Skilled at Silencing Witnesses

Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!

That horrifying scene from moments ago played out once more, and the hollow was filled with blood-red light again.

Countless blades of blood baleful intent chopped the pouncing Tiger Demon into several pieces in midair.

The Tiger Demon, intact only a moment ago, became a heap of flesh and blood on the ground in the blink of an eye. Unlike the previous Tiger Demon, this one had not been minced into paste.

Bang!

The blade Lin Jun had just drawn shattered like glass dropped onto the ground, leaving only its hilt.

After two consecutive uses of the Heavenly Star Baleful Image, this blade had fulfilled its duty.

A trace of inexplicable sorrow appeared in Lin Jun's eyes.

Though he had only used this blade for a month, he had fought alongside it for over a century in the simulations.

The feedback, more or less, from those simulations made him feel sentimental.

"Old friend, it's time for you to rest too."

Duan Yan could not help opening her mouth, her mind buzzing.

That terrifying move could actually be used repeatedly?

She had thought it was some trump-card ultimate technique, the sort that would leave an enormous burden after a single use.

Duan Yan felt that the shock she had experienced today alone surpassed everything from the past twenty years.

She was merely a lowly Demon Exorcist. She could not bear such scenes.

"The white bottle or the green bottle?"

Lin Jun asked as if nothing had happened.

"The white one..."

Duan Yan let her mind go blank. She would let him do whatever he wanted.

"Open your mouth."

Lin Jun poured the pill from the white jade bottle into Duan Yan's mouth, and some color returned to her pale face.

"Stay here and don't move. I'm going to look for something."

Lin Jun's intuition told him there was no longer any danger in this cave, so he instructed Duan Yan.

After all, she was his younger sister's subordinate. As her elder brother, he ought to take good care of her.

"What are you looking for?"

Lin Jun did not answer Duan Yan. He began following his intuition.

Half an hour later, Lin Jun returned before Duan Yan carrying the corpses of two tiger cubs.

Duan Yan's lips twitched, and she could not help asking:

"Why are you so skilled at this?"

Finding demons, killing demons, silencing witnesses—all in one smooth motion. The entire process was silky smooth.

"Don't talk about that yet. Look at these."

Lin Jun placed the pile of badges in his hand on the ground.

There were ten in all: wooden badges and bronze badges.

Seven were wooden badges, while three were bronze badges.

Wooden badges belonged to unaffiliated Demon Exorcists, while bronze badges belonged to official Demon Exorcists.

Duan Yan's expression turned grave.

"This pair of Tiger Demons specialized in hunting Demon Exorcists... No wonder."

They used Tiger Thralls to lure Demon Exorcists here, made them lower their guard, then launched a surprise attack.

"The flesh and blood of martial artists is an enormous tonic to demons. Quite a few demons specifically hunt Demon Exorcists. I didn't expect to run into one."

If not for Lin Jun, she would have become a clean-picked skeleton by now.

"Young Master Lin, thank you."

Duan Yan thanked him sincerely.

"Can you walk now?"

Duan Yan tried moving, only to find that aside from her head and left hand, the rest of her body gave her no response.

She could not help letting out a bitter laugh.

"Ah, my internal organs are shattered. Luckily, we Demon Exorcists have decent benefits and life-saving medicine. I should recover after resting for a month or so."

"If no one took care of me, I'd definitely die."

Lin Jun: "..."

It seemed her life was not in danger if she could still joke around.

Lin Jun scooped Duan Yan up, casually grabbed a tiger head, and headed out of the cave.

With Duan Yan's short, stubby build, carrying her felt like carrying a child.

The mist outside had now dispersed, and the sun slowly rose, bringing Lin Jun threads of warmth.

Following their original route, Lin Jun returned to the mountain stronghold.

The middle-aged man who had welcomed Lin Jun stood blankly in the middle of the village, his face filled with helplessness.

Just last night, everyone in the village had vanished into thin air.

As if they had evaporated in an instant, the wife he had met after coming to this village had disappeared before his very eyes.

Lin Jun walked up to the middle-aged man and threw the tiger head beside him.

"Go find a new life. This was all fake."

When a tiger did evil, its Tiger Thralls followed suit. Everyone in the village had long since been eaten clean by those Tiger Demons.

Those who remained in the village were merely Tiger Thralls created after the Tiger Demons had eaten them.

Every one of those Tiger Thralls was a puppet of the Tiger Demons, luring unsuspecting people here to die one after another.

The middle-aged man slowly raised his head, but there was no light left in his eyes.

Like a puppet, he slowly walked into his house, then—

Started a fire and cooked.

Everything was as it had always been.

Watching the middle-aged man immerse himself in his own world, Lin Jun suddenly felt incomparably irritated. He looked at the tiger head beside him and kicked it flying.

"Fuck!"

Duan Yan understood Lin Jun's feelings. She said nothing, silently took a preserved fruit from her robes, and held it before Lin Jun's mouth.

"If you feel bad, have something sweet."

Funny enough, the most important department in the Demon Exorcism Bureau was not the Demon Department, but the Medical Department.

It treated not only physical wounds, but wounds of the heart as well.

Demon Exorcists were human too. And humans could empathize. After seeing too many tragedies caused by demons, problems would inevitably arise in their hearts.

This was an unavoidable trial for Demon Exorcists: the Heart Demon.

If one overcame it, there would be no obstruction in one's heart, and cultivation would flow as naturally as water reaching its channel.

If one was trapped by the Heart Demon, one might be unable to advance even half a step for the rest of one's life. One's strength might even regress.

Duan Yan was somewhat worried about Lin Jun's condition. Had he clearly developed a Heart Demon?

Even under the treatment of the physicians in the Demon Exorcism Bureau's Medical Department, those who truly overcame their Heart Demons were few and far between. Out here, no one could help Lin Jun. He could only rely on himself.

Lin Jun had thought his heart had long become as cold as his blade, but no matter how cold it was, he was still human.

Yet he soon figured it out.

He only had to kill every one he encountered. Thinking too much would only breed needless worries.

He was no savior. It was enough to handle what was before him.

With that thought, Lin Jun's melancholy instantly eased considerably. A wave of exhilaration coursed through his body, and his whole person seemed to become exceptionally clear-headed.

"Crackle, crackle..."

Duan Yan suddenly noticed that Lin Jun's entire body was producing bursts of explosive sounds, while the muscles beneath his skin twitched wildly.

He... he had broken through?

His thoughts had become clear, his heart had seen its true nature.

The Twelve Primary Meridians—the Three Yang Meridians of the Hand—were open.

Lin Jun slowly opened his eyes, with no more obstructions in his heart.

He looked at the middle-aged man still living in his own world, then walked out through the stronghold gates without hesitation.