I Can Devour Spirits

Chapter 256: Exposed

At this moment, as darkness had just fallen, Wei Yutian’s mansion had already been taken over by the government soldiers.

Originally, as soon as night came, the backyard would be shrouded in darkness, but now it was as bright as starlight, with soldiers carrying lanterns guarding every corner.

Clerk Qin led Ruan Fengshan to the pavilion beside the rockery.

On the stone table inside the pavilion, there was nothing but a pot of clear tea and two tea cups.

Shen Yanliu, dressed in casual attire, sat in front of the stone table, pouring tea with his left hand while keeping his right hand behind his back.

Ruan Fengshan entered the pavilion, bowed, and clasped his fists, saying, "Fengshan greets the County Magistrate."

Shen Yanliu, expressionless, gestured to a seat, "Shopkeeper Ruan, please sit!"

Ruan Fengshan sat down opposite Shen Yanliu. Shen Yanliu held a cup of tea with his left hand, handed it to Ruan Fengshan, and said with a smile, "I’ve newly learned the tea ceremony, Shopkeeper, please taste it and give me your critique."

Ruan Fengshan immediately stood partially, took the tea cup, and then sat down again, saying, "I wouldn’t dare! I wouldn’t dare!"

After sitting down, Ruan Fengshan held the tea with both hands, took a small sip, and immediately praised it as good tea.

From the moment Ruan Fengshan entered the pavilion, Shen Yanliu’s eyes never left Ruan Fengshan’s face. He closely watched the subtle changes in Ruan Fengshan’s expression, but so far, he hadn’t noticed any flaws.

The Chief Leader of his own Escort Agency turned out to be a disciple of the Filthy Blood Sect. He should be nervous and humble; if he is too calm, that would be suspicious.

Shen Yanliu said, "It’s just old tea from last year, hardly worthy of such praise."

Ruan Fengshan wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Is that so? I couldn’t tell."

Of course, he couldn’t tell. At this moment, he felt like sitting on pins and needles, how could he have the mood to savor tea?

"Shopkeeper Ruan, have another cup!" Shen Yanliu said with a smile.

But this time, Shen Yanliu did not hand the tea cup to him but merely held it halfway in front of himself, forcing Ruan Fengshan to stand slightly and lean forward to take the cup held up by Shen Yanliu.

Just as Ruan Fengshan grasped the tea cup with both hands, Shen Yanliu suddenly drew forward his right hand, which had been behind his back, revealing a steel-covered iron claw fitted on it.

As soon as Shen Yanliu’s right hand came out, he clenched it into a fist and struck towards Ruan Fengshan’s chest.

Ruan Fengshan was shocked, his body abruptly retreating. His lightweight skill was quite good, and his figure instantly tilted back like a large bird, flying out of the pavilion.

But Shen Yanliu followed like a shadow. In mid-air outside the pavilion, he punched towards Ruan Fengshan’s dantian.

Hit by the punch, Ruan Fengshan immediately bled from his mouth and nose. He fell onto the grass outside the pavilion and rolled a few times. As soon as he stabilized his footing, Shen Yanliu’s iron claw came down on him, like a long eagle pouncing on a rabbit, unavoidable.

"Dregs of the Filthy Blood, this county will cripple you!"

Shen Yanliu’s eyes were wide with anger, True Qi surging, his iron claw hooking onto Ruan Fengshan’s head.

The square cap that Ruan Fengshan was wearing exploded in an instant, scattering fragments of cloth everywhere. His hairpin became disheveled under the surge of True Qi, springing up like wild grass.

Shen Yanliu’s iron claw grasped into the wild grass-like hair of Ruan Fengshan, seemingly about to crush his skull in the next moment.

But at this moment, Shen Yanliu’s power suddenly dispersed, and the wild grass atop Ruan Fengshan’s head sagged instantly. Shen Yanliu’s iron claw eagle hook swiftly lifted, and although Shen Yanliu quickly dispersed his skill, he had still hooked off three baby-fist-sized patches of scalp from Ruan Fengshan with his hook-like iron fingers.

The scalps were bloody, each dangling with a long tuft of hair.

With a surge of Shen Yanliu’s True Qi, those three pieces of scalp scattered from the iron hook.

Ruan Fengshan, sitting on the grass, was in pain from his scalp, but his eyes were full of lingering fear. He knew he had just walked past the Ghost Gate.

His dantian was injured, sending a wave of subtle pain, but Ruan Fengshan knew his dantian wasn’t destroyed. With some rest and proper nourishment, it would recover.

