Black Market Shrine

The power of the Blood-Baleful Demon-Slaying Saber was far too tyrannical; Lu Yuan's body simply could not withstand the savage, overbearing recoil.

"Riiip!!"

Lu Yuan's skin split apart inch by inch.

Blood seeped out, instantly dyeing his clothes red.

Yet Lu Yuan did not even furrow his brow.

In the instant the blade severed the spikes,

the saber absorbed Bai Sanniang's gushing essence blood along with the momentum.

It transformed into a surge of blood-baleful aura.

And rushed into Bai Sanniang's mind.

"Ah!"

It felt as though needles had pierced Bai Sanniang's mind.

Her gaze went briefly unfocused.

Though it lasted only an instant,

it still made Bai Sanniang's movements stiffen.

"Die!!!"

Lu Yuan seized that opportunity.

He gripped the saber with both hands.

And brought it down from above.

Like splitting Mount Hua with a single blow.

"Pfft!"

The blade flashed.

Bai Sanniang's extraordinarily hard body, wrapped in spikes,

was cleaved alive from head to abdomen into two halves.

Her organs and blood spilled all over the ground.

[ Ding! Detected that the host has slain the First-Order Peak demon beast 'Hedgehog Demon'.]

[ Experience gained: 700 points.]

[ Current experience: 760 points.]

[ Notice: The host has collected the first-kill kills of demon beasts from all five minor realms of the First Order. The Grand Prize Wheel System has been activated.]

Listening to the system notifications,

Lu Yuan propped himself up with the blood-dripping Rusty Saber.

He panted heavily, gulping down breath after breath.

The consequence of forcibly wielding the Blood-Baleful Demon-Slaying Saber

was that his entire body had gone limp and weak.

The valley was permeated with the stench of blood.

Leaning against the rock wall, Shen Qingzhu looked at Bai Sanniang, who had been hacked alive into two halves with her organs scattered everywhere.

Then she looked at Lu Yuan, drenched head to toe in blood and holding a dripping Rusty Saber.

Her eyes were full of astonishment.

She had thought Lu Yuan was merely an ungraded lowly constable, a useless piece of trash.

But the terrifying might erupted by that strike just now

was something even a Second-Rank Martial Master might not be able to unleash in such an utterly domineering blow.

Could it be that this fellow possessed heaven-defying talent in martial techniques?

"Brother Lu, you are like a heavenly god descending to earth, with unparalleled bearing."

"Brother Lu's strike absolutely carried the bearing of a grandmaster."

Just as Shen Qingzhu was lost in thought,

Bao Tianbao and Bao Dibao, who had been kicked until they vomited blood and thought they were doomed, actually helped each other up from the ground.

The two of them exhausted every effort in showering Lu Yuan with praise.

Shen Qingzhu frowned slightly at their words. Those two were like two lumps of dog shit.

They were downright revolting.

She slowly tightened her grip around the soft sword in her hand and looked coldly at the Bao brothers. "These two are greedy for life and afraid of death. Just now, they even tried to use us as cannon fodder. Keeping them alive will only cause trouble. We might as well kill them and say the demon beasts did it. Clean and swift."

"Spare us, Heroine! Spare us, Brother Lu!"

"Everything before was done at Shi Yun's instruction!"

The Bao brothers were scared out of their wits. With a thump, they dropped to their knees and repeatedly slammed their heads against the ground.

"From now on..."

Lu Yuan had just been about to warn them.

"From now on, we brothers will be Brother Lu's dogs! Point where you want us to strike, and we'll strike there! Please spare our dog lives, Brother Lu!"

The Bao brothers were shrewd as foxes, as though they had guessed Lu Yuan's intentions.

"Enough."

Lu Yuan shook the blood from his saber, sheathed the Rusty Saber, and stopped Shen Qingzhu. "If we kill them, no one will testify for me later."

Shen Qingzhu froze. "Testify?"

"This escort mission is not yet complete, but Shi Yun is dead. If these two die as well, there will be no living witness or evidence. Once we return, the higher-ups will definitely dump the shit basin of murdering a colleague on my head."

