The Mirror Master

’Not only that, Lu Bai must have some other treasure on him. That’s the only way he could have seen the one-legged Exotic Beast’s tracks.’

’If I just kill him, unimaginable wealth, fame, and treasures will be mine for the taking!’

But then, Cui Jiang had another thought.

Lu Bai had, after all, saved his life.

If Lu Bai hadn’t appeared, he would have surely died in the Tiger Demon’s maw.

To kill Lu Bai would be repaying kindness with malice—something worse than an animal would do.

Then Cui Jiang thought again.

’But if I let Lu Bai go back and report the truth...’

’A young Inner Martial Artist, bravely fighting a Tiger Demon and an Exotic Beast, and even rescuing a Commander of the Demon Slayer Guard...’

’That would be like stepping on my back to build his own fame!’

’What would that make me?’

’The man who lost a whole squad of his brothers from the Demon-slaying Bureau, only to be saved by a junior.’

’How would my colleagues at the Demon-slaying Bureau look at me then?’

Cui Jiang stood rooted to the spot, his expression flickering as a war raged within his heart.

’We’re in the middle of nowhere. If I kill him now, no one will ever know!’

Once this thought took root, it was impossible to suppress.

After a moment of contemplation, Cui Jiang made his decision. ’If you must blame someone,’ he thought darkly, ’blame your own bad luck.’

"Brother Lu, how are your injuries? Can you move?"

Cui Jiang walked toward Lu Bai empty-handed, asking with a concerned tone.

Lu Bai replied, "If I rest for a bit, I should be able to get up."

Cui Jiang reached Lu Bai’s side and squatted down. His right hand dropped naturally, reaching for the dagger hidden in his boot as he said, "We shouldn’t stay here long. Let me help you regulate your breathing so you can recover sooner. We need to leave as soon as..."

SHK!

Before Cui Jiang could finish his sentence, he felt a sudden chill in his chest.

He looked down slowly in disbelief.

A longsword had pierced through his tattered armor, its blade buried halfway to the hilt!

"You!"

The moment Cui Jiang looked up, Lu Bai had already rolled away, leaping to his feet to stand at a distance, watching him coldly.

Lu Bai’s injuries weren’t serious at all.

When he released the second blast of the ’Silent Shock’ Secret Technique, his nose and mouth had been damaged, straining his internal organs.

He would fully recover after three to five days of rest.

He had deliberately feigned weakness just now, simply because he couldn’t gauge Commander Cui’s true strength or the extent of his injuries.

Now, it was clear that Commander Cui was severely wounded.

Even without this scheme, Cui Jiang would have been no match for him.

"You... why did you...?"

Cui Jiang was furious and about to roar in anger, but when he saw Lu Bai’s agile movements, he came to a sudden, dawning realization.

He had been tricked by this young man!

’To think I’ve hunted hawks my whole life, only to have my eyes pecked out by a sparrow!’

In the blink of an eye, Cui Jiang’s tone softened, his eyes filling with bewilderment.

"Commander Cui, there’s no need to pretend at this point."

Lu Bai’s expression was cold.

Cui Jiang’s brows furrowed, his face a mask of grief and indignation. "I was kind enough to check your injuries, so why did you repay my kindness with malice? Was it just for the Tier Two Tiger Demon’s corpse?"

Lu Bai said coolly, "Commander Cui, your act would be more convincing if you dropped the dagger in your hand."

Only then did Cui Jiang realize that he had just drawn his dagger, but before he could even strike, Lu Bai had run him through with the sword.

The dagger was still clutched tightly in his hand.

Since things had come to this, there was no point in continuing the act.

Lu Bai’s strike had all but extinguished his life force.

Cui Jiang was only holding on now because of a single thread of Innate True Qi.

And at this moment, that thread was beginning to fray.

"Good, very good!"

All color drained from Cui Jiang’s face. He stared fixedly at Lu Bai and muttered, "You’re brazen enough to defy the heavens! To dare kill a Commander of the Demon-slaying Bureau... You... you..."

"Who’s going to know?"

Lu Bai cut him off, his tone flat.

"You!"

Cui Jiang’s eyes bulged. He spent his last ounce of strength to lunge at Lu Bai.

