"You... who are you...?"
Zhang San could not help but freeze when he saw Lu Jun standing before him, his aura vigorous and his whole body radiating killing intent.
Lu Jun said nothing more. His figure moved with extreme speed, and in an instant, he appeared before Zhang San.
Immediately afterward, the Iron Shattering Claw divine ability he had previously mastered took effect. The nails on both his hands suddenly grew sharp.
Lu Jun reached out and seized Zhang San by the neck. His sharp nails sank deeply into the flesh of Zhang San's throat, while his sword-wielding hand unleashed four slashes in rapid succession.
Almost in the blink of an eye, Zhang San's four limbs were severed and fell to the ground with four sharp thuds.
Zhang San tried to scream, but with his neck clamped tightly in Lu Jun's grasp, he could only force out hoarse, hissing wheezes. His face flushed crimson as tears and mucus gushed forth all at once.
Lu Jun felt no mercy at the sight of his miserable state. He merely cast a light glance at the young woman beside him, who had already gone rigid with shock, both hands still held in the act of removing her clothes.
Lu Jun's expression was hard as iron as he murmured softly:
"Colluding with demons, violating local girls, and offering the local Human Race as blood food to demons..."
"How many lives do you have, damn you?"
"Feeling that brave? Playing this big?!"
With that, Lu Jun lightly searched Zhang San's waist. He deftly pulled five or six ingots of silver from Zhang San's robes, then gently tossed them before the girl, who had collapsed to the ground in terror.
"Repairs for your front gate, and compensation for your emotional distress."
"If that isn't enough, come to the Demon Slaying Division office and give them my name—Lu Jun. I'll make up the difference."
With that, Lu Jun turned around and dragged Zhang San toward the door.
It was a long while after Lu Jun left before the girl finally came to her senses. Looking at the gleaming broken silver scattered across the floor, her heart raced wildly. She immediately threw herself before her grandfather.
"Grandpa, it's all right. It's all right..."
The girl cried as she helped her grandfather onto the bed. For a moment, the whole thing felt like a dream.
Looking down at Zhang San's severed limbs scattered across the floor, along with a bewildered ape's head, she knew clearly that everything that had happened here tonight had not been a dream. It had been a night of heart-stopping terror, a night spent walking the razor's edge between life and death.
"Child, I'm fine. I'm fine." After emerging from his dazed unconsciousness, Grandpa's awareness gradually returned. He kept soothing the girl in a low voice before carefully asking, "Who was that lord just now?"
There was still a trace of sobbing in the girl's voice as she answered, "He said he was also an official of the Demon Slaying Division. His name is Lu Jun."
Grandpa was astonished as well. "Since when did the Demon Slaying Division have such good people...?"
"Child, get some rest early. We can only sleep in another room tonight."
Supporting Grandpa, the girl stumbled into the other room.
She lay on the bed, unable to sleep all night.
Whenever she closed her eyes, everything that had happened that night kept surfacing before her.
At one moment, Zhang San was grinning viciously as he beat her grandfather; at another, he wore an obscene smile as he threatened her while making her take off her clothes. But soon, those terrifying images were replaced by another figure.
It was a young man with an indifferent expression, a frightening aura radiating from his body. He was tall and slender, with handsome features, a saber at his waist, broad shoulders, and a narrow waist. He looked every inch the heroic warrior... Though he wore the Demon Slayer Envoy uniform that frightened her so badly, and though his expression was hard as iron,
she seemed to be able to glimpse a trace of compassion in the young man's eyes beneath that coldness...
"Lu Jun... Lu Jun..."
The girl murmured his name twice. Her eyes gradually grew complicated, her thoughts becoming a tangled mass, and she soon sank into a deep sleep.
The next day.
The girl was awakened by the shouts of Auntie Li, the neighbor.
"Shen Ni'er... get up! Don't sleep anymore."
"Lord Zhang of the Demon Slaying Division is going to be executed in public by the new Patrol Envoy of the Demon Slaying Division!"
"What?!"
The girl was also extremely surprised. She hurriedly dressed and followed Auntie Li all the way to the open ground outside the Demon Slayer Envoy office.
By then, the open ground outside the town was already packed with people surrounding a large tree.
Shen Ni'er was petite and delicate, and she quickly squeezed through the crowd from the outside.
She also saw what was happening in the center.
Zhang San, who usually swaggered arrogantly around town, had now had all four limbs chopped off. The swagger was gone from his face, replaced by utter dejection. He looked like a wild dog whose spine had been ripped out, bound to the tree with nothing but a death wish in his eyes.
Two figures stood on either side of Zhang San.
One was Jia Kuiren, the Demon Slayer Envoy whom everyone in town knew well. At this moment, he stood awkwardly in place. The other was an unfamiliar face with drooping eyes, his whole person looking dispirited. Judging from the style of his clothes, however, he was also a Demon Slayer Envoy.
He isn't here...
Shen Ni'er could not help feeling a little disappointed.
"Villagers, make way!"
A clear young man's voice rang out from behind the crowd.
The young man's voice seemed to possess some power that inspired belief, and the people hurriedly moved aside, opening a path.
Everyone turned to look at him in unison.
Shen Ni'er's heart began to pound wildly as well.
The young man wore the close-fitting silver light armor of a Demon Slayer Envoy beneath a blue robe in the style of a civil and military official. Over it was a dark-green Mysterious Crane Creation Robe covered in mysterious crane patterns. A saber hung at his waist, one hand resting on its hilt. His black hair was casually tied back, and his handsome features radiated heroic spirit.
With every eye fixed on this extraordinary young man, he walked all the way to Zhang San.
Then Lu Jun turned around and swept his gaze over the many commoners. His eyes carried imposing majesty, and no one dared meet his gaze.
Lu Jun spoke.
"Zhang San, a Bronze Robe Envoy of the Demon Slaying Division, during his tenure as stationed envoy in Qingci Town."
"Colluded with demons, violated women, preyed upon the common people, never resisted demonic disasters, and did nothing while in office..."
"Today, before everyone present, he will be subjected to the extreme punishment of death by a thousand cuts."
Hearing Lu Jun's words,
Zhang San was terrified beyond measure. He struggled as he shouted, "You can't kill me!"
"You're only a Bronze Robe Envoy yourself. What right do you have to kill me?"
"Even if you kill me, you have to escort me to the Demon Slaying Division in Yunzhou for trial. What are you...?"
Zhang San had not finished speaking.
Lu Jun directly drew a golden command token from his waist and held it up before Zhang San. "Is this enough?"
Zhang San fell speechless. After a long while, three trembling words finally escaped his mouth: "The... the Executor..."
Lu Jun handed a dagger to Jia Kuiren. "It's yours."
Then Lu Jun looked toward Li Tuo and called his name softly.
"Li Tuo."
Li Tuo's body jolted, and he hurriedly replied, "Here!"
Lu Jun said, "You file the report up the chain. I'll approve the order."
"Give him the death-in-service compensation."
"Yes..." Li Tuo answered dazedly.
A moment later.
Zhang San's miserable cries of pain rang throughout the forested hills and wilderness.
The onlookers felt thoroughly satisfied, yet at the same time, they could not help feeling their scalps prickle.
Before you continue