Walking forward with slow, steady steps.
Shen Changqing’s heart did not waver because of the corpses on the ground.
The closer he got, the more intense the sinister aura became.
As his perception spread outward, the surroundings were deathly silent, showing no sign of any living presence.
Suddenly, Shen Changqing stopped in his tracks.
The sinister aura permeated the air, making it feel as if everything had come to a standstill.
He was certain.
The evil entity existing here had undoubtedly discovered his presence.
However, out of fear of his strength, it did not dare to make a single move.
Time passed bit by bit.
Shen Changqing remained motionless, and the evil entity did not move either.
Both were waiting.
Waiting for the other side to reveal a flaw.
After a long time, the evil entity still showed no movement, but Shen Changqing was growing impatient.
"Fine. Since you don't want to come out, then I shall see how long you can endure!"
He thrust a palm forward through the air. The scorching palm wind swept out like a heatwave, instantly igniting the surrounding buildings.
Immediately after, Shen Changqing struck with several more palm strikes, intensifying the spread of the fire.
Soon, the entire courtyard was engulfed in flames.
Evil entities were not afraid of fire, but that did not mean fire had no effect on them. Even if they were formless and incorporeal, they were forced to retreat once the temperature rose to a certain level.
As the fire raged, Shen Changqing stood in the courtyard, releasing his astral qi to temporarily shield himself from the heat.
At the same time, he expanded his perception to monitor any movement within the courtyard.
One breath!
Two breaths!
The roaring fire caused the wood to crackle loudly. The sinister aura was somewhat dispersed by the intense heat, yet there was still no significant fluctuation.
As the fire grew more violent, even with his astral qi protecting him, Shen Changqing felt his breathing become somewhat labored.
Nevertheless, his figure remained unmoved, locked in a stalemate with the evil entity hiding somewhere.
*Rumble—*
The houses collapsed. Amidst the raging fire, several fragile side rooms finally gave way.
At the exact moment the buildings collapsed, a dark shadow suddenly lunged out from the pile of flames and fled into the distance.
"Finally coming out!"
With cold eyes, Shen Changqing pursued immediately.
His Heavenly Martial True Qi erupted, making his body as fast as lightning. In less than two breaths, he closed the distance between them.
Following this, he unleashed a mid-air palm strike.
The palm energy struck out, causing the dark shadow ahead to plummet.
As the shadow fell, Shen Changqing stepped forward, his body descending simultaneously. As the shadow hit the ground and bounced back up, he instantly drew his blade and engaged in combat.
At this moment, aided by his ability to see in the dark, Shen Changqing saw clearly what he was fighting.
It looked like a courtyard guard, but unlike a human, its expression was stiff and its movements were ghostly.
He naturally did not forget this familiar sight.
"Possession!"
"The evil entities of the Eternal Life Alliance not only plunder the essence blood of demons but also have the capacity to dispatch a Grievance-grade specter to cause chaos in my Lin'an City."
Shen Changqing’s expression remained calm, his offensive strikes never pausing for a second.
The destruction of the Heavenly Observation Guard outpost was likely the work of this Grievance-grade specter.
Otherwise, given the strength of the outpost, a Ghost-grade specter could not have wiped them out so easily.
Instead, a Grievance-grade specter was something the outpost simply had no power to resist.
*Whoosh—*
The long blade slashed through the air, its blade energy cutting through the darkness with a sharp whistle. The evil entity's form vanished from its spot, seemingly attempting to dodge elsewhere.
Shen Changqing was one step faster. Before the blade could miss, he closed in and struck out with a sudden, powerful palm.
*Bang!!*
The evil entity was sent flying.
That single palm strike caused its chest to cave in.
Immediately after, Shen Changqing delivered another slash, decapitating the entity.
The moment the head hit the ground, the evil entity detached itself from the body, attempting to flee to another location.
"Lord!"
A bailiff, having noticed the commotion, happened to arrive just then. The evil entity instantly changed direction and flew toward the bailiff.
Seeing this, Shen Changqing’s expression changed.
"Get out of the way—"
The words had barely left his mouth before it was too late.
The bailiff was caught completely off guard and was possessed by the entity, his body momentarily stiffening.
Before the evil entity could fully take control of the body, Shen Changqing’s blade swung down, striking heavily against the man's neck.
Though the blade was not particularly sharp, with the assistance of his Heavenly Martial True Qi, it cut through flesh and bone as if they were soft clay.
With a single strike, the bailiff's head fell off.
The newly possessed evil entity immediately detached from the corpse, seeking its next vessel.
Shen Changqing’s fury erupted, and he roared sternly, "You still think you can escape!"
With a forceful flick of his wrist, the long blade turned into a streak of dark light, piercing through the air and pinning the evil entity to the ground instantly.
Without giving it a chance to react, Shen Changqing closed in and unleashed a full-strength palm strike directly onto the entity.
"Aaaah!!"
The evil entity let out a piercing shriek, its body scattering like smoke under the impact.
