Evil Immortal!

"I have no problem with paying a hundred coins a month to patrol and guard the banks of the Yinliu River. Only a fool would willingly risk their life to lure the Skinner!"

Meng Yuan glanced at Qiu Changshan and said without any politeness:

"If Deputy Captain Qiu thinks I'm ungrateful, he should instead display his selflessness and dedication to the public good, hand over his entire salary, and even cut himself a couple of times to act as bait. Maybe that will lure the Skinner out!"

"presumptuous!"

Qiu Changshan's face turned ashen with rage. He slammed his hand on the table: "A mere river patrolman, a lowly commoner, dares to speak to me like that? You're lawless!"

"Deputy Captain Qiu, you don't need to pin this on me. My position is indeed insignificant, but you can't replace the river patrol team, much less represent the imperial court. You're just a mere deputy captain, how much higher are you than me? Why pretend to be so important to me!"

Meng Yuan scratched his ear with his little finger, flicked off non-existent dandruff, chuckled, and looked completely unconcerned.

Since Qiu Changshan clearly dislikes him, Meng Yuan has no need to be polite, nor will he allow himself to be wronged.

He especially hates bosses who constantly tell others to talk about duty, dedication, and the big picture, but dare not take any risks themselves while reaping all the benefits.

However, his words were hurtful enough, as evidenced by Qiu Changshan's grim expression, as if his father had died.

Qiu Changshan was furious, gritting his teeth, "Kid, you..."

"Enough, all of you shut up!"

Huang Qing slammed his fist on the table, interrupting the two men. His fat face jiggled, and he was so angry that his liver ached.

He wasn't angry at Meng Yuan, but at Qiu Changshan!

Meng Yuan was merely a laborer, paid to do work, unlike officials like them.

One hundred coins a month—that's not even enough to eat. And yet they have the audacity to expect people to risk their lives. It's easy for them to talk when they're not in the same boat.

Besides, I finally managed to persuade Meng Yuan to agree, but Qiu Changshan's words caused an unexpected complication. That guy is more trouble than he's worth!

"Young Meng, didn't you want to skin the skinned ghost? I agree."

Huang Qing readily agreed to Meng Yuan's request. It was just a ghost skin, which was quite valuable, but if he couldn't catch the skinning ghost and let it continue to rampage and kill people, he might not be able to keep his position.

Over the years, he has lived a comfortable life as the head of the river patrol team, and he doesn't want to lose this position.

After saying that, he looked at Qiu Changshan and, suppressing his annoyance, offered a few words of advice: "Deputy Captain Qiu, please don't be angry. This kid doesn't think before he speaks. You and I should prioritize the overall situation."

Qiu Changshan felt aggrieved and embarrassed. He was a veteran of the river patrol team, but Meng Yuan had contradicted him in front of Huang Qing, causing him to lose face and making him quite angry.

However, on the surface, they were caught up in Huang Qing's words of "putting the overall situation first" and didn't say much.

However, a hint of coldness crept into his gaze as he looked at Meng Yuan.

When they were killing the skinner, this kid had an accident and it's normal for him to be caught in the crossfire...

"I only said a few words to him, and he's already holding a grudge? This guy is really narrow-minded. We need to be careful around him..." Meng Yuan keenly sensed Qiu Changshan's malice.

Ding!

A message appeared on the panel.

You have triggered the Rank E mission "Using Yourself as Bait"!

Using oneself as bait

Mission Description: The Skin-Peeling Demon has been unethical, resorting to sneak attacks and ambushes, causing significant losses to the river patrol team and creating trouble for them. Huang Qing and Qiu Changshan are eager to resolve this issue and, in desperation, hope that you can use yourself as bait to lure out the Skin-Peeling Demon and kill him.

Task Reward: 500 experience points

......

"A quest was even generated. Not bad, 500 experience points is quite a lot. It's a pleasant surprise."

Meng Yuan raised an eyebrow, quite pleased.

The third level of "Black Pig Gluttony Technique" requires 1500 experience points to advance. Completing this task will allow you to accumulate one-third of the experience points.

Add to that the skin of the skinned ghost and the fifteen taels of silver obtained from selling the water monkey's skin, and it's practically a three-in-one deal.

Of course, the greater the reward, the more dangerous the mission becomes, and he needs to treat this mission with caution.

......

The next day, Meng Yuan and Sun Youfu patrolled as usual.

"Brother Meng, my dad heard about what happened to our river patrol team recently and is worried about my safety. He said I should lay low for a while and won't be allowed to come to work starting tomorrow."

Sun Youfu hesitated, looking somewhat troubled: "I haven't thought it through yet. What do you think I should do?"

Meng Yuan could tell that Sun Youfu was timid, wanted to listen to his father, but was too embarrassed to abandon his companion, which was why he was in such a dilemma.

He made a small cut on his hand with the knife, from which a few drops of blood oozed out. At the same time, he glanced at something behind him and casually said, "I don't think you need to worry about it."

"?"

Seeing this, Sun Youfu was a little puzzled, but Meng Yuan did not explain. Instead, he swaggered ahead, walking in a very arrogant manner, which reminded him of a crab.

While patrolling, Meng Yuan calmly tore a piece of cloth from his clothes to bandage his wounds, but he still smelled faintly of blood.

They walked along the riverbank until noon, when the two took out their dry rations and began to eat.

The sun was scorching hot, so the two of them found a shady spot under a tree.

As Meng Yuan was eating his dry rations, he seemed to sense something and looked up warily. He saw a middle-aged woman walking towards him. She was plump and quite attractive.

"Excuse me, gentlemen, how do I get to Guojia Village?"

The woman swayed her waist, her buttocks were pert and plump. When she approached, she opened her mouth to ask for directions. Her voice was soft and sweet, and there were beads of sweat on her smooth forehead.

"Uh... Guo Family Village is located in..."

Sun Youfu stood up and responded to the other person with a hint of shyness, his gaze lingering on the other person's waist and hips for a moment.

However, Meng Yuan, standing to the side, felt no romantic feelings whatsoever. Instead, he looked at the woman as if facing a formidable enemy, slowly rising up with tense movements.

The woman noticed his gaze and looked over. Her eyes seemed gentle and charming, but were actually cold and filled with resentment.

That look in his eyes, as if he wanted to devour him alive, also seemed somewhat familiar to Meng Yuan...

Meng Yuan froze, his skin tingling as if stimulated, goosebumps rising all over his body, and a chill crept into his heart.

Without hesitation, he turned and ran, shouting, "Be careful, Fu! That's the Skinner!"

"what?"

Sun Youfu was stunned for a moment, but then he saw the woman in front of him suddenly turn cold, her fingernails grow out rapidly and become as sharp as daggers. She moved swiftly and pounced on Meng Yuan, completely ignoring him.

Although Meng Yuan reacted quickly, the Skin-Peeling Demon was too fast, and within two breaths it was already close to his back.

"Holy crap, that skinner is too fast?!"

A chilling sense of crisis gripped Meng Yuan, frantically reminding him and making him inwardly complain.

But when he recalled the sweat on the other person's forehead and the rich expression he had just seen, he immediately realized what had happened.

"Wait, has this skin-peeling demon transformed into a painted-skin demon?!"