bookpub Chapter 84 Hunt
Chapter 84 Hunt
Chapter 84 Hunt
Back in the room.
Luo Qingchen opened the window and looked out at the backyard.
The crowd that had gathered to watch the spectacle gradually dispersed.
The body hanging below the window had not yet been taken down.
He fell into deep thought.
What a coincidence!
Yesterday morning, the girl had a conflict with him, and last night, she was skinned alive and murdered.
And it was even hung there openly for people to see.
Even he himself suspected that such cruel and arrogant behavior was the work of a disciple of the Demonic Sect.
In this inn, he was the only disciple of the Demonic Sect.
As for the other one, he is a master of the Tongqiao Realm. If he wanted to kill someone, there would be no need for him to do this.
Isn't this just blatant venting of anger?
"Is someone deliberately trying to frame me?"
"But why frame me?"
"Just because I'm a disciple of the Demonic Sect? Or perhaps, I was already planning to kill that girl, and it just so happened that we had a conflict?"
"Or perhaps, to divert attention?"
The body outside the window has been slowly removed.
The woman's wailing continued below.
The owner is dead and has been cruelly skinned; it's estimated that she won't survive when she gets back.
This small inn has brought together various forces.
The Demon-Suppressing Sect, the Zhenguo Academy, the Qingcheng Temple, government officials, merchants, and their hired guards.
"Are you trying to incite conflict between several parties and confuse the public?"
As he was pondering this matter, there was a sudden knock on the door.
The voice of Master Yuan from Qingcheng Temple came: "Young friend Luo, would you mind opening the door so I can have a few words with you?"
Luo Qingchen went over and opened the door.
Yuan Sanzhi and Xu Mang stood outside the door.
Yuan Sanzhi smiled slightly and said, "I just spoke with your Uncle Shangguan. I heard you're willing to help catch the murderer and clear your name? If so, you can leave this inn temporarily. Perhaps the murderer is a demon and has already escaped. You disciples of the Demon-Slaying Sect understand demons better than we do, and your techniques are more effective at controlling them. So, you can go out and investigate the murderer, but—"
He paused for a moment, then added, "You need to hand over your sect token; I'll leave it with you for now."
Once the waist token is handed over, it will be difficult to escape back to the sect.
Luo Qingchen never considered escaping.
He was worried that he wouldn't be able to go out hunting and sucking blood tonight, so upon hearing this, he readily handed over his waist token.
Upon seeing this, Xu Mang handed him a record and said, "This is a list of people who have gone missing during this period and some explanations. It may not be complete, after all, some caravans are unwilling to spend time going to the city to report the case."
Thank you.
Luo Qingchen accepted it.
Xu Mang hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Although you are the most suspicious person in this inn, I don't really believe it's you. Things are too coincidental; it feels like someone is deliberately trying to point the finger at you. Of course, we can't let you leave before we find the culprit, otherwise we won't be able to explain it to Junior Sister Lu's family."
Luo Qingchen did not speak again.
The two said no more and took their leave.
Luo Qingchen closed the door, sat down at the table, and opened the transcript.
"A total of thirteen people are missing: three children, three women, and the rest are all men, all from merchant families."
"Two people went missing during the day, and the rest disappeared at night —"
"Eight of them went missing at this inn."
He quickly finished reading all the transcripts.
"The missing person left no trace, as if vanished into thin air—"
He pondered to himself.
If a monster were to kill someone, it would be impossible for it to leave no trace; at the very least, there would be blood or severed limbs.
Monsters will never eat a person whole.
If it's human trafficking, it's one thing to traffic children and women, but why traffic men in their thirties or forties?
There seems to be no connection or similarity between these missing people.
Besides being mostly business people, there were also —
They're all human!
Thinking of this, his heart clenched.
Are they all people?
Human blood, corpses, even souls.
Who would need these?
The answer seems obvious.
"Are they from the Demon-Slaying Sect?"
"Is it a particular disciple, or a team?"
"Or perhaps, the entire sect?"
He suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
Having witnessed it firsthand in Medicine Man Town, he knew perfectly well that the disciples of the Demonic Sect could use everything about a person, including their soul.
Outside Qinghe City, there are no other villages or towns.
Naturally, there were no residents left.
The refugees outside Qinghe City were all too obvious.
If one wants to abduct people for cultivation, these merchants from neighboring countries are naturally the best choice.
It's impossible for the other party's relatives to travel this far to file a complaint.
The other members of the group, due to their goods and business, could not stay here indefinitely for the sake of just one person.
"Was I assigned this mission to cover for others?"
"Or is it because many forces have recently come to Qinghe City, and the murderer knew someone would come to investigate, so he pushed someone out to take the blame? Yesterday, he just happened to find an opportunity. That Miss Lu had a conflict with me, so last night, he skinned her alive and killed her, framing me—"
Thinking about this, he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
After a moment's thought, he immediately made his decision!
Regardless, he must first find a way to quickly upgrade his blood and increase his strength!
If the murderer is not found in five days, and the sect treats him as a expendable pawn, then he absolutely cannot sit idly by and wait for his death.
He had to run away immediately, as far away as possible!
Once he is taken back to Qinghe City by the Zhenguo Academy or the government, he will never have a chance to live again!
He put away the transcript and didn't waste any more time.
After setting the trap, he went back to bed and forced himself to fall asleep.
The hunt continues tonight!
Night fell quickly.
After getting up, he didn't turn on the light. Instead, he opened the window a crack and looked into the backyard.
The backyard remained quiet as ever, with no government personnel guarding it.
How can we prevent people from sneaking out of the building if it's unguarded?
When he went downstairs and arrived in the lobby, he knew the answer.
Many merchants sat together, drinking wine with no appetite, chatting with gloomy faces.
"I heard that several monsters have appeared in the canyon ahead—"
"The people from Xueyu Palace, the Zhenguo Academy, and the government officials have all gone there."
"It's possible that the disappearances over the past few days were caused by that monster."
"Sigh, even if they let us leave now, we wouldn't dare. That canyon is so long; if there really are monsters, wouldn't we just be throwing our lives away?"
Luo Qingchen listened for a while, then left from the outhouse in the backyard.
I don't know if it's true or not.
Perhaps it's true, or perhaps it's a rumor deliberately spread by the Zhenguo Academy, making everyone in the inn afraid to leave.
Meanwhile, they waited in the shadows, hoping the killer would strike again.
"Sh ...
As he went out from the backyard, he clearly saw two figures quickly hide behind a large tree in the woods not far away.
Although it was pitch black there, for someone who was already used to the dark world, he could still see some things even in the dark.
He ignored them and went straight to Anjia Teahouse.
After getting the hunting fork in the backyard, he went into the woods behind it.
It seemed like someone was following me.
But when he had walked several miles and was still heading towards the mountains and forests ahead, the people behind him finally stopped.
He continued walking forward.
They only began hunting after crossing a mountain peak, making sure they had gone far enough and were no longer being followed.
"Hmph—"
Soon, he spotted two large, robust wild boars.
The two wild boars were rooting in the bushes, eating tree roots and grunting as they ate, looking quite content.
With their enormous and powerful bodies, coupled with their sharp, dagger-like fangs, and the fact that they are two at a time, they are not afraid of any enemy in the mountains and forests.
Even a fierce tiger would have to give way.
But tonight they encountered a human, and a cultivator wielding a hunting fork, desperately needing to drink blood.
"Aww—"
'
When the sharp hunting spear flew out of the bushes and pierced the head of a wild boar, it let out an angry howl.
Other wild animals would definitely run away in this situation.
But the wild boar attacked in a rage!
The other wild boar immediately let out a howl, raised its tusks, and charged after it.
"Bang!"
Luo Qingchen did not dodge; instead, she threw a punch that smashed the head of the first wild boar.
The wild boar's massive body and ferocious charge were abruptly stopped, but due to inertia, the body behind its head couldn't stop moving.
So it fell headfirst to the ground, its body flipping over.
