Chapter 118
The Black Coffin Master was cornered, desperately trying to evade capture, until he found himself at the edge of the rooftop.
“Big Brother, we have no grudges against each other! Sure, we shot up this construction site and killed a few workers, but we’re not like those monsters who go looking for trouble!”
He pulled out a few items from his pockets and tossed them onto the ground, then bowed deeply to Chen Huai'an. “I have an elderly parent and young children to support. This is all I have left. Just let me go, please.”
Without even glancing at the junk on the ground, Chen Huai'an squinted his eyes. “Do you have any money?”
The Black Coffin Master hesitated for a moment. “Yes, I do!”
Chen Huai'an pulled out his phone and displayed a QR code. “Here, add me on Green Bubble and transfer the money. How long you live depends on how much you can send.”
The Black Coffin Master was speechless.
In this age of spiritual revival, money was the least valuable thing.
He couldn’t understand what this young man wanted with money, but he obediently added Chen’s Green Bubble and transferred all the cash he had on him.
A total of over 580,000.
That was what he had earned as a killer when the revival first began.
By now, he had already spent quite a bit.
“Senior, this is all the money I have, I swear,” the Black Coffin Master said with a sycophantic smile, revealing his yellowed teeth from years of smoking.
“Not bad, that’s quite a sum,” Chen Huai'an’s eyes sparkled.
Damn it.
Taking on missions was just a side hustle for cash.
The real money came from robbing mission targets!
Wasn’t this way faster than doing live streams for bounties?
“So, can I live now, sir?”
Chen Huai'an raised an eyebrow. “Sure, sure. Ten thousand bucks buys you an extra 0.1 seconds. With 580,000, I’ll round it down for you—six extra seconds. No need to thank me, heh heh.”
“You!”
“Six, five, four, three, two, one.”
With a flick of his wrist, Chen Huai'an swung his sword.
The Black Coffin Master’s head flew into the air.
With another swing, the sword energy sliced through, sending the head rolling to the side.
He pulled out his phone to confirm the kill.
[Kill Black Coffin Master, gain: Demon Cultivation Fragment X1, Blood Iron Essence X1, Broken Black Snake Dagger X1, Control Corpse Gu X1]
As expected, to achieve a precise kill on such a troublesome demon cultivator, a headshot was necessary.
“Can things you pull out yourself count as loot?” Chen Huai'an scoffed, but still picked up the items from the ground and stuffed them into his bag.
When he descended with the Black Coffin Master’s head in hand, several vehicles were already parked at the construction site entrance.
The people from the Tianfu District Demon Slayer Division had arrived.
But it wasn’t the bearded man; it was someone he recognized.
“I’m fine! You should look for Chen Huai'an! I don’t know why I fainted, and when I woke up, he was gone. He hasn’t been taken by a demon, has he?”
Lin Lingling was hunched over, one hand propping up her long spear while the other pressed against her chest. Two female nurses were tending to her wounds.
“I’ve sent people to look for your teammate. You should focus on yourself first; you’ve broken two ribs…”
Lin Lingling shrugged it off. “It’s part of the job; injuries are inevitable.”
Hearing footsteps behind her, Lin Lingling turned her head, her eyes lighting up. “Chen Huai'an?! Are you okay?”
“I’m alright.” Chen Huai'an pushed past the rushing Lin Lingling, surprised to see the elderly man with white hair, who was equally bewildered.
“Holy crap, Li Lao?”
“Ah? You’re Chen Huai'an?”
---
Chapter 125: Cautious Choices
“Ah, truly, I didn’t recognize the mountain for its height.”
“Ah, truly, the flood has washed away the Dragon King’s temple.”
Chen Huai'an and the elderly Li Yunfeng sat down in the guardhouse, shaking hands, both feeling a sense of nostalgia.
“Before, the bearded man told me he met an incredible revivalist who could use talismans. I never imagined it would be you…”
“Neither did I think you were a high-ranking member of the Demon Slayer Division. I was shocked!”
Li Yunfeng scrutinized Chen Huai'an, feeling that the young man before him was vastly different from the one he had seen before. If the previous Chen Huai'an was a sword hidden in its sheath, now he was half-drawn, his sharpness evident.
