Night.

Bubai peeked out from his hut, ensuring the coast was clear. “Heh. Meeting in the forest? My mask is ready. Manager Qin isn’t back yet. Why wait any longer? It’s the best time to escape.”

Sneaking out, Bubai hurried forward with soft footsteps, heading north towards the direction of Ling City. However, his hurrying steps came to a halt as soon as he noticed a dim light at the edge of the farm not far from him.

Instinctively slipping behind a hut, Bubai peeked out, squinting his eyes to barely make out a muscular man holding a torch. He recognized him as one of the owners of the ‘better’ huts.

“Ba Fang? What is he doing out so late?”

After observing for a bit, Bubai frowned, seeing the man walking back and forth with his torch, as if patrolling the area. Slipping back into the shadows, Bubai then began to head west, running over the fields.

Unfortunately, he soon found another muscular man, his thick arms crossed as he stood next to a tall torch inserted in the ground. It was Tie San.

Squatting down on the field and blending into the darkness, Bubai turned his gaze towards the empty plains, hesitating and gauging if he could outrun Tie San.

However, in the end, he retreated. Running is easy, but if he alerts that demoness, he might not be able to escape.

Even if the demoness wasn’t there, it was best to escape unnoticed. Although he had a mask, it wasn’t foolproof. If he didn’t have enough time to escape from the vicinity of Ling City, there is a high risk that he would be captured back.

Never underestimate the tracking methods of cultivators.

Heading towards the east, Bubai hoped for the best.

Sneaking past Manager Qin’s courtyard, Bubai’s movement came to a halt once more as he pressed his back against the walls of Manager Qin’s abode.

Peering around the corner, his hopes were soon dashed as he saw Old Liu holding a lantern and patrolling the area with another scrawny man, Wu Gou.

"...Old Liu, why do we need to patrol this late at night? I’m exhausted."

“It’s that sl- Miss WeiWei… she said Manager Qin will not be back tonight, and so we are entrusted to guard the farm to prevent anyone from leaving.”

“Why would anyone leave at this time? They could’ve left before signing the contract...”

“Who knows. Maybe some have been dissatisfied… or it may be the one who did that to Ah Niu’s face. But regardless, if anyone is gone tomorrow, it will be us that will bear the brunt of the blame. So, don’t slack, Little Wu, just do our duty well…”

Listening to this point, Bubai slinked back, quietly walking back to his hut while gritting his teeth, “What the heck, did she guess I would sneak out?”

Yet, what truly made Bubai feel frightful was the unscrupulousness of her actions.

“I didn’t hear Manager Qin mentioning these orders before he left… The orders were probably falsified. Seeing how she can already play like this, it seems she is confident everything is within her grasp...”

Glancing towards the forest at the south end of the farm, Bubai let out a helpless sigh, “It seems I can’t escape tonight.”

Approaching the forest, Bubai scanned the area, “No guards…”

But Bubai didn’t have any idea of escaping through the forest. If that demoness was in the forest and was confident enough to arrange no guards, that means she is probably confident that he can’t escape.

Bubai knew that starting from mid-stage Qi-refining, cultivators can already learn detection techniques.

And from Foundation Establishment upwards, cultivators were rumored to have an inherent spiritual sense that can permeate their surroundings, enhancing their detection capabilities. Cooperating with detection techniques, it was difficult for others to escape their senses.

Based on his own speculation, a Golden Core’s spiritual sense would have no trouble covering a large portion of this small forest and if it’s a Nascent Soul…

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

There was a chance that she was just a normal woman who stumbled upon a lucky chance… but what if?

Bubai wasn’t willing to gamble whether he could escape her vision, especially when he knew he only had one chance.

“Eating soft rice… others may be unwilling, but me?” Bubai took a steady step forward and entered the dark forest.

...

"Brother Chen, you're really amazing," WeiWei licked her lips, her red pupils glinting mysteriously as she finished slipping on her white robe. "WeiWei has something else to handle tonight. So, let's do this again sometime, shall we?"

Without waiting for Bubai's response, she turned and disappeared into the dark forest, leaving the slightly pale Bubai standing there, still trying to process the bizarre tryst. “She let me off so easily tonight? If it’s only this much every night, then I certainly can-”

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Bubai decided that escaping the farm was more urgent than deciphering the reasons of WeiWei's actions. He didn’t want to leave his fate under her whim… even if it was very pleasurable to do so.

It didn’t take long for Bubai to return to the vicinity of his hut. When he pushed open the door, Bubai instantly frowned.

