Turns Out I'm the Real Monster?!

Qiu Yuexin’s appearance was a development no one had anticipated.

A chill went through Ling Ye.

She, of course, recognized the red-clad young woman before her. It was the very culprit from the Jiang family massacre case, the one the General Office had ordered her to apprehend.

She just hadn’t expected her to show up at this very moment.

Yuan Wugen asked in a cold voice,

"Who might you be? What grudge do you hold against me?"

Qiu Yuexin tapped her toes lightly on a branch and drifted down like a red feather, her movements light and graceful.

With her hands behind her back, she said coldly,

"Sect Leader Yuan, you great men are so forgetful. You captured my friend to use in your vile arts, and now you’re playing dumb with me?"

As she spoke, she winked at Jiang Mu.

Jiang Mu got the message. ’This girl is clearly making things up.’

When Yuan Wugen heard this, however, he was startled.

To raise its Demons, the Divine Sword Sect had indeed been secretly capturing numerous spirits under the guise of slaying Demon Fiends.

’Did one get away?’

’Or has some demon’s backer come looking for trouble?’

Though shocked and suspicious, Yuan Wugen forced a calm expression and declared righteously,

"Slaying Demon Fiends is the duty of the righteous. If your friend was a demon, then being slain by my Divine Sword Sect was merely us carrying out heaven’s will. There’s nothing more to say!"

"Carrying out heaven’s will? What a boast!"

With a flick of her fair wrist, several red sashes shot from Qiu Yuexin’s sleeves like vipers. Her killing intent flared. "In that case, I’ll just have to take you down myself and trade you for my friend’s life!"

’Shit!’

Yuan Wugen was about to lose his mind.

’Where the hell did this crazy demoness come from!’

’Of all the times to show up and go crazy, it had to be now.’

’Wait a minute...’

’Could she be here to rescue Ling Ye and her people on purpose?’

But he immediately dismissed the thought.

Everyone knew how much Ling Ye loathed Demon Fiends. The killing intent in her eyes when the demoness appeared a moment ago had been genuine.

’Clearly, the two of them aren’t working together.’

’He could only curse his bad luck!’

Seeing that Qiu Yuexin had already attacked, Yuan Wugen had no choice but to engage her. He bellowed at the disciples behind him,

"Stop them!"

But he knew full well that these disciples alone were no match for Ling Ye.

Sure enough, the moment she saw Qiu Yuexin and Yuan Wugen locked in combat, Ling Ye didn’t hesitate. She grabbed Jiang Mu’s arm.

"Let’s go!"

She had no intention of taking advantage of the situation or trying to capture Qiu Yuexin while she was distracted.

The top priority was to get Jiang Mu back to Hu State immediately, before the Divine Sword Sect became desperate and sent even stronger people to intercept them.

It was true that the people of the martial world feared the Court.

But when it came to a struggle over a Star Position, which formed the very foundation of a sect’s power, people would act with more madness than if they were avenging their own fathers.

"Hold on to me!"

Ling Ye shouted, and her ice sword unleashed a bitter cold wave, knocking all the charging Divine Sword Sect disciples to the ground.

Jiang Mu said, "Oh," and instinctively hugged her.

Ling Ye’s body suddenly went rigid.

Her intention had been for Jiang Mu to wrap his arm around her waist from the side so she could carry him as they flew.

Who would have thought this guy would just glue himself to her front.

He gave her a full-on bear hug.

And just as she was about to leap into the air, his head, of all things, ended up buried right in her chest.

She cursed inwardly but had no time to correct him.

Ice-blue Spiritual Power surged from her feet, lifting them both into the air and propelling them toward Hu State.

The wind howled in her ears.

His hot breath against the thin fabric sent an unfamiliar shiver through her, making the tips of her ears burn.

Even her Spiritual Power, which controlled their flight, became a little unsteady.

’I must be crazy...’

Ling Ye cursed herself.

She had always regarded men as filth, normally unwilling to even let one touch the hem of her clothes.

’And today I’m letting a man embrace me like this.’

Ling Ye sternly warned herself.

