I Have 10 Equipment Slots-Chapter 44 - 38: A Powerful Heartbeat

’Just a Half-Spiritual Soldier?’

’A Half-Spiritual Soldier already feels like a perfect extension of my arm. Wouldn’t a true Spiritual Soldier feel like gaining an extra hand?’

Gu Zheng mused.

Weapons are extensions of one’s limbs.

When he used the Celestial Frost Blade, its slashes and hacks were certainly deadly, but deep down, he knew it was just a blade—a cold, lifeless tool.

But holding the long blade Zhang Boshong had just lent him gave Gu Zheng the distinct illusion that his arm had lengthened.

The reason was that the Celestial Frost Blade could not conduct the Divine Wondrous.

When the Divine Wondrous surged, it merely coated the surface of the blade.

Unlike a Half-Spiritual Soldier, which allowed the Divine Wondrous to be conducted through the blade’s interior.

It could be focused at a single point, dispersed across the blade, or made to swirl and dance.

The source of all these transformations was the Divine Wondrous.

It was the Divine Wondrous that bonded man and weapon, making them one!

...

"There’s no need to be envious, Gu. With your strength, you’ll be able to trade for a true Spiritual Soldier after just one or two more missions."

Zhang Boshong said with a light chuckle.

"You could also take that shattered blade of yours, Gu, and have it reforged with Magic Gold into a Spiritual Soldier made just for you," Zhang Ning added. "That’s my plan. Once I accumulate five more Great Merits, I can go to a Weapon Master in logistics and have him forge a custom Spiritual Soldier for me."

’Infused with Magic Gold?’

’Yuan Qianjun and Liangqiu Changkong said the same thing.’

Gu Zheng recalled, nodding. "That is indeed a good option."

"I forgot to thank you, Zhang. If you hadn’t lent me your blade, I would have been powerless to kill the Three-Striped Lizard Snake Demon, no matter how much I wanted to."

Gu Zheng cupped his fist in thanks to Zhang Boshong.

"Don’t mention it, Gu."

Zhang Boshong waved his hand dismissively. "For my blade to kill a late-stage tier-one Demon Fiend in your hands is an honor for the blade itself. If it had been me, forget killing the Demon Fiend—I’d be thanking my ancestors if I just managed to survive."

"It’s true. Plenty of people study the Frenzy Battle Saber Technique, but not many reach Great Success," Zhang Ning chimed in, then asked out of curiosity, "By the way, Gu, how long did it take you to master this Saber Technique and reach the Great Success Realm?"

"Um... it took a while."

Gu Zheng gave a vague answer, then changed the subject. "Zhang, did you say there were only five Lizard Demons? Has the entire Zhao Mansion been searched?"

"Not completely." Zhang Ning’s expression grew serious. "But it should only be those five. If any more were hiding, it’s impossible they would have done nothing."

"Just in case, let’s search it thoroughly."

Gu Zheng suggested, "We’ll split up and try to search every corner before nightfall."

"Sounds good."

Hearing this, Zhang Ning said no more.

The three of them split up and began their search of the vast Zhao Mansion.

Gu Zheng took the opportunity to return to where his Celestial Frost Blade had shattered and collected all the fragments.

During his search, he ran into Yan Hongxue, who was also clearing the area.

The search turned up no more Lizard Demons. However, they did find people who had been held captive in the Zhao Mansion, locked away in a secret underground chamber.

There were not many of them, only seven.

Although these seven were still alive, it was as if they had lost their minds. Their faces were slack, their eyes were lifeless, and they had lost control of their bodily functions. They were in a worse state than imbeciles.

’Literally scared into a catatonic state?’

Gu Zheng fell silent.

The secret chamber was littered with discarded bones and a scattered pile of entrails.

The Lizard Demons had eaten people they knew right in front of them.

’They weren’t scared to death on the spot...’

’No, wait. The ones who were scared to death were eaten!’

...

"Liu Baozi, the Chief Constable of Baishui County, was coerced by Demon Fiends into betraying us and siding with them. Is it possible the County Magistrate and County Captain have done the same?"

Once the search was complete, Gu Zheng, Zhang Boshong, Zhang Ning, and Yan Hongxue gathered with a recovering Tao Liu and An Xiaoxue in the relatively intact front courtyard of the Zhao Mansion to discuss their next steps.

