Tiger Demon

Duan Yan never would have imagined that Lin Jun would be the one to receive the Demon-Slaying Order.

Among the many Demon Exorcists in Jinzhou, Lin Jun's name was somewhat well-known.

Naturally, it was not a good reputation.

A man so unlearned and incompetent that he had even harmed his own uncle was hard not to notice.

Of course, that was not the only reason Duan Yan remembered Lin Jun.

His superior, Wolf-Stripe Exorcist Yang Wan, the seated Commandant of the Demon Exorcism Bureau, was this fellow's cousin.

It was hard to imagine that Yang Wan, a Heaven-sent genius who had obtained a seat in the Demon Exorcism Bureau and risen to Commandant before even turning twenty, with an immeasurable future ahead of her—

How could someone like her be related to an unlearned good-for-nothing like Lin Jun?

It was simply ghostly.

To be honest, Duan Yan's first impression of Lin Jun had not been bad. At least on the surface, he seemed refined and handsome, every inch a gentleman.

But the more she thought about it, the more disgusting his gilded exterior and rotten insides became.

Still, no matter how uncomfortable she felt, this man was someone Yang Yan had insisted on protecting. Yang Yan was Yang Wan's father, while she was merely a lowly Demon Exorcist. What else could she do?

"Ahem, um, well, you, um, that..."

Duan Yan began considering how to persuade Lin Jun to leave in a tactful manner.

This was not child's play. A Demon Exorcist had just died here.

If Lin Jun died before her eyes, then Duan Yan's life would be ruined.

"Ah!"

After thinking for ages, she still could not come up with a gentler way to say it.

She really had not read enough books in her daily life.

Duan Yan felt that she was bearing pressure no one her age should have to bear.

An official one rank above could crush you to death. Even if Lin Jun held no office, he was still Yang Wan's cousin.

"Anyway, leave this place now. People will die here."

With a sinister air, Duan Yan took out a human hand bone.

Based on what she knew of Lin Jun's mouse-hearted, timid nature, he should have been frightened away.

Who would have thought that after watching her perform on the spot for so long, Lin Jun merely gave her a look as though she were an idiot, then walked straight into the grass hut.

"Hey! You can't go in!"

Duan Yan grabbed Lin Jun's hand at once, but the tremendous strength transmitted through it nearly sent her sprawling flat on her face.

With a light shake, Lin Jun threw off Duan Yan's hand.

What kind of strength was that? Why was he like a bear?

Duan Yan froze for a moment, then hurried after him.

She rubbed her numbed hand. That casual shake from Lin Jun had nearly broken the bones in it.

What kind of joke was this? She was an Origin Transformation martial artist, while Lin Jun was merely a Mortal. How could he have injured her?

Naturally, Lin Jun paid no attention to Duan Yan's doubts and immediately pushed open the door.

A stench of blood instantly spread through the room.

Lin Jun frowned and looked at the scene inside.

A disordered skeleton lay on the bed.

It appeared to be the bones of an adult man, but every scrap of flesh had been eaten clean.

Lin Jun hurriedly crouched before the skeleton and touched the bones.

They were not dry. They still felt somewhat damp, which meant the man had not been dead long.

Furthermore, the flesh on the skeleton had been gnawed away cleanly, and there were bite marks.

"Y-you're not afraid?"

Duan Yan stared blankly at Lin Jun as he inspected the remains with practiced ease, unable to understand.

When she had first arrived and seen this scene, she had needed a while to recover. Yet Lin Jun did not seem the slightest bit uncomfortable?

"Afraid of what?"

It was only a skeleton. He had seen plenty of them.

Only then did Duan Yan realize that Lin Jun did not seem as terrible as the rumors claimed.

At the very least, judging by his calm demeanor, he could not be completely useless.

"Can you tell me in detail what happened here?"

Seeing Lin Jun's unruffled appearance, Duan Yan nodded subconsciously.

She did not know much. She had originally been on her way back to the Demon Exorcism Bureau to report, but she encountered the Golden-Feather Eagle halfway and came over to help.

Who would have thought that when she arrived, she found the Demon Exorcist's bones?

The bones had been carried back by mountain villagers who had gone up the mountain to gather firewood.

"Mountain villagers?"

"The people here all go to Black Tiger Mountain for firewood."

