What Are You?

"You... you..."

The Thin Ascetic had spoken with the young man in black before and knew full well the terrifying background he possessed.

The foxes of North Cliff were not people even Old Mother Green Scale dared to provoke easily, let alone a wandering martial artist like himself who had come to Qing Prefecture all alone.

Bowing his head before them was no disgrace.

The only thing he hadn't expected was that someone would actually dare not to bow.

"Cough..."

Master Yin Seven's features twisted as he vomited out the flesh and blood he had swallowed, mixed with his own saliva.

He forced himself to rise, his body twitching, his eyes bulging with rage. The wheezing in his throat grew coarse, sounding less like a mortal and more like some kind of wild beast.

"Roar!"

He opened his mouth, and a roar erupted, deafening as a great bell.

If one had the cultivation of the Initial Realm to rely on, it would be fine, but a bailiff like Chen Ji, who only possessed a modicum of martial skill, could not help but stumble back two steps despite his best efforts to hold his ground.

As for the Lin Family steward, his plight was even more miserable; he collapsed directly to the ground, his silk robes stained by his own filth.

"It's over, it's over, people from the Lin Family are going to die!"

He whimpered, stealing a glance toward the front.

He saw Shen Yi acting as if he had heard nothing, his steps steady, drawing his three-foot blade with unhurried grace.

Compared to Chen Ji's drawing of his sword, he did not feign ferocity or grit his teeth; instead, he appeared somewhat casual, as natural as pulling an oil-paper umbrella from one's robes when the autumn rain began to fall.

But the moment he drew his blade.

Master Yin Seven instantly cut off his roar, fear surfacing in his eyes, and he turned to flee!

Inside the room, the moment his opponent had made a move, he had keenly captured that thick, profound aura. This was absolutely not someone who had just stepped into the Initial Realm... it was at least a master who had reached the Great Completion of the Initial Realm.

Master Yin Seven channeled power into his legs, hunching his body, and surged six zhang away in a single stride.

He didn't even have the heart to look back.

Seeing his wretched state, even the two brothers from the Vajra Sect revealed a hint of surprise.

Both were in the Initial Realm; why be so afraid?

"This is an official case of the imperial court; it is not convenient for us to intervene."

The Thin Ascetic, seemingly guessing that the other party was wary of the helpers beside Shen Yi, suddenly added with a sarcastic, mocking tone.

Butcher Zhang glanced at him and let out a slow, languid sigh.

Yet, despite this, what was baffling was that Master Yin Seven still showed no intention of stopping, instead scurrying away even faster.

The next moment, Shen Yi moved with agility, appearing silently behind the young man in black in just two or three steps.

The long blade in his hand slashed down abruptly. The fierce, surging intensity finally made a chill run down Master Yin Seven's spine, forcing him to turn back and block with his elbow.

Sshhh!

The long blade descended, wrapped in an aura of intermingled crimson and gray-white!

The sharp edge tore through Master Yin Seven's skin and flesh as if it were paper. The hard bone of his elbow cracked upon impact, and the raging blade qi pierced through his arm, leaving a deep, bone-exposed gash on his face.

The gash extended all the way to his right shoulder, emitting a sizzling, corrosive sound, turning the surrounding flesh into pus at a speed visible to the naked eye.

As blood sprayed, strands of dark yellow fur sprouted from Master Yin Seven's face, and the foul, pungent stench of a wild beast began to spread.

On the dark yellow fur, black markings revealed the creature's true identity.

The "human skin" he had been wearing lost its effect, and as he opened his blood-filled maw, it was revealed to be a hideous tiger head.

Master Yin Seven endured the pain, his vision blurred by crimson, and he fled blindly to the side, roaring in terror: "You madman! She will not let you go!"

These words seemed to strike a chord with the Thin Ascetic.

He looked at Shen Yi in shock, his eyes as if he were looking at a dead man.

Butcher Zhang watched the tiger demon charging toward him, smacked his lips, and reached behind his waist to pull out a plain, unremarkable butcher's knife. In his large palm, the pitch-black knife looked more like a toy.

