Killing Pig Demons, Arrival of the Demon Suppression Bureau

Pig Demons!

Jiang Yuechu's heart sank.

The lead Pig Demon scratched at its crotch and complained, "Big brother, Father really is too unfair!"

"He said he was bringing us out to gain experience, but what happened? The old man had all the fun slaughtering people by himself. Us brothers didn't even get a scrap of human skin!"

The other Pig Demon snorted in agreement. "Exactly! Those Two-Legged Sheep that were already dead—their meat had gone cold and their blood had clotted. What fun is there in eating that?"

It licked its tusks. "We still have to try our luck on this official road. We'll always run into some live ones. Eating them alive—that's what feels good!"

The two chatted as though no one else existed, seemingly not taking the crowd seriously at all.

Until the lead Pig Demon's gaze casually swept over them.

"Eh?"

The refugees on the official road were terrified out of their wits at the sight. They scrambled and crawled away, hating that their parents had not given them two extra legs.

Yet this woman remained seated upright on her horse, utterly still.

And that look in her eyes...

She looked down on them, as if she were looking at two beasts.

What demons hated most was precisely that sort of gaze.

They considered themselves the predators of heaven and earth, viewing humans as pigs and sheep, free to kill or spare as they pleased.

Yet this woman before them, a blood meal so frail in their eyes, dared to look at them as if they were livestock.

The next instant, towering fury erupted.

"You're courting death!"

The two burly figures charged forward like balls of flesh, whipping up a foul, fishy gale.

But the instant they moved, Jiang Yuechu moved as well.

She swiftly flipped down from her horse, the Horizontal Blade at her waist already out of its sheath.

Clang—

The blade rang clear and bright.

Green Cliff Echoing Shadow was not merely a fist technique.

But this was reality. Where were there so many rigid rules?

Martial techniques were meant to be adapted and applied flexibly.

Besides, this fist technique had always emphasized footwork, moving like a wolf across cliff walls, veering left and right.

Combined with the boost from [Wolf Travels a Thousand Miles], her speed was already incomparable to what it had once been.

The two Pig Demons only saw a blur before their eyes, and the woman vanished.

"Where is she?!"

"Behind you."

A cold voice sounded as if it were pressed against the back of its neck.

The Pig Demon's entire body stiffened, every bristle on its neck standing on end.

It had not even had time to turn around.

A snow-bright slash swept through like a fierce tiger raking out its claws.

Splurt!

A huge pig's head soared into the air, its face still frozen in shock.

Scalding demon blood spurted several feet from its headless body like a fountain.

"..."

The official road fell silent in an instant.

The other Pig Demon was frightened out of its wits. Without a second thought, it turned and fled.

But it had barely taken two steps.

When the blade-wielding figure appeared before it.

Jiang Yuechu spun her blade in a flourish, its point angled toward the ground as a bead of blood slid down the edge.

"Why run?"

"Y-you... you..."

The Pig Demon's legs trembled so violently that it could not even speak clearly.

Jiang Yuechu looked at it indifferently, then abruptly raised her blade.

Her jet-black hair and snow-bright blade gave her an inexplicable air of menace.

"Now, it's your turn."

"Spare... spare me!" The Pig Demon dropped to its knees with a thud. "My father is a Bone Resonance Great Demon! If you kill me, he won't let you off!"

Jiang Yuechu seemed somewhat surprised. "Bone Resonance, huh..."

The Pig Demon raised its head, its face full of hope.

The blade plunged in through the crown of its head, splitting its skull and sinking to the hilt.

Jiang Yuechu gripped the hilt and twisted hard.

The Pig Demon's body convulsed twice before collapsing stiffly to the ground, never making another sound.

The fleeing commoners all stood with their mouths agape, staring blankly at the scene.

Those two demons, who had been so vicious and arrogant moments ago.

They were just... gone?

Who exactly was this young woman?!

Jiang Yuechu slowly pulled the blade out of the Pig Demon's head and wiped the blood off on its tattered clothes.

[You have killed a String-Hearing Realm lifeform and obtained thirty years of its Dao cultivation.]

[You have killed a String-Hearing Realm lifeform and obtained thirty years of its Dao cultivation.]

