So it turns out I'm the demon!

Jiang Mu caught the black cloth strip, weighed it in her hand, and chuckled:

"Brother, I am a cultivator. This thing of mine is probably useless to me. Even with my eyes covered, I can still perceive my surroundings with my divine sense."

"Just do it, stop with the nonsense!"

The burly man shouted impatiently.

Jiang Mu shrugged, wrapped the black cloth behind her head, and blindfolded herself.

The burly man grabbed his shoulder and pushed him toward the shop door.

After exiting the door and turning left, and walking about ten meters, the burly man suddenly released his grip and said coldly, "Alright, take the cloth off."

"Have we arrived?"

Jiang Mu pulled off the black cloth with some surprise.

Looking around, I found myself standing in a dark hall.

Several braziers burned on the stone walls surrounding the hall, the firelight casting eerily distorted shadows on the walls.

And sitting on a chair directly above was a middle-aged man.

The man had a square face, slightly dark skin, and prominent brow bones. He was dressed in all black. Behind his chair, on the stone wall, was a huge sunflower pattern carved.

The burly man stepped back to the man's side expressionlessly, his hands hanging at his sides, his face respectful.

"You said you're Yan Zixiao's friend?"

The middle-aged man leaned forward slightly, scrutinizing Jiang Mu with eyes as sharp as a hawk's.

Jiang Mu nodded and said:

"That's right. Although we're not exactly best friends you could entrust your life to, we're at least on good terms and get along fairly well. If you don't believe me, you can call him out right now and ask him in person."

"Yan Zixiao is not here with me," the middle-aged man said.

Jiang Mu smiled:

"Brother, since I'm already standing here, there's no need to hide anything."

"Let me be clear, the spies from the inner guards outside have confirmed that Yan Zixiao's last trace disappeared within your Demon-Slaying Association. And now you're telling me he's not here?"

The middle-aged man looked at him calmly:

"The intelligence from the inner guards was indeed correct. Yan Zixiao did visit our branch some time ago."

He said the Ten Thousand Swords Sect had an important treasure hidden near Xiahe Town and wanted to borrow our Demon Slaying Society's manpower and resources to help find it. Out of consideration for our past camaraderie, I agreed.

But the night before last, he said he had urgent business to attend to and had to go out alone, and then he never returned, and there has been no news of him since.

"real?"

Jiang Mu frowned slightly.

The middle-aged man sighed: "Whether you believe it or not is entirely up to you, Lord Jiang. The reason I am willing to see you and tell you frankly is simply because your name is Jiang Mu."

Although our Demon Slayer Society is located underground, our intelligence network is not closed off.

I know you have slain countless demons that plagued humanity. At least in this respect, your ideals align perfectly with those of our Demon-Slaying Society.

Otherwise, even if it were any ordinary imperial henchman, I wouldn't utter a single word, even if the imperial guards held a knife to my throat." Jiang Mu stared at him for a few seconds, then cupped his hands and said:

"In that case, I will not bother you any longer. Farewell."

As he spoke, he casually picked up the black cloth and blindfolded himself: "Come on, let's go through the procedure and take me back the way we came." Just as the burly man was about to step forward, the middle-aged man suddenly spoke again:

"Jiang Mu, would you be interested in joining our Demon-Slaying Society?"

"Join you?"

Jiang Mu pulled off the black cloth, a half-smile on her face.

The man stood up, spread his arms, and the sunflower pattern behind him seemed to burn in the firelight:

"The current court is incompetent, the emperor is foolish, and he treats the people like dirt. The Demon Slayer Division has so many experts, yet the number of demons they kill keeps increasing. The Red Umbrella Cult, the Green Umbrella Cult, and all sorts of other evil cults and demonic factions are emerging one after another. Why is that?"

The root of the problem lies with the higher authorities! You've killed so many demons, yet in the end you'll gain nothing, and the imperial court might not even tolerate you.

Join us, and the more demons you slay, the more merit you accumulate. In the future, you might even be able to attain enlightenment and ascend to immortality through offerings.

"Ascension?"

Jiang Mu shook his head and smiled.

"I'm sorry, but I'm a very materialistic person with an unusually large appetite. Your temple is too small; this little bit of pie in the sky can't possibly satisfy my appetite."

