In the dense forest, Lin Jixian walked leisurely.
"After crossing this mountain, we will be able to see Qingyang County."
After a journey of three days, completely bypassing the range of Liang City, enduring wind and rain for more than ten days, Lin Ji felt that the road ahead was truly difficult.
Soon, after crossing the mountain and standing at the mountaintop, Lin Ji could already see the outline of Qingyang County in the distance.
Even in the deep mountains and old forests, there were often evil spirits at play.
Along the way, Lin Ji couldn't even count how many low-level evil spirits he had killed.
But he had never encountered any fierce ghosts.
Therefore, there were not many merits recorded in the Book of Fate.
"It's a pity, the low-level evil spirits are too weak. Even if I kill hundreds of them, it's just a gift for the next day." He thought with some regret.
Lin Ji quickly descended the mountain and entered Qingyang County.
"Oh, Chief Lin is back."
"Wang Auntie, give me two of those peaches."
"Sure."
"Chief Lin, freshly baked donkey meat."
"Give me two pounds of donkey meat, no need for pancakes. Your pancakes don't have the taste of the Lao Li family."
"If you say that, I won't accept it."
Lin Ji casually tossed over two taels of silver and said, "Keep it for me, I'll come back for it later."
"No problem."
He bought a lot of food along the way, and by the time he reached the county yamen of Qingyang County, Lin Ji's hands were already full.
"Chief Lin is back?" The yamen official at the door greeted him.
"Take it and share it with the brothers." Lin Ji handed over the food in his hands and asked, "Has anything happened in the county while I was away?"
As soon as he said that, the smile on the yamen official's face faded by half.
Lin Ji frowned slightly, "What's wrong, has something happened?"
"You can go in and ask for yourself, I can't say." The yamen official looked secretive.
Lin Ji didn't bother to press him further, and the joy of returning to his own territory was diminished by half. He quickly walked into the yamen.
When he arrived in the main hall, he found that all four of his demon hunters were present.
County magistrate Li Cheng sat on the high seat. When he saw Lin Ji, his eyes lit up briefly, but quickly he restrained his emotions.
"Chief Lin, you've returned at the right time."
Lin Ji arched his hand towards the county magistrate as a form of greeting, then looked towards the burly man standing at the front of the hall.
This burly man was named Lu Cong, a local of Qingyang County. Because of his immense strength since childhood, he was recruited as an ordinary constable.
Later, he came into contact with cultivation techniques, discovered his aptitude for cultivation, and became a demon hunter. Due to often hanging out with Lin Ji, he held great respect for him.
"Lu Cong, what's the situation?" Lin Ji asked.
"Boss, you better see for yourself." Lu Cong led Lin Ji to a side hall of the yamen.
The other three demon hunters followed suit.
In the side hall, Lin Ji saw two constables lying in the room.
These were ordinary constables in the yamen, responsible for handling ordinary cases in Qingyang County.
Although they were under the jurisdiction of the chief constable, when it came to dealing with demons and monsters, ordinary constables were at most just assisting from the side.
Lin Ji looked at the two constables.
"Are they still alive? Although their faces are pale, are they just unconscious and not in any serious danger?" Lin Ji looked at Lu Cong.
Lu Cong remained silent, but a cold female voice came from behind him.
"No serious danger? Open your spiritual eyes and look again."
The speaker was named Ling Yin, about sixteen or seventeen years old, a disciple of the Qingcheng Sect with exceptional talent. She joined the Demon Hunting Bureau to gain experience.
Lin Ji nodded, feeling somewhat puzzled.
How does this little girl at the second stage know that spiritual eyes can discern different things?
But when his gaze swept over the person behind Ling Yin, Lin Ji suddenly understood.
While Ling Yin couldn't do it, her senior brother Guo Yi could. Guo Yi was a third-stage cultivator with opened spiritual eyes.
After opening his spiritual eyes, when Lin Ji's gaze fell on the two constables lying on the bed again, there was a change.
In his eyes, these two constables clearly showed signs of imbalance in the five elements, their vitality was weak, and even if they didn't die, they were barely hanging on.
"Imbalance in the five elements?"
Lin Ji quickly approached the bedside, lifted the blanket, and placed his hand on the abdomen of one of the constables.
After pressing a few times, his face suddenly changed.
"Where are the kidneys?"
No one answered.
Lin Ji pressed for a moment, then checked the other constable's body.
Soon, he had an answer.
"Who took their livers and kidneys? No wonder the five elements are incomplete. The liver belongs to wood, and the kidneys belong to water. Without these two internal organs, how can the five elements be complete?"
"What exactly happened? There are no external injuries at all. Is this the work of evil spirits? How could ordinary constables come into direct contact with evil spirits?"
"I don't know. They were brought back just today." Lu Cong shook his head. "Not only them, but the entire Liu family living in the east, except for Liu's daughter, all have had the same fate. Their livers and kidneys were taken, and they can't be saved."
"They went to investigate the Liu family, and then they ended up like this."
In the time it took to speak, one of the constables on the bed had died.
Seeing this scene, Lin Ji felt a pang of guilt.
These two constables were usually efficient in their work, and he had a good relationship with them.
"Go and talk to them. Double their compensation, deduct it from my salary."
The demon hunters returned to the main hall.
"How is it, Chief Lin? Any clues?" Li County magistrate saw that everyone had come out and hurriedly asked.
Lin Ji looked at the demon hunters behind him.
"What do you think?"
"Boss, I'll follow your lead, you call the shots." Lu Cong replied.
"You decide." Lin Ji shook his head helplessly and looked at the other three.
"Don't ask me, as long as you give the order, I'll do it, as long as it's not tonight." Zhou Qian said.
Zhou Qian was the son of the Zhou family in the county, his father was known as Zhou Half City. He became a demon hunter purely because his cultivation aptitude was poor, and the Zhou family didn't want him to be idle.
Being a demon hunter allowed him to have a say in the yamen and also protected his family's business.
Apart from being lecherous, he didn't have the typical problems of a rich young master, and he worked hard when it came to his job.
Upon hearing Zhou Qian's words, Lin Ji's face darkened considerably.
"Another flower girl at the Minghua Pavilion?"
"I promised Xiaomei to help her redeem herself tonight. She said she didn't want to live the way she does now."
"Persuading a prostitute to reform, you really have your ways."
"Thank you for the compliment."
Ignoring Zhou Qian and Lu Cong, Lin Ji looked at the last two.
Ling Yin remained silent with a cold expression.
But Guo Yi pondered for a moment and said, "This matter started because of the Liu family. Since Liu's daughter is still alive, why not start by questioning her?"
"Where is Miss Liu now?"
"She's at home handling the funeral affairs. Her family's situation has already spread, and no one dares to help, so I sent that kid Song Er over." Guo Yi said.
"Lu Cong, come with me to question her. The rest of you wait in the yamen, or go and ask the people in the county to see if you can find any other clues."
After giving the order, Lin Ji took Lu Cong and left the yamen, heading towards the Liu family's house.
As they passed by the donkey meat stall, the owner called out, "Chief Lin, do you still want your donkey meat?"
"No time."
"Boss, did you buy donkey meat?"
Lin Ji stopped in his tracks, looking somewhat helpless at the burly man beside him.
"Why don't you make yourself sick with desire?"
"Hehe."
"Go get it, two pounds. Finish it before we get to the Liu family's house."
"No problem, two pounds is just a snack."
Seeing Lu Cong's eager expression, Lin Ji sighed deeply.
It's hard to handle this team.
(End of this chapter)