Chapter 5: The Mastermind’s Identity

Chief Zheng, in particular, faltered for a moment at the appearance of the Sword Qi and was nearly tackled to the ground by two fox demons.

Fortunately, the experienced Chief Zheng managed to turn the tables. He took a few steps back and assumed a defensive stance.

But the look of shock in his eyes didn’t fade in the slightest; instead, it grew even more intense.

At that moment, the image of Shen Bai began to overlap with that of the mysterious figure from the riverbank, the resemblance becoming undeniable.

"Shopkeeper Shen, are you the expert from the river that day?" Chief Zheng couldn’t help but shout, even as he quickly parried another attack from the fox demons.

He felt like his brain couldn’t keep up.

In his eyes, Shen Bai had always been an ordinary person, someone who just happened to be on good terms with the constables from the Government Office.

But since when did Shen Bai possess this kind of power?

The deceitful fox demons had taken him considerable effort to handle, yet Shen Bai killed several of them with just a few strokes of his sword.

It was simply unthinkable.

And from the looks of it, he had only revealed his identity because he had been forced to.

Chief Zheng couldn’t understand it. ’If I had that kind of strength, I probably would have let everyone know about it long ago.’

How had Shen Bai managed to hide it for so many years?

Of course, whether he understood it or not, the situation was critical. Chief Zheng said no more, only stealing glances at Shen Bai’s movements out of the corner of his eye.

It wasn’t just Chief Zheng; the other constables all had the same reaction.

Their expressions turned to sheer terror, especially when they saw the Sword Qi in Shen Bai’s hand.

They could feel a murderous aura emanating from Shen Bai. This wasn’t something he was faking; it was the kind of aura that only appears when one truly has blood on their hands.

’He’s stronger than Chief Zheng.’

The thought surfaced in the minds of many constables.

Shen Bai seemed completely unfazed, as if this were a common occurrence for him. He swung his Longsword again and again, instantly unleashing countless streams of Sword Qi.

The Sword Qi formed into threads that he controlled with perfect freedom—the special effect of the Blood Sword Dance after reaching Level 4.

His Swordsmanship flowed with the Sword Qi, and under its glow, the night lost some of its terror.

With every flash of light, deceitful fox demons were pierced by the Sword Qi. They collapsed, motionless, their Qi dissipating as they turned into plumes of nauseating black smoke.

Shen Bai was like a merciless assassin, his expression calm as he struck. He hadn’t moved a single step; just by waving the blood-red Sword Qi, he could slay the deceitful fox demons.

This scene chilled the constables to the bone.

A few of the constables even had some particular thoughts.

’It’s a good thing he’s on friendly terms with Zhou Qing, and that we’ve always treated him politely. Otherwise, we’d probably be in for a world of hurt today.’

’Zhou Qing has a friend like this, but the kid never said a word about it. He sure knows how to keep a secret.’

’I always said that Zhou Qing, a constable from the Government Office and one of the most capable among us, wouldn’t befriend an ordinary person with no power. It turns out Shopkeeper Shen is the real master here.’

All sorts of thoughts sprouted in the constables’ minds, and they looked at Shen Bai with a newfound sense of awe.

At this point, only the two deceitful fox demons that Chief Zheng was fighting remained.

Chief Zheng himself was a master of the Three Treasures Realm. With Shen Bai’s arrival, his worries were gone, and his Sword Skill became increasingly sharp.

Sword wounds also appeared on the two deceitful fox demons.

Seeing this, Shen Bai took two steps forward and thrust his sword out twice.

The blood-red Sword Qi erupted, turning the two deceitful fox demons into pincushions.

In the blink of an eye, all ten deceitful fox demons were dead.

Ten wisps of Evil Qi drilled into Shen Bai’s body and vanished.

’Counting the two wisps from before, I now have a full twelve wisps of Evil Qi. That should be enough.’

The corners of Shen Bai’s mouth turned up slightly, his heart filled with an irrepressible joy.

He had enough Evil Qi now. He just lacked a Deceitful Object and a transformative Divine Power. It was like he had already prepared all the supplies for the rear lines.

With Shen Bai’s intervention, the tide of the battle had completely turned.

Chief Zheng wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at Shen Bai. They stood there, speechless.

He didn’t know what to say. Talking to Shen Bai now felt... constrained.

Before, he was a common man; now, he was a Cultivator—an extremely powerful one at that. It would be difficult for Chief Zheng not to feel constrained.

Shen Bai, however, was unfazed. He said, "It’s more or less what you’re thinking. I’m a Cultivator too. I don’t want to give any further explanations, but the situation is critical. We should head back and investigate the clues about who is behind this."

Chief Zheng nodded.

The situation was indeed unusual, and there was no time for idle chat.

The group resumed searching the village, but finding nothing else of note, they had no choice but to take the letter and hurry back to Shengyun County.

Nothing happened on the way back, except that Zhang Chaofeng was in low spirits.

After all, his entire village had been taken, and his wife had died there too. It was only natural for Zhang Chaofeng to be in such a state.

Seeing this, Shen Bai could only pat Zhang Chaofeng’s shoulder and offer a few words of comfort.

"These are hard times, I know. Shopkeeper, you don’t need to comfort me. The only thing we can do is adapt."

Zhang Chaofeng gave a bitter smile. "I never imagined you were so powerful, Shopkeeper. I really misjudged you before."

Shen Bai shook his head but said nothing.

「Shengyun County.」

The journey back was uneventful. Upon their return, Shen Bai planned to head back to the pawnshop.

Of course, there were some necessary things that still needed to be said.

Shen Bai thought for a moment, then said, "The situation with our opponent is very mysterious. The only clue we have is that the mastermind is from Shengyun County. We have nothing else."

Chief Zheng said, "I plan to look into the county annals. I’ll check the past history of Shengyun County. Maybe I’ll find something."

Shen Bai nodded.

At this point, it was the only method they had.

He thought for another moment before continuing, "If you get any news, please have Zhou Qing come find me. That way, I can also prepare a counter-strategy."

Chief Zheng agreed. He wanted to say more, but he could see that Shen Bai was already preparing to leave.

In this world, there were many powerful masters with eccentric personalities. Having traveled the Jianghu for many years, Chief Zheng had seen his share, so he didn’t try to stop Shen Bai.

After turning to leave, Shen Bai led Zhang Chaofeng and Qin Shuang toward the pawnshop.

Nothing happened along the way.

After returning to the pawnshop, Shen Bai closed the door and spoke to Qin Shuang.

"Why don’t you go to your room and rest? It’s been a long day for everyone."

Qin Shuang glanced around, nodded obediently, and went back to Shen Bai’s room.

Now, the room was dim. Only Shen Bai and Zhang Chaofeng remained, looking at each other.

Zhang Chaofeng said, "Shopkeeper, I’m a bit tired today. I’d like to get some rest early."

Having suffered such a great disaster and with his wife now dead, Zhang Chaofeng was exhausted both mentally and physically. It was only right that he wanted to rest.

Shen Bai, however, remained silent. His gaze fell upon Zhang Chaofeng’s left hand.

On the middle finger of Zhang Chaofeng’s left hand was an antique bronze-colored ring.

As if sensing Shen Bai’s stare, Zhang Chaofeng instinctively glanced down at the ring and asked strangely.

"Shopkeeper, why are you looking at this ring?"

Shen Bai looked up and smiled. "Can a Deceitful Object also conceal its own aura?"

Zhang Chaofeng froze for a moment, then burst out laughing and began to clap. "How did you find out?"