Supreme Sword Exalt

Ah Yin was indeed the demoness. That day, after she returned to the village with the old man, she used the last of her cultivation to slightly alter the memories of the villagers. Then, she settled down here, living the life she had always longed for but had never experienced.

Cold Mountain, the demoness... Gu Han showed a trace of confusion. He vaguely understood why his human tribulation was so special and had landed him here.

The demoness frowned slightly and gave him another flick on the head, saying angrily, “Hurry! Call me sister!”

“... Sister.”

It was as if he was acting under some strange impulse.

The demoness was overjoyed. A smile blossomed on her face, her eyes curving into two crescent moons. “How good.”

Gu Han smiled back. He stopped worrying about the Human Tribulation, feeling that seeing her again was worth every trial. A beauty’s smile brought a hundred charms to life.

Although her current appearance could not compare to those Holy Maidens and Holy Sons in the cultivation world, she was as beautiful as a celestial being to the mountain people, who had lived in Cold Mountain for generations. All the young men blushed at the sight of her, not daring to meet her eyes.

Beside them, Da Zhuang sighed, feeling a bit jealous. “Sister Ah Yin is so beautiful!”

In his memory, Sister Ah Yin had never been so affectionate with anyone before.

Er Zhuang was also jealous. “Exactly. Look, Brother Gu’s eyes are glued to her.”

"You don’t understand, there’s a saying... ahem, a good man is also a man. Besides, no man could resist looking at someone as beautiful as Sister Ah Yin!”

Er Zhuang stared at him with admiration. “Brother, you know so much!”

“Obviously, that’s why I’m your older brother!”

Er Pang stared at Gu Han with envy. “If anyone could marry Sister Ah Yin, it would truly be a great fortune.”

They were simple by nature, so they had no bad intentions. Although they felt a bit jealous, they still thought only someone as outstanding and capable as Gu Han could match their goddess.

The demoness blushed slightly as she sneakily glanced at Gu Han. “Da Zhuang, Er Zhuang, what nonsense are you talking about?!”

Just then, Uncle Wang led a crowd of elderly, weak, women, and children around Gu Han. Everyone showed admiration and gratitude, bringing all kinds of things: dried meat, fruits, flatbreads... Well, most of it was food.

Gu Han was stunned. “What’s this for?”

An old man walked out, trembling. “Good man, you killed the Mountain Lord and avenged my son. I have nothing to repay you with... Please, you must accept this!”

He presented a piece of black dried meat that seemed to have been stored for a long time.

Following that, a middle-aged woman also tearfully handed over a handful of fruits. “Good man, my two brothers were both eaten by the Mountain Lord. You killed it and even gave us its corpse. We have no way to repay you. You must accept these things!”

The fruits were still green, clearly just picked and not yet ripe.

The crowd stepped forward one after another with sincerity and reverence.

“Yes, please accept them!”

“Thank you for avenging our loved ones, kind man!”

“We’re too poor. We don’t have anything of value. Please don’t look down on these, good man.”

Following that, someone weakly called out, “Big brother!”

Struggling out from the crowd, a little girl knelt before Gu Han with a black flatbread.

Her feet were bare and her hair was disheveled. She appeared to be only four or five years old. Even her clothes seemed worn out and full of holes. Due to a long-term lack of food, she was exceptionally small and thin. Her face was dark, hiding her original features.

She looked at the flatbread, swallowed her saliva, but still firmly held it out to Gu Han. “Thank you for avenging my parents!”

Gu Han’s heart ached. He used his intact left hand to help her up and said softly, “There’s no need for that. I’m not hungry. You eat it.”

However, the little girl was very insistent.

Uncle Wang sighed and explained. The little girl was called Ah Nan. Half a year ago, her parents went up the mountain to gather herbs and encountered the Mountain Lord while it was hunting for food. Only a bloodstained piece of clothing and a few hairs were left behind.