The middle-aged man remained silent for a long time before finally sighing:

"Those who walk different paths cannot make plans together. Therefore, we can only hope that you will never have any dealings with demons in the future. Otherwise, no matter how great your achievements are, you will only be our enemy."

"Da Yuan, see him out."

"yes!"

The burly man responded, blindfolded Jiang Mu again, grabbed his shoulders, and pushed him out.

Jiang Mu let him push her, but the corners of her lips curled up slightly.

The instant he was pushed out the door, his fingertips twitched slightly, and he threw out a teleporting phantom.

I only walked about ten steps.

The burly man ripped the blindfold off Jiang Mu's eyes, coldly tossed out a "Let's go," and turned to enter the inner hall.

Jiang Mu rubbed her brow bone, looked around, and realized that she had returned to the coffin shop filled with the smell of raw lacquer.

The shop was still dimly lit.

The white-haired old man with a face full of wrinkles was still pushing the wooden plane in his hand, stroke by stroke.

"Is there a hidden realm here?"

Jiang Mu pondered to himself.

Although he was blindfolded, he could clearly sense that within a short distance of about ten steps, the space had folded and fractured. This Demon-Slaying Association seemed to have a deeper foundation than Xun Xiaomo had described.

He walked over to the old man and asked casually:

"Sir, your craftsmanship is quite skilled. How many coffins does this town sell in a month?"

The old man pushed the plane forward, and sawdust swirled out from the blade like snowflakes. He said calmly, "If fewer people die, less will be sold. If more people die, less will be sold."

Jiang Mu raised an eyebrow: "Why are there more deaths but fewer sales?"

The old man stopped planes, glanced at him, and said in a somber tone, "Everyone's dead. Who's going to pay for them? Who's going to dig the graves and bury them? What's the point of having these square wooden boxes?"

That makes sense.

Jiang Mu nodded in agreement, said no more, and turned to walk out of the coffin shop.

After leaving the shop, he didn't head to the meeting place he had arranged with Xun Xiaozhi. Instead, he turned into a secluded dead-end alley behind the shop. After confirming that there were no hidden agents of the Imperial Guard or spies of the Demon Slayer Society following him, Jiang Mu had an idea.

"Whoosh!"

Transposition!

The next moment, his figure vanished into thin air from the alley and appeared in a cold, dark passage.

Jiang Mu quickly suppressed his aura and looked around.

They discovered that there were many coffins placed in the passage, each one tightly sealed, with a thin layer of dust on the lids.

He followed the faint light emanating from the end of the passage and tiptoed over. Soon, he returned to the hall where he had just met the square-faced middle-aged man.

The hall was completely empty.

The leader and the burly man had both disappeared without a trace.

At that moment, only a few people cloaked in black were dragging an iron cage covered with a black cloth toward another stone door on one side of the hall. After entering, they closed the stone door.

Jiang Mu waited for a moment.

Once the footsteps behind the door had faded away, he teleported through the iron gate once more.

There was still a passageway behind the door.

faint, intermittent screams could be heard from the end of the passage.

Jiang Mu continued to probe forward.

A moment later, a spacious underground cell appeared before them.

Unlike the ordinary prisons in government offices, every cell here is covered with yellow talismans.

The runes looked like bloodshot eyes in the dim light, giving them a rather sinister appearance.

Jiang Mu's gaze swept over the cells, and his brows furrowed involuntarily.

Inside the prison cells were many tortured monsters.

Some had already been skinned and had their tendons removed.

Some were hung upside down on racks with iron hooks, their chests cut open, and their demon cores already removed.

However, Jiang Mu also captured several human corpses.

Jiang Mu patiently searched the entire cell but found neither Yan Zixiao nor the square-faced man from before. He continued his stealthy advance deeper into the cell.

Finally, they arrived at the innermost cell in the passage.

"Snapped!"

A crisp crack of a whip echoed through the empty prison.

Jiang Mu moved to a dark spot and stared intently into the distance.

On the rack in the prison cell, a female demon with wings on her back was bound by chains.

A yellow demon-suppressing talisman was affixed to the demoness's forehead, sealing off all the demonic power within her.

Beside her was an empty iron cage stained with blood.

Five or six men in black robes stood in the cell; they were the same group Jiang Mu had seen in the hall earlier.

At that moment, a man in black robes held a leather whip covered in barbs, lashing it mercilessly across the winged banshee's body. As he lashed her, he roared with a ferocious expression:

"Tell me! Where exactly is your master hiding?"

