37: Why is it dark?

"It should be fine once the officials send some Cultivators."

"Hmph!"

"Ah!"

"Ouch~!"

Han Wenqing seemed to recall some painful experience and let out a cold snort. He had just tried to get up when the pain from his wounds forced him back down.

Zhou Yan said nothing, merely giving him a glare before continuing the treatment.

Han Wenqing knew he was causing trouble for Zhou Yan again, but the frustration in his chest forced him to speak out.

"I was as handsome as you before I reported to the authorities; after reporting, I became like this." Han Wenqing pointed at his current furry face.

"I remember, it was one night."

In the backyard of the County Magistrate's residence.

Two old men were sitting in a small pavilion in the backyard, drinking wine and admiring the moon. The table was full of fine wine and dishes, making the County Magistrate salivate.

However, the old man opposite him was only drinking wine. Since he didn't pick up his chopsticks, the County Magistrate didn't feel right picking up his either.

Just then, a figure flipped over the backyard wall and quickly approached the two, falling to his knees with a thud.

The County Magistrate and the old man were startled and stood up, looking at the young man kneeling on the ground.

County Magistrate: "You... who are you?"

"Why have you broken into my residence in the middle of the night!"

The County Magistrate was somewhat flustered, but seeing the person behind him, he felt reassured and gained a bit more confidence.

"Reporting to Your Honor, my name is Han Wenqing. I am a wandering Loose Cultivator of the Great Yu Dynasty. I have come today to seek justice. I beg Your Honor to uphold justice for me!"

After saying this, Han Wenqing performed a grand prostration, and when he rose again, his face was covered in tears.

This scene was truly one that would make any listener sad and any witness weep.

Even the County Magistrate was somewhat moved. He hurriedly used his sleeve to wipe away the saliva at the corner of his mouth, which had been drawn out by the untasted delicacies on the nearby table.

Then, walking with a measured gait, he came before Han Wenqing, helped him up, and asked what grievances he had.

Soon, Han Wenqing explained the whole story.

He and his sister Han Wenya were originally wandering Loose Cultivators, until his sister met a brother-in-law who was doing business outside. They fell in love at first sight and were married soon after.

Afterward, his sister followed his brother-in-law in business. He would help out at first, but with his youthful Heart-Nature, he was ultimately more accustomed to a wandering life.

So he set out on his journey again, helping his brother-in-law expand the business along the way.

But recently, he received a letter from his sister.

The letter said that the Spirit Fish his brother-in-law helped the village sell involved a great matter. His brother-in-law had been captured by the villagers for discovering the secrets within, and by the time he saw this letter, she would likely have met with disaster as well.

His sister had risked her life to send the letter, and her only request was for him to at least rescue Han Yue.

Seeing the letter, Han Wenqing rushed back without a second thought, only to see his sister's appearance after she had been transformed into a monster.

Although his sister was unrecognizable, the feeling of shared Bloodline allowed him to recognize her at a glance—that was his sister.

Grief and indignation nearly caused his Dao Heart to shatter, but fortunately, he found that his niece Han Yue was still there and unaffected.

Just as he was about to sneak in and take Han Yue away, he ran head-on into Yi Sanyi and his group.

It turned out they had known he would come all along. The reason his sister had been left outside for so long...

...was specifically to lure him out, taking advantage of his unstable state of mind and the aura he emitted to surround and capture him.

Now that Han Wenqing had partially transformed into a Half-Demon, he still couldn't do anything about Langqi Village, let alone back then, so he was quickly beaten down.

Fortunately, he had a Talisman as a trump card, which allowed him to temporarily boost his speed.

As a Loose Cultivator, he wasn't good at fighting or Cultivating, but his ability to run away was unique. Thus, he successfully escaped Langqi Village.

Han Wenqing knew he couldn't handle this matter alone, so he took his sister's letter and decided to report it to the authorities.

Part of the letter used the Shadow Recording Art, containing the secrets about Langqi Village that his brother-in-law had gathered.

This naturally included the truth about human experimentation, the raising of Spirit Fish, and so on.

Han Wenqing firmly believed that with this letter, Langqi Village would surely be brought to justice and Little Yueer would be rescued.

As for why he visited in the middle of the night, it was naturally because Langqi Village was powerful and had already sent people to hunt him down over a wide area. If he appeared in public during the day, he feared he would be assassinated by the villagers.

The County Magistrate took the letter and looked at its contents. His expression changed, and he repeatedly pointed at the letter with his finger, his gaze switching back and forth between Han Wenqing and the old man.

"This... this is truly appalling!"

"How can there be such a cold-blooded thing? This... this is simply too wrong."

The County Magistrate seemed beyond furious. After a moment of calming down, he asked Han Wenqing.

"Then do you know exactly what kind of villain the mastermind is?"

Hearing this, Han Wenqing got excited, stood up, and began to denounce them angrily.

"That old bastard is called Second Nine Jia. He condones the villagers in committing these evil deeds and even worships an Evil Cultivator as an Immortal. This old fossil simply deserves to have both his soul and body obliterated!"

"Once he's caught, I'll definitely cut off his head and use it as a chamber pot. When the time comes, after I'm done, I'll let you use it, Your Honor. When you're done, give it back to me, and I'll use it a couple more times."

Halfway through, he remembered there was another person nearby and said generously, "Old man, do you want to use it a couple of times too?"

The old man was somewhat surprised upon hearing this and asked cheerfully, "There's a share for me in this too?"

"Of course!"

"A beast like that should be executed by everyone. No one comes for nothing; everyone who comes gets a share!"

After finishing this long rant, he let out some steam and felt refreshed. Even the originally dark night seemed full of light in his eyes.

"By the way, I got a bit carried away just now. I haven't asked what this old gentleman's name is?"

"Haha, this old man is named Second Nine Jia. I hardly deserve the title of 'gentleman'." He stroked his beard, looking at Han Wenqing with a playful expression.

"Hey, what's with 'deserve' or 'not deserve'? I can see from your temperament, old gentleman, that you..."

Eh? Why has the sky turned dark again?

Han Wenqing was a bit dazed upon hearing this. It took him a long while to recover, and finally, he pointed at the Village Chief and the County Magistrate with a helpless smile.

"Heh, your mother..."

The memory ended. At this moment, Han Wenqing's tears were already flowing from both sides, wetting his fur.

"That's how it happened. No need to say more about what followed; looking at my current state, you can guess the result."

"Sigh, they thought I had died from the failed transformation, so they buried me in the forest."

"I was buried until nightfall when the power within me fully underwent Awakening, completing the final transformation. This also turned me into this half-human, half-wolf monster."

"It was also thanks to this that I had enough strength to dig myself out of the ground, and my recovery speed became faster too."

"It's just that I don't know if it's because the transformation was incomplete, but this power is gradually turning me into a true Wolf Demon."

"I've been constantly emphasizing to myself that I am a human, which is the only way I can barely resist it."

Zhou Yan nodded upon hearing this. Han Wenqing's strange movements when they first met were no longer surprising.

After all, only humans walk on two legs. He must have wanted to reinforce his identity through this method.

"Speaking of which, it's lucky you were there."

"Lucky I was there? If it weren't for me, wouldn't you have already rescued Little Yueer?"