Shen Yanliu smiled, using his left hand, which was not fitted with the Steel Glove Iron Hand, to lift the grass-seated, Poor Ruan Fengshan.

Ruan Fengshan struggled to stand up, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and said with reddened eyes, "Does the County Magistrate want to kill me?"

Shen Yanliu said, "If I truly wanted to kill you, you’d already be dead."

Shen Yanliu patted Ruan Fengshan’s shoulder and said, "Enough! Stop looking so dead! Your Yuan Shun Escort Agency’s Chief Leader is a disciple of the Filthy Blood Sect, and you personally invited him from outside. With such a major case, it’s hard to detach yourself without getting burnt, isn’t it?"

Ruan Fengshan said hoarsely, "The County Magistrate is wise! The Escort Agency lives on the Jianghu, no one to hold the fort is impossible, I have been stuck at Inner Breath Realm for years, with no hope of breakthrough, which is why I invited a True Qi Realm expert to be the Chief Leader for the Escort Agency’s business development. Who would have thought this person was actually a disciple of the Filthy Blood Sect?"

As Ruan Fengshan spoke, he actually began to shed tears.

"Enough!" Shen Yanliu said, "Even so, you at least are guilty of negligence, these grievances don’t count. You’d better clean up well inside the Escort Agency, especially Luan Jingfu’s confidants, thoroughly comb through them on my behalf."

"Yes!" Ruan Fengshan said.

Seeing Ruan Fengshan’s complexion finally regained some color, Shen Yanliu said, "You may go."

Ruan Fengshan bowed, clasped his fists, and left with staggering steps.

Just as Ruan Fengshan left, a figure emerged from behind the rockery, it was none other than Shen Yanliu’s trusted aide, Tang Wanhong.

Shen Yanliu called Tang Wanhong over to show him Wei Yutian’s Secret Chamber Mandala, to discuss with him how to handle the aftermath of this case and how to exaggerate the case-solving results. When the two were almost done discussing, someone suddenly reported that Ruan Fengshan had returned to the city.

So Shen Yanliu immediately called Clerk Qin, asking him to invite Ruan Fengshan here.

The Chief Leader of Yuan Shun Escort Agency is a disciple of the Filthy Blood Sect, how could Shen Yanliu not suspect Ruan Fengshan, the shopkeeper of the Escort Agency?

But after that probing just now, Shen Yanliu’s doubts were completely dispelled, he could almost conclude that Ruan Fengshan had no issues.

In the pavilion, he had suddenly struck, punching Ruan Fengshan’s abdomen dantian. That punch was controlled in his power; he merely wanted to test the depth of Ruan Fengshan’s Inner Strength realm, rather than actually crippling him.

If Ruan Fengshan was truly stuck at the Inner Breath Realm, then with that punch, his dantian would be injured but not damaged, and with valuable medicinal herbs and proper care, he could recover.

However, if with that punch, Ruan Fengshan’s dantian wasn’t injured, that would indicate his Inner Strength had already broken through the shackles of the Inner Breath Realm, advancing to the True Qi Realm.

With that one punch, Ruan Fengshan bled from his mouth and nose, clearly his dantian was damaged!

That’s one aspect!

The second is, in that headgrabbing move, he had unleashed all his True Qi, if he had been a second later, he would have crushed Ruan Fengshan’s head.

But at that life-and-death moment, Ruan Fengshan did not erupt with the Filthy Blood Divine Skill!

From these two points, it could be seen that Ruan Fengshan indeed had no issues.

Ruan Fengshan, bleeding from his nose and mouth, returned to the Escort Agency. As he walked into the room in the Escort Agency’s backyard, his previously sorrowful expression instantly turned cold and hard as frost.

"Shen Yanliu! You bastard child! I will kill you sooner or later!"

Ruan Fengshan spoke and spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground. Had it not been for the fact that he swallowed a Medicine Pill before leaving the Escort Agency, dispersing half of his True Qi, he would have been exposed with that punch from Shen Yanliu!

More threatening than that punch was, at that life-and-death moment, he desperately suppressed the Filthy Blood Divine Skill inside himself, not letting it erupt.

This Filthy Blood Divine Skill often operates autonomously in many situations; during normal life-and-death moments, such autonomous operation can be life-saving.

But in the situation just now, if he had slightly relaxed his mind and failed to suppress the Filthy Blood Divine Skill, allowing it to erupt, he would have been finished!