But he had barely leaped into the air before he fell limply to the ground, eyes wide with indignation, dying with a grievance.

Lu Bai didn’t approach hastily. Instead, he circled around to the pile of bodies near the cave and picked up a Demon Slayer Guard’s Long Saber.

He took a few steps closer and threw it at Cui Jiang’s head from a distance.

After all, this Cui Jiang was a peak Innate Realm Martial Artist who knew a Breath-Holding Skill. He might just be playing dead, trying to lure him closer.

THUNK!

The blade buried itself halfway into his head.

Cui Jiang didn’t move. He was thoroughly dead.

Only then did Lu Bai let out a sigh of relief and walk over to Cui Jiang’s side.

’Demon-slaying Bureau, my ass. I’d cut down the Heavenly King himself if I had to!’

Lu Bai muttered to himself as he began to search Cui Jiang’s body.

In a short while, he pulled out a stack of silver notes, totaling about three thousand taels.

There was also a Cultivation Technique manual, the *Turtle Breath Technique*.

Lu Bai skimmed through a few pages.

It was a Profound Tier Inner Power Heart Method. The cultivation it offered wasn’t outstanding.

The only reason it was considered Profound Tier was because of its breath-holding ability.

It allowed the user to enter a state of suspended animation by holding their breath for a period of time.

Lu Bai had an Ultimate Skill he hadn’t even started cultivating yet, and his Inner Strength came from the *Dragon Elephant Suppression Skill*. Naturally, he looked down on a Cultivation Technique like this.

Still, he tucked it into his robes for now.

He could find a chance to get rid of it later.

Just then, a ray of dawn broke through the darkness, casting its light upon Zhongming Mountain.

「Dawn had broken.」

Lu Bai looked up at the rosy glow of dawn and closed his eyes, feeling its warmth on his skin. The tension and exhaustion of the night washed away completely.

In truth, compared to the corpses of the Demon Slayer Guard, the truly valuable things were the bodies of the Tier Two Tiger Demon and the One-legged Monster.

But their carcasses were too conspicuous and would be difficult to deal with.

If he had a Spirit Root and could condense Magical Power, he would be able to use a Storage Pouch. Then he could just stuff the Tier Two Tiger Demon’s corpse inside.

That would make things much more convenient.

Lu Bai opened his eyes again. A flicker of movement in his peripheral vision made him startle, and he whipped around to look.

Not far away stood a peerlessly beautiful Daoist Nun, accompanied by a four or five-year-old female Daoist Child.

The Daoist Nun wore an apricot-yellow Daoist Robe and held a duster. Her face was flawless, her features as if painted. Her skin was snow-white, and she had a cool, jade-like aura, like an Immortal untouched by the mortal world.

The purple-robed woman he had seen last night was already a rare beauty.

But compared to the beautiful Daoist Nun before him, she seemed plain and unremarkable, not even a ten-thousandth as stunning.

The Ponytailed Daoist Child looked to be only four or five years old. She had rosy lips, pearly teeth, a chubby face, and watery eyes. A large-tailed squirrel was perched on her shoulder.

Both child and squirrel were looking at him, their eyes full of curiosity.

Lu Bai’s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly averted his gaze.

Then again, he thought, ’Even if I don’t look at them, they’ve already seen me.’

"Greetings, Daoists."

Lu Bai looked over again, offered a slight smile, and clasped his hands in a salute. He asked tentatively, "I didn’t notice you earlier. When did you two arrive? Are you here for this Tiger Demon?"

’Could these two be the Cultivators from the Xuanjian Sect?’

’If they saw me kill Cui Jiang just now, this will be a huge problem.’

"I saw you kill someone."

The beautiful Daoist Nun remained silent, but the Ponytailed Daoist Child spoke up in a clear, crisp voice.

Lu Bai: "..."

The Ponytailed Daoist Child added, "But don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. So you don’t have to silence me."

"Er... Little Daoist, you must be joking. I’m not that kind of person."

Lu Bai gave an awkward laugh.

’Truly, children speak without reservation, saying whatever comes to mind.’

Lu Bai glanced at the beautiful Daoist Nun again.

For some reason, he felt that the way she was looking at him was special, a feeling he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

Then again, perhaps he was just overthinking it.

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