A few days ago, he took leave due to a work injury, so this street is now temporarily under the jurisdiction of David Thompson.

James Thompson easily found David Thompson; he was about to enter a brothel when James Thompson stopped him at the door.

James Thompson returned the bit of silver he owed David Thompson, and to harvest more of his joy, even gave him a dozen extra coins.

“Thanks.” David Thompson pocketed the silver, waved at him, and said, “Since you’re fine now, you can take care of this street yourself from now on. I have other things to do, so I’ll be off…”

Watching David Thompson stride into the brothel, James Thompson was full of confusion.

The way things developed was a little different from what he had expected.

Logically, after he repaid David Thompson, even if he wasn’t as happy as Michael Bolton, he should at least have shown a bit of secret delight.

Unless he didn’t like money.

After thinking about it, James Thompson recalled that among his two colleagues, Michael Bolton was greedy for money, while David Thompson was lustful. Silver was far less tempting to David Thompson than it was to Michael Bolton.

Now this was troublesome. James Thompson certainly couldn’t invite him to visit a brothel—his meager salary wouldn’t even buy him a splash of water there.

What’s more, when David Thompson visited brothels, he never paid; sometimes he even managed to make a profit.

Since he couldn’t get anything from David Thompson, he could only look for other targets.

James Thompson wandered the street for an hour. During that hour, he helped two mischievous kids retrieve a kite from a tree, escorted a lost old woman home, and gave a bowl of water to a stray dog panting under the scorching sun. To his dismay, he found that the joy he gained from that dog was actually the greatest…

But that was only relative; overall, the joy he absorbed was still pitifully little.

At this rate, it would take him until the end of time to condense his first soul.

“Looks like you’ve already found a way.” A voice suddenly came from behind.

James Thompson turned around in surprise and said, “Chief…”

Emily Thompson was still dressed in blue, looking at James Thompson. Her gaze gradually turned to surprise as she said, “You’ve only been channeling qi for a few hours, and you can already sense the seven emotions? How have you progressed so quickly…”

James Thompson shook his head, indicating that he didn’t know either.

As if thinking of something, Emily Thompson suddenly asked, “What’s your birth date and time?”

James Thompson thought for a moment and said, “Wu Chen, Geng Wu, Bing Wu, Ren Chen.”

Emily Thompson’s expression cleared as she said, “All four pillars are pure yang—no wonder…”

James Thompson didn’t quite catch that and asked, “What’s pure yang?”

Emily Thompson explained, “A person with all four pillars pure yang is born in a yang year, month, day, and hour. Such a body naturally attracts and gathers spiritual energy. Once you learn the art of channeling, your cultivation speed will far surpass ordinary people.”

James Thompson only half understood, but he got the gist: he seemed to have quite a talent for cultivation. The better his talent, the sooner he could condense his seven souls, which was certainly a good thing.

Seemingly seeing through his thoughts, Emily Thompson glanced at him again and said, “Don’t get too happy just yet. While a pure yang body is indeed suited for cultivation, it’s not all good. Pure yang, pure yin, and five-element bodies are great tonics for demons and evil beings, and will also attract the covetous eyes of evil cultivators. If your secret is exposed, your life will be in danger…”

Whatever pride James Thompson had felt was long gone. He couldn’t help but wonder if the previous owner’s death was because of this. The soul of a pure yang body is a tonic for demons; before he arrived, James Thompson’s three souls and seven spirits had all mysteriously vanished—he must have encountered a demon.

He couldn’t help but move a little closer to Emily Thompson and said, “Chief, what should I do then…”

Emily Thompson looked at him and comforted, “Don’t worry. As long as you don’t tell anyone your birth date and time, no one can tell you have a pure yang body. Besides, this is the county seat—even if those demons had the guts, they wouldn’t dare cause trouble here…”

James Thompson grumbled inwardly: there had already been one incident with a demon, who knows if there’ll be a second.

Of course, he couldn’t say that out loud. After all, admitting that a demon had devoured James Thompson’s three souls and seven spirits was the same as admitting he wasn’t James Thompson. If the county office found out, he’d probably be treated as a demon himself.

Emily Thompson gave him one last look and said, “Alright, go patrol. Once you’ve refined enough of the seven emotions, I’ll teach you how to condense the seven souls…”

Walking down the street, James Thompson felt much more at ease than before.

Although he had lost his seven souls and his life was in danger, at least there was a way to save himself and a direction to work toward.

Of the seven emotions, joy was the easiest to obtain. Helping others, collecting joy, and condensing the first soul was his short-term goal.

James Thompson scanned the crowd, determined not to miss a single opportunity.

At a certain moment, his eyes suddenly lit up—he had found his next target.

It was a plainly dressed woman standing in the middle of the street, seemingly troubled by something, her face full of anxiety. She stopped passersby one by one, as if seeking their help, but those passing by all ignored her…

She stood on the crowded street, looking utterly helpless and sorrowful…