I Can Devour Spirits

Yang Zhen held a flint and walked out, following the tunnel until he reached an exit.

Yang Zhen stood there that day, seeing the faint daylight shooting through the opening.

Yang Zhen put out the flint in his hand and crawled out from the exit.

He immediately found himself at the bottom of a dry well.

Indeed, it was Jie Lei’s underground passage.

Yang Zhen leaped up, supporting himself with both hands on the walls of the well, and climbed out.

Yang Zhen jumped down beside the well, seeing the morning light faintly shine, it was indeed dawn.

He inhaled the slightly damp fresh air, feeling a sense of rebirth.

Yang Zhen’s eyes reddened slightly.

He didn’t expect Duan Rong to let him go.

Yang Zhen wondered if the roles were reversed, would he let Duan Rong go?

Yang Zhen touched the wound on his chest again, and many memories from the past surged in his mind.

He knew there was only one reason Duan Rong didn’t kill him, and that was the bond of brotherhood.

Duan Rong’s simple and honest blackened face flashed through Yang Zhen’s mind.

Yang Zhen chuckled and murmured to himself, ”You brat... softened your heart to me? Being like a woman? Dilly-dallying, and even hid me in the underground passage...”

Though Yang Zhen cursed under his breath, tears uncontrollably streamed from his eyes.

No matter what Duan Rong did, he could never betray him again.

Yang Zhen jumped out of Jie Lei’s old courtyard and went out to the street to have two bowls of breakfast, then went home to change clothes before reporting to the government office.

Yang Zhen entered the Arresting Officer’s Room, startling Zhu Baogui and Liu Kui.

”You still know how to come here? I thought you were dead?” Zhu Baogui looked at Yang Zhen in astonishment.

”You’re the one who’s dead! Can you say something auspicious early in the morning?” Yang Zhen glanced at Zhu Baogui and calmly sat down at his desk.

”Yang Zhen, Jie Daohan is gone. How about following me?” Zhu Baogui asked as Yang Zhen sat down, his eyes twinkling.

Yang Zhen has good martial arts skills, is reliable, and diligent at work, and Zhu Baogui really wanted to recruit him.

Yang Zhen looked at him but said nothing. With Jie Daohan dead, he would have to rejoin sooner or later, and following Zhu Baogui wasn’t a bad choice.

Zhu Baogui saw that Yang Zhen said nothing and knew he agreed.

At that moment, Zhu Baogui and Liu Kui stood up and walked outside.

Yang Zhen looked at the two and said, ”What are you doing? Where are you going?”

Zhu Baogui said, ”New rule! Every morning we gather in front of the main hall to check in!”

Zhu Baogui saw Yang Zhen’s puzzled expression and explained, ”The new Chief Constable has arrived, named Ding Xingxing.”

Yang Zhen’s eyes shifted. ”A new Chief Constable?”

”And yesterday was Chief Ding’s first check-in, you weren’t there. You’d better come up with an excuse to explain to Chief Ding later.” Zhu Baogui said as he walked out of the Arresting Officer’s Room.

Yang Zhen immediately got up and followed them to the front of the main hall.

The crowd lined up, and soon a square-faced middle-aged man with big eyes strode to the front of them, his gaze arrogantly sweeping over the crowd, ”Is everyone here?”

”Everyone’s here.” Several voices responded from the crowd.

Ding Xingxing’s eyelid twitched as he looked, seeing three rows of eighteen people without a single absence, indeed everyone was present.

Ding Xingxing’s eyes focused, ”Who is Yang Zhen?”

Yang Zhen stepped out and approached, cupping his fists with a slight bow, ”Subordinate Yang Zhen, greets Chief Ding!”

”Why weren’t you at yesterday’s check-in? Are you looking down on me, the Chief Constable?” Ding Xingxing stared straight into Yang Zhen’s eyes, aiming to make an example of him.

Yang Zhen said, ”I wouldn’t dare, Sir! It’s because of Jie Daohan’s incident that I felt disturbed, drank heavily for a few days, and missed the check-in. Not showing up on the first day’s check-in disgraces the officer’s authority, I willingly accept thirty strokes of punishment!”

Saying this, Yang Zhen knelt on one knee, his expression calm and unafraid.

Ding Xingxing’s heart skipped a beat; he looked closely at Yang Zhen, thinking: This kid has courage and insight, and rare loyalty to the old superior.

Ding Xingxing said, ”You seem to know the bigger picture. These thirty strokes will be noted, and if you make a mistake in the future, you’ll be punished together! So be it, Yang Zhen, from now on you’re with me, I’m in need of an assistant.”

Upon hearing this, Yang Zhen quickly cupped his fists and said, ”Thank you for your guidance, Chief Ding!”

In the crowd, many looked at Yang Zhen with strange expressions.

Is this a stroke of luck? Chosen as an assistant by two successive chiefs!

Zhu Baogui internally cursed, ”Isn’t this robbing my people?”

The Changling Mountain Range stretches over two hundred miles and is the location of the Taiyi Sect’s mountain gate.

With layers of steep ridges, towering peaks like clouds, valleys everywhere, and a climate of nine cloudy days to one clear day, many places are shrouded in miasma with poisonous insects everywhere.

The Changling Mountain was originally rarely visited by people, and the Taiyi Sect had strict orders prohibiting locals from entering the mountain, treating violators as traitors.

Therefore, even in the foothills of Changling Mountain, there are no figures of hunters or woodcutters.

However, on this particular mountain path, there were four black dots struggling to climb.

It was the group of four led by Duan Rong, making their long journey.

Duan Rong and his group first traveled with Zhu Qunxiang’s party to the Divine Cloud Prefecture.

Unexpectedly, as soon as they reached the Divine Cloud Prefecture, they were taken in for questioning by the Ministry of Justice for three consecutive days. They were grilled about the ambush by the Filthy Blood Sect they encountered in the wilderness of Xianggu County.

Divine Cloud Prefecture, the Capital of Qingzhou, with the Ministry of Justice overseeing it, managed all criminal cases in Qingzhou Territory. Regardless of the case’s size, they have the authority to review and re-investigate.

After three days, Duan Rong and his group of four were released. However, Zhu Qunxiang, Lu Qingfeng, and Wang Shanshan were temporarily detained in the Ministry of Justice.