At last, someone had come to keep him company. John Sullivan, who had been lonely for half the day, finally felt balanced: “Did you go to the coroner?”

James Reed replied, “Yes. I questioned the coroner in detail and also examined the corpse carefully.” He stopped speaking at this point, his expression grave as he presented the item in his hand.

John Sullivan didn’t take it, but looked closely. It was two stacks of yellow talisman papers written in cinnabar, the surface already rotted black.

He nodded and said, “You used these talismans to test the corpse for demonic energy?”

James Reed said, “Master, your insight is as sharp as ever. I used these talismans in two places. One was the soil beside the already-buried woman’s grave, the other was the corpse at the coroner’s, which hasn’t been buried yet.”

Even the soil beside the grave had been so tainted by demonic energy—now it could be confirmed, the skin-flayer was undoubtedly a demon. At least he finally knew what he was up against.

John Sullivan snorted coldly: “To dare to slaughter the people within a hundred miles of Cangqiong Mountain Sect—these petty demons from the demon realm have come knocking themselves, so my disciples can hardly be blamed for acting on heaven’s behalf.”

Trust him, he really didn’t want to say such cliché lines just to fit the scene. But if he didn’t, he’d be OOC!

James Reed looked at him with eyes full of admiration: “Master is wise! If Master takes action, you’ll surely defeat that demon in one blow and rid the people of this menace!”

“……” It seemed this master-disciple pair had always operated in the “you command, I worship” mode, and worked together quite happily.

Honestly, John Sullivan was quite satisfied. From John Sullivan’s perspective, James Reed was truly an excellent disciple. Though he was a rich young master, spoiled and used to getting his way, he never dared show any of that arrogance in front of his master. Instead, he was completely obedient and respectful.

After all, what man would mind being revered like a god by others? His ability to get things done was top-notch too—on journeys, he handled all the arrangements for travel, food, and lodging. If not for the fact that he’d lose IQ and turn into a villainous school bully whenever he encountered the protagonist, he’d be a promising young man!

And for this cannon-fodder disciple who was ultimately thrown into a pit of bugs and devoured alive by Charles Clark, John Sullivan couldn’t help but feel a sense of shared misfortune…

“This trip down the mountain is for training. Unless absolutely necessary, I won’t intervene. James Reed, as the eldest disciple, you must make careful arrangements and don’t let that demon harm your fellow disciples.”

“Yes! I’ve already set up a formation. As long as that demon…”

James Reed hadn’t finished speaking when someone barged straight in, cutting him off.

Charles Clark rushed in, face pale, and cried, “Master!”

John Sullivan’s heart skipped a beat, but he kept a cold facade: “Why are you shouting in such a panic?”

Charles Clark said, “Senior sister Grace Hill and I went to the city market during the day. At dusk, I urged her to return, but she refused, and somehow, in the blink of an eye, she disappeared. I searched the whole street but couldn’t find her, so I came back to ask for your help, Master.”

To go missing at such a critical moment—this was no joke. James Reed nearly jumped up on the spot: “Charles Clark! You…”

John Sullivan flicked his sleeve, and the teacup on the desk shattered. Not only did this serve as a deterrent without being OOC, it also stopped James Reed from digging his own grave.

He put on a look of barely suppressed anger: “What’s done is done, there’s no use talking more. Charles Clark, come with me. James Reed, take a few junior brothers and ask Mr. Chen for help—search for your junior sister together.”

James Reed agreed and hurried out. Charles Clark kept his head down, silent.

John Sullivan knew this definitely wasn’t his fault, because Grace Hill had always been the type of female character who courted disaster. In the original work, the trouble caused by her sudden disappearances or blunders at critical moments spanned at least fifty chapters. Sometimes John Sullivan really admired Charles Clark—to dare take such a trouble-magnet into his harem and not get killed by her, most people couldn’t handle it. It could only be said that the protagonist’s halo was truly overpowered.

Charles Clark thought John Sullivan had kept him behind to scold or punish him, so he lowered his head and said, “This is all my fault. If Master wishes to punish me, I have no complaints—just please help find senior sister Grace Hill safely.”

John Sullivan thought he looked rather pitiful and wanted to pat his head, but restrained himself due to the system, and said coldly, “Come here. Take me to the place where you and Yin’er got separated.”

Charles Clark and Grace Hill had gotten separated near the busiest part of the market.

John Sullivan stood there, closed his eyes, and sensed a faint trace of demonic energy. Following that thread of demonic energy, which seemed about to break at any moment, he walked on. When he opened his eyes again, John Sullivan found himself standing at the entrance of a rouge shop.

John Sullivan: “……”

Could the culprit be someone from the rouge shop?

However, after entering the shop, the demonic energy vanished completely.

“Could it be that the culprit isn’t hiding in the rouge shop, but just visited recently? Entering a rouge shop… could the culprit be a woman?” John Sullivan muttered to himself.

This kind of quest, set up just for him to grind levels, with no original plot to reference, was really stretching his brain cells to the limit!