"Furthermore, besides the Zhao Mansion, could there be other Lizard Demons lurking elsewhere in Baishui County?"

’If the County Magistrate and County Captain have also turned traitor, our next moves will be complicated.’

’Killing the County Magistrate and County Captain would be easy, but the real key is the Lizard Demon pulling the strings from behind the scenes.’

"Does anyone here have skills in hypnosis, Enchanting Soul, or lie detection?"

Gu Zheng asked, his eyes quickly scanning over Wu Kun and Chen Zhizhen.

The former was severely injured and lay on the ground, breathing weakly.

On Chen Zhizhen’s chest plate, three sharp claw marks were clearly visible. His face was pale, and he stared at the ground in silence.

"Hypnosis and Enchanting Soul require extremely high Spiritual Power. But as for telling truth from lies, I know a few things," Zhang Ning said softly, stroking his chin. "For someone who specializes in interrogation, it’s a basic skill."

"...You used to work in a prison?" An Xiaoxue couldn’t help but ask, glancing at him.

"Haha, something like that." Zhang Ning chuckled, neither confirming nor denying.

Gu Zheng glanced at him, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Then it’s settled."

Yan Hongxue spoke with a grim expression. "Zhang Ning and I will go to the County Magistrate’s Office first. We’ll sound out the County Magistrate, the County Captain, and the others. If there are no problems, we’ll come back for the rest of you."

"Alright!"

...

The pair acted quickly.

They went to the County Magistrate’s Office, summoned everyone, and questioned them one by one.

Before nightfall, they had the answers they needed.

The County Magistrate, County Captain, Prison Warden, and the other key officials of the Government Office were all clean; none had sided with the demons. Perhaps they were just lucky the Lizard Demons hadn’t approached them.

However, through their probing questions and intimidation, they rooted out three traitors among the lower-ranking constables and government constables.

These three had worked with Liu Baozi, deceiving their superiors and subordinates on behalf of the Lizard Demons.

Yan Hongxue dragged the men out and executed them all in front of the others.

Only then did Gu Zheng, Zhang Boshong, Wu Kun, and the others quietly leave the Zhao Mansion and move into the rear courtyard of the Government Office.

They moved stealthily in case other Lizard Demons were lurking in the city and keeping an eye on the County Magistrate’s Office.

After Gu Zheng’s group entered the Government Office, everyone except the wounded removed their armor, changed into plain clothes, and fanned out to begin a city-wide search that would last through the night.

Their primary method was sensing for Demon Qi. Once any was detected, they could almost certainly track it back to its source and find the Demon Fiend.

The search lasted for two days and three nights, but they found no more Lizard Demons, nor any other Demon Fiends.

"It seems the only Demon Fiends that slipped into the city were those five Lizard Demons."

Walking down the main street, Zhang Ning spoke in a relaxed tone. "The Lizard Demons have been dealt with, so the mission should be over. Come on, Gu, let’s go grab a drink over there."

Zhang Ning pointed to a nearby tavern. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"Alright."

Gu Zheng didn’t refuse.

He hadn’t slept or eaten much in the past two days.

Now that it was all over, he needed to unwind and get some food in his stomach.

The two began to chat idly as they ambled toward the tavern.

As they passed a stall selling tofu, Gu Zheng suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"Speaking of which, my favorite dish is still the drunken duck from Huaiyang... Hm? What is it, Gu?"

Zhang Ning, who had already walked past the tofu stall, noticed Gu Zheng had stopped. Curious, he turned back and asked, "What are you looking at, Gu?"

Gu Zheng didn’t answer.

He simply stared intently at a heavily pregnant woman behind the tofu stall.

The woman was in her twenties. Her body was swollen from the pregnancy, and her face was round and plump; she wasn’t particularly attractive.

But Gu Zheng wasn’t looking at her face. He was looking at her pregnant belly.

THUMP-THUMP-THUMP.

With his Spirit stat at 50, and at such close range, Gu Zheng focused and could clearly hear a powerful heartbeat coming from inside the woman’s belly.

A developing fetus’s heart rate is naturally faster than an adult’s.

But...

’Can it be three or four times faster than normal?!’