Slaying the Rat Demon

"Rat Demon! Why did you attack Wen Xuan, the Demon Slayer Envoy?"

"A dying demon, why waste words? If I said it was for survival, would you believe me?"

"Reasons?"

Fang Mu frowned as he looked at the Rat Demon, bound to the torture rack with the Demon Binding Rope, remaining silent.

This Rat Demon was captured by Wen Xuan in his demon-catching bag.

The demons in the demon-catching bag were more dangerous than the one bound to the torture rack.

After returning to the Demon Slayer Division, he requested an empty prison cell. Only after obtaining the Demon Binding Rope did he dare to release the Rat Demon.

Surprisingly, the Rat Demon didn't attack him. Instead, it seemed very calm, appearing as if it would let him slaughter it.

Fang Mu used the Demon Binding Rope to tie it to the torture rack, and only then did he have the time to satisfy his curiosity and ask a couple of questions.

Seeing that the Rat Demon had no intention of speaking again, Fang Mu skillfully pierced its heart with his long sword.

Then, he severed its leg, skinned it, and removed its sinews.

After the entire process, the Rat Demon was thoroughly dead, but what surprised Fang Mu was that it hadn't even grunted once.

In Fang Mu's impression, rats were synonymous with cunning, insidious, and cowardly.

But this Rat Demon had somewhat subverted his understanding of rats.

When his consciousness could no longer suppress the Demon Slaying Mirror, a golden light burst out, enveloping the skinned and de-sinewed Rat Demon.

The Rat Demon instantly turned into a pool of blood. Along with the golden light, it also refined the corpses of several Nether Hounds on the ground into blood.

Fang Mu's consciousness was once again pulled into a space filled with black mist.

This time, he was much calmer, looking at the golden mirror suspended in the black mist.

He watched the wisps of black mist emanating from the mirror, coalescing into the Rat Demon and Nether Hounds, lunging at him.

Fang Mu accepted the Rat Demon's memories and dispelled the Nether Wolf's memories.

Now he had a basic grasp of some of the Demon Slaying Mirror's operational methods.

In the Rat Demon's fragmented memories...

He saw the Rat Demon's fear of the darkness outside the city, and saw countless demons petrifying.

The Rat Demon sought ways to sneak into the city, seeking the protection of the divine wall to survive, while also seemingly searching for something...

The memories were somewhat fragmented, only showing scattered snippets.

Low-grade Essence Blood Pill, refined from the Rat Demon's essence blood, which could enhance Blood Essence and nourish the physical body after consumption.

Nether Pearl, refined from the Nether Hound's eyeballs, allowing for night vision when viewed with the naked eye.

Sub-grade Essence Blood Pill, refined from Nether Hound essence blood, which could strengthen the body after consumption.

Looking at the two Nether Pearls, one low-grade Essence Blood Pill, and two sub-grade Essence Blood Pills that had appeared in his hand, Fang Mu was a little puzzled. Were Nether Hounds the reason for more refined items simply due to their numbers, compared to the Rat Demon?

He swallowed the low-grade Essence Blood Pill. The pill instantly transformed into streams of warm energy, integrating into his blood.

This time, the Essence Blood Pill was relatively gentle. While nourishing his Blood Essence, it also stirred the Demon Core within him.

The Demon Core became less violent. Instead, it emitted wisps of vital essence, which merged into Fang Mu's Blood Essence, strengthening his physical body.

Fang Mu's cultivation was still at the lowest level, the Martial Artist Ninth Rank Realm, with only thin Vital Energy in his body.

However, his physical body had long surpassed his cultivation. He didn't know how strong it was now.

But based on the Nether Hounds he had encountered before, Fang Mu was confident he could kill one with a single punch.

Fang Mu felt this was good. If his cultivation were too strong, it would easily arouse suspicion from others.

As for his physical body, as long as he didn't make a move, it would be difficult for others to discern its depth.

Fang Mu placed the items stripped from the Rat Demon, along with one Nether Pearl, into the tin box.

The remaining Nether Pearls and pills were stored by Fang Mu in the Demon Slaying Mirror's storage space.

The space within the Demon Slaying Mirror was something Fang Mu had accidentally discovered in the past two days.

With the magical space of the Demon Slaying Mirror, no one would ever be able to discover anything he wanted to hide in the future.

Leaving the Mortal Character Prison, Fang Mu returned to the Demon Slaying Hall.

He found that many Demon Slayer Envoys had completed their respective missions, lining up with their tin boxes, waiting for inspection.

The two Demon Slayer Envoys this time were both familiar to Fang Mu: Wen Xuan and the spoiled girl.

"Hey, you blockhead, bring your tin box over here, I want to inspect it."

As Fang Mu was zoning out, a bossy girlish voice came.

"Damn! You're the blockhead, your whole family are blockheads!"

Fang Mu recognized that the girl was calling him. He grumbled internally, but still obediently carried his box forward.

"What? Do you have a problem with me?"

"I dare not!"

"You dare not? If you dare not, why the long face?"

"Damn it!"

