Starting as The Young Master of A Pharmacy, He Trained Swordsmanship in Seclusion For Twenty Years - Chapter 12

That’s right—this pudgy officer was actually Lu Xuan’s cousin.

The young man, Liang Cheng, was the only son of County Magistrate Liang Shanhai, making him Lu Xuan’s uncle’s child.

Seeing that Liang Cheng had snapped out of his panic, Lu Xuan released his grip on the man’s collar.

But the moment he let go, Liang Cheng lunged at him with a tearful, dramatic wail.

“Cousin! It’s really you! I never thought I’d live to see you again—sob!”

Lu Xuan frowned, sidestepping the embrace with undisguised disdain.

“Liang Cheng, have you lost your mind? You still haven’t answered my question.”

Thud.

Liang Cheng hit the ground, dusted himself off, and shot Lu Xuan a wounded look before scurrying closer.

In a hushed voice, he whispered:

“Cousin, you have no idea how cursed this village is. I must’ve offended the heavens to get stuck here.”

“Listen, Xuan-ge, we need to leave. Now. I can’t spend another second in this damned place!”

His words trembled with lingering fear. Lu Xuan studied him thoughtfully.

“You’re a county constable. What brought you all the way out here? Something serious?”

Liang Cheng nodded vigorously.

“Xuan-ge, it’s bad. This village had a murder—two, actually. Normally, the local headman’s militia would handle it, but…”

He swallowed hard.

“The headman sent his men to investigate. They died too.“

“So he reported it to the county magistrate, who flipped and sent us to look into it.”

“And guess who got picked for this nightmare job? Me.“

Ah. Now it made sense.

Murders? Even the militia died here?

No wonder Liang Cheng had been so rattled earlier—Lu Xuan had needed to channel his inner energy just to snap him out of it.

“Officer Liang, do you know this honored guest?”

The village chief hobbled forward, eyeing Lu Xuan with newfound curiosity.

The fact that this outsider had ties to the county authorities—and familial ones at that—dissolved the last of the old man’s wariness.

“Of course! My cousin here is—ow!“

Lu Xuan clamped a hand on Liang Cheng’s shoulder, cutting him off mid-boast before smiling at the chief.

“That’s right, Chief. We’re related. Quite the coincidence.”

“I see, I see…”

The chief exhaled in relief, then turned to Liang Cheng.

“Officer, your cousin wishes to stay the night. Given the… circumstances, what do you advise?”

He couldn’t refuse a guest connected to the authorities outright. But if the officer explained the dangers himself…

“WHAT?! Xuan-ge, you want to stay here?!”

Liang Cheng dragged Lu Xuan aside, his voice dropping to an urgent whisper.

“Listen to me—this place is not safe. Leave with me now.“

“I just need to question the chief, then I’m reporting back to the magistrate. Let’s go.“

His face was dead serious. For Liang Cheng—a man who feared nothing—to be this spooked only intrigued Lu Xuan further.

“Interesting. What exactly has you so terrified?”

Liang Cheng didn’t hold back.

“Five days ago, two villagers died. Then three militiamen sent to investigate also died.”

“Now, I’ve seen corpses before—hell, I’ve handled dozens since joining the constables.”

He puffed his chest briefly, waiting for praise that never came, then deflated and continued.

“But these five? Their deaths… Xuan-ge, I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Every inch of their bodies was shredded—claw marks everywhere, flesh torn apart. And the worst part?”

“They did it to themselves.”

A spark flashed in Lu Xuan’s eyes. Excitement.

This matched exactly what he’d seen with his cousin Lu Yun’an’s corpse.

Supernatural activity. Yin energy.

And if Liang Cheng was right, five such corpses were here in Liugou Village.

Five sources of yin energy.

Suppressing his hunger, Lu Xuan kept his voice steady.

“Where are the bodies now?”

Liang Cheng blinked. “Uh… I burned them last night.”

“You what?!”

Lu Xuan stared at him.

The county sent you to solve a murder, and your first move was to incinerate the evidence?

Liang Cheng raised his hands defensively.

“Xuan-ge, you don’t understand—those corpses moved!“

His entire body shook, pupils darting wildly as memories resurfaced.

“If you hadn’t trained me in blade work all these years…”

He shuddered.

“I’d be dead. Killed by the dead.“

Even as he said it, Liang Cheng knew how insane it sounded.