Turns Out I'm the Real Monster?!

"Hero Yan, the sages say that all living beings are equal.

This young lady may be a ghost, but she has a heart that yearns for good. Heaven itself has a virtue of cherishing life. As people who study the words of the sages, how can we stand by and watch someone die?

If I were to stand idly by today just to save my own skin, letting her soul be scattered to the winds, then wouldn’t I have read all those books in vain?

I believe that if I treat her with sincerity, she can be reformed.

You just said that humans and demons walk different paths.

But I believe the different paths are not between human and demon, but between good and evil. If there is good in one’s heart, even a demon can be redeemed. If there is evil in one’s heart, even a human should be slain."

Yan Zixiao was dumbstruck.

’Seriously, why is this guy so infuriatingly punchable?’

"Hero Yan, forgive my impertinence."

With that, Jiang Mu no longer hesitated. He reached out and snatched the golden Sword Talisman from Nie Xiaoqian’s back.

"You—"

Yan Zixiao trembled with rage. "You idiot! You’ll regret this! You’ll definitely regret this!"

RIP!

Jiang Mu gave it a hard tug.

He ripped the Sword Talisman clean off, and it dissolved into motes of light.

Freed from her bonds, the young woman floated in mid-air. She rubbed her back, which stung from the Sword Qi, and looked down at the foolish scholar before her.

’He really... let me go?’

She was in a bit of a daze.

Ever since she was young, her "Granny" had told her that all humans were wicked, that they killed demons on sight.

But this scholar...

"Miss, you should go. Don’t ever come back."

Jiang Mu said gently, looking at Nie Xiaoqian.

Yan Zixiao squeezed his eyes shut in anguish, despairingly muttering, "Idiot... He’s a lost cause..."

Nie Xiaoqian bit her lip. She glanced at Yan Zixiao, who was still struggling desperately to his feet, then sighed softly. Floating down, she splayed her fingers and seized Jiang Mu’s wrist.

"Ah! Miss, you..." Jiang Mu feigned alarm.

"You foolish scholar,"

Nie Xiaoqian spoke coldly, though her voice lacked its earlier ferocity. "Today, I’ll teach you a valuable lesson: the prettier the woman, the less you can trust her words."

Jiang Mu’s face went deathly pale, and he began to tremble.

"You... you’re really going to harm me? Was I wrong about you?"

"Hahahaha!"

Yan Zixiao roared with laughter, almost crying from the force of it. "Now you see, don’t you, kid? This is the result of your ’reformation’! Serves you right!"

The young woman turned to Yan Zixiao, made a face at him, and stuck out her tongue.

"You smelly priest, you should worry about yourself first! I’m in a good mood today, so I’ll let you off the hook!"

With that, her form flickered, and she swept out of the temple, taking Jiang Mu with her.

"Bastards!"

Yan Zixiao cursed furiously, but he could only watch helplessly as their two figures vanished into the vast darkness of the night.

Deathly silence returned to the grand hall.

After a long moment,

Xu Fu, who had been sound asleep in the corner, suddenly stretched and slowly sat up.

He casually picked a dry stalk of grass from the floor and stuck it in his mouth. A faint smile touched his lips as he watched Yan Zixiao’s fuming expression.

"Alright, stop your whining. Don’t worry, my young master will be fine."

Yan Zixiao whipped his head around.

He stared at the completely unharmed Scholar’s Attendant, a look of utter shock on his face. "You weren’t knocked out?!"

Even he had nearly fallen for that bewitching fragrance earlier.

How could this young Scholar’s Attendant, who appeared to have no Cultivation Level whatsoever, be completely unaffected?

Xu Fu spat out the blade of grass, brushed the dust from his clothes, and smiled faintly. "Just a petty trick of the trade. Nothing worth mentioning."

Yan Zixiao’s eyes narrowed as he scrutinized Xu Fu, his expression growing solemn.

"Just who are you?"

A Scholar’s Attendant who could remain so calm when faced with a Demon Fiend, even after his own master was captured, was by no means a simple character.

Xu Fu said nothing. He simply took a black iron Token from his robes, tossed it in his hand a few times, and then flashed it at Yan Zixiao.

The Demon-slaying Bureau!

Yan Zixiao’s pupils contracted. Then, comprehension dawned.

He gave a bitter laugh and shook his head, mocking himself. "So, an officer from the Demon-slaying Bureau... No wonder, no wonder..."

"It seems I was blind, trying to show off my paltry skills before true masters. I nearly ruined your important business."

"The man just now must also be an expert from the Demon-slaying Bureau, then? His scholar act... was truly convincing."

Xu Fu put the Token away and said flatly,

"I’ve heard of you. Yan Zixiao, former Core Disciple of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect.

For the sake of a woman from the Demon Race, you betrayed your Sect, were cast out, and have wandered the world ever since...

I never expected to run into you here."

With his past laid bare, Yan Zixiao’s expression faltered. A flash of pain and longing crossed his eyes, followed by a dry laugh.

"That’s all ancient history, best left unsaid. What? Is the good officer here to settle old scores with me now?"

Xu Fu just smiled, not taking the bait.

He stood, walked to the entrance of the hall, and gazed out into the pitch-black night, his eyes profound.

"Aren’t you going to rescue your colleague?" Yan Zixiao couldn’t help but ask.

"There’s no need."

Xu Fu’s tone was calm. "That man is far more formidable than you imagine. The ghost girl can’t touch him."

Hearing this, Yan Zixiao felt a little more at ease.

He sighed, his expression turning bleak.

"I was just passing through when I sensed a demonic presence. I’d heard that Meiruo Temple had been troubled recently, so I thought I’d slay some demons, earn some good karma. I never expected to run into this Tree Demon."

He paused, his gaze growing complex.

"Actually, this Tree Demon wasn’t always a bad demon.

Back in the day, she and her sister were kind demons. They never harmed anyone and often helped the villagers down the mountain.

It’s a shame...

Somehow, her foolish little sister fell in love with a Demon Slayer Envoy from the Demon-slaying Bureau.

Humans and demons walk different paths. How could that possibly end well?

In the end, she met a tragic death, without even a trace of her soul left behind.

The Tree Demon’s personality twisted completely after that. To get her revenge, she resorted to cultivating demonic arts, and eventually became the monster she is today..."

At this, Yan Zixiao sighed with deep regret.

Xu Fu remained with his back to him, saying nothing.

But in the flickering shadows of the firelight, a faint trace of sorrow and bitterness quietly surfaced in his eyes.