Demon and Confucian

Advisor Li and Chen Luo stepped out of the carriage after lifting the curtain. A verdant mountain came into view.

West Xiu Mountain was a forested mountain east of Wan'an County. It was roughly one-tenth the size of Wan'an County Town, lush with vegetation and teeming with birds and beasts. Many of Wan'an County's residents made their living off West Xiu Mountain.

"Patriarch Chen, let me ask you one more time: are you certain you want to investigate West Xiu Mountain? My master said that even if you produce another three thousand taels of silver, if you want to use Fortune a second time, you'll still have to wait until a month from now..."

Chen Ping looked toward Chen Luo. Chen Luo gazed intently at West Xiu Mountain before him, rapidly reconstructing all the clues he knew in his mind. In the end, he nodded. "Investigate it!"

Advisor Li put away his smiling expression, and his face grew solemn. He took the Authorization Order Cai Tongchen had written earlier from his sleeve and pressed it against the Official Seal. The paper swiftly began to burn, yet not a single wisp of ash drifted away. In the blink of an eye, it had burned to nothing. A faint Green Light appeared on the Seal of the Seventh-Rank Magistrate, and on the seal itself, one could vaguely make out a map of Wan'an County.

Advisor Li extended a finger and lightly tapped the spot marked West Xiu Mountain on the map twice. In an instant, Chen Luo felt an aura descend from the heavens and spread across the entire West Xiu Mountain.

Almost at the same time, waves of beast roars and eagle cries rang out from within West Xiu Mountain. Advisor Li paid them no mind and instead explained to Chen Luo, "Fortune is like clear water. Beneath clear water, every impurity is laid bare at a glance..."

The instant Advisor Li finished speaking, three streaks of icy white light shot out from the mountain forest. Within the three pillars of light, which resembled white jade columns, appeared the phantoms of a deer, a sparrow, and a civet. Advisor Li said, "These are three demons who purified themselves with Moonlight Purification and bear no blood debt. They are protected by the Great Xuan Law..."

Just then, another ray of light shot into the sky from within West Xiu Mountain. The pillar of light was scarlet, tinged with a trace of black, and was more than twice as thick as the three white pillars before it.

Advisor Li's expression changed. "How bold! Red with Black—this is no longer merely our Human Blood Light. It also carries Human Heavenly Condemnation Power... This is a Sinful Demon!"

Chen Luo stared fixedly at the pillar of light as well. A phantom twisted within it, gradually becoming clear. It was unmistakably a tiger with its jaws wide open, revealing a maw of blood.

"Advisor, it's that one!"

Advisor Li nodded slightly. "This beast knows it's been locked down by Fortune, yet it neither hides nor flees. It's coming straight for us..." After saying this, he handed the Official Seal to Chen Luo. "Hold the seal, and you'll be protected by Fortune! Just watch from the sidelines. Whatever you do, don't enter the battle."

Advisor Li had barely finished giving his instructions when a tiger's roar that shook heaven and earth rang out. On the distant mountain path, a mottled giant tiger more than three meters long burst out of West Xiu Mountain like lightning, charging straight toward Chen Luo.

The kind, benevolent look on Advisor Li's face had vanished. In its place was a solemn bearing that commanded awe without anger. A thin layer of green light swirled around his body, inexplicably making people feel that he stood righteous and unyielding.

"Righteous Qi!" Chen Ping was standing beside Chen Luo and spoke softly. Chen Luo nodded slightly, keeping his eyes locked on the mottled tiger. He had discovered a strange blood-colored pattern on its body!

Advisor Li laughed boldly and strode forward, meeting the charging mottled tiger head-on. As he advanced at a breakneck pace, he sang aloud:

Black clouds press upon the city, and the city seems ready to fall; armor gleams in the sun, golden scales opening.

Horn sounds fill the sky in autumn colors; on the frontier, rouge congeals into night purple.

Half-rolled red flags approach the solemn water; heavy frost chills the drums, and their sound fails to rise.

To repay my lord's intent upon the Golden Platform, I shall bear the jade dragon sword and die for you.

As Advisor Li recited the poem, the phantom of a red battle flag appeared behind him. The flag unfurled, and from within it emerged the phantom of a general wielding a long spear, charging valiantly forward.

The General Phantom collided head-on with the fierce tiger, and a powerful shock wave burst in every direction. Sand and stones flew, trees toppled, and branches snapped. The Official Seal in Chen Luo's hand trembled faintly, releasing a wisp of aura that formed the shape of a token and isolated the impact from Chen Luo.

After colliding, Advisor Li and the tiger each retreated dozens of meters before charging at each other once more.

Sure enough, the same poems exist in this world too. Only the place-names have changed. Chen Luo thought when he heard the familiar verses.

While Chen Luo was still thinking, the blood pattern on the mottled tiger suddenly flashed. He vaguely saw the space above the tiger twist as fallen leaves flew through the air, as if a tiger's claw formed from wind were swiping toward Advisor Li.

"Wind Follows Tiger, Cloud Follows Dragon. This Tiger Demon actually evolved the Wind Control demon art into a Divine Ability." Chen Ping exclaimed in surprise. He had followed Father Chen for more than a decade, so he naturally possessed considerable experience.

