Turns Out I'm the Real Monster?!

Just as Jiang Mu hesitated, he caught a glimpse of the folding screen out of the corner of his eye.

The beautiful skin, which had just been peeled off and was hanging limply on the screen, had somehow propped open its empty, drooping eyelids and was staring straight at him.

Shit!

A chill ran down Jiang Mu’s spine.

Without any hesitation, he decisively activated Instant Teleportation.

SWISH!

A spatial fluctuation flashed for a moment, and his figure vanished into thin air.

At almost the exact same moment he disappeared, the door to the room burst open with a BANG.

A red shadow, wrapped in a menacing aura, shot out like a phantom, moving so fast it left an afterimage in the air.

The ground, walls, and even the corridor pillars were all covered in crawling red lines.

The red lines twisted and writhed.

Upon closer inspection, they were countless small, venomous snakes, all tangled together.

The faceless woman stood under the eaves of the corridor.

Her smooth face turned slightly, as if sensing something.

"Hm?"

’Did I sense it wrong?’

Her maidservant hurried over and asked in confusion, "Madam, what is it?"

"Go investigate outside."

The woman’s voice was muffled, as if it came from deep within her belly.

"Yes!"

The maidservant accepted the order and darted out of the courtyard.

...

「Outside the alley.」

Jiang Mu’s figure materialized at the anchor point of Demon Shadow Number One.

He didn’t dare to linger for even a second. As if the wind was at his heels, he sprinted directly toward the nearest Third Hall Government Office.

’Tier Five!’

’It’s definitely a Great Demon of Tier Five or higher!’

Jiang Mu’s heart was pounding in his chest.

He couldn’t beat a Demon of that level, not even with the Protective Talisman Ran Qingshan had given him.

There was no need to waste his life-saving trump card.

Whether the creature had noticed him or would give chase didn’t matter. The most important thing now was to find an expert to slay it.

And the only person nearby capable of slaying it was the Third Hall’s Hall Master, Wen He.

They might not see eye to eye, and they might have their conflicts, but the man’s strength was undeniable. When it came to a matter of principle like slaying demons, Jiang Mu knew his priorities.

Besides, this was Master Wen’s jurisdiction to begin with.

According to the Demon-slaying Bureau’s regulations, if a Demon was discovered in another’s jurisdiction, one was obligated to inform them.

Soon, he reached the Third Hall Government Office.

"Who goes there?!"

Two guards on night watch drew their blades with a furious shout, blocking his path.

Jiang Mu ripped the black cloth from his face.

"It’s me, Jiang Chen. I have urgent business with your Master Wen He. Take me to him, now!"

The two guards recognized him and exchanged glances.

Of course they knew Jiang Mu; they would recognize him even if he were turned to ash.

After all, the name "Jiang Chen" had become an enemy that every member of the Third Hall was required to remember.

It was written down in everyone’s little black book.

’This enemy shows up in the middle of the night, dressed in infiltration gear, demanding to see the Hall Master by name. Is he insane?’

One of them, his face cold, sheathed his blade but did not release the hilt.

"My apologies, Master Jiang, but Master Wen is not in the Government Office tonight."

"Not here?"

Jiang Mu’s brow furrowed. "Then who’s in charge? Is it Wang Ershang? Go get him. I have an extremely urgent report about a Demon!"

’A Demon report?’

Although the two guards were annoyed, they were, after all, professionally trained. Seeing Jiang Mu’s grave expression, which didn’t seem feigned, they didn’t dare to delay.

One of them quickly ran inside to report.

A moment later, Wang Ershang, hastily throwing on an outer coat, rushed out.

When he saw Jiang Mu dressed in infiltration gear, his expression turned ugly. "Master Jiang, are you saying there’s a Demon here?"

Having an arch-rival show up in the middle of the night to boss them around, claiming there was a Demon on their own turf, was a complete slap in the face to the Third Hall.

Jiang Mu couldn’t be bothered with his feelings and said directly,

"Gather everyone you have at the Fourth Realm and above. Also, send someone to get Master Wen He. This Demon’s Cultivation Level is very high; it can’t be underestimated."