"Keeping them alive now means we have witnesses and material evidence proving Shi Yun brought death upon himself and was eaten by demon beasts. Even if Chen Kuang wants to make trouble for me, he will not be able to say much openly."

Lu Yuan analyzed.

Besides, he would need people to handle matters for him in the future. Keeping these two lackeys around would still be useful.

Shen Qingzhu gave Lu Yuan a long look.

Although she was proud and arrogant and unwilling to admit that a First-Order Mid-Rank Martial Warrior like herself had been saved by an ungraded constable,

the facts lay before her, and she could say nothing more. She merely put away her soft sword in silence.

Lu Yuan walked over to Bai Sanniang's corpse, deftly cut open its chest cavity, dug out a crimson Demon Core, and carefully stored it away.

"Let's go. We continue onward."

The group repacked the cart and set off once more.

"You clearly have the strength of the First-Grade Middle Realm. The wooden cage of that prison cart could never have held you. Why did you not escape midway?"

As they walked along the official road leading to Sea-Gazing County,

Lu Yuan could not help asking.

Shen Qingzhu said blandly, "If I escaped, then under the Great Harvest Statutes, it would be the crime of collective implication, and my family would be dragged down with me. Besides, I never intended to flee."

"You never intended to flee?"

Lu Yuan was even more puzzled.

"My family made arrangements long ago. Once I reached Sea-Gazing County, someone would naturally come redeem me."

Shen Qingzhu tilted her head slightly, a barely discernible curve rising at the corner of her lips. "I thought experiencing what it was like to be escorted as a female prisoner was rather interesting too."

Lu Yuan was left speechless.

So this young miss had treated imprisonment and escorted transport as some novel life experience?

Still, Lu Yuan said nothing further. Everyone had their own way of living, and as long as it did not get in his way, that was enough.

Half a day later, the group finally arrived at Sea-Gazing County.

The moment they reached the entrance of the yamen,

Lu Yuan saw a richly dressed steward in a silk robe, fat enough to drip oil, coming forward to greet them.

Sea-Gazing County's registrar, Lu Hai, had come out with him as well.

The steward hurriedly handed a document to Lu Hai, the registrar of Sea-Gazing County. "Lord Lu, thank you for this matter."

"A small matter. At the sacrificial ceremony during the Ullambana Festival, I hope the Shen Family will offer plenty of support!"

Lu Hai glanced at the steward.

The steward nodded repeatedly, saying that he would ask the master for instructions.

While checking the documents, Lu Hai called for someone to remove Shen Qingzhu's ankle shackles and even had hot tea served.

"Miss Shen, you have suffered greatly. The journey has been hard on you. Hurry home and rest."

Lu Hai let her pass directly.

There was not a single unnecessary word.

Shen Qingzhu changed into the clean brocade dress the steward had brought and regained her cool, noble bearing.

Before leaving, she glanced at Lu Yuan and gave a slight nod. "This time, we can count it as having protected each other. But if you are in danger next time, I will also step in once."

Lu Yuan neither agreed nor disagreed.

Originally, Lu Yuan had thought Shen Qingzhu would return home with the steward.

"Tell the family that I've gone to slay demons. And do not follow me, or I'll make another scene."

Shen Qingzhu drove the steward away.

Then she left alone.

Lu Yuan watched Shen Qingzhu's departing figure.

Then, bringing the Bao brothers with him and pulling the cart carrying the Hedgehog Demon's corpse, he left Sea-Gazing County and hurried toward the Black Market Shrine outside the city.

Ten li outside Sea-Gazing County.

A dilapidated ancestral shrine lay hidden in dense fog. The black paint on its plaque had long since peeled away, giving off an indescribably sinister and eerie air.

If ordinary people came here, they would either be confused by illusions or frightened away.

This was the Black Market Shrine, where humans and demon beasts conducted filthy transactions.

Moreover, Lu Yuan had heard that this place was merely a meeting point.

If there was truly a large-scale trade fair,

someone would lead them to an even more concealed location.