly removing certain individuals from Fuzhou's official circles.
The entire city, except for ordinary citizens, was gripped by fear, with everyone worried that their family might be the next target of the purge.
Su Hao, however, was unaware of all this. When he woke up again, it was already evening.
After drinking some tonics to calm his mind, nourish his brain, and replenish his blood, his mental state improved significantly. However, having been bedridden for a day, he felt sore and decided to get up and walk around a bit.
A maid quickly helped Su Hao put on an outer robe and assisted him to the courtyard.
"Young Master, Young Master Gu Huai sent word earlier. Miss Gu Xi'er's injuries are quite severe, so her senior martial brother has taken her back to the Green Wood Sword Sect for treatment. But he assured us that there's no need to worry, as she should be fine," the maid Xiao Die said softly.
"Taken back to the Green Wood Sword Sect? That's good. After all, they are the top sect in the Northwest, with abundant resources and heritage," Su Hao said thoughtfully.
"Young Master, please don't think too much about it. You should rest well in the manor these days. While you were sleeping, the Madam came to check on you, but seeing you sound asleep, she didn't want to disturb you."
"Mother came? I've worried her this time. Has Su Ping's body been buried?" Su Hao's face showed sadness as he mentioned Su Ping.
Years ago, when Su Ping's family was destroyed, Su Hao's father had saved him. He had been by Su Hao's side ever since, and now he had been killed by the Blood Demon Cult, which deeply saddened Su Hao.
"Yes, he has been laid to rest."
"That's good. When I'm feeling better, I'll go pay my respects at his grave," Su Hao sighed.
Just then, a cold wind blew through the courtyard, causing Su Hao to sneeze and shiver.
"Young Master, it looks like it might rain. We should go back inside so you don't catch a chill," Xiao Die said, supporting Su Hao as they walked back towards the house.
"My body is really too weak," Su Hao thought to himself, feeling a bit frustrated.