Chapter 36 - 35: Chong Ghost

Chapter 36: Chapter 35: Chong Ghost

Official business?

Kui Shan didn’t believe for a second that Lu Jing’an could be involved in any *real* official business.

Sure, Lu Jing’an had recently punched above his weight and taken care of Lawrence.

To outsiders, this was an act of stunning genius.

But in Kui Shan’s eyes, this young master of the Lu Family was, at his core, still the same good-for-nothing playboy.

Even the methods Lu Jing’an had used failed to impress Kui Shan.

So when he heard the words "official business," the corner of Kui Shan’s mouth twitched in an almost imperceptible sneer, his eyes filled with suspicion.

Lu Jing’an, however, paid no mind to Kui Shan’s reaction and went straight to the matter of the Tiger Demon.

The moment the words "Tiger Demon" were spoken, Kui Shan’s expression turned grim.

Mountain spirits, ghosts, and demonic hauntings were indeed the Anping Bureau’s responsibility.

And the Tiger Demon outside the city was certainly documented in the Bureau’s files.

But as he listened to Lu Jing’an’s description, Kui Shan’s brows furrowed deeper and deeper.

It was as if something had happened that he simply could not comprehend.

"You’re saying that Li Zhaolin brought two Martial Cultivators..."

"...plus a full one hundred well-armed men, and they were all wiped out?"

Lu Jing’an corrected him. "Yes. One Martial Cultivator survived with heavy injuries."

Hearing him nitpick over such a minor detail only displeased Kui Shan further.

’This young master is so petty,’ he thought. ’He can’t see the bigger picture.’

But he suppressed his dissatisfaction and changed the subject.

"How can you be sure this isn’t just a play staged by the Li Family, given the long-standing feud between your two houses?"

Lu Jing’an shook his head, his voice steady.

"This junior had the same suspicion at first. But my father already sent men to carefully inspect the scene."

Lu Jing’an paused briefly, then looked Kui Shan directly in the eye.

"The bodies of the dead mostly show wounds from a wild beast’s attack."

"The claw marks are deep enough to expose bone. They couldn’t possibly be faked by human hands or weapons."

Hearing this, Kui Shan’s expression darkened further, his lips pressing into a hard, straight line.

Seeing his reaction, Lu Jing’an chose this moment to probe further.

"Senior, is it that the Tiger Demon shouldn’t possess this level of strength?"

Just as Kui Shan was about to speak, the sound of light footsteps approached, accompanied by the fragrance of tea.

Wen Ling appeared, holding a steaming cup of fragrant tea, and walked over to Lu Jing’an’s side with a smile.

"Young Master Lu, have a taste. This tea is a rare find."

She gently placed the white porcelain teacup on the small table next to him.

The fact she was gone for so long showed just how hard this tea was to come by.

"Sister Wen Ling, you really didn’t have to go to such trouble. Plain tea would have been fine," Lu Jing’an said politely.

Wen Ling waved her hand dismissively.

"He already paid for it. It’s only right we pluck a few leaves for ourselves to taste."

Lu Jing’an didn’t refuse again.

Instead, he took out a pre-prepared silver note from his robes,

and handed it over.

"This is compensation from the county for the Anping Bureau. Please accept it, Sister Wen Ling."

Wen Ling took it and glanced down, her eyes immediately brightening.

The number on the note made the corners of her mouth curl up involuntarily.

"In that case, it would be rude of me to refuse. Thank you, Young Master Lu."

She carefully tucked the silver note into her sleeve, only then remembering the snippets of conversation she had overheard.

"When I was walking over, I thought I heard you talking about the Tiger Demon? Has that beast outside the city caused trouble again?"

Lu Jing’an nodded and gave her a concise summary of the Li Family’s incident.

After listening, Wen Ling’s slender brows also knitted together slightly.

Compared to Kui Shan, she was clearly much more forthcoming and directly answered Lu Jing’an’s question.

"To accomplish something like that, the Tiger Demon must have paid a heavy price."

"But that beast is extremely cunning. It wouldn’t normally act this way."

Her fingertips unconsciously toyed with a lock of her hair.

"Besides, based on the location you mentioned, it’s a good distance from the mountain it usually occupies."

"At least twenty li away."

"Given its usual cautious and cowardly nature..."

"...there’s no way it would have traveled so far to ambush a force of that size."

She looked up, her tone growing more emphatic.

"Unless the Li Family did something..."

"...to thoroughly enrage it, or make it feel it had no choice but to take the risk."

This was a layer Lu Jing’an hadn’t considered deeply.

After all, he didn’t know the exact location of the Tiger Demon’s territory.

Now that she mentioned it, the whole affair became even murkier.

What could the Li Family have possibly done to provoke a Tiger Demon from twenty li away?

What could make it risk everything and commit its full strength?

An image suddenly flashed through Lu Jing’an’s mind.

"Could it be? That cart of corpses the Li Family was transporting?"

Lu Jing’an voiced the possibility that had occurred to him.

Wen Ling pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded.

"It’s possible."

"That beast has a very keen sense of smell. It can clearly distinguish the scent of blood from the living and the dead."

"The stench of blood from so many corpses..."

