Water Ink Panel: Starting with Bow Technique to Hunt the Sun and Patrol the Skies

Chapter 210 - 36: The Hope of Living

The Mother of Wolf Demon's head rolled to the ground, landing in front of Shen Qing.
Shen Qing twisted his wrist, skillfully cutting open the abdomen of the Wolf Demon, extracting another Demon Core.
This Demon Core was much smaller and of lower quality than the last one, but at least it was better than nothing.
Shen Qing tucked the Demon Core into his chest and walked slowly towards the depths of the house.
He glanced around, his gaze involuntarily freezing.
In front of him, among the dried bones, was a bone bed, upon which a group of wolf pups huddled together, numbering seven or eight.
Some curled up, others warily scanned their surroundings.
Sensing his movement, they began to bare their teeth, emitting low growls.
In the corner among this group of Wolf Demon pups, three people were huddled together.
Two adults and a child, a family of three.
The three were in ragged clothing, their backs pressed tightly against the corner's wall.
The frail child in the middle clenched their chapped lips, striving to suppress their inner fear and unease, their small body trembling silently, tightly nestled in their parents' embrace.
Their faces appeared unusually pale in the dim light, their eyes vacant and numb, as if they had endured all the world's suffering and despair, losing the proper response to any external stimulus.
A suffocatingly oppressive atmosphere permeated the air.
These people were probably sent here by Zhou Baoyin, only to coincidentally encounter the matter with Liu Sangui.
The flesh filled with Essence Qi from the martial master had attracted the Wolf Demon, which was why they had luckily escaped becoming the Wolf Demon's feed.
Shen Qing looked at the family, and asked the servant behind him in a deep voice, "What's going on with them?"
The servant behind responded fearfully, "They're... tenants of Master's family, unable to pay the rent, so... they were sent here by the Master."
Shen Qing's already gloomy face grew even darker.
He stepped forward a few paces and halted.
Looking at the pitch-black family, the image of an old man he had seen in the village resurfaced in Shen Qing's mind, and suddenly mixed emotions churned in his heart.
Seeing Shen Qing remain still, one of the adults holding the child cautiously asked, "Officer, have you come to save us?"
Her eyes were as bright as the stars in the sky, sparkling with lively radiance in the dim room.
Shen Qing leaned down, reaching out to pat her head, a hint of softness unconsciously appearing between his brows. "Yes, I've killed the Wolf Demon, you're safe now."
A look of surprise appeared on Little Ni'er's face, she cheerily shook the two and exclaimed, "Dad, Mom, we're alright now, we're safe, the officer came to save us."
The couple in the corner suddenly displayed a touch of emotion in their previously numb and scattered gaze, eyes gradually focusing as they stared at Shen Qing.
Upon noticing the blood-spattered uniform of the Guardian Martial Department on Shen Qing, a trace of doubt appeared on their faces.
"Awhoo!"
One wolf pup bared its fangs and attempted to bite Shen Qing's pant leg.
Shen Qing glanced down and waved his long saber, swiftly cutting through the wolf pup.
A cold glint appeared suddenly.
The wolf pup's body was split into two.
Shen Qing held his saber and said, "How long do you intend to stay here? Don't you want to leave?"
At this moment, the family in the room finally truly realized they had been rescued, a spark of hope for survival emerged on their faces.
A surge of strength seemed to flood into the couple, as they slowly got up, supporting themselves against the wall.
Then, under Shen Qing's watchful gaze, their eyes turned red, their bodies stooped, and they limped out of the dark room while repeatedly bowing to express their gratitude.
Shen Qing turned his attention to the wolf den beside him, his expression growing colder.
These wolf pups obviously had not been born long ago, yet to develop much intelligence, not much different from ordinary wild wolves.
But having eaten human flesh and developing a taste for it, combined with their demonic origins, it was possible they might grow into new demons.
Shen Qing had no intention of sparing these wolf pups.
He held his saber, walking slowly towards the wolf den, and mercilessly slashed at them.
After a while, Shen Qing wiped the blood off his saber, and when passing by the Mother of Wolf Demon's body, his hand grabbed it, carrying it to the doorway. He instructed the servant, "Bring all the wolf pups from inside the house."
Leaving behind these words, Shen Qing dragged the massive body of the Wolf Demon towards Changqiao Town in front of him.
Dirty blood from the Wolf Demon's corpse continued to drip as Shen Qing dragged it, leaving a long blood-red trail along the path.
...
In Changqiao Town, at the Zhou Family Mansion,
The death of Zhou Baoyin finally alerted many Zhou Family members.
Especially Zhou Baoyin's three sons, they knew well the underhanded deeds their father engaged in, and understood clearly that the Wolf Demon, at least at this stage, would not harm their father.
Adding to that the bloody knife wound on his neck.
It was obvious in one glance that this was a deed done by that officer of the Guardian Martial Department.
"Intolerable, how dare that mere officer disregard the law, he cannot be let off," proclaimed Zhou Dazhi, the eldest legitimate son of Zhou Baoyin, stepping forward angrily.
His voice rang out powerfully, echoing through the disorderly main hall.
With Zhou Baoyin's death, Zhou Dazhi nominally became the head of the household, obliged to shoulder the family's responsibilities.
Looking at the weeping family members, he swiftly regained his composure.
Zhou Dazhi earnestly instructed his brother, "Little brother, you must immediately travel to Jun City Zhou Family and inform the patriarch of what transpired here. Although we are a collateral branch, we are ultimately still members of the Zhou Family."
"Officers of the Guardian Martial Department daring to do such things clearly are running roughshod over the Zhou Family. The family patriarch surely won't tolerate it. We should at least inform them, if we encounter trouble due to this, we can't let them sit by idly."
"Okay. Big Brother, I will go now."
Zhou Dazhi nodded and said, "The rest of you family members, follow me to confront that officer face-to-face, demand justice, and teach him a lesson. This Changqiao Town is not a place where he can act recklessly as an officer. Let's go!"
After speaking, Zhou Dazhi marched out grandly with numerous Zhou Family members towards the entrance.
He noticed his younger brother standing dumbfounded at the doorway, and asked, "What's wrong, why are you standing there?"
Zhou Family's second son swallowed nervously and said, "Big Brother, that officer has returned."
"Huh?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Dazhi looked forward, seeing a figure slowly walk into view.
A man dressed in a blood-stained uniform of the Guardian Martial Department.
He was dragging a headless Wolf Demon, striding step by step in their direction, his steps steady.
When Zhou Dazhi met the beast-like gaze of the approaching man, his heart quivered involuntarily, his mind went blank, as if he had forgotten his next move.
Not until Shen Qing tossed the Wolf Demon's corpse at their feet did he return to his senses.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om