Lin Ji scrutinized Lu Cong from top to bottom, puzzled as he asked, "You can distinguish between fresh and cooked just by smelling?"
"Heh, Boss, if you don't believe me, why not call the chicken farmer from the county?" Lu Cong confidently replied.
"Song Er, go and fetch him."
"I'll go right away."
Lin Ji watched as Song Er left, already believing most of Lu Cong's words.
"So if this is really just chicken blood, it means someone is playing tricks." Lin Ji looked around suspiciously.
"It might not be a person, it could also be a demon." Guo Yi pondered, saying, "Just now the constable mentioned that the words appeared out of thin air. He doesn't have any cultivation, so it's easy to deceive him, but the purpose of leaving these words is probably to scare us into sacrificing a maiden in Liang River. It's likely a monster trying to intimidate us."
"That makes sense." Lin Ji nodded.
In the meantime, Song Er had arrived with the chicken farmer, Old Zhang.
From a few meters away, Old Zhang could already see the bloodstained words on the door.
Approaching closer, he sniffed and nodded, "It's chicken blood, a distinct smell."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, but it's not from domestic chickens, it should be from wild mountain chickens."
Old Zhang pondered and said, "Captain Lin, the smell of mountain chickens is a bit more gamey than domestic ones. I've raised chickens all my life, slaughtering at least a dozen every day, so I can tell the difference."
"Alright, thank you." Lin Ji thanked him and sent Old Zhang away.
Afterwards, a hint of amusement appeared on his face as he looked at the people around him.
"We have all kinds of talents in our county. Even I consider myself a connoisseur, but I can't distinguish the origin of this blood, let alone differentiate between mountain chickens and domestic ones."
Lin Ji was approaching the Fourth Realm, his divine sense awakened, his five senses enhanced. Logically, his sense of smell should be much sharper than an average person's.
However, he couldn't discern the origin of the bloodstains, let alone the absurd idea of distinguishing between mountain chickens and domestic ones.
"This is what we call specialization in a craft." Guo Yi casually remarked.
Since it was just chicken blood, most likely it was a trick played by the so-called River God to scare people.
"If this monster is trying to scare us like this, it probably doesn't have much ability. Let's just ignore it." Lin Ji waved his hand, ready to let everyone go about their business.
But he suddenly realized that Zhong Xiaoyan was not present.
Since Zhong Xiaoyan had joined the demon hunters, if something happened in the county, someone would naturally inform her.
"Where's Zhong Xiaoyan? Why hasn't she shown up?" Lin Ji asked Song Er.
"I knocked on her door, but she wasn't home." Song Er shrugged.
Lin Ji furrowed his brow, recalling his conversation with Zhong Xiaoyan at noon.
"Could this silly girl have gone to Liang River to hunt demons on her own?" Lin Ji felt a bit anxious.
This monster could manipulate the weather, most likely having some dragon bloodline. Even if its cultivation level wasn't high and it only dared to scare people, going to someone else's territory to cause trouble was asking for trouble.
"She probably wouldn't, Miss Xiaoyan doesn't seem like such an imprudent person." Guo Yi said.
"How doesn't she seem like one?" Lin Ji retorted, leaving Guo Yi speechless.
After worrying for a moment, Lin Ji shook his head, "Forget it, if she didn't go, that's for the best. If she did, she should come back after facing some setbacks."
"Alright, everyone should go about their business. Song Er, arrange for the main gate to be cleaned."
"Understood." Song Er promptly agreed.
After giving instructions, everyone dispersed.
At night, past midnight, Lin Ji, feeling somewhat uneasy, emerged from his cultivation state.
He pushed open the door and looked towards the neighboring courtyard.
Since he returned from the yamen, there had been no movement next door until now.
"Liang River is less than a hundred miles away. With a cultivator's speed, they should have returned in a few hours."
"I hope nothing has happened." Lin Ji grew increasingly anxious.
Changing into his clothes, grabbing his long sword, muttering complaints about trouble, he finally stepped out into the pouring rain.
As the Chief Constable of Qingyang County, he couldn't just stand by when his demon hunters were in trouble.
"This girl must be out of her mind. How could her family allow her to come out like this?"
By the banks of Liang River, Zhong Xiaoyan held a formation plate, already infused with spiritual energy, creating a defensive formation that could accommodate three to four people.
Ling Er cowered behind Zhong Xiaoyan, her face filled with anxiety.
Facing them across the river on Liang River's waterway was a massive purple-scaled python, swaying with the river's current.
However, the head of the python was not that of a snake but a bizarre shape, with two large drooping ears on top.
"Miss, what should we do?" Ling Er's voice carried a hint of fear, "How can it be a dragon breed? Where did this dragon breed come from in Liang River?"
"Pig Dragon." Zhong Xiaoyan's face turned extremely grim, struggling to maintain the formation plate. However, this also meant she couldn't break free, only able to hold her ground.
The river water in Liang River occasionally surged, splashing onto the defensive formation Zhong Xiaoyan upheld.
Although it seemed like Zhong Xiaoyan was unharmed, with each defense against the opponent, her spiritual energy would deplete slightly, weakening the power of the formation.
"You came quite quickly. Weren't there supposed to be three maidens? Why are there only two?" The Pig Dragon sneered, its body twisting as another wave surged towards Zhong Xiaoyan and Ling Er.
"But you two have quite attractive appearances, much better than the misfits sent by Liang River County! Although we're not picky eaters, good looks always make a difference compared to those ugly ones."
"It's more fun to play with and tastier to eat."
The Pig Dragon laughed wildly, its entire demonic body suddenly submerged into the river.
Seeing this scene, Zhong Xiaoyan's pupils constricted.
"Here it comes again!"
As she spoke, the river water in front of her suddenly turned purple.
A wave soared into the sky, mixed with rainwater, and fell down.
Wherever raindrops landed, a foul smell would emerge, followed by signs of corrosion.
This was the Pig Dragon's poison, deadly to ordinary people. Even if cultivators were exposed, they wouldn't fare well.
Crackle.
The formation emitted a faint light, blocking the raindrops filled with poison.
But Zhong Xiaoyan could clearly feel the acceleration of her spiritual energy consumption.
"Ling Er, I can't hold on much longer."
Zhong Xiaoyan anxiously said, "Once the formation breaks, you must escape immediately, don't worry about me."
"Miss, how can this be!"
"It's my stubbornness that brought you here. Now that we're in this situation, it's my fault, but you shouldn't die."
Zhong Xiaoyan despaired, "Stop talking, I can't hold on, you get ready to run!"
"Miss!"
In the time it took to speak, the light on the formation plate in Zhong Xiaoyan's hand flickered a few times before dissipating.
The formation instantly disappeared, Zhong Xiaoyan's spiritual energy depleted, and she collapsed on the ground.
Ling Er cried as she pulled Zhong Xiaoyan up.
"Run!" Zhong Xiaoyan exerted her last strength, pushing Ling Er away.
At the same time, the Pig Dragon had already left the river surface, twisting its body rapidly towards Zhong Xiaoyan and Ling Er.
"None of you can escape!"
Zhong Xiaoyan's eyes filled with despair as she saw the monster getting closer. In just that moment of delay, not only she but even Ling Er had no chance to escape.
As the Pig Dragon drew nearer, she could already smell the foul odor emanating from the creature.
But just then, thunder roared in the sky.
A sword light streaked past Zhong Xiaoyan.
"Lei Lai!"
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