The banshee gritted her teeth, staring at the black-robed man with eyes full of hatred, not uttering a sound even as the whip tore at her flesh. "Damn, pretty tough!"

The man in the black robe was enraged and raised his whip, ready to continue his deadly attack.

Just then, a man stepped forward and grabbed the wrist of the man holding the whip.

He lifted the hood of his cloak, revealing a face with angular features but a somewhat refined appearance. He walked up to the winged banshee, took a handkerchief from his robes, wiped the blood from her face, and said gently:

"Why suffer this physical pain? Just tell me honestly where your master is, and I will immediately release you."

I can swear a blood oath in the name of the "Lamp Fairy" that I will never break my promise. What do you say?

The winged banshee, panting heavily, forced her swollen eyelids open to look at him, forcing a mocking sneer:

"I recognize you... You're a scholar. Back when Yancheng was in chaos, the Red Umbrella Sect and the Peacock Demon King besieged the city, and a small group of demons sneaked into this Xiahe Town, killing people everywhere."

At that time, you and your parents were cornered and almost became food for those monsters. It was our master who led us to defeat those monsters and save your whole family's lives.

All of this was simply because your mother had kindly saved a little bird that had fallen from a tree years ago.

That little bird was a child of our tribe.

The succubus sneered.

"Even we demons know how to repay kindness, and you, a scholar who has studied the classics, can't even write the word 'gratitude'?" Faced with the demones' rebuke, the scholar's face turned ashen.

"You talk a good game, but who knows if those monsters were part of a pre-arranged plan?"

If it weren't for the timely reminder from the immortal masters of the Demon Slayer Association, who revealed your true identities to me, my family would probably still be kept in the dark by you demons in human skin!

Those who are not of our kind will surely have different hearts!

A demon is a demon; its very blood is filled with malice. It is a wicked creature born of nature, and it has never distinguished between good and evil.

Slaying demons and eliminating evil is in accordance with the will of Heaven, and is also a decree issued by the Lamp Fairy!

The bird demon gazed at him, its eyes filled with sorrow, and softly recited: "The pheasant perches on the fence, yet still longs for the forest. Man wearing its clothes is not as good as the bird." Upon hearing this, the scholar felt as if his darkest sore spot had been struck.

He abruptly turned to the man wielding the whip and shouted sternly, "Keep hitting! Hit him hard! I refuse to believe we can't pry open this bird's beak!"

The man with the whip grinned maliciously, raising the barbed leather whip high in his hand, about to lash it out.

However, the next second, he suddenly felt his palm go empty.

The whip vanished into thin air.

"Is this a ghost?"

The man holding the whip instinctively turned around.

Outside the cell, a handsome young man was standing.

He stood with his hands behind his back, his expression cold and stern.

Who are you?

The man with the whip was terrified and shouted angrily.

The other men in black robes were also startled and drew their weapons.

Jiang Mu spoke calmly, "I have a question. Where is Yan Zixiao?"

The scholar was stunned for a moment, but after seeing Jiang Mu's face clearly, he exclaimed in horror, "You're that Demon Slayer officer from the Demon Slayer Division in the hall just now? Weren't you already sent out? How did you get in?"

"I walked in on my own two feet."

Jiang Mu shrugged. "Enough with the small talk, answer my question first. The Imperial Guard's intelligence can't be wrong; Yan Zixiao is definitely in your Demon-Slaying Society's hands. Is he imprisoned? Where is he being held?"

After a brief moment of shock, the scholar's eyes flashed with a fierce light, and he shouted sharply:

"What are you all standing there for? Seize this lackey of the imperial court!"

"Whoosh!"

The two closest men in black robes raised their swords and slashed at Jiang Mu.

However, before he could take even half a step, his head slipped off his neck, bounced twice on the ground, and rolled to the corner of the wall.

The headless corpse was still in a walking posture.

The blood mist that spurted from his neck condensed into a spray of red rain in mid-air before he collapsed to the ground with a thud.

The remaining people stood frozen in place, their blades trembling violently in their hands.

Jiang Mu said calmly:

"Actually, I don't have much of an opinion on your demon-slaying philosophy. After all, the demon blood on my hands is more than the salt you've eaten in your entire lives."

But even demons can be good or evil. For some good demons who have never harmed anyone, and have even saved people, I am still willing to show them some leniency.

