"You’re talking about Yan Jun? The one a monster burst out of?" Qin Fang asked abruptly.

Shopkeeper Lin looked stunned, his eyes widening in disbelief. "You killed another one..."

But he stopped himself abruptly before he could finish.

’Killed another one?’

’Another what?’

As a glint flashed in Qin Fang’s eyes, Shopkeeper Lin’s face contorted, finally settling into a vicious snarl. "You’re dead meat... And not just you. Everyone you know, everyone you care about—all of them are going to die!"

Qin Fang frowned and was about to question him further.

But he saw Shopkeeper Lin suddenly begin to convulse. His face twisted into a grimace, and an unnatural flush crept over his skin.

Qin Fang’s pupils contracted. Without a second thought, he shot backward. As he retreated, he flicked his right hand, sending dozens of Iron Nails flying straight at Shopkeeper Lin.

He didn’t wait to see the result. In the blink of an eye, he was out of Ganlu Hall.

He put at least ten meters between himself and the shop. Ganlu Hall fell silent.

Qin Fang frowned. He waited for a long moment before cautiously stepping back inside.

He pushed aside the door curtain and looked...

Shopkeeper Lin was as dead as could be.

Several bloody holes dotted his forehead and face. It was a gruesome sight.

And the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth... was black.

’Poison?’

Qin Fang’s brow furrowed deeply.

’He poisoned himself?’

He had jumped back, of course, fearing another monster would burst out. He was covered in injuries; if the body had exploded and a monster emerged, he doubted he could have won the fight.

But from the looks of it now...

...that wasn’t what had happened.

Ganlu Hall was quiet. After a moment’s thought, he walked to the back of the building.

Most of the buildings in this market were made of adobe, and Ganlu Hall was no exception. There was a courtyard out back, but it was completely empty.

’...Looks like this branch only had those few clerks out front.’

He returned to the front of the shop. After a moment’s consideration, he turned and left.

This trip had served two purposes: to probe for information and to silence a witness.

First, he wanted to see if Xu Meng had revealed his identity.

Second, he wanted to determine if Ganlu Hall was truly connected to the monsters.

And now, he had his answers.

Xu Meng hadn’t revealed anything about him.

And the monsters... were indeed connected to Ganlu Hall!

’Ganlu Hall, the Cyan Wolf Gang...’

’...and Wang Hu...’

The feeling that he was caught in a vast conspiracy grew even stronger in Qin Fang.

’The silencing part is done, I guess...’

’But those people were in Fisherman City for days. They even made contact with Xu Meng. I wonder if they learned anything... I have no way of knowing if they’ve already sent that information out...’

He frowned. After a moment, he let out a soft sigh and turned to leave.

The priority now was to get out of this troubled place. He could figure out the rest later.

He returned to his courtyard first. Hearing the noise, Xile bounded over to greet him. When it saw it was Qin Fang, it whimpered and rubbed against his legs incessantly.

Qin Fang patted Xile’s head, went back to his room, and picked up the bundle he had prepared.

Then, he took Xile to the docks. He found the sampan Monkey had left for him at the same spot where they had boarded the boat for True Martial County Town.

Xile sniffed curiously around the sampan. It had never been on the river before.

Seeing Qin Fang get onto the boat, Xile quickly leaped aboard as well. It was no longer a little puppy; it had grown quite a bit, and a simple doorstep couldn’t hold it back anymore.

Qin Fang untied the rope, gave a push with the bamboo pole, and the sampan drifted away from the bank, carried downstream by the current.

The river surged around him. As Fisherman City grew more and more distant, Qin Fang let out a long sigh.

’...He had lived in Fisherman City for over half a year, only to be forced out once more.’

Looking back, his time in Fisherman City had actually been quite pleasant.

Some things had happened, of course, but he had managed to resolve them all.

The image of Xu Meng’s hearty smile flashed through his mind. He fell silent for a moment, then let out a soft sigh.

The small boat drifted downstream. The River Surface was surprisingly bustling at night, with the faint, flickering lights of other boats visible in the distance.

’...Those are fishermen on the river.’

Qin Fang was heading to the next market town.

About an hour’s journey downstream, there was a small market town similar in size to Fisherman City, called Wanshui.

’...He’d told Monkey he was going to Cuishui, but he had changed his mind.’

He felt his injuries were worse than he’d imagined. The brief fight just now had sent a stabbing pain through his ribs; they might have been knocked out of place.

That was extremely dangerous.

He needed to find a relatively safe place to treat his injuries first.

’...Besides, what could he even accomplish by going to Cuishui?’

’Cause trouble for the Cyan Wolf Gang?’

’But Yan Jun was already dead.’

In truth, he felt a bit lost... He sensed a vast conspiracy unfolding in the shadows of True Martial, but he didn’t know its purpose, and the power behind it was so immense it terrified him.

’...They could casually send out an Anjin Martial Artist paired with a monster!’

Faced with that kind of power, he was completely incapable of handling it, even if he did uncover something.

He had told his Senior Brother, at least.

But this faction was clearly more powerful than even the True Martial Government Office, and it was hidden extremely well.

The only thing he knew for sure was its connection to Ganlu Hall.

’But... it’s definitely not just Ganlu Hall!’

Qin Fang realized that no matter what he did, he seemed powerless to stop this overwhelming force.

The only thing he could do... was try his best to survive.

His lips tightened into a firm line. Finally, he let out a soft breath.

"No matter what, getting stronger is never the wrong move."

If he hadn’t cultivated diligently every day and reached the Anjin Cultivation level today... he would already be dead!

It just went to show that in this World, strength was the root of everything.

’Just imagine, if my cultivation was above the Huajin realm... would I need to be this conflicted?’

’I’d probably have gone straight to Ganlu Hall’s headquarters to see what the hell was going on!’

’With that kind of cultivation, I could even unite the major powers of True Martial County to crush Ganlu Hall... Qi Blood Pills? I’d have them all destroyed!’

’How could I be so powerless, knowing there’s a problem with the Qi Blood Pills but unable to do anything about it?’

A sense of urgency welled up inside Qin Fang.

’The Giant Bee...’

’...Even if it’s risky, I have to start preparing for it!’

As he was lost in thought, Xile, who had been lying quietly beside him, suddenly discovered something. It leaped to its feet by Qin Fang’s leg, letting out a low, guttural growl at the River Surface.

Qin Fang froze for a second, then instinctively looked at Xile.

Xile was staring at the River Surface, all the fur on its body standing on end... the classic sign of a dog sensing a threat.

Qin Fang’s gaze instinctively followed. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

The sky had darkened, but since Qin Fang hadn’t lit a lamp, his eyes were adjusted and he could see a good distance.

And at this moment, he saw a fishing boat with its lamp lit, at most a hundred meters away from him on the river.

Just as he was wondering about it...

...suddenly...

...the water next to the fishing boat began to churn violently. The next moment...

...a colossal creature leaped from the water.

It was even bigger than the fishing boat!

It looked like an enormous, pitch-black fish, but from this distance, he couldn’t make out any finer details.

He could only watch as it opened its maw, full of serrated teeth, and bit down directly on the fishing boat!

CRUNCH!

Qin Fang thought he could almost hear the sound of the boat splintering.

Before that mouth, the fishing boat was like a mere snack. The dark shadow swallowed it in a single gulp, then plunged back into the water...

Qin Fang stared, stunned. He drew a sharp, cold breath as a chill ran down his spine.

’That’s...’

’A Demon?’