Wang Zhou arrived with a group of people, among them were four individuals with stern expressions, tight-lipped and humorless. One glance was enough to know these were no ordinary characters.
Then, they swept their gaze across the scene with the look one uses to inspect whether a pig is fat enough.
These four could drop items even better than Wang Zhou—an incredible display. Lin Fan's mouth watered at the sight, desperately wanting to grab his weapon, rush up, and take them all down.
But those were just idle thoughts.
As for acting on them, forget it. He preferred to live longer. Proceeding with caution and stability was the real strategy.
However, among the crowd, two individuals caught his attention.
One of them, judging by his clothing, appeared to be a servant. Yet, the servant's face was pale, his legs trembling as he walked, barely steady—he seemed greatly shocked and terrified.
The other was evidently a Noble Family Young Master.
Wasn't that Chen Zhong from the Chen Mansion?
Chen Zhong's face was also incredibly pale, though he seemed to be forcing himself to maintain composure.
His expression revealed everything.
He was distinctly uneasy right now.
For Chen Zhong, this was like getting "foxed"—how had he managed to provoke such a big mess?
"Looks like something big is going to happen tonight."
Lin Fan muttered to himself. The situation was growing complicated; he had noticed that the drops hovering above Chen Zhong's head seemed rather unusual.
Wang Zhou escorted Chen Zhong back to the Chen Mansion—his purpose was clear without much thought. It was a game of waiting for the bait to attract the prey.
If the intention was to kill everyone in the mansion, there was no chance they'd leave anyone alive.
"What exactly is this thing?"
Lin Fan had always suspected it was the work of Demons, but secretly, he hoped it was something else.
Something human, for example...
Late night, under the moonless, windless sky.
Chen Zhong was staying in a room with his servant. Normally, he would already be asleep by this hour, but there was no chance of sleeping now. His nerves were stretched thin; even the slightest movement outside made him jumpy and restless.
The servant stood there, his eyes vacant—equal parts fearful of the Young Master and terrified of the impending situation.
"Young Master, do you think something will happen tonight?" the servant stammered.
Chen Zhong growled impatiently, "Shut your mouth! With people from the Demon Hunting Mansion protecting us, how could anything happen? Once that Demon is executed, I swear I'll chop its head off myself! How dare it mess with me, Chen Zhong? Clearly, it doesn't know its place!"
"Also, when I was doing that thing back then, why didn't you stop me?"
"Instead, you stood there cheering!"
The servant stared at the Young Master, tears nearly welling up in his eyes. How could he be so unreasonable? Back then it was clearly the Young Master who had insisted and even threatened to kill anyone who dared intervene.
If only he had known this trouble was coming...
He would have risked everything to stop the Young Master's actions, even if it meant dying to do so.
Chen Zhong approached the window, gently lifting one corner to peer outside.
It was silent and still.
Everywhere exuded an eerie ominousness.
Lin Fan was hiding beneath a stall's tarp, its hanging fabric perfectly concealing his body.
He cautiously lifted one corner.
His eyes scanned the street beyond.
The street was deserted, quiet, and eerie. Even without Demons present, the air alone was unnervingly ominous.
"Better stay obediently in hiding here. Hope those guys actually listened to what I said."
Lin Fan felt this was tough. There was no choice—his strength was slightly lacking.
If he were truly strong, how could he act so cowardly? He'd have charged out with his blade, mowing down enemies left and right, making them cry for their mothers.
Still, perhaps this might be an opportunity.
If it really was a Demon, and they ended up fighting till exhaustion, swooping in with a decisive blow would absolutely pay off.
Just as Lin Fan was about to lower the tarp, his movements abruptly froze, his eyes widening.
In the distance, a black fox, eerily human-like, dashed along the rooftop. Its speed was lightning-quick, and faint demonic energy emanated from its body, casting a bizarre shadow under the moonlight.
"It really is a Demon!"
Lin Fan hurriedly lowered the tarp, his heart hammering uncontrollably.
Though he had once slain a Wild Boar Demon with his own hands, that hardly compared to this.
He took a deep breath to calm his racing heart.
Stay cool. He needed to stay cool.
He lifted the tarp again, searching for the Black Fox, but after a long while of searching, it was nowhere to be found. Where had it gone?
At the manor entrance.
"Hey, does the moon look bigger and brighter to you now? Just now, it wasn't this round!" Wang Baoliu looked up, appreciating the scene with awed eyes.
The two nearby glanced up and saw it was indeed so.
It really did look rounder and brighter.
Wang Baoliu exclaimed, "That cloud is slowly drifting over—it'll cover the moon soon. Do you guys think the cloud is bigger, or the moon?"
The two others grouped with Wang Baoliu were about to mock him for his lack of common sense.
But then, they suddenly recalled what their leader had warned them about earlier.
Their bodies stiffened, cold sweat breaking out.
A chilly wind blew by, sending shivers down their spines.
"Why is it suddenly so cold?" Wang Baoliu muttered to himself. Then his expression froze, as if remembering their leader's earlier words too.
"Ah! I'm going to sleep!"
Wang Baoliu dropped to the ground, snoring almost instantly. It was a flash nap.
The two nearby exchanged glances, then quickly shut their eyes and collapsed to the ground as well. Whether they could sleep or not didn't matter—for now, sleeping was mandatory.
The Black Fox stood atop the roof directly above Lin Fan, its violent eyes fixed on the three at the manor entrance. Just as it prepared to strike, the three suddenly fell to the ground motionless, catching the Black Fox off guard for a moment.
Then realizing it didn't matter, the fox ignored the three and transformed into a streak of light, darting toward the Chen Mansion.
Lin Fan searched high and low but couldn't find any trace of the Black Fox.
There was no sound of fighting from inside the Chen Mansion either.
This meant the Black Fox hadn't been discovered yet—or perhaps it hadn't entered the mansion yet.
Even though he wanted to locate the Black Fox, Lin Fan dared not openly stroll about looking.
If he came out now and the Black Fox appeared right behind him, what would he even do?
Lin Fan froze in alarm. Something seemed to have streaked swiftly across the skies overhead. He looked up but only saw a shadow darting rapidly into the Chen Mansion.
Lin Fan glanced at the rooftop above him—could the Black Fox have been there the whole time?
The thought made him shudder, almost enough to admit that he'd been scared half to death.
Without wasting time, he crawled out from beneath the stall and rushed to the Chen Mansion entrance. Seeing the three lying on the ground, he feared they'd been attacked, but hearing Wang Baoliu's snores put him at ease.
"Stop pretending to sleep! Get up now!" Lin Fan stepped forward, giving them nudges with his foot.
"Boss, is everything okay?" They had trembled in fear while pretending to sleep but relaxed upon hearing Lin Fan's voice.
"For now, it seems fine," Lin Fan replied.
Nearby, Wang Baoliu snored in deep sleep, drooling, seemingly enjoying a truly restful nap.
"Wake him up," Lin Fan ordered.
Wang Baoliu groggily woke up. "Boss, is it over now?"
"Did you seriously fall asleep?" Lin Fan was speechless—knowing there was danger, yet still managing to sleep. How was he fit to be a constable? Was he trying to lower the Demon's intelligence level to match his own?
"Boss, I was really going to fake sleep, but as soon as I lay down, sleepiness hit me hard. I couldn't resist," Wang Baoliu scratched his head awkwardly.
The sounds of fighting came from within the Chen Mansion.
The battle had begun.
"You guys stay outside and guard—I'll go in and take a look," Lin Fan couldn't wait to run into the mansion. This was the opportunity, and he wasn't about to let it pass.
He was willing to take a slight risk and fight.
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