So it turns out I'm the demon!

Pushing open the door, the only light in the room was a red candle as thick as a baby's arm.

The candlelight was dim and dim, casting dappled light and shadow all around.

The pale pink bed curtains seemed to be shrouded in a hazy, smoky mist, through which one could vaguely see a graceful, undulating figure lying on the bed. "Miss Ayan."

Seeing that the other party did not speak, Jiang Mu tentatively called out.

Come here.

A lazy, husky voice came from behind the curtain.

Upon hearing the voice, Jiang Mu immediately perked up. It was indeed Madam Han, Shui Yanhua's voice!

He slowly walked toward the bed.

Tiny flying swords hovered silently at her fingertips, poised to strike.

But when he walked to the bedside and saw the other person's face clearly, he couldn't help but be taken aback.

The woman lying on the bed was not Mrs. Han, but a strange woman with a beauty mark on her chin.

The woman was alluring, her clothes half-open, revealing glimpses of her fair skin, and her legs were crossed, captivating and alluring.

Was he disguised?

This thought flashed through Jiang Mu's mind immediately.

But when he examined her more closely with his divine sense, he was astonished to find that the woman in front of him had no trace of a living person, but instead exuded an aura of death.

"dead!"

Jiang Mu's heart skipped a beat.

He gently touched his brow with two fingers, casting the [Spiritual Divination] spell.

The world before him instantly faded to black and white, with stripes interwoven within. At the same time, he could see several faint, shimmering threads floating on the woman's body. Jiang Mu finally understood.

This woman was actually a manipulated puppet corpse.

Beitang Batian used this method to remotely absorb the yang energy of his guests.

That's what those men are obsessed with!

"Damn, that's disgusting."

Jiang Mu felt a wave of nausea.

The woman on the bed seemed to sense something amiss; the puppet threads floating around her suddenly tightened, and her alluring voice turned cold: "Who are you?"

Jiang Mu was too lazy to continue the act. With a flick of his finger, a flying sword shot out and pierced directly through the woman's brow.

The puppet strings on the woman's body immediately snapped and scattered, drifting out of the house.

At the same time, a large "凶" (ominous) character appeared in the distance in Jiang Mu's [Spiritual Divination] vision.

He leaped out of the house with a light touch of his toes and sped off in the direction of the character "凶" (ominous).

Before long, Jiang Mu arrived at the door of an inn.

But the character for "ominous" disappeared.

Jiang Mu was taken aback, muttering, "Could it be that the old man sensed I was coming and concealed his presence to escape?"

After a moment's thought, he strode toward the inn.

But just as he reached the door, two burly men in black suddenly stopped him.

One of them said coldly:

"This inn has been booked by my young master. If you want to stay here, you'll have to go somewhere else."

Jiang Mu frowned and casually made up a lie:

"I used to live here. I went out for a drink and suddenly I was booked by someone else? I haven't even gotten my room fee back yet."

The burly man in black tossed a silver ingot to Jiang Mu, his tone chilling: "Since you were a guest before, you can take the silver and get out of here now." Jiang Mu shook his head and said:

"I'm sorry, but I have something valuable in my room that's very important to me. This little bit of money won't be enough to satisfy me."

"It has to work!"

The burly man in black said coldly, "If you insist on going in to get your things, fine. But whether you can come out alive, I can't guarantee."

As he spoke, he released his aura of power.

He is a cultivator at the fourth realm.

Jiang Mu feigned fright, taking a few steps back before shouting angrily, "Is there no law in broad daylight? You wait, I'm going to report this to the authorities!"

Just then, a woman wearing a black veil came out.

She asked, "Which room are you staying in? What's in there? I'll send someone to get it for you."

Jiang Mu snorted coldly:

"How can that be? What if you steal my things and then deny it? Who can I complain to? I have to go and get them myself." The reason he didn't force his way in was that although the "fierce" character was gone, he could still vaguely sense a powerful aura lingering in the inn, whose level was no lower than his own.

The city of Fazhou is currently teeming with hidden talents; perhaps a powerful figure is lurking in some hidden corner.

Taking action rashly could cause trouble.

The woman in black stared at him for a moment, then turned to the burly man and said:

"Take him there."

"Yes!" The burly man glared at Jiang Mu. "Come with me."

Jiang Mu hesitated for a moment, then asked in a low voice, "You won't kill me after I go in, will you?"

The woman in black sneered:

"If you're afraid of dying, then don't go in. Or come back tomorrow. We won't touch anything inside."

"That won't do. That's an heirloom from my family, and it's very expensive."