Cautiously examining his dark, modest room, Bubai's sharp eyes immediately caught the subtle signs of intrusion.

The hay he purposefully scattered on the ground had been disturbed, hinting at an uninvited visitor.

Entering the room and closing the door behind him, Bubai's expression darkened. "Sloppy work. Definitely not a professional," he muttered to himself, eyeing the slightly disheveled surroundings.

His mind began to churn with suspicions. "One of the workers, perhaps? But why single me out? Are they just trying to make trouble for me... or were they instructed by someone else?"

WeiWei's face flashed in his thoughts, and Bubai's frown deepened. "Could she be the one behind this? Searching for something specific, or… to confirm something?

Bubai felt cold inside. It seems he still wasn’t careful enough.

The next day.

Bubai's energy almost fully recovered after a night of cultivation, and he stepped out from his hut, lightly rotating his hips to ease the remaining soreness.

However, a quick scan of the farm drew his attention to a crowd of workers gathered in the distance, their faint panicked voices reaching his ears. As he walked over, their anxious chatter became clearer.

"Demon! It must be a demonic cultivator!"

"Who knows, it might be an evil spirit!"

"This is already the second life... this farm is not safe! We need to talk to Manager Qin! No, we need to report to the bureau in Ling City!"

Bubai tapped Old Liu's shoulder, causing the man to jump with a light squeak of horror.

Moments later, Old Liu, realizing it was Bubai, scowled with a mix of irritation and fear. "Again! Xiao Chen, don't tap my shoulder next time, almost sent me to meet the King of Hell."

Bubai chuckled, rubbing the back of his head with an honest smile. "Haha, well, it's not like you to be like this. What happened, Old Liu?"

Old Liu stared at Bubai suspiciously, questioning, "Where were you yesterday night?"

Bubai tilted his head slightly, offering his prepared excuse, "Guarding the forest then slept for the rest of the night. Why?"

Old Liu rolled his eyes, his thoughts quickly churning. Seeming to find nothing, he shook his head, sighing as he patted Bubai on the shoulder. "See for yourself."

Then, he picked up his hoe and walked away. "Choi, unlucky... I shouldn't have renewed the contract..."

“This old timer isn’t simple to be able to survive in a city of cultivators for so long.” Bubai thought to himself as he pushed through the crowd of pale-faced workers, reaching the front to finally lay eyes on a corpse on the ground which caused his eyes to narrow.

The strangeness of this corpse caused his heart to palpate.

Unlike Ah Niu's bloody, scorched one, this one resembled a dried husk, as if all life and water had been drained from it. Scrutinizing the man's face for a bit, Bubai barely recognized him to be Wu Gou!

Bubai's mind raced as he quickly made an association. When there’s something evil...

"It couldn't be her... right?" Bubai felt a chill, looking up and scanning the farm.

And then, there she was - WeiWei, observing them from afar, with an air of innocence that seemed to mask something more sinister.

Bubai's heart skipped a beat when their eyes locked. A playful smile seemed to momentarily grace WeiWei's lips as she licked them, causing his heart to race – this time not from arousal but fear.

However, in the blink of an eye, the playful face was replaced by WeiWei’s scared, pale face, as if it was just an illusion.

Panic gripped Bubai as he turned around, pushing through the crowd, putting distance between himself and WeiWei's unsettling gaze.

Yesterday, he still had the thoughts of eating soft rice, but now… he didn’t want Wu Gou’s end to be his!

Suppressing his fear and maintaining a facade of grim determination to fit in with the rest, he returned to his field, pretending to hoe as his mind churned with worry.

Mid-day.

Manager Qin returned, accompanied by a new worker.

However, any joy at the settling the previous murder case quickly dissipated as Manager Qin's flat smile turned stiff when he saw the new corpse.

From afar, Bubai still noticed the tremble in the middle-aged man's body as if he recognized the cause behind the strange death.

Barking orders, Manager Qin quickly dispersed the crowd, sending them to work.

Then, Manager Qin, demonstrating hurried yet experienced movements, skillfully stuffed Wu Gou's corpse in a sack. This time, he barely spoke words of comfort to the ‘timid’ WeiWei, and without much delay, he rushed off towards Ling City once more, his steps much more hurried than before.

Bowing his head, Bubai honestly resumed his work, the hoe habitually cutting through the soil, his thoughts churning internally.

But his concentration soon wavered, finding himself staring at the familiar dainty feet that stopped beside him. Looking up, WeiWei blinked mischievously, her eyes locking onto his.

"Manager Qin has permitted me to interrogate each of you one by one. Chen Bubai, please come with me for interrogation."