Taking His Subordinates on a Mission
Lu Feng carried Chen Hu back to his residence, placed him on the bed, and placed his palms on Chen Hu's back, slowly channeling his Nei Jin into him.
Chen Hu's internal injuries were more severe than he had anticipated.
He directly absorbed most of the shockwave from the self-destruction of the ten Jin Burst Pill.
All the internal organs suffered varying degrees of shock damage, with the most severe damage to the lung vessels, which had developed fine cracks.
He circulated his Nei Jin, gradually catalyzing the medicinal effects and delivering them along the meridians to every damaged area.
More than an hour passed before Lu Feng withdrew his palms.
Chen Hu's breathing calmed down, and a trace of color finally returned to his face.
He didn't leave; he sat down on a chair by the bed and closed his eyes to rest.
Chen Hu didn't slowly open his eyes until the next morning.
"Don't move."
Lu Feng pressed down on his shoulder, which he was trying to prop up.
"Your external injuries are manageable, but your internal organs are severely damaged. You must not exert yourself for a month, otherwise your meridians will suffer permanent damage. At that point, forget about revenge, you'll even have trouble wielding a knife."
Chen Hu opened his mouth, but only managed to utter two words: "Thank you."
"Have a good rest."
Lu Feng stayed here for the next few days.
During the day, he would use his internal energy to heal Chen Hu's injuries, and at night he would sit in meditation on the chair by the bed to rest his mind.
Chen Hu was in good physical condition, and his injuries improved day by day. By the third day, he was able to get out of bed and walk around on his own, and by the fourth day, he could slowly stretch his muscles and bones in the yard.
On this day, Xiaolian came to visit.
She stood at the courtyard gate, holding a roster in her hand, and waved to Lu Feng:
"Lu Feng, your demon-slaying guards have been assigned. Besides Chen Hu, you've been given three more. They're already waiting for you in the square of the Commandant's Mansion. Come with me to meet them."
Lu Feng exchanged a few words with Chen Hu, then followed Xiaolian toward the Captain's residence.
"We're short-staffed right now; many demon slayers are short of men, so we can only assign you four for now," Xiaolian said as they walked.
"We'll make it up to you when new people join."
"Thank you for your trouble, Xiaolian. These few people are enough."
For Lu Feng, the number of people didn't really matter.
He mostly acts alone; the Demon Slayer Guard is only useful when coordinating with group missions.
Three women stood in a row in the square of the Commandant's Mansion.
They were all around eighteen or nineteen years old, dressed in brand-new demon-slaying guard uniforms, with tokens at their waists that looked like they had just been engraved recently.
All three were at the Early Ming Jin of Ming Jin cultivation, their auras still showing signs of immaturity, clearly indicating that they were newcomers who had only recently broken through.
Xiaolian handed the person over to Lu Feng and then left in a hurry.
The affairs of the Commandant's Office are numerous and complicated, and the fact that she personally made this trip is already an extraordinary act of consideration.
Lu Feng glanced at the three of them and said:
Let me introduce myself.
The woman standing on the far left spoke first, her voice crisp and clear. "Lin Miao."
The person in the middle then said, "Zhao Hong."
The round-faced girl on the far right blinked her big eyes, her voice louder than the previous two combined. "Su Qiaoqiao!"
Three people, three names, and that was all.
"Don't be so nervous."
"You should already know me. Besides the three of you, there's another person named Chen Hu who's recovering from his injuries. You'll see him in a few days."
He paused, then asked, "Have you done any missions?"
All three shook their heads.
"Alright then. We'll meet here again first thing tomorrow morning. I'll take you to slay some demonic beasts and see how strong you are."
Su Qiaoqiao's big eyes lit up. "Is there a mission that requires our cooperation?"
During her time at the Demon-Slaying Bureau, she had heard from other Demon Slayers that after being assigned to a Demon Slayer's unit, they mostly did their own tasks.