After a moment's thought, he switched to using the back of the blade, raised his thick arm, and smashed it down hard against the creature.

Under the fierce force, the already panicked tiger demon was smashed flying back.

It reached out frantically, trying to grab something, when a clean face suddenly appeared in its crimson field of vision. The person glanced at him sideways, his movements crisp and decisive.

Puchi!

A silver light flashed.

The head and body separated, landing one after the other and kicking up a bit of dust. The body rapidly expanded several times over, transforming into a strong, fat tiger carcass.

Shen Yi sheathed his blade, bent down, and plunged his long, powerful fingers into the creature's lower abdomen. After a brief search, he pulled out a small beast core.

[Slain Initial Realm early-stage tiger demon, total lifespan five hundred and twenty years, remaining one hundred and thirty-two years, absorption complete.]

"Are you out of your mind?!"

The Thin Ascetic glared at his junior brother in anger: "How many times have I reminded you, don't go looking for trouble for me!"

Butcher Zhang put away his butcher's knife without answering. He pulled a blade of green grass and stuck it in his mouth, but his expression shifted, and he hurriedly spat it out: "Pah, does your family keep dogs? Why does it taste like it's been soaked in urine? It reeks."

"Many thanks."

Shen Yi put the beast core away.

"My hands were just itchy; I wanted to pat whatever I saw."

Butcher Zhang looked over and smiled indifferently.

"Bastard... bastard..." The ignored Thin Ascetic was trembling with rage.

Shen Yi withdrew his gaze and noticed the blade in Chen Ji's hand, a hint of confusion appearing in his expression.

"I was a bit nervous, just trying to bolster my courage."

Chen Ji hid the blade behind his back, forcing a stiff smile, his eyes carrying a trace of shame.

How many more demons would he have to slay before he could prove he was not someone who colluded with monsters?

Even he himself had questioned the nameless ghost fire from before; otherwise, why would he fear the gossip of others?

It was just that...

Lord Shen's martial progress was simply too fast! This was the first time Chen Ji had witnessed him slay a great demon with his own eyes. In Shen Yi's hands, the tiger demon hadn't even managed to muster the slightest thought of resistance from start to finish.

The only thing that could console him was that the technique the other party used was not the Demon-Subduing Blade Technique.

This meant Lord Shen must have been practicing martial arts in secret for a long time, likely having some other master.

"Alright, take the demon's corpse and return to the yamen."

Seeing that he did not wish to elaborate, Shen Yi did not press the matter.

"This subordinate obeys." Chen Ji stepped out briskly.

Just then, that sinister voice came from the side again.

"Little Friend Shen, he doesn't need to bolster his courage. His courage is so great he nearly took a blade to this old man, and even asked this old man what kind of thing I am."

The Thin Ascetic walked over with a cold sneer.

It really wasn't the case that just by wearing the imperial court's robes, one could act like a big shot in front of wandering martial artists. Even without playing those underhanded tricks, your direct superior alone could suppress you until you couldn't speak a word.

Hearing this, Chen Ji's movements stalled, a sense of regret welling up in his heart.

Exorcising demons was already troublesome enough; why invite even greater trouble for a moment of anger?

Thinking of this, he lowered his head and rubbed his face, just about to figure out how to apologize, when he heard Shen Yi's calm question.

"Is that really what you said?"

Hearing this, Chen Ji stiffened, saying helplessly: "I said it."

The Thin Ascetic's sneer deepened as he stood with his hands hanging down.

Shen Yi nodded and turned to walk toward him.

"It's not a big deal, and this old man is not a man without grace. But, Head Catcher Shen, you really should keep a tighter leash on your subordinate..."

Before the Thin Ascetic could finish his sentence, he saw Shen Yi stop in front of him, his palm resting on the hilt of his blade.

He cast a calm gaze, his thin lips curling slightly, his voice carrying a hint of mockery:

"So."

"What kind of thing are you?"