So it turns out I'm the demon!

Chapter 181 Farewell Pampering

After several days of revelry, the support teams from various states, having completed their rest and regrouping, began to break camp and embark on their journeys home.

On the sixth day, it was finally time for the two major demon-slaying divisions of Huzhou and Yunzhou to part ways.

At the pavilion outside the city, a cold wind howled, swirling up fallen leaves.

Shui Miaozheng wore a light blue dress. The usually dignified woman had put on light makeup today, but it couldn't hide the faint dark circles under her eyes. She tried her best to control her emotions.

But those eyes, which were as clear as autumn water, were red like a rabbit's eyes, with tears welling up in their sockets.

In the end, she found a clumsy excuse to discuss official business and pulled Jiang Mu aside to a secluded corner behind the pavilion, hidden by dense willow trees. Once away from everyone's sight, Shui Miaozheng could no longer maintain her airs as the head of the department and pulled Jiang Mu into her arms tightly.

"Little Jiang..."

She buried her face in the crook of the man's neck, inhaling deeply his familiar scent, and repeatedly told him:

"Be careful on the way back. Although those monsters have retreated, there's no guarantee that defeated soldiers won't ambush you along the way..."

"Be vigilant at night, and never stay in deserted villages or inns."

"Also, after you return to Huzhou, remember not to stand out too much. When you encounter problems, consult with Elder Tian and Manager Ran. Don't always try to be strong and fight alone, understand?" She wiped away her tears as she rambled on.

These things had been said countless times during intimate moments in bed, yet she still impatiently repeated them over and over again.

Listening to the woman's rambling, Jiang Mu felt both touched and amused.

He lowered his head, resting his chin lightly on the top of the woman's head, and teased:

"Aunt Shui, the way you're nagging makes it sound like you're really going to treat me like your mother? Maybe I should just start calling you 'Mom' from now on?" Shui Miaozheng was so angry at his shameless words that she burst into laughter through her tears.

She tilted her stunningly beautiful face up, stretched out her jade-like finger and poked him hard in the chest, saying coquettishly:

"You brat, I wanted to take you in as my godson and have you call me godmother, but you absolutely refused. Now that you've gotten all the benefits, you want to change your mind?"

"Hmph, if you really like it, then Aunt Shui will do as you please from now on, as long as you're happy..."

Jiang Mu's forehead immediately creased with annoyance, and he quickly waved his hand in embarrassment:

"No! I was just kidding. Aunt Shui is a nice way to address you; it sounds friendly."

He looked around, then leaned down and whispered in the woman's earlobe:

"Aunt Shui, we're about to part ways. This remote place has such beautiful scenery, why don't we..."

Seeing the heat in the man's eyes, Shui Miaozheng blushed instantly and lightly spat:

"You brat, have you had a single day of proper rest these past few days? Don't you ever get tired of this?"

Jiang Mu chuckled:

"There's nothing I can do. Aunt Shui, you're such a rare gem, how could I possibly get tired of you? Besides... who knows when we'll meet again next time?"

Shui Miaozheng felt a mixture of joy and bittersweetness. She bit her lip, reached out to straighten his clothes, and said reproachfully:

"I always give in to you, you little devil... I must have owed you a debt in my past life, and I'm here to pay it off in this one."

As she spoke, she tied her hair up.

Even with the most reluctant farewells, the time for parting eventually came.

Outside the pavilion, Shui Miaozheng resumed her dignified and aloof demeanor as the head of the household.

She insisted on staying where she was, watching Jiang Mu mount his horse.

Only when Jiang Mu and the others' figures turned into a small black dot at the end of the official road and completely disappeared from sight did she sigh with a sense of loss. She then led her men back to Fazhou, turning back every few steps.

On the official road, the sound of horses' hooves echoed.

Jiang Mu and Tian Wenjing rode side by side.

Seeing Jiang Mu's still somewhat absent-minded appearance, Tian Wenjing couldn't help but stroke his beard and laugh, teasingly saying:

"You little rascal, you really are a precious gem that everyone loves wherever you go."

Just before I left, Chief Water gave me a warning.

She said that if you suffer even the slightest grievance or lose a single hair on your way back to Huzhou City, she will personally go to the headquarters to demand your return and forcibly take you back to Tanzhou City.

"I've spent most of my life in the Demon Slayer Division, and this is the first time I've ever seen that girl Shui Miaozheng so domineering and protective."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Mu smiled.

The image of Shui Miaozheng's tearful, reproachful face, and her tender embrace before parting, replayed in my mind, and a wave of melancholy washed over me.

To be honest, although he missed Bai Xiang, the stern, arrogant, and trustworthy "housekeeper" who stayed at his home in Huzhou City, the emptiness he felt at parting with Aunt Shui was still quite painful, as if a piece of his heart had been ripped out.

