“Yes, but not just that.” Olivia Thompson smiled slightly. “I’ve also been ordered to ask you: why is it that Yuhang Town under your jurisdiction has such frequent occurrences of evil spirits? In the past year, you’ve reported six cases involving evil spirits, and this time, there have been two vengeful spirit incidents in just three days.”

She stood up again, her tall figure not at all inferior to David Parker, and her presence was even more overwhelming.

“I’m very curious—what secret is hidden in this small Yuhang Town that causes evil things to appear again and again? Or is it that there are actually no ghosts in these cases, and it’s you, Head Constable Parker, who has a guilty conscience, blaming evil spirits when you can’t solve the case?”

What she described was, in fact, not uncommon.

There are countless unsolved and major cases in the world, but when distributed among all the constables of the Heluo Dynasty, each only has a few.

Sometimes, in order to give the higher-ups an explanation, blaming evil spirits for a case is nothing out of the ordinary.

After all, cases involving evil spirits often have no clear beginning or end, and some monsters leave no evidence even after being destroyed, making it easy to play tricks.

But such things can’t happen too often. For someone like David Parker to have six such cases in a year is a frequency that’s highly suspicious.

As for two vengeful spirit cases in three days—that’s even more outrageous.

If it’s real, then Chaotianque will definitely come to investigate. If it’s fake, then it’s an insult to people’s intelligence, and Chaotianque will have to come punish him.

“Heaven knows I’m innocent!” David Parker said with a bitter face. “Miss Thompson, I’m also baffled as to why there are so many evil spirits in my jurisdiction! I’m not stupid—if I were making things up, I wouldn’t invent two vengeful spirit cases in three days. But my investigations really did turn out this way. I can’t just lie, can I?”

Olivia Thompson smiled, her expression cold yet not: “If you have nothing to hide, why have you never contacted anyone from Chaotianque? Instead, you always spend the court’s reward money to hire outside cultivators to exorcise evil spirits. I’d also like to know—does such a small place as Yuhang Town really have such highly skilled cultivators who can help you solve so many strange cases?”

David Parker said, “In all my years as a constable, I won’t say I’ve always been perfect, but I’d never dare deceive my superiors. The reason I didn’t call on Chaotianque’s officials is that there really is a Daoist temple here, with cultivators inside, and it’s convenient to invite them, so I didn’t want to trouble the officials.”

“Oh?”

Olivia Thompson’s gaze swept over his ugly face. “I’ll be staying here for a while to thoroughly investigate the source of Yuhang Town’s evil spirits. As for the one you hired, Head Constable Parker… there’s a suspicion he might be raising ghosts for his own benefit. Don’t let him come here during this period.”

“Of course.” David Parker nodded repeatedly.

Now that someone from Chaotianque was here, there was certainly no need for Henry Thompson.

No matter how much David Parker valued Henry Thompson, he didn’t think a wild cultivator from a minor sect could be more powerful than an orthodox cultivator from Chaotianque.

As for what Olivia Thompson said about raising ghosts for personal gain, that had happened in previous cases. Some local cultivators would deliberately raise evil spirits to commit crimes, then help exorcise them for a hefty reward.

The first places such people would target were towns like Yuhang—neither too close to the prefectural city, nor too remote, and somewhat prosperous.

This sort of thing was what Chaotianque despised most.

David Parker wanted to say a few words in defense of Henry Thompson, to explain that the young Daoist wasn’t that kind of person, but when the words reached his lips, he hesitated and said nothing.

Right now, Olivia Thompson didn’t have a good impression of him, so speaking up for someone else would be pointless.

Just then, a clear voice sounded from outside the main gate.

“Is Head Constable Parker here? I’ve arrived.”

“That’s the Daoist I invited. I’ll go tell him to leave for now,” David Parker said, turning to go out and greet him.

Olivia Thompson followed him outside, wanting to see what this suspicious Daoist looked like.

And so she saw…

A young Daoist with clear, sharp features and gentle eyes, dressed in clean, simple blue robes, standing under a poplar tree outside the door. His hair was like clouds, swaying gently, and his robes fluttered in the breeze.

In that instant, it was as if all the rosy clouds in the sky gathered around him.

He looked like an immortal banished from heaven.

David Parker called out to Henry Thompson, “Little Henry, sorry about this…”

Smack.

A crisp, decisive karate chop landed on the back of his neck from behind, cutting off his next words.

Henry Thompson raised his eyebrows in surprise.

He saw David Parker collapse softly to the ground, revealing a bright young woman behind him. She gazed at him gently, her smile as radiant as a flower.

Chapter 13: A Simple, Kind, and Handsome Jianghu Swindler

Peach leaves are the sharpest of the sharp.

Willow leaves shade the whole sky.

The young woman skipped over to stand in front of Henry Thompson.

“Hello, I’m a Purple-Clad Guard of Chaotianque, Olivia Thompson.” Her voice was crisp, her tone gentle, and rather pleasant to the ear.

The constables in the guardhouse behind them all stared in shock, their jaws dropping to the floor.

Wasn’t this the one who, in front of us, always had a fierce expression, a dry voice, and a hard tone? How did she suddenly turn into a soft, sweet girl in an instant?

That face-changing speed is terrifying!

Henry Thompson didn’t care whether the person in front of him was a soft girl or a tigress—he only cared about the name he’d just heard.

Chaotianque.

Sigh.

He let out a silent sigh and cupped his hands. “I am a Daoist from Deyun Temple outside Yuhang Town, Henry Thompson. Since there’s a Chaotianque official here, I suppose I’m not needed anymore?”

What he was really thinking was: So my reward is probably gone, right?