Starting as a dockworker

Chapter 41 Bizarre Death, Black Resentment!

The Wuling County Government was originally the site of the county government office of the previous dynasty.

After the establishment of the new dynasty, the court learned from foreign cultures and demolished and rebuilt the original county government office, which was also greatly expanded.

The current style is more Westernized, completely abandoning the flying eaves and brackets, and adopting a new structure that combines brick, wood and cement. Each floor has equidistant rectangular windows with transparent glass.

There are several bungalows on the left and right sides of the main building, one of which is the office of the demon-slaying team.

The newly formed demon-slaying team has already lost several members in such a short time, with bizarre deaths.

The Demon-Slaying Office, the Morgue.

On the cold bed, three cold corpses were neatly arranged.

They were all members of the Demon-Slaying Team, martial artists recommended by various martial arts schools in the city. They were all above the Refining Strength Realm, and each of them possessed the strength of a thousand catties, but at this moment they lay motionless.

The morgue was occupied by County Magistrate Hu, Police Chief Zheng, three demon-slaying team captains, and several martial arts school owners.

But at this moment, everyone is at a loss for what to do about this case.

The manner of these three deaths was so bizarre that even the forensic doctor couldn't figure it out.

"This is clearly the work of evil spirits; our police station can't handle matters involving evil spirits."

Police Chief Zheng was a bald, overweight man with a protruding belly, wearing a police uniform and shiny leather shoes.

"County Chief Hu, I've told you before that we need to expand our police force. Having more guns is more reliable than anything else. These martial arts instructors... are useless and expensive. They can take down this evil spirit just the same."

He smoked his cigar, left those words, and then turned and left with his men.

They acted as if it were none of their business.

It's clear that he and County Chief Hu don't get along and don't belong to the same faction.

They came in a hurry, glanced at the place a few times, and then left in a hurry.

In his view, the county magistrate's demon-slaying team was there to test his power, so he naturally didn't give them a friendly look.

"..."

County Chief Hu was left speechless and helpless.

His investment in establishing the demon-slaying team was indeed an attempt to gauge the power of Director Zheng.

Director Zheng was placed there by another faction at higher levels and has taken control of the police force.

As a county magistrate, sometimes I have to consider this person's mood before I can use the police force.

However, the establishment of the demon-slaying team was not just for the sake of weighing options, but also because they genuinely wanted to subdue demons and eliminate evil.

Strange things have been happening frequently in Wuling County lately, with evil spirits appearing everywhere, causing widespread panic.

If this continues, with the instigation of certain individuals, he might lose his official position.

"Gentlemen, you are all knowledgeable and experienced in the ways of the world, what exactly is going on here?"

County Chief Hu turned his attention to the other martial arts school owners.

The owners of these martial arts schools generally had experience traveling the martial arts world in their early years.

They certainly know more about this special situation.

"It must be the work of evil spirits."

The owner of the Hundred Refinements Martial Arts School, a lean man with a prominent jaw, said, "County Magistrate Hu, don't worry. The master I know has already sent someone to invite him. He'll be here soon, but the price... a master like him won't be cheap..."

"If it can be solved with money, then it's all good..."

Upon hearing this, County Chief Hu's expression softened considerably.

He turned to look at Xiao Zhenshan and said, "Master Xiao, the master you mentioned..."

Xiao Zhenshan said, "They should arrive soon..."

The group waited in the morgue for a while.

After a while, footsteps were heard outside the door.

"Master, Fourth Senior Brother is here."

Huo Yingjun led Li Xiao into the morgue.

As soon as Li Xiao entered, the other owners frowned slightly.

The young man was wearing the martial arts school uniform; he was very young, only about sixteen or seventeen years old.

It seems Master Xiao brought his own apprentice. What kind of expert is that?

County Chief Hu himself frowned slightly, completely failing to see the other party as a master.

"Disciple, come here."

Xiao Zhenshan hurriedly went over to greet him and introduced him, "This is County Magistrate Hu from Wuling County."

Li Xiao saw a county magistrate who was around fifty years old, with some gray hair at his temples, and wearing a suit.

This is the person who holds great power, overseeing the government affairs, public security, and economy of Wuling County.

In the past, Li Xiao would never have met such an important figure.

