Ch25 Law Enforcement Hall

Around noon the next day, a loud voice blares through the forest.

“Attention all servants of Zhou Kang! Stop your work at once, and make yourself presentable in front of your abodes!”

There are still bags under my eyes from re-checking the battlefield that Xu Hong claimed to clean, and confirming she threw all of the poisoned earth and blood-stained rocks deep into the ravine. In addition to this, I stayed up all night practicing the Illusory Demon’s concealment art.

It is even more complex than I first thought it would be, but practicing it in tandem with my Jade Purity Soul Scripture, and upgrading 2 Qi Gathering pills to aid my practice, I mastered it to a minor degree.

I can’t manipulate it quickly at will, or fully suppress my aura to appear as a mortal.

However, I can suppress my outward cultivation to appear as a qi refiner that recently broke through to the 1st level.

Something fascinating about this concealment art is that my souls themselves are used as an invisible blanket over my dantian, limiting the amount and density of qi that is let out. To a higher-level cultivator looking in, unless they do a deep dive and examine my soul, they will never even think that I’m hiding anything even if our gap in qi cultivation is immense.

As this confidence fills me, I stand before my hut’s door and overhear the interrogation taking place at my neighbor’s place.

“I don’t know anything. Senior Zhou didn’t come to collect my wood last night, so I chopped twice as hard today… I didn’t know if he was angry at me or not…” Xu Hong’s dull and naive voice replies.

“She’s a Martial Warrior. Uncommon, but it would be impossible for her to overpower three 2nd level qi refiners… another dead end,” a raspy, low-toned man’s voice replies.

A green-robed cultivator stands beside one in a sleek black one. Both have azure clouds on their chests.

They start to turn away, but Xu Hong speaks up before they leave.

“If you’re looking for someone out of the ordinary, you should check my neighbor. There was a strange warm burst of energy that came from his hut in the middle of the night a few days ago.”

The two cultivators look at each other with confused expressions, then back to Xu Hong.

“Thank you for your input. Carry on with your wood chopping. We will find a new steward for this camp by the end of today. All should return to normal soon.”

Then, they leave, coming straight toward me.

I stare forward, inwardly smiling, as the lines I told her to say landed without any suspicion of being false.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The face of one of the approaching cultivators is familiar. He has a square jaw, brown hair, and wears a green outer sect disciple robe.

It’s Gu Shan, the same cultivator that drove the flying boat when I was taken away from Donghe village. He’s a 59-year-old 6th level qi refiner, with four 7th grade spiritual roots, and no interesting secrets.

When he gets within a 4-meter range of me, the same exact status window pops up, confirming nothing has changed.

The stern-faced, dark-haired, well-built cultivator in a black robe beside him, on the other hand, shows a status far more impressive.

[Automatic Inspect Function Activated…]
[Lu Fayun] [Age: 44]
[10th Level Qi Refiner]
[Water, Earth, and Metal Spiritual Roots][6th Grade]
[No Innate Physique]
[Failed to establish his foundation and suffered a minor fracture in his dantian. He can no longer progress unless he obtains a Tier 2 Healing Elixir from the Inner Sect.]

He speaks as I read the golden text before me.

“Servant Li Hao. Are you aware of the reason for our visit?”

I planned on faking my nerves, but in the presence of an individual like this, I don’t have to perform much. A gulp, bow, and low reply is enough.