Terrifying Heavens: I Slay Demons by Painting Faces

Lin Meihua's fingertips trembled as she swiped across the tablet screen, each missing person news item burning into her heart like a red-hot iron.

Behind those unfamiliar names and blurry photos are broken families, and the source of it all points to her daughter in the red dress.

Regardless of her motives, she caused all of this.

"In July 2002, a hiker named Zhang went missing in the mountains. The search and rescue team found his backpack near an abandoned amusement park, and a cell phone video captured a little girl in a red dress..."

Her voice was dry and hoarse, each word sounding like she was swallowing shards of glass.

Chen Hengyi's hand holding the Demon-Slaying Sword remained motionless, the flames casting flickering shadows on his profile: "Continue."

"In July 2014, a female college student surnamed Li went missing after going into the mountains alone for a field trip. Police found blood-stained clothing on the mountainside..."

Lin Meihua read a lot of words until her mouth was dry, and her complexion grew increasingly pale.

On the other side, the little girl in red, bound by the golden spear, struggled frantically as Lin Meihua recited these words.

"In April 2015, news anchor Shen Yijun went missing. Two years later, when she was found, she was mentally unstable and pregnant with a stillborn child. Her fiancé went missing, and her grandmother, who had gone missing, was later found. During this time, her grandmother searched for Shen Yijun without success and died at home."

Two days ago, high school student Li Yating went missing after wandering into the mountains... Her mother is welfare social worker Li Shufen...

Lin Meihua's face was extremely pale at this moment, and her eyes were filled with a variety of complex emotions.

Chen Hengyi saw the other person's face turn pale at a visible speed.

Then, he simply pulled the tablet back.

He asked, "Now I'm asking you, does she need to pay with her life?"

Chen Hengyi's voice wasn't loud, but it exploded like thunder in Lin Meihua's mind!

She trembled as if startled by thunder.

Lin Meihua looked at Chen Hengyi with disbelief. This man was now asking a mother to decide the life or death of her daughter.

"He's forcing me. Why is he forcing me, and by such a cruel method?"

For a moment, Lin Meihua was torn. Listening to her monstrous daughter's screams, she wished time could just stop.

She knew, of course, that her daughter had committed such a crime that even death could not atone for it... but at this moment, reason and family affection were locked in a struggle.

Lin Meihua wanted to lie and say, "He shouldn't have died."

But only half a minute later, Chen Hengyi's voice rang out like the command of the King of Hell: "Have you figured it out?"

Lin Meihua's lips trembled, and tears welled up in her eyes instantly.

tick~

Tears fell onto the Demon-Slaying Sword.

"I...."

Chen Hengyi smiled slightly: "It seems you already have the answer in your heart. Then let me start a countdown."

"3".

"2".

Lin Meihua gripped the hem of her clothes tightly, her nails digging deep into her palms.

She gazed at her daughter, impaled by a golden spear, and countless images flashed through her mind—her daughter's smiling face before death, the wailing of missing persons' families, and now, her daughter's horrifying appearance.

She looked up abruptly, her voice hoarse but firm: "She...she deserves to pay with her life."

Tears welled up in her eyes, and she closed them, unable to bear looking any longer.

As soon as she finished speaking, Chen Hengyi immediately sheathed the Demon-Slaying Sword and said, "You made the right choice."

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Hengyi turned his head sharply to look at the little girl in red.

The next second, he raised his sword and slashed, the sword light instantly enveloping his opponent.

"ah--!"

A mournful cry rang out with the sound of a sword, and the little girl in red was decapitated, engulfed in flames.

But no matter how much she struggled, she was firmly locked in place by the Demon-Subduing Golden Spear and could not move.

In the end, the flames burned out under the golden spear, leaving only a charred corpse.

Chen Hengyi then drew his golden spear, and the charcoal fell to the ground, tilting precariously.

When he looked at Lin Meihua again, her tightly closed eyes were already streaked with tears.

Chen Hengyi was not affected by the other party's emotions: "You can take the remains for burial, but your sins still need to be discussed."

Lin Meihua suddenly opened her eyes: "My crime?"

"Is the instigator innocent?"

Chen Hengyi sheathed his golden spear and demon-slaying sword, and calmly said, "You possess the Five Thunder Incantation passed down in your family, making you a member of the Daoist sect. Although you've most likely not yet formally entered the sect, the Five Thunder Token is a Daoist item... If we're going by Daoist rules, what crime do you think you should be charged with?"

"Taoism emphasizes 'cause and effect, retribution, and the inescapable retribution.' Yet, for your own selfish gain, you used evil magic to resurrect your deceased daughter, causing her to transform into a little girl in red, harming innocent lives... Distorting life and death is a crime against Heaven!"

Lin Meihua's face turned deathly pale. She collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down her face again: "I...I know I was wrong, but I just wanted my daughter to come back..."

"A mistake is a mistake, there are no excuses."

"However, considering that you were willing to sacrifice your own family for the greater good, I will not kill you... After all, I am not someone who kills indiscriminately."

"From today onward, I require you to recite scriptures and perform good deeds for the deceased every day. If their relatives are still alive, you must visit them and take care of them, fulfilling the duties of a deceased person."

"If you fail, I will come and deliver it to you."

After Chen Hengyi finished speaking, he turned and left the alley.

He could have simply killed the other person to end the matter, but that wouldn't have been fair, because the other person's death wouldn't have had any positive impact on society.

If you do something wrong, you need to atone for it.

Chen Hengyi left the alley and looked at the still bustling hospital not far away.

He shook his head sadly and muttered to himself, "Also, it's not fair to the other Lin Yongqing either."

He felt that he couldn't be completely fair and impartial, and his handling of this matter was somewhat influenced by emotions.

Not long after, Chen Hengyi returned to his room in the Fude Palace.

He reached into his pocket and pulled the black book out of his hand.

Turn to the second page.

One field was flashing.

[The little girl in red is being tried, and her mother is being punished.]

"I guess this counts as finished?"

As soon as the words were spoken, the task disappeared, and then new text appeared.

[The golden spear binds the red-clad woman, the fire ignites her; the sins of Lin's mother cannot be absolved by death alone, but only a hundred years of virtuous deeds can truly demonstrate her sincerity.]

Chen Hengyi nodded.

Then, the text changed again.

[The Six Senses - Joy of Seeing: Like piercing the eye of a thief, one sees things clearly; the wondrous Dharma is not hidden, and the mundane world can be seen.]

"What? The Six Senses can see joy?"

Chen Hengyi was startled, but then a sudden, sharp pain shot through his eyes, as if someone had splashed sulfuric acid on his retina!

Tears streamed down my face, and my vision was completely plunged into darkness.

The pain spread throughout my body in an instant, as if every nerve in my eyes was being burned, causing excruciating pain!

Chen Hengyi collapsed and quickly lay down on the bed.

In the darkness, Chen Hengyi felt as if his eyeballs were being pierced repeatedly by countless fine needles. The excruciating pain made him curl up, and his forehead was instantly covered in cold sweat.

He gritted his teeth, trying not to groan—the pain was more intense than any injury he had ever suffered before, as if some force was forcibly reshaping his vision.

Even more terrifying, he seemed to be hallucinating, hearing people fighting inside his eyes, making clanging and banging sounds.

"Don't hurt my eyes!!"