"...combined with the fact that winter is approaching..."

"...luring it out of the mountains to forage for food does make sense."

Her tone shifted, and her gaze sharpened. "But..."

Lu Jing’an finished her thought.

"But given its cunning, once it discovered the party had Martial Cultivators and was fully armed and armored..."

"...it should have known to retreat rather than fight head-on."

"Exactly."

Wen Ling gave Lu Jing’an an appreciative glance.

"So, in all likelihood, the Li Family did something else."

"Something that struck at the Tiger Demon’s very core!"

As for what that was, with no living witnesses, it was impossible to investigate further.

And what about questioning the Martial Cultivator who was lucky enough to survive?

’He probably wouldn’t know the full story either.’

’And even if he did have an answer...’

’...could it really be trusted?’

The Li Family would love nothing more than for the Lu Family to suffer because of this.

Lu Jing’an decided to stop dwelling on it and changed the topic.

"Sister Wen Ling, does the Anping Bureau have more detailed case files on that Tiger Demon?"

"We do. I’ll go get them for you right now."

Wen Ling answered without hesitation and turned to head for the records room in the back.

"Wen Ling."

Kui Shan’s deep voice stopped her, his gaze like a torch.

"Bureau case files cannot be reviewed by non-personnel."

Wen Ling paused and turned back with a smile.

"Chief, it’s just the three of us here."

"If you don’t say anything and I don’t say anything, who’s going to know?"

"Besides, Young Master Lu is a friend of our Anping Bureau. What’s the harm in letting him see the files?"

Kui Shan’s expression remained unchanged as he stated unequivocally,

"Rules are rules."

"If you bend them a little today, I’ll break them a little tomorrow."

"Sooner or later, the Anping Bureau will end up just as rotten as the rest of the world."

Seeing his firm stance, Wen Ling could only shoot Lu Jing’an an apologetic look.

"Young Master Lu, you see... It’s not that I don’t want to help you."

Lu Jing’an smiled, his expression still composed.

"It’s no problem, Sister Wen Ling."

"I’ll have the Public Security Bureau issue a formal request tonight."

"I’ll have someone deliver it first thing in the morning."

Wen Ling’s eyes lit up, and she nodded repeatedly.

"Right, right."

"The Anping Bureau is, nominally at least, under the jurisdiction of the Public Security Bureau."

"It just means a bit more paperwork for you, Young Master Lu."

Lu Jing’an waved his hand.

"It’s only proper. What Senior Kui Shan said is reasonable."

"If no one follows the rules, then there really is no hope for this world."

Lu Jing’an said this with sincerity, not just to curry favor.

In this day and age, it was precisely because too many people disregarded the rules...

...that the social order had collapsed and monsters ran rampant.

The admiration in Wen Ling’s eyes deepened. "Your magnanimity is truly admirable, Young Master Lu."

She paused, then suddenly thought of something and asked,

"Young Master Lu, are you requesting the files because you’re preparing to eliminate the demon?"

Lu Jing’an didn’t hide it, nodding in affirmation.

"The higher-ups intend for the Public Security Bureau to exterminate this Tiger Demon."

"I figure the more I understand about it..."

"...the fewer of my brothers in the Public Security Bureau might die if we really have to face it."

Wen Ling showed her surprise upon hearing this.

"These kinds of matters have always been handled by the Anping Bureau. How did it fall to the Public Security Bureau?"

Lu Jing’an said lightly,

"There are many political calculations involved."

"Perhaps that’s why it wasn’t assigned directly to the Anping Bureau."

Realization dawned on Wen Ling, and a cynical smile touched her lips. "If that’s the case, then it all makes sense."

Her expression suddenly turned serious. She leaned forward slightly and said in a grave voice,

"Have you counted the number of victims’ bodies? Does it match what the Li Family reported?"

Lu Jing’an was taken aback and shook his head.

"The scene was heavily disturbed, and some of the bodies had already been collected by the Li Family. It’s difficult to get an exact count."

Lu Jing’an keenly sensed there was a hidden meaning in her words and asked,

"Sister Wen Ling, is there something else strange about this?"

Wen Ling hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"That Tiger Demon has a Superpower. Any person or beast it kills with its bite..."

"...can be controlled by it, turned into a puppet."

"Chong Ghosts?" Lu Jing’an’s pupils contracted.

’I never expected this demon to have such a bizarre Superpower.’

"Exactly. Chong Ghosts," Wen Ling confirmed with a nod, her expression grave.

"If the numbers don’t add up, you must be wary of puppets lurking in the shadows."

Perhaps because they were on this sinister topic, Wen Ling decided to add another warning.

"If you do decide to make a move, you must be swift and clean. Do not let it escape under any circumstances."

"That beast holds a terrible grudge. If it gets away, the trouble will be endless."

"The Anping Bureau learned that lesson the hard way."

As for what hard lesson that was, Wen Ling didn’t elaborate.

Lu Jing’an committed her words to memory and cupped his fists solemnly. "Thank you for the advice, Sister Wen Ling."

Wen Ling gave a charming smile, her fingertips brushing lightly against her sleeve.

Inside lay the silver note she had just received.

"I couldn’t just take your gift for nothing, could I?"