Ape Demon

"Good! Excellent! Brother Shen, you've truly given me a pleasant surprise."

In Qiulin County's Criminal Affairs Office, Criminal Affairs Steward Qian Dazhi slapped the table and rose to his feet, unable to suppress the joy on his face.

Although he had long heard about Shen Lin's talent, the boy had only been under Sun Zhi for a short while and had already officially become a Martial Artist. He had even brought back a demon corpse.

Those were all achievements.

He looked at Shen Lin with burning eyes, as though Shen Lin were not his subordinate, but his benefactor.

Though he was merely a Criminal Affairs Steward with no official rank and could not follow the promotion path of court officials, if he handled demon-slaying well, he could still earn the prefectural government's favor.

If luck favored him and the Demon Suppression Division took notice, even being transferred there as a clerical officer would be a fortune vast enough to drown the heavens.

"This was not my accomplishment alone. Kong Yu also put in considerable effort."

Shen Lin smiled and pointed at Kong Yu beside him.

Carrying that demon corpse all the way here certainly counted as putting in considerable effort.

Kong Yu, who had looked somewhat listless, immediately perked up upon hearing Shen Lin's words and looked eagerly at the Criminal Affairs Steward.

"Good, good, good. I will remember both of your contributions, and I will certainly report them truthfully to the Demon Suppression Division!"

The Criminal Affairs Steward stroked his beard and nodded in great satisfaction.

Not bad. Neither arrogant nor impetuous, and he did not forget his colleagues even after earning merit. He was someone worth noting.

"Come to think of it, why didn't Captain Sun return with you?"

Shen Lin's expression remained unchanged at the question. He calmly replied, "At the time, Captain Sun said he had found other clues, so he split up from us. He had not returned by the time we left; presumably, other matters delayed him."

"I see. But he..."

Just as the Criminal Affairs Steward was about to continue questioning him, shouts came from outside.

"Something terrible has happened! Steward Qian!" A yamen runner rushed in looking utterly disheveled, shouting as he ran, "Squad Leader Wu encountered a demon while patrolling the streets! He is chasing it through the city right now!"

"What?"

Steward Qian's eyes widened as he immediately asked, "Has the Patrol Inspection Division received word?"

At the founding of the Great Wei Dynasty, a Patrol Inspection Division had been established in every county to deal with the demon scourge.

Each was allotted a hundred men, all armored, and even equipped with great killing weapons such as bed crossbows.

Originally, they had been the true main force for slaying demons in a county. But as the demon scourge gradually subsided and large groups of demons disappeared from sight, they had slowly lost their chance to prove their worth.

Even so, they remained the Criminal Affairs Office's greatest competitors. Whenever a demon was discovered, both sides rushed to be the first to slay demons and exterminate devils.

"They should know by now. The commotion was too great, and many people saw it."

Steward Qian sucked in a sharp breath and immediately said, "Go summon Sun..."

He stopped halfway through his sentence.

If this newly discovered demon were killed first by their Criminal Affairs Office, it would surely be a great merit.

But if they delayed even slightly, the county's Patrol Inspection Division would snatch it away.

Naturally, he wanted to send his own men to seize the chance first.

But Squad Leader Wu was also a Martial Artist. Anything that could escape from his hands could not be some ordinary little demon.

Therefore, whoever they sent had to be a Martial Artist as well.

Yet at this moment, all his other squad leaders were occupied outside. Sending people to find them would certainly be too late.

Wait!

Didn't he have Shen Lin here, someone who had just advanced to Martial Artist?

With that thought, he slowly turned his head, only to freeze.

"Where is Shen Lin?!"

Kong Yu stood there alone, scratching his head awkwardly. "Brother Shen left right after hearing that. He said he was going to slay the demon."

Steward Qian and Kong Yu stared wide-eyed at each other, thinking much the same thing.

Why was this fellow so proactive?!

How could he not be proactive?

Shen Lin moved swiftly across the rooftops, constantly observing the activity around him.

He only had one year of life left now.

