Chapter 66

Last night's commotion was so great that it's impossible to say there was no loss at all.

Zhang Yue, upon hearing this, clasped his fists and replied, "Reporting to Your Excellency, there were twenty-three fires last night, and nearly a hundred civilians died in the fires. The number of people who died due to the evil spirits is still being counted.

As for the constables, eight were lost last night."

After he finished speaking, the atmosphere in the inner hall became heavy.

Shi Qingsheng sighed, "In that case, if we include the deaths caused by the evil spirits, the number of deaths in the city this time could be in the hundreds. If this matter is not handled well, it will certainly cause great panic."

"What do you think, Clerk Shi? What should the government do now?"

Shen Changqing's gaze fell on Shi Qingsheng, and he rarely asked for advice.

After all, he was only a temporary magistrate with no experience in governance.

If it were a matter of dealing with evil spirits, it would be much simpler—just kill them all.

But pacifying the people is not something that can be solved by mere slaughter.

In comparison, Shi Qingsheng, who had been a clerk for many years, was the most experienced in this area.

After a moment of thought, Shi Qingsheng raised his head and clasped his fists, "Reporting to Your Excellency, what the government should do now is to post announcements as usual, stating that all the evil spirits have been slain, and to increase the patrol efforts of the other constables.

Over time, the people's fear will gradually fade.

If anyone takes this opportunity to create chaos, they must be punished severely to prevent others from thinking the government is weak and can be bullied.

As for the civilians who were injured or killed by the fires and evil spirits last night, those who survived can be given some compensation."

Punishing the troublemakers and providing compensation would be a two-pronged approach.

Shen Changqing thought for a moment and nodded, "Very well, let's do as you suggest."

After a pause, he added, "Anyway, the government has some extra income recently, so the compensation should not be a problem."

After making the decision, Shi Qingsheng immediately got up and left, leaving Zhang Yue sitting there.

"Your Excellency, after last night's incident, some constables want to leave. What should we do now?"

Not everyone is fearless.

Last night, they had no choice, so the constables did not flee.

But now, things are different.

After the incident calmed down, some constables immediately wanted to resign and leave.

Shen Changqing said, "Whoever wants to leave, let them go, but they will not be rehired in the future. At the same time, we will recruit a new batch of constables. This is a minor issue."

The Great Qin lacks many things, but it does not lack people.

Even a small place like Lin'an City has a population of a hundred thousand, and the larger cities are even more populous.

To be honest, he doesn't even know how many people the Great Qin has.

But one thing is certain: the population of the Great Qin is much larger than in his previous life.

After receiving the order, Zhang Yue also got up and left.

In the inner hall, only Shen Changqing remained.

"The commotion outside the city has calmed down, the demon's blood has found its owner, and the evil spirits have all retreated. Lin'an City will not have any major problems in the short term.

This incident was significant, but with the Heavenly Inspector Corps in Lin'an City all wiped out, the news cannot be reported back to the Demon Suppression Bureau for the time being.

However, with the Heavenly Inspector Corps' network of informants, it won't be long before someone comes to take over."

Sitting in his seat, his mind was thinking about the events of the past two days.

Although the two days were short, a lot happened.

Only now did he have the time to sort everything out.

Then, Shen Changqing calmed his mind and began to check his status panel.

Name: Shen Changqing

Allegiance: Great Qin Demon Suppression Bureau

Identity: Yellow-Rank Demon Slayer

Martial Arts: Thirteen Protectors' Hardening Technique (Level 20, can be improved), Heavenly Martial Aura (Level 13, can be improved), Seven Kill Blade Technique (Level 3), Iron Sand Palm (Level 2)

Killing Points: 53

"Fifty-three killing points!"

Shen Changqing let out a sigh of relief.

Last night, he killed many evil spirits, including one Grievance-Level Monstrosity and several Ghost-Level Monstrosities.

Among them, the Grievance-Level Monstrosity alone contributed over twenty killing points, while the other Ghost-Level Monstrosities, due to their weaker strength, each contributed only about seven to eight killing points.

But even a small amount is still something.

All in all, the killing points added up to over fifty.

However, while fifty-three killing points may seem like a lot, the amount needed to advance each level is significant.

"Starting from Level 20, each level of the Thirteen Protectors' Hardening Technique requires at least ten killing points, and this may increase.

As for the Heavenly Martial Aura, it currently costs eight killing points per level, but based on past improvements, this cost will not last long.

