Forging a Saber

The Demon Affairs Prefecture stood directly across from the Green Forest County yamen—one governed people, the other governed demons.

There were occasionally one or two people outside the yamen gates, but the Demon Affairs Prefecture was so deserted that one could set a net for sparrows at its door.

Lin Jun pushed open the great doors that had been sealed in dust for three years, stirring up a cloud of ash.

Holding a broom, Lin Jun began sweeping.

"What are you staring at? Help out."

Lin Jun shot Chen Feng an irritated glare.

"Oh."

What the hell? Had the sun risen in the west today?

The man surnamed Lin was actually sweeping the floor?

By noon, most of the Demon Exorcism Bureau still had not been cleaned.

"You there, come over."

Lin Jun beckoned a beggar over.

The beggar immediately looked as if his mother had died, yet he did not dare run away.

"Master Lin, what are your orders?"

Lin Jun pulled out a banknote and handed it to the beggar.

"Go find some people and get this place cleaned up."

With that, Lin Jun turned and went back into the Demon Exorcism Bureau.

The beggar took the banknote and stood frozen in place.

"Master Lin? This is for me?"

He viciously slapped himself twice.

What the hell? Master Lin, who even visited brothels without paying, was actually paying money today?

Very quickly, the beggar gathered a group of people, and within two hours, they had scrubbed the Demon Affairs Prefecture spotless.

Lin Jun sat firmly in the hall of honor, while Chen Feng sat beside him.

By then, a crowd had gathered around the Demon Affairs Prefecture, all craning their necks to peer inside.

This was truly fresh—Lin actually remembered he was a Demon Exorcist?

Yet not a single person came in.

They knew Lin Jun's character all too well. Places of wind and moon were where Lin Jun truly belonged.

That night, the onlookers gradually dispersed, and not one person stepped into the Demon Exorcism Bureau.

It was not that there were no demons nearby. Deep down, they simply did not believe Lin Jun could truly subdue demons.

"My lord, shall we go home?"

Chen Feng had sat there in a daze all day, and his backside had gone numb.

"No. We'll sleep here tonight."

Chen Feng took a deep breath.

"Yes, my lord."

Here we go again. Let's see what kind of mischief you're up to this time.

Over the following days, Green Forest County returned to its usual state.

Whenever people saw the gates standing wide open, they would merely laugh and say:

"Lord Lin is holding the fort at the Demon Affairs Prefecture."

Later, it changed to:

"Lord Lin is still at the Demon Affairs Prefecture."

For half a month straight, Lin Jun ate and lived in the Demon Affairs Prefecture.

Many people discussed it with surprise:

"Could Lord Lin be serious this time?"

"You believe that?"

"I don't."

Three years' worth of impressions could not be changed by a mere half month.

Until the evening of the twentieth day.

Chen Feng had practiced swordsmanship in the Demon Affairs Prefecture for a full twenty days, and his whole body was nearly stiff.

He could not understand what Lin was playing at.

"Excuse me, is this the Demon Exorcism Bureau?"

A white-haired old man stood at the entrance of the Demon Exorcism Bureau and asked Chen Feng, who was practicing his swordsmanship inside.

Lin Jun emerged from who knew where and helped the old man inside.

"Elder, do you have something to report?"

The old man looked at Lin Jun. Naturally, he knew of Lin Jun's foul reputation and knew that he was ignorant and incompetent, a young dandy sent here merely to gild himself.

If he had not truly been out of options, why would he have come here?

"Lord Lin, this commoner is Liu Song, village head of Liu Family Ravine."

Lin Jun nodded, signaling for the old man to continue.

"Lord Lin, over the past half month, seven households in Liu Family Ravine have vanished in the middle of the night. Without exception, their homes were knocked down, and some villagers saw what seemed to be wild beasts moving through the village at night."

The old man spoke very cautiously, watching Lin Jun's expression as he spoke.

What kind of wild beast could knock down walls, if not a demon?

But he could not make it too explicit. If he frightened Lin Jun away, would he not have come here for nothing?

Lin Jun nodded.

"Liu Family Ravine, right? I understand. Elder, you should return first."

The old man froze at once upon hearing this.

After a long while, he let out a long breath. The wrinkles on his face seemed to have multiplied considerably.

"This commoner shall take his leave..."

Leaning on his cane, the old man made his way outside.

"How was it, elder? How did it go?"

Seeing the old man emerge, many people hurriedly asked.

The old man said nothing. He merely shook his head with a bitter smile.

At this, the crowd revealed expressions of complete understanding.

Stories of a prodigal son turning back were fine to listen to, but one should not take them for reality.

Chen Feng gripped the treasured sword at his waist tightly. In three years, he had never been as furious as he was today.

It was not demons eating people that enraged him, but Lin Jun toying with people's hearts.

If he could not do it, why give them hope?

Did playing with people's hearts make you happy?!

He wanted nothing more than to cut Lin Jun down, but when he thought of his benefactor, his clenched hand slowly loosened again.

"Chen Feng, come with me."

"Yes..."

Chen Feng answered coldly.

The night was enchanting as Lin Jun brought Chen Feng to a blacksmith's shop.

"Lord Lin, here is the treasured saber you commissioned. Please have a look."

When the blacksmith shop owner saw Lin Jun arrive, he hurriedly brought out a saber.

It was over three chi long, with a guard over one chi long—a Miao saber bearing the silhouette of a horse-chopping saber.

The exact same model as Ding Xiu, the gentleman who charged extra.

Now that Lin Jun had mastered the Demon-Subduing Saber Art, he knew this kind of saber could bring out the art's power to the fullest.

He had waited twenty days: first, for news of demons; second, for the saber.

"Not bad. How much?"

The moment the saber settled into his hand, the instinct of an old bladesman told him it was no good. But in Green Forest County, he could not find anything better.

"How could I dare charge Master Lin for something you wanted? Consider it a gift for Master Lin."

The blacksmith shop owner fawned over him.

"Is there a sheath?"

"Yes, made from top-quality Flowing-Cloud Wood."

The blacksmith hurriedly took out the sheath and handed it to Lin Jun.

"Not bad. Thank you."

"Serving Master Lin is my blessing."

Lin Jun waved a hand and left with Chen Feng.

The blacksmith shop owner wiped the sweat from his forehead. Only after Lin Jun had completely disappeared did he dare let out a breath.

"Huff... huff, huff."

It hurt his heart. That was top-quality refined iron! He had not even had time to warm it in his hands before giving it to that bastard Lin.

Sigh, another year's work had gone down the drain.

The blacksmith plopped down onto a bench, only to feel something digging into his backside.

He stood up to look and saw that the bench was unexpectedly covered in gleaming silver.

Neither more nor less—exactly forty taels.

Precisely the price of that saber.

Clutching the silver, the blacksmith hurried outside, but there was no one there.

At that moment, Chen Feng was looking at Lin Jun with a strange expression.

He had seen with his own eyes how Lin Jun had used a technique too fast for him to follow to place the silver on that bench.

This fellow actually knew to pay?

They were now seated in a horse carriage. At this speed, they would reach Liu Family Ravine around midnight.

"Drive improperly, and your family will shed two lines of tears. Watch the road ahead—that's a pit!"

Chen Feng hurriedly corrected course, barely avoiding plunging into the pit.

Now he no longer dared look at Lin Jun.

"You... forget it."

"Once we reach Liu Family Ravine, don't try to show off. Stay behind me."

Lin Jun's actions had slightly changed Chen Feng's opinion of him.

Though he did not know why Lin Jun had changed, change was still a good thing.

"Mm, I will."

Lin Jun nodded and slowly oiled the saber beneath the moonlight.