Turns Out I'm the Real Monster?!

The Pig Demon stared at its companion’s bisected corpse, its mind going blank for a second.

The next moment, a monstrous rage erupted.

"You bastard, you dare!?"

It let out a deafening roar. Its thick right arm, wreathed in a foul wind, shot a fist straight at Jiang Mu’s face.

Before the fist even arrived, the violent Demonic Qi made the air crackle and pop.

If this punch landed, it would smash not just a human head but even solid rock to smithereens.

Jiang Mu’s footwork shifted with an uncanny twist.

He slid sideways like a phantom, effortlessly evading the blow.

"Too slow."

Jiang Mu swung the blood-red blade in his hand.

The blade flashed like a crimson crescent moon in a diagonal, upward slash.

"SCHLICK!"

A thick arm, covered in stiff bristles, was severed at the shoulder and sent flying high into the air.

"AARGH!!"

The Pig Demon shrieked in agony, clutching its stump as it staggered backward, its scarlet eyes filled with terror.

’Third Realm?’

’This is the fucking Third Realm!?’

’Run!’

Fear crushed its anger. The Pig Demon lost all will to fight and turned to flee.

Jiang Mu thrust his long blade forward.

"THWUMP!"

The blade’s tip pierced the Pig Demon’s meaty rump, ran through its innards, and burst straight out of its snout.

The Pig Demon’s body went rigid, and a gurgling sound came from its throat.

It seemed to want to turn and see what had happened, but it lacked the strength to even move its neck.

With an expressionless face, Jiang Mu twisted his wrist and yanked the blade free.

A fountain of blood gushed out like a waterfall.

Immediately after, the blade flashed again!

A pig’s head flew through the air and rolled into a pool of blood, its face frozen in an expression of pain and confusion.

Its headless body collapsed.

After a few twitches, its Demonic Qi dissipated, and it reverted to its true form.

It was a black-bristled wild boar.

Jiang Mu wiped the blood from his blade, sliced open the two Demons’ corpses, and removed their Demon Pills. He then skillfully absorbed the Demonic Qi.

A new Demon Shadow materialized next to the Demon Slot.

It belonged to the Fox Demon.

’No Pig Demon Shadow... So it really is just a chance.’

Jiang Mu put away the Demon Pills and reached out to touch the fox’s Demon Shadow.

The moment his fingertip made contact, the Demon Shadow rippled like water, and a stream of information flooded into his mind.

’Fox Voice?’

A peculiar look crossed Jiang Mu’s face.

The Fox Demon’s Shadow granted the ability to perfectly imitate another person’s voice.

’A rather niche skill, I suppose.’

Jiang Mu didn’t pay it much mind and continued to search the corpse.

He quickly found a bundle.

Opening it, he found a bag of Sound Stones, more than a dozen of them.

Jiang Mu touched each one, listening to its contents.

Three of them contained recordings of his "pillow talk" with Madam Shen.

The others contained unfamiliar voices, all filled with flirtatious whispers.

’This woman certainly has a lot of lovers.’

Jiang Mu clicked his tongue in amazement and put the Sound Stones away.

He stepped over the Demon corpses and entered the house to search carefully for any other copies.

But judging by the ransacked state of the room, the Pig Demon had clearly searched it already.

Just then, the sound of urgent footsteps and shouts came from outside the courtyard:

"Seal the front and back doors!"

"Hurry! Move it!"

Jiang Mu’s expression shifted. He sheathed his long blade and walked out of the house.

The courtyard gate was already guarded by several Demon Slayer Envoys, led by a grim-faced, middle-aged man.

This was Yan Fenghuo, the Hall Master of the Demon-slaying Bureau’s Fourth Hall.

He also had the highest Cultivation Level among the eight Hall Masters in the Hu State Demon-slaying Bureau.

He had a nickname in the Bureau: "Desperate Yama."

His investigative style was so aggressive and reckless that the attrition rate for the Demon Slayer Envoys under his command was perennially the highest in the Bureau. Few dared to join his hall.

When they saw Jiang Mu walk out of the house, everyone in the courtyard was stunned.

"Master Jiang?"

Yan Fenghuo’s eyes narrowed, a flash of suspicion in them. "What are you doing here?"

Jiang Mu’s expression was calm.