The system notifications rang out one after another in her mind.

Jiang Yuechu glanced at the sixty years of Dao cultivation newly added to her panel, without the slightest ripple in her heart.

[Dao Cultivation: One Hundred and Eighty Years]

Just as expected—trash.

There was not even a notification for being recorded.

She curled her lip and sheathed her blade.

Still, she suddenly felt that this sensation... was actually rather nice.

Once upon a time, she had been the one trembling before the Tiger Demon.

But now, String-Hearing Realm demons were no different from chickens and dogs before her.

After a while.

It was the old man whom Jiang Yuechu had asked for directions who recovered first.

"Thank you, heroine, for saving our lives! Thank you, heroine!"

"Your great kindness will remain etched in our bones and teeth forever!"

With a great rustle, the official road filled with kneeling people, all of them kowtowing in gratitude.

Jiang Yuechu felt a little uncomfortable with such a scene and waved her hand with a frown.

"Enough. Hurry and leave. This is not a place to linger."

Only then did the crowd feel as though they had received a pardon. They rose amid endless thanks, supporting the elderly and carrying the young as they continued fleeing without looking back.

Jiang Yuechu, however, did not mount her horse right away.

Her gaze fell upon the two enormous Pig Demon corpses.

To break through from String-Hearing to Bone Resonance required a vast quantity of heavenly treasures—or... demon flesh and blood as a catalyst, to ignite one's vital blood and break through in one stroke.

Demon flesh and blood...

Jiang Yuechu's expression turned somewhat strange.

How was she supposed to use this stuff?

She walked over to one of the Pig Demon corpses and nudged its fat belly with her boot. It even felt rather springy.

Could it be... she had to eat it?

After hesitating for a moment, Jiang Yuechu ultimately made up her mind.

Upholding her fine pre-transmigration tradition of never wasting even a drop of cola, she turned and shouted toward the refugee group that had not yet gone far.

"Old sir!"

The old man froze when he heard her, then turned around trembling. "Heroine... what else do you require?"

"Lend me a rope."

"...Huh?"

The old man was baffled, but he did not dare ask further. He hurriedly untied a hemp rope used for bundling things from his luggage and respectfully handed it over.

Jiang Yuechu accepted the rope and thanked him.

Then, beneath everyone's astonished gazes, she walked over to the two Pig Demon corpses and tied one end of the rope around each of their hind legs.

Once she had finished, she mounted her horse and hooked the other end of the rope over the saddle, then flicked the reins.

"Giddyup."

The horse started walking, dragging the two massive Pig Demon corpses along the yellow-earth official road, leaving two deep trails behind as it continued unhurriedly toward Gold City.

A waning moon, hooked like a sickle, hung in the sky and shone upon the boundless wilderness below.

On the official road, more than a dozen riders raced through the dust, traveling in silence.

Every rider wore fitted black garments patterned with crimson lines, their expressions solemn.

Even the horses beneath them differed from ordinary mounts.

Their fur was black as ink from head to toe, but their eyes glowed crimson in the darkness. They showed not the slightest fatigue as they ran, and even the breath from their nostrils carried a hint of scorching heat.

"Whoa—"

The young man at the front pulled on his reins. The colt beneath him neighed and slowly came to a stop.

He took out a waterskin from his clothes, uncorked it, tilted his head back for a drink, then handed it to the middle-aged man beside him.

"Brother Xu, have some water."

The man called Brother Xu was around forty, his face bearing traces of wind and hardship. He accepted the waterskin and took a drink as well.

"These Crimson-Eyed Stallions really are fast. At this pace, we'll reach Jincheng County in another three days."

The young man wiped his mouth, his tone carrying a trace of emotion.

Xu Nian, however, gave a cold snort.

"Fast? What use is fast?"

He tossed the waterskin back. "In times like these, demons kill people much faster than we can travel."

The young man's expression froze, and the little ease on his face vanished completely, leaving only silence.

Xu Nian patted his shoulder. "Let's go. Don't dwell on it. If we arrive a day earlier, perhaps we can save a few more people."

"Giddyup!"

At his low shout, the dozen-plus Crimson-Eyed Stallions once more broke into a gallop, tearing through the night toward that county already overrun by demons.