Swallowing the Demon Core, Simulation

Lu Yuan shook his head and stepped outside the courtyard.

He used the water from the cistern to wash his face.

Then he casually asked, "Why haven't I seen Grandpa today?"

Whenever there was nothing going on, Grandpa would come over to eat with them.

They would chat about the trivial matters of daily life.

"Grandpa followed the village hunting party into the mountains early this morning."

Xu An paused his writing and added a word.

"To Azure Cloud Mountain?" Lu Yuan paused. "That's not right! The village usually only goes hunting in the mountains on the first and fifteenth of every month. Today is the tenth. It's not the right day."

"Besides, the sky is so gray and damp. It must be even worse in the mountains."

Lu Yun pondered for a moment before speaking.

Even he knew that; Grandpa, an old hunter, could not possibly be unaware.

"Brother, you don't know. Things have seemed unsettled lately. In several neighboring villages, as well as at quite a few tenant households around our village, poultry have been dying in droves. It isn't a plague."

"I heard some savage beast did it."

Lu An edged closer to Lu Yuan.

He was extremely interested in such matters.

Every time, he begged Grandpa to take him hunting in the mountains.

But he was still young, and Mother and Second Sister both refused to allow it.

"That's one reason. The other is that it'll soon be time to pay the 'protection money,' and the village is anxious."

"If we can't scrape together enough protection money and anger the bandits, our village will probably have a hard time again."

Lu Qing placed the food on the table.

The Great Harvest Dynasty's taxes were not especially heavy, but bandits could never be fully eradicated in these troubled times.

The local authorities were unwilling to spend too much money on the matter.

Thus, they tacitly allowed the bandits' practices.

Every village had to pay protection money to the bandits each month.

"Brother, aren't you working for the government now? Why don't you talk to those bandits and ask them to reduce our village's protection money?"

Lu An tapped the rusty blade at Lu Yuan's side.

But the moment the words left his mouth, Mother Liu Ying rapped him on the head.

"You brat, do you know what kind of people those bandits are? Your brother is only an auxiliary worker."

Liu Ying naturally did not want Lu Yuan dealing with those vicious bandits.

Especially after seeing the wound on Lu Yuan's shoulder today, her worry had only deepened.

"Xiao Yuan, just work honestly. Don't get involved in dangerous matters. We common folk should use only as much strength as we have..."

Liu Ying earnestly advised Lu Yuan.

Yet in the blink of an eye, Lu Yuan had disappeared.

"Mom, I'm going to the outskirts of Azure Cloud Mountain to bring Grandpa back."

His voice drifted in from outside the courtyard.

Yet Lu Yuan himself was already nowhere to be seen.

"That little bastard, he never stops making people worry..."

Liu Ying cursed, both angry and anxious.

"Mom, Xiao Yuan works for the government now. He won't be so reckless anymore. He knows where the danger lies."

"He'll definitely only wait around the outskirts of Azure Cloud Mountain."

Lu Qing held back her mother, who had been about to chase after him.

"That little bastard has never listened since he was young. He always loved running up the mountains. Sigh!" Liu Ying sighed.

Meanwhile, Lu An had somehow secretly taken several sorghum buns and vanished as well.

After leaving the village, Lu Yuan moved like the wind beneath his feet and headed straight toward Azure Cloud Mountain.

Along the way, the horrific scene in Blackwater Village's ancestral hall kept replaying in his mind. Thinking of the recent incidents of poultry dying in droves in the surrounding villages, his expression darkened.

"It definitely isn't an ordinary beast."

Lu Yuan's gaze sank. Ordinary beasts hunted to fill their bellies; they would never bite entire flocks of poultry to death and drain them dry of blood. This was clearly the work of demons.

The Gray-Skinned Rat Demon that had appeared in Blackwater Village was definitely not an isolated case!

