In the blink of an eye, nearly a month had passed since Zhou Qian's grand wedding.
The lives of the common people in Qingyang County had returned to their usual calm.
After experiencing the extravagance of the Zhou family, many people speculated whether a similar event would occur when Zhou Qian had children.
During this period, Lin Ji also had rare leisure time, focusing on cultivating at home, but he was still a bit short of breaking through to the fourth realm.
Early in the morning, before dawn, a hurried knocking on the door interrupted Lin Ji's cultivation.
"Chief Lin, something has happened!"
Lin Ji quickly walked out of the house and opened the courtyard gate.
The person who came was a constable from the county yamen.
"Chief, you need to go to the yamen quickly, Lao Qiao has encountered a ghost."
"A ghost?" Lin Ji's expression froze.
Lao Qiao was the night watchman in the county, the one who walked around with a copper gong in the dead of night, waking people up.
Normally, Lao Qiao would never leave the county, but this wasn't Liang City, so where would a ghost come from in the middle of the night?
Lao Qiao had been a night watchman for his whole life and nothing had ever happened.
After sending away the constable, Lin Ji returned to his room to dress neatly and quickly made his way to the county yamen.
On the way, he met Lu Cong, who lived not far away and had just been awakened.
Guo Yi, accompanied by the sleepy Ling Yin, had already arrived.
These two were disciples who had come down from the sect for training and had not purchased property in Qingyang County, so they stayed near the yamen.
"Zhou Qian... forget it." Lin Ji noticed that only Zhou Qian hadn't arrived yet, so he didn't bother mentioning him.
In the main hall of the yamen, Lao Qiao's body lay on a wooden board, eyes wide open, mouth tightly shut, with faint traces of blood on his lips.
"He's not dead yet, but it won't be long." The old constable Xing, with a sorrowful expression, was a lifelong friend of Lao Qiao. Seeing his friend in distress, he couldn't accept it calmly.
"Condolences." Lin Ji patted Xing's shoulder and looked at Lao Qiao.
At the same time, Guo Yi also spoke up, "Blue lips, stiff body, loss of vitality. Indeed, it is a sign of a ghost harming a person."
Lin Ji nodded.
Xing reached out and opened Lao Qiao's jaw.
A strange foul smell immediately rushed out.
Lin Ji frowned and looked at Xing in confusion.
"What's going on?"
"I don't understand the affairs of demons and ghosts, but with this strange smell, combined with what Guo Constable said earlier, he must have been scared out of his wits."
In the time it took to speak, Lao Qiao took his last breath.
Xing sighed deeply, closed Lao Qiao's eyes with his hand.
"Who discovered this?" Lin Ji asked.
"It was the constable patrolling the streets at night. He saw Lao Qiao lying on the roadside and thought he was ill, but when he brought him back, he realized something was wrong." Guo Yi said, frowning, "How could there be ghosts haunting the county? Being so audacious in harming people, even in the dead of night, at the very least, it must be a fierce ghost."
Lin Ji also thought so.
Ordinary ghosts and wandering spirits were mostly those who had just died, with some intelligence remaining.
These small ghosts would dissipate soon, naturally not harming people, just like the Miss Luo they had encountered before.
But if a ghost started to cultivate in ignorance, such as absorbing the vitality of animals or humans, it would begin to transform into a fierce ghost.
Completely losing their intelligence, becoming a ghost soldier, with only the instinct to hunt for vitality.
Ghost soldiers were very weak, although they could harm people, they wouldn't dare to approach young people with strong yang energy.
And the county was full of living people, so these minor ghost soldiers wouldn't dare to easily enter the city, at most, they would kill a few rabbits in the mountains.
Beyond that were fierce ghosts.
"But if it's a fierce ghost. We're not far from Liang City, and haven't nearby fierce ghosts all pledged allegiance to the Ghost King of Liang City? How could there be one harming people in Qingyang County?" Lin Ji couldn't understand.
In the past, it would have been fine, Qingyang County occasionally had a few ghostly disturbances.
But now, with the situation at Liang City, surrounded by ghosts, and the Ghost King of Liang City restraining his subordinates, where would fierce ghosts run amok?
Guo Yi and the others couldn't understand either, but regardless, this matter needed to be resolved.
Lin Ji glanced outside the hall, where the sky was already bright.
"For the next few days, don't rest at night, patrol the city in the county." Lin Ji ordered, "At most, the fierce ghost is only at the second realm, Ling Yin can handle it, so there's no need to panic."
"Lu Cong, you're only at the first realm, be careful on your own. If you encounter anything, shout loudly, and we'll arrive quickly."
"Yes." Lu Cong nodded.
Suddenly, Ling Yin asked, "What if it's not a fierce ghost, but a ghost general?"
Lin Ji glanced at Ling Yin, dumbfounded, too lazy to explain.
"If it were a ghost general, Lao Qiao wouldn't have survived until now." Guo Yi whispered on the side.
"Alright, that's the arrangement." Lin Ji waved his hand to dismiss everyone, but found that only Lu Cong had left, while Ling Yin and Guo Yi seemed to have something to say.
"Do you two have something to tell me?" Lin Ji casually found a chair to sit down, and before the two could speak, he asked, "Where's that rascal Zhou Qian? He's still not here after all this time?"
In the midst of speaking, footsteps could be heard outside the hall.
Zhou Qian quickly walked into the hall.
"I mean, even if it's a newlywed couple, you're not a greenhorn, is it necessary?" Lin Ji said helplessly.
A smile appeared on Zhou Qian's face, but then his expression turned serious.
"Chief Lin, this is my resignation letter."
"Resignation letter? You're quitting?" Lin Ji took the resignation letter, furrowing his brows, "Zhou Qian, I've never been harsh on you, have I? I know your heart isn't here, so when there's danger, I've always kept you out of it."
"Yes, Chief Lin, I remember your care." Zhou Qian quickly nodded and explained, "I'm planning to move with my wife to Xiangzhou."
"Move? What about your father?"
"My father is still hale and hearty, haha, my third mother is expecting." Zhou Qian smiled somewhat helplessly.
Lin Ji was truly surprised this time.
Zhou's father must be over fifty years old, so it seems your Zhou family has its traditions.
Lin Ji accepted the resignation letter, pondered for a moment, and carefully said, "If you want to leave, I won't stop you, but your wife..."
"You've indeed seen through it. Yes, Little Mei is a cultivator." Zhou Qian didn't hide it, "Little Mei is a disciple of the Hehuan Sect, and because the Hehuan Sect is in Xiangzhou, I'm planning to move there with her."
"Hehuan Sect?"
Lin Ji pondered for a moment, furrowing his brows, "How could disciples of the Hehuan Sect end up in Liangzhou? And even go to a brothel?"
"I can't disclose the details, but if you really want to know..."
"No need, as long as it doesn't harm the people, I don't care to listen." Lin Ji shook his head, waved his hand, "Alright, if you want to leave, then leave quickly."
Zhou Qian deeply bowed, saying solemnly, "Boss, I wish you a bright future and prosperous martial arts."
With that, Zhou Qian quickly left.
Lin Ji sighed lightly, realizing that his manpower was already insufficient, and the quality was also worrying, and now another one had left.
He looked at Guo Yi and Ling Yin on the side.
"Do you two have something to say? Are you also going to submit your resignation letters?"
Before the words were out, he saw Ling Yin hesitantly handing over a letter.
Lin Ji's face immediately fell.
(End of this chapter)