Lin Jun pondered for a moment before slowly rising to his feet.

"Let's go to Black Tiger Mountain and take a look."

Just as they were thinking, the grass hut's door was opened again.

A young man wearing the official uniform of the Demon Exorcism Bureau appeared before Lin Jun.

Three horrifying wounds marked the young man's face, and his body was covered in claw wounds. He panted heavily, as though he had just gone through a fierce battle.

"Are you the Demon Exorcists sent as reinforcements?"

The young man hurriedly took out his identity token, upon which two fox heads were engraved.

"I am! What is the situation here now?"

Duan Yan immediately asked.

"There's a Tiger Demon on the mountain. My brother and I severely wounded it, but my brother died..."

There was not the slightest trace of grief on the young man's face, as though he were forcing himself to endure pain.

"My condolences..."

"Now is not the time for condolences. That Tiger Demon is badly wounded and recuperating inside its cave. We have to hurry and kill it!"

"Otherwise, once the Tiger Demon recovers its strength, my brother's sacrifice will have been in vain!"

"I'll lead you there. I'm sorry, I suffered internal injuries, so I can only lead the way... Please, avenge my brother."

Duan Yan hurriedly helped the kneeling young man up and nodded repeatedly.

"I will. Don't get worked up. Get up and speak."

"Hey, what are you staring at? Hurry over and comfort him!"

Seeing Lin Jun staring blankly at the young man, Duan Yan could not help complaining.

Lin Jun slowly gripped his sword hilt, forcibly suppressing the urge to draw it.

There was something wrong with this young man. Something terribly wrong.

From the moment he had entered the mountain village, Lin Jun's instincts had been screaming warnings. The instant this young man appeared, goosebumps had nearly risen all over his body.

He raised his vigilance to the utmost, watching the young man at all times.

Although his instincts told Lin Jun something was wrong, he could not sense even the slightest threat from the young man.

It was extremely bizarre.

"Come with me. I'll take you there."

The young man hurriedly pulled Duan Yan outside, leaving Lin Jun no choice but to follow behind.

By then, night had fallen, and thick fog was beginning to rise.

Dark clouds covered the bright moon, leaving Heaven and earth gray and dim.

Duan Yan realized that this weather was unsuitable for climbing the mountain.

But when she thought of how the others had risked their lives to severely wound the Tiger Demon, would she not be letting that Demon Exorcist's sacrifice down if she failed to seize this chance to eliminate it?

The aura around this man unmistakably came from cultivating the Demon-Subduing Treasured Manual, a cultivation method only official Demon Exorcists could practice.

So even though she constantly felt that something was off, she did not suspect the young man before her.

With that thought, she made up her mind to take the risk.

"You stay here and don't move. I'll deal with that Demon."

Before leaving, she did not forget to tell Lin Jun not to follow.

After all, even if Lin Jun was not as worthless as the rumors said, his strength had been extremely low when he left. Three years apart could not possibly have brought much improvement.

Lin Jun ignored Duan Yan's words and followed closely behind them.

"Hey, why are you always so determined to get yourself killed?"

Duan Yan was infuriated by Lin Jun's ignorance of the immensity of Heaven and earth, and directly chopped the side of his neck with her hand.

Her hand went numb.

"What are you doing?"

Lin Jun turned to look at Duan Yan.

Duan Yan clutched her hand tightly, tears welling uncontrollably in her eyes as she bit down hard on her lip.

Just now, it had felt as though she had struck iron. Her hand had nearly been crippled.

Why was this guy's body as hard as stone?

"You... forget it. Follow behind me. You won't be denied credit for this!"

Lin Jun's reason for risking his life like this was nothing more than one thing: to earn some credit so he could truly enter the Demon Exorcism Bureau in the future.

How could Duan Yan fail to see through such a little scheme?

Lin Jun had probably heard that the Tiger Demon was severely wounded and thought this was a chance to pick up easy credit. That was why he was desperately clinging to her side.

The favorable impression Duan Yan had just begun to form of Lin Jun immediately vanished, and her heart filled with resentment toward him.

Although the Tiger Demon was already badly wounded, a Demon's final desperate counterattack was often the fiercest. Not only did she have to kill the Demon, she also had to protect Lin Jun.

This was simply ridiculous.

No wonder Lady Yang Wan never spoke of her cousin. A person like this... was disgusting.