Jiang Mu pretended to grit her teeth and followed behind the big man.

After watching him go inside, the woman in black walked onto the main street, carefully looked around to make sure no one else was lurking nearby, and then turned to another burly gatekeeper and instructed him:

"The city is a mixed bag these days, so let's avoid conflict if possible, and don't attract the Demon Slayers."

The burly man bowed and accepted the order.

Jiang Mu entered the inn, but the lobby was deserted, with no guests in sight, including the waiter and the innkeeper.

Most of the doors upstairs were also open, clearly indicating that the rooms had been emptied long ago.

Everywhere in the inn, there were guards dressed in the same black outfit, all of whom were at around the fourth level of cultivation.

Although they are all pseudo-star-level cultivators, the fact that they can casually pull out so many experts is rare even in a city's Demon Slaying Division.

Which room?

The burly man in black who was leading the way asked impatiently.

Jiang Mu dared not point randomly. Who knew which rooms had been moved and which hadn't when they were clearing out the rooms? If she pointed to a room where they had kicked out a guest, it would surely arouse suspicion.

He feigned annoyance: "What's the rush? Just follow me."

With that, he took the lead and went up to the second floor.

Because of the presence of experts, Jiang Mu did not dare to release his divine sense, but instead observed his surroundings with his eyes.

He wasn't sure if Beitang Batian was still in the inn, nor did he know where the mysterious force that had booked the inn came from, or whether it had any connection with Beitang Batian.

For now, we can only take it one step at a time.

"Chujiang!"

Suddenly, a door in the left corridor opened, and a clear, sweet voice filled with surprise rang out.

Jiang Mu turned her head and saw that it was Duan Shuang'er.

The girl was pale, and two women in black followed behind her, as if she were being forcibly escorted away.

As soon as Duan Shuang'er shouted, the burly man behind Jiang Mu immediately became alert, stepped forward, and demanded, "You know each other?"

"I don't know him."

Jiang Mu answered crisply and decisively.

He now understood that these people were mostly after Wen Li and Duan Shuang'er. He had heard them mention before that the two of them had been disciples of the Phoenix Feather Sect but had later escaped.

These men in black are most likely from the Phoenix Feather Sect.

Jiang Mu has always kept his distance from the personal grudges and feuds among martial arts sects.

Moreover, the previous few times I helped them were already more than enough, so why would I continue to act as their babysitter?

But when he tried to back out, the other party refused.

The woman in black with a veil approached and scrutinized Jiang Mu again, her tone suspicious:

"Did you really live here before?"

"Really."

Jiang Mu looked completely at ease.

"Which room? Point it out to me!" the woman in black asked coldly.

Helpless, Jiang Mu randomly pointed to a room.

The woman in black sneered and entered the room Duan Shuang'er had just left, coldly tossing out, "Bring him in."

A large hand immediately landed on Jiang Mu's shoulder, like an iron clamp.

"Walk!"

Jiang Mu stumbled as the big man pushed her, cursing her bad luck. She glanced at Duan Shuang'er, who felt she had caused trouble, and muttered to herself: "They say big breasts mean no brains, but how come this flat-chested girl is just as brainless?"

The room was quite spacious, with a charcoal fire burning brightly in the center.

Wen Li was holding the baby tightly in her arms, curled up in the corner of the soft couch, her face pale.

A handsome young man, dressed in a moon-white brocade robe, sat casually on a chair by the charcoal fire, toying with a folding fan in his hand. Beside him sat an elderly man with gray hair and a grey robe.

The old man's eyes were slightly closed. After Jiang Mu entered, he merely lifted his eyelids to glance at him before closing his eyes again.

He had a look on his face that said he wasn't worth a second glance.

However, in Jiang Mu's perception, the old man was like a vast ocean, exuding an oppressive aura. Clearly, the powerful aura in the inn originated from this old man.

"You two know each other?"

The man in white looked at Jiang Mu with great interest.

Before Jiang Mu could speak, Wen Li interjected:

"We met this Fellow Daoist Chu once before at Mingyun Inn, but we weren't familiar with each other. Senior Brother Fang, this Young Master Chu has nothing to do with this matter, so I hope you won't make things difficult for him."

Upon hearing the title "Senior Brother Fang," Jiang Mu immediately understood the situation.

They really are from the Phoenix Feather Sect.

The man in white laughed: "Since you're not familiar with him, why did he end up here? Just now, Junior Sister Shuang'er said someone would come to rescue them; could she be referring to this brother?"

Jiang Mu took out a sketch portrait from her sleeve, held it up in front of everyone, and said:

"Fellow Daoist, you misunderstand. I have come to find someone, a woman."

