Chapter Forty: The Heart to Kill Awakens

"How dare you! A dignified Mystic Warrior slaughtering innocents!"
A voice rang out. Fang Mu turned around, his brows slightly furrowed.
The newcomer was dressed as a Daoist, holding a horsetail whisk in his hand. The Daoist looked furious, his gaze fixed on Fang Mu.
With righteous indignation, the Daoist declared, "Surrender immediately and come with me to the Bureau of Heavenly Surveillance for trial!"
The Bureau of Heavenly Surveillance? Killing innocents?
Fang Mu glanced at the marks on the ground; the eldritch creature had already been destroyed, leaving only scattered remains.
He surmised the Daoist had seen the corpses and mistakenly believed Fang Mu had killed at random.
Pointing at the corpses, Fang Mu said, "You might be mistaken. Among these—"
"Mistaken?" The Daoist's brows shot up. "I've searched several times and found nothing, always lurking in the shadows. Today, I heard something strange and rushed over, only to see this scene. And you say I'm mistaken?"
Fang Mu realized the Daoist must be the one sent by the Bureau of Heavenly Surveillance, as the county magistrate Zhang had mentioned.
Zhang had said an official Daoist had been dispatched to investigate; this must be him.
Yet this man seemed excessively self-assured, convinced whatever he witnessed was the absolute truth.
Fang Mu had no wish to clash with the Bureau. He planned to leave quietly, believing the truth would eventually clear up any misunderstanding.
But the Daoist had other ideas. Seeing Fang Mu move, he assumed Fang Mu was about to flee and attacked, brandishing his whisk.
The whisk elongated magically in midair, sweeping toward Fang Mu, attempting to ensnare him.
Halfway through, the whisk suddenly halted.
"You intend to fight?" Fang Mu turned, his voice icy.
The Daoist felt as if Fang Mu's gaze was that of a corpse, chilling him to the bone.
He quickly recovered, thinking his reaction had been disgraceful.
As case chief of the Bureau of Heavenly Surveillance, to be intimidated by a criminal Mystic Warrior was intolerable, utterly intolerable.
White light flared from the whisk, encircling Fang Mu.
The Daoist pulled with his right hand, causing the whisk to contract inward instantly.
"Why is it," Fang Mu said calmly, "that sometimes, one wishes to reason with others, but they refuse, forcing me to act?"
He hadn't wanted trouble with the Bureau, but the Daoist pressed too hard, attempting to seize him without so much as a word. If he were caught, what would be left to play for?
"Reason?" the Daoist shouted. "The evidence is clear—what reason is there to speak of now?"

"Then... you may die."
A gleaming blade flashed. The butcher's knife, infused with fiery true energy, surged from Fang Mu's side.
The whisk was instantly shredded, threads scattering, and within the drifting remnants, a streak of blade-light burst forth!
"Thunder Technique, arise!"
The Daoist shouted, his palm raised toward the sky.
A blue bolt crackled overhead, as thick as a barrel, striking down from the heavens.
Golden light radiated from Fang Mu; the lightning struck his Golden Body Art to no effect, save for a slight tremor.
"This..."
The Daoist froze, watching the blade-light approach, instinctively shutting his eyes.
"In battle, closing your eyes is a grave mistake."
The blade-light contracted. The Daoist suddenly felt a tightness in his chest, then a powerful force slammed him face-first to the ground.
"What is this..."
A coppery scent flooded his nostrils. Opening his eyes, he found his face pressed against the pile of corpses.
Fang Mu planted his foot on the Daoist's face, murderous intent blazing. "Open your damned eyes and see—are these humans or eldritch monsters?"
The stench made the Daoist want to retch, but he held firm. "You cannot afford to offend the Bureau of Heavenly Surveillance. Surrender now!"
"Oh, is that so?"
Fang Mu raised the butcher's knife, his gaze turning frigid. "I have no intention of letting you live. If I kill you, who will ever know?"
To Fang Mu, the Daoist was utterly repugnant.
He tried to reason, but the Daoist refused to listen, attempting to seize him before he could finish.
Such forceful arrogance was infuriating. Did they think him some pushover, to be trampled at will?
Since the Daoist had already made his move, leaving him alive was not an option. If he summoned reinforcements, it would be Fang Mu's own folly.
Death was the Daoist's sole fate.
Fang Mu swung the butcher's knife, a storm of dazzling blades sweeping toward the Daoist.
Despair filled the Daoist's eyes. He never expected to be bested like this—the opponent was unexpectedly... strong!
"By mandate of Heaven, Sword of Seals, pursue and strike!"
Just as the Daoist was about to die beneath Fang Mu's blade, a voice Fang Mu recognized rang out.
A dark red talisman sword flashed, intercepting the blade-light just in time.

"Oh?"
Fang Mu turned, fixing his gaze on the newcomer and pointing the butcher's knife at them, murderous aura rising. "Are you my enemy as well, Qing Ruowu?"
It was none other than Qing Ruowu, the beauty with tear-mole and high rank who had fought alongside him in Jinglong County.
"Fang Mu, I believe there must be some misunderstanding here," Qing Ruowu exhaled, feeling Fang Mu's killing intent locked on her, and hastily said, "Release Chief Deng Zheng first."
To show she bore no hostility, the talisman sword returned to her side.
Sweat beaded on Qing Ruowu's brow. She had been near Meng County, tracking an eldritch creature in the wilderness. The creature had led her to Meng County and then vanished.
Unexpectedly, she arrived just as Fang Mu was about to kill the Daoist.
Qing Ruowu knew Fang Mu well; she suspected there was some misunderstanding amidst all this.
This Daoist named Deng Zheng was notorious for his fiery temper—perhaps that was the root of the confusion.
Piecing the events together, Qing Ruowu wondered if the sudden appearance of the eldritch creature was intentional.
Was it mere coincidence that she was brought here, to witness this scene?
If she hadn't known Fang Mu, her reaction might have been entirely different, and conflict would already have erupted.
"Misunderstanding?"
Fang Mu looked down at Deng Zheng, stomping hard on his face. "Ask him how I began. When I spoke of a misunderstanding, how did he respond?"
"Don't mind me!"
Deng Zheng, dizzy from the blood and gore, shouted, "This man is a murderer—kill him at once!"
Boom!
Fang Mu's true energy erupted, driving Deng Zheng deep into the earth. "It seems you truly wish to die."
Deng Zheng spat blood, clearly injured.
"Fang Mu, consider why I came," Qing Ruowu pressed anxiously. "If you act now, you'll be playing right into someone's hands."
"Hmm?"
Fang Mu paused, his killing intent easing slightly.
"Why did Qing Ruowu arrive at this precise moment?"
Her words made him reconsider; perhaps there were too many coincidences here.