After all, they had spent the last few days together, their love so intense and passionate.

Shui Miaozheng's unique gentleness and tolerance, characteristic of mature women, have been deeply ingrained in his bones.

"I have personally cremated Wenhe's body."

Tian Wenjing slowly opened his mouth,

"When I write my report to the headquarters, I plan to write it the way you suggested back then."

To say that Wenhe was a spy who deliberately infiltrated the demon race and the Red Umbrella Sect would at least leave him with some reputation.

Jiang Mu nodded: "Old Wen deserves it."

Tian Wenjing sighed deeply, his face filled with regret and self-reproach:

"Back in Huzhou City, the old man valued and cultivated him no less than he has now."

But who could have imagined that fate would play such a cruel trick...

Sometimes I reflect on this, and perhaps I pushed him too hard back then, putting too much pressure on him, which led to his moral corruption and him going astray.

At this point, Tian Wenjing turned his head, his gaze fixed intently on Jiang Mu:

"Kid, you're more talented than him, and you're bolder, but you're also more unruly. You won't... follow in Wenhe's footsteps some kind of shortcut in the future, will you?"

Jiang Mu thought carefully for a moment and replied:

"It's hard to say."

"you!"

Tian Wenjing was so angry that his mustache stood on end, and he cursed.

"You little bastard, if you ever dare to infiltrate the demons' camp and cause trouble, I will risk my old life to skin you alive."

Jiang Mu shrugged and retorted:

"Then you'd better hurry up and work harder on your training, I'm afraid that when the time comes, you won't be able to beat me."

"I'll beat you to death right now!"

Tian Wenjing was so angry that he choked.

He raised his whip as if to strike, but a hint of a smile lingered in his eyes.

After laughing and joking for a while, Tian Wenjing put away his riding whip, his expression turning serious again.

He took a small wooden box from his pocket and handed it to Jiang Mu:

"This is for you."

Jiang Mu was taken aback, reached out and took the wooden box, her face full of doubt:

"Old Tian, ​​isn't this the last thing Old Wen specifically asked me to give you before he died? You don't want it anymore?"

Tian Wenjing shook his head, a hint of melancholy flashing in his eyes:

"This thing is no longer of use to this old man with half his body buried in the ground. But you, with your bright future ahead of you, will find it useful."

Jiang Mu opened the wooden box with a puzzled look in her eyes.

On the bottom of the box, which was covered with yellow silk, lay a dead worm about the thickness of a little finger.

The insect was grayish-white in color, and shriveled and stiff.

It looked as if it had been dried by the wind for hundreds of years.

But on its withered back, there are some mysterious natural patterns faintly imprinted.

"What is this thing? Did Old Wen ask me to bring you a dead worm before he died?"

Jiang Mu was completely confused.

Tian Wenjing, with a solemn expression, explained, "This is no ordinary insect; it's a rare creature called the 'Heavenly Silkworm'!"

"The Heavenly Silkworm?"

"Yes, this is an extremely rare divine object."

Tian Wenjing patiently explained to Jiang Mu,

"Once you reach the seventh realm and attain the position of a star, this item can help you find other people under the same star position." "Let me give you the simplest example."

If you have now cultivated to the seventh realm and successfully attained the [Horn] star position below the [Horn Wood Dragon] Venerable.

Under the system of Jiao Mu Jiao, there are a total of eleven star officials.

If your ambitions don't stop there, and you wish to go further and attain the supreme [Horned Dragon] natal star position, thereby breaking through the nine realms in one fell swoop...

"Then you must find the other ten star officials, kill them personally, and seize their star cores. This will allow you to complete your own Dao of the Celestial Venerable!"

Jiang Mu suddenly realized, "So that's how it is! This really is a good thing!"

Looking at the shriveled worm in my hand, I was shocked, but a huge question also arose in my mind.

"But... Old Wen is just a fifth-level hall master, he hasn't even touched the seventh level, how could he possess such a divine item?" Tian Wenjing shook his head with a puzzled expression.

"I don't know either. I suppose it was a chance encounter that he was planning to use for himself later."

Unfortunately, such a calamity occurred, so it was left to me. However, this Heavenly Silkworm is now inanimate; I must find a way to bring it back to life.

As for how to survive, I don't know either.

"Once we return to Huzhou City, I will consult ancient texts. If I find a solution, I will let you know."

After hearing this, Jiang Mu was even more puzzled.

He looked up at Tian Wenjing and asked in confusion:

"Old Tian, ​​since this thing is so extraordinary, wouldn't it be like adding wings to a tiger for you?"

You are now a master of the eighth realm, only one step away from the ninth realm of Venerable One, and you too need to find other Star Officials to seize Star Pills. Why don't you want this Heavenly Silkworm, but instead give it to me?"

Jiang Mu found it very strange.