“Truly, heroes emerge from youth. You can use talismans and have sword skills. If the bearded man knew you could wield a sword, he’d probably raise your rating.”
However, despite the praise from Li Lao, Chen Huai'an’s expression remained somber.
He gazed out the window, his brow furrowed.
Outside the guardhouse lay three white stretchers.
Underneath the sheets were the three bodies left from tonight’s incident.
One stretcher revealed a few strands of blood-stained yellow hair—belonging to the college student who had sought contact information earlier. The other three girls, who seemed to be close to her, wept for their shattered friend, unable to approach the stretcher.
The image of their friend being devoured by a monster would haunt them for a lifetime.
“Am I really that impressive in the Demon Slayer Division?” Chen Huai'an pulled his gaze back.
“Very impressive, quite rare,” Li Yunfeng nodded.
He hoped Chen Huai'an would join the Demon Slayer Division as a formal member.
Although Chen Huai'an was already taking on bounties to earn money, some tricky tasks unique to the Huazone wouldn’t be listed on the task board.
More importantly, the development of the Demon Slayer Division was being hampered from all sides. They desperately needed a demon slayer who could completely break the balance and lead the division to a breakthrough. The Demon Slayer Division shouldn’t be a tool for aristocratic politicians to maintain balance; it should be a protector that eradicates all monsters and evil spirits.
“Even if you say I’m impressive, I still couldn’t save that girl’s life.” Chen Huai'an clenched his fists, a bitter smile on his lips.
“Do you feel regret for that?”
“Of course.”
“Well, that’s good.” The wrinkles at the corners of Li Yunfeng’s eyes relaxed, a flicker of unspoken emotion in his gaze. “Your ability to feel regret shows that there’s still something in this world worth protecting.”
“You want to recruit me into the Demon Slayer Division,” Chen Huai'an stated bluntly.
“Ah, I do have that thought,” Li Lao chuckled helplessly, pointing to himself. “Someone like me hardly feels such emotions anymore. I’ve seen too much of this kind of thing; I’ve long since become numb.”
Chen Huai'an paused. “Then what’s the point of you staying in the Demon Slayer Division?”
“My family is gone,” Li Lao lowered his gaze. “They died at the hands of monsters. I have nowhere else to go.”
“What about your entrepreneurial son?”
“He’s in the underworld, starting a business.”
“Hey! You old fraud!”
“Hahaha.”
…
Lin Lingling had broken ribs and needed treatment.
She had always thought she was injured by a demon while unconscious.
Chen Huai'an planned to never tell her the truth.
“The task bounty has been transferred to you. The materials you submitted need to be reviewed, which will take a maximum of three days. The bounty for the materials will also be deposited into your bank account,” Li Yunfeng said as he got into the car. Suddenly remembering something, he rolled down the window and added, “The two revivalists who treat tumors will arrive tomorrow. Come to the Panjiayuan Market at nine in the morning.”
Old Li drove off, not once insisting that he join the Demon Slayer Division.
“Tonight has been quite an experience…”
Standing on the street under the streetlight, Chen Huai'an suddenly felt a sense of confusion.
Newcomers like Lin Lingling stood no chance against those two demons.
Let alone the Black Coffin Master; she couldn’t even handle the corpse puppet.
If he hadn’t been there tonight, Lin Lingling would likely have ended up like that college student, devoured.
But both the Black Coffin Master and the corpse puppet seemed like mere minions.
From their words, it was clear they were backed by a larger force.
And this force was likely brewing some kind of plan.
If that plan were to unfold, could the Tianfu District Demon Slayer Division really hold its ground?
“Hey! Chen Huai'an, are you starting to worry about others again? Does good intentions really lead to good outcomes? What are you trying to prove?” He slapped his own head, scoffing. “Besides, who do you think you are? Just a rookie in the first layer of Qi Refinement. You got lucky and killed a couple of minions, and now you’re getting cocky? Who knows what ancient monsters are lurking behind the scenes, ready to crush you with a single finger!”
The summer night breeze was not cold; it carried a fresh scent.
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