Fang Mu cursed inwardly, but finally forced a smile that looked worse than crying.

The girl, who was smiling triumphantly, was a little unsettling.

"You blockhead, I told you to slay a demon, and you dug up these useless scraps? You're dead. I'm going to punish you."

"Junior Sister, don't make trouble!"

Wen Xuan helplessly stopped the girl, who was deliberately picking a fight. He didn't know why his junior sister insisted on bothering Fang Mu.

"Oh! This is good!"

Wen Xuan, who happened to glance at the Nether Pearl, let out a soft exclamation. He took out the Nether Pearl and examined it.

"My lord has a keen eye. This is a bead I found inside a Nether Hound. It allows one to see in the dark with the naked eye."

"Oh? Is it that amazing?"

Wen Xuan was skeptical. He brought the bead closer to his eyes and examined it carefully before couldn't help but smile.

"Hmph! So what if you found something good? I suspect he's hoarding it. Guards, search him!"

"Yes!"

As the girl spoke, several constables quickly stepped forward and searched Fang Mu.

After searching him and finding nothing, the girl became displeased.

Fang Mu, however, was furious. He thought to himself, Are you sick? Why are you always picking on me? You stole my silver coins, and I haven't settled the score with you yet.

"Junior Sister Qi Zhu, I'll give you this bead. Master is returning from outside today. Aren't you going to see what gift he brought you?"

"Hmph! I don't care for this bead!"

The girl, Qi Zhu, snorted coldly. Despite her words, she took the bead into her embrace, gave Fang Mu a glare, and then gracefully departed.

"Don't mind her. Junior Sister doesn't have any bad intentions. I see you have good fortune and are a straightforward person. From now on, you'll be my exclusive Demon Slayer Envoy."

"Yes! Thank you, my lord!" Hearing Wen Xuan's words, Fang Mu quickly expressed his gratitude.

An exclusive Demon Slayer Envoy meant that Fang Mu would only be responsible for slaying the demons that Wen Xuan captured.

He wouldn't need to slay demons every day like ordinary Demon Slayer Envoys, which allowed him more freedom and ample time.

He only needed to be responsible for slaying the demons Wen Xuan captured and didn't need to concern himself with other demons.

However, the downside was that regardless of whether the demons Wen Xuan captured were strong or weak, Fang Mu had to carry out the slaying mission.

Just as Fang Mu was zoning out, Wen Xuan suddenly spoke, "The demon-capturing bag used to catch the Rat Demon will be rewarded to you this time."

"Thank you, my lord!"

Fang Mu was a little surprised. He hadn't expected Wen Xuan to give him the demon-capturing bag.

Watching Wen Xuan leave, Fang Mu frowned, wondering if Wen Xuan was genuinely looking out for him or if he had ulterior motives.

Sensing the envious and jealous gazes from all around, Fang Mu quickly left the Demon Slaying Hall.

The demon-capturing bag was useless to Fang Mu. He had the Mirror Space, and there was no safer place than that. However, it would be useful for misleading outsiders.

After leaving the Demon Slaying Hall, Fang Mu wound his way through many alleys until he arrived outside a small bungalow.

"Brother! You're back!"

Upon entering the courtyard, Fang Mu saw Fang Jing, her face beaming with joy, running out from the inner room.

Seeing Fang Jing's complexion had recovered considerably, Fang Mu managed a smile.

The Demon Slayer Division generally did not allow family members to be brought along. If one insisted on bringing family, they had to rent an independent bungalow within the county office.

The food and living expenses for the family members also had to be paid out of pocket.

Furthermore, family members were not allowed to roam freely and had to stay obediently in their rooms, which was no different from being imprisoned.

"Silly girl! I've made you suffer!" Fang Mu said with some shame.

"Brother! What are you talking about? I'm not suffering. You've had a long day, go wash up and eat!"

"No rush! Brother has something for you. Come with me!"

Taking Fang Jing, who looked at him with confusion, into the inner room, Fang Mu locked the door and took out a low-grade Essence Blood Pill, handing it to her.

Fang Jing was a little surprised, but she took the pill and swallowed it without hesitation.

Fang Mu showed a genuine smile at Fang Jing's trust.

Fang Mu didn't give her a low-grade Essence Blood Pill because he was afraid the medicinal effects would be too strong for Fang Jing to handle.

After all, with the Demon Slaying Mirror, Fang Mu could kill demons and obtain Essence Blood Pills at any time.

Fang Jing's originally sickly complexion gained some color. The Essence Blood Pill seemed to have a significant therapeutic effect on her illness.

After hesitating for a moment, Fang Mu decided not to take out the remaining Essence Blood Pills. Fang Jing's body was too weak, and it was better to proceed gradually.

"Xiao Jing! Stop drinking that bitter medicinal soup. I'll cure your illness, brother. If you have time, you can try cultivating."

Fang Mu checked Fang Jing's pulse and found her breathing to be relatively stable, so he gave her some instructions.

"Mhm!" Fang Jing responded distractedly. She wasn't very interested in cultivation.

Fang Mu didn't mind. He opened the door and took Fang Jing to eat.