Chapter 686: Looking at a Person with New Eyes After Three Days of Separation

"Not bad, Hengzhi. You are now famous throughout the world; you've almost forgotten your old friend!"

Upon seeing Shen Yu, Yang Lixin was still a bit hesitant to recognize him. After all, the man was now famous throughout the world and could no longer be spoken of in the same breath; how could he have returned to this small, run-down place of his?

But after carefully identifying him, he discovered it really was this kid. Although his temperament now looked worlds apart from back then, his features were still easy to recognize.

However, it was a bit of a struggle for Shen Yu to recognize the other party. In his impression, Yang Lixin had been dark and fat back then, practically a little dark fatty.

But now, not only had he become fairer and lost a lot of weight, but his temperament was also vastly different.

The Yang Lixin of the past was somewhat insecure in every way and usually a bit timid, but now he was confident and carried a few traces of dominance; compared to before, one could say he was like a different person.

The current Yang Lixin could absolutely be called dashing and handsome; walking down the street, he would surely be able to charm a group of middle-aged women.

Back when they were in the Capital, because their courtesy names were somewhat similar, and both were sons of humble families, they chatted quite congenially afterward and thus cherished each other.

Before the imperial examinations, the two supported each other, lived in the same small, run-down house, and even shared their food; their relationship could be called inseparable.

Afterward, both passed the examinations simultaneously, but they were then sent to two different places, one in the south and one in the north; from then on, their contact gradually decreased.

Moreover, that was the memory of the predecessor, and it was very difficult for Shen Yu to empathize with it.

When he arrived, the predecessor was already serving as the County Magistrate in Baian County. All the events of the past were to him like a movie, a series of replays.

So, at the moment he saw Yang Lixin, he really didn't recognize him for a moment.

"Hengzhi, I never expected you to be able to come to my place. You truly make my small Lujiang City shine with brilliance. Come back with me quickly so I can fulfill the duties of a host!"

"No rush, I'll go in and take a look first!" Waving his hand at Yang Lixin, Shen Yu then strode into the residence, and Yang Lixin followed along beside him.

"Hengzhi, you just said the people inside weren't killed by a woman; what is that based on?"

"The people inside had their essence and energy stolen, and they died from their spirits dissipating. If you don't believe me, you can have the Coroner check; I guarantee they won't be able to detect any injuries."

"No need. Since you, Hengzhi, said so, then it must be so!" Following Shen Yu as he walked quickly inside, Yang Lixin couldn't help but frown slightly as he looked at the tragic scene within.

Each of them had a ferocious and painful expression, clearly having suffered a certain degree of torture before death. If it were just the adults who had been killed, that would be one thing, but they hadn't even spared the children.

It was evident that the person who committed such evil must be a heinous villain. However, he couldn't be of much help; investigating crime scenes was not his strong suit, so he could only watch Shen Yu's actions.

After walking into the residence, although his Super Perception had already fully probed the situation inside just a moment ago, Shen Yu still checked them one by one again.

"Hengzhi!" Walking forward, Yang Lixin asked in a low voice, "How is it? Any findings?"

"If I'm not mistaken, it should be a Gu!" After a short moment, Shen Yu had already made his judgment.

"Someone planted Gu Insects in their bodies. Once these Gu Insects grow up, they will absorb the essence, energy, and spirit within their bodies, and then break out of their bodies!"

"And the essence, energy, and spirit absorbed will be flown back to the original owner by the Gu Insects to be consumed by the original owner, thereby becoming nourishment for their continuous growth."

"Bastards, these Jianghu ruffians are becoming more and more excessive; they can even think of such tactics!" Looking at the courtyard full of corpses, Yang Lixin was furious.

Not a single member of the family had escaped; it was clear they had been targeted long ago, and the timing was definitely before that Wet Nurse arrived, otherwise, that Wet Nurse wouldn't have been spared.

For such a thing to happen under his jurisdiction, he was also hard to absolve of blame!

Watching Yang Lixin's irritable appearance, Shen Yu couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong? Is the county not peaceful lately?"

"Yes, actually, it's shameful to say!" In front of his old friend, there were some things he didn't want to say; it was easy to lose face.

But with such a thing happening under his jurisdiction, and he wasn't necessarily able to handle it, it was better to ask this old friend for help. It was for the sake of the common people, so it wasn't shameful.

"Hengzhi might not know, but a while ago, those experts in the county didn't know why they all made breakthroughs. After gaining strength, they were unwilling to be lonely and started fighting each other."

"These people didn't even take the County Government Office seriously; they dared to fight bloody battles in the streets in broad daylight, causing quite a stir."

"Some Martial Artists even dared to openly practice with human blood or strengthen themselves through plundering, leaving us overwhelmed."

"I once sought help from the Prefecture Office and the Capture Gate, and even sent a letter for help to the Black-Clad Guard, but these were all like stones sinking into the sea. Sigh, you don't know how difficult I had it at the time."

"Fortunately, I managed to hold on through it all!" Sighing lightly, with no outside help and relying solely on himself to maintain the peace of this city, who knew how he had lived through that time.

It was no exaggeration to say that at that time, he was the target of everyone's criticism, as if someone were holding a blade to his throat every day.

The gangs in the county might fight each other, but as soon as he thought about intervening to persuade them to kill less, they would turn their guns and unanimously point them at him.

At that time, he couldn't sleep at night, even worrying that if he were careless at night, some thugs would rush into the County Government Office to punish the wicked and promote good, while shouting that he was a corrupt official who deserved to be killed by everyone.

"I'm afraid it's not easy in every place and every county now!" Looking at Yang Lixin's appearance, Shen Yu knew how difficult it had been here before.

The rapid growth in strength brought by the Spiritual Qi Surge made the already unruly Jianghu experts think they were capable again, and they started fighting each other to seize power and profit.

The Jianghu was suddenly filled with blood and slaughter; how could the clashes between experts not affect ordinary people? The stronger they were, the greater the harm to ordinary people.

It wasn't just Lujiang City; the situation in all places was actually about the same. Without a powerful person to suppress them, I'm afraid the chaos would only continue until a winner was finally decided.

However, by that time, most of the old monsters should have awakened, and by then, everyone would be reduced to food.

If these so-called Jianghu experts knew that their desperate fighting to achieve victory would end up being all for nothing, I wonder what they would think.

"Ziheng, how did you solve the problem in Lujiang City?"

"It was by my lucky breakthrough, combined with the cooperation of Constable He and the others in the city, and then using a little trick to forcibly suppress them all."

Speaking of this, Yang Lixin was still a bit embarrassed. "Fortunately, everything went smoothly, otherwise, I don't know what kind of scene Lujiang City would be in."

"I thought I had already intimidated them, but who would have thought these Jianghu ruffians would now dare to commit murder in broad daylight."

"These people fear nothing but chaos in the world; they don't care about the lives of the common people when they act. They all deserve to die!"

"Wait a moment!" Suddenly, Shen Yu seemed to remember something and looked at Yang Lixin. "I remember you shouldn't know Martial Arts, right?"

"Hengzhi, you must know that one should look at a person with new eyes after three days of separation. I remember you didn't know Martial Arts back then either, but now you are famous throughout the world and awe-inspiring in all directions."

"That's right, after three days of separation, everything is vastly different!"