’Just think of it as protecting a valuable talent...’

’This is the first and last time. I can never let this guy touch me again.’

The rest of the journey was tense but uneventful.

As they neared the city, Ling Ye couldn’t wait to shove the man away.

The moment he landed, Jiang Mu’s face was beet red. He gasped for air, his neck flushed a deep crimson.

"Sister Ling, you nearly suffocated me!"

"You—"

Ling Ye’s already flushed cheeks turned bright red.

She wanted to scold him, but seeing his genuinely flushed face and neck, looking as if he’d been deprived of oxygen, the words caught in her throat.

A sense of innocent, aggrieved embarrassment washed over her.

’It’s not like they’re lethal weapons. How could they possibly suffocate someone?’

"Oh no!"

After catching his breath, Jiang Mu’s expression suddenly changed. "Lingzhu is still back at Heitu Village!"

"Boss!"

Just then, a clear, cheerful shout rang out.

Jiang Mu turned to see Chu Lingzhu standing in the shadows of the city gate’s archway, waving her arms at him enthusiastically.

Jiang Mu, stunned, hurried over. "What are you doing here?"

"You scared me to death! Thank goodness you’re okay."

Chu Lingzhu patted her chest, her voice filled with lingering fear.

"After you chased that bad guy away, I thought it over. I was worried he might have accomplices who’d come back. If they found me, I’d just be a burden to you, right? So I decided to just run back here on my own."

"Oh, right! I also brought back the carriage full of medicinal herbs. It’s parked in that alley over there. It’s all solid evidence."

Jiang Mu gave the young woman an odd look.

’This girl’s pretty sharp.’

He patted her lightly on the shoulder.

"My apologies. I was too shallow before. From now on, I’ll start treating you like an actual person."

"..."

Chu Lingzhu wrinkled her little nose. "Why does that sound like an insult?"

Just then, she noticed Ling Ye standing behind Jiang Mu.

Her eyes immediately went wide.

Chu Lingzhu instinctively glanced down at her own chest, then back up at Ling Ye’s.

The energetic girl from a moment ago suddenly looked as if she’d been utterly crushed, all the life draining out of her.

Jiang Mu ignored the girl’s shock and said to Ling Ye with a serious expression,

"Sister Ling, there’s no time to lose. We must return to the Demon-slaying Bureau at once and report this to Lord Ran. We have both the criminals and the goods, and the evidence is irrefutable. We should dispatch people to raid the Divine Sword Sect and make arrests immediately!"

But Ling Ye didn’t respond.

She stared back in the direction from which they had fled, her gaze wavering as if she were hesitating.

Jiang Mu’s heart skipped a beat.

"Sister Ling, you’re not still planning to go back and capture that demoness, are you?"

Ling Ye didn’t deny it.

She was, in fact, considering it.

With Jiang Mu safely inside the city, her primary mission was complete.

Qiu Yuexin was currently tied up fighting Yuan Wugen. This might be the perfect opportunity to apprehend her.

Jiang Mu cursed under his breath and quickly tried to dissuade her.

"Sister Ling, it’s probably too late. They’ve likely finished fighting by now.

"Besides, if you go back alone and run into the enraged members of the Divine Sword Sect, what if they lose control and try to kill you..."

Ling Ye’s gaze snapped to Jiang Mu’s face. "Tell me the truth. Was that demoness helping you?"

Chu Lingzhu couldn’t understand their conversation and just circled Ling Ye curiously.

She peered at her from the left, then sized her up from the right. She squatted slightly to look up, then stood on her tiptoes to look down...

After a thorough investigation, she finally reached a solemn conclusion.

’Hmm...’

’Yep... definitely bigger than my head!’

Ling Ye’s stare made Jiang Mu’s skin crawl. He shook his head frantically.

"How could that be! Sister Ling, I’m with the Demon-slaying Bureau! Slaying Demon Fiends is my duty. How could I ever..."

As he spoke, a wave of dizziness suddenly washed over him.

He swayed twice.

Then he fell stiffly forward... right into Ling Ye’s arms.

Ling Ye: "?"