Not long after, a graceful figure vaulted over the wall and landed lightly in the courtyard.

Chen Zhou, who had finished his meal and was lying on the grass, watching the clouds drift by, sighed. "Master Lin, is it really necessary to climb the wall of your own home?"

"Ahem, it’s more convenient," Lin Yujing replied, mostly because she was too lazy to open the door. But then she frowned. "Wait… why does it smell like something’s burning?"

"Oh, I just petted a cat."

"Pet the—" Lin Yujing paused as she followed his gaze and saw a small, charred figure sprawled in the courtyard.

She stiffened. Beneath the tattered black robe, she caught sight of the creature’s feline face. "A cat demon…" Her expression darkened. "So, they’ve already found you."

"Yep," Chen Zhou said casually. "Which is why I acted first."

"Wait." Lin Yujing’s brows furrowed. "If they knew who they were dealing with, why send just a first-realm cub? They clearly have stronger forces."

"A stronger existence?"

Lin Yujing nodded. "According to my intel, Zhao Shuanghe has indeed colluded with demons—a pair of cat demons. This little one must be their offspring. But why would they send her alone? That’s just throwing her to her death."

She smirked. "But that works in our favor."

Clenching her fists, she continued, "With the cub in our hands, those two will be forced to hold back. Their combat power will drop."

At that, Lin Yujing let out a dark chuckle, her beautiful face taking on a devilish edge—more like a villain than a hero.

Chen Zhou simply thought, You should really laugh out loud for the full effect.

"So, what did you find out?" he asked.

Lin Yujing’s face turned serious. "An old beggar brought his grandson’s remains to the yamen. The boy had been eaten—only a skeleton was left."

She paused, then continued, "Zhao Shuanghe pinned it on you and spread the news."

Chen Zhou laughed. "That old dog never misses an opportunity."

There was no anger in his voice—he didn’t waste emotions on the dying. But as he glanced at the unconscious kitten demon, a thought crossed his mind.

The deceptively cute exterior hid a man-eating monster.

Truly, not my race, and its heart must be different.

"What else?"

"Zhao Shuanghe has mobilized the Black Tiger Gang and the two cat demons to hunt you down. They’re searching the city as we speak."

She paused, then added, "Also, Zhao Shuanghe is holding a funeral for his son at noon."

Chen Zhou flipped up from the grass in a smooth motion. "Perfect. We move now."

A funeral? He chuckled. Might as well make it a father-son event. Save them the trouble of planning another one later.

Evergreen City was unusually quiet. No vendors lined the streets. Most shops remained shut. The entire city was shrouded in unease.

And that unease had many names—Zhao Shuanghe, the Black Tiger Gang, and now, Chen Zhou.

At first, the common folk cheered for what he did. The Han family and Zhao Jing had long been sources of their suffering. To them, Chen Zhou was a hero.

Until this morning.

A new notice had appeared on the yamen’s bulletin board:

Chen Zhou eats people.

At first, people scoffed at the accusation. But beneath the notice was a gruesome sight—a child's picked-clean skeleton.

Doubt spread.

Maybe he wasn’t a hero after all. Maybe he was just a demon who happened to kill other demons.

And so, Evergreen City gained one more person to fear.

Inside a small house, Wu Haisheng watched the empty street from the window. His tone was grim. "The city feels… different today."

Behind him, his wife, Jiang Su’e, sat with her arms crossed.

Wu Haisheng hesitated, then asked, "Have you seen the notice at the yamen?"

"Utter nonsense!" Jiang Su’e snapped before he could continue. "You think our benefactor would do something so monstrous?"

"If he really ate people, wouldn’t we have been next? He could’ve dragged us into the kitchen by now!"

Wu Haisheng sighed. "I don’t doubt him, Su’e. But I do worry for his safety."

At that, Jiang Su’e’s expression turned grave. The last time she saw Chen Zhou, he had declared he was going to kill Zhao Shuanghe.

Now, with how the county magistrate was reacting…

Would he really be alright?

Their thoughts were interrupted by the sound of approaching hooves.

Wu Haisheng’s face darkened. "The Black Tiger Gang…"

Jiang Su’e trembled slightly as she rushed to the window.

Outside, three carriages rolled down the street.

They were flanked by burly men in black, armed with broadswords, and soldiers carrying heavy crossbows. Hundreds of them.

The Black Tiger Gang and the county yamen had mobilized in full force.

In the lead carriage, the gang leader, Li Qing, sat across from his deputy, Zhao Zhiming.

Zhao Zhiming, a shifty-eyed man in his forties, licked his lips nervously. "Boss, do we really have to work with those… things?"

His gaze flickered to the third carriage.

Inside, two cat demons sat in eerie silence.

"This isn’t my idea." Li Qing’s face was cold and weathered. "Zhao Shuanghe dragged us into this. The man’s gone insane."

Zhao Shuanghe had promised that these two cat demons could track Chen Zhou’s scent and ensure his capture. Li Qing’s job was just to escort them around the city.

Li Qing wanted to refuse.

But after years of doing Zhao Shuanghe’s dirty work, the Black Tiger Gang was too entangled to pull away.

Zhao Zhiming swallowed hard. "Still… it’s dangerous." He lowered his voice. "Those things are eating right now."

His face paled. In the back carriage, faint wet sounds could be heard. The gang members had been strictly ordered not to look inside.

Li Qing barely reacted. "So what? Haven’t we killed people before?"

"But they’re eating our own men."

Li Qing waved a hand dismissively. "Just throw the blame on Chen Zhou." A sinister grin spread across his face. "The people already believe it. Might as well make it real."

Zhao Zhiming exhaled shakily. Seeing that his boss wasn’t concerned, he forced himself to relax.

"As long as I’m not on the menu…"

With that, he climbed into his own carriage. Moments later, the sound of struggle and a woman’s muffled scream echoed inside. Then, silence.

On a rooftop overlooking the street, Chen Zhou and Lin Yujing watched the procession below.

"Black Tiger Gang." Lin Yujing murmured. "The cat demons should be in one of those carriages."

She held up the unconscious kitten. "We should separate them before we engage."

Chen Zhou shook his head. "Overplanning makes you slow."

"If you hesitate, you lose."

Lin Yujing sighed. Why does every reckless idiot say that?

"What’s the plan, then?"

"I go first. You stay behind."

"And if things get complicated?"

Chen Zhou smirked. "Then we use the kitten as leverage."

Lin Yujing raised a brow. "That’s your plan? That’s it?"

"Yes. We’ll act accordingly."

"Act accordingly?!"

Before she could argue further, golden arcs of electricity crackled to life around Chen Zhou.

Then, with a blinding flash, he shot off the rooftop like a falling star—straight toward the approaching carriages.