If You're Going to Cheat, Go All Out

[Slain a creature in the String-Hearing Realm, gained fifteen years of Dao Cultivation.]

[Slain a creature in the String-Hearing Realm, gained ten years of Dao Cultivation.]

Two icy notifications rang in succession in her mind.

Jiang Yuechu sheathed her blade and shook her head.

Human martial artists cultivated much faster than demons and monsters.

For humanity, perhaps that was a good thing.

But for her income, it was decidedly less than ideal.

The two String-Hearing Realm fighters together were worth less than a single monster.

The courtyard fell silent.

Only the two headless corpses still gushed blood onto the ground.

Chen Tong and the others were completely dumbfounded.

What...

They had thought that at most, they would give the other side a show of force, teach them a lesson, and dampen the prestige of Jeweled Temple. Then that would be the end of it.

But...

She had really fucking killed them?!

How dare she?!

They looked at Jiang Yuechu, hoping for an explanation.

But Jiang Yuechu showed no sign of offering one.

From the start, there had only been two choices.

Either take the other side's money, leave, and turn a blind eye.

Or kill the two men outright.

There had never been a third option.

Did she think that if she let them go, they wouldn't hold a grudge against her?

That Jeweled Temple wouldn't pursue the matter?

Either way, she'd make enemies.

So she might as well kill them.

Life was short. She didn't bully others, but she would never let anyone bully her, not even a little.

Now that she had the strength, and a cheat to boot, she was going to live with all the swagger she could muster!

It was like using a cheat in a game.

Either go all out with it.

Or don't use it at all.

If you're going to cower and keep up appearances, then what's the point of cheating?

She didn't so much as glance at the corpses on the ground. She walked straight over to Magistrate Qian, who was sprawled limply on the ground, frowned, and gave his hefty body a light kick.

"You can wake up now."

Magistrate Qian didn't move a muscle. A thread of drool even slipped from the corner of his mouth.

"..."

"This matter has nothing to do with you. If anyone from Jeweled Temple comes asking, just tell them exactly what happened."

Once he realized he couldn't keep pretending, Magistrate Qian could only slowly come around.

He rose somewhat awkwardly and straightened his robe, then sneaked another glance at the two corpses, his eyelids twitching.

Jiang Yuechu frowned and said calmly, "Where is that black bear now?"

"It's... still on the mountain..."

"Still there?"

Now that the people from Jeweled Temple were dead, Magistrate Qian had nothing left to fear. He launched straight into a tirade. "My lord! You don't know the half of it! Those bald monks arrived in Hechuan County yesterday. Your humble servant thought the black bear would show some restraint, but what happened?"

"They went up the mountain, then came straight back down!"

"Your humble servant asked them why, and what did they say? They said the bear demon was a sacred beast that guarded their temple, and that to take it back, they needed to set up an altar and perform a ritual, fast and bathe, and have your humble servant wait!"

"I reckon they just wanted that blind bear to eat a few more people! As if every extra day it ate gave them some enormous advantage!"

"..."

Jiang Yuechu understood.

If she took the money and left now, that black bear would probably stay here and "preach" for them for quite some time yet.

"Which mountain?"

"North... North Mountain! A little over ten miles north of the city! There used to be a temple on the mountain, but it's been in ruins for years. That blind bear has taken it over as its Cave Abode!"

Jiang Yuechu nodded, then casually pointed at the two men standing closest to the corpses.

"You two, take care of the bodies. Everyone else, come with me up the mountain."

With that, she turned and left.

"Yes!"

No one dared hesitate. They scrambled after her, stumbling over one another.

The monk Bujie bent to pick up the wine gourd that had fallen on the ground and dusted it off. Under his breath, he muttered, "Amitabha. Kill and burn, and you'll wear a golden belt; build bridges and mend roads, and you won't even leave a corpse... Let's go, let's go. Off to slay demons and exterminate evil."

Soon, the courtyard that had been packed with people was empty, except for Liu Ke, who still stood where he was.

A searing sense of shame burned his face.

He prided himself on being from an upright sect, a man with a heart for justice.

But when faced with a behemoth like Jeweled Temple, what had he done besides run his mouth?

"Why are you still standing here?"

A cool voice came from the courtyard gate, laced with lazy impatience.

Liu Ke jolted as if waking from a dream and looked up.

