Black Pupil

"Bang, bang, bang! Fang Mu, get up! If we're late, Envoy Sun will whip us again!"

"Coming! Coming!"

Awakened by the knocking, Fang Mu opened the door and found Zhao Li outside.

Before he could even wash up, Zhao Li dragged him off to collect their rations, and then they went to the prison hall of the Demon Slayer Division.

The place they lived was right beside the main prison, a row of wooden bungalows.

When Fang Mu and Zhao Li arrived at the hall, a Demon Slayer Division superior officer in armor had already begun calling roll.

"Number five."

"Number six."

"Number seven."

"..."

"Number twenty-two."

Fang Mu joined the line and called out his own number: twenty-two.

As soon as his voice fell, the surroundings suddenly fell silent.

"Huh? What happened? Did I call out the wrong number?"

It was Fang Mu's first time calling out his number, and he looked at the gazes everyone directed at him with some confusion.

At that moment, Envoy Sun's low voice rang out. "What about number twenty-three?"

"Reporting to Envoy Sun, number twenty-three went back last night... and couldn't get up again."

Fang Mu's heart tightened when he heard that. "Couldn't get up again" probably meant he was dead.

This sort of thing seemed to happen often. Every few days, a Demon Slayer Envoy would fail to get up again.

The Demon Slayer Envoys' daily work was to kill the demons, monsters, and strange creatures that had been captured, then dig out and cut off anything valuable from their bodies.

Those demons and monsters weren't cats or dogs that could simply be slaughtered at will. Many Demon Slayer Envoys died beneath the demons' desperate final counterattacks.

Even among those who survived, long-term demon slaying exposed them to Demonic Energy, and people often died suddenly.

"Understood!"

Envoy Sun's voice remained as still as an ancient well. He had clearly grown accustomed to this and immediately began assigning that day's tasks.

"Zhao San! Mortal Prison, One Star, Room Thirty!"

"Tian Hu! Mortal Prison, Four Stars, Room Fifty-three!"

"Fang Mu! Mortal Prison, Three Stars, Room Seventy-six!"

"."

Fang Mu was somewhat distracted as he silently memorized the number of the room assigned to him.

The prison of the County Office's Demon Slayer Division was divided into three levels: Heaven, Earth, and Mortal.

The Heaven Prison supposedly held powerful demons. Killing them required a Demon Slayer Envoy to take action, so there was practically nothing for them to do there.

The Earth Prison held demons and strange creatures at the great-demon level. Ordinary Demon Slayer Envoys like them were rarely assigned to the Earth Prison.

The Mortal Prison held the most demons and strange creatures. Their strength varied, but they were all lesser demons.

"Little Mu, stop spacing out. Let's go!"

While Fang Mu was still somewhat dazed, Zhao Li nudged him.

Seeing the others leave one after another, Fang Mu hurried after Zhao Li toward the main prison cells.

The main prison cells had been built deep underground, with the Mortal Prison lying several dozen feet below the surface.

One Star was closest to the surface, while Seven Stars was the deepest.

The Mortal Prison's Seven-Star section held the fewest demons, but they were the most dangerous.

The Earth Prison and Heaven Prison lay even deeper underground. Nearly every step downward represented greater danger.

The underground cells were almost entirely cut off from daylight. Fang Mu and Zhao Li squeezed into the lift chamber.

As a series of clanking mechanisms rang out, the lift chamber, forged from refined iron, slowly descended.

On the first level, the Mortal Prison's One-Star section, several Demon Slayer Envoys got off.

On the second level, the Mortal Prison's Two-Star section, several more Demon Slayer Envoys got off.

When they reached the third level, they had arrived in the Mortal Prison's Three-Star section.

Zhao Li had been assigned to the next level down, so Fang Mu bid him farewell and followed the third-level iron chain bridge until he found Room Seventy-six.

The cell was built of black stone, and beneath the cell number was a keyhole.

Fang Mu inserted his Demon Slayer Token into the keyhole and turned it once. A rumble came from the black stone wall, and the cell door slowly opened on its own.

