Rat Essence

Lin Jun covered his nose and hurried toward the back mountain of Huagupu.

He feared that if he slowed down any further, the stench soaring into Heaven would kill him.

When the villagers saw Lin Jun and Chen Feng, they merely raised their heads for a glance before collapsing back onto the ground.

Only after they reached halfway up the back mountain did that indescribable stench ease somewhat.

Lin Jun turned around. From here, he could see all of Huagupu clearly.

The people below were all beginning to stir, each letting out bursts of sounds that barely seemed human.

"Benefactor, please make way."

A group of monks came down from the mountaintop, each carrying two large buckets.

Lin Jun looked into the buckets and saw vegetable leaves and rice bran inside.

Slop.

Looking at the villagers below, who resembled swine, then at the slop those monks carried, a chill ran through Lin Jun's entire body.

Sure enough, it was just as Lin Jun had guessed.

The monks poured the slop into a long stone trough in the village.

As though they had received some command, the villagers crawled one after another to the trough and buried their heads inside.

They truly were no different from pigs.

Lin Jun even saw several monks seize a male and female villager and lock them inside a room. Before long, low, muffled sounds came from within.

"M-My lord?"

Chen Feng suddenly noticed that something was wrong with Lin Jun.

Lin Jun took a deep breath, but the fury in his heart not only failed to subside—it burned even more fiercely.

"Chen Feng."

"Present!"

"What you see later may be somewhat cruel..."

"This subordinate understands."

Ever since Lin Jun had slain the Snake Demon last time, Chen Feng had always seen him as a calm and composed man.

Yet now, although Lin Jun's tone remained as placid as ever, Chen Feng could sense that the rage in Lin Jun's heart was fiercer than it had ever been.

Before long, the monks carrying wooden buckets returned to the mountain.

Several monks were carrying a thick wooden pole together. Bound atop it was a man who looked to weigh no less than five hundred jin.

There was no light in the man's eyes. He only knew how to make meaningless grunting noises.

"Benefactor, Master Spiritual Insight invites you."

The monk at the very rear stopped before Lin Jun and made a welcoming gesture.

"Then I shall trouble Master to lead the way."

As though he had not seen the man being carried away, Lin Jun spoke calmly.

"You are too courteous. Please."

A moment later, Lin Jun arrived at the mountaintop and entered Dharma Enlightenment Temple.

Dharma Enlightenment Temple was not large. The instant Lin Jun entered, he saw a gaunt old monk seated on a meditation cushion.

He had no idea which Buddha the statue before the monk depicted. In any case, Lin Jun had never seen it before.

"This humble monk is Spiritual Insight. Greetings."

"Please, sit."

Lin Jun sat down in front of Spiritual Insight, while Chen Feng could only find a meditation cushion at random and sit down.

Outside, the monks were boiling water and preparing chopping boards and wooden basins.

"Benefactor, the common people suffer in poverty their whole lives. They are born to hunger and cold, and when they die, no one knows where their bones will lie. How tragic their lives are."

Lin Jun nodded, indicating that everything he said was correct.

"Don't speak yet. I have several questions for you, Master."

Though Spiritual Insight had been interrupted by Lin Jun, he did not grow angry. He replied calmly:

"I wonder what questions the benefactor requires answered. This humble monk is happy to be of service."

"How many monks are there in this temple altogether?"

Spiritual Insight was utterly baffled by the question, but he answered honestly nonetheless:

"Including this humble monk, there are fifteen."

Although Spiritual Insight did not know why Lin Jun was asking this, Chen Feng immediately became alert.

He knew that once Lin Jun started investigating someone's household registration, not a single demon listed on it would survive.

"Oh? And as monks, Master, do you not have any family or relatives?"

"You jest, Benefactor. Those who leave home sever themselves from the mortal world. Where would we find family?"

Lin Jun nodded, signaling that he understood.

By now, the water outside had boiled. A monk was continuously sharpening a pig-slaughtering knife.

"Benefactor, the common people suffer in poverty. If I give them a time free of worry over food and clothing, then let them die without pain, is that not a form of deliverance?"

Spiritual Insight pointed at the villager bound outside.

Lin Jun slowly drew his blade.

"Does the benefactor believe this humble monk's words are without reason?"

Lin Jun shook his head.

The people here not only lived in poverty, but also suffered the depredations of Demon. Above them were corrupt officials who did nothing human; below them was Demon, devouring people and taking lives.

To spend a beautiful time free of care in such an environment, then die without the slightest pain, was indeed a kind of deliverance.

"Since the benefactor thinks my words make sense, why draw blade and sword against me?"

"What does that have to do with me?"

"What?"

Lin Jun's words left Spiritual Insight stunned for a moment.

"I said, what does that have to do with me?"

"You are a demon. I am a demon officer. I do not care what Heaven-shaking reasoning you have. Right now, I only want to kill you. That is all."

The entire temple fell silent in an instant. Even the monks outside, who had been sharpening their knives with murderous intent, stopped and all looked toward Lin Jun.

Lin Jun did not know whether it was an illusion, but he felt that even the Buddha statue in the temple was watching him.

"Hehe, hahahahaha!"

Spiritual Insight suddenly burst into laughter.

"Reasonable, very reasonable!"

Demon officers and demons had always been like fire and water—one side had to die for the other to live.

It was simply too reasonable.

"Do you know? You are already the fourteenth person like this. You..."

Lin Jun thrust his blade straight into Spiritual Insight's chest.

What a nagging old woman. He had come to kill him, not to chat about Heaven and earth with him.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak!"

Spiritual Insight let out piercing cries that made Lin Jun's brain grow groggy.

Spiritual Insight slowly raised his head and stared at Lin Jun. Before Lin Jun's eyes, grayish fur began to grow across his body.

"You are the first to injure me... urgh."

Taking advantage of his opponent's nonsense, Lin Jun pulled out his blade again and stabbed at his heart once more.

Yet this strike did not pierce his heart. The feel transmitted through the blade was wrong.

Boom!

A tremendous force blasted Lin Jun away. With a wave of Spiritual Insight's hand, his cassock flew from his body.

Beneath that cassock was the body of a gray-furred rat as large as a person!

Even Lin Jun, a southerner, could not help clicking his tongue at the sight of a rat more than a full size larger than a human.

Spiritual Insight stared at Lin Jun without daring to say another word.

He feared that the moment he opened his mouth again, Lin Jun would stab him with another blade.

The many monks outside took off their cassocks, and fourteen astonishingly huge rats instantly appeared throughout the temple.

Chen Feng hurriedly drew his sword and charged at the pack of rats, creating space for Lin Jun to fight Spiritual Insight one-on-one.

Without giving Spiritual Insight time to react, Lin Jun unleashed a quick-draw slash at him.

As though he had noticed it long ago, Spiritual Insight twisted away from Lin Jun's attack in an exceedingly bizarre posture.

The blade smashed into the ground, shattering the bluestone floor in an instant.

Using the thick dust kicked up by the bluestone as cover, Lin Jun swept his blade backhand, dancing out streaks of light. Spiritual Insight could not react in time, and his fur was immediately split open by the slash.

"Aaaah!"