At the gate, the young woman who had walked away and then returned leaned against the doorframe, watching him with an amused air.

"Still standing there like a door god?" She raised an eyebrow. "Your face keeps turning red and white. Planning to put on a show for me?"

"I..."

The young woman clicked her tongue impatiently.

"Don't be so precious."

"Hurry up and catch up."

Liu Ke took a deep breath, his chest rising and falling several times.

In the end, he slowly lowered his proud head.

"Yes."

North Mountain, ruined temple.

In the open ground before the temple, more than a hundred people knelt in a densely packed crowd.

Above them sat a huge black bear, upright on its haunches. It wore a tattered kasaya that it had apparently stripped off someone somewhere, its palms pressed together, its expression solemn and sacred.

"What is suffering?"

"An empty belly is suffering! Having no clothes on your back is suffering! Wanting something and not getting it is suffering upon suffering!"

The black bear spoke in human language, its voice booming like a bell as it echoed through the mountains.

"But do you know where this suffering comes from?"

Everyone below shook their heads in confusion.

"Foolish children! What foolish children!"

Master Black Bear shook his head in anguish. "This suffering comes from your greed, your anger, and your delusion! You crave the rice and meat of this mortal world, resent the wealth of others, and obsess over the fleeting pleasures of the secular world!"

"Let go! You must let go!"

"If you would only abandon your worldly possessions and devote yourselves to me, making offerings every day, then I... this humble monk will guide you to rebirth in the blissful Western Paradise, where you will enjoy peace and health forever!"

His words were jumbled and made no sense at all.

Yet the foolish men and women below listened as if entranced, all of them knocking their foreheads against the ground like pounding garlic.

"The master speaks the truth!"

"I understand! I understand!"

Seeing the scene below, Black Bear grew even more pleased with himself. After putting on a lofty act and giving a few more words of instruction, he waved his paw.

"That is all for today. You may leave. Remember to come early tomorrow, and don't neglect your cultivation."

The crowd thanked him profusely, turning back again and again as they dispersed.

Only when everyone had gone did Black Bear slowly get to his feet. He pulled off the inconvenient tattered kasaya and swaggered back into the temple's rear hall.

Inside the rear hall, one of the meditation rooms had been tidied up spotless.

He plopped down on the soft bed and let out a long, comfortable sigh.

"Damn, Big Brother really does have a good head on his shoulders."

He grabbed a piece of meat from the table—it was impossible to tell what sort of creature it came from—and stuffed it into his mouth, mumbling indistinctly.

Back when he'd been a demon in the mountains, his life had been miserable.

Not only had he fought other demons for territory and prey, he had to live in constant fear that some mad dog from the Demon Suppression Bureau would sniff him out.

Nothing like now.

All he had to do was throw on a kasaya, wave Jeweled Temple's banner, and flap his lips here, spouting nonsense. The offerings came pouring in, delivered right to his door.

Even when he ate people, those bald monks from Jeweled Temple cleaned up the mess for him.

Not even the gods could tempt him away from a life like this!

"Hmm... I'll stay another seven or eight days, squeeze this area dry, then head back to Jeweled Temple. After eating so much this time, I ought to have enough to keep me going for a while."

Black Bear chewed on the meat as he planned.

Just then—

Knock, knock, knock.

Someone gently knocked on the door.

"Master."

"Come in."

A skinny old man pushed the door open. He was the same one who had bowed and knocked his forehead against the ground the loudest earlier.

"Master, today's ritual..."

"Oh."

Black Bear seemed to have only just remembered. He said casually, "Have Wang Mazi's newlywed wife come."

The so-called ritual involved him personally enlightening human women, sanctifying their mortal bodies, then devouring their flesh.

"This..." A troubled look appeared on the old man's face. "Master, Wang Mazi's wife... you already... performed the ritual on her yesterday..."

"Hm?"

Black Bear's brow furrowed.

The old man shuddered in terror, then hurriedly changed his tune. "But! But don't worry, Master! That woman has a younger sister who's even prettier than she is! This old man will go tell him to send her over!"

"Go."

Black Bear waved impatiently.

The old man, as if granted a reprieve, scrambled out.

The meditation room was left with Black Bear alone.

He stuck out his crimson tongue and licked the grease from the corner of his mouth, his eyes full of lust.