Stepping out, Lu Zheng took a deep breath, blinking his stinging, reddened eyes, feeling utterly wronged.
The sacrifices he made!
Standing in the middle of the courtyard, he caught his breath, then walked over to the wooden cages, inspecting them closely.
Shaking his head, he sighed in relief, turned, opened the wooden door, and returned to the inn’s main hall through the corridor.
By now, Constable Liu had poured himself a cup of wine and was happily eating, sipping wine between bites.
After all, he had been working hard and was taking the chance to refuel.
Lu Zheng, “…”
“Innkeeper!” Lu Zheng sat beside Constable Liu, noticing his cup had also been filled with wine.
Raising his cup, he clinked it with Constable Liu’s, took a sip, picked up some food with his chopsticks, and asked the approaching innkeeper, “Innkeeper, do you sell dog meat here?”
Mr. Lu shook his head. “Sorry, sir, we don’t have dog meat. If you’d like some, there’s a butcher, Zhang, on the next street who sells it. Shall I send someone to get you some?”
“No need,” Lu Zheng replied, shaking his head. “I saw a few dogs in your courtyard and thought you might sell dog meat, so I asked.”
Mr. Lu waved his hand, smiling. “Those cats and dogs belong to a guest, not the inn.”
“Which guest?” Lu Zheng asked casually.
Mr. Lu instinctively glanced at a figure sitting in the corner of the hall.
The man flinched, noticing Lu Zheng raise his cup and call out, “Brother, are you in the dog meat trade?”
The man exhaled, nodded, and raised his cup in return. “Just a small business, sir, not worth mentioning.”
Lu Zheng smiled, studying the man. He was in his forties, with a square face, a short beard, and an average build.
He wore slightly worn but clean coarse cloth clothes. His hand, holding the cup, had rough skin but no calluses or scrapes, suggesting he rarely did manual labour.
Lu Zheng smiled faintly. “Can you sell me one? I could take it home.”
The man’s expression remained steady, and he bowed with a smile. “Sorry, sir, my dogs are for personal use at home.”
“Your family runs a dog meat shop?”
“Just a small business, not worth mentioning.”
Lu Zheng seemed intrigued, holding his cup as he walked over to the man.
“I thought you just collected dogs, but you’re an expert in dog meat.” Lu Zheng sat beside him. “Do you have any secret recipes for marinades?”
The man gave a dry laugh. “You flatter me, sir. It’s just a small rural shop, no secrets, just satisfying the locals’ cravings.”
“Oh.” Lu Zheng nodded knowingly, raising his cup. “Fair enough, never mind then.”
The man smiled, raising his cup to clink with Lu Zheng.
But as their cups neared, Lu Zheng flipped his palm, revealing a Cold-Condensing Talisman, and slapped it onto the man’s arm with a “snap.”
“You!” The man was shocked.
In the next moment, Lu Zheng’s blood energy surged. He grabbed the man’s wrist, yanked him up, and swung him around.
“Bang!”
The man crashed heavily to the ground with a loud thud.
Lu Zheng’s eyes hardened, ready to swing him again, but saw the man was already bleeding from the mouth, eyes closed, unconscious.
Lu Zheng, “…”
The inn fell silent, but before it could stir, Constable Liu stood tall. “Quiet, this man is a suspect in a case. No need for bystanders to fear.”
The crowd: We haven’t made a sound!
The crowd: We haven’t even had time to be scared!
Constable Liu hurried to Lu Zheng’s side, looking at the bloodied, unconscious man on the ground. Recalling Lu Zheng’s words, he was baffled.
“The opponent is a cultivator, likely strong!”
“Don’t tip them off and alert them.”
And this was it?
Looking at the impassive Lu Zheng, Constable Liu felt the man’s actions and words were profound, unfathomable.
Constable Liu whispered, “Is this him?”
Lu Zheng nodded. “It’s him.”
“Those dogs…”
“Bring your men in. Take the dogs to the county office first.”
“Right, right!” Constable Liu nodded, turning to Mr. Lu. “My men are across the street. Please call them in.”
“Of course!” Mr. Lu nodded repeatedly, hurrying out of the inn.
Moments later, four or five officers rushed in. Two carried the unconscious man, while others went to the courtyard, borrowing the innkeeper’s cart to load eleven dogs in cages.
Lu Zheng glanced over, thinking some parents hadn’t yet reported their missing children.
“When did he bring those dogs here?” Constable Liu asked.