Like Shui Miaozheng, Tian Wenjing is currently stuck at the bottleneck of the eighth realm.

To them, the Heavenly Silkworm was an absolute treasure.

Jiang Mu couldn't understand why the old man would so generously give up this opportunity.

A self-deprecating smile appeared on Tian Wenjing's face.

He looked up at the sunlight, slowly shook his head, and his voice carried a deep weariness and relief:

"My cultivation... has probably reached its end in this lifetime."

"Some things, some shackles of destiny, you will understand when you truly reach my level and stand before that insurmountable chasm."

Jiang Mu was completely confused.

But seeing Tian Wenjing's dejected expression, unwilling to discuss the matter further, he did not press the matter further.

They put the treasure away.

That old man is something else. If he had brought out such a treasure earlier, I could have just given it to Aunt Shui when I was in Yancheng.

Oh well, good things come to those who wait.

When I return to Huzhou, or whenever I see watermelons again, I can give them some.

Tian Wenjing composed himself, his expression turning cold and stern again, and said in a deep voice:

"In this battle of Yancheng, those demons from the Red Umbrella Sect really taught us old bones a good lesson."

"Although I had long suspected that the Demon Slayer Division was not entirely clean and harbored spies, I never expected there to be so many," Jiang Mu said calmly.

"Those so-called spies who surfaced in the illusion array are clearly just cannon fodder thrown out by the Red Umbrella Cult to wear down our morale. The Red Umbrella Cult's higher-ups are very shrewd; how could they easily waste truly valuable high-level spies in this chaotic situation?"

"The real big fish is probably still hiding underwater."

Tian Wenjing nodded:

"What you said makes perfect sense. It seems that once we return to Huzhou City, we must be ruthless and conduct a thorough purge and investigation of the entire department."

Jiang Mu hummed in agreement.

He spurred his horse forward a few steps, then suddenly pulled on the reins.

Then he turned around, rubbed his hands together somewhat awkwardly, and said to Tian Wenjing with a sheepish smile:

"Um... Mr. Tian."

I suddenly remembered I still had some personal matters to attend to. Why don't you the main force return to Huzhou City first, and I'll leave the group briefly, take care of my business, and catch up with you as soon as I'm done?

Tian Wenjing was taken aback, and his graying brows immediately furrowed:

"Where are you going after leaving the team?"

Jiang Mu's so-called "private matter" could not be discussed with Tian Wenjing.

First, he had to rush to [Chaomu Temple] to give instructions to Si Rumeng and assign her some tasks for secretly expanding his influence.

Secondly, he personally made a trip to the Heavenly Blade Sect.

She personally delivered Tang Guixin's belongings and her suicide note to her ex-husband and daughter.

He didn't tell Shui Miaozheng earlier because he was afraid that the woman would worry and get jealous, and nag endlessly.

Tian Wenjing had some worries:

"Although the main force of the demons has retreated, the world is still far from peaceful after a great battle... Never mind, you've always been decisive, but be careful not to make a fool of yourself."

Jiang Mu immediately patted his chest and solemnly guaranteed:

"Don't worry, Elder Tian. With my current cultivation level, how many people in the world can stop me?"

Even if I encounter a tough opponent I can't beat, you've seen how I can run away and save my life before.

Tian Wenjing laughed and scolded:

"You brat, you're so confident... Go early and come back early, be careful, there's a lot of work waiting for you in Huzhou City."

"Okay."

Jiang Mu said something to Xu Fu and the others, then turned around and sped off towards where Si Rumeng was.

Half a day later.

Jiang Mu arrived at the entrance to that hidden little world.

He skillfully unlocked the restrictions and stepped inside.

As soon as he entered, he saw that the temple's plaque had been changed again.

They switched back to the previous "Chaomu Temple".

Moreover, the character "暮" (dusk) was specially edged with gold, making it sparkle and stand out from the crowd.

Jiang Mu looked at the flamboyant plaque and her lips twitched twice.

This woman...

He shook his head helplessly and walked into the temple.

In the center of the main hall, where a clay Buddha statue was originally enshrined, Si Rumeng sat upright in a plain white Taoist robe.

The sandalwood incense was rising gently in front of him.

Amidst the swirling smoke, she formed hand seals, her eyes slightly closed, resembling a compassionate immortal or a high and mighty deity.

The entire scene was solemn and dignified, yet it also had a touch of eeriness and allure.

"master."

Upon seeing Jiang Mu enter the main hall, Si Rumeng, who had been sitting solemnly on a lotus, gracefully descended from her high position.

As soon as she landed, she clasped her hands at her sides and bowed gracefully to Jiang Muying.

"This servant greets my master."

After being whipped a few times and nourished by the demon core, the woman became increasingly respectful and obedient.

It seems that sometimes, when dealing with such an ambitious tigress, simple preaching is far less effective than actual physical subjugation.