"Uncle Ping, can Advisor Li win?" Chen Luo was slightly tense. Before Chen Ping could answer, Advisor Li spat out a single word—

"Doh!"

The instant the word left his mouth, golden light blazed above Advisor Li's head and rapidly condensed into a Golden Blade, chopping down toward the Wind-Gathered Tiger Claw.

At the instant the word "Doh!" was spoken, Chen Luo had clearly heard only one word, yet a battle poem automatically flashed through his mind—

The dappled steed has newly borne its white jade saddle,

After battle, the battlefield moonlight is cold.

On the city wall, iron drums still resound,

Within the scabbard, the Golden Blade's blood has yet to dry.

The golden light tore across the night sky like a thunderbolt. A wail rang out, and the tiger claw shattered instantly. The mottled tiger let out a cry and rolled several times across the ground. When it climbed back up, a bloody wound stretched from the back of its neck all the way to its belly. The tiger glanced at Advisor Li, then at Chen Luo in the distance. Gritting its teeth, it swung its head around and charged straight at Chen Luo. In that instant, its speed seemed to increase again; in the blink of an eye, it was less than a hundred meters away.

Advisor Li seemed to have prepared for this. The Golden Blade above his head, which was on the verge of fading, suddenly condensed once more, though it was considerably smaller than before. Advisor Li swept out his long sleeve, and the Golden Blade transformed into a streak of golden light and shot forward. The tiger could not dodge in time. The blade entered through one shoulder blade, shot out through the opposite side of its abdomen, struck the ground, and dispersed into light. The tiger lost its momentum and staggered forward a few steps before collapsing heavily to the ground. It was not dead yet. Its heavy breathing sounded like bellows, and its eyes remained fixed on Chen Luo, only several dozen meters away. Humanlike unwillingness showed on its face.

Chen Luo slowly approached the fallen Tiger Demon, but he did not dare get too close. He stopped ten meters away, holding the Official Seal in one hand as he met the Tiger Demon's gaze. "Tell me, did you send the Tamed ghost to kill the more than twenty people of my Chen Manor?"

The Tiger Demon opened its mouth slightly and spoke in a low voice. "You harmed my wife, so I sought revenge. What was wrong with that? Do you know that when my wife was killed, she was already carrying tiger cubs? You destroyed my family, so I wiped out yours. It was perfectly reasonable."

"What a fine case of the villain complaining first... No, the evil tiger complaining first. It was clearly your wife who kidnapped and plundered my tenant farmers first..."

"Why argue with it, Patriarch Chen?" Advisor Li had regained his smiling appearance and walked over. "This evil tiger is merely twisting the truth. That tigress was nothing more than a wild beast, while this one is a sentient demon. They are no longer the same kind of life—what talk is there of husband and wife, or one family with a beast? If that were truly the case, then whenever a herbivorous beast became a demon, wouldn't it first have to slaughter all carnivorous demons? Wouldn't every hunter, meat seller, and butcher under heaven have to die?"

"What's more, this is a Sinful Demon!" Advisor Li walked to the Tiger Demon's side and planted one foot on its neck. "Speak. What force sent you to our Great Xuan? The Buddhist Sect? The Myriad Demon Kingdom? Or the barbarians?"

The Tiger Demon slowly closed its eyes and did not answer again, plainly seeking death.

Chen Luo stepped forward several paces as well. He glanced at the Tiger Demon, then looked toward Advisor Li. "Advisor Li, what is a Sinful Demon?"

Advisor Li replied, "You saw that its Blood Light contained a trace of black. That is Human Heavenly Condemnation Power. When an aura of Heavenly Condemnation Power clings to a demon, it means the creature has harmed someone who has rendered merit to our human race. Such demons are called Sinful Demons. The Great Xuan Dynasty has decreed: Sinful Demons must be killed!"

The Tiger Demon let out a cold laugh. "Of the ten Holy Lords of the Myriad Demon Kingdom, at least four are entangled with Human Heavenly Condemnation Power. Does your Great Xuan dare destroy the Myriad Demon Kingdom and kill its Holy Lords? Don't you still follow the policy of marriage alliances, sending noble daughters of the imperial clan to marry the kings of the Myriad Demon Kingdom?"

"You..." Advisor Li was rarely enraged, but now he shouted, "A mere Tiger Demon, how dare you criticize the state policies of Great Xuan?"

The Tiger Demon said nothing more. It merely closed its eyes indifferently. Yet moments later, Chen Luo discovered that its originally majestic body had begun to shrivel slightly. Advisor Li sensed that something was wrong and reached out to examine it, only to discover that the Tiger Demon had somehow activated the Self-Destruction Technique of Bloodline Exhaustion. Its life force was already gone.

It had presumably argued with them on purpose to conceal its activation and divert Advisor Li's attention.

At that moment, Zhong Kui's voice suddenly rang out in Chen Luo's mind. "My lord, this Tiger Demon's soul is somewhat strange. Perhaps I can investigate and uncover some information..."