Mr. Lu answered quickly. “He started bringing them in this afternoon, one by one. The last one was half an hour ago, bought from the market.”
Constable Liu nodded; the timeline matched. “Take us to his room.”
Guided by Mr. Lu, Lu Zheng and Constable Liu went to Room 2, B-Wing, on the second floor.
Pushing open the door, they found the room spotless, with only a single bundle.
Constable Liu eyed the bundle but didn’t dare touch it.
Lu Zheng dismissed Mr. Lu, formed hand seals, and cast a cyan Evil-Dispelling Charm on the bundle.
“Buzz!”
No reaction.
Lu Zheng stepped forward, untied the bundle, and found spare clothes, some items, and a worn book.
“Beast Creation Technique”!
“As expected, it’s this evil method.” Lu Zheng nodded, confirming his suspicions.
Turning, he saw Constable Liu looking around the room’s corners, frowning, deeply focused, as if investigating something.
Lu Zheng smiled, coughed, and said, “Constable Liu, this place seems affected by that man’s spell. Please step outside while I dispel the evil, then you can return.”
Constable Liu looked puzzled but nodded and retreated. “Alright, please dispel the evil, sir.”
He stepped out, closing the door behind him.
…
Moments later, Lu Zheng opened the door.
“Constable Liu, come in. It’s done.”
Constable Liu nodded, re-entered, and immediately spotted the “Beast Creation Technique” on the bundle.
“This is…”
“This man is no upright cultivator. I found this ‘Beast Creation Technique’ in his bundle. You can present it to the authorities.”
Constable Liu stared at the book, then at Lu Zheng, pointing at himself, eyes wide.
Lu Zheng nodded.
Constable Liu took a deep breath, then bowed deeply.
A case involving a cultivator, with a seized technique book, was a major merit. With the county lieutenant retiring, he might take the position.
…
Back at the county office, the man was still unconscious. Lu Zheng blinked, slightly embarrassed, but…
“Good thing, good thing,” an older officer said, relieved. “We were worried he’d wake before you returned, sir. We mortals can’t hold a cultivator like him.”
Lu Zheng: (||๐_๐)
Is that so?
Lu Zheng nodded, hands behind his back, expression calm, exuding mystery.
At the county office’s rear courtyard, eleven cages were stacked. The dogs inside stared intently at the crowd, pawtriad pawing at the cages or whimpering but unable to bark.
The surrounding officers looked at the cages with shock and a trace of fear.
Constable Liu whispered, “Should we wake him?”
Lu Zheng shook his head. “Open the cages.”
Constable Liu waved. “What are you all staring at? Open the cages!”
The officers exchanged glances, then cautiously approached, opening the cages one by one.
As the cages opened, the dogs ran out but didn’t leap or make noise, quietly gathering in the courtyard’s centre, watching the crowd, their gazes stirring pity.
Lu Zheng observed closely. They looked entirely like dogs, except for their eerily human-like eyes, showing no flaws.
Incredible!
Looking at the dogs, Lu Zheng couldn’t help but recall last year’s painted skin case…
“Sir?”
Lu Zheng took a breath, the contents of the Beast Creation Technique flashing through his mind. His eyes sharpened, he formed hand seals, and chanted.
“Release!”
Lu Zheng steadied his right wrist with his left hand, his right index and middle fingers forming a sword gesture, pointing at one dog.
“Woo—”
The dog shuddered, rolled on the ground, and its black dog skin loosened, peeling off.
A three- or four-year-old girl in a floral jacket emerged.
“Wow!”
“My goodness!”
“It’s really the children!”
The officers gasped in shock.
“Wah—” The girl burst into tears. An older officer hurried forward, cradling her, comforting her softly.
Lu Zheng glanced at the girl, formed seals again, and pointed at another dog.
“Woo—”
That dog rolled, revealing a chubby boy sitting dazedly, staring blankly.
…
One… two… three…
In moments, eleven children, aged two to four, appeared, with eleven dog skins strewn on the ground.
…
The county office handled returning the children to their parents.
Lu Zheng followed Constable Liu to the jail next door, tested the man’s cultivation, and sealed his dantian and qi sea with true energy, ensuring he couldn’t escape before the state’s anomaly suppression team arrived.
Then…
“Buzz!”
Five strands of luck light arrived.
“Pah!” Lu Zheng scoffed. Less than Hu Zhou provided. Weakling!
