’Proficiency 479... I’ll be able to break through in three days, tops.’

After finishing another day of Standing Pile practice, Qin Fang looked at his proficiency, which was getting closer and closer to the 500 mark, and a hint of anticipation appeared in his eyes.

He had been in Fisherman City for nearly a month, and he was finally about to break through to the Mingjin realm.

’But the Qi Blood Pills... are also about to run out completely.’

He looked at the Porcelain Bottle... Of the thirty-one Qi Blood Pills, only the last four remained.

He had used two more than he originally anticipated.

...There was nothing to be done about it.

The diminishing effectiveness of the Qi Blood Pills left him feeling a bit helpless.

’And this is just for the entry-level... Once I reach Minor Achievement, that’s a thousand proficiency points. If the effect of the Qi Blood Pills diminishes further... I’ll probably need even more...’

Qin Fang’s eyelid twitched.

Right now, the effect of a Qi Blood Pill had already dropped to about 11 proficiency points per pill.

’If it drops any further, it’ll probably fall below the 10-point mark... At that rate, won’t I need over a hundred pills to break through to Minor Achievement?’

’And the money I have on hand right now... even if I spent it all, I could only buy... five?’

The shortfall was just too great.

Qin Fang felt a headache coming on.

But in the end, he could only shake his head.

’Forget it. I’ll worry about that after I break through to the Mingjin realm.’

He thought for a moment, then rested for a bit before starting to cook.

As he was eating, a sudden knock came from the courtyard gate. Qin Fang paused for a moment, then stood up, walked to the gate, and looked outside...

Xu Meng was standing outside the gate.

But his expression was clearly not good; he even looked a little pale.

Qin Fang’s brow furrowed slightly...

Lately, Xu Meng had been stopping by every so often. It wasn’t for anything in particular; he’d just sit for a while and chat.

Qin Fang could guess his intentions... He was simply trying to build a good relationship with him in advance, so that if he ever needed Qin Fang’s help, he wouldn’t be scrambling at the last minute.

’As an Expert in Hidden Weapons who could instantly kill a Mingjin Martial Artist, he had that much confidence and standing.’

Qin Fang was well aware of Xu Meng’s intentions.

However, he wasn’t opposed to it.

It was perfectly normal.

This was true not just for two strangers who had recently met.

Even with one’s closest relatives, their attitude toward you sometimes depended entirely on... what value you could bring them.

One of the reasons Qin Fang had revealed his skills was to demonstrate his own value.

’...Looking at Xu Meng’s current state, he’s clearly run into some trouble. Could it be that he has a favor to ask?’

He thought this impassively as he opened the gate.

"Brother Xu?"

Before Qin Fang opened the gate, Xu Meng had clearly been lost in thought. He only snapped out of it when he heard Qin Fang’s voice.

"Brother Qin."

"Perfect timing. I’m eating right now. Care to join me?" Qin Fang nodded, extending the invitation.

But Xu Meng shook his head. "I won’t eat. I came to tell you something, Brother Qin."

"Oh? Go on," Qin Fang nodded.

"Something happened yesterday. The River Surface might not be safe recently. Brother Qin, you should be careful. Try to stay away from the water for a while." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Xu Meng said in a low voice.

Qin Fang was visibly stunned for a moment, because this was not what he had expected...

He had thought Xu Meng had come to his door with a favor to ask.

He never expected...

"Something happened? What happened? The River Surface isn’t safe... What do you mean by that?"

Qin Fang’s face was full of confusion.

Xu Meng took a deep breath and said in a hushed voice, "Three fishing boats were attacked. Many people died, and their bodies were mostly eaten. If I’m not mistaken... it must have been a Demon."

Qin Fang almost thought he’d misheard, blinking his eyes.

"Brother Xu, did you say... a Demon?"

Demons—of course he had heard of them.

The original owner of this body had heard of them too.

But...

Weren’t they just legends?

Seeing Xu Meng’s solemn expression, Qin Fang was filled with doubt.

’...Could it be? Are Demons actually real?’

Just then, Xu Meng continued with a grim expression, "It’s been nearly ten years since a Demon was last sighted. For one to reappear on the Chujiang River now... I’m afraid something big is about to happen... I..."

As he was speaking, a sudden rush of footsteps sounded.

"Boss, it’s bad!"

A member of the Fish Dragon Gang ran up, panting. Xu Meng turned, his brow furrowed. "What’s wrong?"

"Two more fishing boats just drifted in! The fishermen are in an uproar!"

"What?"

Xu Meng’s expression changed, and he immediately strode off.

Still holding his bowl, Qin Fang frowned deeply. He turned, put down his bowl and chopsticks, and quickly followed.

They soon arrived at the docks, where a large crowd of fishermen had already gathered. Their faces were pale as they stared at the riverbank.

At that moment, several members of the Fish Dragon Gang were at the river’s edge, using grappling hooks to pull two wrecked fishing boats toward the dock. Qin Fang saw the terrible state of the two boats at a glance...

Almost half of their hulls were shattered.

And the marks of this destruction...

Looked exactly like they were caused by the bite of a gigantic mouth!

To cause such marks, that mouth would have to be at least two meters tall...

Qin Fang sucked in a sharp breath.

His eyes widened involuntarily...

’Could it really be... a Demon?’

The buzzing discussions of the people around him filled his ears.

"Isn’t—isn’t that Zhang Shuisheng’s boat?"

"I think so... It belongs to that father and son."

"Is it... is it really a Demon attack?"

"The Demon plague ten years ago killed thousands of people... This... this..."

The crowd was in an uproar, endless fear on everyone’s faces...

And many people were mentioning what happened ten years ago.

Qin Fang was shaken.

’...So Demons are real?’

’And there was an attack ten years ago?’

He quickly tried to recall the original owner’s memories... and found that the previous owner had also heard the old folks back in Jingping talk about mountain spirits and demons.

But that stuff... wasn’t it just folklore?

Even if the stories were told in vivid detail, and some of the elderly even swore they had seen them with their own eyes... the original owner had never seen one himself.

So Qin Fang had naturally and subconsciously dismissed it all as legend...

After all, weren’t there countless legends about monsters in his previous life, too?

But who had ever actually seen one?

But now, it seemed...

That wasn’t the case at all!

Qin Fang’s mind reeled. He saw Xu Meng walk to the side of the boat, lean over to look inside, and then quickly cover his nose and mouth, his face turning extremely grim.

Qin Fang composed himself and also moved to an angle where he could see into the boat’s cabin.

Then, in one of the boats, he saw what was left of a body—half a torso—floating in the water that had collected in the cabin.

The man’s eyes were wide open, as if he had died with a grievance. His lower body was gone, leaving only his upper half, which was gripping the gunwale on the opposite side with a deathly grip...

He had clearly grabbed it subconsciously when faced with danger and hadn’t let go even in death.

His lower half was gone, and judging by the wound, it truly looked as if it had been bitten clean off by some enormous creature. A mess of white and green organs floated in the bloody water along with the half-corpse.

It was a physically sickening sight.

Utterly gruesome!

Even Qin Fang, who was used to seeing dead bodies, felt his expression change slightly.

As for the other boat, there was only some bloody water. Not even a body could be seen.

It was obvious...

Most likely, the entire person had been dragged away and eaten.