Injustice at the Demon-Slaying Bureau

The sword tip fell like a drop of morning dew, giving nothing away.

It descended silently toward Xu Chunliang's chest.

Xu Chunliang, who had just been sticking out his backside and scratching his crotch, instantly tensed his legs. Thick, powerful muscles bulged like mounds.

He kicked off, blasting two washbasin-sized holes in the earthen kang beneath him.

Xu Chunliang leaped high backward and landed on a roof beam.

He opened his mouth, and his delicate, handsome face turned incomparably fierce, like a starving tiger descending a mountain!

Awooo!

Eerie Tiger Howls at the Heavens!

A deep, vibrating howl roared from Xu Chunliang's mouth.

The sound carried strange vibrations that ordinary people could not hear.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

At that moment, every neighbor's water jar in the three alleys to the front and back burst apart at once.

The black-clad figure with the rabbit head stared at Xu Chunliang in utter shock.

In his eyes, a bizarre tiger appeared behind Xu Chunliang, with three heads, one black, one yellow, and one white. Its body bore markings in three colors, and it had one red eye, one yellow eye, and one black eye.

It was looking at him as though he were food.

A tiger roared at a rabbit!

A soul-deep terror welled up in his heart.

Run!

The rabbit-headed figure made his decision without hesitation.

Facing Xu Chunliang, the figure tapped his feet lightly against the ground, spread his arms, and rapidly retreated backward.

He seemed weightless, drifting like a reed plume in the wind.

Awooo!

Another Eerie Tiger Howls at the Heavens!

The figure's body shuddered, and he landed on the ground. The shock in his eyes was even harder to conceal.

"What combat technique is that?"

Xu Chunliang pressed his advantage, angrily cursing, "That's for killing me more than a dozen times," words the figure couldn't understand.

With an Eerie Tiger Descends the Mountain, he pounced down from the beam.

The figure raised his sword to meet him, only to find that Xu Chunliang was incredibly fast,

the little brass knife in his hand like a tiger's fang, ready to claim a life,

and in an instant it plunged into the figure's chest, shredding his heart.

Rip!

Xu Chunliang thrust both hands into the figure's chest and tore him in half.

Black blood, dark as ink, poured down,

drenching Xu Chunliang until he was covered in black blood.

A flash of azure light flickered, and Xu Chunliang fell onto his back.

He slipped into a deep sleep...

When he woke again, he felt a thin, dried film covering his body and face.

He wiped a hand across his face

and peeled off a piece of black, crusted blood.

He stood before the battered bronze mirror and took a look at his terrifying reflection.

Xu Chunliang gave a cruel smile,

then went into the courtyard, drew water, and began washing himself.

Once he was clean and had changed into the fish-and-dragon uniform of a Demon-Slaying Bureau lesser flag officer,

Xu Chunliang was once again a promising young man of the Fan City Demon-Slaying Bureau.

Handsome and splendidly dressed.

He pulled over a bamboo chair and sat in the courtyard. As the gentle evening breeze blew, Xu Chunliang called up his panel.

Name: Xu Chunliang.

Age: 16.

Attribute points: 13.

Level: Transcending Mortality Grade+ (10 attribute points required to raise star and change to Star Transformation Grade)

Skill: Eerie Tiger Saber+ (beginner level)

Remaining rollback attempts: unlimited.

Current rollback point: today, while enjoying the breeze in the courtyard.

Xu Chunliang thought in shock:

"Thirteen attribute points?"

"That many?"

His Eerie Tiger Saber, improved with just six points, had killed the figure who had shown no openings. How could Xu Chunliang not understand how precious these attribute points were?

Mm, I shouldn't use them blindly yet. If someone else had a chance to level up, they'd rush to do it. But I don't have to.

This world is full of the bizarre. There's no telling when I'll run into something I can't resist. If everything is already settled, then once I fail, even if I can roll back, there'll be no way to turn things around.

For me, I should save these attribute points and use my rollback ability to gather all the information, carefully analyze it and reach a conclusion, then decide where to spend them.

That's the best way for me to develop.

Having thought it all through, Xu Chunliang stopped worrying about the attribute points and tucked the little brass knife into the back of his waistband.

He wrapped the Paper Ghost Face in a cloth bundle, tucked it into his robes, and headed for the Demon-Slaying Bureau.

When he arrived at the Demon-Slaying Bureau offices, he handed the Paper Ghost Face to the squad leader.

The squad leader, who had been dozing, immediately woke up and said:

"Hey!"

"It really is a Paper Ghost Face!"

"No wonder so many people went missing. I can finally give the flag officer an explanation."

"Not bad, Chunliang! You managed to kill a Transcending Mortality Grade Paper Ghost Face at such a young age. Very good!"

"Here, take these ten taels of silver. This is your material reward."

"Oh, right. You killed the Paper Ghost Face under my wise guidance and with the full support of Liu Jie's plan. So when we report it to the flag officer, the two of us will take the main credit. You don't mind, do you?"

The squad leader, Yu Ming, placed a dull gray, impurity-filled ingot of silver in front of Xu Chunliang as he spoke meaningfully.

If it had been the previous Xu Chunliang, he would certainly have meekly agreed,

naively believing that giving up his own interests would benefit everyone and make them all happy together.

But Xu Chunliang, who had been through Blue Star's most cutthroat rat race and seen countless workplace assholes, certainly didn't think that way.

With a smack, the little brass knife stabbed into the Paper Ghost Face, frightening Yu Ming into pulling back the hand he'd reached out toward it.

"Of course I mind!"

"You should be grateful I haven't taken you to task for using my life to explore the Bronze Sparrow Tower."

"And now you want to steal my credit?"

"You're even trying to fob me off with an ingot of silver full of impurities?"

"Yu Ming, I don't care if you want to suck up to Young Master Liu, but you can't harm my interests to suck up to someone else."

"Have I made myself clear enough?"

As soon as he finished speaking,

Xu Chunliang noticed that the rollback time on the panel was now marked at the moment before he had spoken.

Yu Ming stared at Xu Chunliang, his face red, unable to understand why this boy, usually so cowardly and foolish, had suddenly become so shrewd.

For a moment, he was at a loss.

Liu Jie, who had been sitting nearby, turning a copper coin over and over in his hand, stood up.

He looked coldly at Xu Chunliang and smiled disdainfully.

"Heh..."

"The little kitten is starting to show its claws."

"Fine."

Having said that, he said nothing more.

His fingertips kept rising and falling, making the copper coin roll back and forth across them without any sign of falling.

Just like that, he turned and left,

walking out of the Demon-Slaying Bureau offices.

Xu Chunliang shrugged indifferently, picked up the Paper Ghost Face, and found a shady spot in the office courtyard to sit and wait for work to end.

To his surprise, though, he discovered that nobody on the squad dared speak to him anymore.

Clearly, having offended that Young Master Liu Jie of unknown background, he was now being given a wide berth by the squad's lesser flag officers.

Not until noon, when the sun was at its fiercest and everyone had gone to take a nap,

did Shi Qin, the squad's nice guy and a big brother to the others, quietly come over to him along the wall.

Shi Qin looked around, and after making sure no one had seen him, whispered to Xu Chunliang:

"Brother Chunliang, you really offended that Young Master Liu badly today!"

"Listen to your big brother. Find a chance to apologize and kowtow to Young Master Liu in front of everyone, hand over the Paper Ghost Face, and give them a sum of silver. That's the only way you'll have a chance to live..."

"Sigh..."

"And don't feel too aggrieved. You're still young, with a long life ahead of you. There's no need to lose your life over a moment of anger."