The Ant Trying to Shake a Tree

At the first light of dawn, Fang Mu took his younger sister Fang Jing and left Qingzhu County with Tu Qing and the others.

Riding spirit horses, Tu Qing led five subordinates and sneered at Fang Mu. "You really do care about your sister. You even have to bring her along when leaving the city."

Seeing Fang Mu remain silent, Tu Qing did not get angry. Instead, he said with some amusement, "I didn't expect your sister to be quite a beauty."

"There are plenty of brothers in the Demon Extermination Division. Want me to introduce you to a brother-in-law?"

As Tu Qing's laughter faded, the five men following him all turned to look at Fang Jing. Their eyes flashed with eager excitement.

"Brother!" Fang Jing sensed their ill intentions. Frightened, she buried her head behind Fang Mu.

"It's fine!"

A killing intent flashed through Fang Mu's eyes. Tu Qing had clearly harbored ill intentions in bringing him out of the city this time.

Tu Qing wanted to harm him, and he wanted to deal with Tu Qing as well.

As for Deputy Chief Envoy Tu Shan, although he was a powerful expert in the First Rank Realm, Fang Mu already had a few plans and felt that they should be feasible.

The place they were heading to was a village in a mountain valley.

The village had been built in a massive valley, making a living from crops such as melons, fruits, and plants grown within it.

They could not become immensely wealthy, but their days were still peaceful and comfortable.

From the information he had obtained, along with snippets of news he had heard from several Demon Slayer Envoys chatting among themselves,

Fang Mu summarized everything and deduced the general situation.

The village was called Gu Village. Some time ago, demons seemed to have infiltrated it, and people had frequently gone missing.

Later, Gu Village sought assistance from the Qingzhu County Office. Only then had Qi Zhu and Wen Xuan been sent with several Demon Slayer Envoys to Gu Village to capture the troublesome demon.

Gu Village was not far from Qingzhu County. Fang Mu remained vigilant against Tu Qing along the way, but Tu Qing showed no intention of making a move.

Everyone galloped on spirit horses and reached Gu Village around noon.

After learning the basic situation, Fang Mu found out that Wen Xuan and the others had pursued the demon into a dense forest outside the mountain valley and had not returned.

After asking the village chief of Gu Village for some information, Tu Qing led Fang Mu and the others out of the valley and into the dense forest beyond it.

After traveling through the dense forest for a while, Fang Mu and the others encountered an attack by wild wolves.

They were a pack of wild wolves so thin that their skin clung to their bones. Clearly, they had not eaten for a long time, so they became extremely excited upon seeing Fang Mu and the others.

Fang Mu protected Fang Jing, focusing only on defense instead of attacking with all his strength. The wild wolves could not injure him, but they did manage to scratch two of the weaker Demon Slayer Envoys.

"Attack with all your strength! Slaughter them!" Tu Qing roared and struck with all his might, killing them.

As Tu Qing's roar fell, the five Demon Slayer Envoys all unleashed their full strength.

Under the all-out attacks of two Martial Artists of the Eighth Rank, two Martial Artists of the Seventh Rank, and one Martial Artist of the Sixth Rank,

the wild wolves either died or fled, disappearing without a trace in no time.

"Fang Mu, take two men and scout the surrounding terrain. Pick up some firewood while you're at it. I brought a few pheasants—we can roast them later."

"Your sister will stay here for now and help apply medicine to the injured brothers. Don't worry, I'll protect her properly."

Looking at Tu Qing's solemn assurance, Fang Mu could not help cursing inwardly. With you here, I'm even less at ease.

"Xiaojing, stay here. I'll be back soon."

Fang Mu left with two Demon Slayer Envoys who were Martial Artists of the Seventh Rank, casting a glance at Tu Qing's smiling face before he departed.

After walking through the forest for some distance, Fang Mu suddenly stopped.

The two Demon Slayer Envoys following him seized the opportunity and swung their blades at him from behind.

With two resounding crashes, the long blades of the two Demon Slayer Envoys struck Fang Mu squarely in the back.

Yet the blows produced the sound of metal clashing against metal. The enormous force rebounded through the blades, numbing the two men's hands until they nearly lost their grip.

"Did you know? The most overconfident fool of all is the ant that tries to shake a tree?"

