Turns Out I'm the Real Monster?!

Passion is fleeting, and romance is brief.

When the fireworks fade and the moon and stars recede, what remains is the warmth and tranquility of everyday life.

Of course, Jiang Mu didn’t feel much of that warmth the next day.

Bai Xiang wore a stony expression all day.

To hide her awkwardness and shame from the day before, she deliberately adopted an even colder and more detached demeanor than usual.

She was like a wooden doll while cooking, and she stared straight ahead while sweeping.

Every time Jiang Mu tried to approach her and start a conversation, she would deftly and swiftly sidestep him. Her movements were as fluid as flowing water, utterly seamless and detached.

This left Jiang Mu speechless.

He got the bizarre impression that he’d been caught cheating the night before and was now in the middle of a cold war with his wife.

’I’m docking her a month’s pay,’ he grumbled to himself.

Of course, Jiang Mu didn’t have much time to dwell on such minor emotional ripples.

What truly shook him was something else entirely—

Yuan Ahqing had made a breakthrough.

The girl had merely gone to sleep and woken up having crossed the threshold into the First Realm.

If Jiang Mu hadn’t repeatedly confirmed that the energy in her body was stable and harmonious, her foundation solid, with no signs of cultivation deviation, he would have suspected that her tiny body had been possessed by some reclusive master.

This left Jiang Mu amazed, but also a little indignant.

’We’re both geniuses.’

’So why was my breakthrough so difficult, so arduous, so...’

’Wait a second, I think I’m using cheats.’

’Oh. Never mind, then.’

Jiang Mu’s sense of fairness was instantly restored.

Still, this was direct proof of Big Watermelon Ling’s incredibly sharp eye.

The little girl he’d spent ten taels of silver on was a goddamn peerless little sweet beet.

After carefully instructing Yuan Ahqing on what to focus on in her future cultivation, Jiang Mu changed his clothes and headed to the local county yamen.

He was going to change his name.

From the moment of his birthday last night, he had decided to truly put down roots in this world.

And if he was going to put down roots, then his old name had to be put to rest as well.

The name "Jiang Chen" always made him feel out of place, as if he were an impostor living someone else’s life, trapped in a dream he could wake from at any moment.

But things were different now.

’I’m putting down roots!’

’I’m going to live my own life.’

That was why, on the gift he’d given Bai Xiang yesterday, he had carved the name "Jiang Mu."

He wanted to announce to the world that he was no longer the profligate young master who did nothing but womanize, no longer the human pile driver.

’A clean break!’

’I mean, I might still... drive some piles in the future, but it has to be high-quality, emotional, deep communication.’

’Just look at the kind of trash that idiot was plowing before!’

’The guy had no standards! A total poacher!’

’I’d rather die than be a poacher like him!’

In a society with strict feudal etiquette, changing one’s name was bound to attract criticism. "Your body, hair, and skin are gifts from your parents," and so, it was said, was your name. Doing so might even violate certain taboos.

But with Jiang Mu’s current standing in the Demon-slaying Bureau, it was a trivial matter.

He had even concocted a grand-sounding excuse:

His deceased parents had been visiting him in his dreams, they said. They were gratified to see he had turned over a new leaf and was bringing honor to the family. They had therefore bestowed upon him the new name "Mu," signifying that as dusk falls on a long road, one must strive even harder on their journey.

My own parents came to me in a dream and told me to change it. If I refused, wouldn’t that be unfilial?

Besides, his surname wasn’t changing.

In the end, no one paid much mind to Jiang Mu’s sudden name change.

They simply saw it as a symbol of the former young master turning over a new leaf and making a clean break with his past. If anything, it earned him a measure of their respect.

The return of a prodigal son is more precious than gold.

To go from a notorious wastrel to an influential figure in the Demon-slaying Bureau, renowned throughout Hu State—few could manage such a complete transformation.

It seemed the spirits of the Jiang family’s elders, watching from the heavens, had finally helped the young master see the light.

Truly, only great misfortune can ripen a person’s soul.

...

After taking care of his personal business, Jiang Mu headed straight for the Rejuvenation Pharmacy to find the young healer, Chu Lingzhu.

He mainly wanted to inquire about the background of that Madam Han.

His intuition told him that something was definitely wrong with that woman.

Any potential threat had to be nipped in the bud, lest he get tripped up by some unforeseen detail down the line.

The pharmacy was quiet. Only Chu Dahai was behind the counter, fiddling with his abacus.

He asked and learned that Chu Lingzhu had gone to her private cabin in the bamboo forest.

Without a second word, Jiang Mu turned and headed there.

Watching the Boss’s retreating figure, Old Chu had a complicated expression.

If it were the *old* young master, so eagerly seeking out his tender little cabbage, he would have definitely been displeased.

But now that the Boss was a changed man, he found himself hoping something might happen between the two of them.

After all, his daughter was getting older. It was time for her to be thinking about marriage.

Before long, Jiang Mu arrived at the bamboo forest.

It was afternoon, and sunlight filtered through the emerald leaves, dappling the ground with light and shadow.

A gentle breeze drifted through the grove, carrying the distinct, fresh scent of bamboo leaves,

It evoked the poetic image of "the cicadas’ drone making the forest seem quieter, the birds’ calls making the mountains feel more serene."

Stepping into the small courtyard,

he saw numerous herbs "liberated" from the Divine Sword Sect drying in the sun.

Chu Lingzhu was standing in a giant wooden basin, her bare feet treading on something inside.

Today, the young woman wasn’t wearing her signature long, emerald green dress. Instead, she had changed into a simple, rustic tunic and a short skirt.

The skirt’s hem was rather short, barely reaching past her knees.

As she moved, the parts of her calves exposed to the air would flash in and out of view.

They were like two segments of white lotus root fresh from the water, gleaming with a delicate luster in the sun and radiating a youth and vitality unique to a young woman.

"Boss?"

Hearing the footsteps, Chu Lingzhu looked up. A few beads of sweat dotted her delicate face, sparkling in the light.

She wiped the sweat from her cheek and said,

"The herbs are almost all sorted. The quality of these ones I’m drying isn’t as good, so I plan to give them to poor families who can’t afford treatment."