"I received a tip from a concerned citizen that Demons were on a rampage here, so I came to investigate. Unfortunately... I was a step too late. The residents were already dead, and only these two beasts remained."

He stepped aside, revealing the Demon corpses behind him.

When Yan Fenghuo saw the two Demon corpses that had reverted to their true forms, his pupils contracted slightly.

He asked coldly, "Who was the informant?"

Jiang Mu said, "A concerned citizen. I don’t know who, specifically. If you have questions, you can ask the Lord Chief."

Yan Fenghuo went inside, glanced at the gruesome scene, and then fixed his gaze on Jiang Mu again.

"These two Demons... you killed them both?"

"I did."

Jiang Mu met his gaze. "Is there a problem?"

After a pause, he retorted:

"If I recall correctly, this area falls under Master Xu Fu’s jurisdiction. Why is Master Yan here?"

Yan Fenghuo said coldly,

"The Bureau’s main prison was attacked. Shen Wanhai is dead. The Lord Chief ordered me to investigate."

Jiang Mu was inwardly shocked.

He had just learned of this from the Pig Demon, but he hadn’t expected the mastermind to be so brazen.

’To dare break into the Demon-slaying Bureau’s prison and commit murder...’

’How high must their Cultivation Level be?’

’This is a complete slap in the face to the Lord Chief, and it makes me look like a fool!’

As they were speaking, Xu Fu arrived with a team, panting.

When he saw the scene in the courtyard and the standoff between the two men, he froze for a moment before looking at Jiang Mu.

"Master Jiang? What are you doing here?"

Jiang Mu briefly recounted what had happened and asked, "Have you caught the Demon that killed Shen Wanhai?"

Xu Fu’s expression was grim. He shook his head.

"No, that Demon is too cunning. The four gates of Hu State are now sealed, and the Lord Chief has ordered a thorough search. But I suspect their methods are extraordinary; they’ve likely already escaped the city."

Jiang Mu said, "In that case, I’ll return to the Government Office and gather my men to assist with the search."

"Hold on!"

Suddenly, Yan Fenghuo’s voice cut in. His sharp gaze locked onto Jiang Mu. "Leaving so soon, Master Jiang? Don’t you think you owe us a reasonable explanation?"

Jiang Mu stopped and turned around. "Explain what?"

Yan Fenghuo’s tone was accusatory.

"We had just discovered Shen Wanhai’s collusion with Demons when his entire family was slaughtered. Even the two Demons who came to clean up the mess are now dead.

Master Jiang... isn’t your appearance here a little too convenient?"

Jiang Mu smiled. "Are you implying, Master Yan, that I’m silencing Demons?"

"Whether you’re silencing people or silencing Demons..."

Yan Fenghuo took a step closer. "...you should know better than anyone, Master Jiang."

The atmosphere in the courtyard grew taut, charged with tension.

Seeing things were about to escalate, Xu Fu quickly stepped in to mediate:

"Old Yan, watch what you say! How could Master Jiang collude with Demons? He’s performed meritoriously time and again. Just yesterday, he assisted Inspector Ling in wiping out a Snake Demon nest. Everyone witnessed it."

"That only makes it more suspicious."

Yan Fenghuo sneered. "That Snake Demon yesterday was also discovered by Master Jiang after a ’tip-off.’ We later found out that Snake Demon was Shen Wanhai’s new master.

And today, Shen Wanhai’s entire family is silenced.

Two coincidences, Master Jiang, and both times you claim to have received a tip. Who exactly is this informant? Perhaps you could bring them out so I can question them myself?"

Just then, several more people strode into the courtyard.

It was the Lord Chief, Ran Qingshan, arriving in a hurry with several of his personal guards.

Seeing the standoff and the carnage in the courtyard, he frowned deeply. "What is going on here?"

Xu Fu quickly stepped forward and explained the situation.

Ran Qingshan looked at Yan Fenghuo. "It was already like this when you arrived?"

"Yes."

Yan Fenghuo said gravely, "Lord Chief, these coincidences are far too suspicious. I have reason to believe Master Jiang is silencing the Demons to destroy the evidence.

Unless he can reveal the informant’s identity for the Bureau to verify, otherwise..."

Jiang Mu’s expression turned cold.

’So you’re targeting me, huh?’

’Dammit, I’ve had it with this guy for a while now.’

’He looks like a damn Fume-shroom, and acts like the real mole.’