A cold voice suddenly came from behind the two Demon Slayer Envoys.

Before they could react, a pair of bloodied fists pierced through their chests.

The two Demon Slayer Envoys stared in terror at the fists protruding from their bodies. As blood sprayed forth, their eyes filled with disbelief and unwillingness.

Looking at the two corpses that crashed to the ground, Fang Mu wiped his bloodstained hands on their clothes.

He could have easily avoided the blades that had ambushed him earlier, but he had wanted to test whether a Martial Artist of the Seventh Rank attacking with all his strength could injure him.

The results were fairly good. Fang Mu's physical body was almost completely unharmed, allowing him to disregard the attacks of Martial Artists of the Seventh Rank entirely.

"These days, there are always people who like to throw their lives away."

As his voice faded, Fang Mu had already vanished from where he stood and swiftly raced back in the direction they had come from.

Meanwhile, the two injured Martial Artists of the Eighth Rank among the Demon Slayer Envoys began making lewd advances toward Fang Jing.

"I didn't expect Fang Mu's sister to be such a pretty girl."

"What do you think will happen if I press you down right here and take care of you? Will Fang Mu fight me to the death when he comes back?"

With a lecherous smile on his face, Tu Qing slowly approached Fang Jing. The greed in his eyes was completely undisguised, just like a gray wolf eyeing a little lamb.

"Don't do anything reckless. My brother will be back soon. Be careful, or he'll show you no mercy."

Fang Jing retreated repeatedly in terror, her hand inadvertently gripping the Bee Tail Sword hidden in her sleeve.

"Haha! And what if he doesn't show me any mercy?"

"Brother Qing, wait. We'll hold her down, and then you can have your way with her."

The two Demon Slayer Envoys rushed toward Fang Jing with wicked grins.

The other man, a Martial Artist of the Fifth Rank, flashed to the side, preparing to casually intervene and seize Fang Jing if she tried to flee.

"Ah!!" Suddenly, two screams rang out.

Of the two Demon Slayer Envoys who had charged at Fang Jing without restraint, one was pierced through by the Bee Tail Sword.

The other was bound by two vines before Fang Jing stabbed him as well.

Fang Jing backed away in terror, holding her long sword aloft. Watching the two men scream as their bodies crashed to the ground, turning black and rotting, she cried out repeatedly in fright.

Xixi, hidden in Fang Jing's arms, poked out a tiny head. Upon seeing that there were still two powerful experts, she immediately shrank back.

"What unbelievable nerve! You actually dared to hurt someone!"

Having recovered from his shock, Tu Qing roared furiously. He looked toward the Martial Artist of the Fifth Rank beside him, signaling for him to seize Fang Jing.

Tu Qing was very intrigued by the strange willow-leaf sword in Fang Jing's hand.

It was definitely a treasured sword. It had actually killed two powerful Martial Artists of the Eighth Rank.

Although it had been a sneak attack, the sword seemed extraordinarily sharp and possessed an effect similar to poison.

At Tu Qing's signal, the only remaining Demon Slayer Envoy suddenly pointed behind Fang Jing and cried out, "Fang Mu!"

The sudden shout startled Tu Qing. Fang Jing turned back in delight, but there was nothing behind her.

"Bang!"

With a tremendous crash, Fang Jing screamed and was sent flying backward.

The Demon Slayer Envoy had chosen to launch a sneak attack, punching Fang Jing away before darting forward to capture her.

"Bang!"

"Ah!"

A figure descended from the sky like a meteor crashing down, smashing the Demon Slayer Envoy into a pit. Every bone, muscle, and internal organ in his body was shattered.

"Damn it, can someone tell me what happened? Was I killed by a meteor from beyond the heavens?"

Carrying an unwilling final thought, the Demon Slayer Envoy who was a Martial Artist of the Fifth Rank died on the spot without even seeing his enemy.

Seeing Fang Mu slowly emerge from the pit with killing intent covering his face, Tu Qing took two steps back in alarm.

"Fang Mu! What are you trying to do?"

Watching Fang Mu slowly approach with his killing intent completely undisguised, Tu Qing could not help feeling uneasy. He raised his long blade and slowly retreated, shouting angrily, "What do you think you're doing?"