Chapter 29: Who Do You Think You Are?
Chapter 29: Who Do You Think You Are?
"You... you..."
The thin monk, who had also spoken to the youth in black, knew all too well the terrifying backing the youth possessed.
Even Qinglin the Old Ghost wouldn't dare to provoke those foxes from North Cliff so easily, let alone someone like him, a lone martial artist from Qingzhou.
It wasn't shameful to bow down to them.
The only thing he hadn't expected was that someone would dare not to bow down?
"Cough..."
Lao Qi of the Yin family contorted his features, vomiting up the blood and flesh he had swallowed earlier, mixed with saliva.
He forcibly endured his convulsions, turned over, and rose to his feet. His eyes widened in anger, and the breathing from his throat gradually became heavy and inhuman, more like that of a wild beast.
"Roar!"
He opened his mouth, and a roar like a thunderous bell tolled, its deafening sound waves crashing through the air.
If someone with an initial stage of cultivation was present, it would have been fine. But for someone like Chen Ji, a constable with some martial arts skills, even if he tried to maintain his stance, he still stumbled back two steps.
As for the Lin family's steward, his fate was even more miserable; he collapsed on the spot, soiling his silk robe with filth.
"It's over, someone from the Lin family is going to die!"
His voice quivered with a sob as he stole a glance forward.
He saw that Shen Yi seemed to be unaffected, his strides steady as he drew out a three-foot-long sword without haste.
Compared to Chen Ji's hurried and vicious draw, Shen Yi's action was casual, almost indifferent, as if he were simply drawing out an oil-paper umbrella on a rainy day—a natural and expected action.
But in the instant Shen Yi drew his sword.
Lao Qi of the Yin family immediately stopped his roar and fled, fear evident in his eyes.
Inside the house, when the youth made his move, Lao Qi had keenly sensed the rich and profound aura, one that definitely belonged to someone far beyond the initial stages of cultivation... at least a master who had reached the pinnacle of the initial stage.
Lao Qi's legs exerted force, and with a crouched body, he sprinted forward, covering a distance of six zhang (approximately 20 meters) in one leap.
He didn't even spare a glance back.
Seeing his pathetic escape, even the two senior brothers from the Vajra Sect showed a hint of surprise.
Being at the same initial stage of cultivation, they wondered why he was so terrified.
"It's not good for us to interfere in the court's business."
The thin monk, seeming to guess the reason for their hesitation, suddenly chimed in with a strange tone.
Zhang the Butcher glanced at him and sighed slowly.
However, what puzzled them even more was that Lao Qi still didn't show any signs of stopping; instead, he sped up.
The next moment, Shen Yi's figure moved with agility, and in two or three steps, he quietly appeared behind the youth in black.
The long sword in Shen Yi's hand slashed down fiercely, bringing with it a surging force of sharpness and ferocity. Finally, it caused a chill to run down Lao Qi's spine, and he couldn't help but turn back to block with his elbow.
Zi La!
The long sword, wrapped in a crimson and grayish-white aura, slashed down!
The sharp blade tore through Lao Qi's flesh and skin like paper, and the hard elbow bone cracked under the impact. The rampant sword energy penetrated through his arm, leaving a deep gash on his face that exposed the bone.
The gash extended to his right shoulder, emitting a sizzling corrosive sound as it rapidly turned the surrounding flesh into pus and fluid at a visible rate.
As blood splattered, strands of dark yellow hair sprouted from Lao Qi's face, and the stench of a beast permeated the air.
On the dark yellow fur, black patterns revealed his true identity.
The "human skin" he wore was now useless, and he opened his blood basin-like mouth, revealing a ferocious tiger head.
Lao Qi endured the pain, his vision blurred by the blood, and he fled in a panic, shouting in fear, "You madman! She won't let you off!"
These words seemed to strike a chord with the thin monk.
He looked at Shen Yi in shock, his eyes as if looking at a dead man.
Zhang the Butcher watched the tiger demon charging at him, clicked his tongue, and drew a plain-looking pig-slaughtering knife from behind his waist. In his large palm, the black slaughtering knife looked like a toy.
It floundered, trying to grasp something, and a clean face suddenly appeared in its scarlet vision. The man glanced at it obliquely, his movements crisp and decisive.
Whoosh!
Silver light flashed by.
The corpse was separated, falling to the ground one after the other, kicking up a cloud of dust. It swiftly grew several times larger, transforming into a robust and stout tiger's body.
Sheathing his knife, Shen Yi bent down and thrust his long, powerful fingers into the tiger demon's lower abdomen, groping slightly before retrieving a tiny beast core.
[Killed an early-stage Initial Realm tiger demon. Total lifespan of 512 years. 132 years remaining. Absorption complete.]
"Are you out of your mind?!"
The thin monk glared angrily at his junior disciple. "How many times have I reminded you not to cause trouble for me?!"
Zhang the Butcher sheathed his pig-slaughtering knife and remained silent. He pulled out another blade of grass and chewed on it, his expression changing slightly as he quickly spat it out. "Ugh, do you still keep dogs at your place? It tastes like urine; my mouth is filled with a foul taste."
"Thank you."
Shen Yi put away the beast core.
"I'm just clumsy; I want to pat everything I see."
Zhang the Butcher glanced over, smiling nonchalantly.
"Damn... damn..." The thin monk, ignored, trembled with rage.
Shen Yi withdrew his gaze and noticed the knife in Chen Ji's hand, a puzzled expression on his face.
"I'm a little nervous. It helps to bolster my courage."
Chen Ji hid the knife behind him and forced a smile, a hint of embarrassment in his eyes.
How many more demon heads would he have to chop off to prove that he wasn't the kind of person who colluded with demons?
In truth, he had even questioned himself about the nameless ghost fire. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been afraid of others' gossip.
It's just...
Shen Yi's martial arts progress was simply too fast! This was Chen Ji's first time witnessing him slay a powerful demon, and in Shen Yi's hands, the tiger demon never once had the thought of resisting.
The only thing that could comfort him was that Shen Yi wasn't using the Demon-Subduing Knife Technique.
This meant that Shen Yi must have been secretly practicing martial arts and probably had another master.
"Alright, let's take the demon's head back to the yamen."
Seeing that he didn't want to elaborate, Shen Yi didn't press further.
"Yes, sir." Chen Ji promptly took a step forward.
At that moment, they heard the thin, sinister voice again.
"Friend Shen, he doesn't need to bolster his courage. His courage is so great that he almost took a knife to me and asked me what I was."
The thin monk strode over, a cold smile on his face.
It was true that just because one wore the court's clothing, it didn't mean one could act arrogantly before martial artists of the jianghu. Even without resorting to underhanded means, your superior alone could make you speechless.
Upon hearing this, Chen Ji's movements stalled, and he felt a twinge of regret.
Exorcising demons was already troublesome enough; why invite more significant trouble over a momentary anger?
Thinking of this, he lowered his head and rubbed his face, intending to apologize, but he heard Shen Yi's calm question.
"Did you really say that?"
Chen Ji's body stiffened at his words, and he replied helplessly, "I did."
The thin monk's cold smile deepened as he stood with his hands behind his back.
Shen Yi nodded and turned towards him.
"It's not a big deal. I'm not an unreasonable person either. However, Captor Shen, you should also keep a tighter rein on your subordinate..."
Before the thin monk could finish his sentence, he saw Shen Yi stop in front of him, his palm resting on his knife sheath.
Shen Yi looked at him calmly, his lips curling slightly as he spoke with a hint of ridicule in his voice, "So."
"What are you?"
(End of Chapter)
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