I Am Human!

The moon hung high, the stars sparse, while a cool breeze drifted by.

The youth rode with a saber across his saddle, a bulging pack on his back, hurrying along the Official Road.

Luo Chen looked up at the sky, his brow gradually furrowing.

"It's too late. I remember there's a relay station not far ahead."

He muttered to himself.

Before long, scattered points of light gradually appeared ahead on the road.

A wooden house encircled by a pipa-shaped fence came into view.

Candlelight filtered through the curtains, casting a faint orange-yellow glow.

Luo Chen swung down from his horse. Without taking off the bundle on his back, he pushed open the door and walked straight inside.

The relay station was not large, yet there were more than a dozen travel-worn people passing through.

When Luo Chen entered, he saw three carriages parked outside the door. They were presumably merchants on the road.

Looking around, he found that the station was divided into three groups.

Although each group sat together eating and drinking, it was not hard to see that they were all wary of one another.

The instant Luo Chen appeared, the noise within the relay station paused for a moment.

When everyone saw that the newcomer was merely a youth, they visibly relaxed.

Luo Chen quietly assessed them and had already formed a rough judgment.

He gave an instruction to the waiter approaching him with his back bent, then found an empty seat and sat down on his own.

He gently poured himself a cup of warm tea and drank in silence.

"Heh, the Official Roads around the big cities are still safe. Demon Suppressing Guards patrol them every day."

"Poor Little Five and Little Eight. They died on the road."

"Damn it, this journey was nine deaths and one life. If we hadn't run into that lord, we'd probably have all died in the mouths of Demonic Beasts."

The group of seven or eight people looked like escort guards. As they spoke, indignation showed on their faces.

The lead escort put down his bowl and chopsticks and spoke softly.

"Don't make a fuss. Once we reach Qingyuan City and finish this job, our silver will double."

"Haha, the chief is generous! Tomorrow, once we enter the city, we'll go have some fun at Spring Garden Pavilion."

The escort guards burst into laughter.

They had escaped death during the day. Now that they were safe, their taut nerves needed release.

"Customer, one jin of beef and five steamed white-flour buns. Please enjoy."

The waiter delivered Luo Chen's food.

Luo Chen picked up a piece of beef and began devouring it.

Suddenly, his ear twitched. Someone had arrived.

A middle-aged man stepped into the relay station.

Luo Chen raised his head and glanced at him before lowering it again to continue eating.

The middle-aged man's arrival did not draw much attention.

After eating and drinking his fill, Luo Chen wiped the corner of his mouth, picked up his saber, left behind some silver, and headed outside.

Seeing Luo Chen's actions, the leader of the escort party could not help calling out a reminder.

Seeing that Luo Chen was young and alone, he assumed the youth lacked experience and thus spoke up.

"Young hero, although the Demon Suppression Bureau patrols and clears this Official Road every day, you shouldn't travel alone at night."

"Thank you." Luo Chen turned around with a faint smile and cupped his fist toward the man.

But he did not stop walking.

"Sigh, Brother, why bother with him? Good words cannot persuade a ghost bent on dying."

One of the escort guards watched Luo Chen's retreating back and spoke carelessly.

Though the escort guards spoke and ate with apparent ease, they had never truly lowered their guard.

In this world of Demonic Beasts, those who traveled far and wide were never far from death once they lost their vigilance.

While everyone spoke in low voices, the middle-aged man who had entered last curled his lips into a strange smile, then rose and headed outside as well.

The lead escort's expression slowly turned grave as he secretly sensed that something was wrong.

He instinctively looked toward the old shopkeeper dozing behind the counter, only to see that the man made no move at all.

Anyone who could open a relay station on an Official Road had to possess both backing and strength.

"Grab your weapons, in case we get caught in the crossfire."

"Big Brother? Those two?"

"I don't know, but..."

The lead escort did not finish his sentence. He merely shook his head to himself.

Under cover of night.

Luo Chen urged his horse onward, hoping to return to the city before the latter half of the night arrived.

Sparse moonlight spilled down as shadows of trees swayed all around him.

Once he was far from the relay station, Luo Chen suddenly stopped and turned his head toward the woods beside the road.

"Who are you?"

He had long noticed that, from the moment this man entered the inn, he had made no attempt to hide his hostility toward him.

Yet Luo Chen did not remember ever having any Interaction with this person.

"Luo Chen, reserve member of the Demon Suppression Bureau!"

A low voice came from the woods. The middle-aged man clapped his hands, a trace of mockery in his eyes.

"Did Li Tiankui send you?"

Luo Chen's tone grew solemn. He did not probe further and asked directly.

The man could name his background at a glance, so he had clearly come specifically for him.

There was no escaping this.

Within the Demon Suppression Bureau, Li Tiankui was the only person with whom he might have a grudge.

But hadn't Uncle Liu said Li Tiankui would not go so far as to make a move against him?

"Li Tiankui? Yes, yes, yes. Lord Li wants your life!"

The middle-aged man burst into laughter, and his figure suddenly vanished.

Luo Chen vaulted from horseback, flung the bundle from his back aside, and drew his saber.

Shouyang Demon Suppressing Blade!

The power of his blood and qi erupted, and saber light rose like the morning sun.

Terrifying strength flooded into the blade, revealing the power of an early Bone Forging martial artist.

The middle-aged man neither dodged nor evaded. A terrifying wave of blood rippled outward from his body, making the earth tremble and trees collapse wherever it reached.

As the saber struck the blood wave, Luo Chen was blasted back by immense force. He twisted his body in midair, only barely stabilizing himself.

"You're not human!"

Luo Chen's voice became increasingly grave.

The Demonic Beasts he had seen before all possessed intelligence and could speak human words.

But their outward forms could not be concealed.

Yet this Demonic Beast showed no trace of anything unusual in appearance.

He truly looked like a living human.

What realm would a Demonic Beast need to reach to accomplish that?

Yet judging from the other party's performance just now, his strength was no more than that of an ordinary Bone Forging martial artist.

"I am human! Brat, hand over your life!"

The middle-aged man flashed forward at extreme speed, charging toward Luo Chen with a longsword appearing in his hand.

As the sword blade whipped through the air, it seemed to make the sound of bones grinding against one another.

It was a Bone Sword, seemingly formed from some creature's spine. As it moved, its Spine Bone Sword body stretched longer, like a long whip.

Luo Chen barely managed to fend it off, but his heart grew colder and colder.

If Li Tiankui truly wanted him dead and had even gone so far as to employ a Demonic Beast...

No. The Demonic Beast's words were riddled with holes and could not withstand scrutiny.

Luo Chen stopped thinking. With one step, the ground within ten meters instantly collapsed, cracks spreading like a spiderweb.

The bones throughout his body gleamed brilliantly, and his blood and qi surged.

He had run out of patience. Having confirmed that there was only this one Demonic Beast, he no longer held anything back.

This slash contained tens of thousands of jin of force. Terrifying blood and qi shot into the sky, illuminating a stretch of smoke and dust.

In the blink of an eye, offense and defense changed places.

The middle-aged man's expression changed drastically as he cried out.

"You have no martial virtue!"

The instant those words fell, the Demonic Beast retreated at high speed, but it was already too late.

Luo Chen's eruption had been far too sudden.

The moment the Spine Bone Sword collided with Luo Chen's Demon Slaying Blade, both shattered, unable to withstand the force of the blow.

Luo Chen threw a punch, unleashing terrifying gale-force energy that twisted the air around him.

Crack.

His chest was pierced through. There was no blood, no scream.