Volume One: Changsui County Menial Laborer, Chapter Ninety-Three: Inheriting the Estate

The black dog had a point.

The weaker demons had not joined their sect in battle. After the sect fell, they survived.

They took root here and cultivated here.

After thousands, even tens of thousands of years of hard practice, their strength had already far surpassed what ordinary people could imagine.

The demon before them was very likely a descendant of those creatures from long ago.

Generations had multiplied here beyond anyone’s reckoning.

Yet the resources in this place were finite. With too many descendants, the demons must have been locked in constant slaughter among themselves, and that had stirred the once-tamed beasts back into savagery.

The bloodlust and ferocity of such creatures were fully displayed in these monsters, perhaps even more violently than before.

“So we go around it?”

Zhong Zhengming said, “Demons are formidable to begin with. At the same rank, they are rarely without an opponent. Especially since I am injured now, and the other side may even have stepped into the next realm.”

“If we rashly clash, it will lead to a whole chain of dangers.”

No sooner had Zhong Zhengming finished than the black dog retorted, “Are you the fool, or do you take us for fools? Lord Nine and I never intended to clash with it. Getting away early is the best course.”

Such a sharp rebuke left Director Zhong feeling stifled.

As the head of the Demon-Slaying Office and a core member of the Zhong family, most people were used to agreeing with him and taking his orders.

Even Director Xue stared wide-eyed.

By his old habits, he would have rebuked the thing on the spot.

After all, the black dog was merely Lu Jiuzhang’s attendant demon. In status, it stood far below Lu Jiuzhang himself.

If even Lu Jiuzhang had to show his master due respect, let alone a demon beast.

Regrettably, he could not move now, and had to rely on Zhong Zhengming to carry him.

The black dog looked back and saw Director Zhong still glaring at it. Instantly, it felt a bit indignant. It was a beast of the wild—how could a mere human stare it down like that!

It glared back, its eyes large and fierce. When it glared at someone, it was quite imposing.

If it bared its teeth as well, it would look like a small dog guarding its food.

“Pfft!”

Director Xue spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted.

“What’s wrong with this human?” the black dog asked, puzzled.

“Probably badly injured. A bit of rest will do him good,” Lu Jiuzhang said carelessly, since he did not know the details.

“Oh, I thought I’d angered him into unconsciousness,” the black dog muttered to itself, then trotted after Lu Jiuzhang and kept pace beside him.

As they traveled on, Zhong Zhengming’s state of mind kept changing.

Gradually, he too came to accept the reality that the Zhong family’s ancestor was dead and the family itself was about to be destroyed.

But Director Xue could not accept it. He also could not tolerate anyone’s disrespect toward his master.

Especially at a time like this, when a tiger has fallen to the plains and is bullied by dogs, even the slightest disturbance was enough to make Director Xue furious.

The more a family declines, the more sensitive its heart becomes.

“Lu Demon-Slaying Guard, I don’t know whether I can make it out alive this time. Even if I get out of here, I still won’t escape those people’s pursuit. If you manage to leave here, then cut ties with me.”

Zhong Zhengming said, “And as for the brothers of the Demon-Slaying Office—if I end up dragging them down too, then I, Zhong Zhengming, will have failed everyone.”

“Damn it, it’s already this far—why are you saying all that?” the black dog snapped.

“Well... then what should I say? That I should hurry and run?” Zhong Zhengming asked in confusion.

“You can’t even escape, so where do you still want to run to? Just tell us where you hid your silver and all those treasures. You’re going to die—don’t let the people who kill you get all the good stuff.”