Samuel Brooks suddenly reached out, grabbed its bear ear, and lifted it in front of him, snarling, “If you keep being so short-sighted, I’ll go to the authorities and report you, you bear demon, get your name on the demon-hunting list, and then I’ll turn you in for a reward from the Demon Hunting Bureau!”

　　Little Bear trembled in fear and said, “Samuel Brooks, even if we’re desperate, we can’t sell our own kind. I’ll go out right now and look for more news…”

　　Samuel Brooks let go, dropping the Little Bear cub to the ground, and said, “No need to investigate.”

　　Little Bear said in a trembling voice, “You’ve already decided to sell the bear for money? Little Bear asks for nothing else—could you at least leave a bear’s mark on the latrine at the temple, so future generations know a bear once contributed to our temple…”

　　Thud!

　　The Little Bear clutched its head.

　　“Idiot! Go stand outside in the wind!”

　　Samuel Brooks gave it a kick.

　　Little Bear rolled roundly to the doorway.

　　It propped itself up, put its paws on the threshold, poked its head out, sniffed with its short nose, and its eyes instantly narrowed.

　　Then it curled up and rolled back inside.

　　“Samuel Brooks, something’s wrong.”

　　“What’s wrong?”

　　“The night wind is chilly, there’s an evil aura, and a smell of blood.”

　　“So there are clues about the demons on the hunting list, aren’t there?”

　　Samuel Brooks’s eyes sparkled as he said, “In the past, there were no demons in Daxia, and I had dragon-slaying skills with nowhere to use them, so I had to rely on you to scare people. Now it’s time for you to witness my true demon-slaying prowess!”

　　He picked up the Little Beast, placed it on his shoulder, took up his horsetail whisk in his left hand, slung his ritual sword on his back, and walked out the door.

　　The gloomy wind blew, the chill cut to the bone.

　　There was a strong, murderous scent of blood in the wind.

　　If it were an ordinary person, just a moment in this wind would leave them gravely ill.

　　He didn’t stop, but kept moving forward.

　　After about three to five hundred steps.

　　The smell of blood grew even stronger.

　　On the tips of grass and ends of branches, blood droplets hung.

　　On the ground were severed limbs and scattered entrails, like a scene from hell.

　　“……”

　　Samuel Brooks frowned deeply.

　　On his shoulder, Little Bear whispered, “Three are dead, looks like they were torn apart by a wild beast.”

　　Samuel Brooks looked at the scraps of clothing beside the flesh and said, “They’re all constables from the Jinyang County yamen.”

　　As soon as he finished speaking, a howling wind swept through the woods at night.

　　The wind rustled the grass, the treetops swayed and rustled.

　　Samuel Brooks’s expression grew more serious.

　　The Little Beast on his shoulder trembled in fear.

　　“Samuel Brooks, there are ghosts…”

　　Bear Spirit cried out in terror, its fur standing on end, clutching Samuel Brooks’s shoulder tightly, not daring to let go.

　　In the darkness ahead, three figures appeared, dressed in the uniforms of Jinyang County constables, their eyes vacant, their aura cold and sinister.

　　They weren’t here to investigate.

　　They were the victims of the case.

　　Their bodies had become piles of flesh.

　　But their souls had turned into vengeful ghosts.

　　“Daoist, do you still recognize us?”

　　At that moment, the leading constable spoke in a low voice.

　　Samuel Brooks raised his brows and said, “Earlier, when I went to the county office to turn in a head, you three were there, and even drew your swords with that Chief Wu.”

　　The man suddenly let out a sinister laugh, almost self-mocking, and said, “Surprised the Daoist still remembers us.”

　　Samuel Brooks was silent for a moment, then said, “Did you die because of me?”

　　The ghost lowered his head and slowly said, “Chief Wu went to Guangshan to deliver a message and escaped, but we, for the Daoist’s sake, suffered calamity and died miserably in the mountains.”

　　He raised his hand, and the flesh on it suddenly sloughed off, revealing white bone.

　　He lifted his head, and the flesh on his face peeled away layer by layer, turning into a bloody skull.

　　He grinned chillingly, fangs sharp.

　　“Then Daoist, come walk the road to the underworld with us.”

　　His figure suddenly flickered, turning into a gust of ghostly wind.

　　The two figures behind him also turned into ghostly wind.

　　The night was dark, the ghost wind howled, cold and piercing.

　　The grass swayed, the branches shook.

　　“Help…”

　　Little Bear trembled in terror, nearly losing control of its bladder.

　　The ghostly wind around them grew colder and sharper.

　　Then Samuel Brooks’s expression turned calm, and with a sweep of his horsetail whisk—

　　The wind stopped, and all was silent!

　　Everything returned to stillness!

　　The three gusts of ghostly wind all dissipated.

　　An invisible force merged into the Chaos Pearl at his brow.

　　Moments later, the power within the Chaos Pearl fed back, slightly increasing his cultivation.

　　Roughly… equal to half a month’s worth of training.

　　“Three ghosts, each containing a bit of spiritual power, equal to five days of my cultivation.”

　　Samuel Brooks’s expression grew solemn as he pondered, “They died less than an hour ago—how did they become fierce ghosts so quickly? And among newborn ghosts, their cultivation isn’t shallow.”

　　Newly dead ghosts are like candles in the wind, dim and weak—how could they possess cultivation?

　　They said they died because of me.

　　So naturally, they came for me.

　　Then who is behind them?

　　Thinking this, Samuel Brooks’s heart stirred. He took out the demon-hunting register of the Jiuxiao Immortal Sect and turned to page 132.