Fang Mu entered the cell, and the door slowly closed behind him.

The cell door consisted of an inner and outer door, specifically to prevent demons from escaping with some sort of innate divine ability while the door was open.

After walking a dozen or so meters forward, Fang Mu opened the inner door and discovered that the demon he was to kill today was a Bird Demon.

The Bird Demon was in a miserable state. Refined-steel chains pierced through all four of its limbs and its lower abdomen, pinning it to an execution frame.

"Spare me!"

When it saw Fang Mu enter the cell, the Bird Demon repeatedly begged for mercy in a weak voice.

"Huh? You can talk?" Fang Mu was somewhat surprised and curious. He had not expected the Bird Demon to be capable of human speech.

"Mercy, my lord, mercy! I have gold ingots hidden away. If you spare me, I'll tell you where they are."

The Bird Demon kept begging for mercy, throwing out an olive branch.

When Fang Mu heard that there were gold ingots, his eyes lit up.

A single gold ingot was a gold sycee worth a hundred silver coins—a colossal sum. How could he not be tempted?

After hesitating for a moment, he slowly walked toward the Bird Demon.

As he passed the execution frame, Fang Mu silently took a longsword and hid it behind his back.

"Tell me, then! Where did you hide the gold ingot?" Fang Mu slowly approached the Bird Demon and questioned it.

"Coo, coo... Come a little closer, and I'll tell you where it's hidden." A vicious glint flashed through the Bird Demon's eyes as it smiled and tried to beguile Fang Mu.

Fang Mu suspected nothing and slowly walked up in front of the Bird Demon.

At that moment, the Bird Demon suddenly thrust out its beak and pecked at his head.

"Hmph!"

With a cold snort, Fang Mu had been on guard all along. As he dodged to the side, he thrust out his sword with lightning speed, piercing through the Bird Demon's neck.

"Coo, coo!" The Bird Demon let out a shriek and began struggling.

Fang Mu retreated to the execution frame, drew a long spear, and repeatedly stabbed at the Bird Demon, which was struggling violently on the verge of death.

His physical body had previously been nourished by a Nourishing Yuan Pill, greatly increasing his strength and speed.

Otherwise, he truly might not have been able to swiftly evade the Bird Demon's ambush this time.

"Damn it, this demon-slaying mission really is dangerous. The demon even knows how to lure and deceive people. If you fall for it by accident, your little life is finished."

"But the outside world doesn't seem safe either. I've heard that quite a few demons run rampant there, hiding within the city and causing trouble and harming people."

"It seems safer to hide here after all. Chopping up lesser demons and finding a way to improve my cultivation is the true path."

Looking at the Bird Demon he had stabbed to death, Fang Mu muttered to himself.

At that moment, a ray of golden light shot from his body and enveloped the Bird Demon.

Just as before, the Bird Demon transformed into a pool of blood in the blink of an eye.

"Damn! I haven't even dug out the Bird Demon's body parts yet!"

Fang Mu cried out in alarm, but before he could stop the Demon Slaying Mirror, his consciousness was dragged into a space shrouded in black mist.

At its center floated a mirror radiating golden light.

Strands of black mist spilled from within the mirror, condensing into the shape of a Bird Demon before pouncing at him.

Fang Mu seemed to have anticipated this. He did not dodge, merely watching quietly as the black mist enveloped him and merged into his body.

This time, he was mentally prepared and did not scream, but the swelling pain in his head was unavoidable, making him let out several muffled groans.

Black Pupil Pill: After consumption, it allowed one to see at night, perceive qi, and observe Demonic Energy.

Looking at the black pill that had appeared in his hand, Fang Mu swallowed it without hesitation.

The pill dissolved as soon as it entered his mouth. Fang Mu felt it transform into streams of warmth that surged into both his eyes.

"Ah!"

Fang Mu suddenly let out a scream. A burst of agonizing pain came from his eyes, almost more than he could bear.

As his eyes swelled until blood spilled out, Fang Mu screamed repeatedly from the pain. In the end, his vision went black, and he fainted.