Huagupu

The days that followed sank into an eerie calm.

The entire city of Green Forest County lived and worked in peace. Not even a petty thief appeared, and rumors of demons outside vanished altogether.

Lin Jun had gone a full week without receiving any news of demons.

That left Lin Jun in considerable pain.

Without killing demons, there was no experience. Without experience, he could not grow stronger.

Lin Jun had tried cultivating on his own these past few days, and the result was exactly what one would expect.

The previous owner of this body had been useless trash beyond saving. His talent could not exactly be called terrible—only that even a dog would look at it with disgust.

With talent like that, there was simply no possibility of making progress through cultivation.

Those simulations that casually described decades were based on simulations of Lin Jun's own talent.

In other words, if Lin Jun cultivated honestly, he would not see results without several decades.

In several decades, even the yellow flowers would have gone cold. Naturally, he could not cultivate like that.

"Boss, three taels' worth of wontons."

"Coming right up, Master Lin."

Lin Jun casually found a small stall, and Chen Feng ordered some food as well.

Even though he had already stepped into the Transcendent Realm, he still had to eat.

Chen Feng still looked somewhat dazed.

He always felt that Lin Jun had secretly grown stronger again while he was away, yet he had not noticed a thing.

Lin Jun's habit of secretly improving made his heart race with unease.

Just as Chen Feng was letting his thoughts run wild, he suddenly noticed something and slowly turned his head.

Several monks had ordered noodles and were sitting in front of the stall.

The two monks were excessively fat, their faces covered in flesh. As they sat at the stall, they nearly crushed the stools beneath them.

It seemed they had not eaten little carbohydrate in their daily lives.

"You know them?"

Faced with Lin Jun's question, Chen Feng shook his head.

"Monks from Dharma Enlightenment Temple. Speaking of which, that should be the largest martial sect in Green Forest County."

A martial sect.

Lin Jun's interest was piqued.

So far, he had not come into contact with any martial sects.

Seeing Lin Jun's gaze, Chen Feng instantly knew what he was thinking.

"Forget it. Martial sects have a hard requirement for accepting disciples: they cannot be older than six. We should just honestly work for the court."

Chen Feng laughed at himself.

"There's a story there?"

Chen Feng fell silent for a while, seeming to recall something.

"Tell me about it."

Chen Feng shook his head. That story was clearly not a pleasant one.

"Martial sects aren't as wonderful as you imagine. Working for the court is quite good—at least the court rewards merit."

Martial sects feared losing disciples, so they often trained them from childhood to ensure their loyalty.

Moreover, martial arts were not taught according to talent, but according to the degree of one's loyalty and one's relationship with the sect elders.

Put another way, talent and diligence were not the most important things in martial sects. Loyalty was.

Blind loyalty was best.

Having great talent did not mean that person would definitely serve the sect in the future. In earlier years, quite a few exceptionally gifted sect disciples had been poached by the court, leaving the sects to raise talents for the court in vain.

The Demon Exorcism Bureau was different. No matter who you were or how old you were, as long as you wanted to and had the ability to slay demons, you could come and try.

They were even generous with cultivation methods. As long as your merits were great enough, there was no cultivation method they could not give you.

Whether you were loyal or not did not even matter. So long as you did not defect to the demons, the Demon Exorcism Bureau would not blame you.

Hearing Chen Feng's description, Lin Jun suddenly felt that the Demon Exorcism Bureau was rather good.

At the very least, the more one worked, the more one gained. Everything was laid out in the open.

Even his uncle had faced immense difficulties trying to use family connections to get him in, and had even gotten himself demoted in the process.

Before long, Lin Jun's wontons were brought over.

The two monks held their noodle bowls like wine saucers and nearly drained the noodles in a single gulp.

"Senior Brother, the noodles outside really can't compare to those in our temple. These few slices of lamb are nowhere near as tasty as the pork in our temple."

"Of course. The pigs raised in our temple are white and plump, and one bite fills your mouth with oil. The meat here is dry and shriveled, like firewood."

"That is all thanks to the Abbot."

"Sigh, we haven't eaten the pigs we raise for nearly three years. Otherwise, why would we come out to eat this stuff?"

"Why did the Abbot suddenly forbid us from eating pork? And for exactly three years, too?"

"Who knows? The Abbot must have his own hardships. Don't think about it. There's only a little over a month left of the three years. Endure it."

Listening to the two monks talk, Lin Jun immediately found it rather interesting.

Not only did these monks eat meat, they even raised pigs themselves?

Self-sufficient, were they?

Just as Lin Jun continued eavesdropping, a court runner hurried over.

"Lord Lin, demons are causing trouble in Huagupu. The County Commandant requests that you go and eliminate them."

