CH 53

Chapter 53: Can't Coexist.       

Edited by: Mochiusagi 

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Name: Shen Changqing

Power: Great Qin Demon Suppression Division

Status: Yellow Rank Official Slayer

Martial Arts: Thirteen Cross Practice (Level 16, can be upgraded), Heavenly Martial Astral Qi (Level 11, can be upgraded), Seven Killings Blade Technique (Level 3), Iron Sand Palm (Level 2)

Killing Value: 41

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Not counting the 3 points of Killing Value from before, when Shen Changqing killed the female corpse, it gave him 8 points of Killing Value. Then, when he killed Wen Rong, Shen Changqing received an additional 30 points of Killing Value.

In total, Shen Changqing got 41 points of Killing Value from just the original 3! 

Shen Changqing silently estimated that if he were to upgrade the [Thirteen Cross Practice], he could level up from Level 16 to Level 24, without an increase in Killing Value consumption.

"Level 24 of the [Thirteen Cross Practice]... I am curious as to how strong my body will be!"

But Shen Changqing shook his head and sighed.

It was impossible to use all of his Killing Value on the [Thirteen Cross Practice].

The [Heavenly Martial Astral Qi] was his main priority, at least for now.

Only when his qi and blood were not enough to support the [Heavenly Martial Astral Qi]'s upgrade, would he choose to upgrade the [Thirteen Cross Practice].

At this moment, Zhang Yue had already led people and searched the Zhang Family Residence.

"Constable Zhang, the Zhang Family Residence is so quiet..." An Official looked at the large, but eerily silent, Zhang Family Residence. The people present couldn't help, but feel some chills.

Hearing this, Zhang Yue shook his head: "The Zhang Family colluded with the demons, so maybe everyone was already killed by the Lord. We just need to follow his order and search the Zhang Family Residence."

Since the Zhang Family's people have not shown up even now, Zhang Yue naturally had some guesses.

But the truth was, this matter was not something that a small Constable like him could get involved in.

Lord Shen was strong and was able to kill the demon.

Him and the others, on the other hand, would die facing the demon.

When the Official heard Zhang Yue's words, he tactfully shut his mouth.

The Zhang Family Residence was not small.

In addition to the front courtyard, there were other small courtyards, as well as many rooms.

Pushing open the door of a closed room, a musty smell assaulted Zhang Yue, forcing him to cover his mouth and nose.

The Official, who followed behind him, was the same.

"How long has this been unoccupied? These big families have big houses, but they don't even use most of it. Now wonder so many rooms are moldy."

As the Official was complaining, Zhang Yue had already stepped inside.

The current time was high noon and the sunlight was very strong. Even though the windows in the room were tightly closed, the light could still penetrate inside. 

The room was a women's dressing room.

There was a dressing table with bronze mirrors. There were even some messy make up scattered around, as if the owner hadn't had the time to clean it up.

In addition to this, there were some black and brown things on the ground.

Zhang Yue drew his sword, gently scraping the black and brown stuff, his face sober: "This is the traces of dried blood, it seems that this room's owner has died. They have been dead for a long time at that."

The black and brown traces on the ground was actually a very large puddle of blood.

This much blood was enough to drain (kill) any normal person.

Zhang Yue sheathed his sword and looked at the people around him, "Search this room well, see if there is something valuable."

"Yes!"

"Be careful, this room gives a sense of foreboding."

Zhang Yue looked around with a wary gaze.

Even though the Zhang Family Residence was more or less been cleaned up by Shen Changqing, there was no guarantee that there would be nothing left.

Besides, being careful and paying attention to everything wouldn't hurt.

This was the result of his years of service and the accumulated experience that comes with it.

Throughout the years, the Government recruited Constables on a regular basis because they would always die due to certain things, resulting in the Government lacking manpower.

Zhang Yue being a senior in the Government had its own merits.

After two quarters of an hour of work.

The room was searched inside and out, but they only found some loose silver, anything of value was gone.

The Officials left the room and headed for the next place.

After a little over half a day, the Officials were still searching the Zhang Family Residence. Shen Changqing was not in a hurry and was patiently waiting outside.

During that time he took out the Clear Spirit Jade Pendant and looked at it, seeing that it already had three black lines on it.

There was a thick black line followed by a medium-sized one.

As for the thinnest one, compared to the other two, was not on the same level at all.

There was no doubt that the thinnest black line was from the female corpse, as its strength was not very powerful, even in the Ghost Level.

As for the other two lines, they were from Wen Rong and the Grudge Level monster.

In terms of strength, Wen Rong was undoubtedly the strongest.

Unfortunately, the other party was injured and too cautious. He only stayed in the Zhang Family Residence and did not come out. Otherwise, if he had teamed up with the Grudge Level monster that night, the Government Office would have been filled with even more bloodshed and Shen Changqing would have to tactically retreat.

After taking a look at the jade pendant and see his Killing Value, Shen Changqing decided to not use it for the time being.

With his current qi and blood, if he forcibly upgraded the [Heavenly Martial Astral Qi], he may not be able to support its consumption. He did not dare to do anything reckless.