For such a long time, if not for the kindness of the villagers, the orphaned girl would probably have starved to death long ago. However, the villagers lived in hardship and could not spare much food for her. It was common for the girl to skip meals in a row.

The demoness came to his side and said softly, “Accept them. These are the most precious things they have.”

Gu Han hesitated for a moment and nodded. “Alright...”

The villagers were simple, kind, and pure of heart. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Gu Han had helped them. They were all willing to give their most precious things to repay him. Though deception and conflict were rampant in the cultivation world, Gu Han felt a completely different atmosphere in this small village. Even though they lived in obscurity and poverty, they had never lost kindness and sincerity.

He glanced at the demoness. Maybe, this is the life she had always longed for?

Very quickly, a pile of things accumulated in front of Gu Han. Ah Nan stood on her tiptoe, painstakingly stuffing the flatbread into his hand. Then, with a gulp, she prepared to leave.

The demoness picked her up instead. “Ah Nan, don’t leave yet. Wait for grandfather to come back, and I will make you some fish soup to drink.”

Ah Nan’s eyes instantly lit up as her saliva subconsciously dripped down. “Thank you, Sister Ah Yin!”

For the past half month, every few days she could drink a bowl of delicious fish soup. This was almost unimaginable before. Not just her, but even Da Zhuang and Er Zhuang couldn’t help but gulp when they heard the words “fish soup.”

Gu Han sighed. “Uncle Wang, distribute the Mountain Lord’s meat to everyone.”

It was safe for him to assume that these villagers probably hadn’t tasted meat in a long time.

Uncle Wang hesitated a bit. “Well...”

They themselves couldn’t bear to eat this Mountain Lord. Every part of the beast was precious. If taken to a large village far away, they could trade for better weapons and arrows for the hunting team. And for Wangxiang Village, the stronger the hunting team, the safer their village would be.

Gu Han smiled while quietly hiding his right arm behind his back. “Distribute it. It’s just a Mountain Lord. It’s nothing for me. Since I can kill one, I can kill another!”

Uncle Wang reluctantly agreed. “Alright!”

After all, Gu Han had killed the Mountain Lord, so he had the right to distribute it.

Ah Nan was incredibly excited, her thin arms raised high. “Yay! We get to eat meat! Thank you, Big Brother!”

The crowd also became excited, thanking Gu Han profusely. Many women secretly wiped away tears. Finally, they could let their children eat meat.

Da Zhuang grabbed Gu Han’s right arm, raised it high, and shouted excitedly, “Look! With fists like Brother Gu’s, even if ten or eight Mountain Lords came, he could kill them all with one punch!”

Ah Nan gazed at him with admiration. “Such big fists!”

The crowd of villagers also secretly sighed. Indeed! A good man was a good man! Even his fists were two sizes bigger than an ordinary person’s!

Gu Han’s forehead sweated from the pain as he sucked in a cold breath, almost kicking Da Zhuang flying.

Uncle Wang beat him to the punch, hitting Da Zhuang half to death. “Get lost!”

***

After some roughhousing, the villagers crowded together to carry the Mountain Lord’s corpse to Uncle Wang’s house. After all, the Mountain Lord was huge, and only an experienced hand like him knew how to butcher it.

The demoness put Ah Nan down. “Go on. Eat some meat first, then come back for soup. I still have something to give you.”

Ah Nan wiped her saliva and ran off on her two short legs. “Thank you, Sister Ah Yin! Thank you, Big Brother!”

At this point, only Gu Han and the demoness remained.

They both asked at the same time, “How did you—”

The demoness laughed again. A gentle breeze blew, tousling her hair. Although her appearance was far inferior to before, there was a unique, touching charm about her.

She winked playfully at Gu Han. “My name is Mo Chenyin. And you?”

Gu Han was stunned for a moment, then understood what she was doing. “My name is Gu Han! You finally chose to be yourself again, Sister Mo...”