Lin Jun set down the wonton that had just reached his mouth and looked at Chen Feng.

Chen Feng also looked utterly astonished.

In three years, this was the first time Lin Jun had received instructions from the authorities.

Although the Demon Exorcism Bureau and the yamen were completely independent, the authorities were also obligated to provide information about demons.

"This really is rare."

Lin Jun sighed.

Chen Feng's face was solemn.

"My lord, something is abnormal here."

The Green Forest County authorities had always taken a laissez-faire attitude toward Lin Jun, the sort where they would not intervene even if he committed every crime under the sun in Green Forest County.

Why had they suddenly issued him an order now?

Having seen Lin Jun's changes these past days, Chen Feng did not want him to encounter any danger.

Lin Jun accepted the document handed over by the runner and waved a hand.

"I understand. Go back."

Seeing that Lin Jun had accepted the document, the runner breathed a sigh of relief and hurried away.

In the restaurant beside the stall, Zhang He saw Lin Jun accept the document and let out a breath.

He had truly feared that Lin Jun would refuse it.

Strictly speaking, the authorities had no right to mobilize Demon Exorcists.

"Courting death."

Zhang He slowly took a sip of tea.

Wouldn't it be better to honestly be your spoiled young master? Why insist on slaying demons?

The Demon Exorcism Bureau paid five taels of silver a month. Why risk your life for that?

"Fat Qian! The bill."

Lin Jun read through the document. It roughly said that children had been dying in Huagupu for five consecutive days.

There was no evidence, no deductions—just that single sentence.

"Master Lin, how could I possibly take your money? Consider this meal my treat. You paid for the bear meat last time as well."

Fat Qian hurriedly waved his hands. In the past, he had not dared collect money because he feared Lin Jun, but today, he truly did not want to take it.

"Fine. Pack me a few pancakes. I'll eat them on the road."

"Master Lin is going to slay demons again?"

With several wrapped pancakes in hand, Lin Jun mounted White Deer and set off.

Chen Feng had no choice but to ride his horse behind him.

"My lord, where did this deer come from? Half-Demons aren't easy to tame."

Chen Feng asked along the way.

"A Half-Demon?"

"My lord doesn't know?"

Chen Feng was startled, then realized he had said something pointless. It would have been strange if Lin Jun did know.

A so-called Half-Demon was an animal with part of a demon's bloodline.

They possessed strength far beyond ordinary animals, but lacked the intelligence of demons.

Generally speaking, Half-Demons in the wild were extremely difficult to tame. Only the Demon Exorcism Bureau Military Division could mass-produce Half-Demon mounts.

But hadn't Lin Jun yet to obtain an official position in the Demon Exorcism Bureau?

"You want one?"

Faced with Lin Jun's question, Chen Feng nodded.

He had seen the demon horses of the Demon Exorcism Bureau. Compared to Lin Jun's White Deer, they were inferior by more than a little.

A mount like this could at least be assigned to a Wolf-Stripe Exorcist. Lin Jun was not even a Fox-Stripe Exorcist, merely an unofficial member. How could Chen Feng not envy him?

Demon Exorcists were divided into ranks as well. From unofficial members, to the lowest-ranked Fox-Stripe Exorcists, then Wolf-Stripe Exorcists and Tiger-Stripe Exorcists, each level rising in turn.

Among them, Fox-Stripe Exorcists had three heads and twelve stripes.

Every three stripes could be exchanged for one head, and three heads allowed one to advance to the next rank.

Above Tiger Mark was another level entirely.

The Demon Exorcism Bureau granted Demon Exorcists rewards and stripe rewards according to their merits.

For someone like Lin Jun, stationed in a place like Green Forest County that looked safer than safe from above, he could only earn one stripe in three years and then be officially entered into the records.

However, Lin Jun's uncle clearly had not expected that this seemingly safe little place would have so many demons.

Nor could his uncle possibly have imagined that Lin Jun had hidden his abilities so deeply, slaughtering demons as easily as slaughtering pigs.

Chen Feng moved closer and touched White Deer's belly. The smooth feel beneath his hand was like silk.

He did not even dare imagine how comfortable it would be to sit atop it.

Come to think of it, the letter he had sent to his benefactor a month ago should have reached him by now. Why had there been no reply?

After thinking it over, Chen Feng felt it was possible that his benefactor had used his private authority to help Lin Jun last time, been punished for it, and was now being watched by the Demon Exorcism Bureau, unable to contact the outside world.

"Next time, I'll go ask him. He seems pretty easy to talk to."

Lin Jun stroked the deer's head, and White Deer let out a clear, lilting cry.