At this time, an Official hurriedly ran over.

"My Lord, we have made a discovery!"

"Lead the way."

Shen Changqing was surprised.

•×•×•×•

It was a dark chamber, with only oil lamps lighting the surroundings.

The walls were stained with blood and the floor was covered in  skeleton piles. A sickening smell of blood had also pervaded the room.

In front of the piles of skeletons was a couch and a case table set up.

There was an incense burner on the table, which had curling green smoke coming out of it. It’s scent mixed with the smell of blood.

Led by Zhang Yue, the Officials were standing at the entrance of the chamber. Looking at the skeletons all over the ground, some were solemn, while some were pale and scared.

"The Lord is here!"

No one knows who shouted it, but all the Officials turned around and saw Shen Changqing walk in. They bowed and saluted.

"My Lord!"

Shen Changqing waved his hand and looked at Zhang Yue: "What is it?"

"Please see, my Lord!"

Zhang Yue sidled away and gave way to the secret chamber behind him.

Shen Changqing walked up, seeing the skeletons scattered all over the chamber and the couch placed in the innermost part.

"It seems that this is the place where the demon lives!"

Shen Changqing's face turned slightly cold.

Those skeletons on the ground, needless to say, was there because of sustenance.

The demon was injured and naturally needed to recover from his injuries.

Then thinking about the news given by the Heavenly Inspection Guard, about people disappearing from time to time in Lin'an City for the past year or two, everything pointed to the Zhang Family. If one then connected it with the skeletons on the ground, the answer was obvious.

"That demon may have come to the Zhang Family in the last year or two, thus refining the Zhang Family people into Corpse Puppets. But it is also possible that it has been here for a long time, and it was only his injury that had occurred in the last year or two."

"He ate his own kind to sustain himself... He really defected to the demons and is no longer considered a human."

"If not for the fear of causing too much noise and attracting the attention of the Demon Suppression Division, Lin'an City wouldn't have escaped from the calamity!"

As Shen Changqing thought of this, killing intent brewed in his eyes.

The Zhang Family only made small moves over the years because of the deterrence of the Demon Suppression Division.

If the deterrence weren't there, the demons wouldn't have just made 'small moves.'

Take the demon rebellion impeding the Demon Suppression Division's hands, causing them to be unable to send out manpower so easily. Didn't the demons began to gradually act rampant?

The Ancient Moon Village's monster surely had a connection with Wen Rong.

Although the secret chamber was very large, the entire space can be seen at a glance.

Other than the couch and table, there were only the bones on the ground.

Shen Changqing looked at the scene twice, before finally withdrawing his gaze.

"The demon has already been killed by this Official and have avenge these people's souls. How is the rest of the search on the Zhang Family Residence going?"

"My Lord, the search is almost complete. We have gathered the things of value and put them outside."

"En."

Shen Changqing nodded. He had stood outside for so long, naturally, he saw the numerous boxes.

"Let's go, take everything back to the Government Office. Zhang Yue, you bring people to fetch some kerosene over. Although I have killed the demons in the Zhang Family, there is no guarantee that there isn't anything left. A fire can ensure that we miss nothing."

"Yes!"

Zhang Yue then ordered people to move the things away, while himself and a part of the people, looked for flammable items, such as kerosene.

Soon, only Shen Changqing was left in front of the chamber.

After a deep look at the chamber, he also turned around and left.

It was already late, but Wen Rong's body was still lying there. The black blood had long corroded the ground.

Some Officials had fetched a carriage and loaded the boxes, transporting them back to the Government Office. This left Zhang Yue and the others that were pouring kerosene all over the Zhang Family Residence.

Immediately after, they put out a lot of dry firewood.

"My Lord, it's all ready!" Zhang Yue said respectfully, while holding a torch.

Seeing this, Shen Changqing did not take the torch. Instead he pulled out his sword and condensed True Qi.

The sizzling sword light instantly hit the top of the Zhang Family Residence's courtyard wall and ignited the kerosene.

The raging flames continued to burn. As a heat wave swept in the surroundings, it forced Zhang Yue and the others to take a few steps back. As for Shen Changqing, he simply stood still, as if he could not feel the scorching heat.

"Zhang Yue, do we have the possibility to coexist peacefully with the demons?"

While looking at the blazing fire, Shen Changqing suddenly asked such a question.

Hearing his words, Zhang Yue was stunned for a moment, but quickly came back to his senses: "My Lord is joking, the demons devour humans to live. Humans are food in the eyes of the demons. There is no possibility of peacefully coexisting with them."

"If it weren't for the Demon Suppression Division, the people of the Great Qin might have already became food for demons."

"In the same line of thought, if not for the presence of my Lord, we would not have had a chance to live!"

"You are right, the human race is just food for demons. So how can the two coexist? As long as the demons are not killed off, humans will never achieve peace!"

Shen Changqing nodded with deep emotions.

In the past, he read a lot of information about demons in the Demon Suppression Division. But after all, it was only on paper, so he didn't really understand it much. It was only until this mission, that he realized how bad the relationship between the human race and the demons were.

If the demons were not destroyed, the human race will always be at risk.