At this moment, a second wild boar also charged in enraged.
Luo Qingchen punched it hard on the nose.
The wild boar let out a miserable cry and collapsed to the ground, but unlike the first wild boar, it did not die immediately. Instead, it howled in pain on the ground.
Luo Qingchen paused for a moment, but did not kill it immediately.
After letting it howl for a while, until the sound carried far, I finally finished it off with a single punch.
Then it started sucking blood.
Two hands, one in each hand, sucking blood together!
Just then, a dark figure appeared in the woods ahead, hesitated for a moment, and then came out.
It turned out to be a large and powerful white tiger!
The white tiger stared at the wild boar under its paws with its cold gaze, drool dripping from its mouth. Just as it was raising its thick limbs to walk over, it suddenly stopped, and a human-like look of fear appeared in its eyes.
At this moment, the two wild boars under Luo Qingchen's palm had withered and shriveled, turning into two dried corpses.
He had finished drinking blood.
The white tiger's eyes flickered with hesitation; for a moment, it was unsure whether to advance or retreat.
It was clearly very hungry.
But its belly was bulging.
Luo Qingchen then realized that this should be a pregnant tigress.
He slowly picked up the hunting fork from the ground, his eyes fixed on the other animal. Just as he was about to rush over to hunt it down, the white tiger suddenly lay down on the ground, then rolled over, revealing its bulging belly, and its pupils showed a human-like pleading expression.
Luo Qingchen paused, startled.
Normally, wild animals will only expose their bellies to stronger members of their own kind to show weakness or beg for mercy.
He was not one of their kind.
Clearly, this white tiger is highly intelligent.
Luo Qingchen hesitated for a moment, then thought that even a tigress couldn't suck much blood, and was not as good as a wild boar, so she let it go and turned to leave.
Half an hour later, he found another wild boar.
Hunt, suck blood!
Since the inn was quite far from here, he returned the way he came after hunting down another black bear.
They continued their journey, searching for wild animals.
At this moment, the blood volume in his second health bar had increased from 790% to 795%.
Growth remains slow.
The cultivation progress increased from 35/2000 to 40/2000.
At this rate of increase, it's clear that the second health bar won't be able to level up after five days.
"Does this really mean we have to kill people and drink their blood?"
At this point, it seems there is no other way but to kill and suck human blood.
To survive—
"Whoosh!"
Just then, a dark shadow suddenly appeared overhead!
His heart skipped a beat, and while dodging to the side, he quickly thrust out the hunting fork in his hand!
"when!"
A metallic clanging sound rang out.
Luo Qingchen suddenly felt a jolt in her arm, and the hunting fork in her hand almost flew out of her grasp.
The dark figure that launched the sneak attack rolled over and landed in front of him.
It was two meters tall, with thick limbs and bulging muscles. Its whole body was covered with thick gray hair, surrounded by black mist, and its eyes were blood-red and extremely violent!
It was a demonic ape!
This was the first time he had ever seen a demonized beast in person; he had only ever seen them in books before.
Looking at the other person now, one can clearly feel the fierce aura emanating from their body, as well as a chilling demonic energy.
The demonic ape's claws have evolved into two long, sharp weapons like daggers. Its fangs are curved and long, with sharp tips pointing straight ahead. Its arms are as thick as pillars, looking extremely powerful!
Clearly, the other party now sees him as prey.
Luo Qingchen gripped the hunting fork tightly, her body slightly hunched, her whole body tense, not daring to be careless.
「嗷一」
The demonic ape roared and pounced on him.
Lightning fast!
This time, Luo Qingchen didn't dare to take the attack head-on. She retreated quickly to the side while throwing the hunting fork in her hand with all her might.
"when!"
The hunting fork was swatted away by the demon ape.
The sharp, knife-like claws slashed viciously past his side, almost tearing his clothes!
A man and an ape passed each other by.
Before Luo Qingchen could even regain her footing, she suddenly spun around, her fist, brimming with power, whistling through the air as it struck the strong, dark figure in front of her.