Li Xiao politely said, "Greetings, County Magistrate Hu."

County Magistrate Hu nodded thoughtfully, his gaze lingering on Li Xiao for a moment, a hint of disappointment flashing in his eyes. However, out of respect for Xiao Zhenshan, he still nodded.

"So you're Master Xiao's esteemed disciple. May I ask your name?"

"Li Xiao".

Li Xiao clasped his hands in a fist salute, his voice calm, his gaze already passing over the crowd and landing on the three corpses on the mortuary bed.

"Li Xiao, could you please come and take a look?"

County Chief Hu stepped aside and gestured with his hand, his tone polite but unable to hide his suspicion.

The other martial arts school owners exchanged glances, and the lean Hundred Refinement School owner even curled his lip and muttered, "Scholar Xiao, this matter is no small thing, it's not a place for juniors to test their courage."

Xiao Zhenshan remained expressionless and said, "My disciple has some unique insights into 'strange matters.' Let him take a look; it won't hurt..."

Li Xiao ignored the gossip.

The old saying goes, "A young man with no beard is unreliable." This is a common misconception.

Especially for those highly skilled in Taoist arts, everyone's impression is definitely that of a Taoist priest wearing a Taoist robe.

However, they never imagined that becoming a Taoist priest was simply a matter of a single thought from the gods.

Li Xiao removed the white sheets covering the corpses and examined the three bodies.

Li Xiao had met one of them once before; he was one of the outer disciples who had signed up for the demon-slaying team ten days ago.

Unexpectedly, just ten days later, when we met again, he was a cold corpse.

But... the manner of his death was too bizarre...

All three of them were like that.

White paper spilled from his mouth; the sight was even more bizarre than he had anticipated...

He bent down and approached the open mouth of the first corpse.

The white paper wasn't just stuffed in randomly; it was torn into strips and clumps, mixed with saliva and some kind of dark mucus, and stuck deep in the throat, almost stretching the esophagus open.

The exposed part had its edges bitten raw by teeth and stained with a bluish-gray lip color.

A faint, sour, putrid smell, not the stench of a corpse, wafted through the air.

Li Xiao stretched out two fingers and carefully picked out a tiny, not-yet-fully-soaked fragment from the edge of the wet, rotten pulp.

The paper was very ordinary, like the cheapest white paper on the market.

But the instant his fingertips touched the paper, an extremely cold and venomous aura surged up from his fingertips, causing the hairs on his arms to stand on end.

It's not ordinary paper.

It retains extremely strong negative intentions, or some kind of strange power, that is, evil energy.

This evil energy is trying to invade my body.

Fortunately, the evil energy on the white paper was relatively weak, and Li Xiao used his spiritual energy to dispel and force it back.

If an ordinary person were to be possessed by this evil spirit, they would likely fall seriously ill.

He then carefully examined the mouths of the other two corpses, and the situation was almost identical.

Furthermore, the three individuals' teeth showed abnormally severe wear, with several front teeth even showing signs of chipping, clearly indicating that they had engaged in extremely vigorous, involuntary chewing movements before their deaths.

As if controlled by some force, it desperately tried to swallow these papers...

Li Xiao closed his eyes slightly and used the Eyes-Closed Fire-Suppressing Spirit Technique to observe.

The three corpses had all lost their life force and were clearly dead.

However, there was a considerable amount of black energy in their mouths and abdomens...

Those black auras must have come from this white paper.

Red fire represents humans, white fire represents spirits, green fire represents demons, blue fire represents monsters, and black fire represents vengeance...

Ghosts are formed from resentment!

Among demons and monsters, ghosts are the most difficult to deal with!

This knowledge was taught to me by the fortune teller on Fragrant Hills...

"It's the work of evil spirits!"

After confirming, Li Xiao took a deep breath and spoke.

Upon hearing this, Huo Yingjun was completely stunned.

He hadn't expected his fourth senior brother to have this trick up his sleeve.

However, the words were cut short.

The other martial arts school owners sneered, and the owner of the Hundred Refinements Martial Arts School spoke up:

"What a joke! The manner of the death was so bizarre that anyone could see it was the work of an evil spirit."

"Master Xiao, you didn't bring a disciple here just to tell us this, did you?"