"Where is the Demon?"

Wang Ershang’s brow furrowed into a deep knot.

Jiang Mu didn’t hide it and gave him the address.

Wang Ershang’s gaze was suspicious. "Master Jiang, how did you know there was a Demon at that location?"

Jiang Mu said,

"I received a report, but I wasn’t sure about it, so I went to check. After sneaking into her house, I confirmed that she is indeed a Demon. I came to notify you since this is the Third Hall’s territory."

Wang Ershang asked again, "What is the Demon’s approximate Cultivation Level?"

"I’m not sure, but it’s high. At least around Tier Five. We can’t do this without Master Wen. Hurry up and send someone to get him."

Jiang Mu urged.

But Wang Ershang stood rooted to the spot, his tone cold.

"Lord Jiang, the address you mentioned is an area we patrol heavily. My men are on patrol there every day. If there really was a Tier Five Great Demon, how could we possibly not have noticed?

You claim to have seen it yourself, but I’m afraid your eyes were playing tricks on you. Please go back. The Third Hall won’t trouble you with our affairs."

Jiang Mu’s expression instantly turned cold.

Although he was one to hold a grudge, he also knew how to prioritize.

Wang Ershang was clearly letting his emotions dictate his actions.

"Fine. In any case, I’ve notified you."

Jiang Mu didn’t stoop to explaining further and turned to leave.

He would inform Ran Qingshan back at the Bureau.

’Now that I’ve found a Demon, I can’t just ignore it. I still need to get a charge out of it for my hack.’

Watching Jiang Mu’s figure disappear around the street corner, the guard at the gate asked in a low voice, "Mr. Wang, are you sure there’s no problem?"

Wang Ershang’s cold expression vanished, replaced by a grave one.

"Jiang Chen may be an asshole, but he’s not an idiot. For him to come report this in the middle of the night, there’s an eighty percent chance there’s a Demon at that location."

His colleague was stunned. "Then why did you just...?"

Wang Ershang snorted coldly.

"Hasn’t our Third Hall lost enough face already? He stole our credit and beat up our people.

If we have to rely on him bossing us around again, or even let him lead us to slay the Demon, will the Third Hall ever be able to hold its head high again?

This credit must be ours—discovered by us, slain by us. It has nothing to do with him, Jiang Chen!"

His colleague had a sudden realization.

Wang Ershang said, "I’ll gather our men right now. We’ll investigate first."

"Aren’t you going to notify the Hall Master? Master Jiang said the Demon might be Tier Five or higher."

His colleague was a little worried.

"You actually believe a word that comes out of his mouth?"

Wang Ershang sneered,

"Think about it. If it were really a Tier Five Great Demon, could Jiang Chen, with his Cultivation Level of a newly-ascended Third Realm, have escaped unscathed?

He was impressive for being able to injure so many of you by himself before, but that was against opponents in the same realm. He just recently entered the Third Realm; how could he possibly escape from a Tier Five Demon.

My guess is that Demon is Tier Four at most. I’ll take a few of our hall’s best men. That should be enough to handle it."

"That does make sense."

The colleague nodded, completely convinced.

Wang Ershang delayed no longer and turned to gather his men.

...

Meanwhile, Jiang Mu was hurrying along the long street toward the main Demon-slaying Bureau headquarters.

Halfway there, as he passed by a tavern, a cold, familiar voice suddenly called out to him,

"Jiang Chen?"

Jiang Mu froze and turned his head to look.

Under a willow tree by the street stood a familiar, tall figure.

The moonlight, like liquid silver, poured down upon her.

It was Patrol Envoy Ling Ye.

"Lord Patrol Envoy?!"

Jiang Mu’s eyes lit up, and he hurried forward.

As he got closer, Jiang Mu caught the faint scent of alcohol on her.

What was even stranger was that she was somehow holding three large watermelons in her arms.

Oh, wait.

He was mistaken.

She was only holding one watermelon.

As for the other two... those were her own.

It was so dark, it was an easy mistake to make.