If he was not proactive in slaying demons and could not obtain enough Demon Lifespan to deduce his martial arts further, then once the time came, he would have to die of old age.

Therefore, the moment he heard the yamen runner's report, Shen Lin acted without even waiting for Steward Qian to speak.

In the quiet county town beneath the rising morning sun, any unusual commotion stood out at a glance.

Before long, he spotted dust rising intermittently in the distance, along with booming crashes.

Found it!

Shen Lin did not rush after it. Instead, he studied the situation carefully and discovered that although the creature kept circling around, its overall destination remained fixed.

The east city gate!

That thing wanted to flee the city!

Once it reached the wilderness, demons were naturally far more skilled than humans at concealing themselves. Then things would become troublesome.

With that thought, Shen Lin immediately set off, heading straight for the east city gate.

Within the county town, a giant ape covered in black fur, its fangs still stained with blood, smashed through an earthen wall and charged out of an alley.

Facing the peddlers and laborers blocking its way, it did not slow down in the slightest. Its powerful body simply crushed through them, smashing those ordinary people into pieces.

Squad Leader Wu, following not far behind, roared at the sight, "Bold demon!"

Though rage burned in his heart, he was no longer in the prime of life like Sun Zhi. He could only watch helplessly as the creature gradually pulled farther away from him. He had the heart to slay the demon, but the years showed no mercy.

Before long, it reached the city gate.

Seeing this, Squad Leader Wu gritted his teeth. The speed beneath his feet instantly rose another level as he spared no expense of his own life force to rush forward and stop it.

But at that moment, the charging Ape Demon suddenly stopped, turned around, and bared its teeth at Squad Leader Wu.

At the sight, unease immediately rose in Squad Leader Wu's heart.

The city gate was currently packed with civilians preparing to enter and leave the city, a surging sea of people.

Though they had scattered in panic the instant they saw the Ape Demon, they had not all managed to escape.

The next moment, the Ape Demon stretched out its long arm, snatched up a man who had collapsed to the ground in terror, raised him high, and tore him in half.

Bathed beneath a rain of blood, its face appeared even more savage.

Throwing away the remains in its hand, it stretched out its long tongue and licked the blood from its face. Then, following the same method, it seized another young woman and raised her above its head.

It glared at Squad Leader Wu and said in a muffled voice, "Old thing! Chase me again, and I'll kill everyone here!"

Yet Squad Leader Wu did not slow down in the slightest under the threat, charging straight at it.

He knew that even if he obeyed its demand and let it leave, the woman would not return safely.

More importantly, if he let it go because of its threat, the number of humans who died by its hands would only grow greater and greater.

"I'm sorry!"

With an apologetic glance at the young woman struggling and screaming desperately, Squad Leader Wu drew his long blade.

But just as he was about to strike, his face suddenly turned pale. He spat out a mouthful of blood and froze where he stood.

In the end, he was too old. The Blood Qi Power within him could no longer keep up, and he had lost his breath.

Seeing this, joy appeared on the Ape Demon's face. Yet it did not hurry to leave. Instead, it smiled cruelly and shouted, "Old man, look carefully. This is..."

Its arm swelled as it exerted force in both directions, seemingly intending to tear the young woman in half as well.

But in the next instant, a black shadow shot over from a nearby rooftop with incredible speed.

A cold flash streaked through the air as the figure passed by the Ape Demon.

"Ahhh..."

The next moment, the woman fell to the ground screaming, still clutching two black-furred hands.

Splurt!

Blood erupted from the Ape Demon's severed arms like fountains, spraying more than a zhang into the sky.

Perhaps because that strike had been too fast, there was not the slightest pain on its face, only confusion.

It slowly turned its head, seemingly wanting to see who had cut off its arms with a single slash.

Unfortunately, what met it was a gleaming blade.

The steel blade in Shen Lin's hand slashed into its eye, driving straight through, lifting off its skullcap, and beheading it outright.

With a thud, the headless corpse dropped to its knees. Shen Lin let out a long breath and murmured, "Made it in time!"