Given the higher rank of this martial art, if the cost increases, the number of killing points required will be even more terrifying than for the Thirteen Protectors' Hardening Technique."

Shen Changqing realized that fifty-three killing points were not as high as he initially thought.

Now, he misses the old days when one killing point could advance a level.

With over fifty points, if there were no increases, he could have grown to a very formidable level.

Shaking his head, Shen Changqing expelled the distracting thoughts from his mind.

"Fifty-three killing points, if used wisely, can only slightly improve my strength. Whether I can reach the Master level is still uncertain."

The Level 13 Heavenly Martial Aura makes him stronger than the average innate external aura practitioner.

However, he has yet to reach the threshold of the Master level.

What exactly is a Master, he is not very clear, but one thing is certain: if the Heavenly Martial Aura could be advanced several levels, he would have a high probability of directly advancing to the Master level.

However, advancing the Heavenly Martial Aura requires a substantial amount of qi and blood.

The Thirteen Protectors' Hardening Technique is too costly, and while each level significantly enhances the body, it is not enough to support the consumption of the Heavenly Martial Aura.

"Killing points are hard to come by. The Thirteen Protectors' Hardening Technique is no longer worth investing in.

The best course of action now is to return to the Demon Suppression Bureau and find a more powerful external martial art to practice."

After making the decision, Shen Changqing withdrew his mind from the status panel.

Without the support of qi and blood, he cannot currently advance the Heavenly Martial Aura.

Everything has to wait until he returns to the Demon Suppression Bureau.

"Calculating the time, the new magistrate should be arriving soon."

Shen Changqing estimated that it had been about half a month since Zhao Fang's death.

Even if the process takes time, half a month should be enough.

As long as there are no unexpected events, the new magistrate should have arrived.

Standing up, Shen Changqing returned to his bedroom to rest.

Having not slept for nearly two days and being highly focused last night, his energy was greatly depleted.

Now that things were mostly resolved, he felt a wave of fatigue.

Lying down in his clothes, Shen Changqing slept until noon the next day.

He only woke up when Shi Qingsheng came to knock on the door.

Opening the door, he found Shi Qingsheng already there.

"Your Excellency!"

"What happened?" Shen Changqing yawned, feeling much more refreshed after a full day's sleep.

"I was worried something might have happened to you, so I came to check," Shi Qingsheng replied honestly.

"Lunch is ready. Please come and eat."

"Thank you."

After lunch, Shen Changqing left the government office and headed straight out of the city.

Unlike the usual bustling Lin'an City, today's city had a much heavier atmosphere.

The usual bustling scenes were noticeably sparse.

This showed that the events of yesterday had a significant impact on the city's residents.

Shen Changqing had no solution for this.

Eliminating the fear in people's hearts can only be done with time.

Leaving Lin'an City, he did not take long to reach the former site of the乱葬岗 (mass grave).

The trees were toppled, and the dense forest no longer existed.

The entire mass grave seemed to have been plowed by a terrifying force, completely altering its former appearance.

"The commotion from that night was quite significant!"

Shen Changqing's expression was solemn.

The mass grave was quite large, and the force that could level the entire area was not something one or two innate practitioners could achieve.

Even he would find it difficult to level the mass grave.

From the scene before him, it was clear how intense the battle had been.

Stepping onto the land of the mass grave, the dense yin and evil aura had not completely dissipated.

Most of the coffins buried in the mass grave were now exposed to the air, and the bones inside had been destroyed, truly turning to dust.

Arriving at the place where the demon's blood had emerged, the canyon still existed, but there were many bloodstains on the ground.

Expanding his senses, Shen Changqing found that while the yin and evil aura had not completely dissipated, there were no remaining evil spirits.

After a moment, he left the mass grave.

His purpose in coming here was to check for any hidden dangers.

But now that the mass grave had been leveled, although some yin and evil aura remained, the true evil spirits had either been slain or had all fled, leaving none behind.

The canyon caused by the emergence of the demon's blood, Shen Changqing only glanced at it briefly.

The canyon was deep and unfathomable.

He dared not be sure if there was anything inside, and entering rashly would be extremely risky.

Returning to the government office, Shen Changqing remained secluded.

Over the next few days, the turmoil caused by the evil spirits gradually subsided.

With the government's increased patrols and announcements to reassure the people, the residents' fear began to lessen.

Although the city had not fully returned to its former prosperity, it was much better than at the beginning.

Shen Changqing was pleased with the city's progress.

It was not until five days later, when someone came to visit, that the peace was slightly disrupted.