I Can Merge Techniques

Zhao Qingyan explained everything in meticulous detail, but Chu Fan just gave the occasional nod, offering only perfunctory replies.

He had no intention of wasting brain cells on the finer points of the case anyway.

Every field has its experts. So many professional constables and experienced Demon Suppression Guards were already stumped.

He didn’t expect to suddenly turn into some master detective and find the key clue.

His mission was simple, just as it had been when Yue Mankong first sent him to Qing Province.

—to act as bait, tempting enough for the killer to reveal themself willingly.

The killer had managed to operate calmly right under the noses of several Demon Suppression Guards, and even dared to murder a relative of the Wang Family.

This meant the culprit not only possessed exceptional counter-surveillance skills, but also terrifying strength.

They were also incredibly arrogant and conceited, utterly looking down on these "weaklings" who were only good for investigating.

’But what if someone appeared who looked young, had a low cultivation level, and seemed completely non-threatening... but was actually a Tyrannosaurus in sheep’s clothing?’

For a job like this, in all of Qing Province, only Chu Fan was qualified.

Though he was a Demon Suppression Guard, he had a track record that included slaying the Blood Shadow Sect Leader, who had consumed a Beast Transformation Pill and experienced an explosive surge in power!

Seeing that Chu Fan remained uninterested and seemingly unconcerned with the details of the case, Zhao Qingyan tactfully fell silent and focused on riding.

Upon arriving in North City, Zhao Qingyan dismounted and handed their horses over to a posthouse soldier by the road.

The two walked side by side down the long, relatively quiet street of the early morning.

Zhao Qingyan couldn’t resist turning her head slightly, stealing glances at the young man beside her, whose fame shook all of Qing Province.

’He’s so young...’

He looked several years younger than her, with a handsome face and even a hint of a bookish air about him.

Yet even before this seemingly frail boy had set foot in Qing Province,

his fame was already thunderous, known throughout the surrounding lands.

And after arriving in Qing Province, he had built up an even more astonishing list of accomplishments—

First, he single-handedly suppressed Wang Meng, a veteran Demon Suppression Guard of the Acupoint Realm, leaving him utterly powerless to resist.

Then, when provoked by Tang Tinghua, he retaliated and beat him so severely that he was still bedridden and unable to move.

In Zhao Qingyan’s eyes, these accomplishments, while impressive, were still within the realm of understanding.

What truly made her—and indeed, all the Demon Suppression Guards—shudder...

was the rumor that Lord Leng had forcibly suppressed—

That he had taken a furious sword strike from Princess Zhaohua head-on, without even trying to dodge!

’That was Princess Zhaohua!’

Even if the Princess hadn’t used her full power, the force of that strike was far beyond what any Divine Power Realm cultivator could possibly withstand.

This incident had become the greatest mystery, a topic of intense private discussion among everyone in the Demon Suppression Bureau.

No one could figure out what kind of terrifying power was hidden within his seemingly frail frame...

what allowed him to perform such an unbelievable feat.

Not to mention, just a few days ago, someone had personally witnessed him returning from a top-secret mission alongside a group of Demon Suppression Captains.

Among a whole group of Demon Suppression Captains, he was the only Demon Suppression Guard...

And at the gathering in the Moon Viewing Tower yesterday, Lord Nangong had treated him with the affection one would show a younger brother.

He treated him entirely as an equal, with none of the usual distance between a superior and a subordinate.

All of it struck Zhao Qingyan as completely unbelievable, filling her heart with curiosity.

She’d been holding it in the entire trip, but now, seeing they were about to reach the gate of the Wang Residence...

Zhao Qingyan finally couldn’t hold it in any longer and tentatively asked the question that had been plaguing her for so long: "Forgive my forwardness... Lord Chu, how old are you?"

Chu Fan paused, turned to look at Zhao Qingyan, and said in a squeaky, affected voice, "Just turned eighteen!"

"..." Zhao Qingyan stumbled, nearly falling flat on her face.

The cold and aloof image she so carefully maintained nearly shattered on the spot.

Looking at the brilliant, utterly harmless-looking smile on Chu Fan’s face,

the corner of her mouth began to twitch uncontrollably.

For some reason, even though she knew full well she could never beat him in a fight, she had the sudden, overwhelming urge to pin this brat to the ground and give him a savage beating!

...

「North City, Qing Province. The Wang Residence.」

This was not the illustrious Wang Family, one of the three great Noble Families of Qing Province.

They were merely a mid-tier family from North City that had gotten rich by running a Spiritual Ore business.

At this moment, the residence, which should have been filled with the life and warmth of summer, instead emanated a heart-stopping, deathly silence and a chilling gloom, like a tomb.

Outside, the sun blazed down, and beyond the city walls, cicadas droned on incessantly.

The stifling heat in the air was so thick one could almost wring water from it, leaving one feeling unbearably oppressed.

However, the moment Chu Fan and Zhao Qingyan stepped through the gates of the Wang Residence,

an indescribable chill shot up from the soles of their feet and straight up their spines, making them shiver.

This wasn’t a physical cold, but a kind of gloom that seemed to emanate from the very depths of one’s soul.

It felt as if countless pairs of eyes were hidden in the darkness, staring fixedly from the shadows.

It was enough to make one’s blood run cold and the hair on their arms stand on end.

In the courtyard, a few servants swept fallen leaves with their heads bowed. Their movements were stiff and mechanical, their faces utterly devoid of life.

They moved back and forth without a single word of exchange.

They never once made eye contact, like a group of puppets whose souls had been ripped away.

Deep fear and exhaustion were etched onto every face.

Their steps were hurried yet careful, as if they were terrified of disturbing some untouchable, forbidden thing.

"Please, follow me." An elderly man with the look of a steward—clean-shaven and gaunt—stepped forward.

His voice was low and hoarse, tinged with an unshakable weariness.

He raised a finger to his lips in a "shush" gesture, indicating that they should not speak loudly.

Chu Fan frowned slightly.