"Quick! Get him to Ganlu Hall!!!"

Someone reacted quickly. Ganlu Hall was right nearby, and they wanted to get Wang Hu there.

From a distance, Qin Fang finally let out a long sigh of relief...

He’s been poisoned.

He knew just how potent the Giant Bee’s poison was. It could be lethal in a matter of seconds.

Even with Ganlu Hall right there... he didn’t think they had what it took to cure this poison.

Then, his eyes narrowed.

’The Poison Needle is still stuck in Wang Hu’s shoulder...’

’A weapon that deadly must be retrieved, of course!’

And so, several Iron Nails quietly appeared in his hand...

Among the men around Wang Hu, only one or two were at the Mingjin level. They hadn’t even figured out where Qin Fang was yet. Qin Fang was confident he could take them down one by one with his nails...

It all happened in a flash. The entire exchange had taken but a few breaths’ time.

Ganlu Hall, still bustling with people, was right next to them, yet no one had even noticed what was happening over here.

It wasn’t until Wang Hu’s men cried out in panic that they finally noticed the situation. Curious eyes turned to look, and the crowd started to get disorderly...

’Is that... a murder?!’

A murder... that was a rare sight in the county town.

Just as the crowd grew noisy, their gazes drawn instinctively to the scene, Qin Fang pulled a black cloth from his robes and covered his face, preparing to take out Wang Hu’s men and retrieve the Poison Needle.

But at that very moment...

The unexpected happened!

Wang Hu, who had been convulsing uncontrollably, unable to move, with veins bulging on his forehead and on the verge of death, suddenly jolted violently.

The veins on his body looked like they were about to burst!

The men beside him were the first to notice something was wrong, their faces filled with shock. "Master Hu?"

But in the next instant, an inhuman shriek suddenly erupted!

Wang Hu’s body suddenly—BOOM—exploded!

The blast sent the few men around him flying.

The terrifying shockwave left them severely injured. The man closest to the explosion had his entire arm blown to bits, leaving only a jagged stump of bone at the shoulder!

"AHHH!!!!"

He let out a bloodcurdling scream.

His head and face were now covered in blood, making him look as ferocious as a demon!

As for Wang Hu, he was already blown to smithereens.

But from within his body, a monster had emerged!

It resembled a giant, fleshy tumor, about thirty centimeters in size. Its body was covered in flesh and some unknown slimy liquid. The crimson tumor had a mouth full of teeth but no eyes. The inhuman shriek had come from this very mouth!

This sudden turn of events left everyone stunned.

Qin Fang froze, completely bewildered.

’...What the hell is that?’

"AHHH!!!!"

"Monster!! Monster!!!!"

WHOOSH! The entire street erupted into chaos. The crowd scrambled backward, staring in disbelief at the scene.

After emerging, the tumor-like monster shrieked and hopped in place, struggling as if it wanted to escape.

But after just one or two hops, it froze...

It seemed to have suffered massive trauma. The shrieks coming from its mouth were also growing weaker and weaker.

Qin Fang was also stupefied by this, watching with his jaw agape.

And after a short while, the monster’s cries grew fainter and fainter, until finally...

They ceased completely.

It lay there, its grotesque, fang-filled maw wide open...

It seemed to be...

Dead?

It took a long time for Qin Fang to snap out of it.

’...A tumor-like monster just burst out of Wang Hu’s body?’

’What kind of insane plot twist is this?!’

’And the monster died almost immediately?’

’This...’

The street was almost deserted now. Everyone was running for their lives, their panicked sounds fading into the distance.

Qin Fang’s heart pounded like a drum.

Then he realized this was no place to linger.

Something completely unexpected had occurred.

Things were probably going to get very messy, very soon.

He quickly scanned the street, hoping to find the Poisonous Thorn...

But how could he possibly find it?

There was blood everywhere!

Several of Wang Long’s men were all severely injured. Though not dead, they lay there, wailing in agony.

Although he was reluctant to leave it...

Qin Fang decisively turned and left!

’The Poisonous Thorn may be rare, but it’s a product of the Giant Bee, and who knows how many of those there are in the Old Ox Back caves.’

’To Qin Fang, it wasn’t exactly irreplaceable.’

’But with such a huge commotion, getting involved would mean big trouble.’

’And more importantly...’

’Wang Hu had that kind of monster inside him?’

’No matter how you look at it, that’s not normal!’

’...There’s definitely something bigger going on behind the scenes!’

Qin Fang had no desire to get mixed up in such a bizarre incident.

His target was only Wang Hu. Now that Wang Hu was dead, his main reason for coming to the city had been accomplished.

’As for everything else... he didn’t want any part of it!’

...

「Meanwhile, at the Government Office Entrance.」

"Well now, Old Zhou, what’s the special occasion? What could make you bleed this much money?"

"Treating all of us to a meal, no less?"

Inside the Zhi Lu, Zhou Xing was gathered with several men in Black Clothes. They had moved their desks to the center of the room to serve as a table, which was now laden with a feast of food and wine.

Zhou Xing smiled and said, "It’s just been a while since we all got together, brothers. You’re all Anjin masters now, men of high status. If a humble forensic doctor like me doesn’t try to curry some favor, what’ll I do when you guys make my life difficult later?"

Hearing Zhou Xing’s words, the men burst into laughter.

One of them, a big man with a full beard, grinned slyly. "Alright, you get it. For that awareness alone... hmm, we’ll try to make your life a little less difficult in the future."

"Get lost! Are you drinking or not? If not, scram!"

"Hey, hey, I was just playing along with what you said. Look at you, getting worked up again..."

For a time, the Zhi Lu was filled with endless laughter.

These were all Zhou Xing’s closest friends.

Zhou Xing had been working at the Government Office Entrance for over seven years, during which he had naturally made many friends. He had a forthright personality, and on top of that, his master was a True Martial Master... so it was easy for him to befriend people.

Now, all of these men were constable captains of their respective squads, and all of them possessed Anjin Cultivation.

...To leave an escape route for Qin Fang this time, Zhou Xing had really gone to great lengths.

Though he was laughing and joking with his colleagues on the surface, he was secretly tense, worrying about Qin Fang.

’...I hope everything goes smoothly.’

Just as he was thinking this, the frantic sound of footsteps was heard. The door to the Zhi Lu was thrown open, and everyone instinctively looked over to see a constable run in, panting.

"Captains, there’s been an incident!"

The men were all taken aback, and they subconsciously looked toward one of their own.

It was Zhao Xing.

He was on duty today, so naturally, they would follow his orders.

"What’s the situation?"

"At the entrance to Ganlu Hall... there might be a Demon!"

"What?!"

"A Demon?!"

The expression on nearly everyone’s face changed drastically at the same time.

Zhou Xing’s eyes flew wide open...

’Ganlu Hall?’

’Isn’t my junior brother right there?!’