The Demon Slayer only gathers people to act when needed.
"I'm just showing you around!"
On the one hand, Lu Feng neglected his subordinates as soon as they were assigned to him, which was indeed not a good thing.
On the other hand, he could also kill demonic beasts and collect their essence and blood.
The first level of the Hundred Beasts Body-Tempering Art requires the essence blood of ten first-tier demonic beasts, and there isn't even one yet.
"You can discuss it first and take on some tasks yourselves. Just meet on time tomorrow." He waved his hand, turned, and left.
Only three people remained in the square.
Watching Lu Feng's retreating figure, Su Qiaoqiao couldn't help but say:
"Our adult here is quite nice; he actually led us out to slay monsters himself."
"I heard he was only promoted to Demon Slayer a few days ago."
Zhao Hong tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, her tone indifferent.
"He's so proactive in mentoring newcomers, probably because he's afraid we'll leave. It wouldn't look good if he didn't have anyone under him."
"Zhao Hong, haven't we just become demon-slaying guards ourselves?"
Su Qiaoqiao retorted, her round face full of indignation.
"It's already very good to meet someone like you, Lin Miao. Don't you think so?"
Lin Miao nodded. "In any case, this is a good opportunity to gain merit points. Let's go to the Merit Hall and see if there are any suitable missions."
"You all go ahead, I'm going back to cultivate."
After Zhao Hong finished speaking, she turned and left without waiting for their reply.
"Zhao Hong! Sigh." Lin Miao sighed and said nothing more.
"Never mind her, let's go ourselves." Su Qiaoqiao grabbed Lin Miao's hand and ran towards the Merit Hall.
Lu Feng returned to his cave and collapsed onto the bed.
These past few days, taking care of Chen Hu, though outwardly it's not apparent, has actually taken a toll on my Nei Jin from continuously outputting it to heal him.
He closed his eyes, thought of nothing, and fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning, when Lu Feng arrived at the square, Lin Miao and the other two were already waiting there.
"Greetings, Your Excellency." The three bowed in unison.
Have you accepted the mission?
"We accepted! We accepted the mission to go to Black Forest Mountain to slay a first-tier snake demon," Su Qiaoqiao answered eagerly.
"Let's go then."
Black Forest Mountain is 120 li west of Jinguan City. At the speed of Lin Miao and her companions, they arrived at the foot of the mountain in less than an hour.
Black Forest Mountain is divided into an outer perimeter and an inner perimeter.
The outer area is mostly inhabited by first-tier demonic beasts, which are numerous but not very strong, making it the area where the demon-slaying guards most frequently operate.
The inner perimeter is frequented by many second-tier demonic beasts, and occasionally even third-tier demonic beasts. Ordinary demon-slaying guards dare not set foot there.
Not long after entering the mountains, we encountered several groups of colleagues, walking in twos and threes.
Upon seeing Lu Feng in his demon-slaying attire, they all nodded in greeting from a distance and then kept their distance.
The difference in status between Demon Slayers and Demon Slayer Guards is evident in these details.
After walking for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a rustling sound came from the bushes ahead.
A grayish-brown rabbit demon was gnawing on tree roots with its head down, its two long ears twitching, completely unaware that someone was approaching.
A first-tier rabbit demon. It's at the very bottom of the demonic beast hierarchy, and its combat power isn't much stronger than that of a low-level demon that hasn't even reached a tier yet.
"I'll do it!"
Su Qiaoqiao drew her longsword and rushed forward with light steps.
Her swordsmanship was fairly standard, and she chose good angles for her strikes. After seven or eight moves, she severed the rabbit demon's head.
She ran back carrying the rabbit head, her face beaming with excitement.
"Qiaoqiao, you're amazing! It's my turn next time," Lin Miao said from the side.
"The rabbit demon isn't very strong, and its defense is weak too. It's not a big deal to kill it."
Su Qiaoqiao waved her hand, but she couldn't suppress the smile on her lips.