Turns Out I'm the Real Monster?!

The night wind howled, whistling through the forest and over the valley. It carried the stench of charred ash and severed limbs.

The Golden Roc Demon stood amidst the razed remains of the camp, his face grim.

Demonic energy roiled around him, heavy as a storm cloud.

"Hmph. I played along with your little self-harm ploy, and what happens? Your entire nest gets wiped out."

A mocking sneer came from nearby.

"Word from Yan City is that dog, Du Yuanfei, got himself slaughtered too. Tsk, tsk. What’s the old saying?

’Lost the lady, and the army too.’"

The speaker was a burly man with the head of a tiger.

His bare torso was a mass of knotted muscle covered in black tiger stripes. The character for ’King’ on his forehead only added to his domineering, ferocious aura.

He casually toyed with a broken leg bone, a mocking glint in his eyes.

It was none other than the Tiger Vanguard, who had previously breached Hu State.

The Golden Roc Demon shot him a sidelong glance and retorted,

"Hmph. He was just a dog. If he’s dead, he’s dead. Nothing to feel sorry about.

Besides, I only lost a couple hundred of my men. I heard *someone’s* five hundred elites in Hu State were wiped out to the last man. You have the gall to mock me?"

He had a hawkish face, with a high, hooked nose and narrow, sharp eyes. His pupils were dark red, glowing with a cold, faint light in the darkness.

His long, grayish-white hair was splayed over his shoulders, a few strands blown across his forehead by the wind.

It made his already grim face look all the more savage.

The Tiger Vanguard froze. With a CRACK, the leg bone in his hand shattered.

A cold light flared in his eyes, killing intent surging, but he forced it down and said in a low growl,

"They say the one who killed my men and slaughtered your camp was some kid named Jiang Mu. Do you find that believable?"

"Do I look like an idiot?"

The Golden Roc Demon sneered. "A mere Fourth Realm Cultivator with such heaven-defying abilities? Who are you kidding? That’s a load of bullshit!"

The Tiger Vanguard grinned, baring a cavernous mouth full of stark white fangs.

"I don’t believe it either, actually. But for them to push this Jiang Mu kid out as the scapegoat, he must have some real skill.

The Yan City rebellion may have been quelled, but our mission isn’t over. The Mist Demon has given the order: we are to fully cooperate with the Red Umbrella Sect and prepare a second offensive.

I was thinking, maybe we should get rid of this Jiang Mu stumbling block first?

For example... you could tell that all-powerful master of yours to activate a hidden pawn in Yan City... and take him out?"

The Golden Roc Demon shook his head, his expression impassive.

"There’s no need. ’One man killing five hundred fiends’? ’Slaughtering my entire camp’? It’s all just a myth fabricated by those hypocrites at the Demon-slaying Bureau to boost morale.

How many times have they pulled this kind of bluff?

They find some kid with a decent track record and hype him up to the heavens, just to give the grunts below a sliver of hope.

You’d have to be a fool to believe it.

Ignore him. We just need to follow our orders from on high.

However, now that all my boys are dead, the dirty work will be up to you."

The Tiger Vanguard snorted but didn’t reply.

’Cooperate, sure. But how much effort he’d put in depended entirely on his mood.’

’After all, his own losses had been considerable, and it wasn’t like he was getting compensated for them.’

The Golden Roc Demon narrowed his dark red eyes. He gazed down into the bottomless black pit below, a hint of regret in his voice.

"I just didn’t expect the sleeping Demon Dragon to be slain as well. It seems I overestimated its strength. I was saving it for a more important purpose. A pity."

"What purpose?"

the Tiger Vanguard asked, curious.

The Golden Roc Demon didn’t hide it, saying flatly, "I hear... the Red Umbrella Sect is attempting to replicate a ’Jade Seal.’"

"A Jade Seal?"

The Tiger Vanguard looked thoughtful, then grinned. "Looks like they really intend to usurp the throne."

The Golden Roc Demon said grimly,

"Perhaps that day will truly come, when this world is ruled by us Demon Fiends. To hell with the Celestial Dao."

...

...

Inside, the candlelight flickered.

At Jiang Mu’s insistence, Shui Miaozheng couldn’t very well keep forcing him to call her ’godmother.’

’Well, ’aunt’ it is, then.’

’The age difference was there, after all.’

’This young man looked fierce, but surely he wasn’t so depraved as to make a move on his elders?’

Shui Miaozheng picked up her teacup to take a sip.

As the rim of the cup touched her lips, her luminous eyes lifted slightly to glance at Jiang Mu before she lowered her gaze again.

She set down the cup and said gently,

"That girl, Cuicui, told me. You had a run-in with Yang Tianci at White Deer Peak?"

Jiang Mu nodded.

"I hear he’s the Hall Master of the Sixth Hall here in Yunzhou City, and the son of the Inner Guard’s Deputy Commander. Quite the background."

Shui Miaozheng sighed, a shadow of worry crossing her features.

"That’s right. I don’t know what got into him, insisting on coming to our Yunzhou City Demon-slaying Bureau. The General Office approved his transfer, so I couldn’t very well refuse.

The boy is certainly arrogant, but his father, Yang Qintian, is an extremely low-key and reserved man.

But don’t you worry. Aunt Shui is here now. If he dares cause trouble for you over something so minor, I’ll protect you!"

Jiang Mu clasped his hands.

"Then I thank you, Aunt Shui. But... has he made it back to Yan City alive?"

Shui Miaozheng gave a slight nod.

"He has. I had Director Yan arrange his quarters as far away as possible, to prevent any more conflict between you two."

Jiang Mu was surprised.

’That kid is damn lucky. To think he managed to escape a situation like that alive.’

’He must have had quite a few life-saving treasures on him.’

’A shame I didn’t have time to loot him back then.’