He shook his head and sighed:

"Forget it, talking to you brainwashed idiots is like casting pearls before swine. Now, I'll ask one last time, where is Yan Zixiao?" The people in the cell were trembling, and no one spoke.

"I know where he is."

Just then, the long-winged banshee, who was tied to the rack and barely breathing, suddenly spoke weakly.

Upon hearing the female demon speak, the scholar suddenly drew his sword and slashed at the bird demon.

Before the blade could fall, a hand suddenly reached out from the darkness and grabbed his throat.

Then, he was lifted into the air like a chick.

The scholar's feet left the ground, and he thrashed and kicked wildly.

Jiang Mu looked at his face, which had turned purplish-red from lack of oxygen, and said calmly, "If what this bird just said is true, then you are indeed worse than an animal."

The scholar gripped Jiang Mu's arm with both hands, trying to pry it off, but all his efforts were in vain.

In his fear and despair, he suddenly struggled to speak:

"Lamp, Lamp Fairy, protect me... May evil spirits be warded off... Golden light protects my body... May all demons and monsters be slain..."

Not only him, but the remaining black-robed men in the cell, who had been terrified, seemed to have their fear removed upon hearing the scholar's recitation, and joined in shouting in unison:

"May the Lamp Fairy protect me... May evil spirits be warded off..."

Jiang Mu shook her head:

"All this nonsense. It's nothing more than using the guise of demon slaying to create a cult and bewitch people. This kind of low-level brainwashing trick can only fool fools like you idiots."

"Snap!"

A crisp sound.

Jiang Mu crushed the scholar's throat bone.

The scholar's neck slumped down, his eyes bulged, and his life was completely extinguished.

Jiang Mu casually tossed the corpse aside.

Seeing this, the remaining black-robed men not only did not flee, but instead descended into even more complete madness.

One of them raised his hands high and roared:

"The Lamp Fairy has possessed us! No demons or evil spirits will dare approach us! For the sake of the Lamp Fairy, kill this lackey of the imperial court!"

"kill!"

Several men brandishing their weapons charged towards Jiang Mu.

"Stubborn and obstinate."

Jiang Mu's eyes turned cold, and she waved her hand lightly.

Countless blade energies, like a strangling net, bloomed from the void.

The moment the black-robed figures rushed forward and touched the blade's energy, they were sliced ​​into even pieces like fragile tofu, scattering across the ground. Jiang Mu stepped over the remains and walked directly to the winged banshee, saying calmly:

"Tell me, where is Yan Zixiao?"

The succubus looked at the corpses lying haphazardly on the ground, then stared at Jiang Mu, her voice trembling as she asked:

"Are you a demon or a monster?"

Jiang Mu said impatiently, "Do you even know where Yan Zixiao is being held?"

The succubus quickly regained her composure and weakly replied:

"He was indeed imprisoned. He was imprisoned by the Demon Slayer Association because he tried to save our master."

"To save a demon?" Jiang Mu was greatly surprised.

When they first met in the wilderness, Yan Zixiao was a headstrong swordsman who shouted "Demons should be killed!"

He even had a big argument with the female ghost because Jiang Mu "reformed" her.

Now he's being arrested for trying to save a demon?

Has the sun risen in the west?

The banshee nodded and explained:

"That's right. Our master was unfortunately captured by these demons. When Yan Zixiao found out, he used his past relationship with the Demon Slayer Association to sneak in and successfully released our master. But he couldn't escape with them, which angered the Demon Slayer Association."

"So where exactly is he being held now?" Jiang Mu pressed.

The succubus shook her head: "I don't know exactly where he's being held."

Jiang Mu's eyes turned cold: "Are you playing me?"

"I wouldn't dare lie to you."

The banshee, panting, quickened her pace.

"Although I don't know exactly where he's being held, I do know that tomorrow night at midnight, the Demon Slayer Society will publicly behead him at the main altar to establish their authority."

As for the exact location of the main altar, perhaps only my master knows. "My lord, if you wish to save your friend, I can take you to see my master." Jiang Mu stared into her eyes and sneered.

"You're not thinking of making up some excuse to trick me into helping you escape this cage, are you?"

The banshee gave a bitter smile:

"With my current crippled body and damaged demon core, I can't even fly anymore. What can I possibly lie to you about? Only I can lead you to your master."