Turns Out I'm the Real Monster?!

The large party set off.

On the way to the Divine Sword Sect, Jiang Mu chatted idly with Xu Fu while mulling over how to "claim compensation" from the sect.

He couldn’t go too far, though. Even a cornered rabbit will bite.

Besides, the Divine Sword Sect had clearly weathered this storm because someone at the General Office was protecting them.

As he was contemplating this, he noticed a troubled look on Zhang Daxie’s face beside him.

Jiang Mu asked curiously, "What’s wrong? Did you run into a problem with your breakthrough? If you’re having trouble, just tell me."

Zhang Daxie was touched and quickly shook his head.

"No, it’s going smoothly. I plan to enter seclusion in two days to officially attempt my breakthrough. I’m quite confident this time, especially since you, my lord, used your merits to get me so many resources."

The surrounding members of the Seventh Hall were filled with envy.

’Look at their boss, and then look at ours...’

Sigh. Comparisons are deadly.

Zhang Xiaokui, who had been bragging about his own lord to his colleagues from the Seventh Hall, sidled over with a mischievous grin. "My lord, there’s something you don’t know. My brother has been lovesick lately."

"Lovesick?"

Jiang Mu’s interest was piqued. "Who’s the lucky girl?"

"N-No, there’s nothing like that!"

Zhang Daxie’s large, dark face instantly flushed the color of liver. He shoved his younger brother. "Don’t talk nonsense."

But Zhang Xiaokui was a big mouth and said with a laugh:

"He’s liked her for a long time. She’s a girl he grew up with back home, but he’s never dared to confess. I don’t think she’s all that special, but my brother is smitten."

Jiang Mu was puzzled.

"If you like her, then go after her. What’s a grown man doing shilly-shallying?"

Zhang Daxie was so embarrassed he just scratched his head and said nothing.

Zhang Xiaokui laughed heartily.

"My brother thinks he’s ugly and is afraid the girl won’t like him."

Jiang Mu said in a deadpan voice, "To each their own. You’re not her, so how do you know she doesn’t like ugly men?"

Zhang Daxie: "..."

Zhang Xiaokui said helplessly:

"There’s nothing to be done. That’s just my brother’s personality. He even tells me from time to time that he’s ugly because he was given a bad name and is always thinking about changing it."

Jiang Mu was amused. "What’s that got to do with his name?"

He remembered a web novelist from his past life on Earth called "Superb Bean Sprout." The name was completely unremarkable, but his readers all agreed he was a total heartthrob, and he had a terrifying number of female fans.

Jiang Mu clapped Zhang Daxie on the shoulder.

"After your breakthrough, girls will be lining up at your door. The one you like might even regret not confessing to you sooner."

Zhang Daxie flushed beet-red at his words.

The group chatted and laughed, and before long, they arrived at the foot of the Divine Sword Sect’s mountain.

The Divine Sword Sect’s lookouts had clearly already sent word.

Outside the mountain gate stood a plain-looking, rather short young man.

It was none other than the second son of the Divine Sword Sect, He Shuangdiao.

Compared to his deceased younger brother, this second son looked completely unremarkable—the type you wouldn’t be able to pick out of a crowd.

"Greetings, Lord Xu, Lord Jiang."

He Shuangdiao stepped forward, cupping his hands in a salute. "I am He Shuangdiao."

Xu Fu whispered to Jiang Mu, "The second son of the Divine Sword Sect."

Jiang Mu sized him up with a glance and chuckled.

"The Divine Sword Sect’s dogs sure have sharp noses. We haven’t even started up the mountain, and the second son has already come out sniffing?"

Xu Fu’s eyelid twitched violently.

’Starting with insults right off the bat?’

’This guy really is here to cause trouble.’ He suddenly regretted bringing this menace along.

A shadow of resentment flickered in He Shuangdiao’s eyes, but he forced a smile. "My lords, you’ve come from afar; it must have been a tiring journey. Please, come in for a cup of tea and rest your feet."

"There’s no need for tea."

Before Jiang Mu could speak, Xu Fu cut in. "We are here on orders to collect the batch of medicinal herbs. I trust your sect has them ready?"

’What’s the point of tea?’

’Let’s just grab the goods and get out of here before this guy Jiang Mu acts up.’

He Shuangdiao said:

"I apologize for troubling you two lords to make the trip yourselves. It is a great imposition. In fact, I had already arranged for carriages to have our servants deliver them to the Demon-slaying Bureau. Your eagerness makes it seem as if our Divine Sword Sect lacks etiquette."

His words were dripping with sarcasm, mocking the Demon-slaying Bureau for its ugly greed, like a starving ghost who had never seen the world.

But Jiang Mu just nodded with a completely serious expression.

"You sending them over and us coming to collect them personally are two different matters."

"You still have to deliver what you’re supposed to deliver. What we’ve come to collect today is an *extra* collection. How could you possibly confuse the two?"

He Shuangdiao was stunned.

’Wait...’

’I was just being a little passive-aggressive, and you’re actually planning to take from both ends?’

’I’ve never met such a shameless person!’

Xu Fu’s mouth fell open, also stunned by Jiang Mu’s shameless logic. He simply took a step back and feigned ignorance, minding his own business.

He considered himself thick-skinned, but compared to the man beside him, he had to admit defeat.

The fake smile on He Shuangdiao’s face finally vanished. He said in a cold voice:

"Lord Jiang, what is the meaning of this?"

"The literal meaning."

Jiang Mu said lightly, "If you can’t understand plain language, then call out someone in charge who can. I will explain to him, face-to-face, what the rules are."

He Shuangdiao’s gaze turned frigid.

"Did Lord Jiang come here today specifically to cause trouble?"

Jiang Mu took a step forward, using his height advantage to look down on the other man, the corner of his mouth twisting into a sneer.

"Little potato, are you threatening me? Hmm? Threatening the Demon-slaying Bureau?"

He Shuangdiao’s fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white, a cold fury swirling in his eyes.

"Diao’Er!"

Just then, a voice that was both soft and alluring, yet tinged with coldness, came from within the mountain gate.

A beautiful woman dressed in a lavish, palace-style gown glided out.

The woman was about forty years old, with her dark hair swept up in an elegant coiffure. She had a full, curvaceous figure, and her phoenix eyes, which tilted up slightly at the corners, held both the charm of a mature woman and an air of cold, imposing dignity.

It was the wife of the Divine Sword Sect Leader, the ruthless character who had just killed her husband to prove her Dao—

He Shan’Er.

"Mother."

Seeing his mother, He Shuangdiao’s expression changed, and he quickly lowered his head and stepped aside.