If demons truly lurked within Azure Cloud Mountain, then Grandpa and the village hunting party were all ordinary people who had not undergone Grade Entry. If they ran into one, it would be a catastrophe that toppled mountains and overturned seas.

Yet danger often came hand in hand with opportunity.

To ordinary people, demons were death warrants. But to Lu Yuan now, they were perfect prey for gaining experience points and extending his lifespan.

"Only thirty days of lifespan remain. I have to hurry."

As he traveled, Lu Yuan summoned the system panel in his mind.

He reached into his clothes and took out the gray Demon Core he had carved from the rat demon's belly.

The Demon Core was only the size of a thumb and gave off a faint fragrance.

System, can this Demon Core be exchanged for experience points? Lu Yuan silently asked.

[Hint: Demon Cores cannot be directly exchanged for experience points.]

[Hint: By swallowing a Demon Core, you may simulate portions of that demon's life memories. There is a chance of obtaining skills it possesses or hidden information.]

"Simulating a demon's life?"

Lu Yuan's eyes lit up.

In this world where demons ran rampant, intelligence was often more important than martial strength.

Without the slightest hesitation, he tipped back his head and swallowed the gray Demon Core.

The Demon Core slid down his throat, transforming into a warm current with a delicate fragrance.

Immediately afterward, Lu Yuan's consciousness abruptly sank. The scene before him twisted in an instant, as though a first-person slideshow had been opened.

The image was dimly lit, seemingly inside some ruined temple or abandoned ancestral hall.

"Eat it clean. Once you're done, leave Blackwater Village quickly. Don't make too much noise."

A hoarse, ducklike voice rang out. It was Shi Yun.

The scene shifted. Shi Yun and Dou Chu were standing before the Gray-Skinned Rat Demon.

Dou Chu added, "If we alert those mad dogs from the Demon Suppression Office, we're all dead. Also, are there traces of any other demon beasts nearby? Tell us all of it so we can make arrangements."

Upon hearing this, the Gray-Skinned Rat Demon in the image stopped chewing.

It slowly turned its head. Its rat face, covered in gray fur, leaned close to the two men, its stench-filled mouth nearly pressing against Shi Yun's face.

"What? You two mere mortals dare tell me what to do?"

The rat demon's voice was shrill and piercing, carrying undisguised killing intent and mockery.

Shi Yun and Dou Chu shuddered from head to toe, their faces turning deathly pale as they waved their hands repeatedly. "We wouldn't dare, we wouldn't dare. Rat Lord, please calm your anger. We were merely reminding you. Do as you please, do as you please..."

The scene came to an abrupt end there.

Lu Yuan's consciousness instantly leaped out of the slideshow and returned to reality.

Though the time had been brief, Lu Yuan had obtained an extremely useful piece of information.

"So that's how it is."

Lu Yuan let out a cold laugh.

Those two scum, Shi Yun and Dou Chu, had not only colluded with the rat demon, they had even helped the demons cover their tracks and provided them with intelligence.

Since they could reach such an understanding with the rat demon, then the strange incidents that had appeared in the surrounding villages recently must have been caused by other demon beasts as well!

Behind this, there was likely more than one demon. There might even be a whole group of demons secretly stirring up trouble.

Realizing this, Lu Yuan understood the gravity of the situation.

The people of these villages for miles around would likely suffer disaster.

The people in the yamen not only refused to slay demons, but instead kept company with them. This world had truly rotted to the core.

But Lu Yuan was currently only a minor yamen runner with thirty days of lifespan left, not even having undergone Grade Entry. He simply had no ability to concern himself with so many matters under heaven.

The most urgent matter before him was the safety of Grandpa and the hunting party.

"I hope I'm not too late."

Lu Yuan took a deep breath, gripped the chipped rusty blade at his waist, and stopped conserving his strength as he hurried toward the depths of Azure Cloud Mountain.

Behind the bushes not far from him, a small figure was biting into a sorghum bun and secretly following after him, panting for breath.