"Bang!"
Before the shadowy figure could turn around, it was punched.
The punch sent it staggering forward a few steps before it finally came to a stop, nearly falling over.
It was instantly enraged and turned to pounce on him again.
It is very fast, moves fiercely, and has terrifying strength.
However, it lacks a well-defined set of attack moves.
Its only deadly move is the pouncing attack!
After Luo Qingchen successfully dodged its fierce attack, he immediately found an opening and landed another punch on its hard back.
This time, the black mist swirling around its back suddenly churned, and the bones on its back shattered.
"Aww—"
'
It let out a long howl in pain, and instead of being afraid, it became even more furious and pounced on Luo Qingchen with even greater ferocity.
Those scarlet eyes were filled with a violent, bloodthirsty glint!
This time, it was too fast.
Luo Qingchen was unable to dodge in time, and a deep gash was slashed across her chest by the sharp claws.
The pain struck suddenly.
Just as he paused due to the pain, the demonic ape leaped onto a large tree in front of him, using the tree to stop its momentum, and then leaped forward again, fiercely pouncing on him.
Luo Qingchen threw a punch.
"Bang!"
A tremendous force surged forth.
He was thrown back four or five meters before crashing into a large tree and falling to the ground in a disheveled state.
This blow caused him excruciating pain in his chest, his blood and qi churning within him, and a burning sensation in his throat. He then coughed up a mouthful of blood.
The demonic ape took a few steps back, then roared and pounced on him in a fit of rage!
Luo Qingchen's vision went black, and for a moment, she didn't have time to get up. Seeing the other party baring its fangs and charging fiercely with a ferocious expression, she could only muster all her strength to roll to the side.
"Bang!"
The demonic ape pounced on the tree.
The huge tree, as thick as a bucket, was snapped in half with a "crack" from its attack!
"Whoosh!"
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Luo Qingchen suddenly leaped up, a cold glint flashing in her hand, and quickly stabbed the dagger into its waist!
Then, it suddenly slashed downwards with force, but only managed to cut two inches before being stopped by its thick and tough fur and muscles.
The demonic ape roared and turned to throw a punch!
At that moment, Luo Qingchen quickly drew her dagger, rolled backward, and retreated.
The demonic ape looked down at its bleeding wound, its roar trembling slightly, whether from pain or rage, it was hard to tell.
"Aww!"
Luo Qingchen rolled over and stood up, kneeling on one knee, bending over, holding a dagger, her eyes fixed on him.
At this moment, his eyes were filled with a ferocity and violence like a wild beast!
A man and a beast are fighting for their lives!
The demonic ape charged at him once more, its black mist churning violently, and its speed suddenly increased!
Luo Qingchen was unable to dodge in time and was sent flying with a "bang".
This time, after he landed on the ground, his vision went black, his whole body went limp, and he was unable to stand up.
The demonic ape grinned and walked up to him, its crimson eyes revealing a human-like mockery and cruelty. With a "swoosh," its right claw pierced through his collarbone.
Just then, the half-green, half-red blood gushing from its wound on its waist fell onto Luo Qingchen's body.
At this moment, Luo Qingchen's previously confused and blurry consciousness suddenly awoke!
Inside his body, the life-stealing skill of the second health bar seemed to be suddenly awakened by something, and with a "boom", it made an explosive roar!
Blood sucking!
He instinctively reached out, but did not touch the demon ape's body.
However, the blood gushing from the demon ape's wound rushed towards him with a "whoosh" sound, like a torrent of water!
Then, using the palm of the hand, quickly enter his body!
800%!
850%!
900%!
950%!
980%!
The demonic ape's massive body rapidly shrank and collapsed, and the sharp claws that had pierced his collarbone unconsciously withdrew.
It stared wide-eyed in horror, realizing it was shrinking.
At the same time, it has lost all its power.
The demonic energy surrounding it also left its body along with the surging blood.
The next second, its eyes widened, and it stiffened and collapsed to the ground.
In the blink of an eye, it had turned into a dried-up corpse!