She stole my things, and I found out she's at this inn, so I'm trying my luck. Has anyone seen her? If you have, please let me know; otherwise, I'll look elsewhere.

The man in white didn't look at the painting in his hand, but turned to Wen Li and said:

"I don't care whether he came to save you or not, Junior Sister Wen. I'm giving you one last chance to live: hand over that secret letter and then obediently come back to Phoenix Feather Sect with me to face your punishment."

"Out of consideration for our shared sect affiliation, I will plead with my father to spare you both. Your violation of sect rules by having an affair with a stranger can also be forgiven."

At this point, his expression darkened, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes:

"But if you remain obstinate, then don't blame me for being ruthless. This ignorant brat and Junior Sister Shuang'er will not live. I will turn them into sword puppets."

Oh, right, and that child in your arms, he's also good material for weapon crafting.

Wen Li was so angry that she trembled all over and glared at him.

"Fang Yuanhao, you and your son killed the Grand Elder and my master in your struggle for the position of sect leader. Shuang'er and I no longer wish to stay in the Phoenix Feather Sect. We only wish to stay away from the strife and live a peaceful life. Why do you insist on driving us to our deaths?"

I already showed you that secret letter. The Phoenix Feather Sect doesn't have that magic weapon at all; it was stolen by Jiang Chaoxi back then.

Furthermore, Shuang'er's father is Ding Tieshui. Even though he disowned his daughter due to personal grudges, she is still a member of the Ding family.

"If one day, Senior Ding Tieshui had a change of heart and suddenly remembered Shuang'er, only to find that you had killed her, do you think, given his personality, he would let you off the hook?"

Ding Tieshui?!

Upon hearing this name, Jiang Mu's eyes narrowed and flashed with a sharp light.

It's like searching high and low without finding it, only to have it come to you effortlessly.

He had been pondering how to set up an intelligence network to find Ding Tieshui, the holder of the [Left Sheti] star position under the Kang Jinlong system. Unexpectedly, the clues had been floating right in front of him all along.

Duan Shuang'er was actually Ding Tieshui's daughter.

Judging from Wen Li's words, the relationship between the father and daughter didn't seem to be good, which explains why Duan Shuang'er didn't take her father's surname.

Fang Yuanhao laughed when he heard the other party's threat:

"The story that Jiang Chaoxi stole that treasure is nothing but a lie your master and the others made up to deceive people. If he really wasn't from the Phoenix Feather Sect, how could he have mastered that forbidden technique?"

Furthermore, you don't need to scare me with Ding Tieshui.

Not to mention that this girl is just his illegitimate child, and since he sold her to the Phoenix Feather Sect, she was merely a commodity to be exchanged for resources. Moreover, Ding Tieshui is already in dire straits himself; how could he possibly care about others?

Wen Li clenched her fists, still unwilling to give up:

"My husband's younger brother is an official of the Demon Slayer Bureau, and Lord Jiang Mu has already agreed to help us find him. If you dare to commit violence here today, you will be openly attacking and killing the family member of an official of the imperial court."

"When the Demon Slayer Division investigates, how many heads do you have to take responsibility?"

"that is!"

Duan Shuang'er also mustered her courage and chimed in.

"Lord Jiang is incredibly powerful. He promised to protect us, so now that something has happened to us, he definitely won't let you off the hook." Jiang Mu rolled his eyes as he listened.

When did I ever promise to be your bodyguard?

This girl really knows how to make a big deal out of things.

Fang Yuanhao's face revealed a mocking expression:

"Do you take me for a three-year-old child? Even if your brother-in-law really is an official of the Demon Slayer Division, I can kill you all without consequence."

As for that Lord Jiang, Fazhou City is already unstable, I don't believe he has the guts to provoke my Phoenix Feather Sect! Having lost patience, he turned to the masked woman in black and said:

"Since Junior Sister Wen is so stubborn, let's kill this eyesore first, skin him and hang him on the beam to wake up these two junior sisters." "Fang Yuanhao, this has nothing to do with Fellow Daoist Chu." Wen Li shouted urgently, "Release him and Junior Sister Shuang'er, and I'll go back to Fengyu Sect with you." The woman in black had already walked towards Jiang Mu.

Jiang Mu remained calm.

Just as he was about to make his move, a guard rushed in, urgently reporting, "Young Master, something terrible has happened! The Demon Slayers have surrounded us!"

Upon hearing this, not only were Fang Yuanhao and the others surprised, but Jiang Mu was also stunned.