4 Chapter 4: Liquor City (2)

The mysterious man, whom they later learned was called Wen Xu, was Mayor Jiu's butler. Although he did not divulge much details, it seemed that the mayor had encountered some serious problem with a demon.

The strange thing was how Wen Xu was trying to keep the incident low profile as he hurriedly escorted them through the dark alleys with his small lantern instead of the well-lit streets. It didn't take them long before they reached a small hut, heavily guarded by bulky men, sitting a short distance away from the border of Liquor City. Behind the small hut was a large field of vegetation, likely the wheat that the mayor used for his liquor.

Wen Xu pushed open the door and lowered his head politely before shuffling to a corner along with the rest of the servants. A well-dressed, chubby man sat in the middle of the room, sipping on his hot tea silently. The moment his eyes caught sight of the duo, they lit up.

"My saviours! Thank god you're here!" He greeted them cheerfully as he approached them. "I'm Mayor Jiu. Thank you for coming over even though it was an abrupt request from me."

Lin He eyed the man from head to toe, a feeling of doubt rising through his mind.

This man looked too elated to be in need of dire help.

"We heard that you needed our assistance... I think?" Xuan Yi said before taking a quick glance at Lin He.

So, he was not the only one who felt that something was off.

"Yes, I need them urgently." He said before clasping his hands together. "A demon appeared in my wheat field a few days ago and has been attacking my poor workers. The disruptions to my liquor production are severe!"

Severe? Xuan Yi had more than five jugs of his signature liquor earlier on and the waiter glady asked if she wanted more. To Lin He, it looked like his liquor production was perfectly fine.

Mayor Jiu eyed the duo nervously before flashing them a small smile when he realised they were staring at him wordlessly.

"I'll pay you a hefty sum for this task! Promise!" He quickly added before gesturing for Wen Xu to come over.

Wen Xu opened a black box and presented it to the duo. A mountain of coins along with some gold ingots sat in the box, staring back at Lin He. He probably would not have to worry about money for at least a year with even half of this amount and Xuan Yi could stop leeching off him.

Even if this Mayor Jiu was suspicious, his life ahead in the mortal realm was much more important than whatever this mayor was doing.

"We'll take it!" The duo chimed simultaneously, as if they had just read each other's mind.

=

Wen Xu brought the duo to the woods near Mayor Jiu's little hut and gestured for them to follow the dirt path into the darkness. With a hand holding onto a small lantern that was barely performing its function, they set foot into the woods where the demon was said to reside.

"Mayor Jiu and his servants are very suspicious." Xuan Yi whispered as she took a glance behind her to make sure that they were not being followed.

"Agreed. They were far too calm for someone being met with an attack." Lin He said quietly before pausing in his track. "And, it doesn't seem like we are the first to enter this demon's territory."

He shone the lantern on the dirt path that Wen Xu had asked them to follow and they frowned at the realisation that something serious was brewing behind this bounty they got.

Maybe he should have thought twice before accepting this bounty.

"Is he... luring people into this forest?" She questioned as her eyes grew wide.

Lin He nodded his head silently. It is possible that Mayor Jiu has been sending people into this forest and he had lied about encountering a demon attack a few days ago. Given how the path was so bare with no signs of grass growing back on it, it was likely that this path was frequently trodden upon.

"He might have been doing so… for more than just days." Lin He added and took a glance at Xuan Yi, noting how pale her face was.

"Are you afraid?" He asked before continuing his way into the forest.

Xuan Yi followed behind closely. "Of course I am! What if he's sending us directly into the tummy of some powerful demon?"

Lin He stopped in his tracks, causing Xuan Yi to bump into his back. He turned around and looked at her.

"Then, how did you even get those eight demons by yourself?"

She scoffed and crossed her arms. "Do you think I'm stupid enough to just grab whatever demon I see? Of course, I chose the easy ones!"

No wonder Xiao Long mentioned that she took years to get promoted, she definitely took her time to pick and choose. Demons grow in power quickly after they emerge so to find weaker ones, it'll definitely take some time for her to hit her demon count.

"Do you want to retreat?" He asked, curious about her thoughts.

"Can we?" She asked back, her eyes were twinkling with a glimpse of hope of escaping.

Lin He shook his head. Seeing how she was desperate to get promoted, he's assuming that she's aiming to grow to become a strong Slayer in the future. If that's the case, it was a must for her to fight whatever demons that plagued the earth regardless of how strong they were. Fear would only get in the way and obstruct her progression. Seeing how she's a disciple under the Lan Sect, he wouldn't mind spending some extra effort in teaching her a thing or two while he's stuck with her.

"Wh- what I meant was," She quickly said after Lin He's disapproval. "I'll follow you. You're the one who needs to get me my demons for promotion anyway."

Well, she does have a point.

"Besides, you're a strong Slayer. If you can take down that Snake Demon so easily, I'm sure this demon ahead would be easy for you as well." Xuan Yi said with a smile. "Just remember to let me have the last blow to kill it so it'll be counted into my victory score."

Lin He knitted his brows at her words. "So, you are saying I'm going to do all the work and you'll just take the credit?"

"Yes."

Lin He scoffed at her upfront answer. Feeling a little bitter, he continued. "By the way, that Snake Demon was merely a young demon and it should be an easy feat-"

Xuan Yi interrupted him by pushing him forward, cutting him off from talking. "Let's go! The sun's coming up soon if you continue nagging."

"You!"

=

They followed the dirt path deep into the woods and came to their supposed final destination - a cave's entrance.

Lin He swept a quick glance around the vicinity. It looked like nothing was around here - no signs of struggle from a fellow human being or presence of demons.

"Look." Xuan Yi said before pointing to the ground.

Lin He's eyes followed her finger's direction to a corner of the cave's entrance. Hiding behind a fallen rock was a freshly printed trail of blood heading into the dark cave.

"So he is luring people into this forest for something." He muttered to himself as he stared into the darkness of the cave with a frown.

Xuan Yi noticed the frown on Lin He's face and gave him a poke on his shoulder. "Do you… still want to check it out?"

In truth, Xuan Yi was afraid of whatever demon or creature that Mayor Jiu was sending them to. She was about to pass her promotion exams after three years of hard work but yet if something bad happens, she might just… die.

Xuan Yi stared hard at Lin He, thoughts were running through her mind.

The reason why she clinged onto him after the Snake Demon incident was because she saw how skilled and powerful he was, taking down the demon in just a few strikes quickly. It was tough to look for relatively weaker demons these days so she needed some extra help to clear the slightly tougher ones with her.

She told herself to get him on her side no matter what and help her to get through her promotion! Which was why she came up with her great act. But what if he's sending her to death's doorstep with this bounty?

"Why did you become a Slayer?" Were the words that came out of his mouth after a short silence.

Xuan Yi chewed on her lips, hesitating whether to share her story to a partial stranger. In the end, she caved in, figuring he meant no harm to her anyways.

"My mother," She paused. "She was killed by a demon. I'm doing this because I want to learn how to protect my loved ones."

Lin He nodded his head at her words, understanding where she was coming from. He too, became a Slayer because he wanted to protect others from harm.

"To protect people who are important to you, there's one thing you'll have to do." He said quietly as he fixed his gaze on her.

"What?"

"You'll have to drop your fear. Because when there's trouble, you cannot hesitate." Lin He paused. "Because if you hesitate, they'll die."