Slaying demons and eliminating evil, a martial saint among mortals.

As dawn broke, Qin Lie opened his eyes.

After a night's rest, he felt much better.

After improving my physical condition, the effect was quite noticeable.

At least now when I sit up, I no longer feel as weak and powerless as I did yesterday.

Qin Lie looked down at the wound on his arm.

The bleeding has completely stopped, and the edges of the wound are not as red as they were last night.

Although I'm still a ways from a full recovery, I can now engage in normal activities without much trouble.

The room was very quiet.

Liu Yunniang did not return to her room, but instead fell asleep at the table.

She was wearing an old coat, and on the table were the strips of cloth she had used to wipe Qin Lie's blood the night before.

She must have been worried about the rat demon after dealing with it last night, so she's been staying here.

Qin Lie did not wake her.

This woman must be exhausted after all that trouble last night.

He quietly got out of bed, pushed open the door, and went out.

The cold wind blowing in his face made Qin Lie feel much more awake.

The Zhang family's courtyard is not large.

The courtyard wall was made of mud, and some parts of it had cracked.

A pile of firewood stood in the corner, with a wood-chopping knife next to it.

Qin Lie walked over, picked up the wood-chopping knife, and weighed it in his hand.

Last night, he spent three points of family fortune to exchange for basic sword techniques.

Since I don't have a suitable weapon right now, I can only practice with this wood-chopping knife for now.

There are only three basic knife techniques.

Chop, flick, block.

There aren't many moves, and they don't have any complicated variations.

However, for Qin Lie now, these three techniques are enough.

Qin Lie pulled a piece of firewood from the woodpile and stood it upright on the ground.

Hold the machete with both hands.

Raise the knife.

Turn your waist.

The knife falls.

call!

The machete struck the wood heavily.

With a snap, the blade sank into the wood, but did not split it completely.

Qin Lie glanced down.

He only used the strength of his arm to deliver that blow; his waist and legs didn't follow at all.

He pulled out his machete and regained his footing.

This time, the feet exert force first, the waist rotates accordingly, and finally the arms fall.

Click!

The firewood split in the middle and fell to the ground in two halves.

Qin Lie didn't stop; he picked up another piece of firewood from the side.

Keep practicing.

A knife.

Two cuts.

Three knives.

At first, my movements were a little clumsy.

After practicing more than ten times, the transition between gripping the knife, turning the waist, and striking the knife became much smoother.

After exchanging for the basic sword techniques, Qin Lie had already memorized the moves and the way he exerted his power.

However, even if the brain remembers it, the body still needs time to get used to it.

Only through practice can one instinctively reach for the knife when truly encountering a monster.

Last night, when dealing with the rat demon, he suffered because he didn't know how to use a knife.

If he had had a knife, he wouldn't have been bitten so badly.

Qin Lie changed his grip on the knife.

This time, we're practicing flirting.

The knife sliced ​​diagonally upwards, cutting into the firewood from below and shaving off a piece of veneer.

Immediately afterwards, he held the blade horizontally in front of his chest and practiced parrying.

hack.

tease.

block.

He performed the three moves over and over again.

Qin Lie practiced very diligently.

The people from the Demon Suppression Bureau are coming today.

He didn't know what the assessment would entail, nor did he know if the person who came would deliberately make things difficult for him.

The more you practice your knife skills now, the better your chances of survival when you encounter real danger.

call!

The machete fell again.

The firewood split open with a snap.

Qin Lie slowly exhaled, and his hand holding the knife became much steadier than before.

Just then, the sound of horses' hooves suddenly came from outside the courtyard.

The sound grew louder as it approached, and soon stopped outside the Zhang family's courtyard gate.

Qin Lie stopped what he was doing and turned to look in the direction of the courtyard gate.

The people from the Demon Suppression Bureau have arrived.

He placed the machete next to the woodpile and walked towards the courtyard gate.

Before I could even open the door, a somewhat familiar voice came from outside.

"Gentlemen, this is Zhang Erniu's home."

"Qin Lie has been staying here these past few days as well."

Based on the memories left behind by the original owner, Qin Lie recognized the voice.

The person speaking should be Li Changgui, the mayor of Heishan Town.

The people from the Demon Suppression Bureau didn't know where Qin Lie was living, so they asked Li Changgui to lead the way.

Qin Lie didn't wait for anyone to knock; he simply reached out and opened the courtyard gate.

As soon as the courtyard gate opened, several people outside looked over at the same time.

Standing at the very front was an elderly man in his fifties.

Wearing a gray cotton-padded jacket, with gray hair and a smile on his face, he was Li Changgui, the mayor of Heishan Town.

He had just raised his hand, presumably to knock on the door.

The courtyard gate suddenly opened, and the hand that had been hanging in mid-air was pulled back.

"Little Qin?"

"You got up so early today?"

"I was thinking you might not be awake yet, and I was just about to knock on the door."

When Li Changgui saw that the person who opened the door was Qin Lie, he was clearly stunned for a moment.

"Uncle Li, I woke up early today and practiced my knife skills in the yard for a while."

"I heard a noise outside the door, so I came to check."

Qin Lie looked at Li Changgui and replied with a smile.

As he spoke, he could clearly see the surprise in Li Changgui's eyes.

The original owner used to speak very slowly, sometimes taking a long time to utter a complete sentence.

Li Changgui probably didn't expect Qin Lie to speak so fluently today.

However, Li Changgui had been the town mayor for so many years and had seen all sorts of things.

He quickly masked the surprise on his face.

He turned to the side and pointed to the three people behind him.

"Little Qin, these three are all officials from the Demon Suppression Division."

"I came here today specifically to verify the vacancy left by your father."

"I've brought the person to you. As for the rest, let the officials tell you."

"I'm not staying here to get involved."

"Thank you for your help, Uncle Li."

"I'll treat you to dinner another time when I have time."

Qin Lie spoke very politely.

"No trouble at all, no trouble at all."

"Your father protected our Black Mountain Town back then, so if we can lend a hand, we should certainly do so."

Li Changgui paused slightly at this point.

"Little Qin, the Demon Suppression Division is not like other places."

"If you really get in, you'll have to listen to the elders more often and learn from others."

"We can't keep living like before, drifting through life in a daze."

"Thank you for reminding me, Uncle Li. I'll remember that."

Qin Lie did not refute, but nodded in agreement.

Li Changgui paused for a moment as he was about to leave.

He glanced back at Qin Lie one last time before turning and walking away.

After Li Changgui left, Qin Lie turned his attention to the three people remaining outside the courtyard gate.

All three were dressed in black outfits.

He wore a black waist tag that bore a resemblance to the demon-suppressing token around Qin Lie's neck.

Standing at the very front was a man in his thirties.

He had a calm expression, with a long sword hanging at his waist.

Behind him stood a burly man carrying a knife.

The burly man was very tall with broad shoulders, and his face showed a hint of impatience as he looked Qin Lie up and down.

The last one was a young woman.

He looked to be in his early twenties, and also had a short knife hanging at his waist. His expression was not obvious.

Qin Lie was also sizing up the three of them.

You can tell from their positions that the man standing at the front is probably the one in charge among the three.

"Qin Lie?"

The man looked at him and asked.

"it's me."

Qin Lie nodded.

The man's gaze lingered on his face for a moment, then fell on his injured arm.

"I'm the one responsible for verifying your place in the vacancy."

"Demon Suppression Bureau, Lu Chen."