Pei Ze took out the Demon’s Finger, held it in the palm of his right hand, then leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes to rest.

The carriage swayed gently, and the rumble of its wheels mingled with the clamor from outside.

This was the time of day when the Outer City truly came alive, its streets bustling with carriages and people.

The cries of street vendors, the laughter of students, the shouts of newsboys—all these sounds mingled together, drifting into the carriage through an open window.

Su Ya glanced at Pei Ze, who was resting with his eyes closed. She moved to shut the window, but he stopped her, his eyes snapping open.

"Turn left," Pei Ze said in a low voice.

The coachman outside answered at once, hastily turning the carriage onto the left-hand street.

Su Ya and Peng Yan froze for a moment before it dawned on them, their eyes brightening with realization.

Peng Yan asked excitedly, "Sir, have you found the cultists?"

Pei Ze narrowed his eyes and nodded.

Just a moment ago, the Demon’s Finger in his palm had suddenly reacted. He hadn’t expected to find cultists so soon after entering their patrol area.

Now that they knew cultists were nearby, Su Ya and Peng Yan were eager for a fight, ready to move at a moment’s notice.

But as the carriage pressed on, confusion started to show on their faces.

’Isn’t the Demon’s Finger’s detection range five hundred meters?’

’But we’ve already gone more than five hundred meters.’

’What’s going on?’

The pair looked to Pei Ze. Seeing how calm and composed he was, they had no choice but to suppress their confusion and wait patiently.

A few moments later, Pei Ze finally spoke.

"Stop."

The carriage came to a halt.

Su Ya looked out the window. Her eyes fell upon a three-story building with a red roof.

The surrounding streets were clean and paved in grayish-white stone, lined with black lampposts. Most of the buildings were simple concrete structures, with the occasional white stone house among them.

This was clearly a residential area.

Su Ya’s brow furrowed slightly. ’This could be tricky.’

’A fight here could easily harm civilians.’

Pei Ze lightly patted his long robes, his expression calm as he said, "Let’s get out."

Without waiting for a response from Su Ya or Peng Yan, he strode out of the carriage.

Seeing this, Su Ya stopped overthinking things and quickly got out with Peng Yan.

To their surprise, after getting out of the carriage, Pei Ze simply stood silently in front of it, making no move at all.

Su Ya and Peng Yan exchanged a glance, both utterly confused.

After a moment, Su Ya could no longer hold back and asked, "Sir..."

The words had barely left her mouth when she was cut off by a short, sharp scream.

The sound had clearly come from the red-roofed building.

Su Ya tensed up reflexively, her hand tightening on the hilt of her sword as she looked warily at the building.

To her astonishment, two more short screams immediately followed from inside the building.

"What’s happening?"

Just as Su Ya and Peng Yan were reeling in shock and confusion, they saw a flock of crows fly out from a window on the building’s top floor, their talons working together to carry three corpses.

Judging by the color of their skin, they were undoubtedly followers of Ah Beipu.

!!!

Su Ya and Peng Yan looked at each other. Recalling the Crow Magic Pet’s ability to turn into mist, they instantly understood.

’So that’s it! Sir Pei Ze had his pet sneak into the building long before. It waited until the cultists inside were distracted by the three of us, then launched a sudden, brutal assault, finishing them off cleanly.’

Once they figured this out, Su Ya and Peng Yan couldn’t help but be filled with silent admiration.

’Sir Pei Ze’s methods are truly on another level!’

"Three Demonized. That’s only worth about 5 merit points."

After absorbing the Soul Energy with his Recording Ring, Pei Ze left the corpses where they lay and returned to the carriage.

As for the bodies, the City Guard Army would be by later to take care of them.

"Let’s go. We’ll continue the search."

Having verified the effectiveness of the improved Demon’s Finger, Pei Ze’s confidence soared.

This successful start had Su Ya and Peng Yan fired up and ready for more.

The trio continued their patrol.