A familiar sensation surged within him.
Shen Changqing checked his panel; his Slaughter Value had increased by over twenty points, and his mind finally relaxed completely.
Evil entities were bizarre, making it difficult to determine if they were truly dead.
The Slaughter Value was different.
If an evil entity was not dead, it would not grant Slaughter Value. If it suffered irreparable damage, it might provide a portion, but never a significant amount.
The fact that the panel had jumped by over twenty points meant this was a complete Grievance-grade specter.
Therefore, the arrival of the Slaughter Value proved the entity was dead.
Only then did the several bailiffs, who had been standing frozen and trembling with terror, dare to slowly approach.
"Lo... Lord—"
"What is the situation in the other areas?"
Shen Changqing sheathed his blade and looked at the bailiffs. One of them was the original Zhou Yang.
Hearing this, Zhou Yang glanced at the corpse of his colleague on the ground before withdrawing his gaze and bowing deeply. "Reporting to the Lord, most fires across the city have been extinguished. We saw the commotion here and came to investigate."
He just hadn't expected that the commotion was caused by Shen Changqing and the evil entity.
Zhou Yang felt fortunate that he wasn't the one who had run the fastest; otherwise, he might have been the one lying there with his head severed.
Shen Changqing looked at the men, then glanced at the corpse on the ground, shaking his head slightly.
"The moment he was possessed, he was already dead. However, he died in the line of duty. Take him back and give him a proper burial. If he has family, provide them with the appropriate pension according to the regulations."
"The Lord is wise."
Facing Zhou Yang's flattery, Shen Changqing remained silent.
Regardless, the deceased bailiff had done his duty, and his death was somewhat related to him. Providing a pension was the only thing he could do.
After a brief moment of regret, he continued, "Continue your patrols and see if there are any other abnormalities. Also, accelerate the firefighting; leave the rest to me."
"Understood, Lord!"
Zhou Yang bowed.
Shen Changqing glanced at him, then leaped into the air, vanishing from the spot in less than a second.
Seeing this, Zhou Yang turned to the men behind him. "Wu Er, take Zhou Xing's body back. The rest of you, follow me."
***
After slaying the Grievance-grade specter and harvesting a wave of Slaughter Value, Shen Changqing returned to the yamen.
The commotion outside the city gradually subsided.
As time passed, it soon reached the moment when the eastern sky turned white, beginning to drive away the darkness of the world.
"It's over," Shen Changqing thought to himself, standing on the roof of the yamen.
Wisps of smoke still rose from various parts of Lin'an City, but the suffocating gloom of yesterday was gone.
The bailiffs patrolling the streets were also gradually returning.
Shen Changqing leaped down and returned to the inner hall.
"Lord, how was the situation last night?" Shi Qingsheng, who had been resting in a side room of the inner hall, had immediately climbed out of bed at dawn, just in time to see Shen Changqing descending from the roof.
His face was still pale, and he had heavy dark circles under his eyes, looking as though he had suffered from severe sleep deprivation.
Shen Changqing raised an eyebrow. "Did you not sleep well last night?"
"You jest, Lord. With the situation last night, how could I possibly sleep?" Shi Qingsheng gave a bitter smile.
Given what happened last night, let alone sleeping, he had been unable to stop trembling even while hiding under his covers. If it weren't for the bright daylight, he wouldn't have dared to leave his room.
There was no helping it; ordinary people were simply that fragile in the face of evil entities.
Shen Changqing said, "Most of the evil entities were killed by me last night. I believe Lin'an City will be much quieter for a while."
He was essentially comforting Shi Qingsheng.
The struggle for demon essence blood was undoubtedly over.
The Eternal Life Alliance's outpost here had been completely uprooted by him, and with so many evil entities slain, they could not afford to invest much more power here.
To put it bluntly, Lin'an City was a tiny place. Aside from the temptation of a hundred thousand citizens to the eyes of evil entities, it held no other significant attraction.
If the Eternal Life Alliance were to pour massive resources here just to vent their anger, it would be far too impulsive.
In Shen Changqing's view, the Eternal Life Alliance had grown to its current scale; they would never act purely on impulse.
"As long as you are here, Lord, what is there to fear from evil entities—"
Shi Qingsheng offered a forced smile, but stopped mid-sentence.
He had almost forgotten.
Shen Changqing was not the true County Magistrate, but merely a temporary substitute until the new magistrate arrived.
In other words, the man would eventually leave.
While they were talking, Zhang Yue returned with his men.
"Come into the inner hall to talk. The rest of you, take your rest," Shen Changqing commanded upon seeing Zhang Yue.
After speaking, he stepped into the inner hall.
Seeing this, Zhang Yue and Shi Qingsheng hurriedly followed him inside, while the remaining bailiffs dispersed.
Inside the hall, Shen Changqing sat in the primary seat and looked at the two men before him. "Sit down. Zhang Yue, report the specific details. Exactly how much damage was sustained in the city last night?"