Unexpected Scene

Early the next morning, outside the Demon Slaying Division.

Lu Jun cupped his hands toward Old Man Yun, who was seeing them off from afar at the entrance to the Demon Slaying Division, then turned to Li Tuo beside him.

"Let's go."

"Mm." Li Tuo nodded, then turned his horse around and followed behind Lu Jun.

Compared to Lu Jun's light travel, carrying only a blade and a few changes of clothes, Li Tuo had brought enough baggage to fill both hands.

"Lu Jun, do you know anything about Qingci Town, where we're inspecting this time?"

Lu Jun shook his head. "Not much."

Li Tuo said, "Last night, I learned a little about the place from that book in Old Man Yun's hands, A True Record of Demon Disasters Across Yunzhou."

"Qingci Town has always had only two Demon Slayer Envoys stationed there. According to the reports they've submitted over the years, Qingci Town has enjoyed favorable weather and abundant harvests, with almost no demon disasters. Maybe we're just going there for an easy inspection—three months of vacation, that's all." Li Tuo chuckled.

Lu Jun's brows furrowed.

Almost no demon disasters?

That was not good news for him.

Qingci Town was still some distance from Yunzhou. After four days of hard riding, Lu Jun successfully arrived at his destination.

Along the way, Lu Jun encountered several common Gray Wolf Demons and Weasel Demons, which he killed as he passed.

His Demon Essence had successfully reached 9,300.

[Demon Essence: 9300]

It would not take long to gather 10,000 Demon Essence and advance the River Lord Subdues the Flood Dragon Art to the third layer.

By the time Lu Jun reached Qingci Town, it was already night. When he entered the town, there was not a single person to be seen on the streets.

Li Tuo explained, "This should be curfew. Some towns and counties impose curfews at night to prevent demon disasters."

Lu Jun raised a brow. "Oh? Didn't you say before we came that Qingci Town had favorable weather and almost no demon disasters? Then why go to the trouble of imposing a curfew here?"

Li Tuo froze and scratched his head. "That's true..."

Lu Jun said nothing. The silver pattern between his brows flickered softly, and the scene before his eyes changed.

The ordinary town had become, under Lu Jun's See Through Myriad Illusions, thick with demon aura, roiling like a vast fog.

The corner of Lu Jun's lips curled upward.

He had come to the right place.

He slapped the horse behind him to make it speed up, heading for the Demon Slaying Division office in Qingci Town.

He wanted to see exactly what tricks the Demon Slayer Envoys in this town were playing.

The Demon Slaying Division office in Qingci Town had been established in the outskirts. It was a fairly dilapidated residence that, at a glance, looked less like a Demon Slaying Division office and more like a run-down ancestral shrine.

Lu Jun had just reached the entrance and had yet to knock when the people inside seemed to hear his horse's hooves. They hurriedly came out through the door.

The newcomer was a thin, gaunt middle-aged man with graying temples and many wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. His hunched waist bore the bronze plaque of a Demon Slayer Envoy.

Upon seeing Lu Jun and Li Tuo, he quickly bowed in greeting.

"You two colleagues must be the Patrol Envoys who've come to Qingci Town this time!"

"I am Jia Kuiren."

Li Tuo quickly dismounted and clasped the middle-aged man's hands. "Oh, Senior Jia! I'm Li Tuo. You can just call me Little Li."

Then Li Tuo enthusiastically introduced Lu Jun behind him to Jia Kuiren. "This is Lu Jun, Brother Lu. Don't let his young age fool you—Brother Lu is incredibly strong..."

Lu Jun interrupted him. "I heard this Demon Slaying Division has two Demon Slayer Envoys."

Jia Kuiren frowned, seemingly displeased by Lu Jun's interrogative tone, but he still answered, "There are indeed two. Besides me, there is another Bronze Robe Envoy named Zhang San."

"Where is he?" Lu Jun asked.

A trace of unease flashed across Jia Kuiren's expression before he said, "Something came up at his home, so he couldn't meet the two of you today."

Lu Jun immediately continued, "What about this Demon Slaying Division office? Is anyone else here?"

Jia Kuiren said, "Only me, and a woman who couldn't return home because of curfew, so she had to stay here for the night."

Lu Jun let out a soft laugh. "Heh..."

Yet that smile clearly held a chill.

"Then what's the situation with those few demons in this office?"

Jia Kuiren's expression changed slightly. In an instant, panic spread across his face, and his tongue began to tangle. "D-Demons? What demons?"

"When I come back out, I'll settle the score with you properly!"

With that, Lu Jun gave Jia Kuiren a deep look, then drove the white horse beneath him straight into the office without the slightest concern.

"Wait!" Jia Kuiren's face paled with shock as he hurriedly tried to stop Lu Jun.

Lu Jun said nothing. He raised a hand and used the Soaring Wind divine ability, sending out a wind blade.

The strike sent Jia Kuiren flying.

Li Tuo was still dumbfounded by the sudden turn of events, but the words beside his ear—"Li Tuo, keep an eye on him!"—still brought him back to his senses.

He hurriedly nodded. "Oh, all right!"

Then Lu Jun, mounted on the white horse, suddenly charged into the courtyard, his gaze locking onto a room inside.

With a wave of his hand, the wind surged. The fierce gust smashed the wooden door to pieces.

"Who let you in!" A vicious tiger's roar suddenly came from inside. "My cubs haven't eaten their fill yet!"

The Tiger Demon inside was stunned when it saw Lu Jun. Confusion flashed across its face. "And who are you? Where's that fellow Jia?"

Li Tuo also saw what was happening inside the room.

A Tiger Demon covered in mottled stripes sat high in the room's chair, holding a human leg in its hands and wolfing it down. Blood dripped from its mouth with a steady patter, while faint cries of pain from a woman came from deeper inside the room.

Seeing Lu Jun's unfamiliar face, the Tiger Demon was slightly taken aback. It quickly recovered and spoke.

"Oh, I know now. You're the newcomer that old fellow Jia mentioned, the one who arrived today?"

"Fine, prepare two fresh humans and livestock for Lord Tiger as a meeting gift tomorrow. Lord Tiger won't eat you today!"

"Get lost!"

A sinister look flashed across Lu Jun's face.

"Very good, very good. The Demon Slaying Division colluded with demons, serving them and supplying them with the blood and flesh of the locals. No wonder this place has suffered no demon disasters for so many years. So this is what your 'favorable weather and abundant harvests' really mean!"

The Tiger Demon was growing impatient and was about to say something.

But Lu Jun was faster. His figure became nearly a phantom, and the long blade in his hand erupted with a violent, searing radiance. With one slash, he severed the Tiger Demon's head.

[Killed demon—Mountain Tiger Demon. Obtained its evolved innate divine ability—Mountain Lord's Might]

[Mountain Lord's Might: You can radiate a might unique to yourself. The more demons you kill, the stronger your might becomes.]

[Demon Essence: 9500]

Lu Jun cast a cold, indifferent glance at the Tiger Demon's corpse on the ground. His expression was hard as iron as he continued toward the inner room, where the woman's pained moans kept sounding.

After officially entering the room and seeing what was happening inside, Lu Jun's expression suddenly darkened.

Inside was a woman in a wretched state. The flesh on her chest was a bloody mess, and she lay on all fours while four Tiger Demon cubs, each no larger than an ordinary human infant, gnawed incessantly at the minced flesh and milk on her chest.

Lu Jun swung his blade. In the blink of an eye, the four Tiger Demon cubs were sent to meet their father.

[Demon Essence: 9600]